Chapter 55 : Scouting the Lijiaao Site

Li Yue’e divided the large clay pot of rabbit and radish stew into three portions, one for each family unit.  

Since the family had recently split households and it wasn’t a festive occasion, Li Yue’e decided not to have everyone eat together, giving each family time to adjust to their new arrangements.  

Although there was more radish than rabbit meat, Li Yue’e divided everything evenly, ensuring each portion included almost a pound of meat. Everyone was thoroughly satisfied, thanks largely to Su Mo’s exceptional cooking.  

Lu Xingjun and Lu Weiguo even sopped up the remaining stew with their cornmeal buns.  

“Oh, I didn’t expect my third brother’s wife to be such a great cook,” Lu Weiguo said, rubbing his stomach contentedly.  

“Third Aunt’s cooking is amazing! Yesterday, Grandma gave us the buns she made, and they were so delicious,” chimed in Lu Guodong, now an avid fan of Su Mo’s culinary skills.  

“It’s so good,” added Lu Guoliang, the youngest, eager to echo his father and brother’s praise.  

Lu Guihua, however, wasn’t pleased. “I cook for you every day, but you never praise me,” she muttered.  

The father and sons fell silent, there was a clear difference between food being edible and food being delicious.  

“Look at this rabbit meat,” Lu Guihua complained. “She used so much oil and seasoning. If I had that much to work with, I’d cook better than her.”  

In fairness, oil was a scarce commodity. The commune’s oil mill was a relatively recent addition, making it easier for members to obtain oil. Back when the brigade’s yearly distribution was all they had, such lavish cooking would have been impossible. This dish likely cost a week’s worth of oil.  

Meanwhile, in the eldest brother’s household, they were having a quiet discussion after finishing their meal.  

“I knew the third brother’s family wasn’t ordinary. Didn’t I say so? She can even kill a rabbit with one kick,” Liu Yuzhi said to her husband, Lu Xingjun.  

“Mother said it was just a coincidence,” Lu Xingjun replied. Even as a strong man, he doubted he could kill a rabbit with one kick.  

“Daya, do you think it was a coincidence?” Liu Yuzhi asked their daughter, Lu Fengqin.  

“I… I don’t know.”  

Lu Fengqin, who had been walking ahead when it happened, hadn’t seen much. She’d only turned around after hearing the noise and caught a glimpse of Su Mo landing from her kick.  

“But Aunt San is really fast.”  

Liu Yuzhi turned to her younger daughter. “Er Ya, what do you think?”  

“Uh… I think Aunt San is amazing! She kicked the rabbit to death with one kick,” said Lu Aiqun, who didn’t entirely understand the situation either.  

Liu Yuzhi sighed.  

“Why overthink it? Just eat the rabbit meat and enjoy it,” said Lu Xingjun.  

Liu Yuzhi frowned, feeling like she had somehow become the villain in the conversation.  

After dinner, Su Mo helped Li Yue’e with the dishes and then sat in the main room to chat with the family matriarch. Later, when Liu Yuzhi and Lu Guihua finished their tasks and saw that Su Mo was still there, they joined in for a while.  

As Su Mo prepared to leave, Lu Fengqin spoke up. “Aunt San, I’ll go with you to harvest the autumn crops tomorrow.”  

Her mother had asked her to gather pig feed the next day, but she was eager to accompany her third aunt. She hoped her mother wouldn’t object if Su Mo agreed.  

Su Mo smiled and said, “Aren’t you starting school soon? You’ve been on vacation for so long, just spend these last days reviewing your textbooks. I know how to get there on my own.”  

Having children with her would make certain tasks inconvenient.  

“But—”  

“No buts,” interjected Lu Qing’an, the family patriarch. “Your Aunt San is right. Stay home these next few days and focus on your studies.”  

The Lu family valued education deeply. They were willing to sell everything they owned to support a child’s schooling. All four siblings in Lu Changzheng’s generation had completed at least junior high school, even the youngest, Lu Xiaolan.  

With her grandfather’s decision final, Lu Fengqin reluctantly agreed.  

Back home, Su Mo took a quick shower, hung the curtains, and turned on her desk lamp to continue writing. She was nearly done with her four manuscripts, which only needed some final polishing before being sent out in two days.  

She wrote until after 10 p.m., then turned off the lights and prepared for bed. Before sleeping, she took out the batteries and charged the desk lamp.  

