Livestock preferred reeds to water hyacinths. The plants were nutritious; fresh, tender reed stems and leaves, as well as dried reed grass, could all be fed to cattle and sheep. However, like water hyacinths, dried reeds had to be fermented into silage before being fed to them.

Beyond that, reeds had many other uses. The rhizomes were edible and could be stir-fried or stewed. They could be made into reed root and mung bean soup, reed root chicken soup, or reed root and japonica rice congee. Their rich crude fiber content accelerated intestinal peristalsis and aided digestion.

Reeds also had medicinal properties. The roots were used to reduce internal heat, the flowers for detoxification, and both the stems and roots were important ingredients in treating plagues.

Reed stalks also contained a large amount of cellulose and could be used for papermaking and weaving mats.

Residents of the reed marshes also used reeds to make flutes, brooms, mats, bedding, and even roofing for their houses.

Reeds were a complete treasure trove. The sight of the endless reed marsh before them was exhilarating.

Rainfall had decreased over the past few days, making the water level too low for the yacht and steamship to continue.

Rather than being forced to stop in the middle of the river channel, it was better to stay here for a while and regroup.

Big Black and Little Black let out excited howls, and several brown birds suddenly burst from the reeds.

They weren’t small, either, probably weighing at least two or three pounds each.

As a ranger, Lu Zhifeng immediately recognized them as a type of large wading bird, scientifically known as the Great Bittern, but which locals usually called a Pu-chicken.

This was because when it spread its wings, it looked like a cattail fan, and when it ran, it resembled a half-grown chicken.

Lu Zhifeng said happily, "Pu-chickens can’t fly very high or very far. If we go down now, we should be able to catch a few."

Shen Baoying smiled. "Then we’ve got our dinner for tonight."

Lu Zhifeng was eager to try. He knew many ways to trap prey and was confident that catching a few Pu-chickens would be no problem.

Jiang Si used her binoculars to survey the surrounding terrain. Only after seeing no signs of lurking people or ferocious beasts did she have them drop anchor.

An anchor alone wasn’t enough; the boats would still drift with the current.

Qin Shen and Jiang Linhai jumped off the boat, drove several sturdy wooden stakes into the ground around the reed marsh, and then tied the boats to the posts.

Once they confirmed all three boats were securely moored, Jiang Si and Lu Zhifeng grabbed a Beast Cage, back baskets, and sickles, and descended into the reed bed.

The reed bed was mostly soft mud. Jiang Si wore waders, which made it easier to use her sickle to harvest the reeds.

In no time at all, they had cut half a basketful of reeds.

Suddenly, Jiang Linhai shouted in pleasant surprise, "Sisi, come look at this!"

Jiang Si walked over and saw a pile of dirt-caked lumps at Jiang Linhai and Qin Shen’s feet.

Jiang Si picked one up and sniffed it. "Mushrooms?"

Jiang Linhai nodded happily. "Mhm, it’s a type of fungus that grows at the base of reeds. We only ever find them under reeds, so when we were kids, we called them reed mushrooms."

Lu Zhifeng came over and added, "Reed mushrooms have more umami flavor than other mushrooms. I used to dig them up all the time as a kid, too. But everyone dug them up so aggressively that by the time we grew up, they were pretty rare. They’re best for making soup."

Jiang Si searched her memory. ’I think I’ve had these before, too.’

Back then, she had even asked her dad why he was picking up cowpats.

Jiang Linhai remembered and laughed. "You did have them once. You drank two big bowls of chicken soup that day." He turned to look at Qin Shen. "I bet you’ve never had these. You should eat your fill tonight!"

Qin Shen nodded. "Okay."

Venturing a little deeper and cutting away the reeds, Jiang Si gathered a whole sack of reed mushrooms in no time.

It was fine if they couldn’t eat them all; they could always dry the mushrooms for later.

Jiang Linhai also dug up some reed roots. They were delicious served cold with some chili, or stir-fried with cured meat.

When he was a child, they used to dig them up and eat them as a snack.

He wanted to taste one to see if it was sweet, but Jiang Si stopped him. "Be careful, there could be parasites."

Jiang Si had privately educated him about many mutated plants and animals. At her reminder, Jiang Linhai paused, his hand halfway to his mouth, and smiled. "Then I’ll wash it back on the boat before I eat it."

There was standing water under the reed root system. As Jiang Linhai was digging, he unearthed a rather large crayfish.

Jiang Linhai exclaimed, "Sisi, look how big this crayfish is!"

"Check if it’s mutated. Can we eat it?"

’The way he said it, it was as if he was certain Jiang Si would know,’ Lu Zhifeng thought. ’A bit strange, but he probably just asked offhandedly.’

The crayfish’s back was bright red, while its head and large pincers were bluish-purple.

Jiang Si had eaten this kind during the apocalypse, so she nodded. "It should be edible."

Jiang Linhai was ecstatic. "Your mom makes delicious garlic crayfish and spicy crayfish! Once we get back, I’ll come down again and set a few crayfish traps."

"Okay."

There were so many crayfish here that Jiang Linhai caught half a sackful even without setting traps.

He also caught several sizable tilapia from a pool of water.

But seeing the tilapia flopping around on the grass, Jiang Si frowned slightly. If there were fish and shrimp here, why were there no signs of Weasel Crocodiles?

’Could it be? Is there something even more terrifying than the Weasel Crocodiles lurking here?’

Jiang Si’s heart sank. Just as she was about to tell everyone to return to the boats...

Lu Zhifeng, who had gone to set traps for the Pu-chickens, suddenly waved and shouted to them, his voice filled with unmistakable joy, "I found Pu-chicken eggs!"

Everyone walked toward him. Following his pointed finger, they saw a nest across a stretch of water containing about ten quail-sized eggs.

Lu Zhifeng handed his back basket to Jiang Linhai. "I’ll go get the eggs."

Jiang Si stopped him. "Don’t go yet. Who knows what kind of strange things are in the water. We can bring the inflatable dinghy down tomorrow. There’s probably more than one nest in the reeds on the other side, so we can just get them all at once."

Lu Zhifeng thought that was a good idea. Their haul from this one trip was already quite substantial.

They just hadn’t caught a Pu-chicken yet.

But then again, killing a chicken meant one less hen to lay eggs, and everyone felt a little reluctant about that.

Jiang Chengwu, who was watching from the boat, saw that they had been in the reed marsh for a while and called out worriedly, "Are you coming back?"

Jiang Si raised a small red flag and waved it. "We’ll be right back!"

Suddenly, a flurry of flapping and thrashing came from where Lu Zhifeng had set his trap.

Lu Zhifeng dashed over. A moment later, he emerged excitedly, holding a Pu-chicken that weighed over two pounds.

The Pu-chicken was a dusty gray, its feathers blending in perfectly with the surroundings. If it hadn’t been struggling, you wouldn’t have even noticed it if it was tossed into the grass.

Jiang Linhai laughed heartily. "We have chicken now, too! We’re really going to have a feast tonight!"

Everyone returned to the boats. Shen Baoying and the others gathered around, grinning from ear to ear when they saw the abundant haul.

Shen Baoying boiled water to pluck the chicken with Jiang Linhai assisting, while the others sat on the deck, cleaning the reed mushrooms and chopping reeds for fodder.

Suddenly, the reed marsh stirred with the wind. Qin Shen abruptly stood up and stared toward the dusky horizon, as if he had discovered something.