Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Reward
Zhang Aihua had been wondering if they could scavenge the remaining Vulture feathers after Jiang Si and her group left.
Now that the opportunity was here, they had to take it.
Zhang Aihua nodded. "Get as much as we can. We don’t have cotton to plant or sheep to raise. These Vulture feathers could last us a lifetime."
Everyone immediately sprang into action, quickly gathering and bagging the Vulture feathers.
They packed the best, softest down into separate bags made from modified clothing.
Once everyone had spread out, Song Yufang quietly asked, "Honey, you said we offended them earlier. Do you think Jiang Si will refuse to give us any more radish sprouts?"
The plan was to fish for half an hour after breaking through the ice.
But what if a Red Flower Sea Snake was nearby and rushed them the moment the ice was broken?
Fishing through the ice was just too risky. If they couldn’t get the radish sprouts, the others would blame them, even if they managed to catch fish.
Zhang Aihua pondered for a moment before replying, "Mr. Qin doesn’t seem like the petty type. If they won’t give us any, there’s nothing we can do. We’ll just have to look for other edible plants in the area."
Song Yufang heaved a heavy sigh. She’d never had to curry favor with anyone before, but now, not only did she have to read people’s expressions, she had to worry if they would even deign to look at her.
While they were talking, Zhang Yiwen had run off to inspect the Vultures’ rear ends.
He’d found it so disgusting before, but now, he didn’t even bat an eye.
Song Yufang felt a mix of heartache and helplessness. ’If our son doesn’t change, he won’t be able to adapt to this world,’ she thought.
And neither would she.
Zhang Aihua felt a Vulture’s wing and noted how tough the quills were. They would be perfect for weaving into things like curtains or mattresses. He quickly called out to the others, telling them to collect the quills too.
The Vultures’ sinews and bones were useful as well, but stripping them would be too much work.
Zhang Aihua had to abandon the idea.
Suddenly, from the far side of the ice, Zhang Yiwen shouted, "Dad! I found one! I found a Vulture Egg!"
Everyone’s eyes instantly lit up. A Vulture Egg was quite large; there would be enough for everyone to have a bite.
Everyone rushed over to crowd around the Vulture Egg, stroking it as if it were a priceless treasure. They all praised Zhang Yiwen’s sharp eyes, and much of the lingering resentment over how he had nearly offended Jiang Si and Qin Shen faded away.
Zhang Aihua patted Zhang Yiwen’s head. "Good boy, you did great!"
Zhang Yiwen jumped up and down, saying excitedly, "Dad, since I did so great, do I get a reward?"
"What kind of reward do you want?"
"That girl from before had a Crossbow. You should make a Crossbow for me, too!"
They were running low on ammunition for their firearms; they really did need to start making their own weapons.
And the Vulture’s sinews and bones were the perfect materials.
Zhang Aihua had just been thinking it was too much trouble, but now he agreed without hesitation. "Alright, Dad promises!"
"OH YEAH! I’m going to keep looking for Vulture Eggs!"
Inspired by Zhang Yiwen finding the egg, the others began to search carefully as well, and they ended up finding two more.
Everyone could have a delicious meal of egg-fried rice tonight.
On the way back while carrying the eggs, Zhang Aihua led everyone to dig up the sea snake meat they had hidden earlier. It would be enough to eat for another week.
They planned to build two shelters: one near the hot spring and another in a crevice in the mountain caves.
That way, they would have two places to fall back on in case of danger.
The hot spring was hot enough to make cooking and daily life convenient. If they wanted to eat meat, they could just drop it in to cook for a bit.
After digging up the meat, Zhang Aihua took Lao Er and Brother Qiu to scout the area.
They were looking to see if they could find any prey.
If they could find some prey, they could capture and raise it, giving them a steady supply of meat.
But after searching the surrounding area for a long time, they found no trace of any other animals.
Suddenly, they smelled a particularly strong floral fragrance.
Following the scent, they arrived at a Wintersweet Forest where the blossoms were nearly all wilted.
Only a few wintersweet buds were left on the branches. Tender new leaves had sprouted, looking as soft and green as vegetable leaves.
Zhang Aihua asked excitedly, "Are these edible?"
Lao Er recognized them and shook his head. "This is wintersweet. Only the flowers are edible, not the leaves."
Brother Qiu casually plucked a flower, popped it in his mouth, and chewed. "A little bitter. Doesn’t taste good!"
Zhang Aihua said, "The fact that it’s edible is good enough. Let’s pick some to take back. It’ll help cut through the richness of our meals."
Lao Er laughed. "President Zhang, none of us have had a greasy meal in ages. What richness are we cutting? The real business is setting a few snares here to see if we can catch any prey."
Zhang Aihua nodded. "Yes, good idea. Let’s head a little deeper in."
As they walked deeper into the forest, the fragrance grew more and more intense.
They began to feel dizzy and disoriented.
Zhang Aihua realized something was wrong. "Let’s go, quickly! I think this fragrance is poisonous!"
Brother Qiu, who had eaten one of the flowers, turned pale with fright and scrambled out of the Wintersweet Forest.
Once they were out, they stopped to catch their breath, but their heads were still spinning. The three men, sensing that something was very wrong, exchanged terrified glances.
’We should have been more careful.’
"President Zhang, what do we do now? I feel like my chest is getting tight," Brother Qiu said, clutching his chest dramatically.
Lao Er looked worriedly in the direction of the Icebreaker. "Should we... should we go ask Jiang Si if she knows how to treat this?"
Zhang Aihua, with a wife and child to support, was the last person who wanted to die.
He immediately nodded in agreement. "Alright, let’s go ask."
’We’ll go ask, and we can warn Jiang Si’s group at the same time,’ he thought.
They supported each other as they staggered to the boundary line. Zhang Aihua could feel his head clearing and figured it probably wasn’t life-threatening. But seeing the anxious expressions on Lao Er and Brother Qiu’s faces, he swallowed the suggestion to just go back and wait it out.
’Besides, we’re already here.’
Shortly after they appeared, a monkey materialized like a little guardsman, raised a gun, and handed them a walkie-talkie.
Zhang Aihua took the device, and Jiang Si’s voice came through. "President Zhang, what is it?"
Zhang Aihua immediately explained, "We encountered a flower that looks very similar to wintersweet, and we think it might be poisonous. Our heads are spinning. We came specifically to warn you."
Jiang Si’s voice came back, unsurprised. "If the fragrance is too concentrated, it has an anesthetic effect. It’ll wear off after a while, it’s not poisonous. But if someone passes out, they’ll die from hypothermia. You should still be careful."
’So that’s what it was.’
Lao Er and Brother Qiu patted their chests in relief. "Thank you, Sisi," one of them said into the walkie-talkie.
A deep cough came over the walkie-talkie—it was Qin Shen, as if warning them they’d been too familiar.
Zhang Aihua quickly changed the subject, asking cautiously, "Mr. Qin, Miss Jiang, should we come and get the seedlings ourselves?"
Jiang Si glanced at Qin Shen, who had just wrapped his arms around her from behind. She paused for a moment. "Yes. Hold on to the walkie-talkie for now. It works within a one-li radius. I’ll let you know."
Zhang Aihua breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Jiang Si was still willing to give them the radish sprouts.
He quickly asked, "Miss Jiang, is there anything we need to prepare?"
