"Hey girl, this isn't easy to pick up. Can I borrow your sword?"
Jian Anping hugged the tree trunk and shouted down.
"Here, take this machete." Jian Ning lightly jumped up, handed him a machete, and then took the sword and started chopping down the chestnut balls. Before long, a thick layer of them covered the ground.
Jian Ning took out several large woven bags.
Xiao Lingfeng picked up all the chestnuts on the ground and put them inside.
Seeing that the black soil here was very fertile, Jian Ning took out an iron shovel and had Jian Anping and the other man dig up a lot of black soil, put it in bags, and put it into their space.
We can use this soil to grow vegetables later. They look exhausted.
Another person rewarded them with a Coke with ice. Then each of them carried a bag of chestnuts down the mountain.
After all, if you come up the mountain empty-handed and don't take anything back, someone might see you and become suspicious.
Sure enough, on the way down, we encountered a group of people, all young and strong, carrying sickles and axes, climbing up the mountain.
They even greeted us warmly.
"Brother, you're heading back already? You've had quite a haul!"
"It's alright, I just picked some chestnuts and wild vegetables to take back and eat. There's nothing I can do, we're out of food at home."
"Yes, these days are tough. Just hang in there, things will get better once the floodwaters recede."
The middle-aged man leading the group glanced at the green, spiky balls sticking out of the bags they were carrying.
Knowing he wasn't lying, he exchanged a few pleasantries and then made way for the three of them to descend the mountain.
Seeing that the bag Jian Ning was carrying was taller than her, he even used his hand to help lift it up.
Jian Ning smiled, turned around, and said thank you. She then pretended to be struggling as she walked down the mountain.
"Look, the people in the city aren't having an easy time either. Several groups of people have come here looking for things these past few days."
"Let's hurry up and see if those pigs we were watching yesterday are still there. We're well-prepared today; we're sure to catch them."
The middle-aged man seemed to gain energy whenever he mentioned those pigs. He really craved meat.
Floods have caused water and power outages. Everything in the refrigerator is inedible.
These days have been incredibly tough for them.
"Yes, let's hurry up. Just thinking about braised pork makes my mouth water." The young man next to him chimed in, and everyone cheered each other on as they climbed up the mountain.
When they reached the water's edge at the foot of the mountain, Jian Ning released the assault boat.
Xiao Lingfeng was still steering the boat, and Jian Anping took all the bags of chestnuts aboard.
"When we get home, I'll have my mother-in-law stew pheasant with chestnuts. It'll definitely taste good. Xiao Ning, let's not just sit there. Get that knife out and take all these chestnuts out."
“Here you go,” Jian Ning not only gave him a small knife, but also took out two pairs of work gloves.
He put on a pair himself and, imitating Jian Anping, began to peel away the spiky outer layer of the chestnuts.
The brown chestnuts inside are revealed. This process is quite stress-relieving.
Before they even got home, the two of them had already filled a large bag.
Because of today's particularly good harvest, we invited Aunt Wang and Tian Tian over for dinner. Aunt Li cooked four main dishes: pheasant stewed with chestnuts, braised snake meat, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and stir-fried cured pork with green peppers.
Uncle Li drank his wine and exclaimed, "You young people are really capable; you can even catch wild game."
I remember when I was young and lived in the countryside, there were mountains there too.
Back then, no one cared about hunting, and you could even hunt roe deer in the mountains after the autumn harvest.
Stewing potatoes with it is absolutely delicious.
"Let's go back tomorrow and see if there are any on the mountain, and we'll catch one to try."
"Dad, now that you mention it, I'm craving it too." Jian Anping took a big bite of the pheasant meat in his hand. It was stewed until fragrant and flavorful. It was quite satisfying.
"Sister Ning, if that rabbit has babies, can I keep one of them?"
Tian Tian, who was standing next to her, wasn't that interested in the food; her eyes were fixed on the pregnant wild rabbit that Jian Ning had brought out.
"Okay, I'll give you a pair of baby rabbits once they're old enough to leave the nest."
You need to plant some grass and carrots for it at home now, otherwise the little rabbit won't have anything to eat.
"I understand, sister. When I get home, I'll plant some food for the little rabbits with Grandma."
After finishing their meal, Jian Ning took out more than twenty bags of black soil and various grain and vegetable seeds and gave them to Xiao Lingfeng.
"Thank you. Without you, it would have been a lot of trouble for me to get all this stuff together." Xiao Lingfeng meant it sincerely. With so much stuff, not to mention finding it, just carrying it up to the 16th floor would have been a huge hassle.
Jian Ning is like a cat with a magic pocket. She can pull out anything you put in it; it's kind of cute, and I couldn't resist reaching out and patting her head.
Jian Ning was stunned for a moment. Was this a head pat? Right? Right! Hehe, what a blissful feeling.
Suddenly filled with energy, he insisted on helping Xiao Lingfeng carry all the bags of black soil into the house.
There was nothing we could do to stop it.
For the next two days, the three of them were busy from morning till night.
Every morning, we go up the mountain to cut firewood and hunt wild game, and on our way back in the afternoon, we go underwater to collect supplies.
Not only food, Jian Ning also brought out a lot of warm clothes and blankets.
That night, I secretly threw them all onto the roof of the China World Trade Center.
Hopefully, this will help those at the relief center get through the initial cold snap.
After all, most people can't stand a sudden drop in temperature without any precautions or warm clothes.
To help them find the supplies, Jian Ning even hung a large red banner from the rooftop.
I was discovered as soon as I woke up this morning.
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