It was the tenth day.
Su Shuiche took a stone and added another horizontal line on the cave wall.
She couldn't help but feel anxious.
What could she do if she couldn't get out of this forest?
She originally thought it was just a mountain forest, but after spending six days searching in six different directions, she still couldn't see the end of the forest after half a day. She could only resentfully return without success.
Looking at the two wolf pups "Xiaochun" and "Xiaoxue" who were happily chasing and playing at her feet, Su Shuiche's eyes lit up with a smile. Fortunately, she still had them to accompany her.
Otherwise, how could she survive for so many days? If she didn't starve or freeze to death, she would be eaten by wild beasts as a delicious meal.
Thinking of this, Su Shuiche came to the entrance of the cave. A few thick branches made a simple drying rack with strings of dried meat hanging on it.
On the bushes next to it, there was a leopard print white tiger skin that was big enough for two Su Shuiche to lie down on.
Yes, it took Su Shuiyue two days to completely separate the white tiger's skin and flesh from its body after it perished together with the big wolf.
Under the guidance of the two wolf pups, she found the closest water source to the cave — a clear stream about thirty meters away.
After washing the tiger skin, Jingzhi dried it on the bushes.
After a week of drying, the tiger skin had gradually shrunk and become dry and smooth. Thinking that she could lie down on such a warm and smooth white tiger skin at night and not be uncomfortable with the dry branches and leaves, Su Shuiche couldn't help but smile.
Gently rubbing her hands that were no longer soft and tender, and the scars on them due to labor were fine and numb. She sighed in her heart, "It's not certain if I can get out of this forest, let alone pick up the embroidery needle again to do embroidery.
It's better to plan for my livelihood. "
Fortunately, before she was eight years old, she had been playing around with her cousin who was four years older than her at her maternal grandmother's house. She knew some secrets to barbecuing in the wild. In addition, she had read some books that talked about the customs and customs of various places, as well as their special food. It reminded Su Shuiyong of many survival measures when dealing with the white tiger.
The only reason she was able to peel off the tiger's skin was because of the gorgeous and exquisite dagger in her bundle. Now, she tied the dagger to her calf with a hemp rope woven from withered vines. This way, she could use it to protect herself in case something unexpected happened while she was scouting around.
She didn't expect that the dagger, which she thought was a gorgeous decoration, could be so sharp. Even a weapon that could cut iron like mud couldn't compare to it.
It was also thanks to the dagger that she was able to cut the tiger meat without much effort. Of course, because she wasn't familiar with the craft, she cut her hand several times. There was even one time when her hand was cut so deep that it bled non-stop. If she hadn't found the crystal green liquid in the puddle under the stalactites that could quickly stop the bleeding, perhaps Su Shuiche would have fainted again due to excessive blood loss.
The crystal green liquid was simply nectar. Not only did it have the effect of replenishing qi and nourishing the spirit, it could also stop bleeding and heal injuries.
Looking at her body, which had become much healthier after being nourished by a few drops of the jade liquid, she was no longer as weak as she was at the beginning.
Hehe, Su Shuiche couldn't help but laugh again. Although at first, she was depressed because she had inexplicably come to this world, but after finding the two wolf pups and finding a place to rest, and even being so lucky to find such a magical treasure, Su Shuiche had calmed down.
There was a saying in ancient times, "Since you're here, take things as they come."
Since the heavens didn't let her soul scatter and die, but let her continue to live in a different environment, then she would do her best to live a good life.
Presumably, if her mother and big brother knew, they would also be relieved that their daughter didn't give up on herself and instead worked hard to live a good life.
As for the remaining crystal green liquid, she had to use it sparingly. She estimated that there were only two small spoonfuls left. Before she decided to leave the forest, she definitely couldn't use it rashly.
Thinking about leaving the forest, Su Shuiche decided to wait for a few more days. Counting the dried tiger meat on the shelf, she estimated that it could last for another ten days or half a month.
At that time, "Xiaochun" and "Xiaoxue" should also be a bit older and more robust. They should be able to follow her further.
She would also prepare some more food. A few days ago, when she was exploring the way out, she found a lot of wild fruits. Looking at the red marks on some of the fruits that were pecked by birds, presumably they weren't poisonous.
She would carefully explore the area tomorrow. If there were fresh fruits to eat, then she would be happy.
These days, if it wasn't water, then it was dried meat. If it wasn't for her hunger, she wouldn't have eaten at all.
Although the roasted tiger meat was very fragrant, without honey, salt and other seasonings, she couldn't eat more than a few mouthfuls.
Looking at the two wolf pups eating happily, Su Shuiche speechlessly turned around and prepared to find some wild sour fruits that could be used as seasonings.
It would be best if she could find those salty fruits that could replace salt in the wild as described in the Book of Strange Objects.
Su Shuiche exerted her strongest memory recovery ability and tried her best to integrate the knowledge she had read in the past into her current life.
…
"Xiaochun, Xiaoxue?"
Su Shuiche entered the cave against the dew and woke up the two wolf pups who were still sleeping. Her white little face was full of joy.
"Woo woo", the two wolf pups opened their hazy eyes and saw that it was Su Shuiche. They snuggled against her slightly cold body and after a while, they closed their eyes again and continued to enjoy the good morning sleep.
Su Shuiche laughed and gently put them on the tiger skin, letting them continue to sleep.
She went to the puddle under the stalactites and took out the few fruits that made her smile.
Yes, these seemingly unattractive shriveled green fruits were the salty fruits described in the Book of Strange Objects. They could be used as a substitute for salt.
