Chapter 102: Big Ribs, Small Ribs, and Steak – Kill Them All!

After stepping outside, Zhou Sinian rummaged through the room, finding several cans of meat and a few bags of rice that had been completely eaten up.

It seemed the cows had gotten to them. Even the cans of meat had teeth marks on their outer shells.

Zhou Sinian frowned, displeased.

Ming Dai comforted him for a moment, then took the cans and suggested they explore the other rooms.

Zhou Sinian led her on a tour of the entire cave.

There were more than thirty rooms in total. Though they didn’t look very big, digging such a large space deep in the mountains must have required considerable manpower.

Ming Dai noticed bite marks on the tables and chairs, likely from the cows that had been driven mad with hunger.

There were water stains on the ground. Following the trail of water, they reached another exit of the cave, but it was blocked off as well.

Just like the one behind them, the entrance had collapsed for some unknown reason, and some trees that had grown afterward had covered the opening completely.

A crooked tree stretched in, its branches bent and moss growing on the rocks. Now, everything had been eaten clean. The crooked tree had not only had its branches gnawed at, but its bark was stripped off entirely.

Even the rocks bore signs of being bitten.

It was probably because of this tree, the dried-up moss, and the water seeping through the cracks in the rocks that the cows had managed to survive until they arrived.

Ming Dai turned back with Zhou Sinian, but halfway through, something occurred to her.

She remembered that during this period, people from Japan had apparently stolen many treasures and artifacts from China. Those they couldn’t transport in time were often hidden in the mountains.

Ming Dai decided to use her spatial ability to check for any hidden treasures.

She circled the cave, but found nothing.

This wasn’t right!

After thinking for a moment, Ming Dai asked Zhou Sinian to carry her outside, and they walked around the perimeter of the cave.

Sure enough, not far from the cave, at the base of a slope, a reaction was triggered.

As she looked at the large boxes buried five or six meters deep in the ground, Ming Dai’s heart surged with anger!

These bandits!

Zhou Sinian noticed her gloomy expression and, with some concern, asked, “Ming Dai, what’s wrong?”

Ming Dai composed herself, shook her head, and stored all the boxes into her spatial ability.

“Zhou Sinian, let’s go home.”

Zhou Sinian glanced at the collapsed area, feeling puzzled but not asking further. He picked her up again.

After returning to the cave entrance, Zhou Sinian rebuilt the stone barrier, and the two of them headed down the mountain.

As they walked, Ming Dai collected the tree branches broken by the heavy snow into her space.

The two of them were unusually silent, neither of them speaking.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Zhou Sinian changed into his fur-lined shoes and handed Ming Dai her rain boots.

“Ming Dai, are you upset?”

Ming Dai nodded. “Zhou Sinian, do you know what we just found?”

Zhou Sinian shook his head in confusion. “No.”

Ming Dai looked at him seriously. “It’s our country’s treasures, stolen by thieves and hidden away!”

Zhou Sinian’s gaze immediately became sharp. “Thieves?! If they dare steal from us, we’ll kill them!”

Ming Dai laughed loudly. “You’re right! If they dare steal our things, we’ll kill them!”

She stood on tiptoe and patted Zhou Sinian’s shoulder. “Let’s go, we’re going home!”

Without hesitation, Zhou Sinian lifted her up and ran down the mountain with her. The snow was slippery, and with a sudden slip, he slid a long way. Ming Dai squealed in excitement, causing the people gathering firewood at the bottom of the mountain to look up in surprise.

“Is this crazy person taking his frustration out on Xiao Ming again?”

Seeing how scared Xiao Ming was, he practically screamed his voice out!

Poor thing!

The consequence of playing in the snow was that Zhou Sinian’s fur-lined shoes were completely soaked.

Ming Dai asked him to take them off and stored them in her space to dry.

They then went over to the grassland to check on the situation with the cows.

Life is always a breathtaking existence.

In such a short time, the two cows had revived. Although they still couldn’t move, the grass at their mouths had been completely eaten, and their mouths were moving slowly, chewing the grass bit by bit. Despite how slow it was, they were still trying to eat.

As long as they could eat, there was hope!

Ming Dai fed them some more nutritional solution and added some salt to replenish their strength.

Zhou Sinian, looking disgusted, helped her: “Ming Dai, when are we going to bathe them? They stink.”

Ming Dai replied, “We need to wait until they recover. Bathing them now would kill them.”

