Chapter 6: Eating Meat

“Today, Shuxin caught two rabbits, both very plump! If you eat them, you must remember her kindness; otherwise, you won’t be forgiven! Enough talk, let’s dig in!”

Everyone in the Liu family was fixated on the meat. Their mother/grandmother’s words didn’t seem to matter, as they all nodded in agreement.

Once they heard it was time to eat, they all dove in, including Grandma Liu, who was no slouch in the battle for food.

Seeing the chaos in front of her, Shuxin was grateful for her grandmother’s foresight in serving the meat in advance.

Otherwise, judging by the way the family was fighting over the food, she, being only three years old, probably wouldn’t be able to compete with them.

Not wanting to intervene any further, Shuxin happily bit into the rabbit leg with her few tender teeth. Her grandmother’s cooking was quite good; the rabbit meat was soft, tender, and flavorful. Each bite filled her mouth with delicious grease.

After the meal, the family lounged around on their stools, savoring the delicious flavors of lunch, their stomachs full to the brim, unable to move. The dishes on the table were licked clean, so there was no need for Grandma to wash them.

Shuxin also slumped back in her chair, patting her stuffed belly, still tasting the rabbit meat she just enjoyed. In her mind, she thought: It had been a long time since she felt this full and satisfied.

In the apocalypse, even if there was food, it wasn’t like now when they could eat to their hearts’ content. Being able to eat until they were seven-tenths full was considered impressive. They also had to store food, not knowing when the zombies would surround the city, making it impossible to go out or find food.

Now, at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, the temperature was still high. Everyone was resting under the persimmon tree in the yard, laying out mats for a nap.

Before heading out to work in the afternoon, Grandma Liu mentioned that the weather was too hot for storing meat. She decided to stew the other half of the rabbit for dinner and serve it with some noodles.

The clear broth wouldn’t have much flavor, unlike the braised meat at noon, which had been smelled throughout half the village.

Everyone immediately perked up, as if injected with energy, and hurried to assure Grandma Liu that they would work hard in the afternoon to earn the noodles for dinner.

Grandma Liu looked at the eager faces before her, feeling exasperated. Even Aunt Liu, usually the steady head of the household, was acting this way. In pursuit of meat, they had completely discarded their usual decorum.

Oh, her niece Shuxin’s mother was no exception…

Not wanting to concern herself with the adults’ excited antics, Shuxin turned over and snuggled next to her cousin to continue her nap. The sun was too strong to go outside, and she would wait until after a rest to see what to do next.

Life was comfortable now; eat, then sleep. There was no need to wander the mountains looking for food. Shuxin cherished the peaceful life she had right now.

By three or four in the afternoon, the sun wasn’t as scorching as at noon, so Shuxin and her cousins decided to head out.

That’s right, her two older brothers joined as well. They were going to gather firewood in the afternoon. According to her brother, they would take advantage of the little girl’s luck and see if they could catch any wild chickens. At that moment, Shuxin shot her brother a sidelong glance.

She was still carrying her small backpack from the morning, holding her brother’s hand excitedly as they walked up the mountain.

Her brother said that the place they were going to cut firewood not only had wild water chestnut trees but also wild chickens. In the morning, she and her cousin had gone to the foot of the mountain, which was just low bushes.

Could Shuxin not be happy? That was water chestnuts and meat! Having already caught two rabbits today, if they encountered any wild game, she could store it in her space and save it for later.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, they saw more than a dozen men and women aged around seven to nine or ten looking in their direction, seemingly waiting for them.

Sure enough, their eldest cousin walked over to greet a sturdy boy, while the girls were familiar to Shuxin, as she had been with them earlier in the morning.

After exchanging greetings, they all headed towards the middle of the mountain, half-grown children full of energy, playing and joking along the way.

The further up they went, the steeper the path became. Although Shuxin’s physical fitness had improved after merging with the Nine-colored Lotus seeds last night, making her comparable to a grown man, her physical abilities would continue to enhance with her abilities.

However, no matter how good her physique was or how strong she became, she was still just a toddler—a three-year-old little girl. To others, she appeared no more than a baby struggling to keep up, swinging her short legs in an effort to follow behind them.

Her two older brothers were considerate, and seeing how tough the mountain path was, they each took turns carrying her for a while.

Once they reached a spot to set her down, she looked at her brothers and noticed that they seemed to be in good shape, only perspiring a little after carrying her for a stretch.

With her two brothers keeping an eye on her in the afternoon, her older cousin didn’t keep her tied by her side, allowing Shuxin more space to roam around. Nevertheless, she remembered her cousin’s admonitions, so Shuxin didn’t intend to stray from their sight.

There were many opportunities for her; it wasn’t just this time. Since she had come to this world of apocalypse alone, now that she had parents and family, she couldn’t let them worry.

While they were cutting firewood, Shuxin surveyed the surroundings to see if there was anything worth storing in her space. Sure enough, the vegetation was quite rich here, with many water chestnut trees nearby.

Shuxin found some grapevines, picked one to carry back with her, as well as kiwi, walnuts, and pear trees…

However, many of these weren’t ripe enough to eat now, so she could only select some saplings to store in her space.

Busy and bustling, time flew by, and it felt like no time had passed before the sun was about to set. She searched for her brothers and sisters and saw a large pile of firewood beside them, which they obviously could not carry alone.

So, her brother and several kids went down the mountain to find the adults to help carry the load, as it was now the harvest season for the fields.

On the way home, Shuxin was perched on her father’s back, her little legs swinging in the air while he carried her small backpack in his hands, swaying gently as they walked back home.

The bright moon hung high, and the stars twinkled.

That evening, in the same place and with the same position, the Liu family unexpectedly filled themselves up again.

Lying in the yard, the night breeze passed by, bringing a coolness. After digesting their meal, they each went inside to wash up and sleep.

The croaking of frogs accompanied the sound of her parents snoring, and Shuxin gently drifted off to sleep, reflecting that today had truly been a happy day!