Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Giant Radish
Steam rose from beneath the ice, and Jiang Si and Qin Shen instantly thought of the source of Hot Spring Bay.
There had to be unfrozen hot springs nearby.
The monkeys that had scurried over to them were likely relying on the steam rising from the ice as a source of energy.
Jiang Si and Qin Shen continued forward. After walking for ten-odd minutes, some black volcanic rocks suddenly appeared amidst the vast white snow.
Jiang Si looked up and saw a medium-sized natural hot spring appear in their field of view.
The cold air and hot air collided, creating swirling layers of icy mist and making visibility very low.
But they could vaguely make out that the hot spring was quite deep.
Jiang Si placed two eggs in the hot spring, and they floated to the surface a moment later.
The temperature must be around eighty or ninety degrees. No wonder this hot spring hadn’t frozen over.
Qin Shen heard a slight noise and said to Jiang Si, "There are monkeys up ahead. Want to go take a look?"
Jiang Si nodded. "I want to see what they feed on."
Understanding the biological resources was crucial for their long-term survival in this deep freeze.
"Alright."
Qin Shen and Jiang Si continued onward. As the hot springs grew more numerous, so did the patches of exposed earth and rock.
Suddenly, Jiang Si spotted a splash of vibrant green in the snow ahead.
To see a green plant growing in the wild at forty or fifty degrees below zero was nothing short of a miracle.
A look of delighted surprise crossed Jiang Si’s face. ’Maybe we can cultivate this,’ she thought. ’We could use it as feed for the chickens and ducks we raise on the ship later on.’
Jiang Si had just taken a step forward when Qin Shen suddenly grabbed her hand. "Careful."
Jiang Si scanned her surroundings vigilantly and soon spotted clumps of wriggling white cotton balls all around.
They were incredibly alert. The moment Jiang Si looked over, they became perfectly still, pretending to be mounds of snow and blending in completely, making them impossible to distinguish.
Jiang Si pretended she hadn’t noticed them, and they suddenly stood up again and started hurling small rocks.
Qin Shen swiftly scooped Jiang Si up to dodge, catching her completely off guard as she was about to open an umbrella.
The Snow Monkeys leaped up—there were several dozen of them. After revealing themselves, they bared their teeth and jumped about, recklessly throwing stones in an attempt to drive the intruders away.
Jiang Si raised her gun and fired a warning shot into the air.
"BANG—"
At the sound of the gunshot, the Snow Monkeys scattered in terror.
The surroundings fell quiet. Qin Shen was still holding her, showing no intention of letting go.
Jiang Si coughed lightly, wriggled out of his arms, and ran toward the patch of green.
At first glance, it looked incredibly familiar.
Tugging at the leaves, Jiang Si said, "This looks like a radish, but the top seems ridiculously large. Has it mutated?"
As soon as she spoke, she gave it a hard pull but couldn’t budge it, stumbling backward onto the ground. Qin Shen helped her up, then tried pulling it with one hand, but he couldn’t get it out either.
They exchanged a glance. Jiang Si produced a shovel from her storage space, and after they dug for a while, a giant radish about half a meter in diameter gradually came into view.
Even in her past life, Jiang Si had never seen such a gigantic radish.
Her mind instantly filled with possibilities: dried radish strips, duck braised with radish, beef brisket stew with radish, chilled shredded radish salad, sweet and sour pickled radish...
’My god,’ she thought, ’this one radish could feed us for a week!’
No wonder these Snow Monkeys were all so strong and healthy, and no wonder they wouldn’t let them get close.
There were only about twenty-something plants here in total. Losing one meant losing a huge portion of their rations.
Moreover, monkey troops have a hierarchy. The lower-ranking monkeys are allotted less food, so of course they would fight desperately to survive.
Jiang Si and Qin Shen continued digging the radish out. It was a meter long, weighed forty to fifty pounds, and was a white-skinned, red-fleshed variety of excellent quality.
Radishes are cold-resistant. If the temperature is right, they can be planted year-round, have a short growth period, and are an extremely adaptable vegetable.
Jiang Si had all kinds of radishes growing in her storage space, including premium seeds from the Sun Country, but they all paled in comparison to this behemoth.
Jiang Si wrapped the radish in a net, intending to take this one back for research and cultivation. She’d leave the rest for the Snow Monkeys as their food stores.
Suddenly, a splashing sound erupted from the hot spring nearby.
Jiang Si immediately thought of the kinds of fish that can survive in hot springs. Wary that they might be man-eaters like the Weasel Crocodiles, she pulled Qin Shen over to cautiously peer into the water.
Qin Shen glanced at her and turned his hand to clasp hers.
The hot spring was as beautiful as a diamond, with dazzling ripples spreading across its surface and a constant stream of bubbles rising up. Jiang Si had to stare for a long time before she finally spotted the silhouettes of fish in the water.
There were actually three different types of fish. One type was red all over, with beautiful fins and tails that looked like burning paper. They were about the size of two palms, and though beautiful, they revealed a mouth full of sharp teeth when they opened it.
They were at the top of the hot spring’s food chain, eating two other types of translucent fish—one slightly larger, and one slightly smaller with a silver line along its body.
Jiang Si stared at the two types of transparent fish. "They look pretty tasty," she said. "Probably be good fried."
’We’ve got one meat dish, might as well get another,’ she thought.
Qin Shen met Jiang Si’s gaze, instantly reading her mind. "Do you have a hand net?" he asked.
Jiang Si nodded happily. "Yep, yep! Let me see if I can lure them over with some bread."
She’d noticed that most of the footprints around the hot spring belonged to Snow Monkeys. ’They probably catch fish to eat, too.’
The effect was immediate. As soon as the bread crumbs hit the water, all three types of fish rushed over at different speeds.
With a single scoop of the net, Qin Shen caught a whole mess of them.
Jiang Si peeked inside and grinned. It was a good two pounds’ worth.
Once fried, it would probably weigh less than a pound—not even a few bites per person.
Jiang Si used more bread as bait. SPLASH! Another netful of fish.
Watching from afar, the Snow Monkeys saw their radish being uprooted and their fish being scooped out, and they began to screech and holler in agitation.
Once the small bucket was full, Jiang Si stood up and addressed the Monkey King, who was screeching furiously, "We’re just taking a little! Stop your yelling, or I’ll take everything."
As if it understood her, the Monkey King suddenly went quiet.
Jiang Si laughed and held up the bucket for it to see. "Just this much, I’m not kidding. Alright, we should be heading back."
The words were barely out of her mouth when Shen Baoying’s anxious shout came from behind them: "Sisi, where are you?"
’They must have heard the gunshot and come looking for us out of worry,’ she realized.
Jiang Si immediately shouted back, "We’re over here!"
A moment later, the rest of the group came into Jiang Si and Qin Shen’s line of sight.
Big Black and Little Black caught the scent of Snow Monkeys in the air and charged forward. The hidden monkeys leaped up in fright and scrambled up a massive dead tree overhanging the hot spring.
From a distance, they looked just like several large cotton balls that had sprouted on the tree.
Big Black and Little Black roared at the base of the tree. The monkeys trembled, their dark eyes filled with terror and timidity.
It wasn’t easy for any living thing to have survived this long.
And they were primates. One of the Snow Monkeys was even holding a cute little baby in its arms.
Shen Baoying called Big Black and Little Black back, then walked over to Jiang Si and Qin Shen. Her eyes widened at the sight of the radish, and she exclaimed, "Oh my god, what a huge radish!"
