Chapter 140
The Gobi Bear couldn't come for the time being, so Chu Huaiqin climbed onto Xia En's back obediently. The live broadcast room was filled with laughter, and the screen was filled with layers of complaints.
"Hey, you don't want to wait anymore?"
"Hahaha, Xia En is the worst off, right? He's in line behind Big Bear. Isn't it because Big Bear hasn't shown up that he's on his back?"
"Hahaha, it's true. A moment of silence for Xia En."
"Hey, I remember Zhu Bajie carrying his wife. Am I the only one carrying her?"
"You're kidding, I'm Chu, attack, general attack."
"I won't attack my brother who's lying on Xia En's back right now, hahaha."
The livestream was full of cheer, but Chu Huaiqin felt a bit guilty towards Xia Entang. He was no lightweight, standing just 1.8 meters tall. Even if he was skinny, his frame was so strong that it didn't take long for Xia Entang to start sweating. The young monk, carrying the three people's luggage, followed anxiously, unable to help.
Before setting off, they had agreed to meet up with Lin Zhinan and the others at the next meeting point. This place was not close to that meeting point, and it would take at least four or five days to walk there. Now that Chu Huaiqin was injured, these four or five days would have to be doubled.
The rest of the group had already vanished from sight, and Chu Huaiqin and his two companions were already lagging behind. But aside from the young monk, none of them were in a hurry. Even after the rain, even with the sun, the temperature in the desert was still barely bearable for the first two hours. By the time they reached the middle of the line, the sun was scorching, making it even more torturous for the two people huddled together. Chu Huaiqin had tried several times to get down and walk; he hadn't broken a bone, and could still manage by walking slowly. But Xia Entang refused to listen, stubborn as a donkey.
Either he carries it or neither of us goes.
Chu Huaiqin had no choice but to let him carry him on his back.
The three of them walked and stopped until they reached the next food stop. It was already 3:00 PM, while the others had arrived around noon, making them a full three hours late. And judging by the situation at the scene, they had already rested and were setting off again.
The young monk put his things down and said to Xia En, who was panting like a dead dog, "I, I'm going hunting. You stay here, Brother Bei."
After saying this, he took the knife and set off.
Live broadcast room:
"Suddenly, I feel the little monk's charm has skyrocketed."
"I became mature all of a sudden."
Chu Huaiqin also deeply understood what was being said in the livestream. Seeing Xia Entang, who was lying on his backpack, unable to move, Chu Huaiqin hopped behind him and began to massage his bones. As soon as his hand touched Xia Entang's shoulder, he was startled.
"What's wrong?" Xia En asked with tired eyes.
"Let me massage your bones. Just close your eyes and rest!" Chu Huaiqin was very good at massaging bones. When his mother was bedridden, he often loosened her bones. He was very experienced in this.
"Hmm." It was indeed very comfortable, and Xia En couldn't help but make a sound of comfort. However, his face soon flushed, and he asked embarrassedly, "Do you pinch me often?"
Xia En was a little nervous. He knew that Chu Huaiqin had massaged his mother's bones, but after so many years, he was still so familiar with it. Had he ever massaged bones for other people?
For a moment, I felt sour in my heart.
Chu Huaiqin: "What do you mean?"
Xia Entropy: "The technique remains the same, right?"
Chu Huaiqin smiled. From the domestic competition to the time when Chu Huaiqin found the photo at Xia Entang's house, Xia Entang had never mentioned to him that they knew each other. Now that he asked this question, didn't he feel that it was wrong?
However, seeing that Xia En was so concerned about this issue, Chu Huaiqin still said, "No, besides massaging my mother, I've also massaged a little handsome boy."
Xia En's shoulders stiffened. "Little pretty boy?" Who was that? Hadn't he only ever massaged his mother and him?
Countless speculations were running through Xia En's mind, and his thoughts were a little confused for a moment.
