Chapter 728: 728 on the mountain
Yuanyuan just listened from the side. The family’s moral character was decent, with no ill intentions.
"Alright, don’t worry, I will definitely ask for you. Actually, every household around here has some, but they just keep it for themselves."
After breakfast, Lin Gensheng took Wei Guangxiang and Zeng Yixin to buy guns. Zhan Yunzhao wasn’t familiar with those, so he and Zeng Hongling went to buy machetes instead.
The three of them prepared at home. Generally, mountain people carry dry food when going up the mountain. Yuanyuan had already provided them with fifty pounds of cornmeal and fifty pounds of white flour. This way, the five of them could eat for a while, and if needed, they could pay for more, as it’s hard to carry so much along. Several people had to take turns carrying it on the way.
The Lin Family prepared cornbread, steamed buns, and pickles for them. They all had their own water bottles.
After everything was ready, the two of them returned with guns, which were homemade hunting rifles with very powerful recoil.
"Uncle, if we don’t come back at night, don’t look for us. The five of us together won’t be in danger."
"I know, we often stay on the mountain for ten days or half a month."
They brought some noodles, cornmeal, and a small pot. Lin Gensheng also told them where there were water sources.
The five of them set off. Yuanyuan and Zeng Hongling even brought coats because it would be cold at night.
Actually, Yuanyuan thought it would be more convenient if she went alone.
All the way, they saw big trees, but there were also small paths made by mountain people.
"Isn’t the food we brought too little?" Zeng Hongling asked Yuanyuan.
"It’s fine, we’ll also hunt for game. Don’t worry, we won’t go hungry."
"Roast meat? Yuanyuan, did you bring the seasoning?"
"I have it in my backpack, don’t worry, you won’t go hungry."
The two girls walked in the middle; Yuanyuan had already released her Divine Sense. She had seen pictures of medicinal herbs at the Daoist Temple before, but those were all southern herbs.
However, Zhan Yunzhao and the others should have seen introductions to the herbs in the north in their study, hopefully, they could find them.
Yuanyuan now only knew what the leaves of ginseng looked like.
She was thinking, if the age is too young, she could collect some into the space, not too much, just as long as there was some.
Wei Guangxiang was leading the way; he was a very cautious and careful person.
"Walking on paths others have taken, I think the chance of finding ginseng is very small," Zeng Hongling said to Wei Guangxiang at the front.
"Let’s get to the top of the mountain first, and then we can slowly look around."
Anyway, when they reached the top, Yuanyuan still hadn’t found any ginseng. It was already noon by then.
"You guys rest, I’ll go see if there’s any game, we should have a meal too."
"I’ll go with you."
It’s always safe when two men go out. Zhan Yunzhao started collecting firewood, and the two girls sat on the side to rest; they were indeed a bit tired.
"Yuanyuan, if we spend the night outside, it must be pretty dangerous, right?"
Yuanyuan also remembered their encounter with wolves in Shushan.
"There surely are dangers. Lin Gensheng pointed out a cave to us, let’s try to reach it by night; that way it’s safer."
Zeng Hongling still had a fear of wild animals in the mountains. Last time, both of them got hurt, and she almost got severely injured.
The two rested for a while, then went to a pond nearby to see, animals probably came here often to drink water.
"I wonder if the water here is drinkable? Animals come to drink here too." Zeng Hongling said with a bit of distaste.
"There’s no choice, but if boiled, it should be fine."
"That would be best. In these deep mountains, who knows what dangers there are? If we get sick, it would be troublesome."
"I brought medicine and a compass. Maybe next time you shouldn’t come along. I actually want to go up the mountain alone."
"No way, what are you thinking? The mountain is so dangerous. How could we let you go alone?"
Yuanyuan knew it would be like this, so she never mentioned it.
The two of them used the small pot to bring back water, and by then, Zhan Yunzhao was already starting a fire.
It seems this Daoist Zhan also had experience living in the wild; he set up a makeshift stove with three stones, started a fire, and put the pot on to boil water.
They heard the sound of a gunshot, so they knew the two of them had caught some game. This way, they wouldn’t have to eat the dry cornbread.
After about ten minutes, the water in the pot was boiling, and Wei Guangxiang and the other two came back.
"Wow, what is this? A wild goat? You actually caught a wild goat on the mountain top?" Zeng Hongling excitedly rushed over.
"Yes, a whole herd. We both will go process it."
Each of the five of them had a dagger for self-defense, and of course, it was just right for processing game.
"Bring over a leg first; let’s braise it," Zeng Hongling shouted from behind.
"No, the leg should be roasted."
For now, they weren’t in a hurry to gather ginseng; they decided to satisfy their cravings first.
About a quarter of an hour later, Wei Guangxiang brought over half a goat. In that time, Yuanyuan had already found a flat stone to use as a cutting board.
The front and hind legs were for roasting, and the ribs would be used for stewing.
The pot wasn’t big, but it was full. Zhan Yunzhao also collected some Sichuan pepper to put in to remove the strong smell.
Wei Guangxiang started another fire to roast the lamb leg. In fact, they couldn’t finish a whole goat, but they planned to roast it all and carry it, so they wouldn’t need to hunt at night.
After more than an hour, the five of them finally ate. They each brought their own chopsticks and food containers. This was truly stewed lamb, but the taste was quite strong; only Yuanyuan wasn’t used to it. The other four ate deliciously.
The roasted lamb leg tasted very good because it had thirteen spices; Yuanyuan thought it only lacked chili powder and cumin powder to make it even better.
The other half was also separated and roasted over the fire; this was to be carried to eat on the road at night.
Watching Zeng Hongling eating so sweetly, Yuanyuan thought that after three days, she definitely wouldn’t be eating as happily.
Today, the five of them spent three hours just resting and eating.
Yuanyuan smiled and reassured the four of them, "Don’t force anything; let’s leisurely search the mountain. If we’re lucky, we’ll find something. If not, that’s normal."
"Yuanyuan, you are so relaxed."
"What else can we do? We already talked about it on the way here. If we can’t gather, we’ll buy some; it’s not a big deal."
Zhan Yunzhao also nodded on the side, "Xiao Su is right. Everything is destined; we shouldn’t force it."