Liu Xu and Ma both got up to look for wild vegetables, and some of the younger members of the Tang Family were sent to fish with the nets Pei Shu’er had made earlier.
But one rabbit, for 20 mouths, actually wasn’t enough.
Pei Shu’er thought for a moment, then looked around; she felt she could still look nearby to see if there were any more rabbits.
Pei Shu’er got up and started searching nearby, eventually spotting another rabbit.
The rabbit was a bit far from her, so she quietly took out a crossbow from her space and shot at the rabbit.
She had good aim, having played with firearms and bows before, and she shot the rabbit without missing.
The rabbit twitched twice on the ground, and Pei Shu’er went over, grabbed it by the ears, and quickly tossed the would-be escaping rabbit into her space.
There were quite a few rabbits in this dense forest, and Pei Shu’er kept an eye on their movements while looking for wild vegetables.
After a slight rustle of leaves in the grass, Pei Shu’er swiftly turned, fired her crossbow arrow, and another big fat wild rabbit twitched on the ground.
But looking at the wound on the rabbit, Pei Shu’er felt she couldn’t explain it clearly.
Thinking for a moment, she made a sharp wooden stick with a sharp stone on the spot and stabbed it twice at the rabbit’s wound to cover the previous wound.
This way, it could also be used as a weapon in the future, and the wound on the rabbit had an explanation.
The rabbit meat was rather lean, so Pei Shu’er gathered more wild vegetables; if she could find tuber-like foods, it would be even better.
As Pei Shu’er continued searching, she unexpectedly found several potato plants in the dense forest.
She truly hadn’t expected her luck to be this good.
This place was near farmland, probably where a farmer accidentally dropped some seeds while carrying them.
Pei Shu’er dug open the soil with a stone, finding many potatoes below.
Because the soil was fertile, the potatoes were as big as a child’s fist, which was considered quite large for this era.
And there were quite a few of them; there were 40 in total from the 8 plants.
Pei Shu’er smiled slightly.
Now, the Tang Family could have a hearty meal.
When Pei Shu’er returned with two rabbits, the people from the Tang Family who went fishing also came back.
Everyone was stunned for a moment; there were two big fat rabbits.
Adding the one Tang Shuo and Tang Qinghuan had, there were three in total.
Pei Shu’er had caught all of these by herself; rabbits were not easy to catch, and even for them, catching a rabbit wasn’t simple.
After all, everyone was barehanded, without handy weapons.
Seeing the wild rabbits in Pei Shu’er’s hands, everyone felt an inexplicable acidity, followed by a surge of motivation, and they all began to move around the area.
If Pei Shu’er, a woman, could catch three wild rabbits, there was no reason these able-bodied men couldn’t catch any.
But after going out to catch, they realized that rabbits weren’t something just anyone could catch.
At least, not everyone had Pei Shu’er’s luck.
So everyone looked at Pei Shu’er with envy and jealousy, and even their eyes towards the Tang Family carried some resentment.
If Pei Shu’er were one of their own, they could also enjoy the delicious rabbit.
Tang Qinghuan and Tang Shuo came running with the rabbit, and seeing that Pei Shu’er had two more in her hands, they became increasingly excited, their eyes shining brightly.
"Sister-in-law, how are you so amazing? You’re as impressive as my elder brother already."
Pei Shu’er turned her gaze to Tang Zan and found his eyes lingering on the rabbit for a moment before he snorted coldly and looked away.
If she didn’t drink the Spiritual Spring Water, she wouldn’t even qualify to compare with Tang Zan.
Thinking of this, Pei Shu’er unexpectedly felt a little happy.
Tang Zan is probably feeling really annoyed now.
She enjoyed seeing this big villain hate her but couldn’t get rid of her.
Tang Tuo walked over and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, let me handle the rabbits."
Pei Shu’er shook her head, "No need, I’ll handle the rabbits myself; the rabbit fur must not be damaged, otherwise it’s a waste."
Tang Tuo nodded and continued fishing.
Pei Shu’er picked up the stone knife and expertly processed the three rabbits with swift, practiced movements as if she were a professional butcher.
Afterward, Pei Shu’er separated the fur from the rabbit, chopped the rabbit into evenly-sized blocks with a stone knife, washed them clean, and placed them into the pot.
The process was so quick and seamless that the Tang Family members couldn’t help much and could only do what little they could.
Meanwhile, she also put some wild ginger she had found into the pot.
She had taken care to gather some extra and kept it in her basket so that the flavor of their meals would be ensured in the future.
The five people who went fishing were of the same generation as Tang Zan, but they only caught three fish.
And the fish were particularly small, just two fingers wide.
Such fish would shrink even more if roasted, and if boiled, they would interfere with the flavor of the rabbit meat.
Besides, the rabbit meat was barely enough.
Pei Shu’er said, "Dry them; fortunately, I have some dried fish in my basket, which would be perfect for cooking a pot tomorrow night."
Tang Tuo nodded, "We’ll follow your lead, Sister-in-law."
His eyes sparkled; young people admire strength, and this sister-in-law had become his idol since she was so formidable.
In fact, speaking of being a sister-in-law, Pei Shu’er was the same age as Tang Tuo, both only 16, with Tang Tuo being two months older than Pei Shu’er, and Tang Zan being 18.
Just when everyone thought Pei Shu’er had finished processing all her gains, she took some potatoes out of her basket, and everyone was a bit dazed, then filled with joy in their eyes.
Pei Shu’er scraped the skin with a twig, removing only the outer earthy skin, so the potatoes themselves weren’t diminished.
The potatoes were small and didn’t need cutting; Pei Shu’er put them directly in the pot to cook.
The looks directed at Pei Shu’er were now filled with obvious gratitude and reverence.
Old Madam Tang nodded repeatedly at Pei Shu’er.
"Shu’er, our Tang Family has benefited greatly from you along this journey."
Pei Shu’er was taken aback; though she was rational and emotionally detached, that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel sad if her efforts weren’t acknowledged.
Other members of the Tang Family’s main family also showed grateful smiles towards Pei Shu’er.
"Shu’er, thank you for your hard work. Without you, many of our Tang Family might not have made it this far."
It was already the 20th day of exile, and the main family’s male members had been seriously injured; without Pei Shu’er’s previous treatment, nearly half of the male members could have fallen.
Pei Shu’er smiled, "We are all family, no need to thank."
This showed that everyone’s impression of her had changed, and if Tang Zan really wanted to deal with her, they would surely speak a few fair words for her.
Sometimes, just one word is enough.