TATLC Chapter 08 – Discovering Yam

evening, Chen Xiaomi approached Lu Lin to discuss whether he wanted to continue resting at home or come with him into the mountains.

Lu Lin felt that Chen Xiaomi treated him not like a husband who had married into the family, but more like a hired hand.

After careful consideration, Lu Lin chose to go with Chen Xiaomi into the mountains.

As the only adult man in the household, Lu Lin felt it was necessary to change Chen Xiaocai’s impression that he was a coward and establish his authority.

Early the next morning, Lu Lin followed Chen Xiaomi into the mountains.

In his previous life, Lu Lin grew up in a rural village without mountains, so he was quite curious about the great mountains.

“Stay close to me once we enter the mountains, don’t slow me down,” Chen Xiaomi turned his head with a somewhat fierce expression.

Lu Lin nodded and said, “Okay.”

Chen Xiaomi walked ahead carrying a bow and arrow, while Lu Lin followed behind, holding a bamboo pole sharpened at one end.

Looking at Chen Xiaomi’s bow and arrow, then at his own bamboo spear, Lu Lin silently shed tears. This bamboo spear was too inferior. Even if he couldn’t have a bow, shouldn’t he at least have been given a machete?

Lu Lin understood that Chen Xiaomi’s bow and arrow had cost a lot of money, and machetes were also very expensive.

Chen Xiaomi was very strong, but his exceptional hunting skills were related not only to his incredible physical power but also to his hunting tools.

“Oh, yam.”

Because his tool wasn’t very handy, Lu Lin spent half the day digging out a large yam plant.

Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin, asking suspiciously, “Yam? You mean earth stick? What are you digging that up for?”

Without hesitation, Lu Lin replied, “It’s edible!”

Yam was a treasure! It had high nutritional value. Both he and the three Chen brothers were somewhat malnourished and could use yam to supplement their diet.

Chen Xiaomi frowned, saying with displeasure, “That doesn’t taste good, and it makes you itchy when you touch it. It’s troublesome.”

Chen Xiaomi had been foraging in the mountains from an early age and had noticed this “earth stick” before. However, after touching its skin, his body had become itchy all over, so he thought it might be poisonous and gave up on it.

Lu Lin smiled and said, “It tastes great in porridge. The outer skin will make you itchy when touched, but just be careful when peeling it and it’s fine.”

Lu Lin didn’t touch the yam directly. He found some large leaves to wrap it up and placed it in his back basket, planning to process it after they returned.

Chen Xiaomi said dismissively, “There’s plenty of this stuff in the mountains. Dig up as much as you like if you want it.”

Lu Lin smiled and said, “Great.”

Lu Lin’s convenience store had a lot of snacks but was lacking in ingredients. In this world, it wouldn’t be good to just sit around and deplete their resources.

Chen Xiaomi noticed that Lu Lin wouldn’t finish digging anytime soon and, considering that this area was still close to the foot of the mountain with no fierce beasts nearby, left Lu Lin behind to dig up yams while he ventured deeper to check on several traps he had set.

Chen Xiaomi found two pheasants in his traps and brought them back.

By the time Chen Xiaomi returned with the two pheasants, Lu Lin had already dug up three earth sticks. Chen Xiaomi didn’t really believe that these earth sticks were as delicious as Lu Lin claimed. Privately, he thought that Lu Lin might be afraid of danger and didn’t want to go deeper into the mountains…

Chen Xiaomi felt somewhat disdainful of Lu Lin’s apparent cowardice, but since this was Lu Lin’s first time accompanying him into the mountains, Chen Xiaomi didn’t push him.

Lu Lin vaguely sensed something odd about the way Chen Xiaomi looked at him, but didn’t pay much attention to it.

…

Chen Xiaomi brought one pheasant back home. He instructed Lu Lin to stay and prepare dinner, while he left with the other pheasant.

Chen Xiaomi had almost no social connections in the village, but that wasn’t entirely true.

There was an elderly widowed hunter in the village who had a good relationship with Chen Xiaomi. Several years ago, Chen Xiaomi had secretly gone hunting in the mountains without his family knowing, and the old hunter, taking pity on him, taught him some hunting and trapping skills. The reason Chen Xiaomi had been able to hunt a tiger back then was because the old hunter had lent him a bow and arrow.

More than a year ago, the old hunter had broken his leg, making it difficult for him to hunt, and his life had become extremely hard.

Chen Xiaomi was someone who remembered kindness and repaid favors. When he had extra food, he would bring some to the old hunter. However, Chen Xiaomi had two younger brothers to feed, so there was only so much he could do.

Chen Xiaocai looked at the earth sticks Lu Lin had brought back and frowned, saying, “Why did you bring this thing back? It’ll give you red rashes on your hands.”

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaocai, thinking to himself: These brothers really share the same prejudice.

“This actually tastes quite good,” Lu Lin explained.

Chen Xiaocai snorted lightly and said, “Idiot.”

Lu Lin ignored Chen Xiaocai and waved his hand, saying, “Don’t get in my way here. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

Chen Xiaocai’s face reddened with anger as he said, “Keep that stuff for yourself, I won’t eat it.”

After Chen Xiaocai left, Lu Lin secretly sighed in relief. The family was so poor they didn’t even have a proper knife. They used pottery shards for peeling and a bone knife for cutting vegetables. That bone knife was terribly dull. If Chen Xiaocai had stayed, Lu Lin wouldn’t have been able to take out the two-yuan knives from his convenience store.

If he had to peel the yam with a pottery shard, who knows how long that would take.

Lu Lin took out his small knife, thinking to himself: This kind of knife was everywhere in two-yuan stores in his previous life, but here it should be considered a divine tool.