Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 176 Harvesting Sea Buckthorn

He paused, then continued, "As for the finished products in the warehouse? Hey, girl, don't even think about it! The boss had barely left when some scoundrel worker leaked the news, and the warehouse was emptied out by people who heard about it. There wasn't a single thing left! They fought tooth and nail over it, and even a lot of the glass jars that used to hold jam were taken. Now, besides those heavy machines that no one wants and can't move, and some broken baskets and buckets, there's nothing left. We can only hope for what's still hanging in the trees."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded, her face showing just the right amount of "I understand" and "a little regretful." "I see, thank you, Brother Lu." She didn't ask any more questions. It seemed that the only valuable things left were the sea buckthorn berries still hanging on the branches and not yet completely destroyed by the wind and snow.

The group continued deeper into the park, bypassing a small section of protective forest that had long since withered and whose branches were twisted and menacing.

Suddenly, a breathtaking view unfolded before us—vast stretches of low-lying sea buckthorn forest! Most of them only reached an adult's chest or waist in height, with gnarled branches and sharp thorns. At this moment, most of the branches and leaves were covered and bent by the heavy snow, forming bloated white arches.

However, the branches not completely covered by snow were densely covered with small berries in orange-red, golden-red, and even deep red! The fruits were only the size of peas, but they were clustered together, weighing down the branches. Although it was expected, the abundant scene still made the four of them gasp, and Wang Xiao even let out a low gasp.

Lu Hu stopped, looked around the quiet and bountiful orchard, and said to the group, "This is it. Hurry up, if the temperature drops any further, even if we don't pick them, all these fruits will freeze, dry out, and rot on the ground. Spread out and pick as much as you can, but be careful not to prick your hands, these thorns are sharp." He waved his hand, "We'll meet back here in two hours. Estimate your time and energy, don't be greedy, we still have to carry things on the way back."

Everyone understood that time was of the essence, so they nodded, and without further ado, each chose an area that appeared to be densely fruited and quickly dispersed.

Xu Xiaoyan also pretended to casually choose a direction slightly different from the others, carrying her bag and walking into the depths of the sea buckthorn forest. However, she was not really casual. As she walked, she used the corner of her eye to observe the movements of Xie Yingtang, Wang Xiao, and Lu Hu. At the same time, she cleverly concealed her figure by using the clumps of sea buckthorn and the undulating terrain. Her pace seemed slow, but it was clear that she was moving away from the other three.

Only when she was sure that she was completely surrounded by a dense thicket of sea buckthorn, with endless branches laden with fruit and snow all around her, and could barely hear or see anyone else, did she finally stop and let out a long, silent sigh of relief.

The initial vigilance eased slightly, replaced by a focused intensity that blended excitement and a sense of urgency.

She quickly surveyed her surroundings, chose a sheltered corner with abundant branches and fruit, took off her thick windproof gloves, and moved her fingers, which were a little stiff from the cold.

Then, she put her gloves back on, and with both hands at once, she held the branch laden with fruit with her left hand, and with her right hand, she combed it together like a comb, and with precision and speed, she swept it from the base of the branch to the tip—"Swish!" A cluster of dense, plump sea buckthorn berries detached from the branch and fell into her already loosely clenched palm, disappearing instantly and being stored in her spatial storage.

Then came the next branch, and the next... She worked with both hands, her movements as fluid as if she had practiced a thousand times, her efficiency astonishing. The fruit, covered in fine hairs, brushed against her fingertips; some fruits were already frozen solid, while others were relatively soft. Her fingertips were quickly stained a sticky orange-red by the juice, the cold making the sensation both dull and vivid.

Completely immersed in the efficient harvesting rhythm, her mind went blank, leaving only the simple cycle of "finding the fruit clusters - picking - storing". The shivering that her body initially caused due to the cold was gradually replaced by a feeling of warmth as she continued to move. Fine beads of sweat even seeped from her forehead, but they quickly turned cold again in the low temperature. The sense of time became blurred, and only the sea buckthorn in the space increased at a visible speed.

Soon, her gloves were scratched in several places by the thorns on the branches. The cold and the irritation from the juice caused a slight stinging pain in the wounds, but she didn't care.

Just as she reached out again, her mind stirring slightly, preparing to store another handful of fruit into her space, a subtle "stagnation" came over her—it wasn't that the space was full, but rather that it was nearing saturation. She immediately stopped. The previous excruciating pain had left her with a severe psychological trauma, and she dared not fill her space to the brim again.

She straightened her back, which was a little sore from bending over for a long time. Her cervical and lumbar vertebrae made a slight "crack" sound. She exhaled a long breath of white air, which condensed into a thick fog in front of her eyes and then quickly dissipated.

She forced herself to calm down from that "harvest frenzy," took off her backpack, and took out the three sturdy woven burlap sacks she had prepared in advance. She shook them open, and the harvesting was no longer about storing it in her space, but about actually putting it into the burlap sacks.

Once the three sacks were bulging, and she felt she had reached her physical limit, she decisively stopped. She tied the openings of two of the sacks with the drawstrings she had brought, slung them over her shoulders, and felt the heavy weight press down on her shoulders. She hugged the other sack tightly to her chest, the cold woven surface of it transmitting chill through her clothes.

After taking a deep breath, she began to walk in the general direction from which the other three had dispersed, as she remembered. The heavy burden on her shoulders and in her arms made walking in the deep snow even more difficult, and she sank deeper with each step.

After walking for a short while, passing a few clumps of sea buckthorn, they heard Wang Xiao's distinctive voice, tinged with a mix of exasperation and exhaustion, pierce the cold wind: "My goodness, these things look small, but picking them is really hard! My hands are almost frozen off, and the thorns are so prickly! It's a pity, a real pity, we can only carry a limited amount back, otherwise we could have cleared this whole forest bare!"

Through the sparse sea buckthorn branches, most of which had already been picked, Xu Xiaoyan spotted the figures of two other people. Wang Xiao was complaining to Xie Yingtang, with three bulging burlap sacks at his feet and one in his hand. He had clearly had a good harvest, but his face was red from the cold wind, and he kept sniffling.

Xie Yingtang seemed to be in a better situation than him. Four equally full sacks were neatly stacked around him. He was squatting on the ground, checking whether the sack openings were tied tightly. His movements were still steady, but there was a heavy look of fatigue between his brows.