Chapter 41
The heavy rain was still falling, and two cassavas that had been chopped into small pieces were still being boiled. After Chu Huaiqin came back, Lin Zhinan took the goose-not-eating grass and washed it clean. The water was the rainwater that had been collected in a pot before, and then he put it into the pot to boil according to Chu Huaiqin's instructions.
"Senior, how is your fever?" Chu Huaiqin saw Su Huaichen and the little monk squatting in the corner poking at the dirt. He was amused and helpless, "Little monk, go change your clothes."
"No." The little monk turned his head away, his mouth puffed up.
"Then apply medicine to the Heron Crane."
After Chu Huaiqin finished speaking, the little monk looked at Chu Huaiqin in disbelief, as if he didn't understand why he could say such cruel words.
"It deceives me."
"I'm not a chicken."
Chu Huaiqin shoved the heron crane into the young monk's arms, unconcerned about his willingness. He instructed Lin Zhinan to boil two more pots of water, then called Xia En and headed out of the shed. He thought he'd just seen Ziqi. Circling the shed, Chu Huaiqin spotted Ziqi's silhouette not far away, its shape curved like a hairy question mark.
"Can these things that look like ears be eaten?" Xia En started to pull them out. It had rained for two days, and the ground was very moist, so pulling them out was easy.
"You can't even buy ziqi on the market right now. It's highly nutritious." Chu Huaiqin smiled, then suddenly felt dizzy and fell forward, only to be caught by Xia Entang, who stood across from him. His straw hat fell to the ground, and the rain pelted through his hair, making it uncomfortable. Chu Huaiqin reached out to pry it away, but his hand touched Xia Entang's. He looked up, and his gaze met Xia Entang's deep eyes.
Xia En was in great pain, his chest aching. He reached out and wiped Chu Huaiqin's pale face. As Chu Huaiqin stared in astonishment, he suddenly pulled him towards him and pressed him against his chest. Chu Huaiqin was caught off guard, his knees pulled to the ground. The purple thorn in his hand fell, and he blinked, a little dazed.
“Why did you join this show?”
"Lack of money."
Chu Huaiqin once fought in underworld boxing. He grew up in a well-off family, his mother coming from a family of scholars and scholars. However, after his parents divorced, he moved abroad with his mother, where life became difficult. To save money for his mother's medical treatment, he took to the ring at the age of fifteen. After his mother's death at the age of seventeen, he returned to China to study. Due to various circumstances, Chu Huaiqin incurred considerable debt, which he still hasn't repaid. The prize money for wilderness survival was truly high, and when the contract came, he signed without hesitation.
"Let me go," Chu Huaiqin patted Xia En's shoulder and pushed him away. Seeing the hidden emotions in Xia En's eyes, he chuckled. He had always thought that although this kid was awkward, he was still a good person. Sure enough, he was right. He would feel sorry for his brother. "Take it back quickly. I'm dizzy."
Chu Huaiqin felt that if he didn't eat anything, he would starve to death.
The two of them quickly picked the purple fern and walked towards the shed.
Xia En walked beside Chu Huaiqin, stealing glances at him from time to time. Every time he saw his pale face, his heart ached, but he couldn't help but look away, as if torturing himself.
"I have a lot of money." Xia En said carefully while holding Ziqi.
"That's amazing." Chu Huaiqin nodded in appreciation.
"No, I, I..." Xia En was a little anxious, but also worried that what he said would hurt Chu Huaiqin's self-esteem. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "I have a lot of money, I can give it to you."
Chu Huaiqin turned to look at Xia En, who suddenly became anxious. Afraid that Chu Huaiqin would misunderstand, he quickly stammered, "Don't, don't misunderstand me. I have too much money and I can't spend it all, so I asked you to help me spend it."
After saying that, he raised his chin, turned his face away, but glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.
Chu Huaiqin: ...
Live broadcast room: ...
“I want to help spend the money too, QAQ!!!”
"Ah, here, here, I owe a lot of money too, come to me and spend it!"
"Brother Xia Entropy, look at me, look at me, here, I'm very well behaved, I'm especially good at spending money, come to me! I guarantee you'll make six figures in minutes."
"What kind of overbearing CEO declaration is this? The fish pond contract has expired. Is the 'I have too much money, so I need your help spending it' scenario popular now?"
Xia En's passionate words made the live broadcast room boil. The barrage of comments wanting to help spend money filled the entire screen. Everyone was laughing, and many people were watching how Chu Huaiqin would respond and whether he would get angry. After all, these words did sound a bit contemptuous.
