Chapter 19
Meals were eaten inside the tent tunnel.
This place became a temporary living room.
The dining table was a small, low table pieced together; the whole family didn't care much about formalities and just sat on the floor.
Because there were many people, Ye Qingyun made a generous portion, even the barley was dried, a big bowl, you could tell how much grain was used without even looking.
Grandma Jiang looked at the amount and felt extremely distressed. "Qingyun, why did you make so much?!"
Jiang Shan spoke up for his wife: "Mom, it's a joyous occasion to bring you back today. Let's splurge a little and have a good meal to celebrate."
Grandma Jiang said, "Oh dear, I'm not blaming Qingyun, I just... I just..."
Ye Qingyun had lived with the old lady for a long time, so how could he not understand her meaning?
The old lady meant no harm; she was just genuinely distressed about the food supplies.
She smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry. It's just today. Starting tomorrow, our family will live a down-to-earth life and make the most of it."
Grandpa Jiang nodded and said to the others solemnly, "I'll only say this once today: we are able to move back to the self-built housing area thanks to you, my third brother. When you are able to do so in the future, you must not forget what happened today."
Jiang Shan grew anxious: "Dad, why are we talking about this as a family..."
Grandpa Jiang interrupted him, "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. Things need to be clearly defined so that the family won't fall into chaos."
The rest of the Jiang family quickly replied, "Dad/Grandpa, we certainly won't forget."
Grandpa Jiang nodded in satisfaction and said to Jiang Shan, "I won't say any more polite words. Qingyun is right. Since we are family, we should unite from now on. There are many of us in the Jiang family. I don't believe that with so many hands and feet, we can't make our lives prosperous!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Grandpa Jiang has lived to this age and has seen all sorts of storms.
His will hadn't been broken by living in that tiny fifty-square-meter space before, and it certainly wouldn't be now.
Seeing the longing for the future on everyone's faces, Jiang Shu served each person a bowl of fish ball soup. "Come on, let's drink this soup instead of wine, wishing that we can eat our fill and have meat every day from now on!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Ye Qingyun laughed and cursed, "You're hopeless!"
Jiang Zhi silently picked up her rice bowl and stood up, showing her support for her brother with her actions, "Cheers!"
Everyone: "Cheers!"
*
This meal was the most satisfying one everyone had eaten in years.
The two little ones ate until their bellies were round and full, but they still couldn't resist eating more.
If the old lady hadn't been worried that the two children's stomachs wouldn't be able to handle suddenly eating meat, and hadn't ordered them not to eat too much, the two children probably would have eaten until they vomited.
After the meal, Wu Xiu and Yuan Ying were responsible for washing the dishes and cleaning the stove.
The two elders were responsible for taking care of the child and Jiang Hai and his son.
During this time, Grandma Jiang fed Jiang Hai and his son porridge again.
After Jiang Jun took the powder, he quickly fell into a deep sleep. At first, everyone was a little worried, but when they found that the father and son were breathing steadily and there was nothing unusual, everyone was relieved.
The tent's compartment curtains were rolled up, making the space appear quite spacious.
The others sat at the table chatting about what had happened to them in the past few years.
Upon hearing that Jiang Shu's family had to face mutated creatures every day during their years at the wilderness camp, Old Master Jiang's face darkened: "Big Tree, why didn't you come to the base sooner? It's too dangerous out there."
Jiang Shu smiled wryly, "The roads were covered by mutated creatures overnight, and we couldn't run away even if we wanted to. But we haven't been out here for nothing these past few years. We're just as good as ordinary mutants at dealing with some mutated animals, and we plan to go out and collect them every day from now on."
"If we hadn't lacked testing equipment back then, we probably would have had an even better life during those three years."
In fact, not all members of the pioneering and exploration teams in the base are mutants; some are ordinary people as well.
As long as you are physically fit enough to meet the base's requirements, you can sign up to join these vanguard teams.
That's why Jiang Shu said he was no worse than these mutants.
"These vegetables today were all picked by Ah Zhi and me from the foraging area."
Everyone was quite surprised upon hearing this, especially Jiang Wen, who exclaimed, "You guys are so efficient?"
You should know that he and his wife Xu Na had gone to collect plants before, but they didn't get much in a day. On good days, they could find dozens of kilograms of edible mutant plants, but more often than not, they would stay in the collection area all day and still not find enough to feed their family.
Of course, Jiang Shu would never reveal that Jiang Zhi had some kind of magic touch.
