Chapter 35: Peril at the Iron Pot

Looking at the large fish in its grasp, the goose thought with great satisfaction, "This fish is so plump. Once we get back and stew a pot of it, the whole family can have a taste of meat."

The river was teeming with large, abundant fish that looked incredibly fatty and delicious; it had to seize the opportunity to catch as many as it could.

If it were stewed, it could eat it too.

Cooked food was always better than raw.

However, it was truly hungry, so it wouldn't pass up raw fish either. It swallowed the small ones directly and carried the large ones back.

Before long, it caught another one.

The villagers watching this scene felt a sense of numbness. Not only were they taking their child out to play, but they were also letting a goose roam? And this goose could actually catch fish!

Yet, for some reason, they felt a pang of jealousy.

"How on earth did they raise that goose? It’s so big and so well-behaved."

Word had it that the old Guo family at the entrance of the village, who raised geese, lived in constant chaos. After the apocalypse began, their geese grew more aggressive by the day, fighting their owners just for a bite of food.

When facing their owners, the geese were united, but the moment the owners turned away, they would immediately start brawling among themselves, plucking each other until they were bald.

Just earlier at the village entrance, someone had been shouting about selling geese.

But at one gram of gold per goose, who could afford that?

Using gold for trade was a makeshift solution. Even if most people had cash—which they didn't, since everything was done via digital payments these days—they wouldn't accept it now. As for gold, no one had much of it stashed away, so naturally, they were unwilling to part with it for a trade.

Now, seeing the large goose raised by the Qin family—which had grown so big and obedient in just a few days—they couldn't help but feel tempted.

If raised well, perhaps it could catch fish too.

They hadn't tasted meat in so many days; how could they not be envious?

In the blink of an eye, seeing the goose, nicknamed "Iron Pot," haul up an even larger fish, someone could no longer hold back.

"Qin Da, is this fish for sale?"

Qin Bainian was about to refuse when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down and saw his niece staring intently at the man. He asked in a low, puzzled voice, "Xiaoyu, what’s wrong?"

Qin Xiaoyu pointed at Jiang Daming and whispered, "Uncle, the fish isn't for sale, but it can be traded. Tell him to bring the Isatis root planted in their yard to trade. One hundred plants for a ten-pound fish, and we have to go pick them ourselves."

Qin Baisong leaned in, "Daughter, are you silly? There’s plenty of Isatis root on the mountain. We can just go dig it up; why bother trading fish for it?"

Qin Xiaoyu glanced at him, "But the ones in their yard look greener."

Qin Baisong was stunned. Greener? Aren't all plants green?

Qin Bainian’s eyes flickered as he suddenly realized what his niece meant: she was talking about green-light mutant plants.

Of course, he couldn't see this "green light," but judging by the mutant plants they had cleared recently, there was a clear difference between green and red—there was definitely something about them they didn't yet understand.

He patted Qin Baisong’s shoulder and was about to speak to the man when a great commotion erupted from Iron Pot’s direction.

"Qin Da, Qin Er! Your goose seems to be tangled in some water weeds!" someone suddenly shouted.

Hearing this, the two brothers immediately sensed trouble and rushed over.

They saw Iron Pot struggling in the deeper water near the vegetation, trying to climb out, but something was snagging its feet.

Without a second thought, the two men rushed into the river. Fortunately, it wasn't very deep and the current was sluggish; the water only reached their shoulders where Iron Pot was.

However, just as they entered the river and before they could reach the goose, Iron Pot let out a furious squawk. Instead of struggling to reach the shore, it turned and dove headfirst into the water.

The river surged violently. The brothers couldn't get close, so they retreated to the bank, watching with worry.

More and more villagers gathered at the riverside, shocked to see a goose fighting mutant water weeds.

What had the world come to? Even water weeds were becoming sentient.

It was truly terrifying; not only was the land unsafe, but the water was just as dangerous.

At this moment, even those who held a grudge against the Qin family hoped to see the goose win.

"Will Iron Pot be alright?" Qin Baisong asked, his face full of concern. His daughter had raised this goose with such care—she hadn't even been willing to slaughter it for food—it couldn't just be ruined by a bunch of weeds.

Qin Bainian frowned, his own worry just as deep.

"It will definitely be fine," Qin Xiaoyu said.

Even if it couldn't win, wasn't she there? She hadn't been willing to cook such a big goose; it couldn't possibly be lost to mutant weeds.

After about half an hour, Iron Pot finally climbed out of the river, covered in wounds.

Not only were many of its feathers plucked, but a piece of skin had been torn from its foot.

Qin Xiaoyu took out the styptic powder she carried with her and stopped the bleeding.

"Honk!"

Iron Pot was dejected. As a dignified "Goose King," being bullied by a patch of weeds was a total disgrace to its kind.

"It’s okay, it's not a big deal! You should have guessed it already. Even the sunflower heads at home have mutated; isn't it normal for the water plants to mutate too? The water ones might even be more dangerous. Be more careful next time, and it’s best you don't go out by yourself."

Qin Xiaoyu applied the medicine and patted its head comfortingly.

Iron Pot blinked, its mind racing as it imagined the possibilities, finally reaching a conclusion.

The world had truly become a terrifying place. Its owner hadn't taken it fishing in a while because she was worried about its safety.

Even though it was injured, its owner was so good to it.

Qin Xiaoyu added, "It’s fine. If you can't beat it this time, you'll beat it next time. You’re such a big goose; you can't let a bunch of pathetic weeds bully you."

"Honk?"

That wasn't a bunch; that was a massive patch.

"It’s fine, it’s all the same—it’s just one plant anyway."

"Honk?"

Iron Pot was shocked. Something that powerful and that large was just one plant?

Ah, a goose couldn't survive this!

"Buck up! Eat it!"

"..."

Iron Pot thought, it didn't even like eating water weeds. That stuff was filthy—nothing like the land plants. Even the rotten vegetable leaves its old owner used to feed it were better than that.

"Besides, you’ve eaten it before, haven't you?" Qin Xiaoyu patted its head. "If you've eaten it, it counts as food. Even if it's not your food, it counts as food for the fish and shrimp. The fish and shrimp eat the weeds, and you eat the fish and shrimp—by rounding up, it basically counts as you eating it."

Iron Pot: ...

It didn't understand; it felt a bit brain-scrambling.

Seeing that Iron Pot was severely injured, the villagers felt too embarrassed to ask about buying fish. They dispersed, wandering around the vicinity instead.

Afraid of being attacked by plants, they didn't dare leave the perimeter of Huashi Mountain.

Seeing that Iron Pot was out of danger and the situation was under control, Qin Xiaoyu felt relieved and went off to climb the mountain.

Qin Baisong wanted to follow out of concern, but he, an adult with long legs, couldn't keep up with an eight-year-old child. The child was plump and fair-skinned, clearly well-cared for, yet she disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

Huashi Mountain was much like the other mountains in the area—it looked large, but it was shaped like a steamed bun and wasn't very tall. It only took Qin Xiaoyu half an hour to reach the summit.

The peak was covered in jagged, strange rocks with no flat paths to walk on.

Qin Xiaoyu looked around, decided not to walk anymore, and crouched down by a rock to study it.