Chu Huaiqin didn't think much about it and smiled. Xia Entropy was just like the little monk. In his eyes, they were both younger brothers. "Be good, I know how to make money."
After he finished speaking, he left first. Xia Entropy stood there for a while before following him. However, Luo Mo's back made many people in the live broadcast room shake their heads and sigh: It's so annoying that no one helps me spend money.
When he returned to the shed, Lin Zhinan came up to him and smiled at the dish in Chu Huaiqin's hand. "I know how to do this, brother. You take a rest and wait for me to make you something delicious."
Lin Zhinan took the purple fern in a small pot and ran to get some. Chu Huaiqin looked at the heron huddled in the corner. It had been treated, but it was trembling for some reason. He turned to look at the little monk, who was poking the soil with a branch, glancing at the heron from time to time. Every time he looked at it, the heron trembled even more violently.
Live broadcast room: The little monk hasn’t given up his determination to win the game!
Cooking purslane isn't difficult. First, blanch it to remove the grassy smell, then cook it and season with oil and salt. We picked a large quantity, enough for each person to eat two bowls, plus a small piece of cassava per person to make them half full. Since the geese wouldn't eat the water, each of them drank two bowls. The little monk ate the dregs, so they were barely full.
It was already past four o'clock, and the wind was blowing. Everyone had symptoms of a cold, and Chu Huaiqin also felt heavy-headed.
"Everyone should go to bed early, cover yourself with thicker clothes, and sweat it out." Chu Huaiqin sniffed and instructed everyone to spread the banana leaves they had picked earlier on the ground. He took out the tent from his backpack, but did not stretch it out or put on the frame. He just spread the canvas on the banana leaves.
The canvas was waterproof, and although it was a bit cold to sleep on, it was better than sitting. The shed was surrounded by banana leaf walls, and before bed, to prevent rain from rushing in at night, a tree door was built. To ensure a good night's sleep, everyone searched for banana leaves and branches, and it took until eight o'clock in the evening.
We were hungry again. We ran to the place where we had picked the last bit of purslane, blanched it and mixed it with the vegetables. It tasted really good, fresh and tender.
"I'm so sleepy." Lin Zhinan was the first one who couldn't hold on any longer. He ran to his backpack, took out a blanket, and ran to the edge to sleep.
Chu Huaiqin dug a hole next to the door, spread some grass underneath, and put the heron and crane inside. He closed the banana leaf door, and the four older men crowded together and lay down.
The sleeping arrangement was arranged with the younger sister in the innermost position, separated by a small path. Then came Su Huaichen, the little monk, Xia Entang, and Chu Huaiqin. Xia Entang opposed Chu Huaiqin sleeping outside, as it was close to the surface and humid, and if it rained heavily at night, it would likely get soaked. However, Chu Huaiqin insisted on sleeping outside; he didn't like being sandwiched in between, which was very painful for someone with a high level of vigilance.
Chu Huaiqin decided to sleep outside. The little monk also wanted to come over, but was carried to Su Huaichen by Xia En. The sleeping Su Huaichen had no idea that the little monk disliked him.
Xia En couldn't convince Chu Huaiqin, so he could only lie down, his face and ears flushed, and his neck thick. After everyone fell asleep, Xia En tortured himself until almost dawn before he fell asleep. However, he woke up again soon, woken up by the little monk who had recovered from his sleep.
The rain was still falling outside, dripping. The little monk muttered angrily, "It's so noisy!" and closed his eyes. After a while, he woke up again, tossing and turning, holding his rumbling stomach. Xia En, who was already sleepy, gritted his teeth in anger.
He suppressed his anger and said, "Go to sleep."
"I'm hungry."
"Hold it."
"I don't."
"Hmm!" Chu Huaiqin responded half asleep and half awake. He felt someone talking next to him. He opened his eyes in a daze, only to find darkness and aching bones. Chu Huaiqin soon fell asleep again.
The two people next to him almost got into a fight. Just when Chu Huaiqin was about to wake up, Xia Entang had covered the little monk's mouth, and now he was suffocating!
"Ugh, uh, let go, you bastard." The little monk pried Xia En's hands apart and said angrily, "Why are you covering my mouth?"
Although the little monk lowered his voice, he still disturbed others. Chu Huaiqin, who was half awake, woke up completely. He yawned, squinted his eyes, and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"
"Brother, I'm hungry." The little monk licked his lips, got up, and looked at Chu Huaiqin over Xia En.
"I'm hungry too," Chu Huaiqin sighed. They had eaten the cassava and the two bowls of vegetables in the afternoon. At around 8 o'clock in the evening, each person only received one bowl of vegetables, which was not enough to replenish their energy for the day. "Drink some water. Drink a few more bowls and you won't be hungry anymore."
