Chapter 59: Stiff Neck

Back on the boat, Shen Baoying immediately asked, “Why did you have to use a grenade?”

Jiang Si recounted the situation. Everyone felt a lingering fear—
If Jiang Si hadn’t brought a grenade, it would’ve been dangerous.

In truth, Jiang Si hadn’t brought one beforehand. She had pulled it out from her storage space at the last second.

Blowing up a giant salamander cost her a grenade, and she felt a bit heartbroken—it wasn’t like she had many left.

Their homemade explosives were slower to react and not very powerful.
If she ever had the chance, she’d definitely try to stockpile more guns and ammunition.

After confirming there were no more giant salamanders nearby, Jiang Zhenwu and Jiang Linhai began processing the elk.

Deer blood is known to replenish blood and essence, stop bleeding and discharge, and is used to treat lower back pain, impotence, uterine bleeding, nosebleeds, palpitations, insomnia, and more.

They collected three large basins of deer blood.
Shen Baoying used half to make blood sausage, and Jiang Zhenwu planned to dry the rest into blood powder for future use.

Grandma cleaned the intestines thoroughly. The deer blood had started to coagulate, so Shen Baoying stirred it with chopsticks, then added oil, salt, five-spice powder, black pepper, scallions, and minced ginger, followed by water—gradually mixing it all in.

Jiang Si worked on the deer tendons, Qin Shen handled the deerskin, while Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng were cutting the meat. Everyone was busy.

Niuniu squatted beside Shen Baoying, wide-eyed and eager.
“Aunt Shen, is there anything I can help with?”

Shen Baoying glanced at her, smiled, and said, “You already peeled so much garlic earlier—take a break or go play with Dahei and Xiaohei.”

But Dahei and Xiaohei were circling Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng, drooling over the meat—clearly not in a playful mood.

Niuniu shook her head. “I don’t want to play. I want to help.”

Such a sensible child—your heart aches for her.

Shen Baoying thought for a moment and asked, “Did you wash your hands?”

Niuniu held out her clean palms. “I did.”

Shen Baoying smiled. “Alright then, Auntie will teach you how to make blood sausage.”

Niuniu beamed with excitement.

Shen Baoying tied one end of the intestine with string and had Niuniu hold it. Then she inserted a funnel and began to slowly pour in the blood mixture.

“See? Just like this. Slowly fill it up. When it gets here, tie it off with string. Pretty simple, right?”

It really was simple—except Niuniu’s hands were too small, and the sausage kept slipping out of her grip.

Meanwhile, Jiang Si had already finished processing the deer tendons and hung them in the corridor to dry.

Once dried, they could be soaked, pounded into fine strands, and turned into durable bowstrings.

Jiang Si had learned this during her past life in a survivalist shooting club. By now, her skills were as good as any master craftsman.

She glanced at Qin Shen—he was still scraping the last bits of flesh off the deerskin.

Qin Shen worked meticulously, only stopping when the skin was completely clean.

Tanning requires just the right amount of salt: too little, and the skin rots; too much, and it turns stiff.

He stood there, salt jar in hand, hesitating.

Jiang Si offered, “You’ll need about 10 jin (5 kg) of salt to tan that hide properly.”

Qin Shen looked at her, measured out the salt, and began applying it evenly. Then, following Jiang Si’s instructions, he folded the skin fur side out, making sure the salt covered every inch, and placed it in a large tub with enough water to submerge it.

Jiang Si added, “You’ll need to stir it every day to help the salt dissolve evenly. That’ll keep the hair from falling out. Properly made, this elk hide will be super soft, durable, and even look beautiful.”

Lu Zhifeng had originally planned to come over and give them some pointers, but after hearing Jiang Si’s advice, he couldn’t help but praise her.

“Si-si, you really know so much!”

He’d been a forest ranger for years, but even he didn’t know these things in such detail.

Jiang Si just smiled. “I read about it in a book back in school and found it interesting, so I looked into it more.”

Lu Zhifeng glanced at Niuniu, who was struggling to fill the sausage.
His heart ached with a hint of regret—Niuniu might never have the chance to attend university like Qin Shen or Jiang Si.

They hadn’t even finished making the sausages when Dahei and Xiaohei suddenly perked up, growling furiously.

Jiang Si grabbed her binoculars and looked in the direction the dogs were barking.

She saw several men, barely covered by makeshift reed skirts, heading directly toward them with obvious intent.

Jiang Si’s expression darkened. “On alert!”

Shen Baoying and Zhang Qingzhi immediately took Niuniu back into the cabin.
The others dropped what they were doing, grabbed their guns, and spread out in a 360-degree perimeter, scanning the surroundings.

Moments later, a group of people entered their field of vision.

As soon as the men saw the yacht and steamships, their eyes lit up with greed and excitement.

The man in front was Qiu Lei—tall, broad-shouldered, with a square face, sun-darkened skin, and a tattoo on his shoulder. He looked bold and fearless, but the moment he saw their cold steel guns, his heart dropped. He quickly raised his hands and shouted:

“We mean no harm! We heard the explosion and just came to check! Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

Jiang Si didn’t see malice in his eyes, but she didn’t want to waste words.
“Scram.”

The fact that a woman was the one speaking made it clear that she held serious authority over these ships.

Qiu Lei noticed Jiang Si wasn’t the type to kill recklessly, so he made a bold move instead of leaving.

“Sister! Please let us join you! We’re all young and strong—can do any job! Just give us a room to sleep in. We’ll find our own food!”

The reed marshes were damp and miserable. People used to high-rise apartments weren’t built to survive in makeshift huts in the wilderness.

Worse, the night brought countless unknown dangers.

If they could just board the ship, they wouldn’t have to worry about leaky roofs or snakes slithering into their beds—or being robbed of the last underwear they owned.

Even Jingjing would be thrilled.

There were ten of them. Jiang Si’s group only had eight.

Letting them onboard was no different from inviting wolves into the house.

Jiang Si’s face turned cold. Bang!
She fired a shot right at Qiu Lei’s feet. “Scram.”

That was her second and final warning. If she had to say it a third time, it wouldn’t be with words—it would be with bullets.

Qiu Lei immediately cowered and ran off like his pants were on fire, terrified she’d shoot him in the back.

Only after his group disappeared into the reeds did Jiang Zhenwu speak with concern.

“They’ll definitely come back. We’re docked here—this won’t be the last we see of them.”

Jiang Si looked at the receding floodwaters and sighed. “We’ll just have to stay on guard. Even if we leave, there’s no telling what other people we might run into.”

Deer meat is highly nutritious, so Shen Baoying was careful not to serve too much at once.
She boiled a few blood sausages, made some small dishes—light portions but incredibly flavorful.

Everyone cleaned their plates with ease.

Jiang Si ate until she was stuffed. She went out to walk off the food.

The sky was full of stars, the Milky Way glittered above—breathtakingly beautiful.

As she relaxed in the breeze, Qin Shen suddenly walked out, stared at her for a few seconds, and then said:

“I’ve got a stiff neck. Can you massage it for me?”