Chapter 299: Strange
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Jiang Xia had a realization, “That’s right! 1 can also pull out the grass from my interspace to feed the animals, so the excessive food doesn’t have to occupy space. Moreover, these animals can all be stored in my interspace. When we pass through Locust Tree Bay, we can trade them for money or items at the market. It’s truly killing multiple birds with one stone! Dad, you’re so smart.”
Jiang Chuan, praised by his daughter, smiled proudly. Then, he helped Jiang Xia encircle the field with radishes and wild grasses about two meters away, forming a large ring.
Each of them held a bottle of interspace water. They dared not pour too much water in one spot, fearing an uneven density in the circle. So, they sprinkled the water bit by bit.
After about half an hour of toiling, they finally finished. Before they could rest, they heard the footsteps of approaching animals.
The animals included wild rabbits, wild chickens, larger roe deer, porcupines, and mountain goats. The numbers were quite substantial.
The sight of the mountain goats reminded Jiang Xia of the lamb dumplings and carrot stewed lamb she had at home, instantly making her drool.
Jiang Chuan knew immediately what she was thinking. He patted her on the shoulder and said, “I know you’re craving. Later, we’ll use some ropes to tie up these animals and store them in your interspace. We can eat whenever we want, and your mother will prepare them differently every time!”
“That’s great! When eldest sister returns with us, she can also taste these unique delicacies!”
The father-daughter duo glanced at the circle of vegetables. Concerned the animals might consume them too quickly, Jiang Xia took out all her radishes. With the assistance of the interspace water, these vegetables should last the animals for about an hour. They then turned their attention to the barren grassland.
The grassland wasn’t large, covering just about three to four square meters.
Jiang Xia cautiously sprinkled some interspace water in a corner and waited.
The result was disappointing. Instead of flourishing growth, only a few small trees sprouted a couple of green leaves. It was far from what they had imagined.
They looked at each other with bitterness. Could it be that the seeds had frozen due to the cold mountain top?
Undeterred, Jiang Xia increased the range of the interspace water, covering the entire barren land.
As they waited for the interspace water to take effect, the two chatted.
Jiang Xia took out the gold foils she found in the bamboo forest to show Jiang Chuan.
She had stored them in her makeup box, fearing she might lose them in her interspace. Apart from the gold foils, there was just a bottle of lotion in the box, making it look somewhat pitiful.
Jiang Chuan carefully examined the foils and judged their weight.
Based on the foils’ roughness and impurity content, he confirmed Jiang Xia’s suspicion, “There’s definitely a gold mine in Grand Cloud Mountain. No wonder the Zhang family guards this place.”
Jiang Xia was puzzled, “Dad, do you mean they moved here because they knew of the gold mine, rather than discovering it after moving here?”
Jiang Chuan nodded, “Over the past few days, I’ve observed Zhao Wan and the Zhang brothers. Their demeanor doesn’t match the simple-minded hunters, at least not like Liu Neng. Upon probing, I found that the brothers have a good grasp of idioms.”
Jiang Xia instantly understood. This era was not like the future, where compulsory education is universal, and everyone can attend school. In this time, merely having enough to eat was already a significant challenge. How could families have spare money to send every child to school?
Especially the hunters who moved to the mountains to avoid handing over their grain to the village, they didn’t even have a registered place in school. How could they possibly be literate?
If they didn’t even know how to read, let alone understand higher-level idioms.
Furthermore, Jiang Xia noticed a detail. The map drawn by Zhang Ling was created based on geographical conventions, with the north on top, south at the bottom, and symbols for west to the left and east to the right.
When they first saw the map, they thought the mountain paths were confusing. But after a field inspection, they realized that every direction marked by Zhang Ling was accurate.. How could someone who never attended school have such geographical knowledge?