Chapter 24: Going into the mountains and saving a litter of wolf cubs

Out of gratitude, Li Jie silently carried two buckets of water for Xia Juanjuan, and then went back with two bags of milk powder.

While no one was around, Xia Juanjuan took out two large iron pots from the space and placed them on the front and back pots on the stove. She also took out some pork belly, rock sugar, light soy sauce and other seasonings to prepare lunch.

Just then, Xiaowen, Xiaowu and Beibei, three siblings, came back from collecting firewood outside.

Seeing that the three kids' baskets were filled with dry branches and grass, Xia Juanjuan smiled and praised them, "Well, you are quite capable. We can use these firewood to make lunch."

The three kids were very excited when they heard that the fruits of their labor could be put to use immediately.

"Brother, Beibei is here to help mommy! Beibei is an adult now!" Li Beibei said proudly while holding Xiaowen's hand.

"Xiao Wu also helps mom! Xiao Wu picked up a lot of firewood!" Li Wu said not to be outdone.

Xiaowen's face was red, and she was obviously very happy because of being praised by Xia Juanjuan.

He suddenly ran to the stove, picked up the dry grass and lit it with a match, and said embarrassedly: "I...I'll light the fire!"

Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but smile with relief.

This kid is quite sensible. He even knows how to light a fire and help with housework.

"Okay. Just don't hurt yourself."

Lighting a fire is not a difficult task. Although she adopted them, she did not intend to be a "full-time nanny" for these three little kids. She would take care of all the housework herself and not let them do anything. She would definitely call them when necessary.

Xia Juanjuan had already taken out a pound of pork belly from last night and cut it into large cubes of two centimeters square.

Pour a ladle of water into the pot and bring it to a boil. Put the pork belly in and cook for about two minutes, then take it out and drain the water before putting it back into the pot. Stir-fry out the fat, then sprinkle some rock sugar in and stir-fry until it turns into honey color. Pour in the pork belly. After the meat is coated with sugar color, pour in cooking wine and light soy sauce, stir-fry briefly, add water, and sprinkle in salt to season.

Next, simmer it slowly over low heat.

While Li Wen was lighting the fire, he was dazzled by the sight of Xia Juanjuan cooking so skillfully, and his admiration for her reached its peak!

If he can also cook, he can help more in the future and it won’t be like eating for free!

After a while, the braised pork was ready.

Xia Juanjuan also fried some pickled cabbage, and served it with big white steamed buns and rice porridge to make a meal.

The small square of meat is shiny and honey-colored, and the fat part is not greasy and melts in your mouth.

The three little ones had never eaten such delicious food before. They wolfed down several pieces of the food, and their little stomachs were bulging.

Xia Juanjuan also ate several pieces.

Since she came through, she dared not use anything in the space in order to hide her tracks. This braised pork was a delicacy she had not tasted for a long time.

While eating, she was planning to go into the mountains.

At the black market, she promised the customer that she would bring him some mountain products next time. Although there were mushrooms, fungus, ginseng and other things in her space, they were not considered wild in the strict sense.

When you first start doing business with someone, for the sake of honesty, you should first pick some wild ones, and then tell him later that you want to sell them the grown ones.

Moreover, the firewood used for burning at home, just the firewood collected by these three kids, is only enough to cook one meal.

Winter is coming soon, so we should prepare more firewood.

In addition, she also plans to build a fence around the yard as soon as possible, which also requires branches, wooden stakes and the like.

She had a lot of economic forests in her space, so she had plenty of them. She took them out when she went into the mountains, saying that she got them from the mountains.

After lunch, Xia Juanjuan went into the mountains carrying a backpack.

Behind Qingshui Village are mountains that are shrouded in mist all day long. Although villagers often go to the mountains to collect mountain products and catch wild rabbits, they dare not go deeper into the mountains.

Because I heard that there are wolves in the mountains, and some people went there and never returned, leaving no trace!

Xia Juanjuan originally planned to look for it outside, but the trees were all bare and had been picked, so she had no choice but to go deep into the mountains.

She has space, and if she encounters danger, she can hide in the space immediately, so there is no need to be afraid.

