Chapter 3: Eating is quite difficult
A stone slab was placed over the fire, and Yun Ye sprinkled pine nuts on it, carefully stirring them. The crackling sound of the pine nuts made He Jianqiang feel much more at ease, and he quietly said to Yun Zheng: "How wonderful it would be if I had an older brother like you"
Are you awake? Are you hungry? Just wait a little longer, and I will roast some pine nuts for you. Eating too many raw pine nuts is not good. If you're feeling uncomfortable from hunger, you can nibble on a couple of pears first
A bundle of pine needles was ignited and thrown in; before long, a large group of squirrels fled in panic. This is excellent; the presence of squirrels is a good sign, as they also dislike dampness
Yun Zheng turned around and smiled at He Jianqiang, then began to diligently knock on the pine cone. The pine nuts spilled out from the crushed pine cone, plump and full. This kind of large pine nut was something Yun Zheng could not afford in the past
The bamboo forest gradually recedes, and a pine forest appears ahead. The plants here exhibit a strong sense of regional identity; where there are bamboo, there are no pine trees, and where there are pine trees, bamboo is absent. Compared to the bamboo forest, the pine forest is much safer. Venomous snakes generally do not prefer to linger in pine woods; the bamboo forest is their paradise. The beautiful green bamboo viper particularly enjoys biting when people walk by, targeting the neck and ankles.
Yun Zheng handed a wolf-tooth arrow to He Jianqiang. This was indeed a wolf-tooth arrow; the arrowhead was not made of iron, but was inlaid with a very sharp wolf's tooth.
He, He Jianqiang, fell into a deep sleep, resting his head on Yun Zheng's neck and sleeping very soundly. After all, a body of three or four years old does not allow him to engage in too much physical activity
The small river has become increasingly wide, and the water surface has become quite shallow. Glancing back at the weary He Jianqiang, Yun Zheng knows that he must find something to eat. He has not had much to eat last night and this morning, and He Jianqiang is enduring it, trying not to cause any trouble for himself.
A large number of dried pine needles were collected and thrown into the tree hollow. I just checked it, and the space inside is quite spacious. What delighted Yun Zheng the most was discovering traces of a fire that had been lit inside. A piece of wood was charred black; although it had long since cooled down, Yun Zheng was still overjoyed. Only humans can use fire, and as long as there are people, he and He Jianqiang can naturally live well together.
A large amount of pine resin was collected in the pine forest, and the lighting for the night will depend on it. Without fire, neither I nor He Jianqiang can endure this long and dark night filled with books. In the distance, the howling of wolves has already been heard
Who still uses such tools for hunting now? Generally, people use guns, and some use crossbows. Bows and arrows are difficult to master and have poor accuracy, making them unsuitable for most people. We experience wormholes, and we are strong. In terms of time and place, we cannot take control, as we are passive. The external environment may be extremely harsh, so one must be mentally prepared
Setting a fire in a tree hollow should have been a path to destruction, yet this is a living tree. The damp wood will not ignite a fire. A small nest was made with pine needles and thatch, and my own clothes were used to wrap the sleeping He Jianqiang tightly. I rekindled a fire in the previously charred area.
After dawn, Yun Zheng left the tree hollow without the slightest hesitation, as the scarcity of food left him with no other choice. The small stream at the foot of the mountain had already gathered from a trickle into a small river
A meal lasted until midnight, yet neither of them felt full; they merely sensed a lack of hunger. Yun Zheng added some firewood to the fire, making the flames burn more vigorously. Only then did he hold onto He Jian and fall into a deep sleep, listening to the distant howls of wolves.
It turns out that the top of the large tree also has a hole, and the smoke naturally wafted out through the hollow trunk, while there was surprisingly not a trace of smoke or fire below; this is a generous gift from nature
For a full two hours, Yun Zheng did not stop for a moment. He had no way of calculating how far he had traveled; he only knew that as long as the small river turned into a great river, he would be saved. In this generation, the only river that could be called a great river is the Yangtze River.
Continuing along the river, Yun Zheng must make the most of his remaining energy to cover as much ground as possible. The mountains on both sides become steeper, with fewer trees and more rocks. Fortunately, the ground beneath his feet is a soft, sandy beach. There are fish in the river, but Yun Zheng knows that he cannot catch them with his skills, so he can only continue on his way, salivating.
Be strong, as long as you like it, I have a very bad feeling, we probably cannot go back, look at this tree hole, someone has been here, when I was cleaning the tree hole, I actually found this
There are no snakes in the pine forest, but there are bears. With so many animals here, it is impossible not to have large carnivores. Just look at that pine tree, polished and shiny from being rubbed by the bears, and you will know that the bears here must be very large
The sun has already begun to set in the west, and in another two hours it will be below the horizon. This place is almost at the mountain peak, yet there is still no signal on the phone, which intensifies Yunzheng's unease.
Even primitive people knew to seek a cave for shelter, so how could Yun Zheng possibly be unaware of this? Although he did not find a cave, he was fortunate enough to discover a tree hollow. He never expected that a tree could grow so thick; the center was already hollowed out, while the exterior remained lush and green. At a height of half a person, there was a hole just large enough for one person to crawl inside, and the other cracks were only palm-width. If the inside were sufficiently dry, it would be the most ideal place for shelter.
He Jianqiang's demeanor was even more composed than Yun Zheng's. He nodded slightly and pointed to the pine nuts on the board, asking if they were cooked. Yun Zheng was very pleased with He Jianqiang's performance. He swept the roasted pine nuts onto the ground and used a stone to crack them open one by one, allowing He Jianqiang to eat while he continued to roast more pine nuts.
When Yun Zheng struck the pine cone with a wooden stick, He Jianqiang woke up, rubbing his bruised eyes and staring blankly at the bright pine resin torch. He did not understand how he had ended up in a wooden cabin
This place and the bookstore might have snakes, so I dare not put He Jianqiang down and can only continue to carry him. I found a shallow bay where several fish were swimming around, which was quite good, each about the size of a palm. Yun Zheng quietly built a sand dam at the mouth of the bay, as this was the only way to catch fish
Stockpiling food has always been a priority for Yun Zheng, and pine nuts are an excellent choice. A pine cone over a foot long is filled with delicious pine nuts. After collecting seven or eight pine cones from the low-hanging pine trees, Yun Zheng felt like a wealthy man, especially as the large-tailed squirrel perched on the tree gazed at him with admiration.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Am I not your older brother now? Logically, I should be your teacher, and you should regard me as a father figure. However, I am so young and handsome that being a father would be a loss for me, so just call me brother!" Yun Zheng made an effort to lighten the atmosphere between the two, believing that a downcast person cannot survive long in the wild
I dislike the surname He, brother. Can I take your surname instead? Just seeing that surname makes me uncomfortable. I also want to have the surname Yun; it is such a beautiful surname. The reason I have feelings for you started when I heard that your surname is Yun.