"Brother Xiao, you flatter me. That spicy crayfish was something I bought and stored in advance. I don't have such good cooking skills myself."
Brother Xiao, you've lived here for so many years, you must be very familiar with this place. I'd like to leave today, do you have any good suggestions?
Jian Ning thought that even if Xiao Wuyu could provide her with some direction, it would be better than wandering around like a headless fly.
“Girl, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but all these years, I’ve been disabled and have never left this village. As I said yesterday, the only possible exit is the swamp at the bottom of the cliff.”
Or you could go to the village and ask around. There are some hunters there; see if they can give you any good advice.
After Xiao Wuyu finished speaking, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat the beef noodles that Jian Ning had brought over, which was completely inconsistent with his previous demeanor as a wise and enlightened person.
Upon hearing this, Jian Ning realized there was indeed no other way. She had no choice but to finish her breakfast with them, take some candy out of her spatial storage and put it in her pocket, then leave the treehouse and hurry towards the village.
These are all paths, worn out by people's feet over the years.
There were people fetching water from the river with earthenware pots, and Jian Ning walked straight over.
"Auntie, can I ask you something?"
"Who are you? Where are you from?" The old woman fetching water looked up, her face full of surprise.
Since she was born and could remember, no outsiders had ever come to this village.
The woman's clothes and appearance were strange. Could she be some kind of mountain spirit that had transformed into human form? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but take a step back and almost fell into the river.
Thankfully, Jian Ning reacted quickly and pulled her back.
Feeling the warmth emanating from her body and knowing that she was indeed a person, the old woman finally felt relieved.
"Young lady, which household do you want to inquire about? I know this place well, so just tell me." A gentle smile graced his wrinkled face.
"I'd like to ask which family in the village is the best hunter, and who is the most skilled hunter." As soon as Jian Ning finished speaking, the old woman laughed.
"Girl, you've come to the right person. If we're talking about who's the best hunter in our village, it's definitely my second son. He can kill a big tiger with one punch. He never comes back empty-handed from the mountains."
Come on, follow me to my house and you'll see. We have lots of these wild animal pelts.
My son hunted these in the mountains, but unfortunately, we live far from any human settlement, so even if we wanted to sell them, no one would buy them.
Every household was poor, relying on the weather for their livelihood. It's only because my son is capable that our family never lacks food." The old woman's face was full of pride as she spoke.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Auntie." Jian Ning helped carry the bucket and followed her home.
Along the way, they encountered many villagers who greeted the old lady warmly while staring at Jian Ning with curiosity.
"Young lady, you're an outsider to our village. How did you get here?" The old woman was quite curious about this question.
"I fell from the mountain outside and was brought here by that giant ape." As soon as Jian Ning said this, the old woman understood.
"You're really lucky. Mr. Xiao's big white dog is incredibly capable; it can climb mountains with its bare hands. If it hadn't saved you, you would have fallen off a cliff and been in serious trouble."
The area is said to be all swamps, teeming with wild beasts. They can devour a person, leaving not even bones. Years ago, some people wanted to leave this village.
They defied the odds and tried to climb the mountain to escape, but they all fell. If you ask me, if you don't have the ability, just stay in the village and live a quiet life. Why risk your life like that? What's wrong with you?
As the old woman spoke, she pushed open the door to a room.
"Come in, this is my home."
Jian Ning followed her inside and saw that the room was very simply furnished. The single bed was made of bamboo, and the quilt on it was made of animal fur. There was no cotton fabric at all.
Their way of life was very primitive. They even had large earthenware jars for water. Jian Ning helped pour the water into the jar. The old woman kept thanking her.
He pulled Jian Ning to sit down on a stool made of wooden stumps and gave her some of the pumpkin seeds he had roasted.
I must say, it smells pretty good. Everything here is organic, and it tastes much better than the food before the apocalypse.
"Auntie, how many people are in your family?" Jian Ning couldn't just sit there idly, so she asked, trying to make conversation.
"My husband passed away early from malaria. He couldn't be saved. My eldest son is married and lives in the courtyard next door. He has two grandsons."
The second son still hasn't found a wife. Girl, you don't know, everyone in our village is related to us, and there are far more boys than girls. It's so hard for him to find a wife.
"Young lady, are you married yet?"
The old woman's tone clearly carried a probing undertone.
She took a liking to Jian Ning the moment she saw her. The girl was about the same age as her second son and was prettier than all the girls in the village. It would be wonderful if she could keep her as her daughter-in-law.
"I'm married and have a daughter," Jian Ning blurted out, not feeling guilty at all despite the old woman's disbelieving gaze.
"I misjudged you. Looking at you, young lady, you are clearly still a virgin and unmarried." The old woman muttered to herself, then opened the door and looked into the distance without saying anything more.
“The second son didn’t go up the mountain today; he went to Liu Si’s house to help build a wall. Miss, please sit down first, I’ll go and call him back.”
"Okay, thank you for your trouble, ma'am." Jian Ning remained seated. There was nothing in the room; you could see right through it. The old woman wasn't worried about anything being stolen.
She was single-mindedly focused on getting her second son back as soon as possible; she didn't believe a word Jian Ning had said. Besides, even if she were married and had children, so what?
Anyway, once she got here, she couldn't get out. Sooner or later, she would have to find a man to rely on. Her son was a well-known hunter in the village.
He's talented and good-looking; she couldn't find a man like him even with a lantern. If her son agreed to marry her, it would be a blessing for her.
He ran to Liu Si's house and shouted from afar, "Wu Er, hurry home. I need to talk to you."
"Mom, what's wrong? I haven't finished my work yet." Wu Er heard her call, put down the mud bricks in his hand, and looked up to ask.
"That's good news, hurry up, it's not too late to come back and work later." The old woman didn't care that his hands were covered in mud, she grabbed Wu Er's arm and started walking back.
"What's going on? Did your sister-in-law have another argument with you?" Wu Er was tall and strong, and he was being pulled along by his mother, very obediently.
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