Reborn in 1977, starting with severing ties with family.

When Jiang Sen arrived, the first breakfast he made for everyone was still wild vegetable buns.

Everyone was used to it. Each person ate two, took two with them, filled their water bottles with hot water, went to Da Liu's place to get their tools, and set off.

Sui Zhongliang lingered a moment longer and said to Jiang Sen, "You don't need to do too much work today. You didn't sleep well last night either, so catch up on your sleep later. Just make sure you finish by 10 p.m.!"

"I understand!" Jiang Sen replied, watching Sui Zhongliang leave with his hunting rifle on his back.

He was the only one left there.

Jiang Sen didn't feel sleepy even though he hadn't slept all night.

I glanced at the woodpile and saw that I had enough, so I found a basket and headed into the mountains.

Following the vague impressions in his memory, Jiang Sen walked for more than an hour before finally smiling.

This forest is not only full of mushrooms, but also a lot of wild vegetables, and most importantly, there are many squirrels.

The squirrel burrow is filled with nuts for the winter.

This was a place Jiang Sen found by chance in his previous life when he wanted to send mountain produce home.

There is also a spring that flows down from the mountain.

Having found the spring, Jiang Sen put down his basket, washed his face, and looked up to see several squirrels going up and down a tree.

The tree was very tall, and the squirrel hole was located about two meters above the ground where a thick branch forked.

Climbing trees was no problem for Jiang Sen; his canvas shoes were worn down to the soles, but that didn't affect his ability to climb trees.

He slung his basket over his shoulder, got up, and walked toward the big tree.

Winter came early this year, and animals are particularly sensitive to the weather, so there should be plenty of good stuff around now.

He spat into his palm, hugged the tree trunk, and climbed up in no time by alternating his feet.

Startled, the two squirrels quickly jumped to a nearby tree, watching Jiang Sen from a distance.

Jiang Sen straddled the tree trunk and reached into the tree hole.

One handful, one handful, and another.

Hazelnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, and walnuts were thus placed into Jiang Sen's basket.

When his shoulder got stuck in the tree hole and he couldn't reach any further, Jiang Sen felt it was enough, so he climbed down from the tree and went to find another one.

He couldn't just ransack the squirrel's house; they have it tough too.

Within a few hours, the basket was more than half full.

Jiang Sen weighed the basket, then walked back on his back. After crossing the spring, a few steps uphill, there were several large, fallen trees, and patches of hazel mushrooms.

With his basket full, Jiang Sen ate a vegetable bun with spring water and nodded, saying it still tasted the same.

Back at the camp, it was already past one in the afternoon. Jiang Sen spread the mushrooms out on the ground to dry, but didn't touch the nuts. He went back to his tent and had a nice nap.

When he woke up, it was already dark, so he quickly got up to make dinner.

He estimated it was around 8 p.m., but he didn't expect to sleep for so long.

With no one to disturb him, the mountains were quiet and the temperature was cool. After so many tiring days, it was already difficult for an ordinary person to get up at 8 o'clock.

First, I added water to the pot and started boiling it. By the light of the fire in the stove, I took out some flour, added chopped wild vegetables, and steamed a large pot of steamed buns.

Then he started peeling nuts.

Instead of peeling and cracking open each snack as he did in his previous life, he found a wooden cutting board.

He picked up a handful of nuts, placed them on top, and smashed them forcefully with a thin skewer that had been trimmed of thorns.

He cracked all the nuts, removed the skins, put the kernels into a bowl, and then crushed them.

He then picked a handful of fresh wild vegetables from the side and chopped them up.

After the steamed buns are cooked, they are taken out along with the steamer rack and placed aside. The water in the pot is scooped out and put into a large basin, which can be used for people to wash their hands and faces when they return.

After adding water back into the pot, I put the wild vegetables in and scooped out a spoonful of the oil that I had skimmed off when I cooked the roe deer yesterday.

Once the pot boiled, I sprinkled in the wild vegetables and added a handful of salt.

Jiang Sen's signature wild vegetable and nut soup, freshly made.

Nuts contain starch and sugar, and when cooked, they have a unique sweet flavor.

Even Jiang Sen, who had tasted saltiness before, couldn't resist drinking a bowl first.

