Chapter 16

Maybe it was because it had just snowed, but the tracks of the animals were covered by the snow. Qian Mingying went deep into the forest, and Tian Xiaoku fell behind from time to time. "That, no, forget it.

It's too far inside. If it goes on like this, I'm afraid we can't go home at night. "

Tian Xiaoku looked back at the road they had come from, but only saw the boundless forest, and only a string of tracks they had just walked through on the snow.

She had only gone into the mountains to collect firewood before. A few days ago, she encountered Qian Mingying, and it was the furthest she had ever walked.

"There are no animals here. They are all hiding in front!" Qian Mingying said to Tian Xiaoku.

"How do you know?" Tian Xiaoku couldn't help but ask.

Qian Mingying found that Tian Xiaoku was much more lively and liked to ask questions, but she didn't like to answer questions. She felt that it was easier to worry about her when she was like a partridge.

"Because I have swept the whole area," Qian Mingying said, then turned around and left. Tian Xiaoku stepped on the snow, and the snow reached her knees.

Swept the area?

Swept the area!

This sentence echoed in Tian Xiaoku's ears. How much could Qian Mingying eat?

The wind blew through the forest, and Tian Xiaoku shivered. Looking at Qian Mingying, who had gone a little farther, Tian Xiaoku hurried to catch up with her step by step.

In this era, it was impossible to expect any alcohol stove or gas in the deep mountains. Qian Mingying's hanging pot was considered a decent way to eat.

When Tian Xiaoku caught up with them, she saw a small area on the ground that had been cleared.

In the cleared area, there was a place that looked like a stove, which was built with various corners. The original color of the stones could no longer be seen, as they were all smoked black.

Qian Mingying had already put the hanging pot and basket in the place. Seeing Tian Xiaoku coming over, she handed the fire in her hand to her.

"You start the fire here. I'll go catch some wild animals, and then we can eat." Qian Mingying told Tian Xiaoku.

Tian Xiaoku took the fire, and couldn't help but feel a little worried. She held the hanging pot and measured it, and hurriedly stopped Qian Mingying, "This pot is too small to put it on!"

Qian Mingying heard, frowned, and thought, "Qian Mingying."

Qian Mingying jumped up and ran, and then used her strength to push against an old tree, and then jumped up the old tree next to her like a bullet. She hooked her hands and pulled herself up, and then she was on the branch of the old tree. She took out an axe from behind her, and chopped at the big branches nearby. After chopping six branches, she slid down from the tree. The whole process took less than ten minutes.

Tian Xiaoku had been looking at Qian Mingying in surprise. In her dream, she only knew that Qian Mingying was strong, but she didn't expect her to be so agile. However, the more she was like this, the more she felt that the people who set the mountain free were not to be trifled with. She had to try her best to make Qian Mingying go back to the village.

Qian Mingying came over with a pile of branches. It looked like a moving tree monster, but Tian Xiaoku couldn't see her at all. When she arrived, Qian Mingying put down the branches, and picked up the axe to chop the branches. After cleaning up six sticks, Qian Mingying used them to set up a bracket on the simple stove. A wooden stick as thick as an arm was placed horizontally in the middle, and Qian Mingying hung the hanging pot with two lengths of rope.

Seeing this, Tian Xiaoku finally understood what the small ears on the pot were for.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Tian Xiaoku said to Qian Mingying.

Qian Mingying frowned, and then swept the snow with the remaining branches and leaves. She saw a small pile of snow not far from the stove. It turned out to be a pile of chopped firewood. They were neatly stacked, and the size of the chopped firewood was even. It looked familiar.

Tian Xiaoku didn't have much memory of other people's firewood. Needless to say, it was Qian Mingying who prepared it in advance.

"Do you still need me to find something to start the fire?"

Qian Mingying asked Tian Xiaoku directly. Tian Xiaoku blushed. This Qian Mingying thought that she didn't know anything. But it was her first time coming out, so she really didn't know anything. Maybe this was the skill of a hunter?

"No need. Can't you just tear some off the tree?" Tian Xiaoku pointed at the birch tree next to them, and said unhappily. This little kid was looking down on her.

