Di Ming

Chapter 3 Foraging
The three of them sat around the fire pit for more than two hours.

Only then did they slowly digest the absurd reality of traveling through time.

Thinking of the once-thriving Ning Group and the plans and strategies laid out over the past few years, Ning Caiwei felt utterly lost.

Several times, she wanted to burst into tears.

Zhu Yin's expression was also gloomy, and he felt lost and helpless.

There was no joy in returning to the age of eight; only fear of the future.

He lit a cigarette, smoking it with a gloomy expression.

What should we do next? Can we go back?
Ning Qingchen, however, stretched out her little hand and used all her strength to draw words on her sister's face.

What she wrote was: "Hungry, milk."

Ning Caiwei immediately gave a wry smile, "Zhu Yin, my sister is hungry and wants to drink milk."

When Zhu Yin looked at the baby girl, sure enough, bubbles were coming out of her little mouth.

This is hungry.

But where can we find milk here?

There's no breast milk, not even porridge.

As soon as he was told to nurse, his stomach started growling, and he realized he was hungry too.

Ning Caiwei blushed a little; her stomach was growling.

The two children's stomachs were rumbling, and bubbles were coming out of one baby's mouth.

They're all hungry!

Zhu Yin immediately went to search Ning Qingchen's medicine box.

This is the toolbox that Ning Qingchen plans to take to the countryside for a free clinic.

Upon opening it, I found some commonly used medicines, syringes, and two scalpels inside.

She's a medical student, and she's really taking advantage of her wealth to practice medicine without a license.

They even brought a scalpel; it's not just about giving away medicine for free.

Ning Qingchen was about to cry again when she saw Zhu Yin rummaging through her medicine box.

Are you stupid? Looking for food in a medicine cabinet?
She knew, of course, that there was no food in the medicine box, not even a bottle of glucose.

She did prepare a lot of high-end snacks, but unfortunately they were all in her suitcase.

Ning Qingchen suddenly felt something was off. Where was the electronic thermometer in the medicine box? Why was it gone?

"There's no food in the first-aid kit." Zhu Yin frowned. "I never bring snacks. What about you?"

Ning Caiwei shook her head, "I'm only wearing a suit, I didn't even bring a bag, where would I get any snacks?"

She paused, startled, as she spoke.

Zhu Yin was also stunned.

The two looked at each other, and said in unison, "Where are our phones?"

It was only then that they realized their phones were not on them.

Gone.

Not only were the cell phones gone, but Zhu Yin's sports watch and car keys were also missing, as were Ning Caiwei's USB drive and car keys.

"Let me analyze this." Zhu Yin rubbed his temples. "The missing items are all electronic devices."

"Then it is certain that during our time travel, the electronic devices were swallowed by the spacetime black hole, or for some other reason."

“Nothing we left behind is electronic. My lighter is also a mechanical ignition device.”

Ning Qingchen, now an infant, also understood.

No wonder the electronic thermometer in the medicine cabinet disappeared earlier; it turns out all the electronic products had vanished.

Fortunately, there was still a mercury thermometer.

"If they're gone, they're gone," Ning Caiwei said nonchalantly. "Electronic products are useless anyway. The most urgent thing is to solve the food problem."

“We can still hold on, but I’m worried about my sister. She’s too young… Zhu Yin, Qingchen offended you before, but she’s not a bad person. I apologize to you on her behalf.”

Zhu Yin shook his head. "Sister Caiwei, you don't need to say anything. I don't blame her. We just had different perspectives before."

“She’s just a baby now and can’t even speak, so of course I won’t stoop to her level.”

He stood up, tightened his oversized clothes, and then used Ning Qingchen's scalpel to cut off the excess trouser legs and sleeves.

The cut-off pieces of cloth were stuffed into the shoes as stuffing.

In this way, the clothes and shoes finally fit, albeit barely.

After Zhu Yin finished doing all this, he put the scalpel into his pocket and then selected a relatively long stick from the woodpile.

"Are you going out?" Ning Caiwei asked.

Zhu Yin nodded. "We must find something to eat nearby, or we will starve to death."

“I’m stronger than you, and I have more wilderness skills than you, I’ll go.”

Ning Caiwei knew she couldn't just sit and wait to die, so she said, "Okay, go and come back quickly, don't go too far, and be careful. It's too cold outside, so don't go too far."

"I'll boil water here and wait for you to come back."

She was a little worried because Zhu Yin was dressed too lightly. Could he really work outside in those clothes and shoes? What if something happened…?

Zhu Yin stopped talking, picked up the wooden stick, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Ning Caiwei called out, "I'll give you the clothes, you can wear two more. It's warm here, Qingchen and I don't need coats."