"Of course, we have plenty of experience in the wild, so avoiding some dangers shouldn't be a problem."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen said, "Then Xiao Na and I will go scavenging with you tomorrow."
Ye Qingyun disagreed, saying, "Awen, your current job is pretty good. You earn forty or fifty points a day, and it's easy. If you quit this job, where else can you find one like this?"
Jiang Wen gave a wry smile, "Auntie, this job is easy, but it's too difficult to support the family."
In fact, Jiang Wen had already considered resigning before this.
If it weren't for the fact that he worked at a secondhand store and could buy things at cost price, he would have quit long ago.
Now that the family's circumstances have improved, there's no reason for him to be taking it easy while everyone else is working hard.
Ye Qingyun thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, since everyone is here today, let's make a plan."
"I just tidied up what we have at home. I don't have many points left, but today Azhi and the others found some low-toxicity items. Selling them will get me seven or eight hundred points. Plus, Mom just transferred me 1,500 points, so we have a total of 2,300 points at home now."
Ye Qingyun included the selling price of the low-toxicity version in the calculation.
"Big Brother and Ah Jun need to go to the clinic for a check-up later, and that will cost 500 points."
"And my second brother and sister-in-law have to pay back 500 points every month, so we need to prepare for that too."
Jiang He previously went to make anti-radiation coatings for cabinets for people in Area B. Anti-radiation items have always been rare, and even the base store doesn't sell them.
It was also Jiang He and his wife who were unlucky. They had only worked on it for one day when they were notified the next day that the radiation protection materials were missing.
The homeowner reported the theft to the police. Only the couple came and went that day, and the other party insisted that they were the thieves.
They are just ordinary people; a hundred mouths can't compare to the relationship between them and the police officers.
There was nothing they could do. If they couldn't get this case, the couple would never be able to take any more jobs. Even though they knew they were being extorted, they had no choice but to accept it.
It was only after Grandpa Jiang went there and made a scene that they agreed to let them repay half of the points.
A total of 7,500 points, to be repaid in installments of 500 points per month, for more than a year.
Ye Qingyun continued, "There are sixteen of us in total, and we need to eat five catties of barley every day, which requires one hundred points a day. So, the points we have at home can last for more than ten days."
Grandma Jiang nodded. "Your dad earns thirty to fifty points a day by giving acupuncture. Ah Xiu and I also earn twenty points a day by doing handicrafts. With Ah Wen and his wife's wages, we can still earn enough for our daily food."
The reason they lived in such poverty was because they had to pay for Jiang Hai and his son's medical expenses.
Now that there is hope for their treatment, their lives will surely get better and better.
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyun told him that she had also found a job.
In this way, with these daily wages alone, I can earn 120 or 130 a day, which is enough to make a living.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jiang suggested, "Why don't we let Azhi and Dashu find jobs too?"
The old lady's mindset was still in the pre-catastrophic era; she felt that stability was the best policy.
Jiang Shu shook his head: "No, no, I still prefer to collect. I finally don't have to work now, and I don't want to be a corporate slave again."
Jiang Zhi also stated, "I'm not willing either."
Jiang Shan nodded, "A family can't rely solely on wages. We also need to build a house and cover household expenses, all of which require money."
"Besides, you can't eat barley for every meal, your body can't handle it."
Most importantly, they haven't included the points owed by the second brother's family.
To put it simply, although the income from gathering is unstable, as long as you win once, there is a chance to turn things around.
Jiang Shan's words resonated with everyone.
However, data collection carries risks.
If even a girl like Jiang Zhi dares to go, how can they possibly hide behind her?
Yuan Ying gritted her teeth and said, "Third brother, let Ahe and his son and Dashu go collect the materials. They are strong enough to take care of Dashu and the others if anything happens."
The Jiang family currently has the same number of workers as the Jiang Shan family, so their family needs to send at least two more people.
Jiang Shan shook his head: "Building a house is our top priority right now, and I need my second brother's help."
Hu Yang has brought back today's share of clay, which he promised to bring back for them.
The quantity is considerable, over one hundred kilograms.
These clays have been altered.
Each kilogram can expand to four or five kilograms when diluted with water.
The 100 kilograms that Hu Yang brought back for them could be used to build a dry toilet.
Now that Old Jiang's family has grown up, having a dry toilet means he doesn't need to keep going to the low-rent housing, which saves him a lot of trouble.
Another important reason is that their tents cannot withstand daytime temperatures of over 60 degrees Celsius for very long.
