Chapter 29
"Have you finished searching?"
Chu Huaiqin spoke to break the dull atmosphere.
"Didn't you see everyone looking?" Tong Tiao quickly reached out and snatched the wet matches from the hands of Pu Peng and Lin Yongfu, who were standing next to him, and threw them to the ground. They fell and rolled a few times, landing next to Chu Huaiqin's shoes. "They're all wet. What's the point of asking this?"
Tong Tao's tone was harsh and his movements were violent. Matches scattered all over the floor. Everyone present and in the livestream room were momentarily stunned. They frowned at him, a faint sense of strangeness forming in their hearts. But then they thought, that didn't make sense. An Shunan and Su Feichen had lost their temper before, too, but...
"Who are you talking to like that?" Xia En, who was standing next to Chu Huaiqin, suddenly flew into a rage. He took a few steps forward and grabbed Tong Tiao's collar. Xia En was tall, and he grabbed her like a chicken. He said viciously, "If you have any objections, go away. Don't follow me."
Tong Tao was instantly furious and at a loss, "What do you mean?"
"Why are you so angry with Huaiqin?"
Su Huaichen frowned and looked at Tong Tao. His voice was light, but his words hit everyone's heart hard. Yes, why was he angry with Chu Huaiqin?
"I, I didn't. I was just upset and spoke a little harshly." Tong Tiao tugged at Xia Tang's hand, but didn't pull it away. Overwhelmed by his ruthless aura, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I apologize if I've caused any misunderstanding."
Then, Tong Tiao looked at Chu Huaiqin again, as if waiting for him to say something. But Chu Huaiqin just smiled faintly and said nothing. Tong Tiao was a little embarrassed and angry for a moment, "Huaiqin, I didn't lose my temper with you, I'm sorry."
Chu Huaiqin waved his hands, indicating that everything was fine, "Xia Entropy, let him go!"
Xia Entang glared at him and withdrew his hand. Tong Tao stumbled twice and stopped, his face a little grim, but he said nothing. But at this time, the live broadcast room was unhappy:
"I was saying it felt weird just now. He was mad at his brother."
"Isn't Chu Huaiqin's speech tactless? Everyone's clearly looked, but he still asks, 'Have you found everyone?' I'm already frustrated, and by saying that, isn't he just asking for trouble?"
"Yeah, he even held Tong Tiao's head to apologize. He's really scheming."
"Brother was always rummaging through our backpacks, so how could he have the time to check if everyone had looked thoroughly? You're so shameless to get angry at Brother for just asking a question. I've been paving the way all the way here, and I found this place myself, so what right do you have to get angry?"
"Xia En is right. If you're unhappy, just go away. Why are you following me?"
"Just like the two people above, trying to take advantage of the chaos to stir up trouble, bitch."
Although Tong Tiao was an amateur, he was handsome, and his heroic martial arts scenes when he was being pursued by assassins were beautiful, which attracted many fans. Since the initial grouping, the live broadcast room itself had formed two groups of fans. Now that only he and Park Pen were left in Group A2, many fans of the celebrities in Group A2 had shifted their bets on their idols to these two, after all, if anyone in Group A2 won, their idols would also be honored. Tong Tiao, as a teammate with Yang Ling, attracted more attention, and naturally, many people spoke up for him this time. Soon, the live broadcast room was in a quarrel again.
"If you have the guts, don't eat the little shrimps and fish in my brother's shrimp cage!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the livestream room erupted in laughter, with everyone shouting "Great, brilliant, and quack!" Now no one had any food. The only thing they had was the little bit in the shrimp cage. The three fish that my sister and Xia Entang had caught were all in the cage for easy access. If Tong Tiao didn't eat any of them, she'd be starving tonight.
But after this incident, everyone felt much better.
"I'm not done looking yet!"
Chu Huaiqin's hoarse voice rang out in the cave. The devastated crowd turned to look at him blankly, with a faint hope in their eyes, but also with timidity, as if they were afraid that what Chu Huaiqin said would be different from what they imagined.
Lin Zhinan limped and jumped to Chu Huaiqin, hesitantly speaking, "Brother, you..."
Chu Huaiqin replied: "I haven't finished looking for mine yet."
Everyone suddenly had an idea: there was hope. Regardless of their fatigue, they dragged their heavy bodies over and surrounded Chu Huaiqin. More than a dozen pairs of eyes were burning frighteningly. Even Chu Huaiqin felt a little pressured. If he couldn't turn it out, he might be beaten up.
The clothes inside were taken out one by one and stacked on the ground, along with the things given by the director team, but they were all wet. The top ones were even dripping with water. When Chu Huaiqin got to the back, he took out a pair of black panties and turned around to look through the backpack again.
Xia En, who had been squatting next to him, took a piece of clothing from under his pants and covered it.
Su Huaichen: It’s poisonous.
"Found it."