After saying that, he took off his white suit jacket, revealing a tank top underneath. He then took off the dress that Ning Qingchen had been using as a swaddle.

Then she took off her own stockings and then took out Ning Qingchen's stockings.

She handed two pieces of clothing and two pairs of stockings to Zhu Yin, saying, "It's an emergency, so please don't be offended. Put them on."

Zhu Yin looked at the Ning sisters' clothes and stockings, opened his mouth as if to say something but then stopped.

Wearing women's clothes and stockings?
Isn't this... a bit too embarrassing?

My brother can't do it.

Ning Caiwei said, "Zhu Yin, don't hesitate. I don't dare let you go out and risk your life if you don't put these on. More clothes might save your life! Don't underestimate stockings, they're very warm."

Zhu Yin smiled wryly and said, "Alright, I'll put it on. But I have one request."

Ning Caiwei was taken aback. "You have other requirements? Tell me."

Zhu Yin said, "From now on, at any time and in any place, you are not allowed to use this incident to make fun of me. Any jokes or banter arising from this incident are prohibited, whether malicious or well-intentioned."

Ning Caiwei chuckled, but quickly suppressed it.

"Okay...I, I promise you."

She's been holding it in for quite a while now.

Ning Qingchen was an infant, so she was easily moved to tears and laughter, and couldn't help but giggle.

Zhu Yin's face turned green. "You're laughing at me now, aren't you? Even after things have come to this, you sisters can still laugh?"

"Okay, okay," Ning Caiwei coaxed him. "We didn't mean to laugh at you. Go ahead and put it on. We definitely won't laugh at you."

Zhu Yin glanced at the two sisters with a suspicious look, his expression carrying the scrutiny and caution of a secret service agent.

But he had no desire to continue being sentimental.

He put on both pairs of stockings worn by the two sisters.

Then I put on two more coats.

I added two jackets and two pairs of stockings, and it really made me much warmer.

The warmth retention of the stockings exceeded his expectations.

There is a risk of social death.

Then, without saying a word, Zhu Yin left the thatched hut.

After Zhu Yin left, Ning Caiwei couldn't help but laugh.

Ning Qingchen chuckled as well.

Ning Caiwei laughed for a short while, then suddenly burst into tears again.

Ning Qingchen also cried.

Crying out of breath.

Good heavens, what kind of place is this? What are we going to do?
After crying for a while, Ning Caiwei's gloom dissipated considerably, and she became even calmer.

She wiped away her tears and said to Ning Qingchen:

"Little sister, recognizing and accepting reality is the first step to breaking out of this predicament. This is epistemology."

"Second, we must quickly seize favorable conditions, unite forces that can be united, set aside disputes, and resolve the main contradictions first. This is the methodology."

“We are all women, and you are just a baby. In ancient times, the only person we could rely on was Zhu Yin.”

“No matter how young Zhu Yin is, he is still a man. In the Ming Dynasty, this is his natural advantage. If we want to survive, we need his help.”

Ning Qingchen stretched out her little hand and painstakingly drew words on her sister's face:
"If there's no food, will he kill us and eat human flesh?"

Her baby eyes held a hint of fear.

Ning Caiwei's expression changed, and she shouted, "What nonsense are you thinking? You're scaring yourself!"

"No matter what misunderstandings you had about Zhu Yin before, or how much you disliked him, you must understand that he is an irreplaceable partner and someone we must trust, understand?"

"Sometimes, trust is the greatest strength in desperate situations."

"Suspicion and hostility are the only ways to get yourself killed."

"I trust Zhu Yin's character!"

Ning Qingchen couldn't speak, so she could only nod her head.

Ning Caiwei talked to her sister for a while as if talking to herself, then picked up the earthenware jar, went outside, filled it with snow water, and hung it above the fire to boil.

She hoped that Zhu Yin would appear before her when the water boiled.

Zhu Yin left the thatched hut and went straight to the corpse of the Jurchen man he had seen earlier.

Even though he wore extra clothes and the child was relatively resistant to the cold, his work time in the wind and snow would not exceed one hour.

He had to return to the hut within an hour, whether he had gained anything or not.

Zhu Yin walked half a mile through the snow and came to the dead man and horse. He used a wooden stick to clear away the snow and then used a scalpel to cut the flesh off the horse's leg.

But the horse meat was frozen solid, as hard as a rock.

The scalpel was extremely sharp, but even with all his might, Zhu Yin couldn't cut off a piece of flesh; he could only make a small incision.

No!

Such a big horse, yet it can't reach its mouth!
How to do?
In the freezing cold of the wilderness, and in unfamiliar surroundings, where can one find food?

A strong sense of hunger struck him, and Zhu Yin couldn't help but turn around like a wolf, squinting at the thatched hut not far away...

(End of this chapter)