"Pfft—"
The dagger plunged into the deer's neck, and bright red liquid spurted out. The dark and innocent deer looked at Su He, its eyes slowly losing their luster.
Although it was his first time killing a deer, he suppressed his nausea and trembling, looked up at Xu Milu, as if hoping to receive a compliment.
"Well done. Your hands didn't shake when you killed such a big animal for the first time. That's really great."
Xu Milu took out a bowl, collected the deer blood into a plastic bag, sealed it several times, and then tied it into individual deer blood balls and placed them in an insulated box.
"Yes, I will do better."
Su He nodded and silently dragged the fawn to a big tree to wash it. He dug a hole and buried the severed head, and he didn't waste the tattered deer hide. After washing it, he hung it on the roof of the car to dry.
Xu Milu looked away and lowered her head to continue cooking the willow leaves in the pot. Dou Dou was not idle either. She sat on the ground and used her short fingers to pick out the dry wood and small stones from the wild vegetables one by one.
To help Suhe practice killing deer, she specially hunted a medium-sized deer today. The leftover venison from the previous two days was processed and will be made into dried venison for easy preservation.
Cut the venison into large, thin slices, marinate it simply with scallions, ginger, and salt, wash off the blood, and then air-dry it for two days until all the moisture is gone. Then steam it over high heat for half an hour to get strips of shrunken venison. Make a hole in the strips, string them together with a rope, and hang them on the handle of the RV. They will last for a long time.
Blanch the prepared wild vegetables to remove the grassy and bitter taste, add a little salt for seasoning, chop them into small pieces, squeeze out the excess water, add flour in a 1:2 ratio and knead. You can also add a little oil. Shape them into fist-sized vegetable balls and steam them until cooked. These are filling vegetable balls.
Xu Milu learned all of this from Cui Jianguo. On Earth, this dish has become a "bitter memory and sweet taste" dish, which is only loved by the older generation. However, it is mostly noodles with little vegetables, and various seasonings and minced meat are added, so it can only be eaten as a token of appreciation.
She made a slight change, mincing the fattier venison into a paste, trying to extract as much glue as possible, then mixing it with chopped wild vegetables and flour to make dumplings. This way, the steamed vegetable dumplings not only had more of the venison's umami flavor, but the wild vegetables also became less dry and unpalatable due to the presence of venison fat.
In comparison, the processing of willow leaves is much more complicated.
Willow leaves naturally have a bitter taste that cannot be removed by simply boiling them in water. The best willow leaves to eat are the tender leaves that grow at the top of the willow tree; older leaves become bitter and astringent, and taste like grass when chewed.
Fresh, tender willow branches are picked, the twigs are removed, leaving only the tender leaves. They are then boiled in a pot, then taken out and soaked in water. The water is changed several times to remove the bitterness.
They picked tender leaves, which haven't started to taste bitter yet, so they don't need to soak them for long. They can eat them after changing the water for the fourth time in the evening.
Soaked willow leaves are diced, mixed with sesame oil, chili, minced garlic, and aged vinegar, and then hot oil is poured over the willow leaves to release their aroma. They taste tender and fresh, somewhat like spinach, but with a unique fragrance.
"You see, as long as you put your heart into it, these things can be turned into delicious food. People are actually very strong. As long as they can eat their fill, they won't feel empty inside."
Xu Milu didn't ask how the two children's families were doing; in this situation, such a question seemed rather cruel.
Su He took a bite of a vegetable dumpling, nodded sullenly, and didn't say anything else.
"It's still light out. I'll see if I can pick up some useful things from the cars on the side of the road. I heard from Captain Fang that we have to hand over 30% of our supplies when we enter the A City shelter. It's always good to leave a little more behind."
Xu Milu nodded, glanced at the sky, and simply gestured for him to be careful and not stray too far from the RV.
...
...
"Wow!"
The child's shrill cries rang out, and Xu Milu dropped the dried venison in her hand and ran out of the car, only to see Su He slumped on the ground, holding a mechanical dog covered in metallic luster.
He appeared to be injured; his clothes on his right arm had been torn apart by something, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone.
Bitten?!
Xu Milu's pupils contracted, while Dou Dou on the side burst into tears in fright.
"...I found an electronic dog, so you don't have to stay up all night afraid of being attacked by zombies. But I didn't expect there was half a zombie in the spacecraft. But it didn't get away with it either. I smashed its brain. Aren't I pretty capable?"
Su He tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing an ugly smile that looked even worse than when she was crying.
He was just a seventeen-year-old boy, and the fear of death made his whole body tremble slightly. He said that Xu Milu and the others should go first, but his eyes revealed a desire to live.
"Waaaaah... DouDou doesn't want her brother to die, brother, don't die..."
Dou Dou was crying so hard she was hiccuping, but Su He was afraid of infecting her, so she pushed her away again and again.
Xu Milu remained silent, then returned to the RV and retrieved a thick hemp rope. The light in Su He's eyes dimmed; he closed his eyes, raised his head, and gestured for Xu Milu to strangle him.
"Take DouDou with you. I probably won't survive. People who get bitten will turn into those monsters, without exception. Rather than become like that, I beg you to kill me first. At least I can die while I'm still human."
"..."
The cold rope was put around her neck, but unexpectedly, Su He did not feel any suffocation.
When he opened his eyes, Xu Milu was binding him tightly, her expression extremely serious.
"I'm not a serial killer, I don't have a hobby of killing. When you've completely turned into a zombie, I'll kill you without you having to say a word."
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