Even though they didn’t have fishing rods yet—and the fishing line and hooks hadn’t been moved over either—fish weren’t something that could only be caught with a rod. There were plenty of ways to catch fish. Coincidentally, Tang Jiao happened to know a few of them.
All those farming and survival books and videos she’d read and watched hadn’t been for nothing. Even though she’d never tried any of it in practice, at least she knew the basic methods—and that was enough to give it a shot.
So they hurriedly finished washing the wild vegetables and filling their water containers, then headed back. Tang Jiao had originally wanted to check whether there were more wild vegetables along the riverbank, but she was too eager to get back and prepare the fishing equipment, so she completely lost interest in foraging.
The method Tang Jiao planned to use was a fish trap. First, it didn’t require entering the water—which was still freezing in this weather. Second, the materials for making traps were easy to find anywhere: vines and flexible branches would do. On the way, Tang Jiao had spotted a plant similar to what people back home called jing branches—the same “jing” from the phrase “bearing thorns to apologize.” The older villagers there used those branches to weave baskets.
On the way back, they cut down plenty of jing branches. Worried about mistakes and wasted materials, they deliberately collected extra. Tang Jiao also found a patch of wild chrysanthemums and some bright red berries that looked like tiny chili peppers—goji berries. She snapped off quite a few branches of both. Once dried, wild chrysanthemums and goji berries could be used to make herbal tea.
When they got back, no one was particularly hungry yet, so everyone got busy with their own tasks.
Gu Yu sorted through the branches and started trying to weave a fish trap. After giving him some instructions, Tang Jiao went off to start a fire and blanch the wild vegetables so they could be dried for storage.
Yes—Tang Jiao was the one guiding Gu Yu.
She had watched plenty of tutorials, but her hands simply weren’t cooperative. Gu Yu, on the other hand, had seen elderly villagers weaving baskets and crates when he was young. His hands-on skills and natural talent completely outclassed Tang Jiao’s. After listening to her description and experimenting a bit, he quickly got the hang of it.
If you understood the basic weaving principles, making a fish trap was actually quite simple—excluding people like Tang Jiao, whose hands refused to listen.
The trap itself was straightforward: first weave a large basket, narrowing the opening slightly at the top. Then weave a smaller, funnel-shaped basket with openings at both ends. The wider opening matched the diameter of the large basket’s mouth, while the narrow end was smaller so fish could swim in but have trouble getting out. Fix the funnel into the mouth of the large basket, and the fish trap was complete.
By the time Tang Jiao had laid the blanched wild vegetables out on a large stone in the open area below the cave to dry, Gu Yu had already finished more than half of a trap—and it looked pretty good. Even An’an was beside him, weaving with thin twigs in a surprisingly convincing manner. Talent really did matter; Tang Jiao could only watch in admiration.
Before long, Gu Yu finished the first trap. He tested its sturdiness and the size of the opening—everything seemed just right—then immediately started on a second one. This one was smaller. He planned to make another larger one as well. There seemed to be plenty of fish in the river, and if they caught enough, they could preserve them for winter.
Meanwhile, Tang Jiao looked at the wide open space beneath the cave and decided to clear out the weeds. Later, they could use whatever materials were available to fence it in and create a small yard.
Right now, doing anything in a weed-filled clearing felt unsafe and unsettling. Having a yard would make things feel much more secure. Tasks like weaving, cooking, or starting a fire wouldn’t have to be done inside the cave anymore—they could do them in the yard instead. No more climbing up and down, and the lighting would be much better too.
She got to work immediately. Pulling on gloves and grabbing a shovel, she yanked out whatever weeds she could by hand and dug up the tougher ones with the shovel.
The more Tang Jiao pulled, the happier she became. It was incredibly stress-relieving. The soil was loose since no one ever walked there, so most of the weeds came out easily. Before she knew it, she was completely absorbed—so much so that she almost forgot everything else.
By the time Gu Yu finished weaving the traps and came down, she had already cleared a sizable patch. She was enjoying it so much that she nearly didn’t want to stop and go set the traps with him.