If it were just their family before, the expenses wouldn't be so high. They could save some money, and with Jiangzhi's skills, they could manage to get by for a while.
But now that household expenses have increased, I don't know when I'll be able to save up enough materials to build the house.
So Jiang Shan decided to use the entire family's resources to build the house first.
At this moment, Xu Na said to Yuan Ying, "Mom, let me and Azhi go instead. We can still take on textile work in the future."
Jiang Wen also said, "Yes, it would be perfect for a few of us young people to go together."
Seeing that her son and daughter-in-law had spoken, Yuan Ying didn't know what to say.
Grandpa Jiang sighed, "If I weren't worried that I couldn't keep up with you young people, I would have gone too. I've heard that many Chinese herbs have gained more effects after mutation, and I'd like to collect some to do some experiments. Look at that clinic at No. 88 in the self-built housing area, they found a mutated Chinese herb and donated it to the base, and now they're doing very well."
Grandma Jiang glanced at him and said, "Alright, it's not that easy. Look at what happened to those who followed the trend."
During that period, many people tried to replicate that person's success and flocked to collect mutated Chinese medicinal herbs. However, none of the mutated Chinese medicinal herbs they found in the collection area had any medicinal effects, and several people died instead.
After that, people lost interest in finding mutated Chinese medicines.
Jiang Shan smiled and said, "Dad, our family still needs you."
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Jiang perked up, "What can I do?"
"When you're not busy each day, please make a cabinet for each of us, preferably one for each room. We still have some wood at home, so when Da Shu and the others go out tomorrow, we'll collect some more wood as well."
Grandpa Jiang said happily, "Good, good, that's easy. I can make one in two or three days."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jiang asked, "Then what can we women do?"
Jiang Shan thought for a moment and said, "Mom, we don't have enough baskets to hold things at home. You can weave more when you have time."
Grandma Jiang readily agreed, saying, "Alright, alright."
Jiang Shan, worried that Yuan Ying might be concerned, added a few more words: "Second sister-in-law, don't worry, Da Shu and the others are still very reliable. They know what they're doing and won't go to dangerous places."
Yuan Ying smiled and said, "Little brother, I understand. You all trust Da Shu and the others, so what do I have to worry about?"
That's how it was settled.
The jobs of Grandpa Jiang, Ye Qingyun, and Yuan Ying were retained, Wu Xiu continued to take care of Jiang Hai and his son and two children, while the Jiang brothers, Jiang Shan and Jiang He, stayed home to build a house.
A few young men from Jiangshu were responsible for scavenging in the gathering area.
After the discussion was finished, it was time to cut off the power.
Everyone prepared to return to their tents to rest.
Before going back inside, Jiang Zhi asked Jiang Wen, "Second Brother, did you sell any batteries at the secondhand store before?"
Jiang Wen was somewhat surprised. "Yes, what size do you need?"
“Number 5.” After a pause, Jiang Zhi added, “No need for a new one, just the kind that can be used for a few minutes.”
Do you need it urgently?
Jiang Zhi nodded. "I need it tomorrow."
Jiang Wen didn't ask any more questions and simply nodded, "Okay, I'll go buy it for you tomorrow morning."
Jiang Shu asked one more question, "Is this thing expensive?"
Jiang Wen smiled and replied, "Don't worry, it's not expensive."
After the cataclysm, most of those high-tech gadgets disappeared.
Those items that still appear in the base are either extremely rare and expensive, or practically worthless.
Disposable batteries like the ones Jiangzhi wanted can be found in secondhand stores, but most of them are nearly used up, so they're not expensive, costing only a few points.
*
Once the brother and sister were back inside, Jiang Shu asked, "A-Zhi, what do you need the batteries for?"
Jiang Zhi pulled a flashlight-shaped anti-wolf stick out of her bag.
"Here, I want to use this thing tomorrow."
Jiang Shu gasped, snatched it, and examined it with great interest. "Damn, Azhi, you actually have this thing!! Why didn't you take it out sooner?"
Jiang Zhi shrugged. "The battery ran out a long time ago, and we couldn't find any usable batteries."
I asked Jiang Wen this time on a whim, and I didn't expect that there would actually be these things in the base.
Jiang Shu's eyes sparkled. "A-Zhi, you wouldn't be thinking of..."
Jiang Shu felt a surge of excitement as he recalled the golden carp that Jiang Zhi had mentioned in the river earlier that day.