When she found them, she carefully tasted them. They were indeed salty, but slightly bitter.
Presumably, they needed to be processed according to the method described in the Book of Strange Objects.
Su Shuiche couldn't help but feel happy in her heart. She softly hummed a soft and sweet Suzhou folk song as she processed the fruits.
She peeled off their outer skin and carefully picked out the core with a dagger. Then, she put the fruit flesh one by one into a stone bowl.
The so-called stone bowl was nothing more than a stone plate that looked like a notch tile. It was a container that could hold a small bowl of water. She found it by the stream and brought it back. She found a total of two and gave one to the two wolf pups.
She also found a stone that looked like an earthen pot. It could be placed over the fire and used to make meat soup.
As for the soup spoon and chopsticks, she carved them herself with a dagger and a relatively tough piece of wood. Although it took her a few days, the results were very good. She even carved some flower patterns on the handle of the soup spoon with the dagger when she had nothing to do. The chopsticks were made into two thin to thick wooden chopsticks. The top of the thickest chopstick was carved into a mushroom-shaped round head. It looked very artistic.
It was just that the dagger clearly didn't have the embroidery needle. It wasn't easy to embroider on cotton or silk. Su Shuiche spent a few mornings and wasted a lot of wood before she could make the two pieces of wood that she was using now, which in her eyes could be considered perfect. This was the so-called "Once unfamiliar, twice familiar." Mastery through a comprehensive study of the subject.
She used a wooden spoon to pound the salty fruit flesh very finely. There were a total of five salty fruits. The flesh that was peeled off only took up half of the bottom of the stone bowl.
Su Shuiche had thought it through. If the method of removing the astringent fruit was successful, she would take a rattan basket to pick them.
Oh, there should be more than a hundred fruits on that salty fruit bush if she picked all of them.
Perhaps it was because the fruit didn't taste good, so birds and beasts couldn't peck at it.
Su Shuiche placed the fruit flesh in the stone bowl on the largest stalactite. After letting it dry for half an hour, she squeezed the juice out of the sour berries that she found a few days ago and mixed them in.
Removing the astringent sour taste was the most simple and practical method described in the Book of Strange Objects.
However, she hadn't found the sour orange-red fruit described in the book. She only found a small skinless fruit that tasted strangely sour, similar to mulberries.
She used the tip of the chopsticks to pick up some juice and put it on the tip of her tongue. "Ba ba", her eyes instantly lit up. There really wasn't any astringent taste.
It tasted sour and salty, enough for her to use as seasoning.
Hmm, today she could finally stew a pot of sour and salty meat soup that wasn't strangely bland.
Seeing that the two wolf pups were still sleeping soundly, she didn't wake them up. She took a gourd of clear water and a very idyllic rattan basket and decided to go out of the cave to pick a large amount of sour berries and salty fruits.
While she was at it, she went to the creek to see if the wild strawberries were ready to eat.
Feeling the temperature in the forest, it should be almost May. The flower buds on the branches and shrubs were gradually blooming, and the wild strawberries that were still green when she first arrived were already completely red.
Counting the days, she had already descended into this forest for no reason for a month.
The clear creek flowed along the uneven terrain. Su Shuiche left the rattan basket and gourd in her hands on a relatively flat rock beside the creek. She rolled up her trousers and took off the embroidered shoes on her feet that were almost colorless. She stretched her fair and delicate feet into the creek and gently swam.
Phew, she lightly exhaled. In the morning of May, the creek was still very cold and bone-chilling.
However, after the nourishment of a few drops of the crystal green liquid, the constitution of this body was getting better and better.
During this period of time, Su Shuiche had already become accustomed to soaking her feet in the creek once a day.
She couldn't take a bath to her heart's content, but soaking her feet could make up for her regret.
She took out the sandalwood comb from her bosom, gently straightened her shoulder length black hair, and casually tied it into two braids.
Previously, when she was in the Su Family, those beautiful, gentle, and complicated hairstyles were all combed by the maidservants.
Thinking back to that time, besides washing her hands and burning incense and embroidering, she didn't need to do this kind of heavy work.
When she came back to her senses, she tidied up her wrinkled silk inner garment. That gorgeous outer garment had already been washed and put away by her. Although she was very fond of that gorgeous and complicated outer garment, as the weather turned cold in the future, if she still couldn't walk out of this forest, she would still need to use it to get through the winter.
Although she didn't know how cold the winter here would be, and whether or not that outer garment would be enough to withstand the cold, it was better than nothing.
Today, Su Shuiche was no longer the eldest daughter of the Su Family who didn't do any household chores. Not only did she have to personally experience everything, she also had to painstakingly plan for her future life.
Thinking of this, Su Shuiche's lips slightly curved. In fact, these days were pretty good. At least she didn't have to be cautious at every step, so as not to touch the complicated and complicated rules of the Su Family. She also didn't have to listen to the lectures all day long and receive the temperament and reservedness of a well-bred young lady.
If the Su Family's Old Master and her father knew that her clothes were incomplete, and she had taken off her shoes and exposed her feet, what kind of expression would they have?
Hehe, Su Shuiche somewhat retracted her smile. She really shouldn't have. After more than a month of survival in the wilderness, her mind had become a lot wilder.
Thinking of her mother who was strict on the outside but loved her as much as her big brother, Su Shuiche couldn't help but feel a burst of heartache. Mother, your daughter is still alive in a different environment, and will also work hard to live.
You must not hurt your body and spirit for your daughter.