After field-dressing the wild boar, the group started dragging it back. They had gone quite a ways this time, so it was long after dark by the time they returned to the stronghold. The moment they got back, everyone collapsed from exhaustion.
Zhao Ergou rested on the ground for a moment before gritting his teeth and getting back up. He brought over some firewood and started a fire to heat the stove. He always felt he owed Brother San and the others too much and could only repay them by doing as much work as possible. Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel right. Naturally, the others wouldn’t let the youngest, Zhao Ergou, work alone. Soon, everyone had gotten up and started pitching in.
Zhao Ergou boiled water, Zhao Wenjun prepared dinner, and Zhao Wendong butchered the wild boar. Zhao Wenwu, despite being injured, insisted on helping, so Wendong had him and Jin Xiuying assist with the boar. But before dealing with the boar, he had to feed his Golden Roc.
’Hungry. Eat meat.’
Hearing the Golden Roc’s thoughts, Zhao Wendong smiled knowingly. ’Isn’t it slowly getting used to me feeding it? Animals are just like people—they love having plenty to eat and drink without lifting a finger.’ After getting some food and water for the Golden Roc, Zhao Wendong finally began to process the day’s haul.
First were the five stalks of wild ginseng. They could probably sell for at least eighty to a hundred yuan, but what Zhao Wendong valued more than the money was that they could save a life in a critical moment. His family was the most important thing to him in this life, and having these on hand was like an extra layer of security.
Zhao Wendong carefully wrapped the ginseng in a cotton quilt. Jin Xiuying, meanwhile, looked around in surprise. She was no stranger to this kind of cave; there were many like it in the mountains back home, some even larger, deeper, and part of underground fortifications.
’I just didn’t expect them to have a stronghold like this for their daily hunts. With a setup like this, they have it much easier than other Hunters. No wonder they dare to hunt in the mountains at this time of year. At the very least, this place guarantees their safety at night, and they don’t have to worry about freezing.’
The day had been both perilous and exciting, leaving everyone exhausted, mentally and physically. For dinner, Zhao Wendong simply made some porridge with meat, nuts, and mushrooms, and heated up some cornmeal pancakes. The meal was simple, but there was more than enough to fill them up. Thanks to a good variety of seasonings, it tasted delicious.
Zhao Wenwu was once again the champion eater of the day, but second place now went to Jin Xiuying. Having fled all the way from the neighboring country, she hadn’t had a proper, decent meal in days. She felt this was the most fragrant and delicious meal she had ever eaten in her entire life.
Realizing she had eaten quite a bit, an embarrassed Jin Xiuying insisted on washing the pots and pans, and Zhao Wendong could only let her be. After Xiaobai, the dogs, and the Golden Roc were all fed, the group began to prepare for sleep.
They had only brought four quilts, and one was now being used to wrap the wild ginseng. That left three quilts for five people. In the end, the arrangement was Zhao Wenjun and Er Gou sharing one, Zhao Wendong and Zhao Wenwu sharing another, and Jin Xiuying having one to herself.
Zhao Wenwu fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down. The big guy was a restless sleeper, either kicking the quilt off or hogging it from Zhao Wendong. It was already difficult for the quilt to cover both of them, and now Zhao Wenwu had nearly stolen the whole thing. Exasperated, Zhao Wendong landed two hard punches on him, but it didn’t stop his snoring in the slightest.
Jin Xiuying was sleeping on the outermost side, next to Zhao Wenwu. Somehow, as they slept, they soon ended up under the same quilt. And strangely enough, once Zhao Wenwu was huddled up with Jin Xiuying, he immediately stopped fidgeting and slept peacefully.
Zhao Wendong was so drowsy he could barely keep his eyes open. Now he had a quilt all to himself, which was wonderful. He wrapped himself up tightly and was about to fall asleep. Before he did, he glanced over at Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou on the other side. Seeing they were both still awake, he knew why, but some things they had to figure out for themselves. He couldn’t help them. Closing his eyes, Zhao Wendong quickly drifted off to sleep.
Listening to the snores of the other three, Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou stared at each other, wide-eyed. They were exhausted, but sleep just wouldn’t come.
"Big Brother, stop thinking about it! Those people deserved it. If they hadn’t died, Second Brother would have. Do you want Second Brother to be dead?"
Zhao Ergou whispered, his voice so low only Zhao Wenjun could hear. Zhao Wenjun took a deep breath and nodded.
"You’re right. They deserved to die!"
"Go to sleep, Big Brother. You don’t have to worry. As long as we don’t say anything, no one will ever know! And if something does happen, we’ll fight them. This is our turf."
Hearing this, Zhao Wenjun nodded, closed his eyes, and said no more. It’s unknown how much time passed before he and Zhao Ergou finally fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, everyone woke up. Zhao Wenwu and Jin Xiuying had slept the whole night in each other’s arms. When they got up, their demeanor was completely different from the day before. They were like an old married couple, no longer blushing and getting embarrassed at the drop of a hat. Instead, there was a sense of things having naturally fallen into place. They had already accepted each other as their one and only.
Zhao Wendong stretched his sore arms and said in a low voice.
"This won’t do. We have too few supplies here. We need to bring more quilts. This is too uncomfortable; it’s pure misery."
"Yeah, and we should bring some cookware and dishes, too."
"A shelf would be good, too."
The others chimed in with suggestions, and Zhao Wendong nodded.
"Alright. Then we’ll pack up today and head back to the village first. We can come back after I return from my trip."
The moment he finished speaking, the others all stopped what they were doing, looking reluctant.
Zhao Wenjun thought for a moment and said, "Third Brother, you’ll be gone for a while. We’ll just be sitting around at home anyway, so can’t we just wander around the mountains while we wait for you?"
Seeing that his big brother had recently gotten hooked on hunting, Zhao Wendong looked at Zhao Ergou, wanting to hear his opinion.
"Big Brother has a point, but I’ll listen to whatever Brother San says."
"Fuck!"
Zhao Wenjun swore outright. Zhao Wendong was so amused by Zhao Ergou that he burst out laughing. He then looked over at Zhao Wenwu and Jin Xiuying. What surprised him most was Zhao Wenwu; his second brother had always been the one to listen to him the most, yet this time he was uncharacteristically hesitant about his plans.
"Third Brother, is Xiuying going back too?"
’So he can’t bear to be separated from Jin Xiuying. He’s already this attached!’
"She can stay at Er Gouzi’s house with Third Aunt and Sanwazi. Then Er Gou can stay with us, and we’ll all move into Big Brother’s house. We’ll have Eldest Sister-in-law take the kids and live with Mom and Dad!"
A smile couldn’t help but appear on Jin Xiuying’s face as she watched the brothers talk.
"It’ll be hard to explain Wenwu’s injuries if he goes home now."
’Listen to that. After just one day, they’re already calling each other Wenwu and Xiuying.’ Zhao Wendong pouted. He never thought that after being reborn, he’d be forced to watch his second brother’s public displays of affection.
"Fine, you all have a point. Let’s do it this way then!"
"Second Brother, you two stay here. The rest of us will take the supplies back first. After that, Big Brother, if you and Er Gouzi want to come back and wander around, that’s fine too. But you have to promise me three things. First, you must take the dogs with you whenever you go out. Second, you are absolutely not to go beyond a ten-li radius. And third, don’t stay out after dark. Can you do that?"
Zhao Wendong had been to this area many times in his past life and was very familiar with it. He was certain there were no unknown dangers within a ten-li radius. As long as they didn’t stay out after dark and had the dogs nearby to give them warnings, their safety should be guaranteed.