"Okay!"

Qian Mingying nodded, but she still raised her head to look at the trees. Then she hugged a tree and shook it hard. After a few shakes, several bird nests fell down.

Qian Mingying picked them up one by one, and handed them to Tian Xiaoku, who was stunned, "The newly peeled birch bark is not good. Use this. It's dry, and it will light up with a little bit."

After saying that, Qian Mingying carefully swept away the first layer of snow on the undamaged snowfield, and then put the snow into the hanging pot. She did it very carefully. When the pot was full, Qian Mingying stood up again.

"Hurry up and light it up. Don't be afraid as long as there's a fire. Generally, there won't be any wild animals around here.

If there is one, there, go there. I put a stone on it. Throw it as hard as you can, and then call me. "

After saying that, Qian Mingying tidied up a few times and emptied the basket. She carried it on her back and quickly disappeared.

Tian Xiaoku couldn't see Qian Mingying, so she hurriedly lit the fire.

It was not difficult for Tian Xiaoku, who had always burned firewood, to light the fire. Moreover, the dry bird nests were really easy to light. After a while, the fire was burning fiercely, and the snow in the hanging pot slowly melted.

Tian Xiaoku swept around with branches and leaves. Sure enough, she swept out a stump. She sat down and waited for Qian Mingying to come back.

Before the pot of snow water was completely boiled, Qian Mingying ran back with two pheasants and a hare.

"So fast?" Tian Xiaoku looked at Qian Mingying in surprise.

Qian Mingying nodded, "I was lucky. I found these three in the bushes over there, so I took them all. There were some that were startled. After eating, I will go hunting again."

Tian Xiaoku nodded and took the game. She thought that if they were so efficient, they should be able to go back on the same day.

It was just that they didn't have enough game. Wasn't there still the wolf that they didn't bring back that day?

Tian Xiaoku thought to herself.

If Qian Mingying heard this, she would definitely snort. Although the smell of blood was covered by the snow, it would still leak out. It might be eaten by hungry beasts. Therefore, Qian Mingying went into the mountain to hunt for game first, instead of hoping that the wolf would not be eaten by other beasts.

With a kitchen knife in her hand, Qian Mingying skillfully peeled off the skin of the hare. Seeing that the snow water had already boiled, she directly threw the disemboweled hare into it, and put the pheasants directly into the fire to roast. After a while, the two pheasants were burned by the smoke and fire. Qian Mingying then disemboweled the pheasants and threw them into the hanging pot to wash the surface. After washing, Qian Mingying put the pheasants and hare into the basket. Then she changed the water in the pot, added snow, and started to boil again.

At this time, she pulled out a wooden stump from behind the pile of firewood, chopped the hare and pheasant into pieces, and put them into the hanging pot.

Tian Xiaoku looked at the messy marks on the wooden stump and couldn't help but click his tongue. Qian Mingying seemed to have done a lot of cooking in the mountain.

"You have prepared a lot." Tian Xiaoku looked at Qian Mingying with bright eyes.

Qian Mingying shook her head: "The seasoning is running out."

As she spoke, Qian Mingying took out a small cloth bag from her coat pocket. She opened it and saw that there were sea salt particles inside. The particles were very thick and some parts were black.

Tian Xiaoku had seen all the white salt in her dream. The sea salt particles didn't need to be bought in the supply and demand cooperative, so it was most popular in the mountain village.

"It would be great if the mountain wasn't sealed!"

Tian Xiaoku longed. Qian Mingying turned to look at her. Tian Xiaoku then continued: "We can exchange the wild hare and pheasant for things, so we can get salt and food."

Qian Mingying pursed her lips. She remembered that when she first came here, the people in the village who cut the tail on the fighting ring were caught selling things.

"We will be criticized!"

Qian Mingying felt that safety was the most important thing. There was still money from the village brigade for the New Year. When spring came, they could use the money to buy things.

"You can steal. There is a black market!"

Tian Xiaoku said. Like Qian Mingying, she rarely went out of the village. Qian Mingying looked at her again: "Have you been there?"