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“Lu Xingping opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.
Although he was young and didn’t quite understand these matters, since his older brother said so, there must be a reason. So, in the coming period, he needed to gather more firewood with Xing An.
Chu Yue listened to the conversation between the two brothers and thought to herself that if things remained like this after the fall, people would definitely have a hard time in the next couple of years. It might be necessary to stock up on some grain in advance.
After all, if a famine really breaks out, it could become severe enough for people to turn to cannibalism.
After picking the last tender leaf into the basket, Chu Yue stood up and said, ‘The tender leaves are picked. Next, we can dig out the roots.’
Lu Xinghe quickly picked up a shovel, ‘Let me do it.'”
He was strong, and the soil where the bupleurum grew was relatively loose, so it didn’t take long for him to loosen the soil around the roots of that cluster of bupleurum.
Chu Yue quickly squatted down, removed the stems of the bupleurum near the roots, and neatly piled them in a corner of the basket.
Lu Xingping and Lu Xinghe were not idle either; they followed Chu Yue’s method to handle the plants.
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Xinghe hid the firewood in a mountain hollow on the way home and led the two of them to continue walking forward.
The three of them walked and stopped, collecting anything edible, whether it was leaves, roots, or fruits, and Chu Yue meticulously gathered and dug them all out.
Unknowingly, the three of them arrived at a mountain spring at the base of a low cliff. Although the drought had almost dried it up, there was still a thin stream of water trickling down, and the spring water was crystal clear.”
“Lu Xingping was overjoyed to see the water. He quickly put down the basket and went to the spring to cup some water and wash his face.
‘Sister-in-law, it’s all thanks to you today. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to dig up so many wild vegetables.’
Chu Yue smiled, picked up the basket, and stepped forward, intending to wash the wild vegetables with roots in the spring water. However, just as she put the basket down, she heard a slight splash.
Looking closely, she saw that a fish was stuck in a crevice in the rocks ahead.
Too excited, she almost blurted out, ‘Husband, come quickly, there’s a fish!’
Hearing Chu Yue’s call, Lu Xinghe was a bit surprised, but he acted quickly. He hurriedly went forward to scoop up the fish trapped in the crevice and then used some cattails nearby to string the fish through the gills and mouth.”
“Lu Xingping, seeing the fish as long as his forearm, clapped his hands excitedly.
“Big brother, are we going to have fish for dinner tonight?”
Lu Xinghe glanced in Chu Yue’s direction, cleared his throat a bit awkwardly, and a rare faint smile appeared on his face.
“Yes, we’ll have fish tonight.”
After the three of them squatted by the spring to clean the wild vegetables, they carried the basket and headed back.
By this time, the sun was almost setting, and if they didn’t go home soon, it would become increasingly unsafe as it got dark.
Looking at Chu Yue, who was carrying a basket full of wild vegetables and still had a slightly excited expression on her face, Lu Xinghe stepped forward and reached out to take her basket.
“Let me carry it.”
Gazing at Lu Xinghe’s perfect side profile, Chu Yue softly said, “You still have firewood to carry later…”
“It’s fine. Stay close to me and don’t get lost,” he replied in a tone that brooked no argument.
Lu Xingping looked at the basket Lu Xinghe was effortlessly holding and said with a flattering expression, “Big brother, won’t you care about me too?”
Lu Xinghe glanced at him lightly.
“Your basket is small; you can carry it yourself.”
Lu Xingping pouted: Big brother has changed…
They could already see the hollow where the firewood was hidden, but the rustling sounds coming from the depths of the mountain made the three of them stop in their tracks.
Lu Xinghe, with a cautious expression, positioned himself protectively in front of Chu Yue and Lu Xingping.
Lu Xingping felt a bit scared, recalling stories he’d heard about wild animals in the mountains that could really eat people.”
“‘Big brother, what should we do now?’
Chu Yue also felt a bit uneasy, and the hidden danger lurking in the dark made her heart pound with fear.
Lu Xinghe didn’t speak; he placed the basket aside, gripping the shovel tightly in one hand and holding the fish in the other.
You two slowly back away, and go as far as you can.
If he guessed correctly, the creature in the dark was attracted by the smell of the fish.
With a snort, a medium-sized wild boar charged out at high speed, heading straight for the fish in Lu Xinghe’s hand.
Just as expected!
Lu Xinghe’s eyes lit up, and he ran to the side with the fish, trying to lure the wild boar away.
The wild boar kept its eyes fixed on the fish in Lu Xinghe’s hand, relentlessly pursuing him.
After luring the wild boar away, Lu Xinghe ran straight toward a large, sturdy tree, gradually slowing his pace as he ran.
As he neared the tree, the wild boar was very close to him.
At this moment, Lu Xinghe suddenly sped up, which made the wild boar panic and also increase its speed.
He ran straight towards the tree, and as he approached, he leapt up onto the uneven tree trunk, climbing it with remarkable agility.
However, the wild boar couldn’t climb the tree, and due to its fast running speed, it couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the tree, leaving it dazed and dizzy.
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Xinghe quickly turned around, aiming his shovel at the wild boar’s most vulnerable spot—just above the area between its eyes.
With a heavy blow, a bloody hole appeared in the wild boar’s head. It staggered, then collapsed to the ground.
Lu Xinghe landed on the ground and kicked it a couple of times. It was completely still.
Chu Yue and Lu Xingping watched anxiously from a distance, and when they saw that Lu Xinghe had killed the wild boar, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
“Big brother, are you okay?”
Lu Xinghe turned to look at them.
“I’m fine,” he said, handing the shovel and fish in their direction. “But you’ll have to help me carry these, as I need to carry the wild boar.”
Chu Yue jogged over and took the shovel and fish from Lu Xinghe.
“I’ll take them. Let’s leave quickly; the smell of blood is strong and might attract other creatures.”
“Lu Xinghe nodded, and with Chu Yue’s help, he hoisted the wild boar onto his shoulder and led the two of them quickly down the mountain.
As soon as the three of them emerged from the woods, Yun Cuihe, who was standing in the courtyard waiting for their return, saw them.
Seeing the large creature on Lu Xinghe’s shoulder, she quickly called out to Lu Xing’an, who was busy in the kitchen.
“Xing’an, come quickly and help your big brother.”
After speaking, she clutched her chest and hurried to the courtyard gate to open it.
“Such a big wild boar!”
Lu Xingping quickly replied with a smile, “Yes, Mother, and it was big brother who killed the wild boar himself.”
After opening the courtyard gate, Yun Cuihe immediately made way for them. “Come in quickly. Weren’t you just going to dig up wild vegetables? Why did you take them into the deep mountains? What if something happened?”
Lu Xing’an, who had just put rice in the pot, heard the commotion and quickly came out. Seeing Lu Xinghe carrying a large wild boar, he was slightly surprised and immediately went forward to help him unload the boar.
Lu Xinghe put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath.
“I’ll go to town early tomorrow morning. Is there anything we need at home? I can bring it back then.”