Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Entering the Mountains
Haste made waste. Qin Xiaoyao told herself that as an experienced hunter, she had to be patient.
When Song Que heard that Qin Xiaoyao had finally gone out, he thought about how she had not pestered him just now, and a look of surprise flashed across his handsome face.
Following that, his surprise immediately turned into disgust.
Then, he turned around, sat up, and started eating.
He could not give up on himself.
After all, if he were to die, that evil woman would definitely sell Yun’er and Ye’er off.
At that point, his mother would not end up well either.
As long as he was alive, at least that evil woman wouldn’t dare to go too far.
After leaving Song Que’s room, Qin Xiaoyao returned to the kitchen.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw the three people in the room looking at her in unison.
Then, when they saw her looking at them, they quickly avoided her gaze.
When she walked to the table, Qin Xiaoyao saw that her mother-in-law and her children hadn’t even touched their chopsticks.
She sighed in her heart again.
Qin Xiaoyao pulled out the most sturdy stool in the house and sat down. She smiled at the three of them.
“Mother, Yun’er, Ye’er, let’s eat,” she said.
No one replied.
After about three seconds, Madam Liu finally looked at Qin Xiaoyao fearfully.
“Er…” she replied in a low voice.
Qin Xiaoyao simply smiled and finally picked up her chopsticks.
Only then did the three of them pick up their chopsticks.
The wild vegetables were boiled in water with a little salt, and the rice just watery porridge.
Qin Xiaoyao wasn’t picky, and she ate quite happily.
Food was precious in the apocalypse, and even wild vegetables were hard to come by.
It was only because she was a squad leader and had a powerful ability that she had a better life than the average person.
Even so, hunger was still unavoidable from time to time.
After downing a bowl of watery porridge, Qin Xiaoyao put down the bowl when she saw that there wasn’t much food left on the table.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to eat anymore, but if she were to eat to her heart’s content, the remaining wild vegetables on the table wouldn’t be enough for her.
Moreover, if she continued to eat, this mother and her two kids would have nothing left to eat.
She was used to being hungry in the apocalyptic world, so it was fine to eat less for a meal.
When the three of them saw Qin Xiaoyao put down her bowl, they also stopped eating.
“Huh? You guys continue eating. I… I’m going out for a walk.” Qin Xiaoyao realized that her presence was affecting them too much, so she chose to leave.
Thereafter, ignoring the three people’s reactions, she got up and left.
When she arrived at the courtyard, Qin Xiaoyao saw a bamboo basket backpack under the shed.
After some thought, she walked over and picked up the backpack.
Then, she saw a sickle and a small hoe next to it.
So she took the sickle and the small hoe and put them into the backpack.
With that, she left the courtyard and prepared to go into the mountains.
Given the situation at home, she had to think of a way to get some food first.
Her attractive husband was injured and needed nutrition. Wild vegetables and watery rice porridge alone were not enough.
Furthermore, she had to think of a way to get some money as soon as possible to find a doctor for her attractive husband. Otherwise, things might worsen if his condition remained this way for too long.
The Song family lived at the foot of the mountain, so it was quite convenient to go into the mountains.
This was ancient times, so there were bound to be more things in the mountains than during the apocalypse.
As Qin Xiaoyao thought about it, she subconsciously increased her speed.
Unfortunately, her current body was too bloated, and it was a little difficult to walk on the mountain path.
There were a few times when she almost fell, but she was able to use her mental strength to stabilize herself in time.
That was right. Her extraordinary ability actually came over with her.
Even though it was not as strong as level 5 in her previous life, it was still at level 3.
In other words, her current body also had a special ability.
The good thing was that with her current strength, it was not a problem for her to carry five to six hundred catties.
In addition, the ability could slowly repair her body and adjust her body to the best state.
In other words, even if she didn’t deliberately lose weight, she would slowly lose weight until she had recovered to her best condition.
Moreover, as her body recovered, her ability might be elevated and eventually return to the level 5 she possessed during the apocalypse.
Of course, it was highly unlikely that she would be able to improve further.
After all, there was no zombie crystal core in this world she could use to help her advance.
However, this was already sufficient.
With her ability, it should be very difficult for anyone to hurt her in this time and space.
Qin Xiaoyao walked all the way into the mountains, detoured around the outermost mountain, and only stopped when she reached the inner depths of the mountains.
She found a relatively flat area, put down her backpack, and began foraging wild vegetables.
It was spring now, the time when wild vegetables were growing abundantly in the mountains. Wild vegetables would be fairly easy to find.
However, it was only limited to the inner parts of the mountains that were further away from the village.
As winter had just passed, the surplus grain of many farmers was almost consumed.
Some of the villagers had also gone into the mountains to forage for wild vegetables.
However, for the sake of safety, the villagers’ activity range was mainly concentrated around the mountain near the village.
As a result, there weren’t as many wild vegetables there.
Qin Xiaoyao thought differently, though.
She had a strength-type extraordinary ability, so she was eager to meet some wild beasts who didn’t know better.
She could slay it and could bring it back for a good meal.
That was why she had come to the deep parts of the mountains.
It was the first time Qin Xiaoyao had seen so many wild vegetables since the apocalypse. She dug with great enthusiasm, and it didn’t take long for her to fill half the basket.
All of a sudden, Qin Xiaoyao stopped what she was doing when she heard a series of rustling sounds.
Her eagle-like eyes immediately focused on the direction of the movement.
It was coming from a dense patch of bushes.
At this moment, the bush was still shaking, and the movements were quite vigorous.
The corner of Qin Xiaoyao’s mouth curled up as she picked up the two crushed stones beside her.
Then, she stood up and looked straight at the bushes, her hands all ready to act.
“Shoo!” Qin Xiaoyao suddenly shouted.
Instantly, with a round of fluttering sounds, two pheasants flew out from the bushes.
At this moment, Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes were sharp, and her hands were quick. She quickly flung out the two stones in her hand, which she had infused with her strength-type special ability.
Clatter! The two pheasants in the air quickly fell to the ground with two loud shrieks. After flapping their wings twice, they stopped moving.
Qin Xiaoyao’s face was filled with joy. She swayed her fat body and walked towards the location where the pheasants had fallen.
After picking up the two pheasants, she looked at the place where she had found them.
“These two are one male and one female. Are they a couple? Hehe, maybe there are pheasant eggs around here?” Qin Xiaoyao muttered to herself.
Then, with the mindset of trying her luck, she walked towards the bushes.
She pushed aside the bushes to take a look and was overjoyed.
There was really a nest of pheasant eggs in the bushes!
Qin Xiaoyao counted, and there were as many as twelve of them.
“There are five people in the house, so each of us can have two. Since my attractive husband is injured, he can have one more!” Qin Xiaoyao said happily.
Then, she put down the pheasants, lifted her skirt to make a sling, and picked up all twelve pheasant eggs before putting them into the sling.
Then, she held the corner of her sling with one hand to prevent the pheasant eggs from falling out. She carried the two pheasants with the other hand and returned to where she had put the basket.
Qin Xiaoyao tossed the two pheasants on one side and sat on the ground heavily.