Chapter 40

Li Yuanxi’s lips were bright red and glistening. She felt a little embarrassed, rubbing her head. Her tongue unconsciously licked her lips. Seeing this, Wei Shu felt a burning heat on her face once more.

She gave a soft humph and ignored Li Yuanxi, turning back to study the cassava. Cassava had high yields and strong adaptability, preferring fertile soil with good drainage.

One cassava plant could weigh at least a few tens of jin. Li Yuanxi counted at least eighty or ninety plants here. If they took them all back, they might have enough to last the whole year.

Besides being boiled or roasted, cassava could be made into cassava flour, making it easy to store and creating new food options.

“This island has more resources than I thought,” Li Yuanxi said, standing next to Wei Shu. She planned to dig up a couple of plants to take back.

Wei Shu was lost in thought. This island was on the migratory route of birds flying south. The island’s abundant resources might be related to these birds wintering or stopping here year after year.

Seeds that hadn’t been fully digested in the birds’ stomachs ended up in their droppings, landing on the island and, over time, creating a wealth of resources.

But cassava like this probably drifted over from another island during a tsunami, taking root and growing. The island’s wild deer would also eat them.

Wei Shu crouched in front of a cassava plant that had been half-eaten. Pointing to the bitten roots, she said, “The animals on this island are smart. Look, at least two plants have been mostly eaten.”

Li Yuanxi came over to look. It was true. She also crouched down, curiously examining the area. There were several deep hoof prints, which were also visible near the pond.

Li Yuanxi noticed several black and white quills in the dirt. She picked one up. It had barbs on it, and only the base was white; the rest was black.

“These are porcupine quills. See these footprints and these quills? There are at least a few porcupines living on this island,” Li Yuanxi said thoughtfully, pointing them out to Wei Shu.

“The deer and porcupines seem to favor the center of the island. You almost never see them near the outer edges.”

Wei Shu frowned. Animals are driven by food. Without natural predators, they would naturally wander, searching for more food to expand their territory.

What was keeping these animals from the outer areas?

Li Yuanxi pondered Wei Shu’s words. She hadn’t found any bigger, threatening animals on the island. There were no signs of human habitation.

If it wasn’t human or outside interference, then only some kind of force majeure could make them instinctively know which areas were dangerous, unsuitable for their groups, and thus avoid them.

Li Yuanxi and Wei Shu looked at each other, the same question in both their minds: Could the island experience oceanic monsoons?

If so, based on geographical knowledge, regardless of latitude, an oceanic winter monsoon could occur from November to March of the following year.

An oceanic monsoon could be strong or weak. A strong one could bring a cold snap; a stronger one could even bring a tsunami and heavy rain. A weak one would just lower the temperature a few degrees. But any drop in temperature would be hard on both of them.

The joy of finding cassava faded a bit. Li Yuanxi hugged Wei Shu. “Don’t worry. This is all just speculation. It might not happen.”

“Besides, we have cassava, goose meat, and fish. When it gets cold, except for going to the bathroom, we can just not leave the cave. As long as we have enough firewood, the cold won’t affect us much.”

Seeing Wei Shu was still frowning, Li Yuanxi forgot her shyness and said, “You’ve got me, your own personal space heater. I’ll definitely keep you warm.”

“Get away from me,” Wei Shu said, playfully scolding her. She was trying to think about serious things! She looked up at the setting sun. “It’s getting late. Let’s dig up one cassava plant and take it home.”

Li Yuanxi readily agreed. She picked up her axe, selected a cassava plant that was only about a meter tall, and patted its stem. “This one should be around twenty or thirty jin.”

“Not necessarily,” Wei Shu said, seeing the noticeably raised soil. But she didn’t warn Li Yuanxi. She just watched as Li Yuanxi carefully dug around the cassava with her axe.

Li Yuanxi plowed through the soft, black soil, revealing the long cassava roots inside. She was very careful, trying not to break the skin.

Clearing away the surrounding dirt revealed seven or eight separate, long roots, each at least as thick as an adult’s wrist, with the longest measuring about thirty centimeters.

“Is this one of the smaller ones?” Wei Shu dug into the soil on the other side. “Cassava has such a high yield.” Li Yuanxi was amazed. She knew that a mu of well-cultivated cassava could yield 2 to 5 tons.

She never expected cassava growing wild, without fertilization, to grow so well. She grabbed the stem of the plant and levered it back and forth with force. There was a crack from the root, and the plant snapped off.

Li Yuanxi heaved the plant up. “Look how many,” she said, shaking it in front of Wei Shu, dirt scattering everywhere.

The cassava had a slightly sweet smell. Once the skin was cleaned, it was reddish-brown and could be easily peeled off, revealing a fleshy layer. The light pink inner skin and milky white flesh looked pretty good.

“Cassava is toxic. I’ll handle the washing. Don’t touch it,” Li Yuanxi said, stopping Wei Shu from moving. She broke off the roots one by one, washed them, and put them in the backpack basket.

That one plant filled her basket completely. And there were still eighty or ninety more plants behind her. She would have to make trip after trip to carry them home.

Wei Shu ignored her. She placed Li Yuanxi’s washed cassava into her own basket. She put in four or five, as much as the small backpack basket could hold. Li Yuanxi didn’t stop her.

If she did, she might not be allowed in bed tonight. Sigh. A girlfriend who was too excellent, too independent, too eager to share all the sweetness and struggle… it was almost embarrassing.

Li Yuanxi couldn’t suppress the grin spreading across her face. She saw Wei Shu about to add more to her basket and quickly stopped her.

“That’s enough. If too many get bruised, the toxins might soak into the basket, and we can’t put wild vegetables in it anymore,” she explained softly, afraid Wei Shu would get angry.