Fragrant!

He couldn't help but think that even culinary disasters need to be prepared by the right people.

I'm simply a genius.

He put the steamer basket back in the pot, keeping the steamed buns warm, and then laid out the remaining nuts and mushrooms to dry.

I'll collect it before going to bed, and then continue drying it in the morning.

Squirrels, these little animals, store only the largest and best nuts; not a single one is bad.

This made Sui Zhongliang, who was able to eat a hot meal after returning home, smile from ear to ear.

"Why didn't we think of this before?" Da Liu exclaimed. "Ask anyone here, who doesn't know that squirrels hide these things? Who would want to go and raid a squirrel's hole?"

Looking at Jiang Sen, Da Shanzi also felt that Jiang Sen was both smart and capable.

I barely slept on the first day and still managed to get everyone to have breakfast. It made the work much easier than before.

Now that I can come back and have a hot meal, life doesn't seem so hard to bear anymore.

But when they finished eating and were about to change their clothes, they all looked miserable.

After picking and choosing, smelling them, and finding those that weren't too dirty, I wore them again.

Several educated youths took basins and scooped water to wash their clothes.

To call it washing is just to dip it in water, wring it out, shake it, and then hang it on a tree branch to keep wild animals away. That's considered washing it.

They couldn't even bear to use soap, because they had to spend money and coupons to buy it.

We still have to go to the farm headquarters, which is very far away.

We've saved money wherever we can.

"Are you getting used to it?" Sui Zhongliang asked Jiang Sen.

Jiang Sen nodded. "It's alright."

"The water tank is empty!" It was Liao Zhongyi again. "Remember to fetch water tomorrow."

After saying that, he went back to his tent without looking back.

Jiang Sen remained silent, while Sui Zhongliang and Da Liu both frowned. Liao Zhongyi was the one who complained the most, but he hadn't made any major mistakes; he was just not likable.

No one suggested that if Jiang Sen was tired, he shouldn't have to carry more water.

Because everyone needs to use water every day.

In the past, we would take turns resting for a day, and the work of carrying water and chopping wood was no easier than working a full day.

Now that someone has finally taken care of the job, no one will mention the shift work anymore.

The next morning, Jiang Sen steamed buns with crushed nuts and cornmeal, which had a slightly sweet taste.

I cooked another pot of wild vegetable porridge, and everyone ate it and took some with them.

After everyone set off, as Sui Zhongliang was about to leave after giving a few more instructions, Jiang Sen asked, "Squad leader, could you bring back some firewood tonight?"

"Is it not enough?" Sui Zhongliang went to the back of the woodpile and saw that there was still plenty left.

Jiang Sen said, "I noticed that the temperature dropped sharply a few days ago, but it suddenly warmed up again this morning. I was worried about snow, so I stocked up on firewood in advance, just in case we don't have enough later."

"okay, I get it!"

After Sui Zhongliang left, Jiang Sen took out a carrying pole and a water bucket, and set off with a basket on his back.

He knew that his current body couldn't carry water for more than one trip, so he simply carried only half a bucket of water each time, and could still carry a basket of wild vegetables and mushrooms.

By the time he filled the water tank, it was already past four in the afternoon.

There's no way I can catch up on sleep today, so I'll just sit down and sort through the wild vegetables and mushrooms.

On his last trip to fetch water, he was lucky enough to find a hen's nest that had just finished laying its eggs.

He took all the wild eggs without any hesitation.

If he had something handy, he might have been able to bring back both pheasants.

He boiled four of the ten wild eggs and ate them himself. He then broke the rest, mixed them with wild vegetables, made an egg pancake, cut it into small pieces with a spatula, and gave each of the educated youth a piece when they returned.

I don't care about being full, I just want to satisfy my cravings.

I made cornmeal, mushroom, and wild vegetable porridge for dinner. I cut the leftover steamed buns into pieces, which should be enough for everyone.

Sure enough, after everyone returned and tasted that wild egg, they were all completely impressed by Jiang Sen.

Although each person only received a bite or two of the wild eggs, everyone ate them in small bites, chewing them carefully, treating them as a dish and finishing the whole meal.