Finally entering a safe environment, Bi Qiaoan felt completely relaxed.
She was covered in dirt and too embarrassed to go to her husband, so she sent Shen Yanming a note: "I'm coming in. I'll tidy myself up first, then I'll come find you."
Upon seeing this, Shen Yanming's lips curled into a slight smile, and his mood became subtle.
"Old Shen, why are you so happy today?"
Shen Yanming looked up at Tang Shunlin and said, "I just feel like my life has been pretty good lately."
Tang Shunlin nodded, surprised that things had gone so smoothly these past two days. They had not only found fresh water but also plenty of food. "We've been in the mountains for quite a while now. In a couple more days, we'll prepare to leave."
Shen Yanming had no objection to this, but said, "Let's prepare some ingredients before we leave. Once we're out of the mountains, we might not be able to find such a plentiful food again."
Ji Shaoming nodded in agreement: "Yes, there are not only wild vegetables and mushrooms here, but also wild rabbits and pheasants. There are also plenty of small fish and shrimp in the river, but they are not very big. It would be great if there were large wild animals like wolves or wild boars. We could catch one and it would be enough to eat for a long time."
Shen Yanming smiled and said, "There should be some in the mountains, but we just haven't encountered them yet. Maybe we're still on the outskirts after traveling for so many days. But it's better that we haven't encountered them. We have few weapons, and it would be quite troublesome to win if we encountered those groups of powerful beasts."
Shang Haoqiang didn't take it seriously: "It's alright, there are many of us, we can trap them to death."
Shen Yanming didn't argue with him, but said, "Things don't keep well in the summer. Starting tomorrow, let's try to dry the wild vegetables and mushrooms. We'll catch small fish and shrimp, and tie up any live rabbits and pheasants we can keep alive for as long as we can."
"Okay, from now on we'll eat and store as much as we can, and try to stock up on as much as possible."
"If only we had salt, we could pickle or smoke it and preserve it for a long time."
Shen Yanming smiled and said, "Eating fresh food like this is not bad. I'm just afraid that one day we won't even be able to find fresh food."
He didn't say anything more, leaning against the mountain wall, wondering when his wife would finish washing. He missed her terribly after not seeing her for so long.
After giving An'an a bath, Bi Qiaoan gave him a lot of food.
She pinched her son's cheek: "Eat your food, Mommy's going to wash up first."
An'an nodded: "Mom, you go ahead, I can eat by myself."
Bi Qiaoan wasn't entirely at ease, so she summoned her goose to keep her company.
The goose was happy, but also a little disappointed. Its owners were paying less and less attention to it; they would completely forget about it unless something happened.
Bi Qiaoan stroked its snow-white feathers and said to it, "I've been very busy lately and haven't had time to come in and keep you company. I was wrong. But things have changed outside. It's very dangerous, so I have to be careful too. You can't go out either, or someone will catch you and eat you. I won't be able to save you then."
Upon hearing this, the goose flinched. Then it shook its head frantically, indicating that it didn't want to become a giant goose in an iron pot.
Bi Qiaoan smiled and put some food in its bowl: "Take care of An'an for me. After you finish eating, let him tell you about the changes outside."
The little goose nodded, looking at An'an expectantly, wondering if he would agree.
An'an smiled and stroked its feathers, saying, "After we've eaten our fill, I'll tell you a story."
Seeing her son's happy expression, Bi Qiaoan went into the bathroom with peace of mind.
Her son was usually a bit of a chatterbox, but lately everyone had been living in a daze, and no one had been talking to him. Bi Qiaoan felt that her son was probably feeling restless and frustrated.
Having an audience is great, especially for kids who need to talk; it can improve their language skills.
Bi Qiaoan took off her dirty clothes and looked at herself in the mirror, somewhat speechless.
Although they are good-looking, their skin is dark and red, and a bit dry and cracked. I really don't know how they think they are good-looking?
But thinking about it, at least my skin didn't peel, unlike theirs, whose faces were covered in patches, which did look rather unsightly.
Moreover, the conflict occurred at night, so it's likely that the bearded man didn't even notice the differences in their faces. All he could see were their facial features.
Bi Qiaoan thought to herself with a touch of narcissism. She turned on the tap, letting the warm water flow over her body. Soon, streaks of gray liquid appeared on the floor, disappearing down the drain.
Bi Qiaoan curled her lip in disgust, thinking to herself that she really was dirty. Glancing at her dirty clothes, she sighed, grabbed the showerhead, filled it with water, and then squatted down to scrub them.
The clothes were dirtier than the person; the water turned black even without using laundry detergent.
Bi Qiaoan quickly changed the water, added laundry detergent, and rubbed the clothes for more than ten minutes before finally cleaning off the more obvious stains. However, some older stains still left faint marks.
She didn't mind; she felt that this level of cleanliness was enough. Too clean would seem strange.
She placed the basin and clothes on the sink and then began scrubbing off the black grime from her body.
She washed herself thoroughly before turning off the water, tidying up the bathroom, changing into a silk nightgown, and going out.
An'an was no longer in the living room. Bi Qiaoan looked around and found him asleep in the bedroom.
The goose, nestled by the bed, raised its head warily at the sound. Upon recognizing its owner, it lazily lay back down and went back to sleep.
Bi Qiaoan gently closed the door, not wanting to disturb them. She was a little hungry, but thinking that Shen Yanming might be waiting for her, she didn't eat anything and rode her electric scooter to the storage area.
Over there, Shen Yanming was already getting a little anxious.
He carried Nuannuan out of the cave and paced back and forth at the entrance, worried that something might have happened to his wife and that she had been given away again.
Fortunately, Bi Qiaoan appeared in time and calmed him down. Shen Yanming's palms were sweating, and he wiped them vigorously on his clothes to hide his embarrassment.
"Honey, are you asleep? I'm coming in!" Bi Qiaoan said softly.
"Not yet, I'm waiting for you." Shen Yanming made no attempt to hide his excitement; the corners of his mouth turned up, and his voice was filled with joy.
Bi Qiaoan nodded: "Okay, are you going to sleep now? I see it's getting late, sorry for taking so long to shower."
Shen Yanming didn't care at all: "Girls are all like this. I can wait. As long as you come, that's all that matters."
Whether it was a misperception or not, Bi Qiaoan felt that Shen Yanming seemed somewhat humble at this moment, as if he was afraid of disappearing.
So her voice became even sweeter, and she even complained to Shen Yanming in a coquettish tone: "An'an and I walked for several hours to get in, and it wasn't until we reached the bearded man's lair. The buildings here are half-collapsed, which provides cover and makes it easier to enter the space."
As soon as I came in, my baby An'an had already taken a bath, eaten, and gone to sleep. But I'm still hungry because I've been taking care of him.
Bi Qiaoan touched her arms and legs, then patted her chest: "I've lost weight!"
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