Chapter 41
On the screen, the young man’s smile was bright, his eyes faintly glowing. From the corners of his eyes to the tips of his brows, he carried an air of relaxed ease.
Shen Jinfeng was still analyzing. “After all, several thousand years ago, our ancestors’ seafaring techniques weren’t that advanced yet. This tomb was clearly placed in a carefully selected location. The geography and the depth of the burial pit are both so particular. It must have been chosen by an expert and excavated jointly by ancient craftsmen. It would already count as good luck if they managed to reach Little Japan.”
Hearing his comparison, Qin Ye laughed.
“So going back shouldn’t be a big problem.”
“Logically speaking, if this island is near our country, the military should patrol the area regularly. Maybe they didn’t come during the heavy rain these past few days, but sooner or later, either a military patrol or fishermen going out to sea should run into us.” His mind worked very quickly, and he immediately reacted.
“Bingo!” Shen Jinfeng nodded in agreement. “Originally, I was still thinking about how to get back. But now it looks like we don’t need to spend much effort. We can go back, make some distress signals, and calmly wait for rescue.”
“If that really doesn’t work, we can calculate the direction and build a boat ourselves. If Xu Fu could drift all the way to Little Japan, surely we can drift back too?” he joked.
However, in truth, if they really had to rely entirely on themselves, and going out to sea was the only way to leave, then building a boat would be necessary.
It was only a matter of what kind of boat they would build and how much effort it would take them.
If they were within domestic territory or in a nearby small country, then they could make a compass, build a boat, estimate that there would be no storms at sea for the next few days, and returning would not be too much of a problem.
When he came into the forest, he had originally wanted to figure out the growth patterns of the vegetation in this area, observe the angle of sunlight across the entire island, roughly estimate their general location, and judge exactly how far away they were.
But now, looking at it—
As expected of a retirement world. He did not have to spend too much effort.
Only, while he had put his mind at ease, Sun Xinping and even the production team staff had all gone dumbfounded.
“No, is this reasonable? This is the first time I’ve heard of someone judging tomb feng shui, determining there’s a tomb belonging to our ancestors, and then figuring out they must be somewhere near our country… Just a little more and the truth would be right in front of them, damn it.”
Wasn’t that exactly the case? When the production team simulated the data for this deserted island, they had gone to several famous coastal regions in the country and also visited a few uninhabited deserted islands. At most, they had taken some reference scenery from beaches in nearby small countries.
Even the farthest data point was not that far from home.
“Big Boss Shen’s analysis is so logical. Damn, Director, what he said makes sense! How far could our ancestors’ tombs possibly be? What did the territory before the Han Dynasty look like?”
“Exactly. It’s abnormal for there to be no people on a domestic island, and it’s also abnormal for there to be no military patrols in nearby waters. What do we do?”
Sun Xinping irritably grabbed at his hair.
Why were they asking him? How would he know!
The staff members were still talking excitedly, seemingly not at all worried that the third season of “Being Human” might die halfway through.
After all, one could not expect workers to have too much big-picture awareness. Someone taller should be there to hold up the sky for this kind of thing. The director and the technical team should think of a solution.
“In the end, who stepped in dog poop luck? They simulated some data and even simulated someone else’s tomb into existence! This is simply absurd beyond belief.”
“I’m dying of laughter. Following Big Boss Shen, you can learn something new every day! Later, I’ll go dig around the mountain and forest near my house too. I’ll dig wherever I see soil like this. Maybe I’ll dig up some treasure.”
“Hahahahaha, dig up some treasure? What, do you want to go to prison?”
Everyone joked.
Yes, no one doubted whether Shen Jinfeng’s judgment was true or false.
Because Sun Xinping’s phone had already rung once just now. It was an archaeological team asking for the address, preparing to set off for the site.
The bullet comments were also shocked by Shen Jinfeng’s amazing move.
“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. Is the production team about to overturn?”
“Amazing. After Big Boss Shen’s analysis, how long can this broken show hold on? But no! It’s only been a few days! I haven’t watched enough yet!”
“The production team’s technical team is too careless! You’re simulating an overseas deserted island, yet you didn’t actually go abroad for reference? You didn’t go to the other side of the Pacific to collect simulation data? This is what you get for being lazy! Now look! You’re about to be exposed!”
