Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The four of them mustered all their strength and ran wildly up the steep hillside, with the shouts and footsteps behind them following closely like maggots clinging to their bones.

Weng Nanque was exhausted and nearly fell over.

Weng Beiyan and Xu Xiaoyan practically supported her from both sides, desperately dragging her upwards.

Wang Yuming brought up the rear, glancing back warily from time to time, and pushing over some loose rocks in an attempt to slow down the pursuers.

Sweat blurred my vision, and my lungs felt like they were on fire.

Just as they were almost exhausted, a denser thicket and several huge rocks appeared ahead, forming a natural shelter.

"This way!" Xu Xiaoyan roared and led the way into the room.

The four of them huddled together in a crevice in the rocks, barely daring to breathe, the only sound being the thunderous pounding of their hearts.

The bandits' footsteps and shouts quickly drew closer.

"Damn it, where did they go?"

"It must be nearby, search!"

They searched through the bushes, their footsteps close at hand.

Weng Nanque trembled with fear, and her brother covered her mouth tightly, afraid that she would make the slightest sound.

Xu Xiaoyan and Wang Yuming clutched the stones they had picked up, preparing for the worst.

Fortunately, the darkness and dense vegetation provided them with excellent cover. The bandits conducted a cursory search, then gradually disappeared into the distance, cursing and swearing.

"Damn it, what bad luck! The duck that was almost in my mouth flew away!"

"Forget it, let's go back and guard the roadblocks, waiting for the next easy target..."

Only after they were sure there was no more noise outside did the four of them collapse and sit down, as if they had lost all their strength.

After a short rest, they dared not linger and groped their way up the mountain, hoping to get as far away from the dangerous obstacle as possible.

By the time they reached the top of the mountain, all four of them were panting heavily.

Xu Xiaoyan wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked around. All she could see were densely packed mountains.

She discussed with the other three, saying, "We chose the back road to avoid robberies or something, but you've seen what happened along the way."

She lowered her voice and said, "It seems that the side paths are not necessarily safe either; in fact, they are more likely to be ambushed."

Weng Beiyan nodded. "We might as well take the main road. The road is wide, we can see further, and if anything happens, we can deal with it more easily."

"And there's a greater chance of meeting fellow travelers on the main road," Wang Yuming added, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

"What if we run into the army? It's better to follow the troops than for the four of us to wander around aimlessly."

Having made their decision, the group looked around for signs of the main road.

Finally, in a mountain hollow where two mountains meet in the distance, they found a main road. Without hesitation, the group pushed through the weeds and headed towards it.

Although it was late autumn, the branches and leaves still blocked out the sun, and a thick layer of fallen leaves had accumulated on the ground.

Weng Nanque whispered, "This grass is so tall, could there be snakes hiding there?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan bent down, picked up a few dry branches, and distributed them to everyone, saying, "Take these and cut the grass as you walk to scare them away."

So each person held a wooden stick, carefully moving forward while parting the tall grass in front of them, the rustling sound of cutting grass and footsteps echoing through the valley.

When they reached a slightly gentler slope halfway up the mountain, Weng Nanque suddenly stopped, pointed to a tree shadow to her lower right, and shouted, "Look! What's that red thing?"

The group looked in the direction she pointed and initially saw only lush greenery.

After she repeatedly reminded them, they finally caught a glimpse of two or three small red dots hidden among the trees. They looked at each other and decided to go closer to confirm.

Pushing aside the last clump of bushes, an old persimmon tree suddenly appeared before my eyes.

The tree was very tall, with outstretched branches, and it was laden with fruit.

Unfortunately, most of them were still half green and half yellow, with only four or five fully ripe ones, red like little lanterns, standing out among the gray-green leaves.

"They're persimmons!" Wang Yuming exclaimed with delight, then sighed, "Unfortunately, most of them aren't ripe yet."

Weng Beiyan had already put down his backpack and clapped his hands crisply. "A few red ones are fine too, let's pick them and moisten our throats."

After saying that, he hugged the tree trunk with both hands, pushed off with his feet, and climbed up in a few quick movements.

He carefully avoided the thin branches, reached out and gently twisted off the few soft, red persimmon branches, carefully held the branches in his mouth, and silently climbed down.

Weng Nanque stepped forward, picked the persimmons, and distributed them one by one.

The persimmons were perfectly ripe, their skins so thin they were almost transparent. The group disregarded their appearance, gently tearing open a small opening and sucking on the sweet, juicy flesh, which instantly melted into juice and slid down their throats.

After finishing the persimmons, Xu Xiaoyan's gaze lingered on the tree full of green and yellow fruits.

She said to Weng Beiyan, who was about to pack her bags, "Beiyan, don't rush, let's pick all these green and yellow persimmons from the tree."

Upon hearing this, the other three were stunned and cast surprised glances at him.

Weng Nanque couldn't help but point to the hard fruit on the tree and said, "Sister Xiaoyan, are you confused? These aren't ripe yet. They're astringent and hard, and you can't eat them at all."

Wang Yuming also leaned closer to take a look and nodded in agreement:

"Nan Que is right. I've seen this kind of persimmon before. It's different from the crisp persimmons in the fruit shops in the city. If it's not fully ripe, it's so astringent that it will make your tongue numb. It's not tasty at all, and picking it is a waste of effort."

Seeing her friends' puzzled expressions, Xu Xiaoyan calmly explained, "I understand your concerns. To be honest, I made the same mistake when I was a kid."

A warm feeling of reminiscence welled up in her eyes: "When I was about ten years old, someone gave the old headmaster a whole basket of these green and yellow persimmons."

I was really craving one, so I secretly grabbed one when no one was looking, and took a bite. It was so astringent that I spat it all out and went to complain to the old dean.

She paused for a moment, then continued, "The old director laughed so hard she couldn't stop. She told me that these were wild persimmons grown by her friend who lives in the mountains."

The person specifically chose the green and yellow ones to deliver because ripe persimmons are too delicate and cannot withstand the bumpy mountain roads; they would rot into a pile of mud before they even arrived.

Mountain people have their own wisdom; by picking the green and yellow ones in advance, they can preserve them perfectly.

Seeing the gradually focused expressions on the three people in front of her, Xu Xiaoyan continued:

"The old dean said that these green and yellow persimmons are durable and will gradually turn red and soften on their own if placed in a shady place."

When you want to eat it, gently squeeze it with your hand; whichever one is softer is the one you can eat.

Think about it, we still have a long way to go. Aren't these fruits, which we can carry with us and can ripen naturally, the best supplies for the journey?

His words instantly dispelled everyone's doubts.

Weng Nanque's eyes lit up first, and she clapped her hands and laughed, "Oh my! I didn't know there was such a good thing! Sister Xiaoyan, you know so much!"

Wang Yuming suddenly realized, a look of admiration on his face. "This is a great idea! It's like carrying portable rations, and they even get sweeter over time!"

Without further ado, Weng Beiyan readily took off the backpack she had just put on.

He deftly spat into his palm, rubbed it together, looked up at the persimmon tree, and laughed, "Looks like we've discovered a treasure trove! Wait, I'll pick them all right now!"