Zhou Sinian sighed, “Alright. How long will it take for them to get better? I want to eat beef.”

Ming Dai raised an eyebrow, “Is it really okay to say that in front of the cows?”

“They’ll need at least three months to half a year to recover. Or maybe we won’t eat them. They’ve struggled to survive. I just saw that one is male and the other is female. They can have calves, and when the calves grow up, we can eat them instead!”

The cows: “I thank you! You’re so kind!”

Zhou Sinian was a bit reluctant, but since Ming Dai usually had the final say, he didn’t argue, “Fine.”

Ming Dai looked at the cows’ clearly defined ribs and said, “Let’s give them names. The bull will be called Big Rib, the cow will be called Small Rib, and their calf will be called Steak. When that time comes, I’ll cook you a nice steak!”

Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up as he nodded eagerly, “Sounds good!”

The cows: “So you two just decided this happily? You’re bullying cows and don’t care about cow rights, huh?!”

These cows were likely from a nearby farm, as they still had serial number tags hanging from their ears.

It seemed that the truck transporting the cows had overturned, and these two had escaped to the mountain. The people didn’t find them, and Zhou Sinian had stumbled upon them by chance.

He was quite a talent, not only managing to keep the cows but also bringing them from another mountain peak to Wild Boar Ridge, where he had managed to care for them until now.

Although he was also close to starving them to death.

Ming Dai raised the temperature of the ground where the cows were lying. She watched as they could now lift their heads, so she cut some fresh grass and put two small piles of mixed cornmeal in front of them. Then, the two went to check the large boxes they had just brought in.

The boxes were big—there were seventeen in total—and wrapped in iron sheets, most of which were rusty.

Ming Dai found a crowbar, and Zhou Sinian pried them open one by one.

The first one revealed a golden Buddha head. Its eyes were half-closed, with a kind and compassionate expression, as if watching over all beings.

Ming Dai was stunned by the exquisite craftsmanship of the Buddha head.

The two pried open the others, and most contained Buddha statues and some delicate porcelain items.

Ming Dai estimated their value in the future and couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

If these items were to be smuggled overseas, it would be very difficult for our country to reclaim them, and even if there was a chance, it would cost an enormous amount of money.

Ming Dai decided to keep these items in her space for now and, when the situation stabilized, figure out a way to return them to the country.

Zhou Sinian watched for a while but wasn’t very interested. His stomach growled from hunger.

Ming Dai sealed the boxes back up and stored them in a corner of her space.

By this time, it was nearly one o’clock. Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian stepped outside, and she boiled some water to steam the buns. She paired them with the leftover roasted meat from the night before, preparing a simple lunch.

After eating, they set out to pick mushrooms.

With the mushrooms in their peak fruiting period, they managed to gather two large baskets, totaling forty kilograms.

Adding to the thirty-five kilograms from yesterday, by tomorrow, after harvesting more, they would have enough to send one hundred kilograms to the county town.

The next day, early in the morning, Liu Dazhu and Liu Laosan knocked on the door.

Zhou Sinian went to open it and invited them in.

Ming Dai had already sorted the mushrooms, placing them in two large bamboo baskets, with some newspaper in between to prevent them from being crushed.

“Uncle, it’s exactly one hundred kilograms of mushrooms, and with the baskets, it’s one hundred and five kilograms. I’ve put newspapers inside, so don’t worry about them getting crushed. Just make sure they don’t freeze,” she said.

Liu Dazhu nodded happily, “Alright, Xiao Ming Zhiqing, I understand!”

Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian helped load the cart, and before they left, Ming Dai added, “Uncle, ask them for some old newspapers. We’ll need them again to pack mushrooms next time. Leave the baskets with them for now, and we’ll swap them out next time.”

Liu Dazhu, admiring her thoroughness, said, “You’re really thoughtful! I got it!”

Ming Dai smiled and turned to Liu Laosan, “Grandpa Laosan, could you please check at the post office to see if there’s any mail for me?”

Liu Laosan nodded, “I got it, Xiao Ming, don’t worry.”

Ming Dai stepped aside, but as she caught sight of the horse’s rear end, dressed in a pair of shorts, it made her cringe. “Alright, you two be careful on your way!”

They both responded, and Liu Laosan cracked his whip, urging the horse to run. The horse’s tail swished back and forth, making the shorts bounce up and down.

It was quite a sight—definitely a bit much for the eyes!