WS - Chapter 162
Chapter 162
The dandelion jerky soup was bitter and bland, but after a few bowls, it was still nice to fill your belly with something hot.
For Song Shiyue and her group, who had dozens of rabbits in hand, this breakfast was a bit meager, but if it were the team that left earlier, they would probably have found it quite sumptuous.
Speaking of the team that left first, they arrived at the river-crossing point after half a day's travel, spent half a day building a bamboo raft, only to lose one raft during the night because of an aftershock. It wasn't until the afternoon of the second day that they finally crossed the river. After another night in the wild, they stumbled their way to the next camp on the third day.
On the morning when Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan met the returning Dog and discovered the rabbit holes, Zhao Da and his group reached the next camp.
In the Production Team's plan, by the time they reached this camp, the show had been running for several days, and after the tents and treehouses earlier, it was time to let the guests have a good sleep. The production crew had also worked hard, and having sold the rough-and-ready image long enough, it was now acceptable to rest a little more normally without being disliked.
So this camp was designed as a village of wooden cabins.
Three neat rows of wooden cabins.
In the entire camp, half the wooden cabins had collapsed in the Yaoxing Storm and aftershocks, and another quarter were loose and rickety. But the remaining quarter of the cabins were sturdy when you knocked on them, and at first glance they looked perfect for sleeping in.
But because of the food problem, no matter how good the cabins looked, they couldn't stay long at this camp.
Zhao Da and his group arrived in the morning. If they stayed an extra day just to sleep well at night, the food shortage would become even more serious.
Earlier, because the river had risen, they'd been forced to abandon the Production Team's lunch Thermal Storage Box and the Crab Pool prepared for the guests. They'd been on the road for over two days, and the packed breakfast they'd taken from the previous camp had long since been digested and vanished.
When they set out again, they didn't leave a single thing behind in the Thermal Storage Box at the next camp.
Those previous two-plus days had made them fully appreciate how difficult the journey after the Yaoxing Storm was and how much more time it took—far more than they'd estimated. The combined lunch and breakfast for six, already meager, might not even be enough to sustain them until the next camp with full bellies.
In fact, it couldn't.
The moment they arrived at camp in the morning, the six Boxed Meals were divided up.
Hungry people have no reason to begin with, let alone in a team like this...
Zhao Da had thought about trying to persuade them—for the team to go further, they should just have a little something to tide them over this meal, share three Boxed Meals among them, eat until half-full, and then keep moving.
But...
Fine. With people so hungry their eyes were red, Zhao Da didn't have the interest to step up and stop them.
Others were eating, so he ate too.
In less than ten minutes, not a single grain of rice remained from the six Boxed Meals.
But when Wang Daming's hand reached into the Thermal Storage Box for the six breakfast portions, Zhao Da did step in and stop him.
Naturally, there was another round of bickering.
Though in the end everyone agreed to rest a bit, then take those breakfasts with them and head out early to reach the next ingredient supply point.
But Zhao Da's heart was already exhausted...
When it came to causing trouble, he'd thought this kind of selfish, heedless-of-others, even of consequences, team was just fine.
But when it came to getting serious work done, it really was like one old ox hauling a thousand-catty load—so heavy he could barely take another step...
Zhao Da glanced at his younger brother sprawled out on the ground nearby, seemingly completely oblivious to the severity of the situation. The lone, solitary old ox couldn't help but heave a long sigh over the mess he'd gotten himself into.
That very morning when Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan were watching the Dog dig out rabbit holes, getting kicked in the face by rabbits one after another, Zhao Da was dragging his nearly immovable team onward, taking the six breakfasts and setting out again.
Yet even though the next part was the uphill road, without any river mishap, the mountain path that had been through the earthquake still felt like a disaster.
Small rocks kept skittering down the slope every so often. The group walked in fear, always feeling that at any moment a few large boulders might come tumbling down from above.
But having climbed so far already, how could they be willing to turn back and search for another route?
Weary and aching, their stomachs began to feel as empty as if they'd eaten nothing at all. On one hand, the threat of falling rocks; on the other, the hunger they'd tasted for days...
In the end, the team slowly continued upward.
Of course, reaching the next camp that same day was impossible.
That was bearable; it was all within expectations.
Their goal had never been to reach the second camp in a single day anyway.
According to Wang Daming's recollection, the lunch stop between these two camps was stocked with the guests' lunches. That meant, if they could get there smoothly, they'd find thirteen Boxed Meals in one go from the lunch Thermal Storage Box!
The lunch stop was over the mountain, on the opposite hillside.
Because of the occasional falling stones, they moved rather slowly, and by the time they reached the summit, it was already afternoon.
With luck, they'd definitely reach the lunch stop before dark, then descend and camp for the night. They wouldn't make it to the next camp, but it would still be a hard day with a full reward.
However, forcing things never ends well.
On the way up there had been falling rocks and a touch of danger, but they'd made it. On the way down, however, they discovered that half the slope... had collapsed.
The route the Production Team had laid out was long gone. Looking down from above, the entire slope was a mess—a collapse where a single step could send rocks rolling and plunge you into empty air.
Heading down that way wasn't just a small risk like before on the way up.
Without Zhao Da needing to say much, people who feared exhaustion as much as death could push through a tiny, improbable risk to save energy, but they wouldn't truly stake their lives.