As he was about to get up, Xia En next to him pushed him back down, "I'll go find it."
The bamboo tube is placed in the corner, and a camera is installed on the shed, emitting a faint light, making it easy to find.
After the water was brought back, the little monk drank it all, and Chu Huaiqin also drank half of it. Seeing that the two were drinking happily, Xia En also drank a lot. After finishing the bamboo tube of water, he finally felt full. He waved to the fist-sized camera, and the three of them fell asleep quickly.
The next day, Chu Huaiqin was awakened by suffocation. Lin Zhinan had already gotten up and was sitting inside in a daze. Su Huaichen, the little monk, and Xia En were all gone.
"Good morning, brother."
"Morning, where are they?"
"Brother Huaichen went to look for food. The little monk just said there must be earthworms on rainy days, so he went to dig for earthworms."
Lin Zhinan looked upset when he mentioned this. Chu Huaiqin thought for a moment and asked, "He's not going to dig it up and eat it, is he?"
Lin Zhinan nodded emphatically.
Chu Huaiqin: ...
"Where's Xia En?"
"We woke up and he was gone."
Lin Zhinan got up, tied her hair up, turned to look at the small camera, and said good morning to everyone. The live broadcast room also responded cheerfully. Last night, many people came to stay up late just to see the little sister's sleeping face. Unexpectedly, the lights were too dim and only silhouettes could be seen. Instead, Chu Huaiqin and the other two were caught drinking water in the middle of the night.
"Brother, I'm not afraid to tell you, I know where Xia Entang went, but unfortunately Director Huang won't let me tell you."
"Are you the only one who knows this? I know it too. I ran out to find something to eat at five in the morning. I must have been irritated by my brother drinking cold water to fill his stomach last night."
"I suddenly want to discuss a deal with Xia Entropy. He'll pay for the shipping, and I'll deliver the chickens. Hahaha, I'll help you spend the money!"
"What's a chicken? Abalone, sea cucumber, whatever you want, I'll give it to you. I'll help you spend Xia En's money."
"This joke is not going away, is it?" Someone rolled their eyes in the live broadcast room, but at this moment, the little monk cheered. Although his excitement was not as great as yesterday, it should not be underestimated. Everyone looked closely and saw that the little monk used a hatchet to turn out a piece of soil, and on the soil were densely packed earthworms twisting and crawling.
The audience in the live broadcast room was stunned at first, and then went crazy and screamed: Little monk, I will kill you, it's so scary!
"Brother, brother, there's meat."
Chu Huaiqin looked up and saw the little monk rushing towards him in the rain holding the thing. His face turned pale instantly and he disappeared at the door of the shed in an instant.
The excited little monk didn't notice Chu Huaiqin's strange behavior at all. He ran to the tent with the piece of soil in his hands, his whole body wet. Just as he was about to step in, he saw that the tent canvas was not rolled up. He hurriedly stopped, put the soil down, washed his hands with the rain, raised his arms to wipe his face, ran to Chu Huaiqin from the side, and said happily: "Brother, look, I found something to eat, that..."
"Ah, what are you doing?" The little monk wanted to tell Chu Huaiqin about the food he had dug for the whole morning, but when he turned around, he saw the cheating chicken eating his earthworms. "You, you can't eat it."
The little monk took a few steps forward and stretched out his hand to grab it, but before he could touch it, Chu Huaiqin's voice rang out, "Don't use too much force, it's a protected animal."
"Ah, but, but..." The little monk's ruthless claws were neither below nor below. He watched the cheating chicken eat the earthworm bite by bite, and his eyes turned red with anxiety. "Shh, shh, shh, go away, don't eat it."
The little monk wanted to drive it away, but the egret crane, perhaps because it was extremely hungry, was not afraid of the little monk at all. Instead, when the little monk reached out his hand to take the clod of earth, the egret crane raised its claws to grab the little monk, leaving a mark with each claw. The little monk, in pain, quickly pulled his hand back.
After a few back and forth movements, the earthworms in the clod of soil were gone, gone...
Chu Huaiqin breathed a sigh of relief while sitting inside, but the little monk was jealous, "Brother, it ate my earthworms, my breakfast, and my meat."
"Well, well," Chu Huaiqin stood up, walked towards the little monk, and patted his shoulder calmly, "It's okay, we'll look for it again."
Live broadcast room: Dear brother, we saw the smile on your lips. Who was it that asked the animal protection team to hold the little monk back? Haha! Man.
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