One of the older hunters stared at Luo Mingchen’s completely uninjured hand and said in amazement, “Little brother, you’re incredibly strong.”
Luo Mingchen could only laugh awkwardly. “It’s not that bad…”
“Not that bad? This isn’t just great strength—you’re practically a miracle.”
Seeing that they were about to keep talking, Luo Mingchen quickly changed the subject. “Was there only this one wild boar? Why don’t you discuss how to deal with it? I’ll go take care of the child.”
With that, he hurried off before they could grab him and bombard him with questions.
After taking a few steps, Luo Mingchen heard one of the hunters say to Huo Yan, “Your contract brother is really amazing.”
As for what Huo Yan replied, Luo Mingchen didn’t listen carefully. He quickly took the child home, worried they might start calling him a monster.
How could a normal person possibly punch such a huge wild boar to death with one blow?
Still…
They should give him a fair share of the meat, right?
Thinking of that, Luo Mingchen, still feeling somewhat regretful, set Huo Xinyue down on a small stool and planned to peek through the crack in the gate.
However, as soon as he reached the entrance, he ran into Huo Yan, who was pushing the gate open and walking in.
Luo Mingchen staggered back half a step, his shoulder aching slightly from the collision.
But that wasn’t the important part.
Nervously, he asked, “They really took the wild boar away?”
“No. That’s a wild boar you killed yourself. They’re looking for something to carry it back here with.”
Hearing that, Luo Mingchen felt a little embarrassed.
“Um… should we split it with them anyway? They did find it together.”
Huo Yan replied, “There’s still a male boar up in the mountains. This one ran down the mountain, and you killed it, so it’s yours. If we can’t finish eating it, we can sell it to a restaurant in the county. It should fetch several dozen taels of silver.”
Luo Mingchen frowned after hearing that.
“A boar that big only sells for several dozen taels?”
Huo Yan explained, “Wild boar is relatively common among delicacies from the mountains and forests. Several dozen taels is already the price offered by the larger restaurants in the county. If you’re willing to put in more effort and ask around for a wealthy family preparing a wedding banquet, you might be able to sell it for a hundred taels.”
After thinking it over, Luo Mingchen realized that several dozen taels still had tremendous purchasing power in this world.
It was a huge sum of money.
It was only because he had seen Huo Yan’s savings the previous night that several dozen taels no longer seemed like much.
“Then should we sell it or keep it for ourselves?”
“Either is fine.”
After a moment’s thought, Luo Mingchen still felt selling it would be better.
“Then shall we go to the county this afternoon?”
Huo Yan nodded.
“Alright.”
Several villagers helped carry the wild boar into the courtyard.
“We’ll leave it here for now.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
After thanking them, Luo Mingchen even heard someone say that he was truly amazing and that from now on Xishui Village wouldn’t have to worry about attacks from wild beasts.
He could only say…
These people were really simple and honest.
At noon, Luo Mingchen couldn’t be bothered making too many dishes, so he casually cooked a pot of rice, a bowl of stir-fried pork with green peppers, a bowl of braised pork, and a plate of cucumber salad dressed with vinegar.
Huo Yan, who had just heard Luo Mingchen say they would “eat something simple”:
“…”
After sitting down, Huo Yan said meaningfully, “I thought there would only be a pot of porridge.”
Luo Mingchen didn’t understand.
“You want porridge?”
“…No.”
Taking it as politeness, Luo Mingchen said, “If there’s something you want to eat in the future, tell me beforehand. If I can make it, I will. Oh right, there’s also a pot of mung bean soup on the stove. When we get back this afternoon, we can chill it with well water. It’s almost the same as drinking porridge.”
Huo Yan paused.
“Didn’t you make steamed buns?”
“Yeah. When Xiaohui and Xiang come back, they can grab some if they’re hungry.”
At that, Luo Mingchen thought for a moment.
“Should we buy some jars? I want to pickle some vegetables and duck eggs. They’re delicious with porridge or steamed buns. If we stir-fry some pickled long beans in the morning, they can even go into noodles.”
Huo Yan had no objections, but he asked, “Doesn’t doing all this tire you out?”
