Chapter 5: The Ugly Ger’s Farming Story

Just not far from Xu Qing, there was a plump and fat white rabbit in the bushes. Uh, due to living in the woods for too long, it had also turned into a big gray rabbit!

But none of this mattered to Xu Qing. In his eyes, all he saw were braised rabbit, hot pot rabbit, spicy rabbit, and other delicious dishes made from rabbit meat. Thinking about these mouthwatering dishes, Xu Qing couldn’t help but salivate.

“Braise rabbit!!”

Quietly pulling the bowstring of the bow and arrow that Xu Qing’s father used for hunting, Xu Qing aimed the arrowhead at the big gray rabbit that was stuffing something into its mouth!

“Shoo…!!”

Xu Qing joyfully rushed forward, picked up the already lifeless fat rabbit from the ground, and shook it with satisfaction. “Wow, this weighs at least ten kilograms! Well, I can send half of it to Xie Ama and Uncle Xie tonight.”

After casually tossing the rabbit into his space, Xu Qing didn’t hurriedly leave. He squatted down, using his hands to rummage through the things the rabbit had been eating. What the rabbit could eat surely wasn’t poisonous. Who knows, there might be some other surprises.

“Huh! These are ginseng leaves?!”

Indeed, among the crushed leaves left by the rabbit, there was a small piece that looked familiar to Xu Qing. He picked up the crushed leaves and smelled them. “That’s right, this is ginseng! Haha, luckily I chose a major in biological species at university. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a treasure!”

Not long after, Xu Qing found a mess of ginseng that the rabbit had nibbled on not far away. Wild ginseng in the mountains was a valuable medicinal herb, also known as renshen, bangzhui, shencao, digen, and so on. “This root is probably less than fifty years old, but encountering it is already a great stroke of luck!”

Carefully wrapping the excavated wild ginseng with a large leaf he plucked, Xu Qing placed the items into his space. This was valuable silver, so he needed to be cautious. He picked up the bow and arrow from the ground and continued on his way, feeling joyful.

This was approximately the outskirts of the mountain, farther than where Xu Qing’s father used to hunt. “It seems that the original owner’s father hasn’t been here before. This must be the outer region of the mountain.”

As he moved forward, the variety of trees increased, and their age seemed older. Many weeds grew up to Xu Qing’s waist, indicating that not many people had entered the mountain in recent years. With no other choice, Xu Qing had to draw his sword and cut a tree branch to use as a makeshift tool for exploration.

“Hmm, what’s this smell?”

Xu Qing halted his steps, detecting a peculiar and slightly numbing scent in the air. He couldn’t immediately recall what it was, so he followed the fragrance and arrived at a tree. “This is… a Sichuan peppercorn tree!”

Xu Qing felt as if this tree, adorned with countless small items, was dazzling in front of his eyes! Only heaven knows how difficult it is for a person with a strong taste preference to eat dishes seasoned only with salt every day!

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Sichuan peppercorns were a great seasoning ingredient for cooking, and Xu Qing was excited, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet. He hopped around the Sichuan peppercorn tree in excitement.

“How can I take this with me? Dig it out?!”

After some consideration, he decided against it. This tree had been around for quite some time. “Oh, wait, are these Sichuan peppercorn saplings?!” Just as Xu Qing was filled with regret, he felt something brushing against his clothes. He turned around and saw a few small Sichuan peppercorn saplings growing not far from the large tree. Some of them were even smaller than the one that grazed his clothes.

Xu Qing was delighted. With a wide grin, he first plucked all the Sichuan peppercorn fruits from the big tree and tossed them into his space. Finally, he used the hoe that was stored in his space to dig up the small Sichuan peppercorn saplings, a few of which were only as tall as his thigh. Satisfied, he carried the bare-rooted saplings on his back, let the hoe join them in the space, and looked up at the sky.

The sky was getting dark, and there were piglets waiting to be fed at home. Feeling satisfied with today’s harvest, Xu Qing made his way back home.

As he was about to leave the mountains, he took out the backpack and sickle from his space. He needed to cut some pig grass on the way down the mountain. Otherwise, the piglet would go hungry. A hungry stomach meant getting thin, and getting thin meant he wouldn’t have a plump pig for the next winter’s New Year. That was a very serious matter!

By the time he arrived home and finished feeding the protesting piglet with its “oink” sounds, it was probably around 7 PM. The sky was still slightly bright, enough to see the road clearly. He had to deliver the rabbit to Xie Ama early.

So Xu Qing skillfully took out the big gray rabbit from his space and expertly skinned it, cleaned out its innards. In the post-apocalyptic world, when his spatial ability hadn’t awakened yet, he was the one responsible for cooking and doing laundry in the team. Well, if it weren’t for his delicious cooking, the team wouldn’t keep him around.

After about ten minutes, Xu Qing packed half of the rabbit into a vegetable basket, covered it with grass, locked the courtyard gate, and walked towards the village.

