Chapter 66: Bamboo Rats

As soon as Liu Yinyin heard about bamboo shoots, she felt a surge of motivation. If there were bamboo shoots to dig up, walking a little further wouldn’t be a problem.

After resting for a while, they continued forward.

About twenty minutes later, they finally spotted a vast bamboo forest ahead. The dense, lush green bamboo stretched endlessly into the distance.

“Wow…” Liu Dazhuang’s mouth hung open in astonishment. “I never knew there was such a huge bamboo forest here!”

Despite living in the village all his life, he had never heard anyone mention a bamboo forest in this area.

Liu Yinyin’s eyes were glued to the sight before her. This time of year was the peak season for bamboo shoots to break through the soil.

And sure enough, there were plenty of them! One glance at the forest floor revealed countless bamboo shoots densely packed together—it was an incredibly tempting sight.

With a bright smile, Liu Yinyin declared, “That’s it! I’m digging bamboo shoots today.”

She immediately cast aside her previous plan of foraging for wild vegetables. With so many bamboo shoots here, who needed wild greens?

Liu Dazhuang frowned in reluctance. “Uncle, are we really just here to dig bamboo shoots today?”

Digging up bamboo shoots wasn’t bad, but compared to hunting, it was nowhere near as exciting.

Gu Cheng glanced around, as if noticing something. Without a word, he picked up a small rock from the ground and swiftly hurled it forward—

“Whoosh!”

In an instant, a furry creature darted past in a blur.

“It’s a bamboo rat!” Liu Dazhuang had sharp eyes and instantly recognized the little creature that had just scurried by. His eyes lit up with excitement. “Uncle, there are bamboo rats in this forest!”

In these times, people had no taboos when it came to food. Forget about bamboo rats raised in the wild on bamboo—some folks even ate regular house mice!

Liu Yinyin’s smile froze. “……”

Dear heavens, all she wanted was to peacefully dig up some bamboo shoots—why couldn’t they just let her be?

Gu Cheng seemed intrigued by the idea. He turned to Liu Yinyin and asked, “Shall we go catch some bamboo rats?”

Liu Yinyin shook her head vigorously. “You… You guys go ahead. I’ll just stay here and dig up bamboo shoots!”

Call her squeamish if you will, but bamboo rats looked too much like regular rats, and they gave her the creeps.

Catching bamboo rats? No, thank you!

“Uncle, let’s go catch them together!” Liu Dazhuang was itching to move.

He had clearly spotted the bamboo rat just now—it looked plump and probably weighed at least three or four pounds.

That was a lot of meat!

Bamboo rat meat was tender and delicious, just as good as pork, if not better.

Gu Cheng hesitated slightly. “Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

Liu Yinyin nodded like a pecking chicken. “I’ll just stay here digging bamboo shoots—I won’t go anywhere. You two do what you need to do.”

Honestly, she was glad to be left alone. With them busy hunting, she might even get a chance to secretly sell some bamboo shoots to the system.

There were so many bamboo shoots here—it would be a shame not to gather as many as possible!

Gu Cheng nodded and instructed, “Alright, we won’t go far. If anything happens, just call out.”

He had already scanned the area and saw no signs of large animal droppings or footprints, meaning it was relatively safe.

As soon as Gu Cheng and Liu Dazhuang went off to catch bamboo rats, Liu Yinyin immediately crouched down and got to work. The bamboo shoots in this forest were mostly mature ones, growing above the surface, making them easy to harvest.

All she had to do was use her hoe to break them off.

In no time, Liu Yinyin had gathered a large pile of bamboo shoots, weighing at least ten pounds.

She looked up and saw that Gu Cheng and Liu Dazhuang were still busy hunting bamboo rats not far away, paying no attention to her.

Taking her chance, Liu Yinyin willed it in her mind—and sold half of her bamboo shoots to the system.

Aside from bamboo shoots, the forest also had some bamboo fungus, though not in large quantities. Liu Yinyin picked some and placed them in her basket.

