The little dumpling is five and a half years old, which made his father so angry that his head split

"When I came back, I set a few small traps around here, hoping that some small animals would come by, and maybe we can have some meat tomorrow."

After hearing Liu Wei's words, everyone felt not only relieved, but also a little hungry.

When resources are scarce, being able to eat wild game is a wonderful thing.

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Old Shen clapped his hands and stood up.

"Everyone, let's eat well and get ready to rest. Today is only the first day; there are still many tough battles ahead."

After saying that, he gestured for Shen Yi to go to the restroom.

When they returned, Liu Wei led Li Muchen a little further away.

Only after Li Muchen returned did he take Li Tian to the restroom.

He stood guard for his sister a few meters away.

With the waterproof cloth provided by Chang Yuan, Li Tian felt a great sense of security when she wrapped it around her waist.

And you don't have to worry about the wind blowing on your bottom and making it cold.

Panty liners are also useful. Although wearing them for too long isn't good, it's still better than not being able to change your underwear.

When they returned, the rest of the people had already crawled into their sleeping bags.

But leave enough room for the brother and sister.

Li Tian was at the very back of the tent, with Li Muchen beside her.

Li Muchen sat next to Shen Yi and his grandson.

Liu Wei was on the far side, guarding the goal.

The five people squeezed together, barely managing to lie down in the tent.

A shelter from the wind and rain is always better than sleeping under the open sky.

Today we walked nearly ten kilometers of mountain roads and climbed over a thousand meters.

Li Tian was very tired.

But after lying down, my mind was still inexplicably clear, and listening to the snoring that was gradually rising beside me, I couldn't fall asleep at all.

I don't know how many sheep I counted, but sleepiness finally overwhelmed my brain, and I drifted off to sleep.

I slept soundly through the night in my down sleeping bag.

When Li Tian woke up, it was already broad daylight.

Seeing that everyone around her had gotten up, she quickly climbed out as well.

"How much water was collected? Is it clean?"

Li Muchen pointed to the iron wok used for cooking.

"I've collected almost a pot of water, enough for cooking this morning and drinking throughout the day."

Li Tian cheered, but regretted not having seen the collection process.

It must be very fulfilling.

"Uncle Liu got up as soon as it was light, saying that once the sun came out, the water would evaporate very quickly, and we had to hurry up and get some."

"And there's something to gain from the trap."

Li Tian was even more interested in this discovery.

They happily approached Liu Wei, who was a few meters away.

Liu Wei held a large bird in his hand, with blue feathers, a long tail, a red beak, and red feet.

very beautiful.

Liu Wei showed it to Li Tian.

"It looks nice, but it's inconvenient to carry around, so I'm going to put it away."

It's not that Liu Wei is kind-hearted or has any awareness of protecting animals.

He just felt that such a small bird was not suitable for eating, and that killing it would only yield a few pieces of meat.

It's better to just let it go.

Hearing Liu Wei say that he would release her, Li Tian felt relieved.

There was no grand philosophy being discussed.

Just based on the bird's appearance, we can't kill it for meat. Besides, it's so beautiful, it'll probably be a protected animal in future generations.

"Uncle Liu, let me take a picture of it."

Liu Wei had no objection to this.

If the children are having fun, they can keep going.

Li Tianxing rushed back to the tent to get her camera.

I wanted to take a close-up shot, so I got a little closer.

"That bird is fierce, you should stay away from it."

Li Tian took two steps back and adjusted the shooting angle.

After shooting the still scenes, Li Tian wanted to take a couple of GIFs, so she asked Liu Wei to let go.

Freed from its restraints, the red-billed blue magpie took a few steps on the ground and then spread its wings and flew away.

Li Tian put away her camera and sat back down by the fire.

The boiling water had already been partially poured into their kettles, and each person still had half a bowl left to cool.

My mouth is dry as soon as I open my eyes, and what I need most is to drink water.

Li Tian picked up the bowl and slowly drank a few sips.

Old Shen asked Shen Yi to bring over the bag containing the food.

"Let's eat something with hot water while it's still cool and get going. We'll cook lunch later during our lunch break."

My throat is so dry, I really don't want to eat this even drier pancake.

Li Tian first ate a few jujubes, then a sweet persimmon, before breaking off a hard cake and stuffing it into her mouth.

If you really can't swallow it, drink a couple of sips of water to help.

Fruit is delicious, but carbohydrates are essential.

Twenty minutes later, the team set off again.

The higher you go, the more difficult it becomes, and the slower you progress.

We stopped to rest during the hottest part of the day, around noon.

As the sun began to set in the afternoon, we had basically reached the ginseng's territory, so we walked even slower.

Ginseng is hard to find, but wild yam is plentiful.

I would tell Mr. Shen about it whenever I met him.

"The withered yam vine has three characteristics: it is dextrorotatory, covered with hairs, and is yellowish-brown but has good toughness."

"Look, the ground around the base of this vine is slightly raised, which means there are roots underneath. If you can't see any undulations, there's probably nothing underneath."

Since it was there, Liu Wei picked up a shovel and started digging.

Wild yam is also commonly referred to as wild ginseng in the local area, and is considered a popular and affordable tonic.

"Xiao Liu, after you finish digging the yams, go back to the campsite. We'll go check out the shady slope first."

Liu Wei responded, but didn't stop what he was doing.

The roasted yams tasted great, and he also happened to find a beehive and managed to take some.

You can eat yams dipped in honey in the evening; they taste even better that way.

Old Shen led a few teenagers toward the shady slope.

Wild ginseng prefers shade; you won't find it on the sunny side.

Wild yam is a vine, while ginseng is a herbaceous plant whose above-ground parts wither and die in winter.

It's difficult for anyone who isn't an expert to distinguish ginseng from a pile of weeds.

"Shen Yi, tell me, how do you tell in winter?"

The most valuable thing in this area is ginseng, which Shen Yi had long known by heart.

Now, whenever Grandpa asks a question, he can answer it immediately.

"While wild grasses are generally fragile when dried, the stalks of wild ginseng are relatively stiff and grow in clumps."

"The most crucial characteristic is to look for the 'residual flowers at the top of the stem'; after harvesting, the tips of the remaining stems often retain purplish-brown calyxes."

Old Shen nodded.

"You guys have good eyesight, let's look together. Call me when you see something that looks similar."

Old Shen found a rock and sat down.

Li Tian and the others, wearing gloves, went to search through the bushes.

If you squeeze it hard with your hands, ordinary grass will break easily.

But there are also those with sturdy stems, which are their targets.

After going around in circles, I had a few specific goals.

"This pole is the thickest; should we dig it up and take a look?"

Shen Yi was undecided, but looking at his grandfather who was resting with his eyes half-closed, he couldn't bear to disturb him, so he decided to dig and see.

Be careful, as long as you don't damage the root, there won't be any problems.

Shen Yi took off his gloves and took out his medicinal herb-digging tools.

First, gently dig away the stones near the rootstock.

Once he saw the soil, Shen Yi dropped his tools and started digging with his hands.

Using tools can easily damage the roots and stems, and injuring the epidermis will impair the medicinal properties.

Even if the damage isn't significant, it's still disfigurement, which lowers the selling price.

Li Muchen also took off his gloves and helped.

Li Tian didn't move, but held up a flashlight to illuminate the way for them.

Seeing that they were taking action, Old Shen did not say anything to stop them.

He believed that Shen Yi was sensible, and that one should try things out for oneself to make a deeper impression.

Providing protection and support does not mean taking care of everything.

The boys were still digging in the soil with their hands, following the roots.

After digging for a while, a section of ginseng was finally revealed.

It's only about the thickness of a chopstick.