“But actually… if Big Boss Shen is right, and there really is a tomb of our ancestors in this forest, and it’s a tomb of some major figure before the Han Dynasty, then that would be another major archaeological discovery! The production team deserves credit!”
“Listen to yourself. Is this the production team’s credit? Credit only counts once something is discovered. No matter how you put it, this is Big Boss Shen recognizing a pearl with wise eyes and seeing through everything with fiery golden eyes. This is Big Boss Shen’s credit!”
“It’s only been a few days! So what is the production team planning to do? I still want to watch for a few more days, please!”
“Hahaha, didn’t the promotion for the third season of What Kind of Person Are You? say the livestream was expected to last two months? Just enough to cover summer break. But looking at the current situation, I’m not even sure it’ll last half a month. This is only the fifth day, right?”
“What do we do, Director? Should we change the settings?” The head of the equipment team felt the burden on his shoulders was incomparably heavy.
Sun Xinping had already pulled out a handful of hair and felt he was not far from going bald.
He glared viciously at the screen. “Cold salad.”
“I’m giving up.”
Head of the equipment team: “…”
Little Li said, “Director, don’t give up on fixing things before it’s too late.”
Sun Xinping glared at him. “Then tell me what to do.”
Little Li pondered for a moment, struck the pose of The Thinker, and finally said with great wisdom, “How about making it rain for a few more days? Keep them from coming out?”
Just like the past few days, when the guests had been trapped inside the wooden cabin by the heavy rain.
Oh, right.
The previous heavy rain had been arranged by the director, and the reason had actually been the same!
He had been worried the truth would be exposed…
“Or maybe something else? It can’t snow in this weather… How about hail?”
Sun Xinping: “…”
He seemed to age ten years all at once and sighed heavily. “After tonight’s livestream ends, we’ll gather for a meeting and brainstorm. While watching the livestream during the day, don’t be idle either. Think of some solutions first.”
It felt… honestly a little unsolvable.
As for the bullet comments urging him, he pretended not to see them.
On the livestream screen, Shen Jinfeng carefully took out a rare non-island, non-handmade little bag. It was a plastic packaging bag left over from the bread they had eaten earlier.
He simply stuffed all the soil on the dagger into it and handed it to Qin Ye.
“I’m leaving it to you.”
Qin Ye took it and nodded solemnly.
Shen Jinfeng narrowed his eyes. “Then let’s keep going forward. This forest can’t possibly be endless, right?”
Sun Xinping, hearing his guess: “…”
What a coincidence. The production team’s design really was endless.
Otherwise, what could they do? Set the other side of the forest to still be the sea?
He did not know what trick Shen Jinfeng was hiding, but these two were walking on foot. Even if they walked all day and could not leave the forest, that was normal, right?
For now, he gave up thinking.
Shen Jinfeng did not look again at the tomb pit that archaeologists would treasure immensely if they saw it. After confirming the purpose of this trip, he continued walking forward with Qin Ye.
Their posture was the same as before.
Qin Ye walked in front, and Shen Jinfeng held onto him from behind.
But this was really a little inefficient.
After walking for a while, Shen Jinfeng stopped. He thought for a moment, took down the leaf rope, and tied a knot between the two of their wrists, leaving a long stretch in between for movement.
“All right. This way, we can stay connected at all times without having to remain in the same corner.”
Coincidentally, just as he said this, he saw several honey locust trees on the left.
As soon as his words landed, he began walking over there on his own.
A few steps later, the leaf rope between the two of them transmitted a pulling force.
Qin Ye was pulled along. He stared fixedly at the long rope between them. The warm touch on his arm from earlier had already disappeared.
This rope that had saved several people was rather annoying.
He slowly followed behind Shen Jinfeng, looked at his back, pressed his lips together, and did not protest.
Shen Jinfeng walked beneath the honey locust tree, pointed at the fruits above, and asked Qin Ye, “What color do you want your pigskin coat to be?”
“Mm? I can choose the color?” Qin Ye was somewhat surprised.
Shen Jinfeng nodded and teased, “Yes. Or, if you want the original color of wild boar skin, that’s also not impossible.”
Looking at the mischievous smile in the young man’s eyes, Qin Ye realized he had asked a foolish question.
“What colors are available?”
Shen Jinfeng pointed at the honey locust tree in front of them. “Here. We’ll take some honey locusts back. Some can be used to make soap, and some can be used to dye your pigskin. It can be dyed black-gray.”
