Yunlong had never seen bamboo slips before, nor had he ever eaten bamboo slip meat. When Liu Anran first mentioned bamboo slips, his face was filled with curiosity.
Liu Anran took out a hoe and said to Yunlong with a smile, "Bamboo rats are also called bamboo raccoons or bamboo civets. They like to eat tree roots, especially bamboo roots and bamboo leaves. Wild bamboo rats are all lean meat, with tender meat, delicious taste, low fat, and rich nutrition. They are a rare delicacy."
"Mom, do bamboo shoots burrow into the roots of trees and eat the roots?" Yunlong asked.
Liu Anran pointed to the loose mud around the bamboo roots and said eloquently, "Look, the soil around here is quite hard, but the mud here is loose and there is fresh soil that has just been dug out of the ground."
As Liu Anran spoke, she picked up a twig from the ground and gently poked it in; the twig went in easily.
“Mom, there’s a hole under the roots of the bamboo leaves. The bamboo shoots eat the roots in that hole,” Yunlong said with delight.
Liu Anran laughed and said, "Whether there's a bamboo flute in the cave or not depends on our luck."
Liu An'an picked up a hoe and started digging. After a few strokes, he heard Zhu Liu's panicked cry. Liu An'an and Yunlong exchanged a smile, knowing they would have a feast tonight.
Liu Anran dug a few more times with his hoe, clearing away the mud, and saw a plump bamboo husk with grayish-brown fur huddled in the hole, looking at Liu Anran in fear.
Liu Anran was worried that Zhu Liu would run away and cause trouble to chase after it, so she quickly wrapped the green vine in her hand around Zhu Liu and tied it up in one go.
Yunlong watched as Zhuliu made a "whimpering" sound and exclaimed in surprise, "Mom, Zhuliu's cries sound like a child's voice."
Liu Anran picked up the bamboo flue and said with a smile, "This bamboo flue weighs about four pounds, enough for my son and me to have two good meals."
Looking at the smooth, shiny bamboo shoots, Yunlong said happily, "Mom, there's meat to eat in the mountains, so why don't people go up into the mountains?"
Liu Anran said, "There are mutated plants, mutated animals, and zombie animals in the mountains. If you encounter a group of zombie animals and can't find a place to take refuge, you can only wait to die."
“We have a space. Whenever we encounter danger, we can hide in the space. That’s why I dared to bring you four siblings into the mountains.”
Yunlong said with relief, "Mom, it's so good that we have our own space."
Liu Anran gazed into the distant distance and said wistfully, "Yunlong, we can't live in the mountains forever, isolated from the world. When you four siblings grow up a bit, I'll take you out of the mountains so you can appreciate the beautiful scenery and local customs of different places."
People can't live in the mountains forever; they have to go out and see the world, otherwise they'll become out of touch with the world and turn into country bumpkins.
Liu Anran carried the bamboo flute and pulled Yunlong into the space. As soon as Yunlong entered the space, he ran to the crib and saw that the triplets were all awake. He turned to Liu Anran and said, "Mom, my brother and sister are awake."
Liu Anran took out a rope and tied up Zhu Liu. Looking at Zhu Liu's big front teeth, she was worried that it would bite through the rope and run around, ruining the grains and vegetables she had planted. She knocked out Zhu Liu's big front teeth before she felt at ease to wash her hands and change the diapers and feed the triplets.
Yunlong asked, "Mom, are we having braised pork with bamboo shoots tonight?"
"I'm tired of eating meat every meal. Tonight we'll have pine mushrooms and preserved mustard greens stewed with bamboo shoots, and tomorrow morning we'll have braised bamboo shoots," Liu Anran said.
Yunlong sat down next to Liu Anran and leaned on her lap. "Mom, let's stay here a little longer and find some good food nearby so that when my younger brother and sister grow up, we won't have to worry about them being malnourished."
Liu Anran hugged Yunlong in her arms and said with a smile, "I'll listen to you. We'll stay here a little longer before continuing into the mountains."
Liu Anran simply didn't want to expose her private space, which is why she lived away from people. Staying here a few more days wouldn't matter to her.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. Liu Anran led Yunlong to find some thorny bamboo shoots near the mountain valley, dug up two bunches of wild yams, and cut a lot of green cypress firewood to dry on the mountain. Before leaving, they put the firewood into their spatial storage.
Chu Yunxiao kept himself locked in his room and refused to come out. Grandma Chu and Qin Yuhan called him several times from the doorway, but he ignored them, which worried them greatly.
"Mom, what should we do? Yunxiao has been staying in his room without making a sound. He doesn't respond when I call him. Could something have happened to him?" Qin Yuhan said anxiously.
“I understand Yunxiao’s personality. He can’t accept An Ran leaving with the child, so he probably won’t try to kill himself,” Grandma Chu said, frowning.
"Yunxiao can't stay in the room all the time; his body can't take it," Qin Yuhan said worriedly.
"Go and find Xiao Xu, maybe he can persuade Yunxiao," Grandma Chu said.
"I'm going to find Xiaoxu right now." Qin Yunhan said and hurriedly left the house.
Qin Ruixu was sitting in his office, engrossed in reading documents, when Wang Ping walked in and said to Qin Ruixu, who was working, "Boss, your sister is here."
Qin Ruixu put down the documents in his hand, looked up at Wang Ping, and said calmly, "Let her in."
Looking into Qin Ruixu's calm and unwavering eyes, Wang Ping saw that Qin Yuhan's arrival did not cause him any emotional fluctuations, as if nothing could touch his emotions.
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