When she was still at the Gu family's home, even during her period, she had to go to the river in the dead of winter to wash their clothes. In early spring, the water was so cold, and she still had to go to the fields to sow seedlings.
After such long-term hardship, it was no wonder her body felt unwell.
Hu Lanfang clutched her stomach, her face pale.
Gu Qingcheng changed the hot water in the hot water bag for her. Gu Zhaobei added ginger slices to the brown sugar water and placed it on the stove to simmer. He brewed a bowl of brown sugar and ginger tea for Hu Lanfang.
Gu Zhaobei said, "Forget it, we won't travel today. We'll rest here for another day until your body feels better before we move on."
"Is that alright? Won't it be unsafe?"
Hu Lanfang was still uneasy about not being with the main group.
"Mom, don't worry, I have a bow and arrow."
Gu Qingcheng couldn't bear to see her mother travel in such discomfort. Her strength had surged, giving her the strength of an adult man. Moreover, she was a good shot with her arrows, and if any bad people appeared, the family of three could handle them.
"Alright then."
Hu Lanfang's stomach pain was severe, and she could not even straighten up or walk. She could only agree.
Seeing that Gu Qingcheng's family had not packed up to leave and were still boiling ginger water, Village Chief Gu walked over and asked:
"Nephew, aren't you leaving yet? Everyone else has almost gone."
"Village Chief, my wife is not feeling well today. We plan to rest for another day before continuing our journey," Gu Zhaobei replied.
"Alright, then you take care of yourselves. We'll be going now."
Seeing that there was a valid reason, Village Chief Gu did not try to persuade them further and hurried on his way.
The more than 300 people from the village were lively and bustling when they were together, full of human warmth. But once they left, only their family of three remained in the river valley. The mountain wind blew, and strange bird calls echoed from the nearby woods.
The atmosphere was truly chilling, giving a sense of a nightmare valley from a horror movie.
Gu Qingcheng shivered, goosebumps rising all over her. She said to her father:
"Dad, it seems I'm not suited for life in the wilderness."
Gu Zhaobei, however, said with a relaxed expression:
"It's nothing. It's always like this when we used to camp outdoors. The environment is already quite good; there's water, and large rocks to block the wind, with a wide view."
Seeing her father's relaxed tone, Gu Qingcheng also felt at ease. It was evident that having a pillar of strength in the family was crucial during critical moments.
Hu Lanfang continued to lie on the ground to rest.
With no one around, Gu Qingcheng no longer held back. She took out a new cotton quilt from her spatial storage. It was made of Xinjiang long-staple cotton. She used it to cover Hu Lanfang, placing the old quilt underneath.
Gu Qingcheng never expected that a cotton quilt wouldn't be expensive; an 8-jin one was only 140 yuan. It was warm and soft, truly a conscientious domestic product.
Seeing Hu Lanfang lying there, something seemed amiss.
Gu Duancheng casually took out a newly bought latex pillow and placed it under his mother's head. This made her comfortable.
"Wow, it feels like being at home, so comfortable," Hu Lanfang said contentedly.
Gu Qingcheng knew her mother was referring to their home in modern society. Although they couldn't go back, as long as they worked hard to create good material living conditions, it wouldn't be much different from their home in modern society, would it?
The most important thing was that their family was together.
Gu Qingcheng said happily at this moment:
"Since there's no one around, we can eat and drink to our heart's content."
"That's true. We've been cooped up for too long. Having food but not being able to eat it, and having to pretend to be poor, that's not my style," Gu Zhaobei chuckled.
Gu Qingcheng took out rice, various seasonings, ginger, eggs, and fresh lean meat from the supermarket.
Gu Zhaobei had always been the one to cook at home; his culinary skills were better than anyone else's. He simmered a congee with ginger and lean meat.
They hadn't eaten hot rice porridge for several days. When the porridge was ready, its aroma filled the air, making all three of them salivate.
It was unclear if the system had undergone special modifications, but the rice porridge was smooth and slippery. The meat, marinated with egg white, was tender and had no fibrous texture. Combined with the ginger slices, it was nutritious and warming.
Even Hu Lanfang felt her stomach discomfort ease significantly after eating it, no longer crying out in pain.
This wasn't the end. After finishing the lean meat congee, Gu Qingcheng took out some streaky pork and said:
"Dad, why don't we have a barbecue?"
"Sure, what's the point of not eating or drinking? Bring out all the ingredients," Gu Zhaobei agreed.
Thinking that her mother had been feeling so unwell, Gu Qingcheng decided she should have something nourishing and bought generously: a piece of Wagyu beef, three large Alaskan king crabs the size of an adult's palm, and oysters.
Seeing the ingredients she had bought, Gu Zhaobei laughed and said:
"Since no one is around, let's just barbecue all day. Grill whatever tastes good, and let's replenish our strength. We've been starving these past few days."
The essential ingredients for barbecue included salt and pepper, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, cooking oil, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white sesame seeds, scallions... Gu Qingcheng had bought all these seasonings.
As for the ingredients, there were Orleans-style grilled wings, squid, lamb chops, pork trotters, grilled streaky pork, lamb skewers, chicken thighs, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, mid-joint wings, tenderloin, sausages, beef tendon balls, duck neck bones, black pepper chicken pieces, boneless chicken strips, fried chicken, imitation crab meat, raw pork, toothpick meat, bacon...
Seafood included oysters, abalone, river prawns, scallops, shrimp, baby squid, snails, crabs, cockles, saury, capelin, salmon, Wuchang fish, perch, catfish, loach, and more.
Vegetables included corn, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, bell peppers, radishes, lettuce, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, taro, yam, garlic, eggplant, zucchini, leeks, napa cabbage, green beans, chili peppers, various fungi, cucumbers, kelp...
Fruits included bananas, pineapples, apples, pears, Hami melons, oranges, sugarcane, durian, and so on.
Although there were many items, Gu Qingcheng didn't buy a large quantity of each.
She even bought a barbecue grill. It wasn't expensive, costing over 170 yuan, enough for a family of three. She also bought smokeless barbecue charcoal from the supermarket, with each piece lasting over two hours.
Although buying these items consumed dozens of "joy points," the system continued to award joy points during the purchase process due to the immense satisfaction she felt.
As a result, she ended up with more joy points than the initial 30, reaching a total of 45.
With all the ingredients and tools ready, Gu Qingcheng placed the original charcoal into the barbecue grill and then added the barbecue charcoal from the Shanmao supermarket. It worked wonderfully, igniting quickly.
Streaky pork, sausages, and Alaskan king prawns were placed on the grill.
Gu Zhaobei expertly mixed the seasonings and used a brush to coat the food on the grill. Soon, the aroma began to spread.
"Qingcheng, honey is the soul of barbecue. Do we have any honey?" Gu Zhaobei asked.
Gu Qingcheng immediately produced the honey and handed it to Gu Zhaobei.
"Oh, it's New Zealand honey, imported too." The labels were all in English, but luckily Gu Zhaobei could read them all. He praised, "It's wild honey. Let's see how it tastes."
He then brushed the honey onto the food.
As the aroma of the meat filled the air, their stomachs began to rumble.
It was inevitable, as their bodies were severely nutrient-deficient and couldn't resist the smell of food.