Chapter 10: Sharing the Meat and Catching Rabbits

By the time the villagers had finished collecting water, Hunter Wang had also finished processing the antelopes. To save time, he didn’t bother cleaning out the internal organs and instead dug a pit to bury them.

A group of excited people made their way back to the campsite. Even though Xu Nian had six or seven bamboo tubes hanging from her, she didn’t feel tired at all—her energy seemed endless.

When they arrived at the camp, the families gathered around, especially the children, who were so overjoyed that they spun around in circles.

The two antelopes were quite large, but after removing the internal organs and other inedible parts, only a little over 200 pounds of meat remained. Dividing it among the nineteen families, each household received about ten pounds of meat.

Xu Wei’an ran back, carrying their share of the meat with excitement.

“Mom, look! We got so much!”

Wang Shi was also thrilled, though she found it a pity that the weather was too hot to store the meat for long. Otherwise, they could have eaten it for days.

“The heat will spoil the meat if we don’t eat it quickly. Tonight, everyone can eat to their heart’s content—fill your bellies with meat!”

After hearing this, the Xu family was elated.

Everyone got busy—some gathered firewood, others started fires. The whole camp bustled with activity.

Xu Nian planned to look around for some spices that could remove the gamey taste of the meat. Just as she was about to leave, her seven-year-old sister, Xu Ling, came running after her.

“Big Sister, wait for me!”

Seeing her little sister’s face covered in dirt like a kitten, Xu Nian couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Slow down!”

The two sisters didn’t go far, staying within the vicinity of the camp as they searched.

Though Xu Nian didn’t find any useful spices, she did manage to gather some wild vegetables. Just as she was collecting them, she suddenly heard Xu Ling shout, “Big Sister! I see a rabbit!”

Xu Nian immediately dropped the wild vegetables and ran to check. Sure enough, following the direction Xu Ling pointed, she saw two rabbits nibbling on grass.

She crept forward carefully, but before she could get close, the rabbits became alert and bolted. One moment, they were right in front of her; the next, they had vanished without a trace.

Xu Ling watched in shock. “Big Sister, rabbits run so fast!”

But Xu Nian refused to believe they had completely disappeared—unless those rabbits had learned to fly.

Sure enough, she soon found a rabbit hole near a bush. Using a rock, she blocked the entrance. Then, taking Xu Ling along, she continued searching and managed to find two more rabbit holes. She repeated the same method, sealing them off with stones.

“Ling’er, go back and call our three brothers. Tell them to bring some baskets and a fire starter.”

Xu Ling knew her big sister was planning to catch rabbits and ran back excitedly.

When she returned with Xu Ji, Xu Kang, and Xu Jian, they were greeted by the sight of their big sister crouched down, wiggling her backside as she moved around.

Of course, Xu Nian had no idea how ridiculous she looked at that moment—her mind was completely focused on the big, plump rabbits.

She instructed Xu Ji and the others to place damp firewood at the other two rabbit holes and use smoke to drive the rabbits out.

Xu Nian wasn’t sure if this method would work, but fortunately, her luck was good today. In no time, a rabbit dashed out of her hole.

She was just about to shout when she thought better of it and, using her spatial ability, quickly transported the rabbit into her hidden space.

In total, six rabbits were smoked out of that hole. However, five of them were discreetly placed into her space, leaving only one visible.

When Xu Ling excitedly ran over to check, she was disappointed to see just a single rabbit.

Xu Nian could only silently apologize in her heart, thinking, Sister, this is all for sustainable development—so you’ll have an endless supply of rabbit meat in the future!

The three brothers, on the other hand, were thrilled. Rabbits were usually too fast for them to catch, so this was a rare victory.

“Big Sister, you’re amazing! From now on, I’m going to catch rabbits just like this!”

Xu Nian looked at Xu Jian’s eager and flattering expression and felt delighted. She boldly declared,

“Stick with me, and I’ll make sure you eat well and live well!”

Xu Ji exchanged a glance with Xu Kang, both of them smiling indulgently at their younger sister’s confidence.

When they returned to the campsite, the Xu family was surprised to see the lively rabbit bouncing in Xu Nian’s hands.

“Our eldest girl has such great luck today—first antelope meat, and now a rabbit too!”

Wang Shi took the rabbit with a smile. “This one’s quite plump.”

While everyone else was excited about having more meat, little Xu Cai had a different idea—he wanted to keep the rabbit as a pet.

In the end, after a stern “lesson in love” from his father, Xu Youliang, he reluctantly gave up on the idea.

That night, the Xu family enjoyed the most lavish meal they had eaten in a long time. They had both antelope and rabbit meat. Though the only seasoning they had was salt, and the taste wasn’t anything extraordinary, everyone was content. For a moment, it felt as if all their recent hardships had been forgotten.

Xu Nian also ate several pieces of meat. In the past, she might have struggled to swallow it, but as the saying goes, “If you can afford to be picky, you’re not truly hungry.”

After dinner, those on night watch took their posts, while the children went to bed early to rest.

Once Xu Nian lay down, she entered her space. She noticed that the corn had fully matured and decided to harvest it. However, after picking four or five ears of corn, something strange happened.

The stalks of the harvested corn vanished completely. To confirm what was happening, Xu Nian picked two more ears—only for the same thing to happen again.

In the end, she decided to use a sickle to cut down the stalks before picking the corn. The advantage of this was that next time she planted, she wouldn’t have to till the soil again.

Harvesting all the corn took nearly three hours. Instead of dealing with it immediately, Xu Nian went to check on the five rabbits.

They were all sleeping by the stream, so still that even when she approached, they didn’t move. She had originally planned to build a shelter for them, but seeing how comfortable they seemed, it didn’t seem necessary.

Had she known this earlier, she wouldn’t have bothered cutting down the corn stalks so painstakingly. But since they were already cut, she didn’t want to waste them. She decided to divide the land into sections and enclose it for future use.

She didn’t have time to do it today, though. Instead, she drank some water from the stream, soaked her feet for a while, and began feeling drowsy. The moment her head dipped forward, she was ejected from her space.

Completely unaware, Xu Nian smacked her lips in her sleep, turned over, and dozed off soundly.

The next day, the group resumed their journey. With a steady supply of food and water, they were able to maintain a good pace.

Ten days later, as they got closer to the drought-stricken region, the landscape changed. The lush greenery of the mountains gradually gave way to withered, barren land.

The village chief and the scouting team found a cave to shelter the villagers while they discussed their next steps.

“Village Chief, it’s getting drier ahead. Finding food and water won’t be as easy as before,” Xu Yaozu said, his tone laced with worry. He had already put it mildly—there was a good chance they would soon find themselves in a completely barren wasteland.

The chief understood the severity of the situation. On top of that, many families had run out of salt, and without it, people would soon grow weak.

The mood in the cave was heavy with unease.

At that moment, Hunter Wang suggested, “Uncle, how about I take a few men down the mountain to scout the situation?”

There wasn’t much choice. If they didn’t go, they wouldn’t be able to find salt or other essentials.

After careful consideration, the village chief agreed. That night, Hunter Wang and a few others set out under the cover of darkness to assess the situation.

Since they had been traveling through the mountains, they had no idea which city lay ahead or whether they would even be able to enter it. Everything was uncertain.