Thirteen Boxed Meals! Even though they could see the lunch stop was probably buried, as they detoured they still kept looking toward the spot Wang Daming had indicated.
But there was truly no way through. Even for the night, they had to bivouac on the mountainside.
No other reason... they'd detoured so much they'd gotten a bit lost...
By daybreak, Song Shiyue at the other camp had finally recovered and gotten up to bring back bags and strings full of rabbits, eating until her belly was round. Only then did Zhao Da and the others gradually find the right direction to continue.
Unfortunately, the right direction didn't mean immediate arrival.
Groping along, by the time darkness fell again, Zhao Da's team still hadn't reached the second camp... and by then, they'd already gone another day with empty stomachs.
Well, they'd only had six breakfasts with them, and they'd gone through two more days of setbacks.
On this morning, Song Shiyue's side were drinking the slightly bitter dandelion jerky soup—the taste was a little odd, but their bellies were comfortable. Meanwhile, Zhao Da's team stood mute before a whole camp reduced to ruins.
Yes, the quake from the Yaoxing Storm and the later aftershocks—it was only normal for some camps to be destroyed.
That was all imaginable, all understandable.
But why! Why did this happen right after they'd lost those thirteen Boxed Meals at the lunch stop! They'd been on the road so long, even crawling out of bed before dawn, all for a single bite of food at this camp.
And then...
A sinkhole.
Before, it had been the lunch stop buried under landslides and falling rock until it was unrecognizable.
Now, fissures crisscrossed the ground and a huge area had caved in. Their camp—and the Thermal Storage Box with the Production Team's dinners—were all inside it, swallowed into that dark abyss.
The despair of Zhao Da's team was something Song Shiyue, comfortably rubbing her belly, couldn't feel at all.
Now that her body was well, her strength had returned, and her belly was full, Song Shiyue had no more worries.
Oh, there was still a little something.
As she pulled some not-quite-burned firewood out of the fire to let it die down naturally, Song Shiyue tilted her head and glanced at Yu Nianbing, who was taking the bowls and chopsticks to wash.
Hmm... That earlier happiness had been like a flash in the pan. Why, after just a few words, was she back to sulking like this?
Song Shiyue was still too young and inexperienced.
Ever since Song Shiyue had transmigrated into this world and crossed paths with Yu Nianbing, the Yu Nianbing she saw was mostly gentle and friendly, even soft to the point of being a bit clingy.
Actually, Yu Nianbing was pretty much like this with everyone else—not paying much attention, not smiling much, not initiating conversation.
People like Zhuang Jiachuan, Feng Qianqian, and even Ning Chuyang didn't think that Yu Nianbing doing things quietly right now meant she was sulking.
But Song Shiyue was different.
It was like a child who ate pure sugar every day until their teeth rotted and the sweetness became sorrow. Then suddenly a single grain of coffee powder was scattered in the sugar, and the bitterness was instantly noticeable.
And this was just coffee powder, not even goldthread powder, yet she was already uncomfortable, unwilling to tolerate the slightest bitterness and wanting only that pure sweetness back.
Song Shiyue didn't know what was wrong with herself. Anyway, seeing Yu Nianbing like this—with no eyes for her, only for chores, walking around without even a glance of interaction—just felt uncomfortable and miserable.
Ah, women. Unfathomable.
Song Shiyue remembered well: during the days she was "unconscious," Yu Nianbing, unless she absolutely had to go out to search for food or do something, had always stayed within a few steps of her.
Even though Song Shiyue couldn't see then, she could feel that Yu Nianbing's gaze had been constantly fixed on her.
What's more, Yu Nianbing had probably thought Song Shiyue was in a vegetative state back then, so she'd seized every opportunity to murmur softly into Song Shiyue's ear—not any particular content, just rambling and persistent talk, trying to rouse her consciousness. Of course, later, for some unknown reason, one day she suddenly stopped. But at least in the first few days, she'd spoken often.
That kind... of nearly twenty-four-hour, nonstop attention and concern, that protectiveness and gentleness—at first Song Shiyue actually wasn't used to it. But when you only have consciousness, there are no rights or choices; over time, she got used to it. Not only used to it, she... even came to like the feeling of someone keeping her in mind at every moment.
Those past days now formed a stark contrast with the present.
Song Shiyue felt a bit out of sorts.
Coaxing someone, she needed to coax someone...
She'd praised the breakfast, complimented her, and even drunk the soup down.
What should she do now...
Song Shiyue looked at Yu Nianbing, who was quietly clearing the dishes, and felt a bit worried.
She couldn't very well compliment Yu Nianbing on washing the bowls clean later...
Luckily, Song Shiyue's talents weren't limited to a smooth tongue.
She thought and thought, and when her gaze landed beyond the fence on that newly made object, she really did come up with a new trick.
Back to Yu Nianbing, after being unknowingly angered by Song Shiyue, she was once again in no mood to engage with anyone.
But that person acted as if nothing had happened, wandering around before going back out to fiddle with the Wheelbarrow...
Really, such a person with only work on her mind...
As she washed the dishes, Yu Nianbing silently grumbled to herself, turning many thoughts over in her mind.
But for all that thinking, Yu Nianbing never expected that when she came out of the washroom, her entire body would suddenly be lifted into the air.
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