Everyone had left, and the Yu family’s small courtyard returned to its usual silence.
Yu Yue and Chen Zhao went inside to continue their study of chemistry.
Zhou Yuesheng turned his head and found Yu Zhile staring at him intently, causing his breath to hitch slightly.
“Are your factory-set physical specs really meant to be a soldier? You can certainly fight,” Yu Zhile said, reaching out directly to pinch the muscles on his arm.
They were hard—the texture was quite impressive.
Yu Zhile’s grip wasn’t heavy; the sensation was like a feather brushing against skin, causing Zhou Yuesheng to involuntarily tense his body. He didn’t fully understand her words, but he was well-versed in the principle that saying more leads to more mistakes, so he remained silent.
Yu Zhile didn’t expect him to answer. She stopped after a few pinches and walked quickly to pick up the kitchen knife embedded in the mud.
“It hit a stone and went dull,” she sighed. An iron pot was still nowhere in sight, so she couldn’t afford for anything to happen to her knife. She wondered if the platform mall sold iron pots; since they had rice, they likely had pots as well.
Yu Zhile sat on a small bamboo chair, staring at the mud snails. Her mind went blank as various thoughts swirled around.
Zhou Yuesheng looked down. From his angle, he could only see her slightly trembling eyelashes. Due to his profession, he had met all kinds of people, but Yu Zhile was the first person he completely failed to see through. She would tenderly hold Yu Chi in her arms, feel proud of her skillful shrimp-peeling techniques, and throw a kitchen knife without blinking—yet a few minutes later, she would feel regret over the knife becoming dull.
She was a natural candidate for a secret agent.
Zhou Yuesheng clicked his tongue softly, his fingertips lightly brushing the air.
The mud snails had been soaked in concentrated salt water overnight, secreting a large amount of mucus. Zhou Yuesheng used a bamboo slotted spoon to scoop them out for cleaning; the water for pickling the snails had to be prepared by Yu Zhile.
Yu Zhile added cinnamon, ginger slices, and yellow wine into a clay pot, boiling it into a brine. After it cooled, she poured it into a small jar containing the snails, sealing it. They would be ready to eat in a month.
Zhou Yuesheng carried the jar into the kitchen. He noticed Yu Zhile staring at the empty wall behind the stove and began to pay attention as well.
Unexpectedly, after a moment, Yu Zhile asked, “Do you know carpentry?”
“Yes,” Zhou Yuesheng replied after a few seconds of hesitation, giving an affirmative answer. He had never done carpentry work, but he couldn’t let go of any opportunity to explore the secrets behind Yu Zhile.
He could win a brawl, do woodwork, and was handsome to boot.
Yu Zhile said no more, only nodding in satisfaction before turning to prepare for tomorrow’s mountain foraging livestream.
Later that evening, a light rain fell, adding a fresh scent of earth to the air.
The next day, Yu Zhile woke up early. She started a pot of multi-grain porridge and began cleaning vegetables. The purslane had been brought over by Chen Zhao the previous evening; it was a bit wilted but still perfectly edible.
Zhou Yuesheng heard the noise in the kitchen and got up immediately. Amidst the clouds of steam, Yu Zhile heard him and turned her face, smiling as she wished him a good morning.
The hazy smile made Zhou Yuesheng’s heart skip a beat, but his rationality quickly returned, accompanied by a scrutinizing gaze.
The earthen pot, which had been heating over the fire for half an hour, reached an incredible temperature. Yu Zhile reached out to test it and immediately pinched her earlobe from the heat.
“Let me,” Zhou Yuesheng said, dutifully playing his role as her companion.
Yu Zhile set up another pot, boiling a pot of water. She added a few drops of oil and a pinch of salt before putting the purslane in to blanch. After about thirty seconds, she scooped it out, rinsed it in cold water, squeezed out the excess moisture, and finally added minced garlic, chili, salt, and soy sauce.
“Try some?” Yu Zhile held a pair of chopsticks to Zhou Yuesheng’s lips, her eyes curving with a smile.
The purslane was crisp and refreshing, its natural slight sourness complementing the seasoning perfectly, making it spicy and appetizing. Zhou Yuesheng stared at the stray hairs near Yu Zhile’s temples for a long time before suddenly snapping back to reality and shifting his gaze away.
