She was in a particularly good mood throughout the journey.
Whether you eat this millipede or keep a portion to exchange for supplies, it's a good choice.
It's a pity it's not a mutated centipede, otherwise a centipede of this size would have a harder exoskeleton, which could be used as armor or to trade for more resources.
The paths in the mutated jungle are difficult to traverse, and the journey is quite long.
But Li Xinxin was already used to this environment, and she moved nimbly through the forest.
Arriving at a mountain pass, a thin boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old was holding a homemade bow and arrow, cautiously guarding his surroundings.
Upon seeing Li Xinxin, especially the two-meter-long mutated millipede she was dragging, the boy's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed with delight, "Sister Xinxin! What great luck you're having today!"
Li Xinxin smiled and nodded, saying with a smile, "You continue keeping watch for now. I'll definitely call you as soon as I make something delicious."
The boy nodded quickly, his eyes fixed on the mutated centipede, drooling incessantly.
Li Xinxin arrived at a flat area on the mountainside.
This flat area is less than 100 square meters, and it is surrounded by stones and wood, which provides some protection.
On the side closer to the mountain, there is a cave, and inside the cave, there seems to be a campfire burning.
On the flat ground outside, some old clothes were hanging out to dry, and a lot of miscellaneous items were piled up, such as strips of cloth, broken car frames, tires, and so on.
It's like a garbage dump.
In the very center, a bonfire was burning, with a large pot set up on top.
A dozen or so women in tattered clothes were gathered around the pot, squatting on the ground processing various mutated plants.
Some were breaking down the leather, trying to turn it into threads to make hemp rope.
Some are weaving rattan baskets from leather.
Others were selecting wild vegetables to eat later.
They were all thin and bony, and their clothes were old and dirty.
Long-term malnutrition has caused their cheeks to sink in, making their eyes appear unusually large, and their eyes reveal fatigue and confusion.
Upon seeing Li Xinxin and the two-meter-long mutated centipede in her hand, the women's eyes, which had previously been somewhat dull, now shone brightly.
They started excitedly discussing it amongst themselves.
"Xin Xin! This millipede probably weighs ten or twenty pounds!"
"Should we eat it or barter for something?"
"Let's trade something! We don't have much salt left! This millipede can at least be traded for a bag of salt!"
"I also think we should exchange it for salt. I haven't been consuming enough salt lately, and I'm getting less and less energetic."
"If I could get two pounds of rice in return for a bag of salt, that would be even better. It's been more than a week since I last had porridge. I've been eating wild vegetables every day, without any staple food, and I'm starving," sighed a woman in a red T-shirt who was vaguely attractive.
"If we're going to get rice, we should give it to Xin Xin. She's out getting things every day, which is very dangerous. You're stuck in the camp all day, what are you getting to eat?"
The woman in red retorted indignantly, "Bullshit! I was useful too, you know. Last time those men from the east came over, I served two of them well. One of them even said he wanted to take me with him, but I couldn't bear to leave you, so I didn't go with them."
Li Xinxin carefully placed the millipede on the ground and smiled, "Let's go to the county to find out the current exchange rates before making a decision."
The woman in red's eyes lit up, and she said with a smile, "Sure, I can go and find out the market. Maybe I can even close a few deals and bring back some goods."
A woman with an ugly appearance next to him said irritably, "What kind of business are you? With your looks, it's a waste of your time to go."
The woman in red glanced at the other woman and said smugly, "Well, it's not a bad deal. In this kind of life, that's the only thing that's really comfortable. You can only envy me."
Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback at first, then they all burst into laughter. The laughter echoed in the simple camp, carrying a hint of bitterness and helplessness.
Li Xinxin frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "Okay, Ya-jie will go to the county town to find out the situation. Ya-jie, you have to be very careful. In this world, some people are unreasonable. They will kill and set fires for a little bit of supplies."
The woman in red, also known as Sister Ya, slightly raised her chin and nodded.
A smug yet slightly world-weary expression appeared on her face: "Don't worry, do you think I don't know what men are thinking? When I was in the nightclubs, what kind of monsters and bastards didn't I see? I can tell what those people are thinking just by looking at them."
Li Xinxin breathed a sigh of relief, then forcefully threw the other package in her hand onto the ground.
The package was opened, and the mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and other things inside tumbled out.
These mushrooms and wood ear fungus came in all shapes and sizes; some were fresh and plump, while others bore traces of insect damage. But in the eyes of these women, they were undoubtedly treasures.
Upon seeing the mushrooms, the women's previously dull eyes instantly lit up, filled with surprise and delight.
Ya-jie exclaimed excitedly, "Wow! We can eat mushrooms again! That's great!"
The voice trembled slightly with excitement, as if these mushrooms were the most precious things in the world.
Li Xinxin couldn't help but swallow, her voice slightly hoarse as she whispered, "It seems like not many people have discovered the place I went to this time. When I left, there were quite a few things left around. I'll go there early tomorrow and search carefully; I'm sure I can find even more mushrooms."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on the mutated millipede still on the ground, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes: "If only we could encounter more mutated insects, then we could eat more meat and replenish our strength."
With the mushrooms and wood ear fungus that Li Xinxin brought back, the women in charge of cooking immediately got busy.
They carefully carried the mushrooms and wood ear fungus to the bucket next to them. The water in the bucket was a little murky, but that didn't affect its use.
The women carefully washed each mushroom and each piece of wood ear fungus, as if they were handling rare treasures.
After washing them, I mixed them with wild vegetables I had picked nearby, ready to cook them.
The large pot placed over the campfire had its bottom blackened by smoke, and its rim was uneven.
The flames beneath the pot licked at the bottom, crackling and popping.
There was no staple food, no oil, no seasonings, and the only salt was a small, hard lump that had long since solidified, like a cold stone.
Even so, the woman in charge of cooking picked up a stone with a slightly sharp edge and very carefully scraped off some white salt powder from the two-finger-thick block of salt, then gently put it into the pot.
The movement was so light that it seemed as if the salt block would disappear with the slightest force.
However, no one complained.
Every woman's eyes were fixed on the bubbling mushroom pieces in the pot, filled with longing.
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