Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao sat beside each other. The wild chicken on the fire was already giving off a fragrant aroma, and the wild rabbit started dripping oil as it roasted.
Deng Minghao took out another wild chicken from his hand. “Let’s cook this one too. Wild chickens are small, and the four of us might not have enough to eat.”
Wild chickens are generally small, nothing like domestic ones. Once roasted, they don’t amount to much.
Two wild chickens split among four people would barely be enough, but thankfully, there was still a wild rabbit.
Deng Minghao took over Lu Yunxiao’s task of roasting the chicken and rabbit, while Lu Yunxiao went back to diligently handle the other wild chickens. Deng Minghao watched as he cooked.
Lu Yunxiao was clearly experienced and worked quickly. Watching him, Deng Minghao thought it looked simple enough and decided he would try it himself next time.
He had slaughtered plenty of chickens, ducks, and geese before, but handling wild chickens outdoors was new—after all, their feathers are harder to pluck.
Soon, the roasted wild chickens were ready. Qin Wan and Li Ruolan each got half. The chickens had only been salted, but for Qin Wan, who hadn’t eaten real meat in a long time, it felt like a feast.
Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao, having extra supplies in their storage, occasionally cooked small meals and weren’t as eager as Qin Wan. Still, wild chicken tastes noticeably different from farm-raised chicken, and it was quite enjoyable.
After each eating half a chicken, a rabbit leg, and two skewers of roasted mushrooms, Qin Wan and Li Ruolan were nearly full. The remaining rabbit, chicken, and mushrooms were finished by Deng Minghao and Lu Yunxiao.
“I rarely see anyone who can eat as much as Deng Minghao. Today, I’ve seen another one,” Li Ruolan said to Lu Yunxiao.
Lu Yunxiao exchanged a glance with Deng Minghao, and both smiled.
After spending the day on the mountain, Li Ruolan and the others didn’t return immediately but wandered around further, with Lu Yunxiao guiding them to find some wild yam and a chestnut grove.
“These chestnuts aren’t ripe yet. In about half a month, after the farming is done, you can come and pick some as food,” Lu Yunxiao explained.
Li Ruolan and the others memorized the route, planning to return after farming and moving to pick chestnuts.
They roamed the mountain until late afternoon. When the sun was about to set, the three bid farewell to Lu Yunxiao and descended back to the Zhiqing camp.
All three returned laden with goods—each carrying a basket filled with mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er were preparing dinner.
Li Ruolan and the others stored their baskets in their room, planning to dry the mushrooms when the mud outside dried in a couple of days.
Just as they stepped out of the room, they noticed something off—the atmosphere in the camp felt strange. Many people were secretly staring at them.
Deng Minghao noticed this immediately and went inside to find Shen Yi and Ji Hongjun, both ex-soldiers with whom he had a good relationship.
“What’s going on? We were gone all day, and now it feels like everyone in the camp is staring at us,” Deng Minghao asked directly.
Shen Yi frowned. “During lunch, you three weren’t back. Wang Zhiqing, Zhang Zhiqing, and Li Zhiqing started saying some inappropriate things.”
Deng Minghao’s face darkened. “What did they say?”
Ji Hongjun interjected, “What else? They said a male Zhiqing leading two female Zhiqing up the mountain, who knows what they were doing? They said all sorts of nasty things, accusing you of messing around and having improper relations.”
Deng Minghao said nothing. He went to his trunk, opened the lock, felt around inside, took something out, and left with a grim expression.
Shen Yi and Ji Hongjun quickly followed. Liu Kunming and Xu Tao exchanged a glance, hesitated briefly, and then followed as well.
Deng Minghao had no ill intentions. He was organized and considerate, making others comfortable around him. Thus, the five people living together all got along well with him.
Emerging with a dark expression, Deng Minghao first saw Li Yingying by the kitchen door.
Li Ruolan, seeing his grim face, knew he was angry and hurried over. She saw Deng Minghao grab Li Yingying by the collar, pulling her close.
Li Yingying screamed in fright, turning to face the furious Deng Minghao.
“Ah!… W-what are you doing?” she stammered, her voice shrinking under his glare.
Deng Minghao ignored her, kicked open the kitchen door, and coldly called out to Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er, “Come out!”
Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er trembled but quickly put on a defiant front. “Deng Zhiqing, what are you doing? Are you going to hit us? A male Zhiqing hitting two female Zhiqing, isn’t that reportable to the authorities?”
Li Ruolan realized they had likely heard some malicious rumors. She pushed Deng Minghao aside, entered the kitchen, grabbed Wang Mingzhu by the hair with one hand and Zhang Bao’er with the other, and pulled them out.
“Li Ruolan! Let go of me!”
“What are you doing?”
Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er bared their teeth, trying to grab Li Ruolan, but she used her strength to throw them to the ground.
The commotion finally drew the attention of other Zhiqing in the camp.
The camp leader, Li Baoguo, quickly approached. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”
Wang Mingzhu and Zhang Bao’er immediately covered their heads and cried, “We don’t know! We were cooking when Deng Zhiqing kicked the door open, and then Li Zhiqing pulled our hair!”
Li Baoguo looked at Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan. He had heard what Wang Mingzhu, Zhang Bao’er, and Li Yingying said at lunch, but since the three hadn’t come back, he didn’t question it further.
Seeing this, it seemed their gossip had been discovered.
Deng Minghao said, “The three of us went up the mountain to gather mushrooms all day, yet they turned it into rumors about improper relationships. At this point, spreading such rumors—are they trying to slander us or get us sent for re-education?”
After speaking, he opened the item in his hand. “See this? It’s the marriage certificate of my wife and me. We got married the second day we arrived at Shengli Brigade. The newly built house next door is ours. My wife and I went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, how does that turn into messing around and having improper relations?”