Jiang Zhi nodded. "Yes."
Just then, Jiang Shan and his wife turned off the kerosene lamp in the tunnel and walked in. Hearing the two's incomplete conversation, they asked, "What kind of riddles are you two talking about?"
The brother and sister answered in unison, "It's nothing."
Jiang Shan had experienced too much today and didn't have the mind to investigate further; he only asked about the ginger twig powder.
Jiang Zhi then lowered her voice and told the story of the fanged rabbit again.
Jiang Shan wasn't too excited after hearing this. "No matter what, your abilities shouldn't be known to anyone other than us for the time being. If Awen and the others have any questions in the future, we'll all say it's the tree's ability."
Ye Qingyun nodded.
It's not that I don't trust the Jiang family, but the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better.
The brother and sister were leaving the city the next day, so Ye Qingyun urged them to lie down early.
Jiang Zhi lay on the bed, taking out her notebook to record the mutated creatures she had seen that day.
This is a habit I've developed over the past few years.
My notebooks are almost full now.
—A mutated river shrimp that can shoot water arrows; the duration is unknown, and the force is weak.
—A mutated giant salamander that uses sonic attacks, which can cause dizziness in people.
After writing this, Jiang Zhi thought for a moment and added:
—The impact varies depending on the strength of one's mental power.
Jiang Shu yawned, "Azhi, if you hand this notebook over to the base, you'll definitely get a lot of points."
He had flipped through it. Although Jiang Zhi's records were not as detailed and accurate as the mutated creature collection distributed by the base, they contained many more species.
Especially plant-based ones.
Jiang Zhi disagreed, saying, "The base definitely has more information than we do. The collection is just for ordinary people."
Jiang Zhi believes that there are definitely records and notes among the mutants that are even more advanced than the biological mutation manual.
It's just that, given their current status, they can't get in touch with them.
Jiang Shu pursed his lips and said nothing more.
After Jiangzhi finished recording, she also lay down.
A dim kerosene lamp was lit in the room. Ye Qingyun glanced at the brother and sister who were gradually falling asleep, shook his head with a smile, and continued to mend Jiang Shu's trousers that had been torn during the day.
Jiang Shan didn't sleep either.
Today, the brother and sister pushed a bunch of things back, and it was obvious that the load-bearing wooden planks were deformed by the weight. Jiang Shan was worried that they would break tomorrow, so he took advantage of the moonlight to modify the flatbed cart outside.
The moonlight poured down, pure and flawless, gently caressing all things in the world, immersing everything in peace and tranquility.
The next morning.
When the brother and sister got up, Jiang Shan and his wife were no longer in the tent.
Jiang Zhi checked the time; it was a little past four.
I can already hear Jiang Sui and Jiang Si's voices next door.
Jiang Shu lifted the sunshade and looked outside. Good heavens, they were the only ones left in the family who hadn't gotten up yet.
Jiang Hai and his son were still unconscious, but their complexions had visibly improved.
Seeing that nothing was wrong, Jiang Zhi was completely relieved.
Judging from their condition, they'll probably wake up soon.
Just to be on the safe side, Jiangzhi fed the two of them fang powder again.
Ye Qingyun only made four servings of breakfast, which were barley porridge made with leftover snail roe from last night.
Even if you cook it until it's very soft, the barley is still very rough on your throat.
Jiang Shu finished eating with a bitter face, and then began to pack his things to go out.
Stepping out of the tent and seeing the brand-new flatbed truck, Jiang Shu was dumbfounded.
Is this still the same car he loved yesterday?
How come it changed so much in just one night?
If that was a Wuling minivan before, this should be a Ferrari now.
The entire frame was assembled into a sturdy rectangle using elm wood they had collected yesterday, and the car tires underneath were reinforced with iron hoops. Not only was the load-bearing area twice as large as yesterday's, but it was also thickened, and lower side panels were added to the frame.
The entire structure looks sturdy and robust, and its load-bearing capacity is much stronger than yesterday.
Most importantly, the tires have four extra wooden wheels, each about the size of a washbasin, which reduces the burden on the person pushing the cart.
Jiang Shu absolutely adored the new flatbed truck.
"Dad, did you do this last night?"
Jiang Shan laughed and said, "I don't have such good skills. I just helped out. Your second uncle helped with the processing."
After seeing Jiang Shan busy with something last night, Jiang He came out to help.
The mutated wood is more difficult to process; Jiang He worked all night to finish it last night.
Jiang He also crafted three spears.
