"A rabbit?" Jiang Xi asked in surprise.
She said with a hint of pride, "I can catch rabbits."
Yan Zheng looked at her with some surprise.
Jiang Xi said, "When we were little, rabbits would always eat the vegetables in the garden. Later, Da Hu led us to catch rabbits as a group."
"However, wild rabbits have a fishy and gamey taste, and nobody likes to eat them. After catching them, they are thrown into the distant mountains and forests."
"Later on, each family built a fence around their vegetable garden, and rabbits became less common."
Following her words, Yan Zheng asked, "Do you need any tools?"
Jiang Xi tidied the hair behind her ears, thought for a moment, and said, "We need a basketball hoop... and radishes and sweet potatoes."
Speaking of radishes and sweet potatoes, Jiang Xi paused and couldn't help but feel that she was being a bit far-fetched. There weren't even potatoes in this place, and they were already struggling to make ends meet, so where would they get radishes and sweet potatoes?
Yan Zheng saw that she had fallen silent and said, "This place is different from our world, so it doesn't necessarily have to be rabbits. Whatever it is, as long as we observe more, we can always find their food."
If a certain species is common in a place, then there must be food that it likes there.
Jiang Xi nodded as she looked at the valley in front of her.
As dusk fell, they retreated back into the cave. The cave entrance, which was near the river, was about a meter above the ground. People could climb up, but it was inconvenient to fetch water for cooking.
That night, Yan Zheng chose a spot by the river and lit a fire. He asked Jiang Xi to watch the fire while he carried stones from the river into the cave.
Since there was not much food, Jiang Xi boiled the remaining duck eggs that night.
After a quick dinner, it was completely dark. They moved the stones to the entrance of the small cave.
Yan Zheng piled up stones at the cave entrance. The cave entrance near the river was some distance from the ground, so there was no need to worry at night. The cave entrance away from the valley was more dangerous because there was no cover.
That night they slept in a small chamber deep inside the cave.
Because there wasn't enough time, Jiang Xi could only use banana leaves to make a bed on the ground. Perhaps because she was too tired during the day, she didn't sleep well all night. When she woke up in the morning, her back ached and her legs felt weak.
She stared at the stalagmites and stalactites of different shapes on the cave ceiling, encouraging herself to persevere. At least now they had a cave to live in and didn't have to travel around anymore.
That's great, that's already fantastic.
After finishing the last duck eggs and figs yesterday, Yan Zheng had plenty of time today, so he took her down the river to the lake shore early in the morning.
He was in charge of fishing, while Jiang Xi searched for wild duck eggs in the reeds. She moved through the reeds like an egg thief, and every time she went to a reed bed, she would startle a flock of wild ducks into flight.
In the past, she could not have imagined that thousands of these wild creatures would gather before her eyes, free and unrestrained under the blue sky and clear water.
These are works of art that can't be found in the city, belonging only to nature.
Yan Zheng went to a shallow area on the shore. He dug a deep pit, filled it with water, and threw any fish caught in the lake into the pit to keep them fresh.
As the sun gradually rose and the temperature increased, Yan Zheng, carrying a fish in each hand, called for Jiang Xi to return to the cave.
The morning's harvest was plentiful. Jiang Xi had more than twenty duck eggs in her backpack, and Yan Zheng had caught two fish, one yellow one as long as his forearm, and the black fish he had eaten last time. He had already gutted both of them on the lake shore.
Today, as usual, they lit a fire by the river. Jiang Xi saw the rocks in the water and had a different idea.
She rummaged around for a while and pulled two slab-shaped rocks out of the water. She finally understood why these were called shale. They looked just like shale slabs, with smooth and flat surfaces, and were naturally formed slabs.
Jiang Xi washed one stone slab clean and placed it flat on the fire, using the other as a cutting board.
She used a dagger to slice the yellow fish into fillets. It was her first time doing this kind of work, and the tools weren't very good either, so the sliced fish looked more like fish chunks.
Yan Zheng, who was moving stones, couldn't bear to watch any longer and took the job with his dagger.