By this time, it was already late, and the people who worked in the fields had already returned home. Plus, many family members who were serving in the military had also come back today, so there were even fewer people on the road. That solved a lot of trouble for him.

“Knock, knock! Xie Ama, are you there? It’s Brother Qing!”

After knocking on the door, Xu Qing hugged himself and blew warm air into his hands. Although it was nearing the end of winter, the nights were still chilly.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

With Xie Ama’s response, the door soon opened.

“Oh, Brother Qing, come in quickly. Be careful not to catch a cold. The weather hasn’t completely warmed up yet!”

Xie Ama scolded Xu Qing as soon as he opened the door and saw Brother Qing, with his thin body carrying a basket and blowing warm air into his hands.

“No need, I’m just here to bring you something and then I’ll go back,” Xu Qing quickly stuffed the basket into Xie Ama’s hands. Before Xie Ama could react, Xu Qing, with his thin and weak legs, quickly disappeared at the corner of the village road.

“This kid!”

Xie Ama couldn’t help but laugh at Xu Qing’s behavior. He turned around and closed the courtyard gate. He and Uncle Xie were cooking, and upon hearing Xu Qing’s voice, they hurriedly came out.

“Where’s Brother Qing?”

Uncle Xie looked at Xie Ama carrying a clearly unfamiliar vegetable basket and had some questions.

“That kid said he was bringing us something, but he stuffed it into my hands and ran off like a slippery little fish in no time!”

Uncle Xie took the basket handed over by his partner before opening the grass cover, but immediately smelled a bloody scent! He quickly lifted the lid, “Oh, this kid! It’s rabbit meat!”

Xie Ama, who was picking vegetables, hurriedly approached and took a look. Sure enough, there was rabbit meat in the basket!

“Oh my, how did this kid get it?!” Xie Ama took the basket, feeling worried rather than joyful. “No, I have to go find him and ask him what’s going on!”

After saying that, Xie Ama hurriedly prepared to leave the house.

“I’m telling you, it’s so late. If you want to go, go tomorrow!”

Uncle Xie held his wife back. “If Brother Qing was able to bring this over, it means he’s fine. If you’re still worried, we can go tomorrow. It’s late at night, and Brother Qing is still an unmarried orphan. We don’t want any trouble or gossip!”

“But what if something really happened?” Xie Ama still felt concerned.

“I’ll freeze this rabbit meat in the well. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go find Brother Qing and ask him what happened. This rabbit was clearly killed with a precise technique, and the only one with such skills was Brother Qing’s father back in the day.”

Uncle Xie nodded. “Alright, I’ll go then. You continue picking vegetables.”

Meanwhile, Xu Qing was happily enjoying the roasted rabbit seasoned with Sichuan peppercorns. “This is the essence of life!” He patted his round belly and sighed.

After resting for a while, Xu Qing cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks. He poured all the harvested Sichuan peppercorns into a large winnowing basket, flattening the accumulated fruits. They needed to dry off the moisture, either by placing them on the stove or under the sunlight, before grinding them into powder for long-term use.

As for the Sichuan peppercorn seedlings, it was already getting late, and they were no longer visible outside. So Xu Qing temporarily stored them in his space.

After taking a refreshing hot shower and drying his washed clothes, Xu Qing mixed some spiritual spring water with warm water and washed his face. “Hmm, there’s no more tingling or itching sensation like a few days ago. It seems the toxins have been mostly eliminated, and the remaining bumps will soon be gone.”

Feeling even more satisfied, Xu Qing yawned and snuggled into the bed, wrapping himself tightly with the blanket. Before long, a sweet and gentle snoring sound filled the room.

Xie Ama couldn’t sleep well all night. Early in the morning, he got up and prepared breakfast, waking up the soundly sleeping Uncle Xie.

“The food is ready. I’ll go to Brother Qing’s house first. Wake up quickly and eat, or it will get cold.” Without paying any attention to the bewildered Uncle Xie, he walked out of the house, pulled up the bucket of water from the well that was left there yesterday, took out the rabbit meat from it, and put it in the basket Xu Qing brought over yesterday. Thinking that Brother Qing might not have had breakfast yet, he also grabbed a few corn flatbreads from the table. Then he headed towards Xu Qing’s house.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing was still soundly asleep in his bed, completely unaware of Xie Ama’s impending arrival.

“Knock, knock, knock. Brother Qing? Are you awake? Brother Qing!!”

“Knock, knock, knock…”

“…Knock, knock, knock…”

“Hmm…? Someone is knocking on the door…”

Xu Qing blinked his drowsy eyes, half-listening to someone calling him.

“Brother Qing?!” Xie Ama persistently continued calling. He didn’t care whether Brother Qing was still asleep or not. He hadn’t figured out the source of this rabbit meat, and he couldn’t find peace of mind for even a moment!

“Brother Qing?! Wake up!!”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