“Alright, stop staring. I’ll serve you right away,” Gu Shiyi said with a smile to the dogs.
These dogs were great contributors, so of course she had to feed them well.
Gu Shiyi first scooped a bowl of rice, then added the leftover dough soup from the morning. After that, she ladled some chicken soup and chicken meat from the clay pot.
She used chopsticks to mix the food evenly, then poured it all into the dogs’ large bowl.
She did not forget to remind them, “It’s a bit hot, eat slowly.”
Gu Shiyi added some salt into the chicken soup and let it stew a little longer so the chicken could absorb more flavor.
The aroma of the chicken filled the air, and Gu Shiyi’s stomach began to growl nonstop.
Only then did she realize she was hungry as well, so she quickly served herself a bowl of chicken meat and added some soup, eating happily.
The freshly cooked chicken soup was steaming hot. The broth was golden, and the mushrooms had absorbed the soup fully, looking plump and glossy—very appetizing.
Gu Shiyi quickly picked up a piece of chicken and put it into her mouth, taking a bite and chewing.
The rich flavor spread through her mouth, immersing her completely in the taste.
She then took a sip of the chicken soup. The fresh, delicious flavor instantly blossomed on her tongue, making her exclaim, “Wow! So delicious!”
Gu Shiyi narrowed her beautiful eyes, her face showing a deeply satisfied expression.
The meat was firm, even the chicken skin was soft and tender, and the soup was extremely flavorful without being greasy at all.
Taking another bite of mushroom, the rich juices burst in her mouth. The mushroom’s texture was plump and satisfying, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
Gu Shiyi felt completely satisfied. Looking at the dogs gathered together, devouring their food, she happily asked, “Ah Hui, Ah Hua, Xiao Hua, is the chicken tasty?”
However, the dogs were too busy eating and had no time to respond to her at all.
Seeing this, Gu Shiyi grew a little annoyed and tossed the leftover bones into their bowl, threatening them:
“If you ignore me, I’ll only feed you bones in the future.”
But the dogs seemed completely unconcerned by her threat. They continued eating with their heads down and ignored her words entirely.
“Fine, ignore me then. I don’t want to bother with you either—I still have a lot to do this afternoon!” Seeing that the dogs still ignored her, Gu Shiyi also stopped paying attention to them and continued enjoying her meal.
She began to think that she would not leave the sinkhole this afternoon.
The sinkhole was quite large; at a glance, she could not see its end.
She decided to explore this mysterious place in the afternoon.
Tomorrow, Gu Shiyi planned to go down the mountain to purchase some grain and daily necessities.
In such an isolated place, it was necessary to stock up on essential supplies.
After finishing her meal, Gu Shiyi began organizing the ingredients she had collected in the morning.
She took out the wood ear fungus and spread it out in the courtyard to dry.
Wood ear fungus cannot be eaten fresh; it must be dried first.
As for the shiitake mushrooms, she kept some fresh ones in her space and took most of them out to dry.
After everything was properly arranged, Gu Shiyi called out to the three dogs, “Dogs, let’s go out and play!”
Upon hearing their owner’s call, the three dogs excitedly rushed out of the courtyard and ran freely across the grass.
Gu Shiyi strolled across the grass, searching everywhere.
She walked a long distance but only found a few wild Sichuan pepper plants, and nothing else useful.
There were some wild vegetables on the grass, but they were already too old to eat.
“Sigh, these old wild vegetables—I don’t want to eat them.”
Gu Shiyi muttered to herself.
Now that she had money, she naturally did not want to eat such hard-to-swallow wild vegetables anymore.
Just as she was about to head home, she suddenly heard Ah Hui barking loudly, “Woof woof woof!”
“Ah Hui, did you find something again?” Gu Shiyi’s eyes lit up, and she quickly ran toward the dog.
“Cherry tomatoes?”
Gu Shiyi saw several bright red fruits hanging on a small tree in front of Ah Hui, resembling glowing red gems.
They were round and cute, with vivid colors that were very tempting.
On the ground beneath the tree, several red fruits had already fallen.
She picked one up, wiped it lightly on her clothes, and without hesitation put it into her mouth and took a bite.
Instantly, a sweet and sour juice burst in her mouth. The unique flavor made Gu Shiyi’s eyes brighten.
“Mm, delicious!” she couldn’t help but praise.
Ah Hui and Ah Hua also seemed to sense her joy. They ran around happily, proud of their discovery.
Gu Shiyi happily picked all the remaining small tomatoes from the tree. Counting them, there weren’t many.
But to her, this was already a pleasant surprise.
She also picked up the fallen tomatoes one by one. Although some were damaged and could not be eaten directly, she could extract the seeds and keep them for planting.
In this area, Gu Shiyi also discovered some purslane.
She plucked a stem and examined it. Finding it still tender, it was completely edible.
So she enthusiastically gathered all the purslane around her. Before long, she had filled two entire baskets.
Purslane has a unique sour taste and a refreshing texture. It can be eaten cold as a salad or dried into preserved vegetables, offering a different kind of flavor.
Originally planning to go home, Gu Shiyi now had a new idea.
Looking at the vast sinkhole stretching endlessly before her, a desire to explore arose once again in her heart.
This sinkhole was truly enormous—at least hundreds of acres in size.
From where she stood, she could not see her courtyard at all, and the other side also stretched beyond sight.
Gu Shiyi thought to herself that since she had already come this far, she might as well walk further ahead and see if she could discover anything else.
Perhaps this mysterious sinkhole still held many unknown treasures.
After walking a bit further, Gu Shiyi spotted a lush bamboo forest in the distance.
Logically speaking, there should not be bamboo shoots in this season, but she still couldn’t resist going to take a look.
Who knew? Maybe there would be some unexpected surprise.
What if there was!
Thinking of this, Gu Shiyi quickened her pace and led the dogs straight toward the bamboo forest.
Just as she reached the edge of the bamboo forest, she suddenly stopped in her tracks as if frozen in place.
“Wow! Grapes? So many grapes! Haha, the dogs are in for a treat now—they can finally eat fresh fruit!”
Gu Shiyi exclaimed excitedly, her voice echoing through the bamboo forest.
At the edge of the bamboo forest, a large patch of wild grapes was growing.
The green vines coiled and climbed up the bamboo like winding dragons, while clusters of ripe purple wild grapes hung from the branches like purple gemstones.