Standing amidst the lush green mountains, Jiang Shuiyun and Jianmang gaze at each other in front of the thriving little grasses, wondering what wild vegetables look like.
The more confident I was when I came here, the more lost I feel now.
Jiang Shuiyun simply gave up, saying, "Let's go catch some fish instead."
I can eat any kind of fish.
Reaching the riverbank, Jiang Shuiyun rolled up his trousers, handed the fishing rod to Jian Mang, and picked up the harpoon.
The river was crystal clear. Just as Jiang Shuiyun was about to walk into the water, Jian Mang pulled her back. Then Jian Mang rolled up his trousers, broke off a tree branch, and went into the water with Jiang Shuiyun.
Jiang Shuiyun looked at the camera that was always following Jian Mang not far away and realized that Jian Mang was worried that the production team would only keep his footage in the end, so the two of them simply stayed in the same shot, unless they could throw away all the footage.
Jiang Shuiyun patted Jian Mang on the shoulder and walked into the water very quietly. There seemed to be a lot of fish here. Just a short while ago, she saw two rather large, fat fish swim by.
Jiang Shuiyun tested the waters with a harpoon first, then patiently waited for her prey. However, the river seemed to be a bit uncooperative; it seemed that the two large, fat fish that swam by were the only fish in the river, and she hadn't caught a single fry in a long time.
Just as Jiang Shuiyun was wondering if there was something wrong with the place she had chosen, she felt something on her feet. She lifted her feet out of the water and saw a large crab still holding her shoelaces in its grip. She exchanged a glance with Jian Mang.
Holding the large crab by its shell, Jiang Shuiyun placed it into the fish bucket that Jian Mang had brought, and then put the lid on top.
With this start, the two found a new approach, setting aside their harpoons and focusing intently on catching crabs.
There aren't many fish in this little river, but there are plenty of big crabs. They don't care about the small ones. Even if Jiang Shuiyun caught crabs the size of his palm, he couldn't catch them all. There are always surprises under the rocks.
Just as the two were enthusiastically lifting the stones, Jiang Shuiyun glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that the two big fat fish that had misled her earlier actually dared to come back.
"It would be a disgrace to not avenge this wrong," Jiang Shuiyun said, handing the fish bucket to Jian Mang and gesturing for silence. Then, she quietly picked up the harpoon beside her and tossed a stone in her hand.
"If you dare to show up, don't even think about going back." Jiang Shuiyun, standing nearly a meter away, gathered her strength slightly and hurled the harpoon in her hand. It was fast, accurate, and ruthless. A big fat fish was firmly pinned to the harpoon, while another fish was so frightened that it tried to escape with a flick of its tail. How could Jiang Shuiyun give it a chance to escape? She then threw the stone in her hand, which entered the water at an angle and hit the fat fish's head squarely.
"We'll have something to eat today."
Jiang Shuiyun watched as Jian Mang collected the two fish, then looked at the bucket full of large crabs in the fish bucket. He really had a full catch.
Jian Mang pulled two fish out of the water and gave Jiang Shuiyun a thumbs-up. Even the usually icy Jiang Shuiyun showed obvious shock and admiration. The cameraman couldn't help but look at the fish and then at the camera. Wow, is this a movie? I don't remember the production team preparing this kind of plot.
With fish and crabs in hand, Jiang Shuiyun emerged from the water, satisfied. He sat on the riverbank and emptied the water and mud from his shoes. But this was still a bit too little for six people. "Jianmang, what else is there to eat in this mountain and river?"
“Yes,” Jianmang said, putting away the fish and crabs and looking at the surrounding trees, “and bird eggs.”
To find bird eggs, you have to find bird nests. Jiang Shuiyun put her shoes back on, rolled up her sleeves, put her hands on her hips, and looked around. The trees here weren't very tall, and there weren't any bird nests.
Just as Jiang Shuiyun was watching, she heard a soft rustling sound coming from the bushes beside her. Her ears twitched, a smile appeared on her face, and she immediately squatted down to pick up a stone from the riverbank, waiting for the little creature in the bushes to peek out.
The sword beam also heard the noise. Seeing Jiang Shuiyun's stillness, it also stopped in place to avoid disturbing Jiang Shuiyun's prey.
The photographer completely forgot the director's instructions and focused the lens entirely on Jiang Shuiyun, as he was also eager to know what was in the bushes.
There was another movement, and everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. Jiang Shuiyun pinpointed the other party's location, clenched the pebble in her hand, and threw it quickly in the next second. With a muffled sound, a gray rabbit jumped out, clearly trying to escape. This was exactly what Jiang Shuiyun had been waiting for. The second pebble hit the rabbit squarely on the head, and the rabbit fell to the ground, becoming food.