As the two prepared to head out, Yu Yue and Yu Chi woke up. Now, Yu Chi was very attached to Yu Zhile; every day when he woke up, the first thing he did was ask her for a hug.
“Be good at home, Sister will be back soon.” Yu Zhile bent over to hug him and noticed a red string hanging around his neck. She pulled it out to look; the string held an exquisite conch pendant. It didn’t look like anything special, so she didn’t take it to heart.
Zhou Yuesheng, however, took note of this sudden appearance of the pendant.
The Yu house was very close to the mountain. After a short walk, Yu Zhile and Zhou Yuesheng reached the back slope. The rain from yesterday had caused mushrooms to sprout; clusters of red and yellow mushrooms were exceptionally eye-catching, and the air was filled with their scent.
Yu Zhile had started her livestream as soon as they left the house. At this moment, the comments in the livestream room were flying by in a dense fog, layer upon layer, making it hard to read the content.
[I have an urge to turn my fish tank into a botanical garden.]
[The host’s planet has such rich resources, I’m envious.]
“Fish Tank Master” appeared in the room on time. User “xxxx” had already dropped over a hundred “Cloud Seas,” triggering a specific welcome theme.
[xxxx: Can it be eaten?]
“Host, popularity has reached 100,000. You can now enable synesthesia,” Xiao Yun appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Her words triggered another small climax in the livestream. Viewers began sending gifts and calling for Yu Zhile to activate the synesthesia function. Only then did Yu Zhile realize that after her last stream, the popularity had surged due to the “Small Shop” proposal, far exceeding 200,000.
Activating synesthesia required some time, and the process would block all sound. The audience was well aware of the drawbacks of upgrading functions during a stream, but they all expressed that they didn’t care; they were satisfied just watching the visuals.
Thus, Yu Zhile fixed the panoramic view, clicked the confirmation button, and entered foraging mode.
“What is it?” She felt a strong gaze and turned her face to look at Zhou Yuesheng.
Zhou Yuesheng shook his head, though he was wondering if Yu Zhile’s momentary daze just now was more than just an ordinary lapse in attention.
“Then let’s start picking mushrooms and wild vegetables!” Yu Zhile said with high energy.
Zhou Yuesheng suppressed his inquisitive thoughts and shifted his attention to the plants. He had extensive experience in the wilderness and recognized many mushrooms, specifically choosing the tasty ones to pick. Yu Zhile didn’t notice anything wrong with him. She focused on gathering wild greens, taking shepherd’s purse, wild onions, and ferns into her basket.
The two picked and moved, and ten minutes passed quickly.
“Host, the synesthesia upgrade is complete. You may enable it,” Xiao Yun reminded her.
Yu Zhile nodded and let Xiao Yun handle the operation. Within a second, the scent of earth mixed with vegetation and wild mushrooms reached every viewer.
[!!!!!!]
[Is this the ‘scent of grass and wood’ recorded in ancient texts? I love it!]
[The host must be so happy living in this environment every day.]
[Ahhh! My fish needs this air too!]
Less than a minute after enabling synesthesia, the number of comments shot up, the room’s popularity climbed steadily, and gift effects flew everywhere.
“Preparing to head deeper into the mountain; there’s more there,” Yu Zhile said suddenly.
Zhou Yuesheng straightened up. He had also gathered nearly half a basket of mushrooms.
“This is a Chinese toon tree. The tender sprouts can be stir-fried with eggs or mixed with tofu,” Yu Zhile pointed ahead. “However, its smell is quite unique; not everyone likes it.”
Several trees, over ten meters tall, stood on the mountainside. Beneath them was a patch of smaller trees, their red sprouts shining brightly against the blue sky. Yu Zhile approached and reached up to pluck one. With a crisp snap, a rich aroma filled the air.
The feedback in the comments was polarized—some praised it, while others posted strings of question marks. Zhou Yuesheng didn’t know why she was suddenly introducing plants, but his intuition told him she wasn’t talking to him; she was likely transmitting a message.