The ginger tree had enough branches, so the three branches were given to the ginger branches and the others.
Jiang Shu tried pushing the flatbed cart, and it was indeed much easier. Although the weight had increased, it was actually more convenient to push.
He said to Jiang He with a smug look on his face, "Thank you, Second Uncle! Your skills are truly exceptional."
Jiang He smiled and said, "I'm glad I could help you."
Xu Na was going out today, so she changed into a long-sleeved shirt and trousers.
Old Jiang's family already had two baskets, so Xu Na put the sickle and rope inside.
Just like yesterday, Jiang Zhi only carried a small bag.
The three were ready, and only Jiang Wen was missing.
They probably went to buy batteries for Jiangzhi.
Jiang Zhi asked, "When did Brother Wen go?"
Before Xu Na could answer, Jiang Wen returned with a bag of used batteries.
"Ah Zhi, is this enough for you?"
Jiang Zhi took out the self-defense baton, put the battery in and tested it. Seeing the indicator light come on, she couldn't help but laugh and say, "It works."
Xu Na asked curiously, "A-Zhi, how did you get this?"
Jiang Zhi said, "Back then, when we were going to camp in the mountains, I was worried about any unexpected events, so I prepared some supplies."
Jiang Wen said with a smile, "Then our safety index is quite high today."
Jiang Zhi smiled but didn't say anything.
This anti-wolf stick isn't for protecting against people.
After they were all ready, they set off.
Jiang Sui held Jiang Si's hand and stood aside, watching them expectantly.
Jiangzhi patted his head, "Wait for your aunt to bring you something delicious."
"Auntie, I want to go too."
Jiang Shu ruffled his hair, "Stop messing around, the child should stay home obediently."
Jiangzhi said, "When you grow up, your aunt will take you there."
Jiang Sui felt disappointed, but still nodded sensibly.
Grandma Jiang took the two children and said, "Alright, don't waste any time, go early and come back early."
The four responded, "Okay."
Even if the two elders were worried, they could only keep their thoughts to themselves.
The elderly couple only returned to their tent after the four children had disappeared from sight.
*
This time, Jiangzhi chose to collect samples from area number 3 again.
There were two more people today, both young and strong, and there were noticeably fewer people eyeing their cart on the road.
Indeed, in this world, having many people gives you confidence.
After the four of them lined up and left the city gate, they ran all the way to the No. 3 gathering area. This time, their equipment was better and they had people taking turns, so their pace was obviously much faster. They arrived at their destination in just half an hour.
Upon arriving at the collection area, Jiang Shu looked around and asked Jiang Zhi, "A-Zhi, should we go to the place from yesterday first?"
The brother and sister's biggest goal today is to get their hands on the golden carp they encountered yesterday.
Jiang Shu and his sister then led the two towards the river.
Looking at the route, Jiang Wen quickly guessed that their destination was the infamous Danger River within the base, and his expression immediately changed: "Big Tree, A-Zhi, you're going to the Danger River—"
At this point, Jiang Wen's expression darkened further as he recalled yesterday's dishes. "Did you catch the fish and shrimp right here yesterday?"
Jiang Zhi didn't hide anything: "Yes, I did pick up the goods here yesterday, Second Brother, is there a problem?"
Xu Na's face was also a little pale. Looking at the bewildered expressions of Jiang Shu and his sister, she carefully spoke: "Azhi, that river is very dangerous... When the base sent people to clean up the No. 3 collection area before, they paid a heavy price. Even now, the base has not completely cleared this river. So... for us, this river is still a forbidden area."
Jiang Zhi was surprised.
"This river doesn't look big or deep, so how could it be so dangerous?"
In fact, Jiang Zhi had also used the terrain dashboard to survey the river, and apart from a few scattered red dots, there was nothing special about it.
This situation clearly contradicts what Xu Na said.
Jiang Wen nodded solemnly, "Yes, the danger of this river lies in the fact that you never know when some mutated creatures might appear."
“In the past, some people thought this river was not dangerous and tried to catch fish and shrimp in it, but without exception, they all had accidents.”
"So now everyone keeps their distance from this river. Although it's not explicitly stated that you can't get close, it's a consensus in the base to avoid it unless absolutely necessary."
Jiang Shu muttered in disbelief, "We didn't encounter any danger yesterday..."
Jiang Wen smiled wryly: "Big Tree, those people who got into trouble before said the same thing at first: it's best not to have any illusions."
