While Ram was busy hunting, Neil wasn’t idle either. He followed behind Lai Yi, moving not far from Ram’s location.
From time to time, he would use his hoe to dig around, unearthing common medicinal herbs that had been growing for several years. These could be sold for some money in town.
Neil’s expression vividly illustrated what sweet agony meant. His face clearly showed: “Can’t finish digging, simply impossible to finish digging.”
As long as there was no danger, Lai Yi wouldn’t stop their activities.
Every time Lai Yi came here, he made new discoveries.
This time, he found a seven-meter tall Prickly Ash Tree densely covered with prickly ash berries. The berries growing higher up had already ripened, showing a purplish-red color.
Lai Yi climbed up the Prickly Ash Tree and selectively picked a small cloth bag full of berries.
The prickly ash could be dried and preserved for future use, whether for stewing meat or preparing other dishes.
If possible, he would have preferred to transplant the Prickly Ash Tree into his own yard, but the tree was simply too large to make this feasible.
Lai Yi could only hope to find other suitable Prickly Ash Trees nearby.
“Neil, don’t wander off around here. I’m going to look for some things nearby.”
“Okay, brother!”
After instructing Neil, Lai Yi began his search, making sure not to go too far and keeping both Ram and Neil within his sight at all times.
The Prickly Ash Tree wasn’t particularly noticeable in the lush green forest, but its purplish-red berries provided excellent guidance. Lai Yi soon discovered a smaller tree.
It didn’t have many prickly ash berries, possibly because this was its first year bearing fruit. It would be perfect for transplanting back home.
Lai Yi went over to Neil to get the hoe and spent some time digging, trying to excavate as much of the tree’s root system as possible.
“Brother, why are you digging it up?”
The noise from Lai Yi’s work had attracted Neil’s attention.
“To plant it at home.”
“Oh. Brother, let me help you dig.”
“No need, and we don’t have the proper tools anyway. You go back to digging up medicinal herbs.”
Neil watched Lai Yi dig for a while before realizing he really couldn’t be of help, then continued searching for medicinal herbs nearby.
Lai Yi dug for quite some time before finally exposing the tree’s root system. He excavated as many of the main roots as possible, cutting through the smaller fibrous roots directly. After two hours, he successfully dug up the entire Prickly Ash Tree.
Ram had finally given up on his naive idea of hunting Gulu Beasts and wild deer, and returned to Lai Yi’s location carrying the wild birds he had caught earlier.
“What’s going on here?” Ram asked.
Lai Yi was using a sickle to trim away the tree’s excessive branches to make it easier to carry back.
“Brother wants to transplant this tree.”
“Oh, I see.”
“No need to cut off so many branches. I can just carry it back directly,” Ram said to Lai Yi.
“No, I’ll carry it back myself. Consider it exercise.”
“Alright then.”
“Is there something special about this spice tree?” Ram asked, somewhat puzzled. This type of tree with small purplish-red berries wasn’t particularly useful in the village. Its berries had a strange taste that made your mouth feel numb when eaten. Only older folks liked to hang them as spices.
“It can be used for cooking,” Lai Yi replied.
“It can be used for cooking?” Ram looked completely bewildered.
“If brother says it can be used for cooking, then it definitely can! Brother’s cooking is really delicious,” Neil said earnestly, supporting Lai Yi.
Remembering yesterday’s large steamed buns, Ram chose to believe Neil’s words.
“Little Neil, since I’m your cousin, save some for me to taste when you make it.”
Neil thought for a moment and nodded.
“Alright.”
For Uncle Heger and Aunt Linda’s sake.
After cutting the branches, Lai Yi chopped a vine of suitable thickness to secure the roots and trunk, leaving an appropriate length. With the roots in front and the canopy behind, he carried the Prickly Ash Tree over his shoulder as they traveled.
Lam followed behind, helping lift the canopy to prevent the main branches from breaking along the way.
Apart from being a bit cumbersome, it wasn’t particularly heavy—one person could easily manage it.
After placing everything by the apple tree, Lai Yi led the two in the opposite direction.
There were some fruit trees further in this area. When Lai Yi had discovered them earlier, the fruits were still small and green, making it hard to identify what they were.
Lam and Neil remained energetic and enthusiastic despite having been in the forest for so long. Since he had wasted some time digging up the tree himself, he decided to take both of them along as compensation.
This path was longer and rougher, with wild grass so thick it could practically bury a person. But neither of them complained, obediently following behind Lai Yi, which pleased him greatly.
“Brother! Pears!”
Neil spotted the yellow pears from afar and cheered excitedly. Lam also looked happy.
“They really are.”
The two quickened their pace, overtaking Lai Yi to reach the pear tree.
Pear trees were scarce in Rosen Town. The only time you could buy a few in town was after the wheat harvest. Pears, juicy and sweet, were beloved by everyone and always in short supply.
“Be careful, go ahead and pick them.”
Lai Yi instructed.
Lam scrambled up the tree like a monkey to pick the pears, while Neil and Lai Yi caught them below.
“Ah! Why are all the good pears half-eaten by birds?”
“Damn wild birds! Damn bugs!”
Lam specifically picked the largest and juiciest-looking ones, but those either had several insect holes or were pecked to pieces by birds. His complaints drifted down to the ground.