Jian Mang couldn't help but want to applaud Jiang Shuiyun; he had never imagined that his captain was so talented.
There was no need for Jiang Shuiyun to do the rough work of gathering the prey himself. Jian Mang quickly walked over, picked up the rabbit by its ears, and said, "Captain, this should be enough..."
Just as Jian Mang was showing the rabbit to Jiang Shuiyun, a gray shadow flashed through the grass and rushed towards Jian Mang, but Jiang Shuiyun was faster than it.
Jiang Shuiyun pulled the wrist of the sword beam behind her and lifted her foot, accurately stomping the gray shadow down from mid-air. Everyone looked closely and saw a snake more than a meter long writhing under Jiang Shuiyun's foot, but it could not break free no matter what it did.
Not only were they terrified by the sword's edge, but even the photographer and the others felt a chill run down their spines. It turned out that the rabbit was someone else's prey, and they had gotten there first.
But it doesn't matter. Jiang Shuiyun stepped on the object under her feet and looked at the photographer, "Check if this is edible. As long as it's not a protected animal, it's fine."
The photographer felt his hands trembling as he lifted the camera. Does anyone even care whether this is edible?
"Captain, can we not eat this?"
A thin layer of sweat had already seeped from Jian Mang's forehead. He wouldn't even want to look at this thing again, even if he starved to death.
Jiang Shuiyun noticed that the people around her didn't dare to look directly at her, and seemed to realize that something was wrong. Besides, even if this thing was edible, no one knew how to make it.
“Alright, that’s enough with the rabbit,” Jiang Shuiyun waved her hand. “You all take your things and go a little further away. We won’t eat it, so we won’t harm it. I’ll just let it go.”
Upon hearing Jiang Shuiyun's words, everyone immediately sprang to attention, even forgetting the rule against helping guests. Those with free hands rushed over to help Jianmang pick up fish, crabs, various fishing gear, baskets, and the like, keeping a safe distance from Jiang Shuiyun.
After everyone had dispersed and stood at a distance, they saw Jiang Shuiyun decisively kick the long object far away, then, without even glancing at it, clapped her hands and walked towards them.
A note from the author:
This is giving me goosebumps... Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-05-22 14:50:49 and 2022-05-23 01:39:21!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Shan'er Baby (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: ---- 5 bottles; Bai Zhi Nian 2 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 43
Jiang Shuiyun took the tools from the staff member, "Shall we go back? Let's see how they are."
No one had any further objections. They glanced with lingering fear in the direction where the snake had disappeared, and followed Jiang Shuiyun back.
Jian Mang walked beside Jiang Shuiyun, carrying the heaviest bucket of fish. With two fish and the rabbit, the two of them were truly returning with a full load.
After returning from the riverbank to the entrance of the courtyard, the photographers left to meet up with the production crew in the distance. Various cameras had been installed in the courtyard to completely let the group roam freely. All their movements in the courtyard were filmed by hidden cameras installed in advance, and the audio was recorded entirely by miniature microphones they carried. The production crew would not interfere with them arbitrarily; in short, they were left to their own devices.
This is the first time I've seen a production team so irresponsible and trying to save time.
Jiang Shuiyun was too lazy to argue with them. It was better to ignore it and prevent them from coming up with any more bad ideas.
Jiang Shuiyun and Jianmang pushed open the gate to the courtyard. The four of them, including Poisonous Snake, had done a remarkable job, leaving everything wet. As soon as Jiang Shuiyun entered the courtyard, she was almost accidentally injured by Jiaoyang, who was carrying a water hose.
What are you doing?
Although the yard is clean, there's just too much water. The whole yard looks like it's been washed away.
"Captain, you have to give us some praise. We first splashed water all over the yard and house, and then used rags and brushes to scrub it. While we were scrubbing, Jiaoyang was rinsing it clean with a hose. Look, it's spotless now, just like new."
The venomous snake raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow, and proudly boasted to Jiang Shuiyun.
Jiang Shuiyun stepped into the water on the ground and thought it was fortunate that the main building of this courtyard was made of wood. If it were one of those stone and mud houses next to it, it would probably be ruined by them today.
"Okay, well done. Is the kitchen cleaned up yet?"
Regardless, the cleaning was done quite well, so we shouldn't dampen their enthusiasm.
"It's all packed up. The apprentice has chopped all the firewood, but Captain, do you know how to start a fire?"
Yao Yao Ling popped her head out of the kitchen. It was indeed quite clean inside, and the others weren't stupid; at least they hadn't washed the kitchen with water, and the firewood was dry.
