Chapter 342: Chapter 341: Camping 2
"I’m taking you camping."
"Didn’t you say we weren’t going?"
"I wanted to surprise you," Han Yi chuckled, holding Lin Wan’s hand. "Let’s go quickly; we didn’t bring any food, so we’ll have to rely on hunting in the mountains. Are you ready?"
Lin Wan thought for a moment, then hurried inside to grab a set of thick clothes, some tissues, a clean cloth bag, a flashlight, matches, and candles. She filled a military water bottle with hot water and packed everything into her homemade backpack.
Fearing it would get cold at night, she thought again and went to the kitchen for a couple of steamed buns, just in case. She was contemplating whether to bring bowls and chopsticks when Han Yi pulled her out. "We’ve got everything; let’s go."
As they walked through the courtyard, many of the sisters-in-law noticed the couple in camouflage clothes, each with a backpack, and curiously inquired,
They even ran into Shen Tuan’s sister-in-law on the way. "Where is Captain Han’s sister-in-law headed?"
"Hello, sister-in-law, we’re going for a walk in the mountains."
"Uncle Han, Uncle Han! Can you catch a few rabbits for us to play with when you go to the mountains?" the children in the yard, familiar with Han Yi, asked boldly, unafraid.
"Sure, if I come across any, I’ll bring them back for you," Han Yi replied with a smile, ruffling the child’s hair.
Han Yi took her hand and walked out of the courtyard, heading for the foothills to the north. It took them over ten minutes to walk from the Jun District to the foothills.
The forest was dense and full of streams. Lin Wan thought there must be plenty of fish and shrimp in it.
"There are some, but the fish aren’t big. The cooks often come here to catch fish and hunt when they’re free," Han Yi explained. "Even if there are, there are too few for the whole Jun District."
"Can I come here by myself in the future?" Lin Wan inquired.
"You’re only allowed up to that boundary over there; you can’t go any further," Han Yi pointed out.
Lin Wan looked in the direction Han Yi pointed and suddenly realized they were walking towards it.
Han Yi put down his backpack, took off his shoes, and arranged some stones in the creek.
Afterward, instead of hurrying, he joined Lin Wan in mushroom hunting in the forest.
In less than half an hour, upon returning, several small fish were trapped in the stone formation in the creek.
Han Yi got in the water, caught them, and used the Jun Knife to gut and clean them on the spot. He strung them on a grass rope and continued walking.
When they reached the boundary Han Yi mentioned, they didn’t stop but continued inward.
Knowing Lin Wan might be curious, Han Yi smiled and explained, "I can take you with me. On your own, you can’t come here. You need to come with others from the courtyard, okay?"
"Oh."
"There are more mushrooms around here, and the sisters-in-law often come here too," Han Yi added.
Han Yi held Lin Wan’s hand and walked in the mountains for more than two hours. During that time, they found quite a few mushrooms and fungi. Fortunately, she was smart enough to have prepared a small cloth bag.
They walked, stopping occasionally, and Lin Wan picked quite a few. She looked down at her watch and saw it was already a little past one.
Han Yi was very familiar with the terrain here and led her to a narrow creek with clear water. Lin Wan could see the small fish swim at the bottom.
Beside the creek was a small flat area, and next to it, a small earth cave that was one or two meters deep, where they could take shelter from rain.
Han Yi put his backpack in the small earth cave. "Let’s take a break here for lunch. I’ll gather some branches, and we can make a fire to grill fish. How does that sound?"
"Yes, yes," Lin Wan nodded eagerly, having been craving it just a while ago.
Han Yi and Lin Wan collected some relatively dry branches nearby and some hay, placing them on the flat ground.
He carefully cleared the weeds around where they were starting the fire.
Once the fire was going, he took a water bottle and two 70-80 cm iron skewers, with wooden handles on one end for easy handling, out of the backpack.