WS - Chapter 151
Chapter 151
Some people, even with a table full of delicacies, can't stomach a bite.
Some people, with just a strip of jerky, can chew it like a delicacy, taking ages to gnaw off half a piece.
Of course, on one hand, it's about treasuring food; on the other... it's because it's just too tough.
"Why don't you soak it in water before eating? Aren't there a few flasks of hot water in the thermal storage box? It'll soften up fast." Feng Qianqian leaned against the tent, twirling a few pliable twigs in her hand, and glanced at Ning Chuyang, whose expression had turned stiff and ferocious from chewing jerky. Unable to hold back, she advised.
"No." Ning Chuyang rubbed her slightly aching cheeks. "It's fine like this. Haven't you heard? Chewing slowly aids digestion."
Truthfully, what did it have to do with digestion? It was just to conserve food. By keeping it in your mouth and chewing slowly, you could taste the meat, fool your tongue, and fool your stomach...
Such a tiny piece of jerky didn't last long in the stomach. Soon the stomach would realize it had been deceived and start growling again.
Feng Qianqian wanted to say something, but in the end she remained silent.
What could she say? If it weren't for her uselessness, they wouldn't have to ration food so strictly...
Her heart sank, and Feng Qianqian stopped working on the wheelchair model.
Nearby, Ning Chuyang, still gnawing the jerky, sensed something was off. She turned her head to look--well... if you didn't keep an eye on her for a moment, someone started going down the wrong mental path again.
"Enough, you're worrying about me? How's your little wheelchair model coming along? Finish it quickly, and big sister will go find materials for a big wheelchair. Then we'll set off to find some crabs to eat." Ning Chuyang stood up and nudged Feng Qianqian with her elbow. "It's the perfect season for crabs now. Your production team is really thoughtful. The team ahead shouldn't have turned the whole crab pond upside down, right? When we go, we'll sweep through it--half steamed, half boiled..."
Ning Chuyang's words started off fine, but the more she spoke, the more absurd they became.
Half steamed, half boiled--what did that even mean...
Feng Qianqian was both annoyed and amused by her, and truly no longer had the heart to wallow in self-pity. She couldn't help but push Ning Chuyang's elbow back. "What big sister? You're clearly younger than me. Who are you trying to take advantage of?"
"Oh, you're older than me?" Ning Chuyang put on an expression of sudden realization, but looked completely unbothered, and laughed even more happily. "That's great then! Since you're so clever with your hands, after we dig up the crabs, you can peel a couple for me!"
Feng Qianqian: "..."
What was with this person? Coaxing, threatening, acting cute, throwing a tantrum--she could pull out any trick effortlessly, and every time, she'd leave people with no way to respond...
When Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan returned, they saw at a glance by the tent one person standing and laughing without a shred of seriousness, and the other sitting with helplessness written all over her face.
Seeing someone return, Ning Chuyang immediately dropped the unruly act she'd been using to tease Feng Qianqian, ran up in a few steps, and vigorously ruffled Dog, who had come back with the two.
"Ugh... this rough, scratchy feeling... How did this dog get its fur so dirty!" Ning Chuyang had barely stroked it once before she quickly began rubbing the tiny sand and grit stuck to her palm.
Yu Nianbing briefly recounted how they had encountered Dog after going out.
When she got to the part about how Dog suddenly started digging a hole just as they were about to turn back, Zhuang Jiachuan couldn't help but cut in: "Let me tell the rest. Teacher Yu describes things too seriously, but this part is really quite amusing..."
And wasn't it just.
The Dog who had previously learned to carry jerky and dog food into the cave had now dug out a rabbit hole. Just when the two had placed high hopes on it, it finally revealed its true nature--it really wasn't a hunting dog.
The wild rabbit, gray, was crouched deeper inside the hole.
At that moment, Yu Nianbing, who had stayed at Dog's side despite the billowing dust, had already spotted it.
Then, the wild rabbit shot out, startling Yu Nianbing into instinctively retreating two steps, and delivered a heavy, swift kick right to the face of the silly Dog still digging.
In a flash, before either the two people or the dog could react, the rabbit had already hopped and run away, gone...
If the story had stopped there, it would have been nothing more than a dull, failed hunting tale.
The key was what came after. Having been kicked in the face and finally realizing what had happened, Dog was simply furious to the point of fluffing up.
The two, already unable to control Dog, could do nothing but let it be in that situation.
Thus, they were forced to spectate as Dog dug open nearly twenty rabbit holes across that vast hillside, and got kicked in the face by no fewer than five rabbits of different sizes...
Of course, it might have been twenty different rabbits, it was just that they couldn't accurately tell them apart except by size.
If not for Dog, who grew more valiant with each setback despite the increasing pain on its face, they probably would never have imagined that the hillside, which looked so normal with its lush green grass, had so many rabbit holes underneath.
Earlier, after ascending the mountain, they had only searched the area where they had seen gray shadows the previous night, found some rabbit tracks, and set traps based on them. But as Dog's search range kept expanding, far beyond the scope of their morning search, they realized they had only glimpsed the tip of the great rabbit kingdom's iceberg.
