Chapter 32

Li Yuanxi found a goose egg in the grass and immediately started scanning the surroundings with bright eyes. There had to be more than one goose laying eggs here. If she searched carefully, she’d hit the jackpot!

She eagerly began looking for more eggs. Occasionally, she glanced up at the geese flying overhead and remembered that her real task for the day was hunting. There were only two geese in her backpack—not enough.

“Forget it, I’ll focus on catching geese first and look for eggs when I have time.” Li Yuanxi picked up her bow and returned to the beach, where the geese were still lazing about.

But in that short time, it seemed like the entire island had become filled with geese. In the distance, a dark patch was flying toward the island.

“Is this the third wave of geese?” Li Yuanxi put down her bow and watched the approaching flock.

She hoped to bag at least twenty or thirty geese over the next few days, plus the deer and seafood. That way, she and Wei Shu would have enough protein every day for warmth and nutrition.

After watching for a while, she notched another arrow and shot. The bowstring twanged, and the arrow flew out, piercing a goose’s wing. She rushed over to grab the goose, which was screeching in pain.

Back at the cave, Wei Shu sat watching the geese fly to and fro. The forest was filled with honking that never stopped. Now, other bird calls joined in, sounding clearer and more melodious than the geese.

“I wonder how many geese Chuyi has caught so far,” Wei Shu muttered, staring blankly at the steaming pot.

“Should be a lot by now,” she said, a smile flickering across her face. Her eyes curved into a smile, as if they could speak.

Li Yuanxi had captured five geese on the beach. The other geese were startled and began circling overhead, refusing to land.

With a sigh of regret, Li Yuanxi put down her bow. “Looks like I can’t continue here today.”

But she didn’t give up. She planned to move to another spot in the afternoon.

More and more birds kept arriving on the island, fueling her sense of urgency, as if winter would come the very next day.

Li Yuanxi shouldered her backpack and returned to the front beach. She built another fire and boiled a bucket of seawater. The iron barrel, about shin-high, was filled to the brim.

She took the geese out of the backpack and used the axe to slit their necks, letting the still-liquid blood drain into a ten-liter mineral water bottle.

Axe in hand, she stood under a coconut tree. She looked for older leaves to cut, leaving the tender ones to grow.

There were dozens of coconut trees here. Cutting two leaves from each would be enough for smoking the goose meat.

By the time the seawater in the barrel was boiling, Li Yuanxi had already cut a dozen coconut leaves. The meter-long leaves fell to the ground, and she chopped them in half for easier transport.

She scurried around like a little hamster, preparing everything she needed to take back. Then she returned to the blood-drained geese and put them into the boiling water one by one, letting them scald.

Once they were ready to pluck, she carried them to a spot where the seawater could wash away the feathers. She plucked them quickly and cleanly—in ten minutes, each goose was done.

She worked for a long time on the beach, cleaning all the geese. The intestines and gizzards she put into a water bottle to use as bait in the reef area.

She kept the rest of the innards—the heart, liver, and kidneys—for their vitamins.

Washing the blood off her hands, Li Yuanxi trimmed the coconut branches to use as spits to hold open the goose cavities, ensuring they would smoke evenly. The fragrance of the coconut would also infuse the meat.

To further reduce the gamey odor, she decided to put a few halved coconuts in the fire to smoke together. That might give the meat a unique flavor.

She remembered a dish called coconut chicken, so making coconut-smoked goose shouldn’t be out of line.

After cleaning the beach, Li Yuanxi packed the geese into the water bucket, pressing the tender white meat tightly inside. She carried the coconut leaves and her trophies back to the cave.

Wei Shu had taken the stewed goose off the stove and was gathering firewood around the cave. She brought back many small branches for smoking the geese.

She never went too far; Li Yuanxi restricted her activities to the area around the cave, where Li Yuanxi could keep an eye on her—except for that one time Li Yuanxi got hurt.

When Li Yuanxi returned, Wei Shu was carrying her third bundle of small branches, plus some green twigs she had cut. These were all necessary for making smoked meat.

The green twigs would cover the fire, producing lots of smoke that suppressed the flame, allowing the meat to smoke properly.

Li Yuanxi carried the coconut leaves and the newly slaughtered geese, which kept trying to slip out of the bucket. She stuffed them back in. The geese in the bucket weighed at least thirty jin—it was heavy to carry for long.

The geese she had shot were all plump, each weighing at least six or seven jin. The meat was firm and didn’t have much gamey smell. She would need to smoke it for at least a day and then air-dry it for five more days before she could store it.

When she got back, she planned to soak the meat in salt water to draw out impurities and add flavor, which would help preserve it longer.

As she neared the cave, she set down the water bottle at the foot of the slope, took a deep breath, and shouted, “Little Shu Shu! Come see what I brought back—back… back… back…” The echoes of her drawn-out voice reverberated through the forest.

Wei Shu, holding firewood, emerged from another spot, her expression cool and detached. “Let me see what you’ve brought back.”

