Up to No Good

Shui Jin was waiting for them in the field. As soon as they arrived, Shui Jin put his hands on his hips and said, "These are the prey. They're all lying on the ground. Just pick them up."

Jian Mo: "Let me see what's here?"

Shui Jin: "Purple Bird, Long-Headed Beast, Long-Eared Beast, Short-Tailed Beast... these are all relatively small prey, but there aren't any particularly small ones."

Jian Mo ran over to take a look and, sure enough, they were all small prey. But they weren't actually that small; the smallest Purple Bird was the size of a duck, and the largest Long-Headed Beast was even bigger than a medium-sized dog.

These prey look quite plump; I wonder how many vegetables they've ruined?

Shui Jin: "I just gathered these prey together. It's getting dark, there might be other prey. You guys keep looking."

Jian Mo: "Okay, thank you."

Shui Jin waved her hand. "Why are you being so polite? Even if I hadn't called you, you would have come over when it got light."

Jian Mo smiled and stuffed a Long-Headed Beast into Shui Jin's hand, "They'll probably run away by dawn, so take this Long-Headed Beast back and eat it."

Shui Jin: "Really, you don't need to."

Jian Mo: "Take it. Look, we have more than ten prey here. We can't possibly eat them all ourselves."

Wu Jiong also said, "Let's take it back and have a taste."

They often went hunting, and Long-Headed Beast were not uncommon animals.

However, most of the game brought back was dead. The delays on the way and when it came time to divide the meat meant that the game was definitely not as fresh as the live game we have now.

Moreover, live prey can be bled. The blood from hunted prey is congealed inside, so it needs to be soaked or blanched to improve its taste.

Unable to refuse, Shui Jin finally happily took the Long-Headed Beast and left.

As dawn broke, he could hand over his shift to the next patrolling orc, and then take the Long-Headed Beast back home for a late-night snack.

Wu Jiong said, "Is this all you've kept secret all night?"

Jian Mo: "Yeah, I'm not sure if any animals will come. Will the tranquilizer work? I'm telling you in advance, what if the tranquilizer doesn't work on the prey? That would be so embarrassing!"

Wu Jiong looked at him. "What's so shameful about being with me?"

Jian Mo smiled and said, "I also hope that I always present a smart, capable, brave, and wise image to you."

Wu Jiong: "So that's you."

Jian Mo: "Then I have to do something to prove it. It's one thing for flying animals like Purple Bird to get in, but I don't know why small animals can get in too. Looks like our fence isn't very effective."

After inspecting the area, Wu Jiong said, "Some jumped directly over the fence, while others dug holes under the fence and crawled in. Each animal uses a different method."

Jian Mo looked at the fence in front of her. "Then what's the point of all that effort we put into building this fence?"

Wu Jiong: "Tell the others that the crops in this area are the crops we grow?"

Jian Mo sighed, "Forget it, let's just increase the patrols from now on."

Wu Jiong: "I'll bring the seeds over this afternoon to replant them; the crops should sprout again soon."

Jian Mo: "Unfortunately, we don't have many seeds. We need to hurry and exchange them with others for another batch, otherwise I'm afraid we won't have enough seeds."

Jian Mo had never farmed before. She had been planting behind the house before and it had gone quite smoothly. She never thought she would need to replant.

This experience has given them valuable lessons.

The two packed the remaining prey into bags.

These prey were caught by them alone; they didn't need to be shared with the tribe, they belonged entirely to them.

After a quick inventory check, Jian Mo found that the harvest was decent, with a slight surplus after offsetting the other two items.

Since that's the case, then forget it. Trading crops for game is quite a good deal.

All the prey were still alive, but they had been given anesthesia and were sleeping soundly.

Jian Mo simply tied up the prey and put them in the backyard, intending to raise them and eat them slowly.

Fresh prey tastes much better than dried prey.

Therefore, Jian Mo specifically instructed Jiujiu to keep an eye out for prey whenever it was free, and to return and report immediately if any prey was about to escape.

Jiujiu listened for a long time, but it's unclear whether he understood it or not.

Jian Mo nudged it. "Remember, your food rations are in here too. Don't let them get away."

Jiujiu seemed to finally understand, and happily cried out, "Chirp!"

Chapter 80 Doing Bad Things

Having finally caught the wild animal that had stolen their vegetables, Jian Mo took out one of the Purple Bird, intending to cook it for breakfast.

The Purple Bird is large, with thick, meaty flesh and a delicious flavor.

After Wu Jiong took it to the river to process it, Jian Mo chopped the Purple Bird into pieces, put it in a pot with oil, stir-fried it until the moisture evaporated and it became fragrant, and then added garlic powder and a handful of peppercorns.

The stir-fried Purple Bird is fragrant and slightly spicy, making it a perfect accompaniment to rice.

Jian Mo ate the Purple Bird along with the stems, and said with some regret, "Using stems with Purple Bird isn't quite right. If only there were rice, two bowls of rice, that would be absolutely delicious."

Wu Jiong had heard him talk about rice quite a bit, and although he had never eaten it, he could imagine. "Let's ask around some more; we'll find it sooner or later, or at least a similar substitute."

Jian Mo nodded. "If we can't find rice, beans and corn will do; they can all be made into a meal."

I wonder what these undomesticated plants will look like when they grow up? Judging from that wheat-like Flour Grass, I don't think things will turn out very well.

Never mind, let's find it first.

While eating, Jian Mo thought, "We don't have much moss left, and it's been a while since we went to Thunder God Mountain to collect moss. New moss should have grown out. Why don't we go take a look today?"

Wu Jiong: "We'll go after we finish eating."

Jian Mo: "It feels like we've been acting alone a lot lately. I'll try to avoid acting alone for the foreseeable future."

Wu Jiong didn't care at all. "You've already done enough for the tribe. Everyone assumes you deserve special treatment. It's fine if you don't go. Just don't go out with us and don't collect the allocated supplies. No one will say anything."