The moment he arrived beneath the large pine tree, Chen Xuan's eyes lit up. In the small patch of grass below the tree, a dark shadow was thrashing about nonstop.
Chen Xuan did not hesitate in the slightest and hurried forward.
As he drew closer, the dark shadow seemed to grow even more frightened, its struggles becoming increasingly frantic. Amid that frantic motion, Chen Xuan finally saw its full form.
It was unmistakably a Mountain Chicken.
Only, the right half of its wing was nearly broken, and bright red blood had soaked through its feathers.
Chen Xuan did not dare delay and immediately pounced.
The Mountain Chicken struggled with all its strength, trying to take flight, but it could not fly at all. Chen Xuan's pounce knocked it straight to the ground.
With both hands pinning it down tightly, the Mountain Chicken ultimately failed to escape.
Only after tying it up with the grass rope he had prepared beforehand did Chen Xuan let out a breath of relief.
Holding the Mountain Chicken, he finally had the leisure to examine it.
The moment he did, delight rose on his face.
In his previous life, male Mountain Chickens averaged around three jin, while females averaged eight liang to one jin. Yet perhaps because the conditions in this primitive world were better, this Mountain Chicken looked to weigh nearly four or five jin.
Together with the fish meat left over from yesterday, it would definitely be enough to feed the three of them today.
After thinking it over and looking around, Chen Xuan directly picked up a stone and smashed it down on the Mountain Chicken's head.
Bang!
A dull sound rang out. The struggling Mountain Chicken went still after that blow, its head crushed flat.
Only once the Mountain Chicken had completely stopped moving did Chen Xuan carefully put it into his basket and cover it with fresh grass.
It was only a Mountain Chicken, and from his memories, the villagers seemed decent enough. But in the midst of this great disaster, he still had to guard against people.
As a transmigrator, he was not truly some teenage brat.
After carefully checking the basket, Chen Xuan slung it onto his back and headed toward the village.
By then, every household in the village had risen and begun working in the fields.
Though they had suffered through a great disaster, living in the countryside did not mean they no longer needed to work. On the contrary, they had to work even more.
Only then could they barely survive in these chaotic times.
All along the road, Chen Xuan saw sallow, emaciated figures.
Their eyes, one after another, held almost no light at all.
"Er Gou, what are you doing?"
"Second Uncle, the straw mat at home got wet. My mother told me to gather some dry grass."
"Oh, oh, oh!"
"Er Gou!"
"Hello, Third Uncle!"
Along the way, Chen Xuan greeted the villagers one by one according to his memories.
Only half an hour later did he return home.
At home.
His mother had not yet returned. When his younger brother Xiao Shitou saw Chen Xuan come back, happiness immediately appeared on his face.
"Guoguo, hug me, hug me!"
Xiao Shitou spoke cheerfully.
Chen Xuan smiled and picked Xiao Shitou up.
But with this small body of his, carrying a child made him stagger. He quickly found a wooden chair and sat down.
"This body..."
Chen Xuan sighed, helplessness in his expression.
This body had been starved for far too long. It was not something one meal of fish could replenish.
His Conceptual Ability surfaced in his mind again, along with yesterday's attempt.
But those thoughts were quickly cast aside.
Right now, the most important thing for him was still to eat his fill. Only after eating his fill could he nurse his body back to health, and only after his body had recovered would he have the qualifications to consider other matters.
Otherwise, even with a Conceptual Ability, doing anything would be exceedingly difficult.
"Guoguo, Shitou is hungry!"
As Chen Xuan was lost in thought, Xiao Shitou licked a stone and looked at him eagerly.
Although they had eaten in the morning, they had only drunk some fish soup in order to save food. Not to mention Xiao Shitou—even Chen Xuan could feel his stomach rumbling by now.
"Be good, Shitou. Big Brother will make you something to eat."
Chen Xuan smiled and rubbed Xiao Shitou's head as he rose and walked toward his basket.
"Guoguo, really?"
Xiao Shitou looked at Chen Xuan with shining eyes.
"Really!"
"Be good and wait a moment, Xiao Shitou."
Chen Xuan said with a smile, picked up the basket, and walked toward the kitchen.
"Okay, Guoguo. Shitou is the best-behaved!"
Xiao Shitou bit his finger and nodded earnestly.
He truly sat obediently on the little stool and began waiting.
Chen Xuan, meanwhile, carried the basket into the kitchen.
At a glance, he saw the fish his mother had hung up, with more than half still left.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Xuan took down the fish and hung the Mountain Chicken from the basket in its place.
The summer heat was scorching. After hanging overnight, the fish meat had already developed a faint sour smell.
But given their family's circumstances, Chen Xuan had no room to be picky.
After washing the fish meat with clean water, Chen Xuan began the difficult task of cooking.
Their home had nothing but bare walls. Braised fish or steamed fish were things he did not even need to think about. There was only one option: throw it into a clay pot and stew it all together.
There was absolutely no oil.
When the meat was almost cooked, he could only add a small piece of vinegar cloth to give it some flavor, then quickly fish it back out. Otherwise, if all the salt on the salt cloth boiled away, there would be none left to eat next time.
Such a haphazard stew, without even a trace of oil, would probably have been too unappealing for even beggars to sniff at in his previous life.
Yet in this era, in this Small River Village, it already surpassed more than ninety percent of households.
Gulp.
A faint fragrance drifted beneath his nose, and Chen Xuan's Adam's apple bobbed.
He even swallowed a mouthful of saliva unconsciously.
Waves of cramping pain came from his stomach.
Forcing down his hunger, Chen Xuan quickly ladled out a small bowl and carried it to Xiao Shitou, who was waiting outside.
"Fish!"
"It's fish!"
"Shitou loves 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. He rubbed his younger brother's little head and was about to return to the kitchen.
But at that very moment, movement came from outside.
"Mother's back!"
"Guoguo!"
Just as Xiao Shitou was about to start eating, his little head shrank back. He looked toward Chen Xuan and spoke softly.
"It's fine. Go ahead and eat first, Shitou!"
Chen Xuan reassured him with a smile before walking outside.
Outside.
Zhang Chunhua gently set down her bamboo basket.
Inside the basket were only one or two small pieces of tree bark, not a single wild vegetable.
Clearly, a whole morning spent digging for wild vegetables had yielded nothing.
"Ah..."
Zhang Chunhua could not help sighing. Her haggard face was full of exhaustion.
She gathered herself, picked up the two small pieces of tree bark, and walked toward the room.
But the moment she entered, Zhang Chunhua's haggard face abruptly changed.
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