Bamboo fungus was just as delicious as wild mushrooms, so she decided not to sell it to the system—good food was meant to be enjoyed. Since her family could afford it, she wouldn’t deprive herself.

She didn’t know how long she had been digging, but eventually, her hands ached from the effort.

Only then did she stop to take a break. By now, the bamboo shoots beside her had piled up into a small mountain.

Liu Yinyin didn’t dare go overboard, so she secretly sold fifty pounds of bamboo shoots to the system.

Even after that, there were still over a hundred pounds of bamboo shoots stacked on the ground, along with a full basket of bamboo fungus.

She felt a bit embarrassed—her system balance had been low for a while. She had spent a lot on food, and ever since she had given birth and started raising her child, her monthly expenses had exceeded her earnings.

Now, even after selling those fifty pounds of bamboo shoots, her system balance was only around five thousand yuan.

She really was quite broke…

But Liu Yinyin wasn’t greedy. As long as she had enough to get by, she was content.

“Teacher Yinyin, come help us!”

Liu Yinyin was lost in thought when Liu Dazhuang suddenly interrupted her.

Snapping back to reality, she looked up and saw Gu Cheng and Liu Dazhuang walking toward her, each carrying a large burlap sack.

This bamboo forest was teeming with bamboo rats, and their harvest had been quite bountiful.

The sacks were bulging and wriggling slightly—clearly filled with bamboo rats.

Liu Yinyin’s lips twitched. “……”

She had no idea what these two planned to do with so many bamboo rats.

One thing was certain—she wouldn’t be eating them.

Still, she stepped forward to help Liu Dazhuang carry the sacks over.

Liu Dazhuang’s face was flushed with excitement.

Even though…

Even though most of the bamboo rats had been caught by Gu Cheng, he had contributed too!

“Are you hungry?” Gu Cheng asked Liu Yinyin.

Liu Yinyin pulled Gu Cheng’s wrist toward her and glanced at his watch—it was already past eleven.

Lunchtime was approaching, and there wasn’t enough time to head back for a meal.

“Uncle, I’m starving!” Liu Dazhuang chattered away. He hadn’t eaten until full that morning, and after a whole morning of hiking and hunting, he was completely drained. His stomach had been growling for a while.

Liu Yinyin scratched her head sheepishly. “Uh… I didn’t bring any food.”

She hadn’t expected to stay in the mountains for so long. When they left home, she had only brought a water bottle.

Gu Cheng said matter-of-factly, “We can start a fire and roast some meat.”

They had gathered so much today. Eating first would give them the energy to carry everything back.

Liu Dazhuang’s eyes lit up at the mention of roasted meat. “Good idea! I saw a river nearby.”

He was overjoyed. This trip had been totally worth it—not only had they caught so many bamboo rats, but now they were going to have a barbecue!

Usually, when he and his friends went into the mountains, all they could catch were birds and steal bird eggs. That little bit of meat was barely enough to satisfy a craving.

Liu Yinyin hesitated. “You mean… roast bamboo rat meat?”

Gu Cheng chuckled. “You don’t like it?”

He had noticed her conflicted expression the moment bamboo rats were mentioned.

Liu Yinyin forced a smile and nodded hesitantly. “Um… just a little.”

Gu Cheng smirked. “I caught a wild chicken for you. We’ll roast that too.”

Liu Yinyin breathed a sigh of relief. “That works.”

Roast wild chicken actually sounded pretty good.

There was a small river not far away. They left their belongings by the riverside and took one wild chicken and two bamboo rats with them.

Gu Cheng was clearly experienced in outdoor cooking. In no time, he had a fire going.

After preparing the wild chicken and bamboo rats, he skewered them on long wooden sticks and set them over the fire to roast.

While waiting for the meat to cook, Liu Yinyin took the opportunity to gather some wild vegetables. The soil near the river was moist, and the wild greens grew in abundance.