Chapter 63: Looking for water source

There was still an hour before the sky turned completely dark, and they only had half an hour to search.

“Yinyin, which way are we going?”

Su Yin did not rush into the forest and search blindly. She found a high place and stood on it, observing the surrounding trees.

Many of the trees in the forest had turned yellow, and even those that were still green were wilted.

In fact, everyone knew that the chance of finding water here was slim.

If there was water, the people in the village would not have moved away.

But if you don’t do anything, you can only wait for death.

Looking for it not only gives you hope, but also gives everyone peace of mind.

After Su Yin observed it, she noticed that there was a place where the green plants were greener than other places.

“Let’s go over there and have a look.”

“Okay.”

The three of them followed her lead and naturally had no objections.

That location was not shady, but the plants were obviously better than other places, and the probability of having water was higher than other places.

As soon as they entered the mountain forest, the cool breath hit their faces.

The four of them enjoyed the short and comfortable coolness and continued to rush towards their destination.

Madam Xu looked at the bushes under the tree. They were all withered and yellow. The branches and leaves that had fallen to the ground would make a crisp sound when stepped on.

The place was halfway up the mountain. When she walked to the location, she could clearly feel that this place was cooler than other places.

The branches and leaves were much denser, and there were more bushes under the trees than in other places.

“Let’s look for each other separately.”

“Okay.”

Each person held a wooden stick and swept the surrounding bushes as they walked.

Firstly, it was to drive away snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and secondly, it was convenient for finding their way.

Su Yin knelt down and picked up the soil on the ground. Although it was dry, it was much better than at the foot of the mountain.

It was clear that the situation here was better than that at the foot of the mountain.

Continuing to walk forward for a while, she squatted down again and picked up another piece of soil. There was more moisture in it than before.

There was a high probability that a water source was nearby.

Sure enough, a puddle appeared in front of them. When they got closer, they found that the water in the puddle had dried up.

Although the soil was moist, there was no water at all.

It must have taken too long for this pool to dry up.

Unfortunately, they arrived too late.

The sun gradually set, and the light in the forest began to dim.

The four of them gathered under a big tree.

“I couldn’t find anything,” one of them said.

“I saw a mountain stream at the mouth of the gorge in front of me, but it was dry.”

“I couldn’t find anything anywhere I looked. Not to mention water, I didn’t even see any animals.”

“Sound. Cousin Yin, where are you?” Second cousin Yang Hua asked.

“I found a pool, and there is no water in it.”

All four people sighed.

“It’s getting late; we have to go down the mountain.”

When they returned to the village, it was completely dark, and people who had gone out to look for water were returning one after another.

Many people were waiting anxiously. When they saw Su Yin and the others coming back, they hurriedly stepped forward to ask questions.

“Girl Su, have you found the source of water?”

“No.” Su Yin shook her head.

“Oh, what can we do?”

“Several groups of people were sent out, but none of them came back.”

“Don’t worry; there are still people who haven’t come back.”

“Now that I’m back, I may have found the water source.”

Yang Li was holding the cigarette rod and putting it to his mouth, not smoking but waiting quietly, his eyes filled with sadness.

When the last wave of people looking for water returned, all hopes were dashed.

Su Yin, Madam Xu, and her two cousins returned to the house where they were sleeping.

“Have you found any water?”

Madam Xu shook her head.

“What can we do?”

“We can still hold on for a while, but others can’t hold on for long.”

People can go without food for more than ten days, but not without water.

Mother Su sighed, “Get up early tomorrow and collect more dew.”

Collecting dew is difficult, and the amount gathered in one morning is not enough for an adult, but even if it’s less, that sip of water may be life-saving.

Su’s mother had already prepared food, but it was still porridge.

Porridge can not only replenish water but also serve as a staple food, killing two birds with one stone.

If you eat dry rice, you will get thirsty easily if you eat too much.

Mother Su listened to Su Yin’s words and put a little salt in the porridge.

Wan Sanye looked at the tasteless bowl of porridge and pinched his nose to finish it.

He patted his belly and said, “Girl Su, when will your rabbit be roasted? If you leave it any longer, it will go bad.”

Su’s mother thought of the money that Mr. Wan Sanye had given to their family. “Yinyin, how about we eat the rabbit?”

It was too late to cut the bamboo yesterday, and they hadn’t had time to deal with it, so they just did some simple processing.

When they heard that they wanted to eat rabbit meat, Xiao Taohua and Xiao Yanggui looked at Su Yin eagerly.

Su Yin looked around at the people in front of her and said, “Okay, we’ll roast the rabbit today.”

When they heard that they were going to eat roast rabbit, the two children were very happy.

“Second cousin, third cousin, please sharpen the bamboo.”

“Okay.”

“We’re here to help too,” Xiao Taohua and Xiao Yanggui volunteered.

They made the tools. Su Yin took out the knife and started to process the rabbit meat. She cut the rabbit into pieces and put them all into a basin.

Then she sprinkled it with salt, poured in a little oil, and smeared her secret seasoning before letting it marinate.

Mr. Wan Sanye stared at Su Yin the whole time. This was the first time he had seen such a roasting method.

In the Yong Dynasty, roasting was not uncommon, but it typically involved roasting the whole prey over a fire and then brushing it with honey or oil.

Once the bamboo sticks were ready, a few small ones immediately skewered the rabbit pieces without needing further instruction from Su Yin.

Su Yin was in charge of grilling.

Not long after the rabbit meat was placed on the fire, a delicious scent wafted out. It wasn’t just the pure aroma of meat; it was the scent of meat mixed with various seasonings, which easily aroused everyone’s appetite.

Wan Sanye smelled the aroma and couldn’t help but take a few more breaths.

“It smells so good!”

Mr. Wan Sanye couldn’t help but swallow as he stared at the sizzling skewers of rabbit meat.

Little Yanggui also swallowed hard, “Sister, when can I eat it?”

“You can eat it in a little while.”

Little Yanggui immediately stretched out his short hand and began counting with his fingers.

Not only him, but others couldn’t help but stare as well.

The first batch of roasted rabbit meat was finished. Su Yin gave it to the two younger ones first, then to Su’s mother, her second uncle, her younger uncle, and the other elders.

Wan Sanye waited eagerly for his turn. Seeing the skewers in her hand becoming fewer, he couldn’t help but remind her, “Girl Su, there is another person here.”

Su Yin handed him the last skewer.

After Wan Sanye received it, he didn’t rush to eat. Instead, he took a moment to smell it, as if he wanted to distinguish the secret seasonings.

Little Yanggui gulped and, seeing Mr. Wan Sanye holding it in his hand but not eating, asked in a milky voice, “Uncle Fatty, if you don’t want to eat it, can you give it to me?”

Mr. Wan Sanye raised his eyes to look at him, and then, with a grin, bit into the meat skewer in front of him.

Wan Sanye could only use two words to describe the taste of the barbecue.

Delicious!

The only drawback was that the rabbit meat wasn’t as fresh as it could have been. If it had been roasted yesterday, it would have tasted even better.

He squinted and enjoyed the flavors.

Not bad, delicious.