“Brother Lam talks a lot.”
Neil whispered to Lai Yi.
“Little Neil, I can hear you.”
“Ah!”
Neil’s ears turned red with embarrassment, and Lai Yi couldn’t help but chuckle.
Neil seemed to have forgotten how chatty he himself had been when Lai Yi first woke up.
The pears looked plentiful, but after excluding those already pecked or underripe, there weren’t many worth picking. They barely filled the small basket Neil carried on his back.
Lam hadn’t had enough of picking, so Lai Yi led them further to see if they could find more pear trees.
There were some ahead, but they didn’t bear much fruit, and most of the ripe ones had been ruined by small animals or insects. Many pears lay on the ground, only partially eaten—a real pity.
Looking up through the layered branches and leaves, they could barely see the blue sky. It was already late morning, and the light was abundant.
While Lam and Neil were still battling with the pear trees, diligently searching for good fruit, Lai Yi carefully observed the surroundings.
Nothing but trees, and more trees…
What’s that?
Lai Yi walked over to look and saw many large green fruits hanging from the branches. The fruits had a flat calyx tube with four square-shaped segments.
Aren’t these persimmons?
In the north, people often sold frozen persimmons by the roadside during winter.
After thawing them in cold water, one bite would release the overly sweet juice into your mouth through the broken skin. A gentle suck would give you the chewy flesh. Frozen persimmons were a specialty winter food in the north.
Moreover, when persimmons ripen, they can be peeled and eaten directly. With one bite, the crisp texture carries a light sweetness, making them exceptionally delicious as well.
Today was truly a lucky find.
“Brother!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go, there are no more good fruits left.”
“Alright.”
The three returned to the apple tree and began picking apples again. The fruits weren’t particularly large, but they were rich in flavor and tasted wonderful.
They started by picking the best ones, filling half a backpack basket. They didn’t overlook the slightly inferior ones either, gathering more until the backpack basket was just full of apples.
After finishing, they left the apples there and went to check the traps. Neil’s trap had caught a Small Long-toothed Beast, while Lam’s was empty.
Overall, this not entirely focused hunting trip yielded a small backpack basket of pears, a backpack basket of apples, a little less than half a backpack basket of medicinal herbs, a small bag of prickly ash, a Prickly Ash Tree, one Small Long-toothed Beast, and three wild birds.
Lai Yi evenly distributed the fruits, with each person carrying some. After packing up their things, they followed the same path back home.
By the time they emerged from the forest, it was almost noon. Lai Yi’s Prickly Ash Tree was quite conspicuous, attracting many curious glances.
The villagers looked at the trio’s backpack baskets with inquisitive eyes. Lai Yi had placed the pears at the very bottom, so only the medicinal herbs and apples were visible on top.
“Went hunting in the forest?”
“Yeah, we went hunting.”
Lam proudly showed off the wild birds he had caught.
“Impressive.”
A villager gave him a thumbs-up. Lam grinned foolishly, while Lai Yi quietly quickened his pace.
After returning home and setting down their things, Lai Yi poured three cups of cooled boiled water for himself, Lam, and Neil to drink.
Having walked so far and carried back dozens of pounds of items, the three finally felt exhausted as they sat in their chairs.
“So tired!”
Lam exclaimed, sprawling carelessly in his chair. Neil sipped his water quietly, not saying a word, clearly worn out as well.
“If hunting is this tiring, will you still go next time?”
Lai Yi deliberately asked Lam, who immediately perked up.
“Go! I have to go! Bro, please take me with you again next time you go.”
Lai Yi smiled without responding.
After resting for over ten minutes, they finally began to recover somewhat.
Lai Yi gave half of the fruits to Lam to take home later.
Lai Yi originally wanted Lam to take all the wild birds back, but Lam insisted on leaving one for them. He said it was the first wild bird he had ever caught and wanted Neil to try it.
Lai Yi also packed some prickly ash berries for Lam, stuffing them into his leather pouch.
“Bro, Neil, I’m heading off now. I’ll bring the backpack basket back this afternoon.”
“Go on home, no rush. There’s no hurry to return it.”
After seeing Lam off, Lai Yi returned to the living room to find Neil already tidying up.
“Neil, are you tired?”
Lai Yi asked. Neil shook his head.
“I’m not tired when I’m with brother!”
“Silly child. Leave the things there, wash your hands and feet, then go take a nap.”
“But…”
“You may not be tired, but brother is. If you tidy up, brother won’t be able to rest either. Go on!”
“Alright.”
Neil put down the cloth in his hand, let out a small yawn, and quickly covered his mouth.
“Go on.”
“Okay!”
Neil fetched water to wash his face and feet, took off his dirty clothes, and went upstairs to sleep.
Lai Yi placed the Small Long-toothed Beast in a basket and stored it in the small woodshed. He tossed some vegetable leaves into the basket, covered it with a wooden board, and weighed it down with a stone.
He stored the fruits and prickly ash in the utility room.
He would deal with the wild bird later—there was still a deer leg waiting in a basin to be eaten.
The Prickly Ash Tree was in decent condition after the journey, though many leaves had broken off. Lai Yi cast a small light sphere over it and watered it a little, making it look much more vibrant.
Lai Yi planned to dig a hole by the wall and plant it after dinner.
Author’s Note: