Chapter 48 - 44: Wild Kiwifruit
Qin Ziwu tightened his grip on the wooden club, eager to try. "Bro, I really want to ram this stick right up its ass."
Watching the direction the wild boar had gone, Qin Ziwu said, "That boar didn’t look all that big."
Deng Guang advised against provoking it. "A boar like that is at least two hundred pounds. Don’t be fooled by how stocky it looks; it’s all muscle. There’s an old saying: first the boar, then the bear, then the tiger. It’s not that boars are the strongest, but they have a one-track mind. They get incredibly aggressive when injured, and their first instinct is always to charge."
Qin Ziwen suppressed the urge to attack. He knew his current weapons and gear weren’t suitable for hunting a wild boar.
Qin Ziwen analyzed the situation calmly. "Since it showed up here, this area must be its territory. If it appeared once, it’ll appear again. We should figure out how to build a trap. As long as we can restrain it with a trap, things will be much easier."
Qin Ziwu whispered, "I think the three of us could take it. It’s two hundred pounds, but I’m no slouch either! I’m one-seventy, and you and Uncle Deng together must be at least three hundred. Our total weight is more than double its own."
Qin Ziwen shot him an annoyed look. "Can you guarantee you won’t get hurt? What happens if you do?
"Even if the chance of getting a bacterial infection from a bite isn’t one hundred percent, there’s at least a sixty or seventy percent risk. We don’t have any iodine or alcohol to disinfect a wound. Besides, there are only three of us. Even if we injure it, we might not be able to track it down. Let’s play it safe for now."
Qin Ziwu fell silent. Although he didn’t think he would necessarily get hurt, he also felt there was nothing wrong with his older brother being cautious. "Fine. I’m just worried someone else will find it first."
Qin Ziwen shook his head and chuckled. "If it’s gone, it’s gone. This forest might be short on other things, but it’s not short on animals.
"These things aren’t that easy to kill. How many people in our Gated Community do you think have ever killed a wild boar? None of us have any experience. When I get back today, I’ll find some strong rope. Then we can start hunting slightly larger animals."
Deng Guang said, "The electrical cables in the Gated Community should work."
Qin Ziwen thought of the climbing net from the children’s playground in the Gated Community. He’d been eyeing that net for a while.
That net would have been the perfect material for trapping a wild boar, but unfortunately, Huang Tao’s group took it after the crocodile hunt.
The three of them followed the path the boar had come from. The animal had seemed relaxed when it came from that direction, which meant it hadn’t encountered any dangerous predators on its way.
Compared to the other directions, that one was more likely to be safe.
"There are mushrooms here." Qin Ziwu crouched down. Some gray mushrooms were growing by the tree roots. "Are they edible?"
"I don’t recognize them."
The three of them looked at each other, then picked a few and put them in a small compartment of a backpack.
They didn’t know what they were, but maybe someone in the Gated Community would. They could take them back and ask around.
After walking for a while, they came to a gentle slope. At the top, the trees thinned out, and the light grew much brighter.
Qin Ziwen saw that the trees ahead were covered in vines, and the vines were laden with brown fruit.
The fruit wasn’t large, and at first glance, he almost didn’t recognize it.
It wasn’t until he picked one, peeled back the skin, saw the familiar color, sniffed it, fed some to the vole and hedgehog to test for poison, and then took a small bite himself that he confirmed they were kiwis.
Unlike the ones sold in supermarkets, these wild kiwis were very small, and they hung in small bunches on the branches.
Most were brownish-yellow, but a few were greener and harder, seeming not yet ripe.
Qin Ziwen began picking them. "I’ve heard kiwis are rich in vitamins. This will help supplement our diet."
(Wild Kiwis)
The wild kiwis closer to the ground were easy enough to pick, but the ones higher up weren’t so convenient.
Qin Ziwen had the Beaked Eagle help out. In the end, the three of them worked for the better part of the day and managed to pick most of the wild kiwis in the area.
They left only the fruit that hadn’t ripened yet.
Of course, the main reason they stopped was that their backpacks were full. All three packs were stuffed with wild kiwis, weighing at least seventy or eighty pounds altogether.
The hedgehog and vole from the backpacks were placed into a bucket.
Qin Ziwen recalled that kiwis had a reasonably long shelf life. Plus, with the cellar at home, storing them for a month should be no problem.
Whatever they couldn’t eat they could trade with others for more shelf-stable foods, like crackers, instant noodles, and other modern processed goods.
It was now afternoon, and the three of them, tired from half a day’s labor, sat on a rock to rest.
Deng Guang considered their situation. "Maybe we should head back. We’ve had a pretty good haul today. What if the kiwis in our packs get crushed..."
Qin Ziwen readily agreed; in fact, he’d been thinking the same thing. "Sounds good. Little Eagle, go check the direction of the Gated Community."
The Beaked Eagle flew into the sky and came down a moment later, nodding its head toward a certain direction.
They descended the gentle slope, steadying themselves with tree trunks and grabbing onto vines, until they reached the bottom. Then they headed back in the direction the Beaked Eagle had indicated.
After walking for about half an hour, the intermittent sound of a dog barking came from the dense woods ahead.
"Sounds like it’s just up ahead."
"Be careful."
"Hope it’s not a wild dog."
Deng Guang suggested, "Why don’t we go around?"
"Alright." Qin Ziwen nodded. In the wild like this, other people could be just as dangerous as wild animals.
Whether it was a beast or not, they were prepared to avoid it.
The three of them cut diagonally for some distance.
Suddenly, a brownish-yellow figure burst out of the dense woods.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF."
Seeing the filthy, soy-sauce-colored golden retriever before them, the three men tightened their grips on their weapons.
"It’s a pet."
"WOOF WOOF WOOF." The old golden retriever didn’t attack. After barking at the three of them a few times, it turned and looked behind it. It took a few steps back, and when it saw they weren’t moving, it turned its head again and barked at them once more.
Qin Ziwu frowned. "It looks like it’s trying to get us to follow it."
Qin Ziwen glanced at the golden retriever. "Ignore it. Let’s keep moving."
The three of them walked another dozen meters or so before the golden retriever caught up. It didn’t get close, however, maintaining a safe distance of two or three meters.
It dropped to the ground and whimpered, its cries trembling. "WHINE~"
The golden retriever lay on the ground with its hindquarters raised, its tail wagging furiously.
It seemed to know who the leader of this group was. It looked at Qin Ziwen, cautiously crawled closer, and gently pawed at his pant leg.
Now that the golden retriever was closer, Qin Ziwen saw that it was injured. There were traces of blood behind its ear.
"WHINE~"
Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes. "You’re asking for help?"
The golden retriever seemed to understand. It stood up, let its tongue loll out, and looked at Qin Ziwen with pleading eyes.
Qin Ziwu looked at his older brother. "Bro, should we go?"
Qin Ziwen was silent for a long moment. "How many people are with your owner? Bark once for one person, twice for two."
"WOOF!" The golden retriever barked once.
After another long silence, Qin Ziwen said, "Let’s go take a look."
Seeing Qin Ziwen start to follow, the golden retriever excitedly turned and ran.
Qin Ziwen and the others moved slowly, remaining on high alert the entire time, letting the golden retriever run ahead.
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