It All Starts With a Full Stomach

As soon as Chen Xuan arrived at the Large Pine Tree, his eyes lit up. Because at this moment, under the Large Pine Tree, in the small patch of grass, there was a dark shadow constantly flapping.

Chen Xuan didn't hesitate at all and quickly went forward.

As his figure approached, the dark shadow seemed to become more and more panicked, and its flapping movements became more and more rapid. In this rapid movement, Chen Xuan finally saw the full appearance of the dark shadow.

It was clearly a pheasant.

However, at this moment, the right half of this pheasant's wing was almost broken, and bright red blood had soaked its feathers.

Chen Xuan didn't dare to delay and quickly pounced on it.

The pheasant struggled desperately, trying to fly up, but it couldn't fly at all. Chen Xuan's pounce directly knocked it down.

Held down tightly by his hands, this pheasant ultimately did not escape.

After tying the pheasant with the grass rope he had prepared earlier, Chen Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Carrying the pheasant, he finally had the mind to examine it.

And this examination immediately brought a look of joy to his face.

In his previous life, the average weight of a male pheasant could reach about three catties, while the average weight of a female pheasant could reach eight taels to one catty. But he didn't know if it was because the conditions in this primitive world were better, but this pheasant, in his estimation, weighed almost four or five catties.

Adding the fish meat left over from yesterday, it would definitely be enough to feed the three of them, mother and sons, today.

Chen Xuan thought for a moment, looked around, and then directly picked up a stone and smashed it towards the pheasant's head.

Bang!

A dull sound rose, and the struggling pheasant immediately stopped moving after this blow. Its head was even directly smashed flat.

It wasn't until the pheasant was completely still that Chen Xuan carefully put it into his basket and then covered it with green grass.

Although it was just a pheasant, and in his memory the villagers seemed decent, under this great disaster, he had to be cautious.

As a transmigrator, he wasn't really just a little kid in his teens.

After carefully checking the basket, Chen Xuan carried it on his back and returned to the village.

At this moment in the village, families had already gotten up and started doing farm work.

Although they had suffered a great disaster, being in the countryside meant they couldn't stop working; on the contrary, they needed to work even more.

Only by doing so could they barely survive in this chaotic world.

Along the way, Chen Xuan saw figures with sallow faces and thin bodies.

Their eyes were almost devoid of any spirit.

"Er Gou, what are you doing?"

"Uncle Er, the straw mat at home is wet. My mother told me to go pick some dry grass."

"Oh, oh, oh!"

"Er Gou!"

"Hello, Uncle San!"

Along the way, Chen Xuan greeted the villagers one by one according to his memories.

It wasn't until half an hour later that he returned home.

At home.

His mother hadn't returned yet. His younger brother, Xiao Shitou, saw Chen Xuan come back and his face lit up with joy.

"Guoguo, hug, hug!"

Xiao Shitou happily called out.

Chen Xuan smiled and picked up Xiao Shitou.

However, holding a child with his small body made him stumble a bit, and he quickly found a wooden chair to sit down.

"This body!"

Chen Xuan sighed, his expression somewhat helpless.

This body had been starved for too long. It wasn't something that could be replenished with just one meal of fish.

His mind couldn't help but think of his golden finger again, and the attempt he made yesterday.

But soon those thoughts were dismissed.

Currently, the most important thing for him was to eat his fill. Only when he was full would his body recover. Only when his body recovered would he be qualified to consider other things.

Otherwise, even with a golden finger, doing anything would be extremely difficult.

"Guoguo, Shitou is hungry!"

While Chen Xuan was deep in thought, Xiao Shitou licked his finger and looked at Chen Xuan with pleading eyes.

Although they had eaten in the morning, to save food, they had only drunk some fish soup. Not to mention Xiao Shitou, even Chen Xuan's stomach was rumbling at this moment.

"Shitou, be good. Brother will make you something to eat."

Chen Xuan smiled and patted Xiao Shitou's head, then got up and walked towards his basket.

"Guoguo, really?"

Xiao Shitou's eyes sparkled as he looked at Chen Xuan.

"Really!"

"Xiao Shitou, wait patiently."

Chen Xuan said with a smile, picked up the basket, and walked towards the kitchen.

"Okay, Guoguo, Shitou is the best!"

Xiao Shitou bit his finger and nodded seriously.

He really sat obediently on the small stool and waited.

Meanwhile, Chen Xuan took the basket and entered the kitchen.

His eyes immediately spotted the fish that his mother had hung up to dry, with more than half of it remaining.

After a slight hesitation, Chen Xuan still took down the fish and hung the wild chicken from the basket.

The summer heat was intense, and after drying overnight, the fish had already developed a slight odor.

However, given their family's circumstances, Chen Xuan wasn't picky.

Washing the fish with clean water, Chen Xuan began the difficult task of cooking.

With nothing but bare walls, braised fish or steamed fish were out of the question. There was only one method: throwing everything into a clay pot for a messy stew.

Oil was completely nonexistent.

The only way to add flavor was to put a small piece of vinegar cloth in when the meat was cooked, and then quickly take it out. Otherwise, if all the salt from the salt cloth was boiled away, there would be none left for next time.

This kind of messy stew was also completely devoid of oil. In his previous life, even a beggar might not bother to smell it.

But in this era, in this Small River Village, it was already better than ninety percent of the households.

"Gulp!"

A faint aroma wafted to his nose, and Chen Xuan's Adam's apple couldn't help but bob.

He even subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

His stomach also cramped with pangs of hunger.

Suppressing the hunger, Chen Xuan quickly scooped a small bowl and brought it to Xiao Shitou, who was waiting outside.

"Fish!"

"It's fish!"

"Shitou loves eating fish the most!"

When the small bowl was brought over, Xiao Shitou's eyes immediately lit up, and he clapped his hands as he spoke.

"Eat slowly, don't burn yourself!"

Chen Xuan said with a smile, rubbed his younger brother's little head, and prepared to return to the kitchen.

But at this moment, there was movement outside.

"Mother is back!"

"Guoguo!"

Just as Xiao Shitou was about to eat, his little head couldn't help but shrink back. He looked at Chen Xuan and spoke softly.

"It's okay, Shitou, you eat first!"

Chen Xuan comforted him with a smile and walked out.

Meanwhile, outside.

Zhang Chunhua gently put down the bamboo basket.

In the basket, there were only one or two small pieces of tree bark, and not a single wild vegetable.

Clearly, her morning of digging for wild vegetables had yielded no results.

"Sigh!"

Zhang Chunhua couldn't help but sigh, her haggard face full of exhaustion.

She tidied herself up, picked up the two small pieces of tree bark, and walked towards the room.

But just as she entered the room, Zhang Chunhua's haggard face couldn't help but change.