It was too troublesome to pluck all the feathers. Shen Shian couldn’t help but simply make a V-shaped incision on the mutant goose’s chest, and peeled off the entire skin.

The dog was smarter than what he appeared to be. He grabbed one side of the incision and pulled down hard, and the whole piece of goose was cleaned up.

Fortunately, there was less pollution in remote places far from the city, and it was not difficult to find a place where the goose could be washed. Shen Shian took the whole goose into the space, and walked out to a rather wide clear water lake to release it again. There should be people washing clothes in the lake as there were several square and very flat limestones spread along the shore. The limestones were to make it convenient for people to stand up and bend over to wash their clothes in the lake.

The long sword that could cut blowing hair and cut iron as if it was mud had never been used, but today it has come in handy. With a few cuts, the whole goose was easily chopped to head and tail. The rest was divided into 50 pieces each with each block weighing about 22 pounds. Everything was cleaned by the lake one by one, and then moved into the fresh area on the second floor of the bamboo building.

The internal organs were more troublesome. Except for the heart, which could be cooked just after washing it, the goose’s gizzard and intestines were really difficult to cook. To solve this, he would simply dig again the shallow pits that were previously pecked by the geese so that it became deeper and bury them together with the unwanted parts such as the goose’s skin and feathers.

By the time they were all disposed properly, the sky had already darkened.

Because of the mutant geese in this area, the zombies and survivors were driven away. It was rare to find a safe place. Shen Shian thought about it and asked the child, “Let’s sleep outside tonight, we will camp and have a barbecue. How about it?” It’s early summer, the night temperature is just right, and there’s nothing to do in the space. It would be boring to stay inside everytime.

Did he still need to ask? Shen Xun agreed without hesitation.

He chose a flat field with a clear sight of the horizon by the lake, and the off-road vehicle was taken out of the space. A dozen bamboo poles were also taken out. Using the off-road vehicle as a middle point, the bamboo poles were inserted at a distance, forming a circle with a diameter of about 15 meters. A rope was attached to the bamboo poles, and there were bells, forks, spoons, and other metal pieces. If something were to hit the rope, the sound could act as a little warning. Although simple, it was still better than nothing.

Shen Shian had just set up the protective ring when the child walked over holding a tree branch, “An An, this should be enough to roast the goose!”

Shen Shian raised an eyebrow: To roast a goose feather should be enough.

When the first star started to appear in the dark blue sky, three bonfires lit up in the open space beside the clear lake.

There was an iron pot on the bonfire, and the goose soup in the iron pot had produced small bubbles. The hot aroma had emerged from the gap between the lids, overflowing.

A pile of half-meter-long bamboo sticks was being held by Shen Xun. After washing the goose again, he cut the pieces, with fruits, vegetables and mushrooms into smaller pieces. Then he skewered the pieces on the bamboo sticks: A piece of goose meat, an apple, a goose meat, a king oyster mushroom, a goose meat, a bell pepper……

A total of eight bamboo sticks were finished. He sprinkled seasonings, and placed them in an iron plate next to the bonfire. Shen Xun would hold one in one hand and lift it over the fire. The mutant goose was large in size and rich in fat. The goose oil was roasted out of the fire and flowed through the vegetables and fruits in turn, giving it a strong taste. It finally drips in the wood fire and bursts into a big fire for a while.

The child swallowed while turning the bamboo sticks. Staring at the food without blinking he shouted at Shen Shian every few minutes, “An An! Can the meat be eaten yet?”

“No.” After the third time of Shen Xun calling him, Shen Shian immediately replied without lifting his head. While brushing honey on the goose wings, he said, “Give me the meat.”

The goose wings of the mutant goose were too large. Even if Shen Shian only cut the wing tip, it was more than one meter long. He used a knife and made a cut in the thickest part of the meat and put it on the grill for a while before starting to swell the oil. The grills were reassembled and made from supermarket shelves, about half a meter tall, just right above the campfire. After brushing the honey, he brushed a layer of the prepared sauce. After roasting for a few minutes, he turned the goose wings and the grill shook a little bit.

The self-made grill was still a bit unstable, Shen Shian anxiously thought, in the future, he would have to collect a set of special equipment for grilling.

The aroma in the air was getting stronger and stronger. Just as the child was choking on his own saliva, Shen Shian finally announced, “It’s ready to eat.”

Although the mutant goose was big, the meat was not tough, but was fat and juicy. The goose soup was hot and delicious, the grilled skewers were tender, the aroma of the goose wings was tangy, and each of the three cooking styles had its own wonderful points. With the cool breeze of the wilderness and the bright stars, it was truly enjoyable.

Shen Shian took out a can of cold beer from the space, opened it and took a sip. There was a stimulus on his neck, and he felt that the pores in his whole body were spreading out in an instant. The child was holding the goose wings and eating happily. When he saw the beer, he asked Shen Shian and took a sip. Before he swallowed it, his eyebrows wrinkled, and he spit it out again.

He raised his cola to Shen Shian’s mouth, “An An, drink this!” An An must have given him all the good drinks so he was left with the not tasty drinks.

They ate for almost two hours, and in the end there was nothing left. Shen Xun was sitting next to the bonfire holding his full stomach. Shen Shian leaned on his backpack, took out a packet of marshmallow, skewered some with bamboo sticks and roasted it on the fire. He gave the roasted marshmallow as a dessert for the child. The soft marshmallows were roasted to a yellowish appearance, and the rich sweet aroma flowed in the air. Before eating, they could already know it was sweet.