As soon as Li Yuanxi saw her, her eyebrows shot up uncontrollably. She threw her head back and looked at Wei Shu smugly. Wei Shu, holding the branches, kept a straight face and pretended to be amazed. “Ah, five of them! Impressive.”

Li Yuanxi stared, dumbfounded, as Wei Shu praised her in a businesslike manner. Seeing Li Yuanxi’s bewildered expression, Wei Shu laughed, her cold demeanor melting like ice in spring. Her smile was so captivating that Li Yuanxi blushed.

Wei Shu gave her a sincere thumbs-up. Li Yuanxi pursed her lips, unable to hide her proud grin. She waved her hand modestly, but the grin gave her away. “Oh, it’s nothing, just lucky.”

“Hahaha,” Wei Shu laughed heartily. Seeing Li Yuanxi’s smug little face, she reached out. Li Yuanxi bent her head down, and Wei Shu naturally tousled her hair. Li Yuanxi squinted, looking as content as a little kitten.

They seemed to have gone back in time, to when they were teenagers. When Li Yuanxi would say, “Oh, it’s nothing, just third in the nation,” Wei Shu would reach out and stroke her head.

It had been years since she’d last done that. Suddenly, the touch felt quite nice. Wei Shu raised an eyebrow and looked deeply at Li Yuanxi, who was practically asking for belly rubs.

“How did you get so good today?” Wei Shu asked, walking shoulder to shoulder with Li Yuanxi, carefully drawing out the conversation to satisfy Li Yuanxi’s need to share.

Sure enough, Li Yuanxi immediately began gesturing animatedly, showing how every arrow she shot had brought down a goose.

“I tell you, if I wasn’t afraid the geese would recognize me and fly away at the sight of me in the future, I wouldn’t have stopped. I would have bagged a whole month’s worth in one day.”

“So, are you going out again this afternoon?”

“Yes. After I set up the rack and start smoking the meat, I’ll go back. I need to stockpile as much food as possible. There’s no way I’m starving.”

Chatting all the way, they returned to the cave. Each went about her own business. Li Yuanxi put down the water bottle and backpack and pulled out the egg she had hidden. Wei Shu was bending over, so she presented the egg to her.

“Ta-da! Surprise?” Li Yuanxi shook the goose egg in front of Wei Shu.

“You even found an egg?” Wei Shu extended her slender fingers, gently picked up the egg, and held it up to the light. The yolk inside was clearly visible.

“Let’s boil it for you later.” Li Yuanxi leaned in and whispered. She watched the egg with Wei Shu. It was so white—it must taste good, especially since it was freshly laid.

“Mhm, we’ll share it,” Wei Shu said after looking her fill. She carefully placed the egg in a small box to boil in the morning.

“Take a rest. I’ll heat up the taro, and we can eat.” Li Yuanxi went over to the big pot of goose meat. Her mouth watered at the sight.

She looked around to make sure Wei Shu wasn’t watching, then reached for a piece. But Wei Shu slapped her hand away. “You haven’t even washed your hands.”

“Oh, right. I’ll go now.” Li Yuanxi rushed off to wash. When she came back, the goose meat was on the table. The two sat down, and Li Yuanxi took a reverent deep breath. The aroma was heavenly.

“Today, I’m going to eat until I’m stuffed!” Li Yuanxi picked up a goose drumstick and put it in Wei Shu’s bowl. She took a random piece of meat for herself and began devouring it.

After two bites, she realized the meat had no flavor. She looked up at Wei Shu in confusion. “Did you forget to add salt?”

Wei Shu pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She hadn’t eaten yet and looked back at Li Yuanxi blankly. “I thought you added it.”

Li Yuanxi slapped her forehead. “I forgot to tell you—you add salt at the end for flavor.”

A blush crept onto Wei Shu’s face. “Sorry, I didn’t taste it. I wanted to wait for you to eat together.”

Seeing Wei Shu’s pink cheeks and averted gaze, Li Yuanxi chuckled. She put the pot back on the stove, heated it, and sprinkled in a suitable amount of salt.

When the steaming pot returned to the table, white vapor billowing, Li Yuanxi added Wei Shu’s uneaten drumstick back into the pot. Then she picked out a wing for her. “Eat this first. Let the leg soak up the flavor.”

“Thanks.” Wei Shu took the coconut bowl and bit into the tender, braised wing. Thanks to the lemon leaves, the gamey taste was minimal—almost undetectable.

They finally had a different kind of meat, and both ate happily. Wei Shu put the now-flavored drumstick into Li Yuanxi’s bowl.

Still chewing, Li Yuanxi looked at the leg in her bowl and then at Wei Shu, who smiled at her. Li Yuanxi’s imaginary tail wagged happily.

She took a big bite of the drumstick, her cheeks bulging. “It’s delicious. The meat is really flavorful.”

“Then eat more,” Wei Shu said, watching Li Yuanxi gobble down the meat. She felt full just seeing it. She took a bite of taro and slowly sipped the goose soup.