Chapter 46: The Jujube Tree, Ambush on the Flock of Sheep!

To get to Wild Boar Ridge, one had to pass through the wheat field at the village entrance. Before they even reached it, they could already hear the sound of a woman crying, a sorrowful wail that drifted far away on the wind.

Ming Dai glanced over curiously. It seemed like people from the educated youth commune were arguing. Song Lanlan, hands on her hips, was scolding with great fervor. On the ground, a woman sat slumped, likely Liu Yan, crying so hard she could barely speak. A crowd of villagers stood around, but none of them stepped forward to offer any advice or help.

Ming Dai only glanced at the scene and then lost interest, continuing her way forward without a second thought.

Zhou Sinian, clutching the military green crossbody bag Ming Dai had given him, walked steadily behind her, paying no attention to the commotion at the wheat field.

Wild Boar Ridge had a wild boar population, and villagers generally avoided it due to the danger. However, Zhou Sinian, nicknamed the “mad dog king” by others, treated it as his personal backyard, coming and going as he pleased.

Their purpose for coming today was to gather some jujubes. After having Ming Dai’s medicinal stew, Zhou Sinian had mentioned that the red fruit could also be found in the mountains.

Once they entered the mountains, they arrived at the familiar creaky nook. Ming Dai adjusted herself into a comfortable position, and Zhou Sinian carried her as they dashed deeper into the mountains, moving at a speed that left her little legs struggling to keep up.

They ran for a long time, winding around a mountain peak, before finally reaching their destination.

Compared to the pine and chestnut forests, this area only had three jujube trees growing precariously at the edge of a cliff, half of their bodies dangling out over the precipice, looking dangerously unstable.

However, the trees were covered in plenty of red jujubes, though small in size and dried out under the sun, hanging on the branches.

After a moment of thought, Ming Dai decided it would be safer to use a few long branches to harvest the fruit. She asked Zhou Sinian to find two long sticks, then took out a blanket from her space to make a net. She tied the net to the branches sticking out from the tree.

She crouched by the cliff edge, holding the net in place, while Zhou Sinian, standing on the jujube tree, began jumping around. The dried jujubes, brittle and crunchy, started falling in a cascade, most of them landing safely in the net.

Zhou Sinian climbed down and scooped up the net, dumping the jujubes onto the ground.

With this method, they quickly gathered all the jujubes from the edge of the cliff.

For the remaining fruit on the tree, Zhou Sinian climbed up and shook the branches, while Ming Dai picked up the fallen jujubes below. Soon, they had filled two large sacks with red jujubes.

Ming Dai looked at their hard-earned harvest with satisfaction. Together with the chestnuts and pine nuts she had brought from her space, she began imagining the delicious dishes she could make, feeling very happy.

Zhou Sinian watched her smile for no particular reason, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and took out a chestnut from his crossbody bag, munching on it.

He had become quite adept at eating chestnuts. Pinching the chestnut between his thumb and index finger, he easily cracked the shell open, placed it in his mouth, and the nut inside fell right in. He ate them one by one, clearly enjoying himself.

Ming Dai didn’t stop him. Instead, she took out a cup of hot milk from her space and handed it to him, suggesting he eat it away from the wind.

While Zhou Sinian enjoyed his snack, Ming Dai stood up and began observing the surroundings.

The mountain was bathed in golden hues, with the mountain wind howling, lifting many fallen leaves that drifted through the cliffside like a swirling group of butterflies—an incredibly beautiful sight.

Suddenly, a few animals on the opposite slope caught Ming Dai’s attention. She pulled out a pair of binoculars from her space, raised them to her face, and looked across.

“Ah! Isn’t that a sheep?!”

Indeed, on the opposite slope, a few animals with their heads raised, reaching up to nibble on the low shrubs, were wild sheep, their yellowish fur blending with the scenery.

Ming Dai excitedly shouted to Zhou Sinian, “Zhou Sinian! Do you want to eat some sheep meat?”

“Meat?!”

Although Zhou Sinian didn’t know what a sheep was, he had developed a concept of meat. Clutching the chestnuts, he rushed over and, without needing binoculars, could clearly see the animals on the opposite slope.

