Chapter 70: Who?! Who?! Which Bastard Stole My Winter Granary!!

Ming Dai carefully examined the ginseng doll in her arms from top to bottom. Thankfully, it was unharmed, without a single scratch.

After checking it thoroughly, she cautiously transferred it into her space, planning to process it later when she had time.

Once everything was secured, she lifted her eyes and glared at Zhou Sinian, who was leaning against a tree trunk, retching.

Earlier, she had been too agitated and accidentally shoved her finger into Zhou Sinian’s throat. Now, he was tearing up, dry heaving, and silently protesting against Ming Dai’s excessive behavior.

Ming Dai tilted her head back and scolded him in frustration. “Am I starving you? Am I keeping food from you? Have I ever hidden any good food from you?! Why are your hands so fast? You dare to eat anything! This is medicine! Do you even know that?! Your body is too weak right now to handle tonics! If you swallow even a bite, you’ll be dead before you know it!!”

Zhou Sinian still didn’t understand. He just thought that anything Ming Dai liked must be delicious, so he simply wanted to have a taste—just one bite.

Who knew Ming Dai would go as far as digging into his throat?

Ugh!

Ming Dai sighed and changed her approach. “You can’t eat this right now, do you understand? If you eat it, you’ll die. And then, you’ll never be able to eat pine nut candy, candied chestnuts, lamb soup, roasted lamb leg, and…”

Zhou Sinian’s eyes widened. In an instant, he jumped back, distancing himself more than ten meters from the ginseng forest on the ground.

Ming Dai looked at him—now perched warily on a tree branch far away—and was speechless.

“Forget it. Just stay up there. I’ll finish digging up the rest of the ginseng, then I’ll take you to find some wild chickens, alright?”

Zhou Sinian didn’t respond. Ming Dai didn’t bother with him either and continued digging.

A few minutes later, a voice came from above. “I want lamb, not chicken.”

Ming Dai’s hand trembled, nearly dropping her small brush. Looking at Zhou Sinian, who had jumped onto a tree closer to her, she felt a headache coming on. Lamb was delicious, but he couldn’t eat it all the time!

Oh well, she might as well listen to him—after all, she had nearly scraped his throat raw.

Without Zhou Sinian causing trouble and with the advantage of her spatial ability, Ming Dai quickly gathered all the ginseng in the area that was over 200 years old.

Zhou Sinian, after observing for a while and confirming that the ginseng wouldn’t attack him, finally jumped down and happily sucked on the throat lozenge Ming Dai had given him.

It took them an entire day to dig up ginseng from four different spots. Ming Dai was completely tense and, without hesitation, decided to come back another time.

Before leaving, she found a herd of wild sheep.

Bringing Zhou Sinian over, she didn’t even need to instruct him—he simply placed her onto a tree branch and, like a ghost, slipped silently into the forest toward the wild sheep.

Ming Dai patted the old locust tree she was perched on, seriously suspecting that Zhou Sinian had done this on purpose!

Fortunately, this tree branch didn’t have many thorns, and since she was squatting, she avoided the embarrassment of tearing her pants again.

The tree was tall, providing a clear view of the hunting scene in the distance.

Since she had a backup flock of sheep stored in her spatial space, she told Zhou Sinian that he didn’t need to catch them all alive—dead ones were fine too. She could store them in stasis within the space, which wouldn’t affect their taste.

After knocking out most of the herd, Zhou Sinian was eventually noticed by the remaining sheep. The rest began bleating in panic and ran in all directions.

Zhou Sinian swiftly drew his military knife, taking down one sheep per strike. Within minutes, the entire herd was eliminated.

He strode over and extended his hand toward Ming Dai, who was still in the tree.

She looked at his gaunt yet resolute face beneath his red headscarf. Before she even realized it, she had already jumped down on instinct.

Fortunately, the lunatic still had his skills. He caught her firmly and, without a word, carried her under his arm as he strode toward the fallen sheep.

“Hurry up!”