“Fine.” Wei Shu reluctantly agreed and put the cassava back into Li Yuanxi’s basket.

Li Yuanxi lifted Wei Shu’s basket to let her get used to the weight. “It’s not heavy. It’s okay,” Wei Shu said after a moment of adjustment.

One root weighed about two to three jin. She had five in her basket, so around thirteen jin.

Li Yuanxi estimated the larger roots were about five or six jin each. Her own basket had at least thirty jin.

Passion fruit and wild vegetables were placed on top of the baskets, with leaves layered on top to prevent the gracilaria from coming into contact with cassava and absorbing toxins.

This one cassava plant weighed about sixty-five jin. Li Yuanxi didn’t think it was too heavy, but that was just because they were just starting out. She had been exercising regularly, and carrying heavier loads over the past few days had gotten her used to it, so she always misjudged the weight.

The two of them carried their heavy baskets of cassava and headed home. The cassava couldn’t be eaten right away. They needed to peel it and soak it in water for three to five days to remove the toxins.

Only then could it be boiled. The first boiling wouldn’t be edible. It had to be boiled a second time, and they had to make sure it was completely cooked. Otherwise, they risked poisoning themselves.

So, cassava was both a great staple food and a terrible poison. A moment of carelessness could lead to poisoning.

Going downhill was harder than going up. Li Yuanxi used her stick to steady herself, supporting Wei Shu with one hand. The soft dirt, dead branches, and wild grass made it very easy to slip.

Wei Shu’s backpack basket was starting to feel heavy. She watched Li Yuanxi with her completely full basket, biting her lower lip hard. She knew it must be very heavy.

Li Yuanxi was also a child raised in comfort. She liked hiking and climbing, but she had never worked this hard. Yet, she bore so much by Wei Shu’s side without a single complaint.

“Give me some more cassava to carry,” Wei Shu said, tightening her grip on Li Yuanxi’s hand. They were on a steep downhill slope. Li Yuanxi carefully steadied her, ensuring she could move slowly and safely.

Li Yuanxi shook her head, her eyes bright and clear as she looked at Wei Shu. “No need. I’m not tired yet. When I am, I’ll tell you. Slow down. Let’s take it slowly.”

Working hard with Wei Shu every day, Li Yuanxi never felt tired. Besides her good alpha constitution, the main reason was the person by her side.

She unconsciously wanted to be even better to her, protect her better, make her happier.

Here, her only worry was food, afraid of Wei Shu going hungry. In the beginning, they often ate two meals a day, each only eighty percent full.

For the first three days, they survived on coconut water. Thinking about it now, their lives were getting better and better.

The two of them supported each other, working together and taking care of each other without a single complaint or discouraged word. They encouraged each other. When Li Yuanxi felt down, Wei Shu’s guidance would help her quickly readjust.

Wei Shu also got sad, wanting to cry when she felt homesick. But Li Yuanxi would chatter away with her, sharing the day’s events. That was how Wei Shu managed to persevere.

They both did so much for each other. That was how their little home now felt more and more like one.

When they reached the flat area where they had rested earlier, Wei Shu helped Li Yuanxi take off her backpack basket. It landed on the ground with a dull thud, proving its weight.

Li Yuanxi turned and took off Wei Shu’s basket as well. They sat on the rocks to catch their breath. Wei Shu unscrewed a water bottle and handed it to Li Yuanxi, who took a long gulp before returning it.

Wei Shu didn’t mind. She tilted her head back and drank sip by sip. Li Yuanxi’s face was red from exertion, her heart pounding fast from the exertion.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at Wei Shu, whose face was also bright red. “Are you tired?”

“A little. I can keep going. Don’t worry.” Wei Shu nodded. A cool sea breeze blew, and they both felt much better. After resting for ten minutes, they continued on.

An hour later, they finally reached the cave. Seeing it after the day’s outing, they smiled at each other. “Home, at last!” Wei Shu cheered, exhausted as she put down her basket.

Both baskets, one big and one small, both completely full, were set down outside the cave. They went inside and downed a large gulp of water before collapsing onto stools, breathing heavily.

Carrying a fifty- jin basket for over an hour, especially downhill, was very tiring for both of them.

Especially for Wei Shu. The soles of her feet were very sore, with blisters forming. She hadn’t said anything to Li Yuanxi, just kept going. Now that she was home, the moment she relaxed, she felt she might collapse.

Li Yuanxi fetched several large mineral water barrels and took them outside. She planned to peel the cassava and soak it in water soon.

To Wei Shu, who was still trying to help, she said, “This is the first time you’ve walked this far and carried something this heavy. You must be very tired. To avoid being sore tomorrow, stretch out now and rest. I can handle the rest. It’s easy.”

Looking at her slightly trembling hands, Wei Shu finally agreed. Li Yuanxi hugged her and said softly, “We’re girlfriends now. We’ll be life partners someday. You don’t have to always feel like I’m doing so much.”

“What I’m doing is what an alpha should do. You need to know that you’ve always been better than me. I just have the better physique. So don’t push yourself so much, okay?” Li Yuanxi cupped Wei Shu’s face and looked her in the eye.

Wei Shu looked away, uncomfortable. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” She didn’t want to admit she had a competitive side, that she didn’t want to be the weaker party.

Li Yuanxi kissed her forehead gently. “That’s okay. I understand.”

Watching Li Yuanxi’s tall, slender back walk away, Wei Shu had to admit, this side of Li Yuanxi was really attractive. Was this what people meant by ‘girlfriend energy’? It didn’t feel bad.

Li Yuanxi had no idea she had made Wei Shu’s heart flutter again. She was thinking about finishing the peeling so she could start dinner. Tonight, she was going to fry two swan eggs for her dear Shu Shu.