There were no wild vegetables like in the legends, no wild chickens flying around everywhere, and certainly no wild rabbits suddenly running past.
Instead, the wilderness was overgrown with weeds; the edible wild vegetables had long been dug up by the villagers.
Xu Ying wasn't surprised by this scene at all. In this era of scarcity, people couldn't even get enough food to eat; it was unlikely they would leave the mountain game untouched.
However, those who were daring enough could venture into the deeper parts of the back mountain, a place where villagers dared not go; it was said to be inhabited by man-eating beasts.
There had been people who went hunting in the deep mountains and then never returned.
After all, the stories passed down from the older generations were quite terrifying.
Having survived the apocalypse amidst a pile of bloodied people, Xu Ying was naturally unafraid, but with the two kids, it wasn't convenient for her to go in.
Upon reaching the mountain, Shitou, acting like a little adult, instructed, "Little aunt, Hu Zi, I'm going to collect pigweed. You mustn't wander off, especially not into the deep mountains; there are monsters there that eat people."
When Hu Zi heard about the man-eating monsters, he was so scared that his mouth puckered up and tears appeared in his eyes.
Xu Ying looked at her great-nephew and almost laughed; he really knew how to scare people. "Alright, go collect the pigweed. I'll stay here and watch over Hu Zi; we definitely won't go into the deep mountains."
Reassured by her promise, Shitou left willingly.
After watching Shitou walk away, Xu Ying started wandering around with her little nephew.
Following her memories from her previous life, Xu Ying reached a small river. Hu Zi was thrilled at the sight of the water.
However, Xu Ying wouldn't allow him to go near the river's edge. "Hu Zi, be good and wait here for little aunt. I'll check if there are any fish in the river. Then, I can catch some for Hu Zi to eat."
Upon hearing about eating fish, Hu Zi forcibly held back his drooling. "Little aunt, Hu Zi will be good."
Only then did Xu Ying head towards the riverbank. Glancing into the river, her sharp eyes spotted the fish.
There were fish, but catching them was a skill.
She looked around at the trees, her eyes lit up, and she directly snapped off a somewhat thicker long branch. Then, pulling out the small knife she always carried, she sharpened one end of the branch.
Rolling up her pant legs, she held the branch and slowly walked toward the river.
"Little aunt, don't go into the river," Hu Zi, who had been curiously watching Xu Ying sharpen the branch, suddenly called out in concern when he saw her heading into the river.
Turning her head, Xu Ying saw Hu Zi anxiously running toward her in small, hurried steps.
Her heart warmed.
"Why are you coming here? Little aunt is catching fish for you!"
Hu Zi shook his head, his eyes full of concern, clearly remembering the time Xu Ying had fallen into the river.
"Hu Zi doesn't want to eat."
"What's wrong? The river isn't deep, and little aunt is fine," Xu Ying said with a smile, pinching Hu Zi's thin little face.
Previously, she hadn't known how to swim, which nearly caused her to drown when she fell into the river. Now, having hardened herself in the apocalypse, she had learned countless skills and would not run into any trouble.
But Hu Zi, despite everything, would not agree to let Xu Ying go into the river. He clung to Xu Ying's hand, refusing to let go.
Having no other choice, Xu Ying sat down by the riverbank. Luckily, just as she sat down, the fish swam toward her direction.
Seeing the fish approaching, Xu Ying couldn't help but smile; maybe the fish liked her!
Noticing the cheerful little fish swimming in the river, she quickly thrust the sharpened branch into the water, instantly spearing a two-pound fish.
"Hu Zi, look, little aunt caught a fish!" Xu Ying excitedly called out to the little person on the shore.
Then, in quick succession, Xu Ying's other stick was soon full, hanging with three fish.
Hu Zi looked at Xu Ying, utterly astonished. "Little aunt, there really are fish."
Xu Ying looked at him, his eyes round and adorable, and ruffled his hair, saying, "You stay here and keep an eye on these fish, while little aunt checks if there are any wild chicken eggs or duck eggs in this reed."
Hu Zi nodded busily, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the large fish on the ground.
Xu Ying gave him a glance and then got up to walk towards the reeds.
She didn't really expect to find wild chicken eggs, but she thought a walk among the reeds could provide her an excuse to pull some out from her space.
Autumn had brought a slight chill, and a breeze came through, carrying a shiver with it.
She didn't know if it was her good luck or what, but she actually stumbled upon a nest of wild chickens.
Watching the flock, Xu Ying did her best to conceal her presence, then quickly took out several blade edges from her space and threw them at the wild chickens.
Though her skill wasn't great, she compensated by the sheer number of blades; a bunch of Ice Blade Blades flew out, knocking down a few wild chickens instantly, while the rest, startled, fluttered their wings and flew away.
Xu Ying, excited, ran towards the flock and quickly grabbed three wild chickens and tied them together with reed leaves.
"Wild chicken eggs!" Xu Ying, holding the wild chickens, was overjoyed upon seeing the wild chicken eggs on the ground.
There were eight wild chicken eggs in total. Without a basket, Xu Ying took off her coat and carefully placed all the wild chicken eggs inside it.
Then, from her space, she took out ten large duck eggs and put them in her coat before running out of the reeds.
Hu Zi saw little aunt coming back and smiled as he got up.
"Hu Zi, come on, let's go find your brother," Xu Ying squinted her eyes with a smile, and picked up the fish from the ground.
Xu Ying moved quickly; these things couldn't be seen by others, as everything in the mountains had become communal property, hidden away by everyone.
People might overlook small game, but big catches had to be shared.
Although these were small, the quantity was significant, and since her father was the leader, it could cause bad impressions if someone with intentions saw them.
"Shitou, hurry over here." Like a thief, Xu Ying sneaked into the bushes near Shitou.
Shitou, hearing a sound, looked around but couldn't find anyone.
Xu Ying caught his ankle as he walked by.
"AAAAH, a ghost!"
"Shut up, I'm your aunt," Xu Ying said irritably, her ears nearly deafened by his scream.
"Wow, little aunt, why are you squatting? That's terrifying, you scared me to death—if you scared me dead, you'd only have me as a nephew," Shitou, calming down, patted his chest, still frightened from the close shave.
He was scared to death!
"Look what this is!" Xu Ying said, quite proud.
Following the direction she was pointing, Shitou saw the items on the ground, his mouth agape in shock, "Little aunt, did you catch all these?"
Shitou didn't stop his hands as he spoke; he took out most of the pig grass from his carry basket and placed the wild chickens and fish at the bottom.
Then, he covered them with a layer of pig grass, placed the wild chicken eggs and duck eggs on top, and smoothed out the remaining pig grass over the basket.
Xu Ying saw Shitou's actions, her eyes filled with satisfaction; the kid had such attention to detail.
"Little aunt, let's hurry back," Shitou said, unable to help swallowing when he thought of the wild chickens and fish.
Hu Zi was also very keen, and couldn't help but ask as they walked down the mountain, "Little aunt, can we eat meat when we get back?"
Xu Ying, holding his little hand, laughed, "Of course we can, otherwise what did we catch them for?"
Shitou thought for a moment and said, "We could trade them for something."
Her grandmother would often trade good items for food or fabric to make clothes for little aunt.
Xu Ying didn't want to trade anything; her space had everything, and she intended to use these catches to help nourish everyone.
The three of them hurried home, sneaking like thieves.