Jiang Zhi frowned slightly, noticing that Jiang Wen and his wife didn't seem to be exaggerating.
She was silent for a moment, and finally said, "Second brother, I still want to go and see. We won't go close, we'll just take a look from afar on the shore."
Jiang Wen and Xu Na exchanged a glance.
The two men, unaware of Jiang Zhi's intentions, eventually agreed.
Jiang Wen said, "As long as you don't get too close, it's fine."
The four arrived at the riverbank.
Today, Jiangzhi and her friends took a different route and discovered that the river was unexpectedly long.
Looking ahead from their position, they couldn't even see the source of the river.
"Second brother, do you know where this river originates?"
Jiang Wen shook his head. "I'm afraid even the head of the base exploration team can't answer this question for you."
“This used to be the moat of Ancheng. After the Great Cataclysm, it was completely changed. Nobody knows what happened here. I only know that this river is very long. What we saw in the No. 3 collection area is less than one percent of this river.”
Jiang Shu gasped, "So long?!"
It's worth noting that the No. 3 collection area is already quite large, but the Dangerous River runs through the entire No. 3 collection area, and this part is less than one percent of the entire river. No wonder some unpredictable and dangerous mutated creatures appear here.
It will never be safe unless the base's vanguard clears the entire river.
Jiang Shu finally showed a hint of seriousness on his face.
Jiang Zhi didn't show any expression.
When the four of them arrived at the place from yesterday, Jiang Zhi brought up the terrain dashboard and looked at it. The river was the same as yesterday, with nothing special about it.
However, I did see a dense cluster of red dots along the riverbank.
She frowned.
I couldn't figure out what those red dots were; nothing unusual had happened here yesterday.
Jiang Zhi hesitated whether to continue catching the carp that she had seen yesterday, which was marked as golden on the terrain dashboard.
She was about to take two steps forward when Jiang Wen stopped her.
"Ah Zhi, you're not thinking of going into the river, are you?"
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Zhi decided to reveal something to Jiang Wen and his wife: "Second brother, second sister-in-law, there is something I haven't told you yet."
"I can sense danger nearby."
Jiang Wen was stunned, thinking he had misheard.
After realizing what she meant, she asked again, "A-Zhi, you mean..."
Jiang Zhi nodded, "That's how our family got through those three years."
Although this statement concealed some information, it wasn't exactly a lie.
Jiang Zhi had considered it. Rather than hiding the truth, it would be better for the three of them to tell the truth earlier, with seven parts of it being true.
Xu Na was taken aback. "A-Zhi, are you a mutant?"
Jiang Zhi shook her head: "I just have a stronger intuition than most people, and so far, it's been quite accurate."
Jiang Wen and his wife aren't fools. If it were just ordinary intuition, how could they have survived in the cannibalistic wilderness for so many years...?
But if they really are mutants... they will be detected when they enter the city.
Therefore, Jiang Zhi could not be lying.
Seeing the two of them stunned for a long time, Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Second brother, second sister-in-law, don't worry, we won't joke around with our lives. Otherwise, who will take care of our parents in their old age and see them off in their final days?"
Jiang Wen snapped out of his daze and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Jiang Shu said, "We saw a carp in this river yesterday. It looked like a good one. Now we want to go and see if that carp is still there."
Although after listening to Jiang Wen's description of the river, they both felt that the chances of encountering it again were very slim, but they would never be willing to give up without trying.
Seeing that they had made their decision, Jiang Wen had no choice but to say, "I still don't agree with going into the river. We can search the riverbank first, so that we can react if anything happens."
Jiang Zhi knew this was Jiang Wen and Jiang Wen's bottom line, so she nodded and said, "Okay."
After agreeing on the plan, Jiang Zhi walked to the riverbank until the terrain dashboard covered the entire river surface, and then began a thorough search as she walked forward.
After seeing the dense clusters of red dots, Jiang Zhi took a closer look and discovered they were toad eggs.
Jiang Zhi led the group around that area and continued forward.
After walking about a few hundred meters, Jiang Zhi's eyes lit up.
"Brother, I've got it!"
Not far from them, the golden sign was slowly swimming toward the shore.
Jiang Shu immediately became excited: "Where!?"
Jiang Zhi pointed over there.
They were close enough to them, yet not close enough; their fishing nets didn't have a wide enough catch area. If they acted rashly, their targets might be scared away.
But the fish seemed to know the shore; it approached a few meters, then swam away again.