After picking only a small handful of toon sprouts, the two continued forward. Passing through a patch of weeds, the curled tops of Blechnum ferns poked out from the gaps like little whirlpools. Yu Zhile pinched one off, held it in the center of the camera’s view, and said, “This is the Blechnum fern. It has high nutritional value and can be dried, stir-fried with meat, or used in hot pot, but it must be pre-treated before eating.”
Zhou Yuesheng ducked into the weeds to pick ferns, noting down every word Yu Zhile said. He suspected that her contact person was nearby and split his attention to monitor the surroundings.
In the thickets, Yu Zhile spotted a familiar plant with bright red berries hanging from the stems. “Raspberries—a type of wild fruit. They taste sweet and sour and can be used to infuse wine.” As she spoke, she plucked several large leaves from nearby to use as a container for the berries.
Further ahead was a bamboo forest, common on the mountains of Hai County. Along the way up the mountain, the viewers in the livestream had been shocked beyond measure by the various plants. When a breeze blew through and the bamboo leaves rustled, the unique fragrance of the bamboo forest surprised everyone once again.
[Nature is so wonderful.]
[Once the Small Shop feature is online, will the host sell plants? I want to buy them.]
As soon as “Fish Tank Master” asked the question, the center of the discussion shifted. “xxxx” remained true to his original intent, his glowing golden dialogue box framing one sentence: [Can it be eaten?]
“Mature bamboo cannot be eaten; it’s generally used to make bamboo products, like the basket I’m carrying. However, the young shoots can be used for cooking.” Yu Zhile brushed away the soil, revealing brownish-red bamboo skin. She gave a firm tug, and the sound of the skin peeling away was melodious.
The bamboo forest wasn’t large, but there were many spring bamboo shoots. Most of those Yu Zhile picked were tender; she only broke off a few that had grown several dozen centimeters out of the ground.
“There are many ways to eat spring shoots—stir-frying, braising, boiling, or stewing. They go well with both meat and vegetables. The parts at the base that are tougher can be used for soup or pickled into sour shoots,” she explained while holding two shoots of different sizes.
Along the way, Zhou Yuesheng found no trace of anyone else.
“Beachcombing? The next few days are neap tides, not suitable for beachcombing,” Yu Zhile replied to a question in the comments.
Zhou Yuesheng immediately decided to create an environment for Yu Zhile to meet her contact.
“I’ll head a bit deeper to see if I can catch some wild game,” Zhou Yuesheng said.
Yu Zhile’s brow furrowed slightly. “The deep woods are dangerous.”
“You know my identity,” Zhou Yuesheng reminded her.
Yu Zhile weighed it over and agreed to his proposal, telling him to be safe before they separated. Zhou Yuesheng walked quickly toward the deep forest, but he didn’t go far. He set up a few simple traps nearby and hid in the shadows to observe Yu Zhile’s every move.
“These are wild strawberries; they taste pretty good.” Yu Zhile squatted down so the first-person perspective could clearly record the details of the plant. After picking the strawberries, she looked around and found several wild lemon trees, which was a pleasant surprise.
The lemon trees were hung with yellow fruits. She scratched the skin of a lemon with her fingernails. A slightly sour, astringent scent burst out, bringing a refreshing sensation that the viewers loved.
“This is a lemon. It can be used as a seasoning or made into jam. Its flesh is very sour,” Yu Zhile said with joy in her tone. “In a few days when we can go beachcombing again, I’ll use it to make chilled seafood in lemon sauce.”
Afterward, she discovered a loquat tree, its branches laden with golden, plump fruits that emitted a faint fragrance. Half an hour had passed since Zhou Yuesheng left. She was a bit distracted, looking toward the deep forest several times.
“There will be cooking livestreams in the future, everyone is welcome to watch.” Yu Zhile found a place to sit. She didn’t close the stream but switched to the panoramic view.
Zhou Yuesheng observed her for a few more minutes and found that, aside from talking to herself, she had no strange behaviors, and there was no trace of anyone else around. He turned to check his traps; two wild chickens were suspended in mid-air, flapping their wings but unable to break free.
When Yu Zhile saw Zhou Yuesheng wading through the grass carrying the wild chickens, her eyes sparkled. She said, “Zhou Yuesheng, you’re amazing.”
“Mhm.” Seeing that her back basket was nearly overflowing, Zhou Yuesheng took it, made some space, and concealed the wild chickens with wild vegetables.