A Young Woman's Heart

The other lunchbox contained several packets of pickled bamboo shoots.

After taking them out, the freed-up lunchbox can be used for cooking rice.

A full box of raw rice will definitely need to be cooked in at least two batches, so you can use two lunchboxes to cook it all at once.

"What did Xiaoyao bring?"

"Ah...I...didn't bring anything..." Mo Xueyao's schoolbag contained no food, only some underwear that she might need to change into, and a coin knife that Nora had given her.

So her backpack was the flattest, which was to save herself energy when going up the mountain... She even only brought one bottle of water.

If there were no well here, she would probably have to drink water from other people.

"Hmm, anyway, this is enough for lunch and dinner..."

Hua Yinyin brought a total of six cans of food, and eating three per meal was just right.

As for food, we need to be more frugal. It's fine for two people to eat two meals a day, but for three people, everyone has to eat less.

"But no problem, there's no shortage of food in the mountains!"

"You recognize wild vegetables?" Mo Xueyao asked doubtfully.

"Cough, I don't recognize him."

"Then what did you say?" She rolled her eyes, looking at Hua Yinyin with disdain. "So we can only eat these things, and it's best not to eat wild vegetables or mushrooms, what if we get poisoned?"

“I can look for it.” Li Wanyan stood up and put on the sandals that were placed by the door. “There must be plenty of edible wild vegetables on the mountain.”

"Like the bitter greens from last time? But we don't have any seasonings..."

"That's easy, just pour in some canned broth and you can use it as a seasoning," Hua Yinyin said casually.

Mo Xueyao instinctively wanted to refute, but upon closer reflection, it seemed to be true.

In terms of wilderness survival, she seems to be no match for these two.

One is experienced, and the other seems to be a wilderness survival enthusiast.

Perhaps it was because Hua Yinyin's father liked it that she also developed some interest in it?

"By the way, are there any newspapers left?" Hua Yinyin asked.

"There are only six or seven spares left," Mo Xueyao said, pointing to the table.

"One sheet is enough. It'll be enough to seal this window without glass, so that not so many bugs will fly in at night." Hua Yinyin snapped her fingers, humming a little tune as she busied herself again.

Mo Xueyao sat on the wooden table covered with newspaper, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window. A strange sense of belonging welled up inside her, making her want to write something.

She carried a notebook and a pen in her schoolbag, not because she thought they would be of any use, but simply because it was a personal habit.

But at times like these, it's the perfect way to pass the time.

Human imagination is boundless, and with paper and pen, we can write down these imaginations, and the time spent recording them makes us feel incredibly fulfilled.

"What does Xiaoyaoyao plan to write?" Hua Yinyin asked from the side after she finished pasting the newspaper.

"I don't know what to write, I just suddenly felt like writing something."

"Huh...? It's just like when I want to draw but don't know what to draw."

"Hmm... I've got it, Yin Yin. Do you have paper and pen with you?"

"Of course! As an artist, I always carry my drawing tools with me wherever I go!"

That hiking backpack of hers must have been really tough...

They managed to pack so much stuff in one go.

"How about we collaborate? I'll write the script, and you draw the visuals?"

"Okay," Hua Yinyin readily agreed.

"Let me think about what to paint. In these mountains... there's usually no one around!"

"What's wrong? Did you get an inspiration?" Hua Yinyin seemed to see the exclamation mark in Mo Xueyao's tone—just like an anime character, she instantly realized something.

"How about 'The Giant of Light'?"

"Eh--?"

"It's a giant like Ultraman, but it doesn't have to be drawn like them. Uh... it can be a giant made of pure light, without any details."

"How can you express the characteristics without drawing details?"

"Use different colors of light in different situations?"

"But we still need to add some details, right? Like the light spots or something."

"Hmm... that's up to you."

"Little Yaoyao, hurry up and write a short story so I can see it!"

"Wait, wait, don't rush, I'll write it right away..."