The conditions in the mountains were much better. Xia Juanjuan soon collected a small basket of mushrooms, wood ears, wolfberries, ferns, and wild vegetables, and also picked a lot of matsutake mushrooms!

As she walked, suddenly, she heard a sound like a puppy whimpering.

Xia Juanjuan walked over to the source of the sound, pulled aside the grass, and saw a cute little snow-white dog struggling helplessly.

Xia Juanjuan quickly realized that there was no way it could be a dog in such a desolate mountain area; it must be a wolf.

The wolf cub's calf was caught in the trap. Because he struggled so hard, the wire had penetrated deeply into his flesh and blood was flowing continuously.

When it saw Xia Juanjuan, it was terrified, yet fiercely howling at her threateningly.

Xia Juanjuan had no resistance to these furry animals. She carefully reached out her hand and said softly, "Don't be afraid, little guy. I won't hurt you. I'm here to save you."

Perhaps it was the animal's instinct that enabled the boy to sense that Xia Juanjuan had no ill intentions, so he did not attack her.

She carefully removed the tangled wire from the boy's legs, and frowned as she looked at the bloody hind legs.

The little guy continued to sob, but did not run away. Instead, he snuggled up to Xia Juanjuan's feet.

Xia Juanjuan quickly took out gauze, iodine for disinfection, hemostatic spray and other medicines from the space.

I got some spiritual spring water and cleaned the wound first, then went back to get some iodine.

When she turned around again, her eyes widened in surprise!

The wound that was bleeding just now is no longer bleeding, and the wound has even healed a lot better than before!

Xia Juanjuan was stunned.

Could it be that... her spiritual spring water... has healing properties?

With this guess, she immediately took out some water from the space again and poured it on the wound.

This time, she watched intently, but unfortunately, the wound did not heal as she expected.

Xia Juanjuan couldn't help laughing at her own stupidity. Although she had space, the spiritual spring had healing properties? She must be crazy to have such an illusion.

She sighed and bandaged the wolf cub's wound.

The little wolf cub stood up tremblingly, and then tried hard to bite Xia Juanjuan's trouser legs with his teeth and pull them forward.

Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, then she moved forward in the direction the little wolf was pulling, pushing aside another bush of dense grass.

I saw that under the bushes was a huge trap that was one meter deep, and three other wolf cubs were lying dying in the trap!

Xia Juanjuan immediately rescued the three little wolf cubs. Seeing that they were dying, they must be hungry, so she immediately took out three big chickens from the storage and placed them in front of the little wolf cubs.

In this era, people are hungry, and animals are not much better. It would be pitiful if such a small wolf cub was starved to death. There are no humans here, and she is not afraid of being discovered. Anyway, there are a lot of supplies, so she will save them if she can.

The little wolf cubs first looked up at her warily, then lowered their heads and began to devour the food.

Suddenly, Xia Juanjuan felt the air around her suddenly become deadly, and a low roar came from behind her.

Xia Juanjuan's hair stood on end and she turned back nervously, ready to hide in the space at any time!

When she turned around, she saw a huge snow wolf, more than one meter tall, glaring at her with its teeth bared!

However, after seeing that its cubs were not harmed and were rescued and fed by Xia Juanjuan, the big snow wolf quickly restrained its murderous aura and leaned over to lick the cubs' fur gently.

Xia Juanjuan swallowed and knew that she shouldn't hide anymore.

After the wolf cubs had eaten their fill and were lying on the ground playing happily, the big snow wolf looked back at her, as if signaling her to follow, and walked forward.

The four little wolf cubs immediately spread out their short legs and followed their mother.

Xia Juanjuan's heart was pounding, but she followed the big snow wolf into the depths of the mountains.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the big snow wolf stopped and signaled Xia Juanjuan with its head.

Xia Juanjuan followed its gesture and looked forward, and only then did she see a five-leaf ginseng in the dense bushes!

The ginseng has lush branches and leaves and bears bright red fruits. I'm afraid it has been alive for hundreds of years!

Xia Juanjuan looked at the big snow wolf in astonishment, and then she realized that this was a thank-you gift from the big snow wolf to her, thanking her for saving its children!

Xia Juanjuan's heart beat faster. It was just a piece of cake for her.

But this wild five-leaf ginseng is hard to come by!