After roasting marshmallows, the mess around the ground was cleaned up, all the bonfires were extinguished and buried in the ground. Shen Shi’an took the child’s hand and walked around Qingshui Lake to eat.

Shen Xun held the skewered roasted marshmallow in one hand, and waited until the appearance was not so hot before eating it. He did not expect that the inside part was still hot, but the taste was really good and he couldn’t bear to spit it out, “Good, good, it’s really good! An An you also eat.”

Shen Shian lowered his head and bit the marshmallow, the hot and sweet taste spread in his mouth, and even his mood became happy with it. After taking two turns around the lake, he hugged the child, “Go to the space to take a bath and prepare to sleep. We should get up early tomorrow.”

They slept directly in the car at night. The rear seat could slide forward and backward, and when it was slided to the front seat, it became fully flat. It was a large, soft bed. It was enough for two or more people to sleep.

Shen Shian adjusted the pillows, covered the lying child with a blanket and laid down.

The sunroof was half open, and from the position where they laid down, they could see the stars shining brightly. The night breeze came in and flickered out with the fragrance of grass. The temperature was not high or low, just right and comfortable.

Shen Xun was sleeping in the wild for the first time, he was so excited that he stared at the starry sky from “Stars hang level in broad space” to “A boat laden with sweet dreams weighs down the Milky Way”{n1}, and at the end Shen Shian was so annoyed at him who didn’t want to sleep and covered his eyes with his palm, “Go sleep.”

Note1: The 2 lines came from a different poems, the first line is from: https://eastasiastudent.net/china/classical/du-fu-thoughts-travelling-night/
The second line is from: https://www.zhihu.com/question/22228958 (I don’t know how to translate poems)

The thick eyelashes brushed against the palm of his hand, and the child turned over. His dark green eyes shone brightly, and he used his fingers to point between his foreheads, “Good night kiss first.”

Shen Shian couldn’t help but want to laugh. He bowed his head and kissed him, “Good night, can you sleep now?”

Shen Xun was satisfied with the kiss on the forehead, “Good night, An An.”

While holding Shen Shian’s arm, he squeezed into his arms to find a comfortable position. His nose sniffed secretly, An An used a strawberry-flavored shower gel tonight, hehehe.

At more than three o’clock the next day, Shen Shian finally drove the car back to the main road and confirmed his location on the map. After several measurements, he decided to go to a medium-sized township 20 kilometers away as a temporary base.

There were three main reasons. First, he needed to replenish clean water. Second, the population in the town was about 15-20 thousand, which was neither too much nor too small. It was so that he could find evolved zombies. And three, there was an agricultural shop specializing in agricultural products and seeds in the town.

There were not many grass seeds left in the space, and there was a large amount of mutant geese. It was expected that a new batch will be planted every other period, and sufficient reserves must be made. In addition, the capture of the geese gave him inspiration. If he could control the mutant goose into the subspace and control it, then if he met an undefeated enemy in the future, can he do the same?

Of course this enemy was limited to humans. Zombies could obviously feel his space, and its desire for spring water was even more than fresh flesh. If a zombie accidentally entered the space, that would be bad. He still had too little information about zombies. The space and spring water were too important, he couldn’t take this risk.

As for avoiding the rescue team, the military’s early rescue targets were mostly concentrated in the outer areas of large cities and small and medium-sized cities. Because of the vastness and sparse population in remote areas, survivors had a high chance of self-rescue, and they were unlikely to run into any rescue teams in a short time. Even if bad luck really hit him, he wouldn’t give his own name. Anyway, the other party didn’t know he was carrying a child, and when the communication network collapsed, Shen Shian suspected that those who wanted to find him could only use the military device for talking or transmitting text messages. Photos probably could not be transmitted, so the rescue team probably didn’t even know what he looked like.

Shen Xun always had no objection to his plan. Sitting in the co-driver, he was still thinking about the whole goose feast last night, “An An, can we still eat goose tonight?”

Shen Shian put away the map, “Depends on the situation.”

Looks like they couldn’t eat goose tonight.

Because Shen Shian just parked his car at the destination, a store specializing in agricultural products and seeds. Shen Xun sniffled the air, “An An, there are people inside.”

Needless to say, Shen Shian also noticed it. He used his spiritual powers to enhance his five senses. The strong heartbeat in the shop was clearly heard in his ear through the door, there was only one person.

This agricultural shop was located at the forefront of the township street. As soon as the car came along the road, there were not many surrounding buildings, and most of them were commercial shops. Therefore, the population was small and only a few zombies were around.

Shen Shian turned off the engine, took out the long sword and carried it on his body. He got out of the car and walked to the other side to pick up the child. After locking the car, he went to the shop.

The iron fence outside the shop door was not tightly closed, leaving a gap of about 20 cm. Shen Shian pulled open the iron fence and stood outside the door and shouted, “Is anyone there? I am a survivor passing by, and I don’t have any bad intentions.”

It was near dusk, and the shop was a little dark due to the power failure and the door was closed, but with the light coming in through the glass window at the top of the door, Shen Shian still saw the figure standing at the corner of the counter.

It was a young man, about 20 years old, slightly taller than Shen Shian. He had good facial features but was very thin, and seemed to be malnourished. His legs were long and straight, and he seemed to have enough strength. He could also clearly see the traces of long-term exercise. If it was before the end of the world, he should be the type to be popular with female students.