"Brother, brother, there are watermelons, watermelons, haha." The little monk, who had just been out for less than twenty minutes, rushed back happily with three watermelons as big as two fists in front of him. Chu Huaiqin heard his voice from a distance.
"Watermelon, are there watermelons in the deep Gobi Desert?"
The livestreamer and Xia Entropy simultaneously raised questions. Chu Huaiqin looked thoughtfully at the returning monk, not until he was almost in front of him did he see clearly what he was holding.
It does look like a watermelon, with irregular blue and white lines and a round shape.
The live broadcast room praised:
"The little monk has really grown up. He's amazing! He even found a watermelon."
"The previous teams weren't so lucky. They were only focused on catching chickens to eat. If the little monk hadn't taken the wrong path, they definitely wouldn't have encountered them."
"Good luck! The weather is so hot, eating watermelon will cool you down."
"Do you really think this is edible?"
Others in the live broadcast room: “…”
"Brother, brother, quickly bring out the pot, we will use the lid to cut it." The little monk smiled so hard that his teeth were showing. This was his highlight moment.
"Little monk, you can't eat this." Chu Huaiqin took it from the little monk and was about to throw it away when the little monk hugged him.
Confused, he asked, "Why can't I eat it? This is a watermelon, brother, this is a watermelon."
"This is not a watermelon. No, it is a watermelon, but it is called bitter watermelon. It is a medicinal melon and can be used to make medicine. It cannot be eaten because it is poisonous." Chu Huaiqin was helpless.
"How is that possible?" The little monk was in complete disbelief.
"It's white inside, unlike a watermelon. I won't cut it up for you, and I'll have to waste water washing the knife," Chu Huaiqin said. The crew also provided them with water bottles, three bottles for each of them. It was incredibly valuable.
"Okay!" The little monk was a little depressed. "I'll look for it again."
After saying that, the man ran away again.
Xia Entang stood up and took his hiking pole. "I'll go take a look."
"Take the knife." Chu Huaiqin handed over the knife.
"Leave it for your own protection," Xia En refused. "I'll get you a tent."
"Go quickly, my foot hurts, not my hand." Chu Huaiqin drove him away.
"Then call me if you need anything." Xia En was really worried about leaving the injured Chu Huaiqin here alone. Even if he wasn't injured before, they would at least work in a team of two.
Thinking of this, Xia Entang's anger towards Arnold increased tenfold. He was thinking about how to make Chu Huaiqin pay back every bit of his debt after his foot healed.
After Xia En left, Chu Huaiqin finally stood up, hopping on one foot, and began to pitch his tent. Although it was only three in the afternoon, he wasn't going to rush on. This was the food station, and spending the night here was better than sleeping on the road halfway through the journey. Plus, he'd been injured on the first day, so his foot needed a rest.
The program provided single tents. Chu Huaiqin set up three at a time. After that, he began to observe the terrain. The Gobi Desert was still vast, but Chu Huaiqin found that there were fewer hills around. The soil here was more sandy than before. If they continued walking, they might return to the desert area.
Scanning from left to right with a telescope, the little monk and Xia Entropy came into the camera. They were not chasing chickens or picking cacti, but digging something in the Gobi Desert. Chu Huaiqin focused on it and found that it was something similar to potatoes. Chu Huaiqin was confused for a moment, and a dispute broke out in the live broadcast room. Are there wild sweet potatoes in the desert?
"I knew it was buried by the production team. After the turkey, I thought I'd see a pig."
"Don't be ridiculous. They used to use sand to remove the hair. If it hadn't rained heavily and there wasn't enough water to burn the hair, the director team might not have released the turkeys. If they want to wait until the pig hunt, they need another heavy rain."
"How could it be buried by the director's team? There was no trace of burial when they dug."
"Front, have you forgotten that it has been raining until this morning?"
"It's not about whether there are traces of digging or not, but sweet potatoes simply can't survive in the desert."
"No, sweet potatoes are hardy things, and I believe they grow here."