When Chu Huaiqin spoke, everyone held their breath unconsciously, their eyes fixed on Chu Huaiqin's slowly withdrawing hand. In the words of the live broadcast room, I seemed to see electricity flowing.
It was a small, finger-length object wrapped in clear plastic. The plastic looked like the kind used to wrap dried noodles. The outer layer was a bit damp, but thankfully, there was a layer of cotton cloth underneath. The crowd gathered around, breathing heavily, some so nervously their hands were sweating. Even the livestreamers, even through their screens, could sense the urgency and couldn't help but scroll. "Keep it up!"
The cotton cloth was untied, revealing a dozen small matches inside, as well as half a layer of sand torn from the matchbox, all dry.
"There's fire, there's fire," the younger sister excitedly grabbed the little monk and shook him, "Ah, we don't have any firewood now."
"There are birch trees in the grove we just passed. I'll go cut some down."
"I'm going too."
"I'm going to kill the fish."
"I'll go see if the water here is running water. It should be usable."
Live broadcast room: There are waterfalls everywhere, so it must be running water!
Some people were so happy that they were silly.
The oppressive atmosphere dissipated, and everyone became lively and did what they had to do. The live broadcast room also felt like the New Year's Eve. I sighed and found a few matches. I felt a sense of excitement like the New Year.
"I seem to understand why everyone likes to follow Chu Huaiqin."
This sentence suddenly appeared in the live broadcast room, and everyone expressed their agreement.
Everyone was busy. The little monk pulled my sister to apply medicine, Su Huaichen and Su Feichen went to sort out the shrimp cages, Bingxiang and Fengshan went to cut birch, and Chu Huaiqin walked out with a drone.
"Wait for me," Xia En shouted, and ran towards Chu Huaiqin with the straw hat he had dropped earlier. After catching up, he put the hat on his head and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"There are rocks and birch trees here, so there must be something here, rock mushrooms." Chu Huaiqin walked to the cave entrance and suddenly remembered. He turned around and called out, "Brother Lin, bring two pots."
That thing is small and difficult to hold with your hands.
Lin Yongfu responded and ran out with the pot. For a moment, only Pu Peng and Tong Tao were left in the cave.
"I'll go see if there are any stones suitable for building a stove." Park Pen said, turning and leaving.
Tong Tiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then I'll go get some water!"
It was completely dark when the two walked out of the cave. What came into view was the lake with howling winds. The waves were rolling, seemingly gentle, but if they were in it, a small wave could overturn the boat. Chu Huaiqin couldn't help but sigh at his good luck and how fast he ran.
Rock mushrooms grow on rock walls and are somewhat similar to wood ear mushrooms, though larger. Unlike wood ear mushrooms, they can be cooked directly, unlike wood ear mushrooms, which must be processed to remove their photosensitive substances. They take a long time to grow, taking five or six years to develop. Eating them is incredibly beneficial and a rare mountain product.
"It's good for treating sore throat." Chu Huaiqin turned his head and glanced at Xia En, his hoarse voice sounding like a silent accusation.
Xia En's face turned pale instantly. He scratched his pants with his hands hanging by his side and said nervously, "I, I don't..."
"Just kidding." Chu Huaiqin suppressed his laughter and turned his head away. He inexplicably felt that Xia En was a little funny.
The two men reached the rock face. Shining the drone's light over it, they could only see a layer of moss—nothing else. Chu Huaiqin handed the drone to Xia Entang, and they groped their way along the rock face. Beneath the rock face lay lush vegetation, including thorny bushes. Lin Yongfu saw Chu Huaiqin stumble several times and ran back with a hatchet to cut down the scattered shrubs in front of him.
"Brother Chu, what are you touching?"
Lin Yongfu kept it a secret for a long time, and finally asked out loud.
"I'm looking for rock mushrooms...ah..." Chu Huaiqin uttered a low cry and nearly slipped. His hand, which was pressed against the rock wall, slipped out and got stuck in a recessed crevice. Chu Huaiqin turned around, took the drone from Xia En's hand and shone it inside. "These are it."
A small stream flowed down from a crack in the rock wall, and on either side, wet rock mushrooms grew on both sides. There looked to be quite a few of them. Braving the rain, the three of them picked all the rock mushrooms from this crack. Lin Yongfu filled the two pots he had brought, and even picked two banana leaves to carry them all back.
On the way back, Chu Huaiqin and the other two met a little monk. He was holding something in his arms, his head moving back and forth, and no one knew what he was doing.
"Little monk, what are you doing?"
Chu Huaiqin approached, and the monk put his finger to his lips and made a shushing sound, asking Chu Huaiqin to be quiet. He pointed to the bushes, and in the dim light, he saw a frog croaking with its mouth puffed out.
The young monk placed the item in Chu Huaiqin's arms, bent down, and pounced on the frog. Unexpectedly, the frog was more agile than he was and leaped away. Then, everyone was lucky enough to see the young monk screaming and chasing the frog until it jumped in front of Xia Entang, where he shone his light and it froze.
