Hearing this, Liu Rumei was quite excited. "Then if that's the case, we'll go a bit further tomorrow and see what the end looks like."
Chen Xiaobei knew that if he didn't agree to Liu Rumei, she wouldn't let it go, so it was better to compromise and set a condition. "Alright, then we'll set off early tomorrow. We have to turn back before noon, otherwise, we won't be able to get down when it gets dark."
After dinner, everyone gathered in small groups, leaning against tree trunks, preparing to sleep.
Although Chen Xiaobei kept saying that there were no fierce beasts in this place and they could sleep peacefully, Liu Rumei still carefully arranged sentries.
That night, she generously leaned against Chen Xiaobei.
"Oh, right," Chen Xiaobei said awkwardly, lowering his voice. "Rumei, look, so many people are here, shouldn't we..."
As he spoke, he deliberately moved a little to the side. Liu Rumei, however, leaned in again without hesitation.
"You are my husband, it's only natural for me to lean on you while sleeping. Why are you still being shy?"
Fine, since it had come to this, Chen Xiaobei decided not to move. He closed his eyes slightly, leaned against the tree trunk, looked around, and said in a low voice, "There are some ginseng and lingzhi here. If you need them, you can take some back tomorrow."
"But it's best to leave someone to dig them alone and not let the two village guards see."
Hearing this, Liu Rumei clearly didn't understand the deeper meaning and subconsciously asked, "Why should we hide it from them?"
"There are so many people in the village. If everyone comes to dig, they'll be dug up quickly. I want them to grow for a few more years before they can be sold for a good price."
Liu Rumei listened and softly agreed, "Then if that's the case, we won't dig them up. We'll leave them for now."
She then rested her head on Chen Xiaobei's shoulder. "Actually, I feel at ease just coming with you."
Chen Xiaobei knew that this was Liu Rumei's main reason for coming with him.
He gently patted Liu Rumei's shoulder. "Alright, let's rest. We'll set off early tomorrow."
The next day, as dawn was breaking, Chen Xiaobei was woken by a faint rustling sound.
He slightly opened his eyes and found that Liu Rumei had already gotten up at some point and was boiling water with Xiao Qing.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei open his eyes, Liu Rumei smiled. "Brother Xiaobei, you sleep a little longer. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."
Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "I'm not sleeping. I'll go around and take a look. We have to go further in later."
Chen Xiaobei got up, stretching his limbs as he walked towards the nearby grass.
In the distance, many of the grasses were waist-high. Although the leaves were somewhat yellowed, the roots were still green.
From this, it could be seen that although Gourd Valley was warm now, it should still have distinct seasons, otherwise, these grasses wouldn't have turned yellow.
After digging through several patches of grass, Chen Xiaobei finally found a few lingzhi. These lingzhi looked like their leaves were not even as big as a copper coin. They must not have grown for many years.
Chen Xiaobei carefully covered them up. He walked a bit further and dug for a long time before finally finding a few ginseng roots. They were all about the thickness of a thumb, and the red berries on top were gone.
It was evident that they had fallen off naturally, and the red berries had turned a dry brown on the ground.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei felt relieved. This indicated that since they had transported a large amount of military supplies down the mountain, no one had actually come here.
When Chen Xiaobei returned, everyone had already started breakfast, each drinking a bowl of hot soup and eating some of their own dry rations.
This surprised Chen Xiaobei. He hadn't expected Liu Rumei to be so thoughtful as to bring over a dozen bowls.
He and the village guards had only brought water in their canteens and some dry rations and dried meat. From this, it could be seen that Liu Rumei and her group indeed had experience in wilderness survival, which he was still far from.
After breakfast, everyone tidied up briefly and followed the rugged path further in. They walked for about five or six li without stopping. The situation on both sides seemed unchanged, still sparse patches of weeds and occasional small wildflowers, indicating the presence of ginseng and lingzhi in the weed patches.
Walking further, Liu Ziming shouted, "Look, there's a mark here. It must have been made by someone."
Everyone gathered around and looked closely. Chen Xiaobei smiled. "This is a marker I left the other night when I was here."
"That night, there was a fight outside. I wanted to find another exit, but I ran for a long time and couldn't find one. I made a mark here, and then I had to turn back."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but laugh. Liu Rumei also pointed forward. "Looking ahead, it's the same for four or five li. Perhaps it really has no end."
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei changed his mind. He smiled and said to everyone, "It's still early. Let's go a bit further in. If we really can't see the end, we'll come back."
They walked for about another half an hour, and the sun shone into the valley.
As the sunlight spread, the temperature in the entire valley rose rapidly. Everyone even had to take off their outer layers.
At this time, although there were no concepts of "autumn clothing" and "autumn pants," one had to wear a layer inside, which was probably how it was.
After walking for a while longer, some people started to complain about the heat. Looking at the weeds on both sides, some had even grown to a person's height. It was understandable, as no one had tended to them. Chen Xiaobei thought for a moment, took the branch he was holding, and tapped around the edges of the grass patch, ensuring there were no insects or snakes inside. Then, he carefully pushed aside the weeds.
The rest of the group understood Chen Xiaobei's intentions and followed suit, starting to push aside the grass layer by layer. Finally, Chen Daqiang shouted, "Come and see, there's a very large lingzhi here!"
Chen Xiaobei hurried over upon hearing this. And indeed, each piece of lingzhi was about the size of his palm. Good heavens, how many years had it taken to grow this large?
Amidst the exclamations of admiration from the crowd, Liu Rumei straightened up and looked at the guards behind her. "Alright, you can all disperse."
Chen Xiaobei understood Liu Rumei's meaning and gently patted Chen Daqiang's shoulder. "Brother Daqiang, let's go. We'll move forward."
Chen Daqiang was surprised. "Brother, aren't we going to take it? It looks quite old."
Chen Xiaobei thought for a moment, turned, found a piece of rubble and a twig, and made a mark by the side of the grass.
"We'll go forward first, and we'll pick it up on our way back."
Seeing this, Chen Daqiang could only agree.
Chen Xiaobei led the group forward for another four or five li. The group was getting tired, and the trees on both sides had become noticeably tall, lush and green. In the forest, some unknown insects and birds darted about joyfully.