Qin Ye’s eyes lit up. “Black works.”
Shen Jinfeng waved his hand. “Don’t rush to decide yet.”
“Common plant dyes include red, purple, navy blue, and black. I feel purple or navy blue would also look very good on you.”
He looked Qin Ye up and down.
The young man was tall with long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. His face was handsome, his brows and eyes cool. Even standing casually, he exuded a noble tension with a faint sense of pressure.
He looked quite intimidating, but in reality, he was quite a paper tiger.
Shen Jinfeng withdrew his gaze and grumbled inwardly.
“However, black is indeed the best-looking. I’ll dye it into a deep navy-toned black for you.”
In clothing, dyes and even finished fabrics often used red undertones or blue undertones to describe their color impression.
A deep navy-toned black.
Very simple. They had honey locusts now. They only needed to find some woad leaves as well, and it happened to be the right season to harvest them.
With a goal in mind, when Shen Jinfeng set off again, he seemed to be casually looking around.
Besides the plant dyes needed to make the pigskin coat, the pigskin also had to be softened with special medicinal liquid. Just processing the raw materials would take several days.
“Qin Ye, I’m now suspecting that by the time the patrol team comes to rescue us, the raw materials for your pigskin coat still won’t be done.”
Preparing the medicinal liquid and dye, softening the pigskin, dyeing it, air-drying it, and then cutting it really did take far more time than making leaf clothes.
Qin Ye responded softly and asked hesitantly, “Then after we get out, can we bring it out together?”
Shen Jinfeng’s movements paused. He suddenly turned his head to look at Qin Ye’s expression. “Mm? Bring it out and personally watch until it comes out?”
Qin Ye nodded.
Shen Jinfeng clicked his tongue inwardly. This secret admirer really knew how to climb along the pole. He was already hinting that he wanted to follow him.
He coughed twice lightly. “Don’t delay your work after we get out.”
Qin Ye blinked in confusion and explained, “Work will keep turning no matter who leaves. Don’t worry.”
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
Fine.
“Work will keep turning no matter who leaves? Qin Ye, what are you hinting at? Then what won’t keep turning without you?”
“Even Big Boss Shen is speechless, hahaha.”
“Although, you guys really don’t need to worry. Even if this pigskin coat takes until the end of time to make, no patrol military team will come rescue you… Why? Because the director won’t allow it!”
“Hahaha, Old Dog Sun must be hoping you take it slow. This pigskin coat must be finished on the deserted island! In this lifetime, if I don’t see God Ye wear a pigskin coat made by Big Boss Shen, I won’t die in peace!”
“Ah? Sister above, what’s wrong with you? How can you casually put death on your lips? Add me too!”
Shen Jinfeng and Qin Ye walked deeper into the forest. Aside from the plant dyes needed for making the pigskin coat, there were mushrooms everywhere, ma bamboo shoots popping up after the rain, delicious wild vegetables…
What surprised them was that they also encountered some wild fruit.
Wild kiwifruit growing low to the ground, clusters of wild grapes that could be seen every so often, wild bayberries that the two of them could reach by standing on tiptoe, ground loquats and sour vine fruit that had to be picked out from under leaves with lowered heads…
At first, when Qin Ye saw Shen Jinfeng pick a wild bayberry straight from the tree and hand it to his mouth, he hesitated.
“Shouldn’t we pick them back and wash them first?” His strange mysophobia had flared up at an oddly inappropriate time.
Shen Jinfeng glanced at him and ignored him.
After confirming that the wild bayberry did not have bugs, he directly tossed it into his mouth.
The berry-red juice stained his lips, coating their originally pale pink color with a layer of rich, vivid brightness.
“Qin Ye, this is the first time I’ve heard someone say bayberries need to be washed before eating.”
Wouldn’t bayberries fall apart once washed? It was not as if they were using them to brew wine.
However, he only said it casually. After all, some people truly cared excessively about food hygiene.
But after Qin Ye heard him say that, his eyes flickered.
No one knew what kind of mental preparation he had done. Seeing Shen Jinfeng eat with relish, as if moved by some mysterious force, he picked a wild bayberry and tossed it into his own mouth too.
Shen Jinfeng was somewhat surprised and asked with a smile, “It’s good, right?”
