Chapter 15 Treasure Hunt in the Forest Encounters a Fierce Fight
Qin Suisui was stunned; the water in the spatial pool was indeed useful!
She quickly picked up the seafood from the shallow water, throwing some into the bucket and some into the spatial pool. After observing for a while and confirming that the seafood in the spatial pool was still alive and could be retrieved with her mind, Qin Suisui threw most of her catch into the spatial pool, only filling her bucket halfway.
There were still some in the shallows. Qin Suisui called over Sister Tang and the others: "Sisters, come here quickly, there are so many here!" The ocean belongs to everyone, and Qin Suisui did not intend to monopolize it. Moreover, if she wanted to live well here, she also wanted to get along well with her sisters.
Upon hearing this, Sister Tang remembered Qin Suisui's "achievements" yesterday and hurriedly called everyone over. When they saw the seafood in the shallows, everyone was surprised, but they worked quickly and swept everything in the shallows clean. Almost everyone filled their buckets, and even the children's buckets were half full.
Fearing they would attract too much attention, the women skillfully added some seaweed and kelp to the top, and then made their escape while no one was looking at them.
On the way home to their respective courtyards, everyone was very happy. Sister Wu looked at Qin Suisui and couldn't hide her joy: "Suisui is really lucky. I've been to Qiongtan Island for so many years and gone to the sea so many times, but I've never had such a harvest as today!"
Sister-in-law Tu chimed in with a laugh, "Don't even mention you, I've never felt this good before, even though I grew up by the sea. There's just so much good stuff! We really have to thank Sui Sui!"
"Since you're thanking Sui Sui, you should always remember her if there are any good things in the future. Let me tell you, I treat this little girl like my own sister. You all have to help her if she needs anything in the future!" Aunt Tang hugged Qin Sui Sui and smiled affectionately.
Sister Liu patted her on the shoulder: "Look at what you're saying! We're the only few in the family compound who get along well. You treat her like a younger sister, how could we possibly mistreat her?"
Qin Suisui smiled sweetly: "Then I'll thank you in advance, sisters-in-law! I hope you'll all take good care of me in the future!"
Amidst laughter and chatter, the group went their separate ways home.
Qin Suisui helped Zanzan wash up, changed out of their wet clothes, and quickly rubbed them before heading to the cafeteria for breakfast. Aunt Tang brought over two bowls of wontons with chili oil: "Suisui, Zanzan, come and eat your breakfast! Bring me your clothes so we can wash them together!"
Qin Suisui happily accepted the red oil wontons and waved to Sister Tang, "No need, Sister Tang, I've already washed the clothes. I can't trouble you with everything!"
Sister-in-law Tang scolded, "What are you saying? I'm taking the medicine you gave me right now. Although I don't understand traditional Chinese medicine, I know that those are all good medicinal materials, and they're expensive! Besides, your Ayan gave me money, so it's only right that I do these things. By the way, how do you want to eat all this seafood? There's too much to eat, so I'll go and get some seawater to keep it alive."
Qin Suisui thought for a moment and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm fine with anything. You decide. Everything you make is delicious, and I love it!"
Sister-in-law Tang smiled and nodded: "Okay! Then I'll make a seafood stew, stir-fried squid, and shrimp and crab congee for lunch."
After finishing her spicy wontons, Qin Suisui started circling the open space in the yard.
Pei Jiuyan's assigned courtyard was quite spacious, but there was only one mango tree on the left side; the rest was empty. Qin Suisui planned to cultivate the land on the right side to grow some vegetables and other things, making it convenient for them to eat regularly.
When Sister Tang brought back seawater, she saw Sui Sui wandering around with a hoe and immediately understood what she wanted to do. She called out to Battalion Commander Guo: "Old Guo, come and help Sui Sui hoe the land!"
Battalion Commander Guo happened to be on leave today, and upon hearing this, he rushed over and quickly hoeed the small plot of land in the Qin family's courtyard, even turning it over twice. Qin Suisui didn't stand on ceremony with him; if the two families wanted to continue their relationship, they would inevitably have to trouble each other.
After Battalion Commander Guo left, Qin Suisui took out the seeds she had brought from the storeroom at home. She didn't recognize the other miscellaneous seeds, but she recognized cucumber seeds, tomato seeds, and a kind of melon seed that was unique to Jiangcheng. The melon was very juicy and extremely crisp, and tasted very refreshing and thirst-quenching. When it was grown, it would be perfect for Pei Jiuyan and the others to take on the ship to eat.
Qin Suisui didn't know how to grow vegetables, but she had grown flowers before. She learned how to grow flowers, scattering a little of each kind of seed in the soil and burying them with a small shovel. After thinking for a moment, she drew water from the stream in her space and watered the seeds.
Having successfully completed her mission, Qin Suisui put away the bucket and prepared to go back to her room to rest. But the next second, many green sprouts suddenly emerged from the dark red soil where she had just sown the seeds. Then, as if a special effect had been activated, the small green sprouts grew taller and thicker, until they reached her calves before stopping.
Qin Suisui stared blankly at the seedlings, then looked at the remaining stream water in the bucket. So the stream water had this effect? No wonder she hadn't noticed any other benefits after drinking it for so many days, besides finding it taste good; it could actually promote plant growth!
What should she do now? How should she explain this to Sister-in-law Tang?