"Start a fire?" Jiang Shuiyun walked into the kitchen and paused when she saw the old-fashioned earthen stove. "This is a stove? How do you use it?"
"So even the captain has things he doesn't know?" Yao Yao Ling rolled up her sleeves and followed Jiang Shuiyun with a grin. "Then you'll have to rely on me. I've been immersed in period dramas for many years. This kind of stove is simple. I could learn it just by watching the main character learn it."
Jiang Shuiyun glanced at the smug Yao Yao Ling and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are you sure?"
"Leave it to me, it's a piece of cake!"
Yao Yao Ling confidently patted her chest and assured him.
"Okay, then Jianmang and I will go and prepare the ingredients first."
Although Jiang Shuiyun was slightly skeptical, Yao Yaoling was the only one among them with theoretical knowledge, so she decided to give it a shot. After all, the kitchen had been set on fire, and Jiao Yang still had the water pipe in his hand.
"Captain, let me help you."
The Apostle of Slaughter rolled up his sleeves and walked over.
“Alright,” Jiang Shuiyun readily agreed, as she was unsure how to handle these things. “Little apprentice, do you know how to deal with these things?”
“I’ve seen other people’s food videos,” the Killing Apostle squatted down and first put the crabs in clean water. “Let the crabs soak like this for now, and then we can brush them with a brush later. Then we’ll gut and scale the fish, and skin and gut the rabbit.”
Jiang Shuiyun nodded as if she understood, looking at the fish in her hand, gesturing with the knife, still somewhat at a loss as to how to handle it.
"Captain, you go and rest for a while, I'll take care of it!"
After watching for a while, Poisonous Snake clearly realized that Jiang Shuiyun probably had never seen a fish being killed before, so he volunteered to roll up his sleeves and take the fish and knife from Jiang Shuiyun.
"Jiaoyang! Bring the water pipe over here!"
The venomous snake gripped the slippery fish tail and, with the guidance of the Killing Apostle, successfully gutted the fish, causing blood and its internal organs to flow out.
Jiaoyang ran over carrying the water pipe, and Jianmang followed suit, processing another fish, while the Slaughter Apostle picked up the rabbit.
Seeing that the three of them were basically on track, Jiang Shuiyun realized there was nothing more she could do to help. She washed her hands and decided to go find some seasonings.
Just after washing her hands, Jiang Shuiyun saw two little heads curiously looking inside from the gate of the courtyard. The sudden arrival of so many people in this small village clearly piqued the curiosity of these children.
"Children, do you live nearby?"
Jiang Shuiyun tried to communicate with the two children, who looked to be about five or six years old. Each of them was holding a plastic bag, which looked like it contained grass or vegetables.
The two children nodded. "Our grandma sent us to ask if you're new here?"
"Yes, we just moved in and are cleaning and cooking. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
Jiang Shuiyun rarely interacted with children, so she was quite surprised to see two of them.
The two children looked at each other, the older one shook his head, and led the younger one across the threshold. "This was sent by our grandma. Here are some wild vegetables that our grandma helped us dig, and here are some vegetables that our grandma grew herself. She said they were for the new neighbors."
The two children walked up to Jiang Shuiyun, handed her the plastic bag they were carrying, and seemed a little embarrassed.
Jiang Shuiyun took the vegetables, feeling a little flustered. She hadn't expected such a young child to know how to dig for wild vegetables. "Thank you all, and thank you to your grandma too."
The two children became even more embarrassed and ran away. Jiang Shuiyun then realized what was happening and said, "Wait a minute."
The two children who had run to the gate of the courtyard stopped and turned around. Jiang Shuiyun walked to the four people who were preparing the ingredients and asked, "Shouldn't we reciprocate?"
Jian Mang had just finished rinsing the fish in his hand when he handed it to Jiang Shuiyun. "I've taken care of this. We should have enough left over."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Seeing that the other three had nodded, Jiang Shuiyun patted Jian Mang on the shoulder, put down two bags of vegetables, placed the fish into the cleaned fish bucket, and handed it to the two children, saying, "It's only right to reciprocate, remember to thank your grandma for us."
The two children shyly accepted the fish bucket, said thank you, and ran out quickly, disappearing in a flash.
After seeing the two children off, Jiang Shuiyun washed her hands again, went inside to take out all the seasonings, looked at the instructions on them, and put them away in categories. She also found some scallions, ginger, and garlic in the corner.
Jiang Shuiyun took the seasonings to the kitchen. As soon as she entered, she saw Yao Yaoling, her face covered in soot, fanning herself next to the stove. And there was actually a fire in the stove.
Yao Yao Ling looked up at Jiang Shuiyun who had just entered the room, and proudly stretched out her hand to show off her work.
"Captain, praise me!"