Sha Yi spent the entire half-day in the cave settlement.
It was indeed a dull yet peaceful afternoon. Xi Yi went out hunting and also to look for the others. Unwilling to let her accompany him under the scorching sun, he left her behind with Xi Gu.
By the side of the bathtub, she found the shrimp Xi Yi had caught in the river the day before. The shrimp were piled haphazardly among some miscellaneous items and didn’t look too good—likely due to dehydration for two days and lack of food.
Sha Yi counted roughly ten to twenty shrimp left and decided to cook them all. Xi Gu’s expression mirrored Xi Yi’s first reaction to eating shrimp—astonished and incredulous.
Fortunately, Xi Gu didn’t object too much. Seeing Sha Yi’s determination to prepare the shrimp, she patted her shoulder and quickly dashed outside.
Sha Yi didn’t quite understand her intention but figured Xi Gu might have other ideas. So, she simply began plucking the shrimp one by one from the bathtub by their antennae.
Xi Gu soon returned, carrying two large wooden buckets filled with water and some leaves and stems of unknown plants.
Sha Yi was amazed by Xi Gu’s thoughtfulness. She had never imagined that such a tall, robust woman, who usually acted like a rough-and-tumble figure, would now prepare everything she needed. It warmed her heart.
With Xi Gu’s help, she quickly cleaned the shrimp. Then, Xi Gu built a fire, and the two of them began boiling the shrimp in a stainless steel pot. Midway, Sha Yi noticed that the meat a nearby unfamiliar man was handling had large fatty portions. She discussed with Xi Gu whether they could trade for some. Understanding her request, Xi Gu went straight over to ask. The man was generous, handing over most of the cut meat with a wave.
Sha Yi felt that the era she had traveled to might not be as food-scarce as she had assumed. She couldn’t tell if it was due to the season, the period itself, or simply the dynamics of the ancient human groups.
After all, when she first arrived at this cave settlement, she had been quite surprised. Though everyone lived together, they clustered in separate groups, each with distinct appearances—clearly different tribes. Each tribe had relatively few members, and competition between them wasn’t intense.
To expand a tribe, more women were needed. Yet, in this group of forty to fifty people, there were fewer than ten women combined. Some tribes might not have any women at all, making reproduction—let alone survival—a major challenge.
Sha Yi couldn’t quite wrap her head around this. Logically, natural development should follow a certain ratio. Even if there were more men than women, the disparity shouldn’t be this extreme. Could it be that some catastrophe had wiped out most of the women?
The thought startled her. Just then, Xi Gu handed her the traded meat. She accepted it and gestured for Xi Gu to heat the stainless steel pot while she used a fruit knife to slice the fatty portions thinly.
Once the pot was hot, she placed the fatty slices in one by one, adding a little water. She picked two straight, slender sticks, washed them, and used them as chopsticks to press and flip the slices at intervals.
Xi Gu had no idea what she was doing but watched with great interest, especially fascinated by her dexterous use of the sticks. Xi Gu even tried it herself, but unfortunately, the result was similar to Xi Yi’s attempt—not only was she unable to use them properly, but she also broke the sticks. Eventually, Xi Gu gave up and followed Sha Yi’s instructions to peel the shrimp tails instead.
By the time all the fatty slices had rendered into crisp bits, a considerable amount of time had passed, and a layer of oil had pooled at the bottom of the pot. Sha Yi quickly added the peeled shrimp tails Xi Gu had prepared.
To save oil, they had removed the shells, but the shrimp were still too large compared to the pot. Frying them all at once would be inefficient, and fitting them all in was a challenge, so they decided to do it in two batches.
After frying the shrimp, Xi Gu used the same pot to boil a batch of wild vegetable soup. She then roasted some venison that Xi Yi had brought and cut the day before. Sha Yi wasn’t sure what seasonings were used, but when she tasted it, both dishes were surprisingly delicious.
By the time everything was ready, evening was approaching, and Xi Yi and the others returned from hunting. Ma Sa spotted the prepared food at the cave entrance and, drawn by the aroma, rushed over excitedly—as if he had never had food ready so early before.
When he saw her up close, Ma Sa’s face flushed with joy. He grabbed her hand and called her name enthusiastically.
Sha Yi’s heart melted at his excitement. She handed him the crispy leftover bits from the rendered fat, stored in a wooden container.
Ma Sa had never seen anything like it. He eagerly stuffed a few into his mouth, and after chewing, his eyes widened in amazement as he looked at her.
Seeing how much he liked it, Sha Yi gave him a few more shrimp tails. He mumbled something between bites, but she couldn’t make it out. Xi Gu then pulled him aside.
Xi Yi, Ma Rui, and the other four men were busy handling the hunted game, so they couldn’t join Ma Sa in sampling the food early. They simply dropped off a large pile of firewood, called out a greeting, and left the cave again.
Sha Yi was reluctant to let Xi Yi go. She called out “Hey!” but then remembered the others were also leaving. For fairness’ sake, she held back. Xi Gu, however, gave her a teasing look, making her blush. Xi Gu then offered her a piece of venison to eat first.
Thinking of the others who hadn’t eaten yet and how Xi Gu had been working hard all afternoon, Sha Yi declined, saying she’d wait for them to return.
Unable to persuade her, Xi Gu set the venison aside and instead handed her a few fruits from a leaf-wrapped bundle, suggesting she could at least snack on those.
This time, Sha Yi obediently accepted.
She figured if she refused the fruits, Xi Gu might even snatch the crispy bits from Ma Sa to give to her. Xi Gu’s care for her was no less than Xi Yi’s. Of course, whatever the reason, she firmly believed Xi Gu’s actions came from the heart—though she also understood, deep down, that Xi Gu wanted her and Xi Yi to live happily together.
The game processing didn’t take long. The six men worked swiftly, and soon they reappeared at the cave entrance, the animals already skinned and cut into pieces.
When Sha Yi looked up at them, she noticed the sky outside looked strange—ominously still, like before a modern thunderstorm, and unnaturally pale for dusk. But she didn’t dwell on it, her thoughts entirely focused on Xi Yi.
During dinner, she made sure to give Xi Yi extra fried shrimp tails. He clearly enjoyed them, and the others, tasting shell-free shrimp for the first time, found the flavor novel and eagerly shared the limited portions.
Xi Yi sat quietly watching for a long while before suddenly snatching the last shrimp tail and dropping it into her wooden bowl. When Sha Yi looked over, he was smiling gently, leaving the others stunned.
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