When he realized they were sheep, he scrunched his face in disdain. “Not tasty, smells bad!”

Ming Dai knew he was referring to the characteristic smell of raw mutton meat. “It’s delicious! You just don’t know how to cook it. If you catch one, I’ll make you a mutton stew, even better than chicken soup!”

Zhou Sinian glanced at her with suspicion before looking back at the flock of sheep on the opposite slope. As the young sheep finished their meal and began to leave, Ming Dai started to get anxious.

Finally, Zhou Sinian reluctantly put his chestnuts away, then carefully picked up Ming Dai. With a running start, he leapt off the cliff, just as Ming Dai let out a sharp scream.

“Ah!!!!!”

Ming Dai thought he would go around the mountain peak, but to her surprise, he jumped straight down the cliff!

As she braced herself for certain doom, Zhou Sinian landed steadily on a crooked tree growing on the cliffside. Using the tree for support, he continued to jump downward, each step landing securely on protruding rocks. It didn’t take long for him to reach the bottom.

Once he had firmly planted himself at the base of the cliff, Ming Dai felt like her soul was still suspended in mid-air, not yet back in her body.

She looked up at the steep cliff, then at Zhou Sinian, who was frowning and looking impatient. She swallowed hard.

From now on, she’d better treat him a little nicer.

Zhou Sinian glanced at the nearby small slope, noticing the flock of sheep was already moving, likely searching for more tender leaves.

He looked down at Ming Dai, whose face was pale, and grabbed her by the back of her collar, lifting her up like a kitten.

Ming Dai only felt a brief moment of suffocation before realizing they were now perched on an old locust tree at the base of the cliff.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at Zhou Sinian, who was bending forward and heading toward the small slope. Inside, her mind raced with curses.

Damn it! This is a locust tree! A tree with sharp thorns!

Gripping her pain, she stayed motionless, watching Zhou Sinian move further away. She had already suffered through this, and there was no way she was backing out now—she was going to get that mutton.

At the very least, tomorrow, when she made Zhou Sinian his medicinal stew, she would add an extra two liang of huanglian (Coptis root)!

Zhou Sinian crouched behind a rock, shaking slightly, then turned around cautiously, checking to see if anything was wrong. Finding nothing, he assumed it was just another one of his hallucinations and resumed focusing on the hunt.

Though he didn’t believe anything so foul-smelling could be edible, he was still thinking about the pine nut candy Ming Dai was going to make for him. For that, he would follow her lead.

Taking advantage of the herd’s movement, Zhou Sinian crawled forward, carefully following them.

It was a small group of sheep, consisting of seven adult sheep and three lambs.

Zhou Sinian held his breath, staying low as he followed the flock. When one of the lambs wandered off and moved out of its mother’s line of sight, he seized the opportunity. With one hand, he grabbed the lamb’s mouth, and with the other, he yanked at its leg, dragging the small sheep behind a rock.

With the lamb’s terrified eyes staring up at him, he gently pressed down on its neck. In an instant, the lamb’s head hung limp.

Once the first lamb was hidden, Zhou Sinian repeated the process, methodically capturing the other straggling lambs, one by one.

The mother sheep finally sensed something was wrong—her three kids were missing!

Just as she was about to bleat loudly, Zhou Sinian struck her with a swift chop, and she slumped, knocked out cold. He disdainfully picked her up and hid her as well.

After capturing two of the adult sheep using the same method, the lead sheep finally noticed that something was amiss.

Damn! My wife and kids are gone!

Panicked, it dashed back and forth across the small slope, calling for its missing family. The remaining sheep followed in its wake.

But the more they searched, the fewer sheep there were. In the end, only the lead sheep remained.

It frantically spun in circles, bleating in fear.

Only then did Zhou Sinian show himself. Before the sheep could react, he hurled a stone, knocking it unconscious.

He counted—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven—plus the three lambs. They were all accounted for. Satisfied, he quickly made his way back down toward the base of the cliff.

Ming Dai was stunned by Zhou Sinian’s actions. She had thought that with him alone, catching one sheep would be impressive, but he had managed to capture the entire family.

As expected from someone who had been a soldier—he knew how to take them down one by one. Truly impressive!