Even in a famine, there's no panic; the eldest sister has stockpiled plenty of money and grain.

Jiang Bai's face turned pale; she was most afraid of these slippery, cartilaginous creatures.

Despite her fear, she moved swiftly, almost instinctively, grabbing the menacing snake's head as it lunged at her. The snake's body coiled around her wrist; it was about two fingers thick, shiny black, and she didn't know what kind it was, but there was no doubt it was venomous.

"Da Ya, what's wrong?"

Jiang Erlai picked a handful of wild vegetables and looked at Jiang Bai with a puzzled expression.

She instinctively put her hands behind her back, turned to look at him, and shook her head with a smile, saying, "It's nothing, a mouse just ran by and gave me a fright."

"A mouse? Where is it?"

Jiang Erlai's eyes lit up. Rats were a good thing; he could catch some and take them home for his mother to enjoy.

"It went that way." Jiang Bai pointed in the direction outside the mountain, and with a slight squeeze of his fingers, he crushed the snake's head to pieces without changing his expression. The snake's body, which was coiled around her, gradually lost its strength and drooped down little by little.

"Okay, I'll go and pick some wild vegetables for you."

How persistent was he in helping her pick wild vegetables?

Jiang Bai remained silent.

"Secondly."

"Weren't you going up the mountain to get rid of the snare? What are you doing here?" Suddenly, a woman walked in from outside the mountain.

He was about thirty years old, with an unfriendly expression and a cold face. He glanced at Jiang Bai's half-basket of wild vegetables, then looked sternly at Jiang Erlai.

"Mother? You...you've come."

Jiang Erlai felt a pang of guilt and stepped in front of Jiang Bai, as if afraid that his mother might do something to Jiang Bai.

"Hurry up and go! Are you going to wait until all the prey in the trap has escaped before you go?"

After saying that, she didn't wait for Jiang Er's reply and turned to leave again.

"Sorry, Daya, I have to go check on the traps now. I'll help you pick wild vegetables another day."

Jiang Erlai put the handful of wild vegetables in his basket and ran towards the mountains.

Strange.

So weird.

Jiang Bai watched the direction Aunt Qiu left in, his eyes narrowing little by little.

When she saw Jiang Erlai picking wild vegetables, she didn't scold her for seducing her son, which was completely different from her behavior on the day the engagement was called off.

Moreover, she had a feeling that she hadn't just arrived; she must have been here for a while.

Jiang Bai's gaze swept over the half-filled basket of wild vegetables, and he wondered in surprise. Could it be that she deliberately had Jiang Er help her pick wild vegetables?

But the reason?

Surely it can't be that they feel guilty because they broke off the engagement?

The memories in his mind swirled a few times. Looking back, Aunt Qiu was truly a wonderful person before Jiang Bai's father had his accident. She got along well with Jiang Bai's mother, and the two families helped each other out when they were engaged.

She was also very good to Jiang Bai. Whenever the family hunted something good, she would have Jiang Er bring a portion to Jiang Bai.

However, it seems that neither Jiang Erlai nor Aunt Qiu came to help after her father died, which is very illogical.

Jiang Bai's expression suddenly turned serious. Because of the matter of Song Shi being sold, she already suspected that there was something wrong with Jiang Anliang's death. And all the signs indicated that Aunt Qiu seemed to have changed her attitude since Jiang Anliang died. Could it be that she knew something?

She kept this in mind, thinking she should find an opportunity to ask about it.

She brought her hand, which had been hidden behind her back, to the front. The black snake was dead beyond any doubt, its brains sticky and smeared all over her hand.

It's a pity, we can't eat it while in mourning.

She felt regretful and was about to throw it away when she suddenly remembered something and kept the long worm, hiding it at the very bottom of the wild vegetables.

Jiang Bai, carrying a basket on his back, chose a different path from Jiang Er's and continued walking inside.

This time, she carried a wooden stick and chased away the long snakes hiding in the grass along the way.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few snakes in these mountains. Probably because of the hot weather, they are all hanging on the trees, some of them quite large and spiky, which is really scary.

Many of them are poisonous.

I'll ask around when I go to the county sometime and see if any pharmacies want to buy these things. I might be able to make a fortune.

Once inside the mountains, the chirping of cicadas filled the air, occasionally accompanied by bird calls.

Jiang Bai didn't linger at the foot of the mountain, but ventured deeper inside.

After exploring one area, they changed directions and continued exploring.

Every now and then he would squat on the ground and use a wooden stick to dig up some soil to check its moisture level.

Rather than saying she went into the mountains to hunt, it would be more accurate to say her main purpose was to find a water source.

Because her goals were different, her direction was also different. There was no path on the ground anymore, so she had to tread out a path herself.

Just as Jiang Bai squatted down to check the soil moisture, he was about to stand up when a series of heavy footsteps suddenly came from behind him, accompanied by an angry groan and a foul stench, rushing towards him.

Jiang Bai lunged forward and rolled away on the spot.

Before he could get up, the thing rammed into him again.

She dodged repeatedly until the creature's momentum slowed down, at which point she could finally see what it looked like.

It was a strong wild boar, its tusks gleaming coldly, its shrewd eyes fixed on its prey, and it charged at Jiang Bai again without hesitation.

"Hey... I didn't bother you, but you still came to mess with me?"

Jiang Bai let out a strange laugh, because several more wild boars rushed out from behind this one and all came at her.

One, two, three, four... a total of four heads.

The stick in her hand was not very effective against these wild boars. The wild boars had thick skin and tough flesh, and a single blow from the stick wouldn't even break the skin.

She simply threw away the stick and put the basket aside. When the wild boar charged close, she grabbed its tusk with one hand. The huge impact sent her back about ten steps before she could grab the other tusk. With a burst of strength, she lifted the boar up and slammed it down on several other wild boars that were charging at her.

Without pausing, he straddled one of the wild boars and punched it on the head.

"Click"

With a crisp sound, Jiang Bai's punch cracked the wild boar's skull.

"Come again."

Jiang Bai gave a low shout, her fists showing no mercy as she chased after the animals, her speed and strength both impressive.

Even if the wild boar wanted to run, it couldn't escape.

Before long, the four wild boars collapsed, still breathing heavily, but barely able to take another breath.

The surrounding trees are tall and the weeds are dense; we are already deep in Pingshan.

Four wild boars in total, it won't be easy to get them out.

Even if we do manage to get it out, we can't let the villagers see it.

After all, you can even carry wild boars, so carrying your grandpa and the others up the mountain would be a piece of cake.

If this were to happen, there would be no way to explain it, after all, she is a delicate young woman.

If she hadn't felt anything about the snake before, seeing these wild boars now truly broke her heart.

If she hadn't been observing mourning, she would have had a bite of all that wild boar meat. But now, with four wild boars, she can't get a single bite. She'll have to find a way to sell them.

Following the direction the wild boars came from, we found their den.

"My apologies, I accidentally wiped out your entire family."

"I've done a good deed by letting you end your pig life sooner so you can go down and line up earlier."

"Perhaps because of me, you can be reborn as humans sooner."

"Don't worry, I won't let you down. After all, it's not easy for you to get so fat."

Jiang Bai politely put his hands together again and recited a sutra for the four wild boars.