Just then, Aunt Tang called out to her from across the wall, "Sui Sui! Come have lunch with me today? I have lots of food, so I don't have to carry it back and forth!"
Qin Suisui nodded hurriedly: "Okay, sister-in-law, I'll be right there!"
Thank goodness, we've escaped disaster for now!
After lunch, Aunt Tang and Battalion Commander Guo had to go to town, while Zan Zan had already gone to the nursery with his friends that morning. In those days, there were already nurseries in military family compounds. In their military region, the nursery was located next to the kindergarten and primary school, and it could accept children as young as one and a half to two years old.
Because of special circumstances, Zan Zan spent almost all his days at the nursery while Pei Jiuyan and the other two were on missions. He would be picked up by Aunt Tang at night. When he got a little older, he would be able to go back with the other children in the family compound at night. Because Qin Suisui had learned about this situation from Pei Jiuyan in advance, she let him go with Xiao Li from Aunt Liu's family and Xiao Hua from Aunt Wu's family.
Qin Suisui returned home alone, looking at the seafood kept in the bucket, and thought about going to see Su Yunyi to inquire about the "benefactor." She felt like a knife was hanging over her head until she understood the situation.
Without hesitation, Qin Suisui took advantage of the lunch break and caught three blue crabs, a dozen mantis shrimps, five sea urchins, a handful of clams, and a few fish. She packed them into a small bucket, along with some pastries sent by her parents. She then rode the women's bicycle that Pei Jiuyan had bought for her in the yard and headed towards Guangmingding Brigade.
The family compound is only a ten-minute bike ride from the Guangming brigade, with a path through a tall, dense forest.
Fortunately, it was daytime, so Qin Suisui wasn't afraid and happily rode her bicycle through the woods.
Since awakening, she felt she had been constantly busy, and it was rare to have such a leisurely time. She looked around. Qiongtan Island had a hot climate and was rich in species. There were all kinds of trees in the forest. Qin Suisui saw many tall coconut trees and mango trees just like the ones in her yard.
She thought of the empty black soil in the space, and her mind started working. If she transplanted some of these fruit trees into the space, they should be able to survive, right? Then she would have an endless supply of fruit! And wouldn't the fruit produced in the space taste even better?
Without hesitation, Qin Suisui stopped her bicycle and furtively surveyed her surroundings. It was lunchtime, and most of the people in the group were taking a nap. Besides, it was very hot outside, and there was hardly anyone around. After confirming that no one was watching, she stored her bicycle in her spatial storage and tiptoed into the woods.
The forest was dense, sunlight filtered through the high canopy, leaving only shards of gold on the ground. Qin Suisui walked straight to the coconut tree she had her eye on, gently placing her hand on its straight trunk. A thought flashed through her mind—she intended to store the tree in the black soil of her spatial dimension. The next second, her hand was empty; the tall coconut tree had vanished. Qin Suisui used her consciousness to examine the space, and sure enough, at the edge of the black soil, stood a tall, straight coconut tree! It was the very same one!
The experiment was a success! Qin Suisui was overjoyed. She casually moved the coconut tree next to her into her space, and then stepped into a deeper part of the forest.
Here, Qin Suisui witnessed for the first time the richness of species on Qiongtan Island described in books. There were probably dozens of species of flowers, grasses and trees in this forest alone. She transplanted all the mango trees, banana trees and lychee trees she saw into her space, and even found a dragon blood tree in the corner!
Although Qin Suisui didn't inherit her grandmother's formal medical skills, she had learned about many Chinese medicinal herbs over the years by her side. She knew that the dragon blood tree was a very precious natural medicinal material; its resin, known as "dragon blood," had the effects of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and astringing and stopping bleeding. It could be used to treat injuries from falls, bruises, swelling and pain, and external bleeding. Moreover, the resin of the dragon blood tree also had certain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, and could also be effective in treating some inflammatory diseases.
This medicinal herb is unique to Qiongtan Island and is extremely rare elsewhere. Even in their family's cellar, there are not many. Qin Suisui was overjoyed and, with a flick of her hands, transplanted the dragon blood tree into her space.
After discovering the Dragon Blood Tree, Qin Suisui felt as if she had opened a treasure box. She successively discovered precious Chinese medicinal herbs unique to Qiongtan Island, such as Chicken Dung Vine, Snail Grass, and Naked Flower Purple Beauty. Qin Suisui transplanted them all into the black soil of her space.
Even more surprisingly, deeper inside, Qin Suisui also saw a growing agarwood tree!
She felt like a little mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, full of surprises. She rubbed her hands together happily and carefully stepped over some messy vines, heading towards the sandalwood tree.
"Hey! You little brat, what are you holding in your hand? Let us see!" The voice that suddenly came from ahead startled Qin Suisui!
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw three shabby-looking thugs blocking a thin child who looked to be only ten years old under a large palm tree not far from the sandalwood.
The leader, a thug with dark skin, had a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his lips. His faded military green trousers were rolled up to his knees, revealing his thin, bony calves. Behind him stood two men: one with a gap in his teeth, grinning fiercely at the child with a missing front tooth, and the other with a scarred face, picking at the scab on his cheekbone with his fingernails while fiddling with a chipped razor blade in his other hand.
The child who was blocked by them had bruises all over his face, and his face was full of fear and despair.
Qin Suisui frowned. She often saw this scene when she was in school. Wasn't this a beating?! Three adults beating a child?
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