The little monk walked back contentedly holding the frog. Only then did Chu Huaiqin have time to see clearly what was in his arms. It was a few wild peppers and two wild gingers.
The four of them returned to the cave, where they were building a fire. A dry T-shirt, donated by someone, was torn into strips, and the birch logs they had cut were split into small pieces. The burning strips of cloth were covered with birch logs. Su Huaichen and Bingxiang were carefully lying on the ground blowing the fire, while Feng Shan and the others were facing the cave entrance to block the wind.
"Don't blow too hard, be gentle, it's going out."
"Maybe the wood is still too big. I'll chop it into smaller pieces."
"Please, hurry up! I'm dying of cold if I'm not starving."
Now everyone is eager to use the fire to dry their clothes.
Chu Huaiqin asked curiously, "Didn't the little monk still have some resin oil?"
Everyone: ...
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot," the little monk exclaimed. Chu Huaiqin had asked him to store the resin oil in a bamboo tube before, and he never understood why Chu Huaiqin stored it in a bamboo tube. "I'll go get it."
The little monk ran to get it back happily. Su Huaichen took it with a smile and handed it to Bingxiang. He suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the little monk's neck, shouting, "After you applied the medicine to your sister, we were blowing the fire. You really didn't think of it at all! Do you know that my mouth is almost like a hair dryer?"
"Ahem, I, I forgot, I forgot, let go..." The little monk pried Su Huaichen away with force and touched his bald head, "Did you really forget?"
Seeing Su Huaichen sneer, the little monk quickly said: "Oh, by the way, I caught a frog."
Su Huaichen said cruelly: "Confiscate it."
With the resin and the birch's flammability, the fire quickly burned. Bit by bit, five piles of fire, the cave was as bright as day, though the smoke was a bit thick. Some of the people inside had their clothes completely soaked, while others still had one or two dry pieces of clothing. The former were Chu Huaiqin and his group, who had flipped the bamboo raft, and the latter were Bingxiang and his group.
Those who needed to dry their clothes went to a dark place to change them, while others cut some logs and brought them back. Apart from the one they used to cook food, they built other logs around the fires to dry their clothes. Because there were so many clothes, everyone only took out one set to dry. Even with the fire, it took a while for them to dry.
"The clothes are too wet. We can't wear them like this." "This place is near the water, with strong winds and heavy rain. If we continue like this, everyone will definitely have a fever tomorrow." Chu Huaiqin thought for a moment and said, "Let's go outside and get some banana leaves and rattan!"
Su Huaichen asked doubtfully: "What are you doing?"
Chu Huaiqin smiled and said leisurely, "Leaf skirt."
Everyone: ...
"Little monk."
Chu Huaiqin called out, and the little monk came over. He listened to Chu Huaiqin chattering in his ear and nodded repeatedly. Everyone was puzzled by what they were talking about. The little monk had already run out of the cave, but a moment later he pulled back two birch trees and a few small trunks. He chose a place near the water and started to make a clang. Everyone was puzzled and didn't know what the little monk was doing.
"Go pick some banana leaves. We're tired and hungry, and washing the rock mushrooms is a hassle." Chu Huaiqin reminded the two people watching the little monk's actions. Then everyone remembered. Yes, what am I doing when I'm cold and hungry?
The crowd quickly dispersed. Bingxiang, An Shunan, Su Feichen, and Pu Peng, the few who had dry clothes, had already changed and started cooking. The four shrimp cages surprisingly contained quite a few small shrimp, as well as a few small crabs and fish.
"You do it, I'll go wash the rock mushrooms. But how do I wash this thing?" Su Feichen flipped through it and felt puzzled. "I'll go ask Brother Chu."
"Don't go. You have already changed your clothes. They will get wet. I can deal with this thing." An Shunan stopped Su Feichen, took a bag of salt from his backpack, and took Su Feichen to the lake.
The people in the live broadcast room were also interested in this thing and asked the camera to follow it.
Director: I don’t want to go, I want to change my clothes.
After a while, everyone came back with handfuls of banana leaves.
Live broadcast room: I have a feeling that it might be mosaiced again.
The monk had already used a few tree trunks to surround the fire pile and set up the tent next to it. Looking at the result, the monk was quite satisfied.
"Thank you!" Lin Zhinan stood up from the stone, jumped on one foot in front of the little monk, his face flushed, looking particularly handsome.
"Ah, no, nothing, hehe!" The little monk touched his head and said with a smile: "After you change your clothes in the tent, you can take out your clothes and other things to dry."
The little monk was very happy, fortunately his sister's clothes were still dry.
"Yeah! You should go change too!"
"Okay. By the way, they'll change into banana leaves later. I told you not to go over there. Just stay here after you change your clothes."
"good."
In the firelight, the two people were talking and smiling at each other. There was a waterfall pouring down on the side and heavy rain outside. The picture was very beautiful, but the sour taste was too strong.
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