The afternoon was spent attending the funeral for the elderly, so they didn't continue their journey. The village provided a pot of thick porridge for the villagers who came to help with the funeral arrangements.
The porridge was rich and fragrant, attracting people to linger and peek from all around.
Gu Qingcheng's family had eaten their fill and were naturally not tempted by the porridge's aroma.
The family of three sat at the edge of a small grove. Hu Lanfang said:
"Doctor Gu, what happened to the old person's death?"
"Starvation, malnutrition, perhaps a sudden death caused by high blood pressure."
Gu Chaobei gave a professional assessment.
"It seems our family must eat heartily and drink well to repair our bodies and store energy. Otherwise, look, how can these small bodies cope with the extreme climate that Qingcheng mentioned?"
Hu Lanfang said worriedly.
Like mothers all over the world, she always felt her children ate too little and were too thin, stubbornly wanting to stuff one last bite into their mouths.
Of course, that last bite was often not the "last bite" she spoke of.
Experienced children knew that when parents fed them and told them it was the last bite, they should never believe it.
As long as you ate the last bite, there would be countless "last bites" to follow.
Gu Qingcheng felt a heaviness in her heart, feeling that the elder's passing had served as a wake-up call.
Although she possessed the cheat of the Mountain Cat Supermarket, if she didn't pay attention and stock up quickly, with the extreme cold climate approaching, their family would also be in peril.
She didn't want her parents to be harmed in any way.
In this ancient world where they had no relatives, her parents were her greatest motivation to live.
Gu Chaobei noticed that Gu Qingcheng was a bit downcast, facing death for the first time, and comforted her:
"Qingcheng, we must be strong. This era is different from the peaceful environment we were accustomed to. We must accept the cruelty of reality.
Fortunately, we can still have basic carbohydrates to ensure we'll be alright. Their original physical condition was not very good, but we will strive to nurse them back to health."
Gu Qingcheng nodded. Having her parents by her side, she didn't feel lonely. It was wonderful.
The village chief, Gu Qingshu, suggested camping there for the night, so everyone didn't continue their journey. They each found their own spot to set up stoves and boil water.
It was only past 3 PM, and there was still some time before sunset.
Gu Chaobei suggested: "Why don't we go into the forest and see if we can hunt some game?"
Gu Chaobei's intention in saying this was also to take Gu Qingcheng out to clear her mind.
When Gu Qingcheng heard about hunting, her eyes indeed lit up.
She was an athlete in the city-level archery association with good results, having participated in the National Youth Archery Championship and won third place. However, she had never practiced in the wild before.
Seeing her husband and daughter so enthusiastic, Hu Lanfang felt as if they were going out for a family outing and didn't object. She excitedly followed them into the nearby woods.
Old Man Gu also saw his younger son's family entering the woods. He didn't say anything, but a faint hope stirred in his heart.
This was because his younger son was a skilled hunter. In their hometown, he often set traps and snares for wild animals, and they were usually successful.
However, during their flight from famine, no one had enough to eat, and the family could barely walk. Gu Chaobei hadn't hunted since then.
Gu Qingcheng entered the Tianmao Supermarket and went straight to the sports goods section on the fifth floor.
Indeed, there were competition bows and arrows for sale.
Gu Qingcheng chose a 30-pound bow within her capabilities, which had an accurate range of 18 meters.
It couldn't be helped. Although she had the black chocolate to enhance her strength, her original body was too weak. Her strength was roughly equivalent to that of an adult man, while her father's strength had been enhanced to be equivalent to three adult men. However, her father didn't know how to shoot arrows, so she had to do it herself.
She chose a traditional recurve bow to fit the era; otherwise, a crossbow would have been more convenient.
She currently had fourteen "Shuang Dian" (爽点), totaling 392 yuan.
This kind of bow wasn't expensive. A 30-pound bow cost 220 yuan, and arrows were even cheaper, costing only 1.9 yuan each. She paid for the bow and used the remaining money to buy 90 arrows. The total expenditure was 391 yuan. The remaining "Shuang Dian" were worth about 1 yuan.
Gu Qingcheng silently kept account of her spending.
At this moment, the system suddenly spoke: "Host, you can click on the accounting system in the lower right corner. Your income and expenses are all detailed."
This was a proactive prompt from the cheat.
Gu Qingcheng appreciated the favor and clicked on the lower right corner. As expected, a light screen popped up, showing, as the system said, the "Shuang Dian" she had earned, spent, and the surplus, all clearly listed.
Alright, this was an honest system.
Gu Qingcheng felt reassured.
Gu Chaobei and his wife saw that their daughter suddenly had a bow and arrows in her hand, and they knew she had exchanged them with "Shuang Dian," so they didn't find it strange.
Gu Chaobei's original self was a skilled hunter, but he didn't know how to shoot arrows because those tools were expensive and he couldn't afford them. Therefore, he usually hunted by setting traps and digging pitfalls.
This time was no exception. As soon as Gu Chaobei entered the woods, he made many nooses and snares woven from green vines, hoping to catch something.
The small woods were still rich in wild game, and their numbers hadn't decreased due to the famine.
This was understandable. Wild animals lived in the forest, eating grass and being eaten. Their food chain was different from that of humans.
Therefore, the difficulties in human life had no impact on them.
Moreover, ancient people had few effective hunting tools, and the number of hunters was also small, so the wild animal resources were still abundant.
Not long after entering the small woods, Gu Qingcheng saw a flock of pheasants run past. She quickly grabbed her bow and chased after them.
Gu Qingcheng's archery skills were quite good. She drew the bowstring, and an arrow shot out, accurately hitting a running pheasant.
"Dad, Mom, I hit it!"
Gu Qingcheng jumped up with joy, not noticing that the system reported she had gained five "Shuang Dian," sourced from: excitement from hunting.
Gu Chaobei and Hu Lanfang couldn't help but high-five each other, praising their daughter!
"Qingcheng, you're amazing! We have meat to eat!"
Gu Chaobei picked up the pheasant and pulled the arrow out for Gu Qingcheng, saying:
"Use it sparingly."
Seeing his daughter's successful first attempt, Gu Chaobei's hands itched too. He broke off an arm-thick branch, sharpened one end with a stone, and continued to chase the fleeing pheasants.
Gu Chaobei, having worked out regularly for years, maintained a pace of just over 4 minutes per kilometer. Coupled with the black chocolate that increased his strength, he caught up with the pheasants and hit another one with his first strike, reaping abundant spoils.
"Alright, let's not go any deeper. Let's check the snares we set earlier to see if there's any other gain."
Hu Lanfang was more cautious.
The environment here was unfamiliar, and if there were any fierce beasts, their equipment was too rudimentary to resist them.
Gu Chaobei was not a greedy person and was content with what they had. The three of them then walked towards the forest exit.
Returning along the same path, they were very lucky. Gu Chaobei's snares had caught a plump wild rabbit.