"Why does Nining want to come with you?" Jay asked curiously.
"Um... Nining's just bored at home, bro," Nining replied with a pleading face.
"Does Mom or Dad know that Nining wants to come with you?" Jay asked again.
"Yes, Nining has already asked Mom and Dad's permission, and they gave her permission," Nining replied confidently.
"Okay, since Mom and Dad agree, Nining can come with you," Jay agreed.
Since Nining wanted to follow him, Jay immediately asked her to get ready.
He asked Nining to change into long-sleeved clothes and long pants.
After changing, Jay didn't forget to grab a small bamboo hat for Nining to wear during the day.
He also didn't forget to bring a bamboo container filled with drinking water for both of them, not to mention bottles made of plastic or better materials.
Because such a facility doesn't exist, villagers typically only use bamboo to store water when traveling long distances.
On the other hand, if they have the means and money, they'll buy military-grade water canteens, which are sold in limited quantities at the city cooperative.
Unfortunately, Jay can't afford this because he lives in the countryside; he can only get it when he goes to the city.
("If I remember correctly, the distance from the village to Rein town is about tens of kilometers, and it can be covered by two bus rides.
So if I want to go there, it will take at least a full day, and to get permission, I need a clear reason.") Jay thought about going to the big city that also covers his sub-district.
However, traveling isn't easy these days, as limitations and strict regulations often make mobility for ordinary citizens less accessible than it would be in the future.
"Where are we going this time, bro?" Nining asked, as the two of them began walking out of the village.
Hearing this question, Jay remembered that he had already visited almost the entire forest east of his village.
With this in mind, Jay realized that he now had a much smaller chance of finding something good in the forest east of the village.
So, all that was left was to visit places he hadn't yet visited. Some of the places around his village included:
The Adam Mountains, which stretch from the eastern to the western end of his village. It's said that the tip of Mount Adam lies in a distant area connecting the oceans of his country.
Other areas included the Anak Adam River, which stretches hundreds of kilometers, the eastern forest area, which Jay had already visited. The remaining areas were the southern forest, the Skull Canyon, and the limestone hills.
After considering these locations, he ultimately chose the southern forest area of the village.
He felt that the southern forest area, which directly borders the Adam Mountains, would hold many more valuable natural resources than the eastern forest area of his village.
So then he replied, "We'll go to the forest area south of the village. I think we can get good results there," Jay said to Nining.
"Ahhhhh, the southern forest. Nining heard it's rich in wild fruits. Will we be able to find lots of delicious fruit, Sis?" Nining asked cheerfully.
"Maybe, who knows what we'll find," Jay replied.
As a side note, because being carried on her front wasn't very comfortable, Nining asked Jai to carry the basket she was carrying on her back.
Besides providing more space and allowing her to fall asleep, Nining felt that being behind her brother's back would provide her with a better companion.
Don't worry about whether the kingdom will be able to carry Nining. Jay had already confirmed that the basket could support tens of kilograms, so with Nining weighing only a few dozen kilograms, it wouldn't be a difficult task.
Unlike the forest area east of the village, which Jay had explored for almost two weeks, this forest area south of the village...
What greeted Jay was a forest area seemingly covered in various types of large rocks.
This area also distinguished the Southern Forest from other forests, here in the lower reaches of his village's Southern Forest.
Many medium-sized trees grew unevenly, perhaps due to the rocky soil, which essentially prevented the growth of healthy trees.
The hills there were much larger and taller than the eastern forest.
However, it must be admitted that the deeper areas of the southern forest were denser, and this was the forest area directly bordering Mount Adam.
On the path usually used by villagers, Jay and Nining tried to look around and see if there was anything good they could find on the outskirts of the southern forest.
However, after searching for a while, Jay didn't find anything significant they could take home.
So the two decided to go deeper, and luckily, they found something good in the deeper areas.
"Look, big brother...isn't that a big white rabbit!!" Nining pointed to a bush where a rabbit was feeding with its back to them.
"Wow...Nining is amazing, you can spot that rabbit!" Jay praised Nining.
"Of course, Nining is a smart kid, so she must be able to spot a fat white rabbit," Nining replied proudly.
"Big brother, can you catch it? Nining feels like she hasn't eaten rabbit in a long time," Nining said, her face flushed.
"Ehhhh...so Nining wants to eat rabbit meat?" Jay said helplessly, hearing what Nining said. His little sister was truly a foodie.
"Okay, then, Nining, be quiet. I'll let you shoot the rabbit," he told Nining to be quiet.
"Umm," Nining replied obediently.
Without waiting long, Jay picked up his arrow and focused his attention on the rabbit he was targeting.
After regulating his breathing and focusing his eyes, Jay quickly released the arrow.
The arrow quickly struck the rabbit, which was still unaware of their presence.
"Great...great big brother..." Nining was delighted when she saw she had successfully hit the white rabbit.
Walking closer to the rabbit, Jay, seeing that it had died instantly, immediately drained its blood to ensure its meat remained tasty.
This was because he couldn't fit the rabbit in his space, and because Nining was with him, he needed to keep the rabbit fresh for a while.
The easiest way was to drain all the blood from the rabbit to prevent it from congealing, which would have made the church taste bad when they brought it home.
Having caught a rabbit, Jay and Nining felt lucky, so they went back into the southern forest.
They soon found something that caught their attention, but it seemed that what they found wasn't something they could easily handle.