Moreover, if this silly Dog hadn't been so incapable of learning its lesson even when its face was about to get kicked swollen, forcing them to hold it down and make it calm down enough to stop--lest its teeth get kicked out--Dog would probably have dug out even more rabbit holes.
Both the rabbit holes and the rabbits were far, far more than they had imagined.
It was just that those rabbits all seemed very clever. Dog could only find their holes but couldn't catch them at all.
Aside from the first rabbit, every time a hole was dug out, Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan had immediately followed to keep an eye on it.
But Dog was no professional hunting dog, and the people were no professional hunters.
After nearly twenty attempts, aside from not being kicked in the face, they were hardly less demoralized than Dog.
From nervousness, to anger, to disappointment, and finally... they could only find solace in their misery.
When Zhuang Jiachuan told the story, although he was no professional storyteller, he was far more engaging than the straightforward Yu Nianbing.
Combined with the fact that both people and Dog were covered in dust, Ning Chuyang and Feng Qianqian could practically visualize the scene.
"So, after we restrained Dog, we set up a bunch of traps all over that hillside. We hope that after a night passes, we'll have something to show for it when we go back tomorrow." Zhuang Jiachuan said, then chuckled again. "But I think it won't be easy. Those rabbits really seem like they've become spirits."
Feng Qianqian thought for a moment. "You've set so many traps. If you catch two or more rabbits tomorrow, it'll prove the traps work on them. Otherwise, I'm afraid the traps won't be much use."
As they talked, Yu Nianbing kept watching Song Shiyue, who lay in the tent.
So quiet and still, that even when Zhuang Jiachuan got to the funniest part about the twenty-hit rabbit combo, that calm face showed no change at all.
Could a Song Shiyue like this really hear what they were saying?
Even things they had been certain of the previous day would breed new doubts as time and circumstances changed.
However, all of this temporarily seemed like nothing in the face of a pile of rabbit meat.
Because they had wasted too much time on the previous mountain in the morning, by the time Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan returned to camp, it was nearly noon. Starting up another mountain in the afternoon, they naturally couldn't climb very high before having to return for the night.
After a whole day, the camp's new gains were the little over one bag of jerky Dog had brought back, and two cans of dog food.
Although the supplies had increased a bit, similarly, there was one more mouth to feed.
Every day that passed, regardless of any gains, there was consumption.
The previous night, there had been one sandwich, one hamburger, and one and a half bags of jerky left. Today, not counting what Dog brought, only one hamburger and one bag of jerky remained.
And that was with everyone being extremely frugal.
Late at night, Yu Nianbing sat in the tent, having turned over this meager food accounting in her mind countless times.
The day before, they were short by about seven or eight rabbits for Song Shiyue's needs. By today, not counting what Dog brought, if they ate everything, they'd probably be short by one more rabbit.
Beside Yu Nianbing lay an empty stainless-steel lunchbox and a pair of chopsticks.
Today, after Song Shiyue finished the last remaining hamburger, she would have to start eating jerky too.
Next to the lunchbox and chopsticks was a full bag of jerky.
As Song Shiyue's periods of wakefulness grew longer by the day, and more parts of her body recovered sensation, Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan seemed to have sensed something.
Although no one had talked about it, while practicing self-restraint, Ning Chuyang and Zhuang Jiachuan together brought in that bag of jerky at nightfall.
Once this was gone, they would have only some dandelion greens and the little jerky Dog had brought...
Those rabbits...
Yu Nianbing recalled the sturdy, clever rabbits from the morning. Though she still prayed for some gains tomorrow, in truth, she didn't hold much hope.
Song Shiyue opened her eyes, tilted her head, and saw Yu Nianbing nearby, unconsciously frowning deeply.
Having listened for a whole day, how could Song Shiyue not guess what Yu Nianbing was worrying about?
In fact, Song Shiyue had also thought of a possible solution, but she felt it was somewhat risky, so she was still hesitating in her heart. Of course, the biggest prerequisite for that solution was the state of her body when she woke this time.
Although recently, Song Shiyue's periods of wakefulness were growing longer and longer--there was never a case of not having time to eat, only not having enough to eat. But Yu Nianbing, having experienced the urgent times before, still habitually rushed to bring in food the moment she saw Song Shiyue awake, stuffing it into her first thing.
This time was the same. The moment their eyes met, Yu Nianbing sprang up and quickly went to get the hamburger from the thermal storage box outside.
Hmm... with those moves, she's not much slower than the rabbits they talked about.
Song Shiyue moved her hands, propped herself up into a sitting position. Very good, her arms had regained some strength, and her waist was much better than before.
Then came...
Song Shiyue leaned back against the pile of backpacks and clothes Yu Nianbing had prepared, sat up properly, took hold of her knees with both hands, and slowly tried to move her legs.
Left leg...
Right leg...
Yu Nianbing, who had already walked back to the tent entrance, happened to see this scene inside, and grew so tense she almost held her breath.
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