It was the first time Zhou Sinian had ever urged her. Ming Dai didn’t ask any questions and quickly stored all twenty or so sheep into her spatial space.

As soon as the last sheep disappeared, Zhou Sinian grabbed Ming Dai by the back of her collar, slung her onto his back, and sprinted down the mountain.

Ming Dai instinctively leaned backward but quickly tightened her grip on Zhou Sinian’s shoulders, locking her legs tightly around his waist. She ducked her head, dodging the branches that whipped past them as they sped down the mountain.

After running for a while, Zhou Sinian suddenly began climbing a tree, using vines to leap from one tree to another. Several times, they nearly plummeted to the ground together.

Ming Dai, terrified, clung to his shoulders for dear life, but at the same time, she felt a rush of excitement—she almost wanted to belt out the Tarzan theme song.

By the time they reached the base of the mountain, Zhou Sinian finally slowed down.

In the distance, deep within the forest they had just escaped from, a loud tiger’s roar echoed through the trees.

The tiger: Who?! Who?! Which bastard stole my winter granary?!

Ming Dai and the panting Zhou Sinian exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.

They made it back to the hut just before dinner. Huang Dalian had already prepared everything—coarse grain pancakes and stir-fried mung bean sprouts.

The dough had been left to rise, so Ming Dai simply pressed the pancakes onto the inside of the heated pot. Two pieces per person—dense, filling, and delicious.

The mung bean sprouts were even easier to prepare, with vinegar and dried chili as the key ingredients. In less than an hour, dinner was ready.

Huang Dalian cheerfully divided up the food, showing no interest in the basket they had brought back.

Ming Dai was pleased. People who knew when to be tactful were always the easiest to get along with.

After dinner and cleaning up, Ming Dai took out a few bright red persimmons from the basket. They were all fully ripe, hanging on the branches just on the verge of being eaten by birds.

She had simply picked them all and stored them in her spatial space—a single persimmon grove had yielded around three hundred.

Huang Dalian, already familiar with Ming Dai’s personality, didn’t stand on ceremony. She took one, peeled back the skin, and took a big slurp.

It was sweeter than honey!

“Xiao Ming, before the New Year, my mother will definitely send us some frozen pears and frozen persimmons. I’ll share half with you!”

Ming Dai nodded happily. Eating frozen pears and persimmons on the heated brick bed was the perfect way to cool down and prevent heat buildup.

She suddenly thought of something. “Sister Dalian, where is your family from?”

Huang Dalian pointed toward the large mountain they had visited earlier. “Just beyond that mountain. My family lives deep in the valley. It’s a poor place, but I was lucky enough to marry out. My parents, my older brother, and my younger brother will probably spend their whole lives stuck in those mountains.”

As she spoke, a hint of sadness crept into her voice. “Life in the mountains is really tough. The land isn’t good for farming, so everyone relies on the forest to survive. There are plenty of wild fruits, but it’s a shame we can’t transport them out. My younger brother is already twenty-six and still hasn’t found a wife!”

Ming Dai thought about the massive mountain they had been to today. It really was vast, with no signs of human activity—otherwise, those ancient ginseng plants wouldn’t have lasted this long.

It seemed she had those two tigers to thank. If not for them, she wouldn’t have been able to harvest so much ginseng.

“Sister Dalian, things will definitely get better in the future. Maybe one day, when a road is built, you’ll be able to visit home anytime you want.”

Huang Dalian had a naturally cheerful personality. She immediately nodded enthusiastically. “If they really build a road, I’ll go back at least once a month! Just think about it—I could finally eat meat whenever I visit! When that happens, you have to come with me! Let me tell you, do you know about roe deer? Those silly creatures may look dumb, but their meat is absolutely delicious! And sheep—when I was little, we’d only get to eat lamb once a year during New Year’s. But here? Hah! You barely even see a single sheep pellet all year! And then there’s also….”

Ming Dai listened with amusement, thinking that Huang Dalian’s childhood sounded much more interesting than hers.

Meanwhile, Zhou Sinian’s ears twitched. He silently took note: Roe deer… sounds delicious!