Chapter 3: Eating is really hard

  The bamboo forest gradually disappeared into the distance, and a pine forest appeared in front of us. The plants here have a strong sense of regionalism, where there are bamboo trees, you won't see pine trees, and where there are pine trees, you won't see bamboo trees either. Compared to the bamboo forest, the pine forest is much safer, as venomous snakes generally don't like to stay in the pine forest. The bamboo forest is a paradise for venomous snakes, and the beautiful green bamboo leaves love to bite people's necks when they walk by...

  Storing food is something Yun Zheng has always wanted to do, and pine nuts are a great food. A pine cone over a foot long was full of delicious pine nuts. He picked seven or eight pine cones from the low-growing pine trees, and Yun Zheng felt like a rich man. At least the big-tailed squirrel standing on the pine tree looked at him with admiration.

  The sun has already slanted to the west, and in another two hours it will set. Here is almost at the top of the mountain, but the mobile phone still has no signal, which makes Yunzheng's anxiety more intense.

  He Jianqiang fell asleep soundly, his head resting on Yun Zheng's neck, sleeping very sweetly. Also, a three or four-year-old body didn't allow him to engage in too much exercise.

  There are no snakes in the pine forest, but there are bears. With so many animals here, it's impossible not to have large carnivores. Just look at that oily and smooth pine tree scratched by the bear dogs, you'll know that the bear dogs here must be enormous.

  Primitive people all know to find a cave to settle in, Yun Zheng how could not know, the cave was not found, but fortunately found a tree hole, never thought that a tree can grow so thick and empty inside, outside is still lush, half a person high place has a hole that only allows one person to crawl in, other several cracks are only palm wide, if it's dry enough inside, it's an ideal shelter.

  A handful of pine needles were lit and thrown in, and soon a large group of squirrels fled in panic. Great, as long as there are squirrels coming and going, it's good, squirrels also hate dampness.

  In the pine forest, a lot of pine resin was collected, and tonight's lighting will rely on it. Without fire, this long dark night would be unbearable for both myself and He Jianqiang... The howling of wolves can already be heard from afar...

  A lot of dry pine needles were collected and thrown into the tree hole. Just now, when I checked, the position inside was very spacious. What made Yun Zheng most happy was that he found traces of someone having lit a fire inside. A piece of wood inside had been burned to charcoal, although it had long since gone cold. Yun Zheng was still delighted - if people could use fire, then there must be people around, and as long as there were people, he would naturally be able to live on with He Jian.

  In the hollow tree, starting a fire should have been a fatal move, but this was a living large tree, and the damp wood wouldn't catch fire. He made a small nest with pine needles and thatch, and wrapped the sleeping He Jianjun tightly in his clothes. Then he started another fire at the original charred spot.

  The top of the big tree also had a hollow, and the smoke naturally drifted out along the hollow trunk, but there was not a single wisp of smoke at the bottom, which was a great gift from nature.

  When Yun Zheng was pounding the pine nuts, He Jianqiang woke up, rubbing his dark eyes and staring blankly at the bright pine torches. He didn't understand how he ended up in a wooden house.

  "Are you awake? Are you hungry? Wait a bit, I'll roast some pine nuts for you to eat. Eating too many raw pine nuts isn't good for you. If you're starving, first gnaw on two pears."

  Yun Zheng turned his head to face He Jian, smiled strongly, and began to knock on the pine tower again. The pine seeds spilled out from the knocked-down pine tower, plump and full. This kind of big pine seed was something Yun Zheng couldn't afford before.

  A stone slab was placed over the fire, and Yun Yan sprinkled pine nuts on top. He carefully stirred them, and the crackling sound of the pine nuts made He Jianqiang feel much more at ease. He whispered to Yun Zheng, "If I had a brother like you, it would be great."

  "What nonsense are you talking about? Am I not your brother now? Logically speaking, I'm your teacher, and you should be calling me dad, but I'm so young and handsome, it's a waste to call me dad, so just call me brother!" Yun Zhen tried his best to liven up the atmosphere between the two of them, as someone with their head hung low wouldn't last long in the wilderness.

  "I hate the surname He, brother. I'd rather follow your surname, it's so much better. Every time I see that surname, I feel uncomfortable. I also want to have the surname Yun, it's such a beautiful surname. The reason I had a good impression of you is because I heard you have the surname Yun."

  "Be strong, as long as you like it's fine. I have a very bad premonition, we probably won't be able to go back. Look at this tree hole, someone has been here. When I was sweeping the tree hole, I actually found this."

  Yun Zheng handed a wolf-toothed arrow to He Jianqiang, which was indeed a wolf-toothed arrow. The arrowhead on it was not made of iron, but inlaid with a very sharp wolf tooth that had been ground extremely sharp.

  "Nowadays, who still uses this thing to hunt, generally they use guns, and some use crossbows. Bows and arrows are very difficult to grasp, the accuracy is poor, ordinary people can't use them. What we experienced was a wormhole, it's tough, in terms of time and location, we couldn't grasp it because we were passive. The outside environment might be extremely harsh, you need to have psychological preparation."

  He Jianqiang's expression was even calmer than Yun Zheng's, nodding slightly as he pointed to the pine nuts on the board and asked if they were ripe. Yun Zheng was very satisfied with He Jianqiang's performance, sweeping the roasted pine nuts onto the ground, using a stone to crack them open one by one, letting He Jianqiang eat, while continuing to roast more pine nuts himself.

  They ate dinner until midnight, and neither of them was full, they just didn't feel hungry anymore. Yun Zheng added some firewood to the bonfire, making the flames burn brighter, and then he fell asleep with He Jianqiang, listening to the howling wolves outside...

  After daybreak, Yun Zheng left the tree cave without any hesitation. The scarcity of food left him no other choice. The small stream at the foot of the mountain had converged into a small river from its gentle trickle.

  Along the river, Yun Zhong had to make an effort to hurry along while his physical strength was still abundant. The mountains on both sides became steeper, with fewer trees and more rocks. Fortunately, underfoot was soft sandy beach, and there were fish in the river. Yun Zhong knew that relying on his own skills, he couldn't catch them, so he could only drool and continue on his way.

  For two whole hours, Yun Zheng didn't stop for a moment, and he couldn't calculate how far he had walked. He only knew that as long as the small river became a big river, he would be safe. In this generation, the only one that can be called a big river is the Yangtze River.

  The creek grew wider and shallower, and Yun Zhen knew he had to find something to eat. He glanced back at He Jianqiang, who was struggling to keep up, and realized that neither of them had eaten much the night before or that morning. He Jianqiang was forcing himself not to be a burden.

  This generation may have snakes, dare not put He Jianqiang down, can only continue to carry on, found a shallow bay, there are several fish swimming around, not bad, as big as the palm of your hand, Yun Zheng quietly piled up sand dams at the entrance of the bay, only in this way is it possible to catch fish.