“Freshly picked bayberries are more sweet, sour, and delicious than the ones bought at the market.”
Qin Ye withdrew his gaze from the corner of Shen Jinfeng’s lips, his Adam’s apple clearly sliding.
When he spoke again, his voice was a little muffled. “It’s good.”
Shen Jinfeng withdrew his hand without noticing. “Let’s pick more and bring them back to make wine. I’m already tired of drinking coconut water these past few days.”
Qin Ye said, “Okay.”
“Listen, listen. Is that something a human says? He’s tired of drinking coconut water?”
“In real life, I can’t even bear to drink several cups of coconut water a day! Shen Jinfeng, you’re actually tired of it! Ahhh, I’m going to make a fuss. I’m going to diss you! Unless you share a few mouthfuls of the bayberry wine you brew with me, hehe. I’m not greedy. Just a few mouthfuls!”
“Hahaha, sister, your abacus is so loud I heard it in southern Sichuan.”
“I heard it in Beijing too.”
“I heard it abroad!”
“No, I’m really so jealous, wuwu! Old Dog Sun, are you useful or not? Didn’t you say the guests would live miserable lives? Also, Qin Ye, I’ve seen through you. In the future, you’ll definitely be henpecked! Whatever Big Boss Shen says, you just go ‘okay, okay, okay,’ right?”
“Sister, don’t make things hard for Old Dog Sun. With Big Boss Shen around, how could there still be miserable days? The production team should really thank Big Boss Shen properly. Otherwise, the previous Force Eight typhoon and Mo Fan falling into the swamp would all have become livestream accidents!”
“But I agree with what you said about God Ye being henpecked in the future, hahaha.”
“So what I mean is, how about letting the others separate from Big Boss Shen and survive on their own? Big Boss Shen is basically a bug! Let him go leisurely vacation alone! Contrast is what creates emphasis. When the time comes, I’ll open two split screens. If one makes me jealous, I’ll watch the other for balance. If one makes me distressed, I’ll go to the other to calm down.”
“Pfft, that really is a genius idea. Don’t let the idiot production team see it!”
The production team, which had already seen this comment: “…”
Sun Xinping actually seriously considered its feasibility.
On the screen, Shen Jinfeng and Qin Ye continued forward. Perhaps because of the earlier bayberry lesson, when they encountered wild grapes again, Qin Ye did not need Shen Jinfeng to demonstrate. He picked one and directly tossed it into his mouth, then casually picked another and handed it to Shen Jinfeng’s mouth.
Shen Jinfeng was silent for two seconds.
He reached out, took the wild grape, wiped it directly against the hem of his clothes, and only then ate it.
“Qin Ye, bayberries don’t need washing, but other things can be wiped a little.” Bayberries were only because they would collapse once wiped.
Qin Ye: “…”
When he ate fruit in the past, his family really had never given him fruit that could not be eaten directly. Everything had been clean.
“Okay. Now I know.”
The two traveled along the way, and whenever they encountered tasty wild fruit, they basically plundered it all.
“Basically plundered it all” meant they did not completely plunder it all.
Because whenever there was only one fruit left on a tree, Shen Jinfeng would “timely” stop and also advise Qin Ye to stop.
“What’s wrong? There’s still one left,” Qin Ye asked.
“What’s wrong? There’s still one left. This is killing obsessive-compulsive disorder!”
The bullet comments roared.
Shen Jinfeng spoke with righteous seriousness. “We can’t pick them all. We have to leave the last fruit behind so it can continue growing, giving later people some hope and harvest.”
Qin Ye: “?”
Bullet comments: “??? What crooked logic is this?”
Shen Jinfeng explained, “There’s a saying: leave a line when dealing with others, so you can meet again in the future.”
“The same principle applies to trees.”
Qin Ye withdrew his hand.
Although he did not understand, he respected it.
“Ah? Don’t stop halfway! How does it apply to trees? You leave one fruit behind, and when you see this tree again in the future, you won’t feel guilty?”
“I’m dying of laughter. Giving later people some hope and harvest. Later people looking at one fruit left on every tree, furious: Are these trees insulting me or giving me charity?”
“Later person: There’s fruit on every tree. It really makes me look so lucky. Look closely, and there’s only one! Damn, I’m really ‘so lucky’! It’s as if I made this tree lose all its descendants.”