Eventually, they returned to the river once again. Gu Yu found suitable spots and placed both fish traps into the water.
The fish traps were secured to large rocks on the riverbank with long ropes twisted from vines, so they wouldn’t be swept away by the current. As for bait, Tang Jiao used earthworms she’d dug up while pulling weeds earlier. Gu Yu collected plenty of them and fixed them inside the traps with thin twigs. After that, all that was left to do was wait—they would come back to check in the evening.
Along the river, Tang Jiao discovered several clumps of wild scallions. Perhaps because they grew close to the water, most of them were plump and vigorous. She carefully dug up the fattest ones, roots and all, deliberately keeping a lot of soil attached. Wrapping them in large leaves, she planned to take them back to the cave and see if they could be replanted. If they survived, they’d have fresh scallions whenever they wanted.
They continued exploring and soon found even more tender, thick-leaved wild vegetables—shepherd’s purse, dandelion, and others. In a shallow stretch of water, they even came across a large patch of wild celery.
By the time they returned to the cave, loaded with their harvest, it was nearly noon. Using the blanching water from earlier, Tang Jiao blanched part of the freshly washed vegetables and laid them out to dry, saving the rest for lunch.
Since they still hadn’t brought back the wok, lunch was simple: reheated steamed buns, salted duck eggs, and a pot of hand-pulled noodles.
The noodles were loaded with greens. A splash of soy sauce, a sprinkle of chopped wild scallions just before serving, and a drizzle of sesame oil sent a rich aroma wafting into the air. An’an squatted by the pot, refusing to move, drooling openly.
Maybe it was the exercise, or maybe the vegetables were just that fresh, but even such plain boiled noodles were devoured with enthusiasm. Even An’an, who usually didn’t like noodles, ate a surprisingly large portion.
After the meal, Gu Yu went down to the river to wash the pot and fetch water. They didn’t have bowls—those were in the kitchen, and the kitchen hadn’t come with them. The instant noodles the night before had been eaten straight from the pot. Their chopsticks were freshly carved from tree branches. Very rustic, very outdoorsy.
Tang Jiao had An’an play with the two little animals while she separated the wild chrysanthemum flowers and goji berries she’d collected earlier.
She loved wild chrysanthemums deeply. Their small yellow blooms were modest and unassuming, yet endlessly pleasing to look at. Most of all, she adored their scent—fresh, with a faint bitterness. It was intoxicating to her.
Every autumn, they used to go into the mountains to gather wild chrysanthemums. Tang Jiao always wanted to bury her face in the flowers, breathing in their fragrance over and over again, never getting enough.
She made up her mind: later, she would dig up a wild chrysanthemum plant and try transplanting it beneath the cave to see if it would survive.
That thought reminded her of the wild scallions she’d dug up—they still hadn’t been planted. Realizing this, she sped up her work, planning to plant them as soon as she finished processing the chrysanthemums and goji berries.
Before she was done, Gu Yu returned. Hearing her mention of planting scallions, he took An’an and cleared out a suitable area below the cave. They pulled up weeds and small shrubs, loosened the soil, and then carefully planted the scallions.
By the time Tang Jiao finished sorting the flowers and berries, Gu Yu had finished planting. The three of them then went out together to gather more chrysanthemum and goji branches, and even dug up a small wild chrysanthemum plant to transplant.
They chose to snap branches rather than pick flowers on the spot because both chrysanthemums and goji berries took time to process. Working inside the cave was safer, and cutting branches didn’t harm the plants—in fact, it would help them grow better the following year.
The entire afternoon slipped by quietly, filled with Tang Jiao picking and picking, Gu Yu pulling and pulling, and An’an switching happily between the two…
By the time Tang Jiao finished sorting the herbs, Gu Yu had cleared a large open space. He even laid a simple stone path through the middle so they wouldn’t have to deal with mud when it rained.
By then, evening was approaching. Tang Jiao didn’t dare let Gu Yu stay outside after dark, so she urged him to go check the fish traps and see whether they’d had any luck.