"Wait, could it be some other species similar to sweet potatoes?"
“I think it’s a new species, too.”
"Impossible, it's just sweet potatoes, and I'm sure the production team didn't bury them. The previous team all caught chickens to eat!"
"Yes, how could it be possible that the team in front eats chicken and the team behind eats sweet potatoes?"
Some people in the live broadcast room: I understand. It’s not that everyone believes that sweet potatoes can be grown in the desert, it’s because the program crew’s operation is too cool.
The little monk and Xia Entang returned quickly. The former was jubilant, but a bit cautious. Chu Huaiqin's earlier comment that "watermelon" couldn't be eaten seemed to cast a shadow over him. The latter's smile dropped sharply upon seeing the three tents. Even though they'd known there would be three tents when they were distributed, the sight of them all standing still glared.
Live broadcast room: It feels like Xia En has aged several years.
"Brother, this, this is a sweet potato, right?" The little monk asked carefully, his black eyes a little 'fragile', as if he would immediately burrow into the soil if Chu Huaiqin said no.
"It's a sweet potato." Chu Huaiqin took a sweet potato and looked at it carefully. He didn't expect that the program would bury the sweet potatoes under the Gobi soil. It really took a lot of thought.
"Is it edible?" The little monk wanted to confirm again.
"Sure," Chu Huaiqin nodded, "Let's cook some sweet potatoes. I'm hungry."
As soon as Chu Huaiqin said this, those who supported the sweet potato theory in the live broadcast room were proud, but then the two factions of "original creatures" and "buried by the director team" started arguing again.
They dug up a dozen sweet potatoes, some as big as four fingers, some as big as two. They scraped the sand off the surface with their hands and then tossed them into the water to boil, with the big ones at the bottom and the small ones at the top. As the water boiled, a faint sweet potato aroma emanated. Having not eaten since morning, the three of them felt even hungrier.
If they were using wood, they would boil the sweet potatoes for five minutes, then let the charcoal cook until cooked. But now they were using alcohol wax, and the pot would cool down immediately after the fire went out, so they had to cook for a full twenty minutes. During this time, the three of them couldn't resist and opened the lid to take out three two-finger-sized sweet potato roots to satisfy their cravings.
The sweet potatoes have yellow cores and are incredibly sweet. When you break open a ripe, large one, you can see the sugary juice oozing out. The aroma, golden color, and misty air fill the air, making everyone in the livestream hungry, especially those with jet lag. It's past 11 p.m. in China, and everyone is busy cooking noodles or ordering takeout.
After the three of them finished their meal, Xia En called a doctor to examine Chu Huaiqin's foot. After confirming it was fine, the three of them continued to stay in the tent under the scorching sun. There used to be two fans, but now that they were gone, they were like human-shaped pieces of meat sitting in three ovens, destined to be cooked sooner or later.
The little monk was sweating profusely from the heat. He wiped his sweat and asked, "Brother, I buried a sweet potato in the ground. Do you think it will be ripe when the sun sets?"
Chu Huaiqin was also lying naked on the backpack, his butt was soaked, and the middle part where he was connected to the backpack was already flooded. Above his head, it seemed as if ten suns were waving their evil claws. Now only Houyi was missing.
"Let's try..." Chu Huaiqin closed his eyes, barely speaking. He was sweating profusely, his energy rapidly depleting, and he felt a little dizzy. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Live broadcast room:
"Damn, my dear brother is suffering from heatstroke!"
Xia En quickly noticed the condition of the silent Chu Huaiqin and immediately called a doctor. After some testing, Chu Huaiqin fell asleep.
The Chinese people: You are the best, brother. Sun Wukong was still struggling in Laozi's furnace, but you fell asleep.
The author has something to say: I saw someone asking about the update schedule, so I'll tell you that I'll update one chapter before midnight from Monday to Friday, and three chapters each on Saturday and Sunday.
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