……

Chapter Sixty-Five: The Establishment of a Small Studio (Part 1)

At the mountaintop, the sun shone down without any obstruction.

The intense, brilliant light shone through the window and cast a beam of light onto the wooden table.

However, perhaps because we were in the mountains, although I was slightly sweating, it wasn't very hot and was perfectly tolerable.

Hua Yinyin even picked a few banana leaves to use as a fan.

Li Wanyan picked some bitter greens, wild sweet potato vines, ferns with curled leaves, and purslane.

"You even have Malantou?" Mo Xueyao looked surprised. She had seen it in the market, but none of them were as small as the ones Li Wanyan dug up.

"Yes, there are quite a few on the hillside."

"It seems that as long as you know these wild vegetables, it's almost impossible to starve to death in the mountains..."

"We still will." Since there was only one chair, Hua Yinyin squeezed next to Mo Xueyao, and the two of them each sat in half of the seat. "Otherwise, why would the ancients have farmed?"

"Farming is only necessary because it provides a more convenient and stable source of food. Besides, people only need to farm. If there are only a few people in a mountain, I think they can live well without farming."

"I'll go wash the vegetables." Li Wanyan nodded gently and walked out of the small wooden house.

The cabin door was made of iron, and although it was rusty, it was probably the most durable item in the whole cabin.

Li Wanyan used Hua Yinyin's water jug ​​to scoop water from the well, then found several large banana leaves, washed them clean, and laid them on the ground. She then sorted the washed vegetables into categories and arranged them neatly. Finally, she rolled them up with the banana leaves and stored them on the table.

She washed the vegetables very slowly because she was very careful. After all, this was in the wild, and although there were no pesticide residues, there would still be some insects.

Especially for vegetables that are eaten with the roots intact, it is even more important to wash them thoroughly.

If there are dirty things in the food, no one will have an appetite.

Meanwhile, Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin began to brainstorm ideas.

Mo Xueyao was thinking about the general framework of the story, while Hua Yinyin was thinking about how to draw the cover of the comic.

The cover usually features the main character, and the main character of "Giants of Light" is definitely the giant.

So what should a giant look like?

"Hey, Yaoyao, what do you plan for the giant to look like?"

"Uh... it shouldn't be too much of an imitation of the Ultraman series, right? I think it should be a giant made entirely of light, like this?"

"Huh? Wouldn't that make the image too monotonous? There wouldn't be anything particularly outstanding about it."

"Should we design it like Ultraman?"

“We can take some inspiration from it; we can design it to be more like a living organism.”

"Hmm, that's possible, but it would be very difficult to draw, wouldn't it?"

"Heh heh, leave this to me! I've studied muscle structure on my own! As for the giant, just think of him as an enlarged version of a human."

"But it seems that we still can't escape those design elements such as masks?"

Hua Yinyin tilted her head: "Do you think the face should be designed to make expressions?"

“No, that would make it seem less solemn and dignified.” Mo Xueyao shook her head vigorously.

"Huh—?" Hua Yinyin was a little confused about what she meant.

"Hmm... it really should be like plaster cast?"

"sculpture?"

"Yes, yes, that's it."

"I roughly understand what it means. A face as solemn as a sculpture, but it should still be able to make expressions, right?"

"Yes...but the magnitude shouldn't be too large."

“Yes, the male figures in the sculptures are usually smiling, and the bodies are drawn to convey a sense of life.” Hua Yinyin nodded solemnly, feeling as if she had received a huge challenge.

Do we need a light?

"Wait... eh... um... the light in the eyes?" Mo Xueyao asked back.

"No, it's on the chest."

"How about we make it look like a heart?" Mo Xueyao stroked her chin.

"A heart doesn't look good..."

"What I mean is, the kind that's beautified?"

"A heart? That's weird."

Mo Xueyao was troubled and thought for a long time: "Anyway, it shouldn't be round."

"triangle?"

"Ah...that works too."