After several such attempts, Jiang Shu was itching to get his hands on the fish and chase them ashore. "A-Zhi, what do we do now?"
Jiang Zhi looked thoughtfully at the dense red dots along the riverbank.
I had a feeling that the carp wanted to get closer to these creatures.
However, the banks were covered with bermudagrass. Although this plant did not grow to a gigantic size after its mutation, it grew very densely and directly blocked the water.
I wish I could just take a look at what's there.
Just then, the carp suddenly burst out of the water.
This time, all four of them saw its slender body, its silver scales shimmering with tiny silver light under the sunlight, and its fins moving powerfully, bringing out strings of water droplets that splashed in all directions.
The mutated carp's eyes bulged out of their sockets, about the size of a ping-pong ball. After briefly glancing in the direction of the red warning point, it nimbly swung its tail and plunged back into the water with a "plop," leaving only ripples that slowly dissipated.
The carp was about to swim towards the center of the river.
Jiang Zhi had a flash of inspiration and swept the red warning point with the spear in her hand.
A large patch of goldfish algae growing on the riverbank was instantly swept away into the river.
Suddenly, a rushing sound of water rose from near the goldfish algae.
Once inside the water, the goldfish algae's branches and leaves, like flexible tentacles, quickly entangled their surrounding prey.
The four could not see clearly what was happening underwater, but they knew that a fish the size of a small pig was struggling fiercely in the river, splashing water everywhere.
Jiang Wen's expression changed upon seeing this.
"This soft grass can actually attack!"
"Soft grass" is a local name for goldfish algae, which used to be commonly found along ponds in the countryside.
I never expected the mutated goldfish algae to be so powerful.
Jiang Shu took a few steps back and, seeing Jiang Zhi's calm expression, quickly asked, "A-Zhi, what did you discover?"
"Just look."
Sure enough, just as the goldfish algae were strangling their prey and preparing to eat, a carp suddenly swam over at high speed from not far away. It opened its mouth and spat out a large bubble. The large patches of goldfish algae instantly seemed to have met their nemesis, and their branches and leaves immediately retracted. Then, as if they were consciously hiding on the shore, they retreated.
When the transparent bubble floated over and touched the goldfish algae, it instantly enveloped it. Before long, the goldfish algae inside the bubble withered and turned yellow.
Seeing this, the carp jumped around in the water a few times, preparing to continue swimming towards the shore.
Jiang Zhi's gaze sharpened: "Now!"
"Brother, protect me!"
In the blink of an eye, a fishing net was cast and immediately covered the silver carp.
When the goldfish algae on the shore saw a creature approaching, its branches and leaves began to writhe and attack the ginger branch.
With a sweep of his stick, the goldfish algae fell over, but soon, the branches and leaves began to entwine around the stick and climb up the stick to the ginger tree's hand.
Jiang Shu's expression changed.
Fortunately, Jiang Wen, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and used his spear to pry open the goldfish algae.
Seeing that Jiang Zhi had been dragged a few steps, Xu Na quickly stepped forward to help.
However, this carp was even stronger than the salamander they had encountered before. Even though Xu Na used all her strength, she still couldn't keep her balance, and the two of them immediately lost their balance.
Now the Jiang brothers couldn't care less about the attacking goldfish algae and ran to help.
The men gripped the ropes tightly, their muscles taut, leaning back as they laboriously made their way to the shore.
Even with the combined strength of the four people, they could only barely match the power of the silver carp.
Each time the fish struggled, the fishing net trembled and groaned.
Suddenly, with a crisp "bang," the net could no longer bear the weight, and a tear quickly spread. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was thrown backward, the mutated carp, along with the broken net fragments, splashed into the depths of the river.
The four of them collapsed to the ground, panting as they stared at the water.
A moment later, Jiang Zhi stood up and pulled up the fishing net, which had been torn again.
Inside, a few withered goldfish algae clung to the ground, along with two fist-sized screws.
"Drip - Moderate toxicity, can be consumed in moderation."
"Drip—Highly toxic, not recommended for consumption."
Jiang Zhi expressionlessly tossed the moderately toxic screw into the bag.
It's better than nothing, I suppose.
Jiang Shu, who was standing to the side, finally came to his senses.
He leaped up with a somersault:
"Damn it!! We failed again!?" He was utterly devastated. "Such a good opportunity!! And it slipped away!!"
Who can understand the pain of having gained something and then losing it?
Jiang Shu was so heartbroken she could hardly breathe.
This is truly a case of losing both the wife and the army.