The next morning, Su Mo rose around five o’clock. After storing the charged lamp and battery, she went to the field to infuse energy into the vegetable plots. If you looked closely, you could already see tender sprouts breaking through the soil.  

Afterward, she completed her morning routine. By the time she finished, dawn was just breaking. Su Mo filled a pot with warm water, locked the door, grabbed her backpack, and set off up the mountain.  

Was she afraid? Hardly.  

She had lived through an apocalypse where zombies roamed freely, devouring humans. Compared to that, creatures like rats and snakes seemed downright adorable.  

Su Mo walked along the path, absorbing energy, and made her way toward the large chestnut tree from the day before. Upon arriving, she first looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then began to ripen the chestnuts.  

Soon, the green husks still hanging from the chestnut tree began to turn yellow, and then started to crack open. As the cracks widened, the chestnuts began to fall, carried by the morning breeze.  

When it seemed like the process was almost done, Su Mo stopped supplying energy. At this point, her face had become slightly pale.  

‘Sigh! My ability level is still too low.’  

Su Mo didn’t have time to rest, she hurried to pick up the fallen chestnuts to avoid anyone else coming and finding out she had been working for half a day, only to provide someone else with a windfall.  

She managed to pick up most of the chestnuts, gathering about 20 to 30 kilograms in total. As usual, Su Mo stored most of them in her space, leaving only a small amount in her backpack.  

After collecting the chestnuts, Su Mo stood up and absorbed back half of the energy she had used on the chestnut tree, ensuring the tree wouldn’t drop its leaves late and risk being discovered.  

Once everything was taken care of, Su Mo slung the backpack over her shoulders and began walking down the mountain toward Lijiaao, as Lu Guodong had directed her the day before.  

The mountains here were interconnected, with a main road leading to Lijiaao at the foot of the mountain. There were also likely smaller roads on the mountain itself.  

Su Mo searched as she walked, occasionally buying some mountain products she found along the way.  

Finally, after more than two hours, she began to see some houses below the mountain and made her way down.  

After another half hour of walking, Su Mo finally spotted a few adobe houses halfway up the mountain.  

Her eyes brightened. The book mentioned that cow sheds were often built halfway up the mountain, and she wondered if these houses could be such a shed.  

Carrying her basket, Su Mo approached. Before she could get close, a young man emerged, holding a bundle of straw.  

The young man was dressed in patched old clothes, had a pale complexion, messy hair, and wore black-framed glasses.  

“Hello, comrade. Where is this place? I’m an educated youth from the Lujia Village Brigade. I got separated from my companions during the autumn harvest,” Su Mo called out hurriedly.  

The man clearly didn’t want to engage, so he said, “There’s someone downstairs, go ask them.” Then he turned and went back to his work with the straw.  

Su Mo confirmed her guess and decided not to press further. She turned around and continued walking downhill.  

After about seven or eight minutes, Su Mo turned a corner, and the view suddenly opened up.  

As she descended into the valley, she saw many houses scattered in an orderly fashion.  

Su Mo guessed that this must be Lijiaao.  

At that moment, an older woman appeared, carrying a load of items. Seeing her, Su Mo quickly went over to meet her.  

“Aunt, I’m an educated youth from the Lujia Village Brigade. I got separated from my companions during the autumn harvest and ended up here. Could you please tell me where I am and how I can get back to the Lujia Village Brigade?”  

As she spoke, Su Mo offered the woman a few pieces of fruit candy.  

The woman took the candy and smiled. “How did you end up here? You must have been walking for quite a while.”  

She leaned closer and noticed walnuts on top of Su Mo’s basket, as well as faint traces of shepherd’s purse at the bottom. She immediately suspected Su Mo was lying, as it was indeed the time of the autumn harvest.  

“This is Lijiaao. It’s not far from the main road to the Lujia Village Brigade. It’ll take about half an hour to get there.”  

“Just walk down the village until you reach the main road, then follow it to get back to the Lujia Village Brigade.”  

“Thank you, Auntie,” Su Mo said gratefully, then walked down the village road. Soon, she reached the main road.  

Lijiaao was a small production team, with only a few dozen households.  

After reaching the main road, Su Mo walked along it, and after more than half an hour, she returned to the Lujia Village Brigade.  

It seemed she had taken a long detour through the mountains, and there must be a shorter route.  

Su Mo decided she would continue exploring the area the next day.