Qin Wan didn’t dare go too far up the mountain, so she stayed not far from the others. With Li Yingying’s voice carrying well, everyone heard her shout.
When they heard that Qin Wan had found some wild eggs, the new educated youth (Zhiqing) wanted some too but stayed where they were, not moving toward her—after all, they still had some sense of propriety.
The older educated youth, however—especially Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er immediately rushed over. Seeing the five or six wild eggs in Qin Wan’s hand, their eyes practically glowed green.
“Qin Wan is lucky! She found wild eggs. We happened to gather mushrooms today, so we can fry them together for lunch,” Wang Mingzhu said, staring at the eggs.
It happened to be Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er’s turn to cook today. After speaking, Wang Mingzhu reached out to take the eggs.
Qin Wan pulled her hand back, and Zhang Bao’er’s face immediately darkened. “Qin Wan, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to keep them all to yourself?”
Li Yingying also came closer. “The mountain belongs to everyone, and what’s found should be shared. Qin Wan, you can’t be so selfish.”
Seeing them try to guilt-trip Qin Wan, the older educated youth stayed put—they also wanted some wild eggs.
Although at Shengli Brigade, as long as one worked hard in the fields, food was sufficient, it was mostly coarse grains. Eggs and other rare foods were sometimes obtained from the locals, but they were always eaten in secret.
Now that the eggs were free, they were happy to get a little advantage. Wang Mingzhu, Zhang Bao’er, and Li Yingying confronted Qin Wan while the others just watched.
Whether Qin Wan shared or not didn’t affect them, they’d either get a few extra bites or nothing.
Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao frowned and were about to intervene, but Qin Wan smiled.
Li Ruolan immediately pulled Deng Minghao back. Of course, Qin Wan wasn’t a delicate girl to be bullied. She had survived in the post-apocalypse, fought humans and zombies alike, and could handle herself.
“You’re misunderstanding. I’m not trying to hog them. I’ll share the wild eggs, but they are mine since I found them. There are six eggs; I plan to keep two and give four to everyone. That should be fair, right?”
Hearing this, Zhang Bao’er’s expression softened, but Wang Mingzhu scoffed. “There are so many of us, four eggs won’t be enough.”
Qin Wan glared coldly. “If four aren’t enough, you can choose not to eat. I haven’t had eggs in a long time, so I could keep all six. If you want wild eggs, go find some yourselves.” She tried to tuck the eggs into her pocket, but Wang Mingzhu grabbed her hand.
“No, no! I just wasn’t speaking well. Four eggs in soup—everyone can have a bowl,” Wang Mingzhu said boldly, taking the four eggs from Qin Wan and turning to leave.
Zhang Bao’er and Li Yingying hurried after her, afraid she’d keep them all.
Li Ruolan watched their backs, speechless. Thankfully, their house would soon be finished, far from these troublesome people, and they would soon be enjoying meals with real meat.
Just then, Deng Minghao gave Li Ruolan a subtle look, and the two quietly approached Qin Wan.
“Let’s go further up the mountain. There’s safety in numbers,” Li Ruolan suggested.
Qin Wan had been planning to go up the mountain anyway, so she didn’t hesitate and followed Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao.
“In the afternoon, when we come down, we’ll visit Zhao the carpenter. It’s time to start the beams, doors, and windows. Once the house is done, we can move in,” Deng Minghao said on the way up.
Qin Wan quickly agreed. “I’ll go with you. I don’t want to stay at the youth camp—too many people, too much trouble.”
Once she moved out, she could focus on improving her abilities. Then she could grow her own food instantly and wouldn’t have to tolerate this nonsense.
Li Ruolan patted Qin Wan. “Don’t take it to heart. Stay away from trouble. We won’t go back for lunch, let me show you Deng Minghao’s skill.”
Qin Wan looked at Deng Minghao in surprise. “Skill? I don’t see it.”
Deng Minghao pulled something from behind his waist and shook it in his hand—a slingshot. “Go collect some stones for me. If you do well, we’ll have meat to eat.”
Li Ruolan had known Deng Minghao since high school. Back then, most students spent their time in internet cafes chasing girls, but Deng Minghao was different. He could spend a whole day by the river with just a fishing rod.
Give him a slingshot, and he’d ride his electric scooter hunting birds.
Even after settling down, Deng Minghao’s favorite pastime was fishing. If not fishing, he roamed with his slingshot. Their fridge was always stocked with fish and various plucked birds.
Once, Li Ruolan had a minor surgery, and Deng Minghao made her pigeon soup every day. Later, she realized the pigeons were all caught by him with his slingshot while foraging.
Li Ruolan smiled at Qin Wan, then noticed she was gone. Looking down, she saw Qin Wan collecting stones.
“Quick, let me whet my appetite. After eating scraps for so long, I’ve almost forgotten what meat tastes like,” Qin Wan said, her eyes shining with excitement.
Originally, the body Qin Wan had transmigrated into had been a neglected girl, mistreated by her stepmother. After arriving in this body, she reported both her father and stepmother to the authorities—they went to the farm, and she severed ties with them, eventually joining the youth camp.
She should have had some money, but after moving to the countryside and building a house, probably not much remained.
Li Ruolan smiled and crouched to collect stones with Qin Wan, while Deng Minghao filled his pouch, scanning the surroundings for birds’ nests and wild chickens.
After gathering enough stones, Li Ruolan and Qin Wan began picking mushrooms. Since no one had been here before, mushrooms were abundant, quickly filling a small basket.
Meanwhile, Deng Minghao spotted something—a wild chicken’s tail sticking out from dense grass. He immediately raised his slingshot to aim.
Qin Wan’s mouth watered at the sight of the wild chicken. Meat! She was finally about to eat.