He hadn’t married a spouse just to bring home a cook.
Being able to cook was one thing, but if Luo Mingchen was exhausting himself because he was afraid of being driven away, that would be unpleasant.
“Tired? From this?”
Luo Mingchen hadn’t grown up pampered.
He had simply been fortunate enough to live in a city.
In reality, he had done all sorts of jobs to make money—carrying bricks, washing dishes, handing out flyers…
Later, a hotel owner felt sorry for him and arranged for him to work in the kitchen washing vegetables. Only then did his life become more stable, and he managed to work hard enough to get into university.
When the apocalypse arrived, staying alive required him to do even more.
So in this world, where there were no zombies threatening him, no academic pressures, and even a place to live, all he had to think about was how to make money.
Life was incomparably easier.
Of course, the prerequisite for Luo Mingchen feeling relaxed was having a place to live.
He wasn’t particularly ambitious.
A comfortable life was enough.
After thinking for a moment, Huo Yan said, “Just don’t overwork yourself.”
“I’m not only cooking for you guys. I have to eat too.”
There was no way he was going to become a nanny.
Everything he had mentioned was food he personally enjoyed eating.
Only when he was in a good mood would he conveniently make things that everyone else liked as well.
Besides, Luo Mingchen actually enjoyed cooking.
What he disliked was cleaning up all the pots, pans, and dishes afterward.
“Mm.”
While they were eating, the village chief’s youngest son arrived carrying several pounds of meat and shouted from outside,
“Brother Huo!”
The gate was only loosely closed, so Huo Yan could see Yu Bei as soon as he stepped outside.
The young man entered with a smile and handed over the meat.
“Brother Huo, eating lunch? My father asked me to bring over this wild boar meat.”
Huo Yan accepted it.
“Many thanks.”
“No problem…”
Yu Bei sniffed the air and swallowed.
“Brother Huo, did Brother Luo cook these dishes? They smell amazing.”
Huo Yan nodded.
“Mm. Want to come in and have some?”
“No need. My mother is waiting for me to go home for lunch. I’ll come mooch a meal another time, hehe.”
With that, Yu Bei hurried back home.
Wearing disposable gloves, Luo Mingchen was tearing apart pieces of braised pork that Huo Xinyue couldn’t chew.
When he saw Huo Yan return carrying meat, he asked,
“They gave you meat too?”
Huo Yan set it on the table.
“This is my share for participating. The boar in the courtyard is yours. Everyone who went received a portion.”
“…Oh.”
The midday sun was intense, so all three of them wore straw hats when they went out.
Before leaving, Luo Mingchen even fed the ox some Chinese cabbage from his space to make sure it wouldn’t decide to stop working halfway through the trip.
The large wild boar was covered with layers of broad leaves to keep it from spoiling before they reached their destination.
Not many people were entering the city at noon, so they didn’t have to wait in line for long.
If it had been like that morning, they might have wasted a great deal of time on the road.
Before entering the city, the guards asked a few questions and inspected the wild boar. Only after collecting the entrance fee did they let them pass.
There were quite a few wealthy families in Yuelan County, but Luo Mingchen couldn’t be bothered going door to door asking around.
Instead, he went directly to the largest establishment, Fulai Restaurant.
After inspecting the boar, the manager paid them without hesitation.
The total came to seventy-six taels of silver.
After receiving the money and leaving, Luo Mingchen grinned proudly at Huo Yan and said in a lavish tone,
“Tell me what you two want to buy.”
Huo Xinyue was extremely cooperative. She pointed directly at Fulai Restaurant and smiled.
“Want!”
Luo Mingchen awkwardly rubbed his nose.
“…Uh, good girl, Yueyue. Let’s skip that one. Daddy can’t afford it.”
Huo Xinyue blinked and obediently nodded, indicating she understood.
Seeing Huo Yan looking at him, Luo Mingchen felt a little depressed.
“You want the restaurant too?”
“…No.”
Since they had come all the way to the county, they couldn’t leave without buying anything.
Still, after wandering around for a while, they didn’t actually purchase much.
Instead, they ended up witnessing quite a spectacle.