Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Sea Buckthorn Fruit
Director Chen asked the staff to display all options.
There were cookware and tableware, steel knives for defense and hunting, multifunctional folding knives, as well as lighting tools for fire ignition. Besides, there were various food items and seasonings.
There were large barrels of drinking water, nuts, compressed biscuits, as well as rice and flour, and fresh vegetables and meat.
There were many types, but not many in quantity.
Canned goods still came in sets of five cans, compressed biscuits were also in sets of five packs. Rice and flour were two pounds per bag, vegetables were one pound per bundle, and meat was also one pound per portion.
The kids couldn’t move once they saw the meat and each grabbed a portion.
Fu Guoqiang sighed, "Don’t rush, don’t forget, we still have to choose cookware, and it seems there’s nothing to make bowls and chopsticks in the desert."
They also had to negotiate for tableware, and the program group arranged for a set of tableware for two people, which alone would cost five exchange slots.
Gu Cheng thought carefully, "Don’t trade for tableware, we can trade two sets of luncheon meat, and later use ten empty cans as our bowls. For chopsticks, we can choose some suitable branches."
In the desert, we can’t chop down trees, but breaking a few branches is still possible.
Fu Guoqiang realized, "Yes, let’s do that, we can have ten cans of meat to eat."
However, in this way, their first meal must be mainly canned meat.
After trading for two sets of canned meat, they traded for a 4.5-liter bottle of pure water.
This water can be drunk even without boiling, mainly for the kids who have weak stomachs.
They also traded for a filtration device, but this small filter was unassembled and only came with instructions.
Steel knives weren’t very useful here, so they chose multifunctional folding knives that could be used as kitchen knives, fruit knives, and also as a can opener.
The parents carefully selected two sets of canned goods, a barrel of water, a small filter, a multifunctional folding knife, a shallow and uneven pot, seasoning, a lighter, a bag of rice, a bag of flour, totaling ten slots.
In fact, everyone wanted to choose more staples that were easy to store and filling, because if they couldn’t find food in the desert later, these would be their lifeline.
Gu Cheng: "Let’s give the kids ten slots and let them choose on their own."
Cui Chi, observing his interaction with Gu Miaomiao, smiled, "Is this for Miaomiao to choose, no more taking charge randomly?"
Gu Cheng readily admitted.
"Respect kids, treat kids equally."
He gradually understood that he shouldn’t make decisions for his younger brother just because he’s the elder brother and thinks it’s for his brother’s good. Nor should he dismiss his sister just because she’s a child.
There needs to be equality and respect among family members too.
The kids, having gained the right to choose, happily made their selections.
Gu Jiujiu chose two pounds of beef, using two slots.
Fu Youyou initially wanted to choose ribs but then observed carefully, "There’s so little meat, better choose lean meat."
She chose two pounds of pork.
Xiong Chenli also wanted to choose two pounds of beef but was informed that there was no beef left.
He squinted his eyes and suspiciously eyed the staff, eventually choosing two trays of eggs, totaling 60 eggs.
Xiong Chenfei couldn’t help but give a thumbs up, "Good choice."
Xiong Chenli squinted his eyes and smiled.
This was the first time his sister praised him since she entered the entertainment industry.
He ran back excitedly and heard Fu Youyou’s childish voice saying, "Your sister seems to have become prettier."
[Where did she become prettier?]
[She seems not to have used heavy makeup like before]
[Also not as pretentious as before]
[At least she knows how to praise her brother]
[Did she check online comments and make changes accordingly, such a phony]
[Whether it’s because of online comments or not, change is a good thing]
At this moment, netizens heard Xiong Chenli quietly say, "Actually, after the last show, dad and mom criticized sister, saying her brain was muddled and unclear, and that she seemed different since entering the industry. Sister cried for a long time, and then she started to change."
Although sister looked pitiful when she cried, he really missed the sister before she entered the entertainment industry. Now that sister is gradually returning to her old self, it’s a good thing.
It’s Cui Jixing’s turn to choose.
He had his eyes on a chicken and a duck.
However, he had realized that everyone’s staple food wasn’t enough.
"What should I choose?"
Tuanzi approached to discuss with him.
They finally decided to use their four slots to exchange for a chicken, a duck, a bag of flour, and a two-pound package of frozen dumplings.
Everyone sorted out the ingredients and thought and thought, still feeling there weren’t enough staple foods.
Of the staple foods, flour had the most preparation options, so they should exchange for another bag.
Gu Cheng suggested, "Why not skip the lighter? We can use friction to make fire, or use sunlight."
The desert has strong sunlight during the day; with a water bottle, metal can, or even filling a transparent plastic bag with water, you can use them as convex mirrors to focus sunlight to create fire.
A lighter really isn’t worth an exchange slot.
Everyone thought it over and decided to accept this suggestion, exchanging the lighter for two pounds of flour.
After such a hustle, it was already past eleven.
Gu Cheng: "Let’s have dumplings, luncheon meat, and boil some eggs for lunch, okay?"
They needed to quickly empty the cans to use as bowls, plus frozen dumplings weren’t as filling as homemade ones, so they needed to boil some eggs to fill their stomachs.
After confirming the lunch ingredients, everyone split into groups to act.
Some collected firewood, some started a fire, some found suitable branches to make chopsticks, and others assembled the filter to prepare for filtering river water.
[This pace is okay]
[Yeah, no need to endlessly search for food, yet it’s necessary to use some wilderness survival knowledge]
[What about the kids, aren’t they helping?]
[Looks like they’re negotiating with the program group]
[What are they negotiating now?]
Gu Jiujiu led the four little partners, speaking sweetly, requesting that the meat ingredients be handed over to them for preservation.
"Please help us with preservation."
Director Chen: "..." So we’re a refrigerator?
The program group did indeed bring generators and refrigerators.
Director Chen wanted to refuse; knowing how to preserve food outdoors was also a skill.
But... with five kids looking at him with bright eyes, he really couldn’t refuse.
"Only this once."
Tuanzi was the first to nod, "Mmhmm, only this once in each place, mmhmm."
The other kids echoed, "Mmhmm."
Director Chen: "... You guys go help too, there are still some wild fruits nearby."
The kids quickly dispersed.
After looking around, they indeed found sea buckthorn fruit.
"They’re so small, can we eat them?"
Tuanzi picked one, held it under her nose to smell, and scrunched her little face, "It’s so sour."
But the system told her it’s edible and rich in vitamin C. They needed to eat some wild fruits since they weren’t choosing vegetables for their survival in the wild.
Tuanzi could only scrunch up her little face, slowly picking these sea buckthorn fruits.
[They look so small, can we eat them?]
[Yes, wild sea buckthorn fruits are smaller and more sour but highly nutritious]
[The ones that are cultivated artificially are bigger and taste better, having been improved]
[Wait, look behind Miaomiao, is that a sand willow tree?]
[Seems like it is, just a bit short, dusty gray, and leaves are withered like they’ve shrunk]
[But there’s a lot of fruit, the branches are bent over]