Mo Yan walked along the mountain's edge and arrived at a valley. The hills on both sides of the valley were not high, but one was covered with trees and shrubs, while the other side appeared somewhat desolate.
After some thought, she decided to take a look on the mountain, dense with vegetation. Since the plants were so lush, there should be a good water source. Even though the drought had turned the vegetation yellow, it had not died off completely. Maybe there really was something edible inside.
Mo Yan picked up a more than two-meter long stick, as thick as a wrist, and used it to feel her way while walking. But her body was so frail that after a few steps, she had to stop to catch her breath.
By the time she finally reached halfway up the hill, a lot of time had already passed.
She hadn't even encountered a snake along the way, which depressed Mo Yan a bit. She had thought that if she really couldn't find anything to eat, catching a snake to make some snake soup would be good, but she hadn't even seen a single mouse.
After wandering in the woods for a while and about to move to the other side of the mountain, some movements in a dense clump of grass ahead startled a wild chicken, which, frightened, burst out fluttering its wings and cackling, flying away under Mo Yan's longing gaze.
Mo Yan looked at her palm in annoyance. In the past, "Space" would have definitely captured this wild chicken under the control of her willpower, but unfortunately "Space" had been "reset" to the lower level!
Watching the vanished wild chicken, an idea struck Mo Yan—its feathers were not very bright, it was clearly a hen. Could it have been laying eggs just now?
With anticipation, Mo Yan went over to the edge of the grass where the wild chicken had emerged, carefully moved the pile of long grass with the stick, and the next second, a pile of pearly white wild chicken eggs appeared before her eyes.
Mo Yan almost burst into tears as she threw herself at those wild chicken eggs, counting them with her claw-like hands—there were thirteen in total!
If someone had told her before that she would cry over thirteen wild chicken eggs, she would have rolled her eyes at them. Who wouldn't get excited about food after not having a full meal for more than a month and then being hungry for another two days?
Mo Yan swallowed hard and carefully stored the thirteen wild chicken eggs inside "Space," afraid that if she carried them in the old cloth bag previously used for clothes, they might accidentally fall and she would lose her precious food supply.
Perhaps luck was on her side, for although she did not find any more wild chicken eggs, Mo Yan unexpectedly discovered a clump of raspberries (a wild fruit that grows on vines and can be eaten when ripe, turning a bright red). The raspberries were densely packed, red and bright like little lit lanterns. She picked one and popped it into her mouth without wiping it off. As she gently pressed, a tangy, sweet flavor with a fresh fragrance flooded her taste buds—it was simply divine!
The long deprivation had made her taste buds ultra-sensitive to this sweet and sour sensation, and Mo Yan couldn't help but eat a few more before stopping herself. Raspberries taste great and are highly nutritious, but because they are acidic, you can't eat too many on an empty stomach.
Mo Yan picked several large leaves from a tree and spent almost half an hour collecting all the ripe raspberries, placing them on the large leaves, wrapping them carefully, and storing them in "Space."
Thinking that she had been out for quite some time, and if she didn't return soon, Mo Qingze, her father, might start worrying, Mo Yan didn't continue searching for food but picked up the stick from the ground and retraced her steps along the path she had come from.
...
At the entrance to the cave, Mo Zhen sat on a large rock under the shade of a tree, his hands propping up his chin, staring unwaveringly ahead. Mo Xin, with sweat-soaked hair from gathering firewood to dry under the sun, noticed her brother still sitting motionlessly in the same position from earlier and couldn't help but chuckle, poking his head and saying, "Stop sitting around like a fool; help your second sister collect firewood. We'll need it when your eldest sister comes back with food!"
Mo Zhen listlessly turned his head to avoid his sister's poking finger, rubbed his belly with his small hands, blinked his big eyes, and looked at his second sister with a face full of hope and asked, "Can big sister really find us food? Zhenzhen is so hungry!"
Mo Xin patted her little brother on the head and confidently said, "Big sister will definitely find something to eat, we certainly won't go hungry." In her heart, her big sister was as capable as their father, there was nothing they couldn't achieve.
Upon hearing this, Mo Zhen's eyes brightened, and with a swift move, he slid down the big rock, grabbed his second sister's hand, and urged as they walked, "Then let's hurry and gather some firewood."
Mo Xin smiled, took her little brother's hand in return, and together they headed towards the small woods not far away.
When they were close to the cave, Mo Yan took the pheasant eggs and raspberries out of the 'Space', added another layer to the bundle to make sure the eggs wouldn't fall through the holes, and then carefully placed the eggs and raspberries on top. After securing the bundle, she carried it by hand.
She had only walked a few steps when she ran into Mo Qingze who was coming out to fetch water.
"Yanyan, did you find something to eat?"
Mo Qingze instantly saw the bundle Mo Yan was carrying and praised her repeatedly, "good", relieved that the children would not have to continue to go hungry.
Mo Yan smiled and nodded, "I was lucky today, found more than ten pheasant eggs!"
His daughter actually found pheasant eggs. Mo Qingze's eyes were so full of joy that they squinted, yet they were also slightly reddened.
Mo Yan pretended not to notice and casually continued to chat with him.
After the two children had gathered enough firewood, they sat at the cave entrance waiting for their father and big sister. Hearing their voices, the kids stood up with a "whoosh" and immediately noticed the bundle in their sister's hand. They jumped for joy several times, and if they hadn't been so weak, they probably would have hopped all the way to greet them.
The once silent cave became lively with the discovery of food by Mo Yan.
The two little ones chattered nonstop around the pheasant eggs and raspberries. Mo Qingze tended to the pot of water, adding firewood, listening to his children speak, and occasionally answering their naive questions. His affectionate smile never ceased.
Mo Yan leaned against the stone wall, quietly observing everything. Who could imagine that these cheerful laughs were coming from the Mo Family, who had been fleeing disaster for over a month?
The harsh ordeal of disaster had not ground away their hope for survival. Even in the moment before her own death, the original owner had firmly believed that their family could reach that hunger-free Yongcheng!
Mo Yan asked herself, if she had faced such a situation in her previous life, she really might not have been as positive and optimistic as that thirteen-year-old girl...
Thirteen pheasant eggs, under Mo Qingze's insistence, were consumed in two servings. Mo Yan had no choice but to pick seven of the larger ones, crack them into a bowl, stir them with chopsticks, and then slowly poured them into the boiling water. Instantly, wafts of egg aroma drifted from the pot, and she embarrassingly swallowed her saliva.
Without any vegetables, tomatoes, or even a hint of oil and salt, the egg soup was consumed with exceptional satisfaction by the four. For the Mo Family, who hadn't tasted meat or fish for over a month, this egg soup was an absolute delicacy!
Mo Yan drank with a mix of emotions, and seeing the satisfied expressions of the two little ones made her even more heartbroken. She secretly thought that she must find a chance to enter the 'Space' tonight and have a look...