Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 266: Critical Supplies

The father and son left Xu Yi and Lu Ke’s camp, then stopped about three hundred meters away.

There was plenty of pasture here, enough for their horses to eat their fill.

Moreover, from here they could see Xu Yi’s camp.

"Dad, do you think they’ll be angry knowing we traded raw iron for so many potatoes and a few mangoes?" Zhou Mo opened the bag and took a deep whiff of the mango’s fragrance.

It’s been 71 days, and they’ve only had two kinds of fruit.

One was wild bananas, the other was coconut.

"Definitely not. Raw iron is a highly valuable resource. You noticed their firewood wasn’t chopped, which means they don’t even have an axe. With so much raw iron, they can easily make one. Only a fool wouldn’t recognize the value of that iron. Plus, we hinted to them that we have an iron mine." Zhou Chun spoke at length for the first time, his excitement evident.

Cooperating with Xu Yi and them would definitely lead to a prosperous life.

"Exactly, by partnering with us, they essentially have an iron mine. A hundred days from now, we’ll be able to trade normally with other groups. Weapons remain the rarest commodities," Zhou Mo said happily, quickly understanding the significance of his father’s hint.

"Yes, it’s our greatest advantage." Zhou Chun took out a box of matches and some fluffy grass to start a fire.

Zhou Mo nodded, took out his dagger, sliced the mango, and handed half to his father.

The two of them cooked a pot of potatoes, and, after eating their fill, Zhou Chun took the wrapped bucket off the horse and spread a fur mat on the ground for Zhou Mo to sleep.

They had spent the entire month outdoors, taking turns to sleep. Whenever there was a chance to catch up on sleep, they would seize it.

Xu Yi and Lu Ke were unaware that their camp had visitors and even completed a trade in their absence.

They were tracking a herd of yellow goats; two had been struck by arrows, yet remained on their feet, fleeing with the herd.

The traps hadn’t caught any animals, but they did encounter the yellow goats.

After chasing for about ten minutes, they finally spotted the two arrow-stricken yellow goats.

Without a word, they retrieved their arrows and hoisted the goats to return.

Hunting yellow goats earned no points, but since there were no carnivores present, they could only bring the goats back first.

Originally, Xu Yi intended to hunt just one, given they already had plenty of jerky at home, and with so many potatoes, there wasn’t a need to make excess jerky.

However, Lu Ke mentioned the goatskin could be used for boots, and one skin wouldn’t suffice.

Besides, they had a giant wolf at the camp—a notorious meat-eater, capable of devouring 20 to 30 pounds in one sitting.

So, they carried the yellow goats back to camp.

By noon, they returned to camp.

The goats were placed by the creek, and the two came back with buckets to collect the meat.

Returning to the stilt house, they paused in their tracks.

"Xu Yi, there are words on the ground," Lu Ke exclaimed excitedly, indicating that someone had visited their camp.

(Hello, sorry for trading raw iron for some of your potatoes and mangoes without permission. We haven’t touched anything else in your camp, rest assured. We’re nearby, resting. If you wish to talk, just call out our names. If not, we’ll leave early tomorrow—Zhou Mo, Zhou Chun, Day 71 note.)

Lu Ke read the note aloud and glanced at Xu Yi.

It wasn’t Wang Jin and Lu Yao?

Initially, Lu Ke thought it was Wang Jin and Lu Yao who had found them again and left a message.

Xu Yi went to the door and picked up the piece of iron from the ground.

The piece was refined raw iron, not just ordinary ore.

"A group has found an iron mine; this is great news!" Xu Yi said, weighing the iron chunk in his hand.

"Should we call their names and ask them to come out?" Lu Ke asked, considering it’s only the 71st day and they didn’t need to worry about any attacks from the other group.

Moreover, they hadn’t stolen anything from their camp but instead opted for a trade, reflecting their decent character.

"No rush, let me think about it. There’s still plenty of time," Xu Yi replied, glancing around.

He had already heard some noises, like the snorting of a horse, but wasn’t sure.

"Alright, let’s deal with the yellow goats first and cook a pot of goat soup," Lu Ke suggested, leaving the decision to Xu Yi, without any worry.

"Yes, let’s handle the yellow goats first." Xu Yi nodded, opened the door, and brought the bucket out.

The iron piece was placed on the table by Xu Yi; it was an extremely important resource.

In the exchange market, it was incredibly expensive.

Such a large piece would require at least 30 points.

However, Xu Yi couldn’t quite grasp their intentions.

Did they want to cooperate, or did they have different ideas?

"Xu Yi, aren’t we taking the tripod?" Lu Ke asked Xu Yi.

"We do, I’ll get it, you go ahead." Xu Yi said, propping the ladder against the wall and heading upstairs for a look.

The house had barely changed, confirming that they’d only ’bought’ some potatoes and mangoes.

Xu Yi checked and felt they hadn’t taken much.

Then, Xu Yi took the tripod to the creekside.

"Dad, do you think they’ll agree to meet us?" Zhou Mo asked, peeling a potato. He had already noticed Xu Yi and Lu Ke were back and presumed they had read his note.

"It’s hard to say; we’ll just respect their wishes. If they don’t want to meet, we’ll leave early tomorrow morning." Zhou Chun felt partnerships depended on fate and couldn’t be forced.

"It’s a pity we’re too far to see their faces, but one of them seemed to be a girl, right? Small frame," Zhou Mo commented, although he couldn’t see their faces, he could deduce their shapes and sizes.

"Which makes them even more a worthy partner. A man and a woman, capable of such feats compared to the other groups we’ve encountered," Zhou Chun noted seriously, having been inside the stilt house and aware of Xu Yi and Lu Ke’s good living conditions.

"The choice isn’t up to us. Even though we have an iron mine, we can now exchange points for weapons," Zhou Mo said, glancing at the crossbow in his hand.