Those two screws could not fill the void in his heart at all.
That's a carp with special uses!!
It's golden!!
They only had two special items in their possession.
One is the bone stick in Jiang Shu's hand, and the other is the tooth powder on Jiang Zhi's body.
Now, with such a large carp, who knows what incredible abilities it might possess.
The carp just got away!
Jiang Wen shook his scraped hand; he had used too much force just now, so his hand was inevitably injured.
He comforted them, saying, "It's normal that we can't catch mutated creatures. If they were that easy to catch, we wouldn't have to work so hard to find food."
Xu Na was in a good mood. She asked Jiang Zhi, "A-Zhi, is this what you've got your eye on?"
Jiang Zhi nodded, "I saw it yesterday, and I thought I'd try my luck again today, but I still missed it by a little bit."
It seems I'll need to buy some better fishing nets when I get back this time.
Jiang Shu snorted, "I'll definitely catch him next time!"
Jiang Wen didn't expect them to still be persistent.
He quickly advised, "Big Tree, I think we should forget about it. These fish aren't so easy to catch. Who knows if we'll encounter them again next time? Besides, we were lucky. The goldfish algae isn't very aggressive. Who knows what we'll encounter next time?"
Just as Jiang Shu was about to retort, upon hearing the words "goldfish algae," he suddenly remembered that his bone stick was still entangled, so he quickly grabbed a watermelon knife and cut off all the branches and leaves of the goldfish algae.
"Thank goodness, I can't lose this precious thing, or I'll be devastated."
Jiang Zhi responded to Jiang Wen's words: "Second Brother, don't worry, next time I come, I will still observe the environment first."
Jiang Wen: "..."
It turns out all his advice was in vain.
Jiang Zhi put away the fishing net and continued, "Although we failed this time, we didn't come away empty-handed. At least we learned about the silver carp's preferences and its attack methods."
Jiang Shu looked completely bewildered: "What preferences?"
Were they facing different carp just now? Why couldn't he see anything?
Jiang Wen: "Is it these soft grasses?"
“Yes,” Jiangzhi said, “Next time we can follow these soft grasses to find the traces of that carp.”
"Although we don't know the specific attack method of this carp yet, as long as we can dodge those bubbles, I believe there won't be much of a problem."
Given the speed at which that carp blows bubbles, they won't get hurt as long as they're careful.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu became happy again, "In that case, let's prepare more thoroughly next time, and I refuse to believe we can't catch it!"
Jiang Wen and Xu Na couldn't understand why the brother and sister were so fond of that carp.
Xu Na hesitated, but seeing that Jiang Wen didn't say anything, she remained silent.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhi didn't explain.
Jiang Shu: "So where do we go now?"
Jiang Wen thought for a moment and said, "I've been to the No. 3 collection area before. It's mostly wild vegetables. But there's a sugarcane field on the other side of the valley. We could go take a look."
"However, we may not be able to harvest much now, as we only had one batch of ripe fruit about six months ago."
Jiang Zhi, a plant biology major, knows that it's not the sugarcane growing season, and with so many people at the base, she doesn't know if there will be any harvest.
But the temptation of sugarcane was just too great.
That's sweet...
It can be made into brown sugar, or juiced. If you could add some lemon juice and ice...
Jiang Shu couldn't bear to even think about it.
Although they don't have any of the things mentioned above yet, people always need to have dreams, otherwise what's the difference between them and salted fish?
"Ah-Zhi, let's go to the sugarcane field!!"
Fishing can be done on the way back.
Jiang Zhi nodded without hesitation, "Okay."
Jiang Shu's attitude left Jiang Wen and his wife looking at each other in bewilderment.
They originally thought that Jiang Shu was the one making the decisions, but now it seems that Jiang Zhi is.
The sugarcane grove is on the west side of the valley. Yesterday, they only went to the wild vegetable grove on the east side and did not know that there was sugarcane next to the wild vegetable grove, which is over a hundred acres in size.
This time they went directly from the edge of the valley and soon arrived at the sugarcane field.
The mutated sugarcane plants varied in shape, with unusually thick stems and a dark purple skin covered with twisted and irregular patterns. The shorter sugarcane stalks lay densely on the ground. The sugarcane leaves also deviated from their usual appearance, with broad leaves rustling in the wind and serrated edges that looked sharp.
"Holy crap, this is the mutated sugarcane? Is it even edible?" Jiang Shu complained. "I think they'd be better off eating me."
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