Unfortunately, Shen Jinfeng did not know this netizen’s thoughts.
Otherwise, perhaps he would understand why, back when he was in a cultivation world and entered secret realms first every time, snatching opportunities before everyone else—
Clearly, he had not taken all the opportunities. He had very kindly and considerately left some for those who came after.
For example, when there was a patch of ten-thousand-year spiritual herbs and three thousand-year spiritual herbs, he would take all the ten-thousand-year spiritual herbs and still leave one thousand-year spiritual herb behind.
But why did those who came afterward still find him unpleasant?
Mm, as for where he had learned this from.
Hadn’t he already said? From the saying.
Leave a line when dealing with others, so you can meet again in the future.
If he took all the treasure, wouldn’t he become the target of concentrated fire?
But what he had neglected was that when a person left a line once, he was a good person.
But when a person left a line every single time, cough cough, he seemed a little hateful.
However, clearly, Qin Ye, who had plundered most of the fruit with him, quickly caught up with his line of thinking after his initial confusion.
“It’s like when I acquire a company in the business world. Because of competition, I make the boss of a company lose his job, but I’ll ask whether he wants to continue working under me and provide him with another job.”
After all, one could not force people into a dead end with no way out.
Shen Jinfeng: “…Uh, you’re right.”
“No, bro, do you have no self-awareness? Because of competition, you took over my company, made me go bankrupt, and then you still want to recruit me! Too much! So excessive that, I maybe, possibly… really would accept.”
“The boss suddenly becomes a worker, and he still has to be grateful to you?”
“Eh, putting other things aside, Qin Ye’s company is famous in the industry for good benefits and treatment. Nowadays, even undergraduates from the top two universities have some difficulty getting in! Many small bosses of start-up companies work themselves half to death, okay? It’s really not as comfortable as a big corporation like this. If I could get in, I’d be willing to start a company and let Qin Ye acquire me!”
“You said it yourself, a small boss of a start-up company. A truly big and strong boss has it much easier, okay? But the law of the jungle applies. In business, everyone competes by their own methods. There’s nothing much to say.”
“Why does this sound so off? It’s like in ancient times when we went to war, destroyed another country, and still wanted their emperor to bow his head and submit, right?”
“Damn, sister above, I was just about to start criticizing everyone for empathizing with capitalists. But after your comparison, I suddenly want to say: if we bow our heads and submit, that’s a history of humiliation. But if we make others bow their heads and submit, doesn’t that show our broad-mindedness, greatness, and benevolence? Amazing. Only today do I know who I am. So I’m this double-standard!”
Leaving aside the bullet comments that had gone completely off track and suddenly started debating—
Shen Jinfeng and Qin Ye followed this principle along the way, harvesting all the way.
They had spent several hours digging today, which delayed them.
After walking for several more hours in the afternoon, this forest still showed no sign of ending.
But with Qin Ye there, Shen Jinfeng could not float back through the trees the way he had before.
Therefore, when it was almost five in the evening, he suggested going back.
“We’ll come again tomorrow,” he said to Qin Ye.
Qin Ye nodded. “Okay.”
“Still with me and you?”
Just as Shen Jinfeng was about to agree, he heard a “ding.”
When Qin Ye turned around, his body tilted, and a buckle from the leaf basket fell out.
It landed right on a stone beneath their feet.
Qin Ye lowered his head and looked at it, recalling, “It should be a buckle that fell off Qi Xiu’s backpack.”
Shen Jinfeng crouched down and picked up the buckle. Unexpectedly, he could not pull it up at first.
He used a bit of strength and discovered that the iron buckle had actually stuck to the stone.
This stone was magnetic!
He picked up the stone and found that it was brownish-black, with some yellow impurities mixed here and there.
At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary stone.
Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Magnetite?”
Shen Jinfeng nodded and simply used the buckle to test all the stones in this area.
There were not as many actual pieces of magnetite as imagined, only a few.
But it was still a pleasant surprise.
Qin Ye stayed beside him, picking up the real magnetite and tossing it into the basket he carried.
“Little Captain, can we make a simple generator ourselves after we get back?”
Shen Jinfeng straightened up and lazily stretched, clearly in a pleasant mood.
“Yes. We gained quite a lot from this trip.”
“Generating electricity is still a little difficult, but if we study it a bit, making some distress signals will be completely possible.”