Once the water vapor on the stone slab had evaporated and you could feel the heat when you put your hand on it, Jiang Xi placed the fish slices on it to grill.
The fish meat sizzled and turned snow-white as soon as it touched the hot stone slab. Before it was fully cooked, Jiang Xi quickly picked it up and flipped it over.
Perhaps because of its high fat content, the fish didn't stick to the stone slab, so she quickly pinched a small pinch of salt and sprinkled a thin layer on top.
After eating boiled vegetables for so many days, Jiang Xi felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction as she watched the fish sizzle on the stone slab.
As the fish meat turned snow-white and both sides turned a light brownish-red, Jiang Xi picked up a piece, blew on it, and tasted it to check the saltiness.
Unlike the blackfish I had last time, this yellow fish had a significantly higher fat content. The skin was salty, fragrant, and slightly crispy, while the flesh inside was snow-white and tender. The slight oiliness and the aroma of the fish combined perfectly with the chewy texture, leaving a lingering fragrance in your mouth.
Jiang Xi felt the heat was just right, so she quickly placed the remaining fried fish pieces onto banana leaves and started frying the next batch. By the time Yan Zheng had finished slicing all the fish, Jiang Xi had already piled up a huge amount.
We added some water to the remaining fish bones and simmered them into fish soup. The food we'd been eating these past few days had been rather bland, so this fish was a rare treat – a fish about the length of our forearms was finished in one meal by the two of us.
Having found shelter in the cave, they felt a great weight lifted from their shoulders.
Yan Zheng suggested that after dinner they go to the valley behind the mountain to familiarize themselves with the terrain, and then walk downstream along the valley to see if there were any other resources, or if there were any dangerous animals nearby.
Jiang Xi naturally had no objections. They packed up their cooking utensils and backpacks and went through the cave entrance to the valley behind the mountain.
Because of the river running through the valley, the grass grew exceptionally lushly. However, there were very few trees, and even shrubs were scarce. Most of the vegetation consisted of the pink foxtail grass that Jiang Xi had seen before, along with some dandelions and wild vegetables. In addition, there were many unidentified wildflowers, many of which Jiang Xi had never seen before and could not name, including purple and pink ones.
The stream in the valley was about two meters wide. Perhaps due to the recent lack of rain, the water flow had decreased, and there were mud and sand marks left by the dried-up river on both sides. Jiang Xi tested the water temperature; it was lower than that of the lake at the foot of the mountain. The water was clear, and small fish swam by from time to time, but she didn't see any large fish.
First, they had to place a pile of firewood on the mountaintop to signal for help. The mountain was mostly rocky, so climbing it wasn't difficult, but there weren't many resources. After placing the firewood, the two of them went down the mountain.
They walked downstream for about a kilometer along the winding river until they reached the foot of another mountain, where the mountain was covered with trees and the river meandered behind it.
After several days of trekking, Jiang Xi had gained a general understanding of the environment. Often, the more lush the vegetation, the more resources they would encounter.
She was concerned about the sumac and suggested going up the mountain to take a look. The river in front of the cave entrance was very scarce in resources, and this mountain might bring them a different kind of surprise.
As usual, Yan Zheng led the way, with Jiang Xi following behind him. The two chose the easier path to climb up. After about forty minutes, Jiang Xi looked back and realized they were still not even halfway up the mountain.
After walking for another ten minutes or so, we saw a tree covered with green fruits.
At first glance, it looks like a green tangerine with wrinkled skin. After Yan Zheng peeled it, he found that the inside looked exactly like a tangerine. Jiang Xi took a segment and tasted it. It was sweet and sour and juicy, with a texture and flavor that were not much different from a tangerine, except that it was juicier.
Not far away, there was another tree that looked similar, except its fruit was green with a hint of orange-yellow. Jiang Xi thought that perhaps this one was ripe, so she picked the biggest one, broke it open, and tasted it with Yan Zheng. Unexpectedly, it was so sour that she frowned. Two trees that looked similar, yet the taste was so different.
Oranges keep well and are a good source of vitamins for them nowadays; they picked the sweet ones and filled half a backpack.
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