The next morning, Xu Mingxuan quietly got out of bed early. Chen Lan, inspired by her conversation with Xu Mingxuan the previous day, decided to set up a library in the valley. She had spent a long time selecting books from the system last night, which was why she slept in.
After finishing his ablutions, Xu Mingxuan returned to the bedroom and gently woke Chen Lan. Startled, Chen Lan jolted upright, thinking she had overslept. A quick glance at the system clock showed she was fine; it was just seven o'clock.
She quickly got up, dressed, and washed. Xu Mingxuan, reluctant to part, affectionately kissed each of the dragon-phoenix twins.
Then, he prepared to leave with Chen Lan. Upon opening the door, they found his mother waiting outside.
Chen Lan exclaimed in surprise, "Mom, why are you up so early? Have you eaten breakfast? The twins aren't awake yet; they usually sleep until around eight-thirty."
Xu Mingxuan chimed in, "Mom, good morning!"
His mother smiled and said softly, "It's not early. Liu Mama has already prepared breakfast. I came up to call you for a meal and to check on the children. Are you washed and ready? If so, hurry downstairs to eat. Everyone is waiting for you!"
The couple quickly went downstairs. As they entered the living room, they saw Fu Shu, Xiang Dong, and Er Hu already seated at the dining table.
Liu Mama, Hu Yuzhen, and Xiang Xi were bringing out breakfast. After exchanging greetings, everyone sat down and began to eat. Since there were matters to attend to, they didn't linger over their meal, and breakfast was finished quickly.
At this point, Xu Mingxuan's mother, Cui Mama, and De Shu, along with the entire family – except for Xiao Shi Tou, who was still sleeping soundly – had come to see them off.
Xu Mingxuan's mother handed him a bulging cloth bag. It was unclear what it contained, but it was undoubtedly a mother's love for her son. Chen Lan took the bag from Xu Mingxuan and handed it to Xiang Xi.
Xu Mingxuan put an arm around his mother and another around Cui Mama, whispering to them, coaxing them with soft words to make them happy.
He soon had the two elders appeased. The three of them then donned their carrying baskets, ready to depart. Chen Lan wouldn't let Xu Mingxuan carry anything heavy due to his shoulder injury.
Xiang Xi wanted to go along, but Fu Shu angrily said, "What are you going for? Your older brother can see them off. It's not a trip for fun. You always want to be part of everything. Look at Xiao Shuan; he didn't ask to go."
De Shu intervened to smooth things over, saying, "Yes, Xiang Xi. You are the main force today. The greenhouses need skilled personnel like you. If you leave, the work in the greenhouses can't proceed today. A day of work lost is a day of time lost. Good weather is becoming scarce; we need to work harder."
Xiang Xi still pouted, unhappy. Chen Lan quickly tried to console him, "Little Watermelon, you stay and work diligently at home today. At noon, ask Grandma to have Lin Mai make some killing-the-pig stew. I hunted a wild boar yesterday; I'll put it in the large kitchen later."
Xiang Xi remained sullen. Chen Lan decided to make a further offer. "Little Watermelon, how about this? If you behave and work at home today, I'll give you a gift. You can pick anything, as long as it exists and can be bought in this world. What do you say? Good, right?"
Xiang Xi's mood instantly brightened, and he happily said, "Little Basket, you can't go back on your word."
Chen Lan promised, "Everyone bear witness, I absolutely will not go back on my word."
Finally, they had appeased everyone. Time was running short, so they wasted no more time and the four of them quickly set off.
As they entered the mountain forest, the mist was thick, severely reducing visibility. Chen Lan had them walk behind her, holding her crossbow loaded with six carbon steel arrows. She mentally activated the system's search function, scanning for animals within a 500-meter radius.
Xu Mingxuan and the other two also loaded their crossbows with six carbon steel arrows each, ready to act at any moment.
Despite the dense fog and poor visibility in the forest, making the mountain paths difficult to navigate, it was an excellent time to hunt pheasants. The pheasants preparing for winter were plump, and Chen Lan and her companions managed to capture entire coveys.
The four of them hunted as they walked. When their baskets were full, they stored the game in the system's warehouse. Soon, the sun emerged, and more animals appeared in the forest.
With the aid of the system's search function, they had bagged numerous prey. They even encountered a herd of roe deer, and the four of them cooperated to hunt over a dozen. Two red deer were also killed, though unintentionally.
Chen Lan turned to Xu Mingxuan and asked, "Mingxuan Ge, I'd like to keep six roe deer and one red deer for the valley residents to eat over winter, so they can have something special. Is that okay?"
Xu Mingxuan smiled, gently stroked Chen Lan's head, and said, "Of course, it's okay. The prey was caught by you, so you should keep as much as you want. I also want to thank you, Xiang Dong, and Er Hu on behalf of the soldiers."
Xiang Dong and Er Hu immediately waved their hands dismissively, looking embarrassed. "Mingxuan, why are we being so formal with each other?"
As they walked and hunted, they had expended considerable energy. Chen Lan found a relatively flat large rock and asked everyone to stop and rest for a while to replenish their strength.
She quickly used her mind to open the system and purchase milk, bread, and cake, and also bought an extra packet of spicy strips for herself. The moment the spicy strips were opened, their unique aroma immediately attracted the other three, who were eating bread and drinking milk.
Xu Mingxuan asked, "Lan'er, what is that red stuff you're eating? Why does it smell so good?"
Chen Lan replied, "It's spicy strips. They're too spicy for you to eat with your injury! I'll get you some five-spice flavor."
With that, she mentally opened the system and bought thirty packets of five-spice dried tofu, as there were no five-spice spicy strips. She also bought ten packets of spicy strips for Xiang Dong and Er Hu.
She took out the items from the system warehouse and handed ten packets of spicy strips to Xiang Dong and Er Hu separately. She gave one packet of five-spice dried tofu to Xu Mingxuan, saying, "Mingxuan Ge, there aren't any five-spice spicy strips, so I picked out some five-spice dried tofu for you."
Needless to say, these classic snacks from her past life quickly captured the appetites of the three.
The four of them quickly finished the bread and milk, spicy strips, and dried tofu, and then immediately got up to continue their journey.
This time, they didn't hunt anymore and pushed forward without stopping, directly reaching the mountaintop overlooking the camp nestled in a large valley.
Xu Mingxuan and the others stopped on the mountaintop of the valley. Chen Lan took out the infrared binoculars she had purchased during her first wild boar hunt from the system warehouse.
Using the binoculars, she looked at the camp not far away and said, "Mingxuan Ge, we'll escort you this far. I'll have your father-in-law leave the supplies on this mountaintop. Hurry down the mountain and call people to come up and carry them."
Xu Mingxuan hesitated for a moment. Before leaving, he gave Chen Lan, Xiang Dong, and Er Hu each a big hug. Without another word, he turned and ran down the mountain towards the camp in the valley.