Two days later, the main group went up the mountain.
Actually, there weren’t that many people. This time, those who followed were mostly people who knew at least a little about hunting, plus the little girl.
Halfway up, the little girl separated from the group again and directly darted into the deep mountains.
After the snowfall, the road was much harder to walk than it had been in autumn. The messy mountain forest made this even more obvious—there was practically no path at all.
The little girl didn’t care and simply ran forward.
Her intuition had always been very accurate.
More than an hour later, she gradually began seeing animals.
Wild rabbits, pheasants, yellow sheep, wild goats, roe deer, wild boars, black bears, badgers, wolves, sika deer…
As long as it had edible meat, there was only one word when she saw it:
Collect!
Halfway through, she even saw a tiger from afar.
She curled her lips.
No.
She didn’t dare.
It would soon become a nationally protected animal.
She really couldn’t take it.
Animals basically moved in groups during winter, so for the little girl, this made things even more convenient.
Once she collected, she collected a whole nest.
She even gathered several nests of hibernating bears.
The little girl moved through the mountains as if entering her own backyard.
Anything edible?
Collect!
Medicinal herbs?
Collect!
Treasures?
Collect!
Several hours later, when the little girl leisurely returned with her small basket on her back, the villagers had already worked together to kill one wild boar and were resting. They planned to place it on a stretcher later and drag it down the mountain with ropes.
Lin Guanghui saw the little girl and his gaze flickered slightly.
She definitely hadn’t been here just now.
This was the second time.
The little girl dared to enter the deep mountains alone. He could be certain that she had secrets, or perhaps she was simply bold because of her abilities.
But he had never discovered any signs that she knew martial arts.
While everyone was resting, the little girl walked around the surroundings.
The group vaguely seemed to hear the sound of snow falling to the ground, but no one paid attention.
Before long, the little girl came out holding three rabbits in her left hand and carrying a…
Deer in her right hand.
So she was the real hunter, right?
Without making a sound, she had brought back a big one—and it was still alive.
The little girl was also helpless.
This one really had slipped through the net.
It couldn’t be blamed on her.
Seeing it and not acting was not her style.
Her style was never letting anything escape, alright?
Now they really had to leave.
The little girl tied the rabbits’ legs and threw them into her basket. Then she found a rope, looped it around the deer’s neck, and led it along.
How effortless.
The villagers dragged the wild boar ahead.
Lin Guanghui held the rope and slowly followed behind with the little girl.
Along the way, the little girl also gained one pheasant that ran in front of her, one small wild goat, one fat rabbit that crashed into a tree, and one pheasant that bumped into her leg.
Look at that.
This was what it meant to return fully loaded.
Lin Guanghui: …
He had been present the entire time and completely ignored the whole way.
After descending the mountain, they first sent the little girl and her prey home.
Then Lin Guanghui turned and followed the main group to the production team courtyard to prepare for dividing the meat.
The villagers were especially happy this year.
In previous years, they might not get a single bite of meat all year.
This year, they had already received meat three times.
This life was even better than New Year.
They could wake up smiling from dreams.
Only after Lin Guanghui left did the little girl remember something.
These animals had already been seen publicly, so she couldn’t use her space to process them.
But without the space, she didn’t know how.
After thinking about it, she realized she had so much meat in her space that she didn’t lack this little bit.
Since New Year was almost here, why not simply give them all away?
She didn’t even enter the house.
She turned around and headed out again.
Before reaching the production team courtyard, she ran into Lin Guanghui, who had just finished helping there and was coming out.
“What’s wrong?”
They had just parted.
Did something happen?
The little girl looked a little embarrassed.
“I still have quite a lot of meat at home, and I can’t eat that much by myself. I won’t keep the things I brought back just now. Give the two big ones to you and Brother Jiang. As for the smaller ones, help me give them to others.”
Lin Guanghui’s heart trembled.
Whose family would ever complain about having too much meat?
Everyone wished the more, the better.
But this little girl was giving all of it away?
And who gave gifts this generously nowadays?
One deer, one goat, two pheasants, four rabbits.
That was all meat.
She was even giving them away whole.
Most families hadn’t seen this much meat in years.
After thinking about the little girl’s usual generosity, he calmed down.
“Alright. Then I’ll help you clean them up and give them to the elderly villagers, okay?”
“Mm, okay.”
The little girl quickly nodded.
That was exactly what she meant.
“I’ll thank you on their behalf. You always think of them.”
The little girl became even more embarrassed and hurriedly waved her hands.
“No need, no need.”
In her heart, she thought:
I’m giving them away because I don’t know how to slaughter them and I’m afraid you’ll ask. Would you believe that?
Although I did want to give them away too…
Wasn’t this just the perfect opportunity?
“Then come over tonight to take them away.”
The little girl also knew it wouldn’t be good to make a big fuss.
Take them away…
Lin Guanghui amused himself with that wording.
Watching the little girl skip home, he thought for a moment.
He needed to talk to his father.
That night, under the moonlight, Lin Guanghui took away from the little girl’s home one deer, one goat, and a basket containing two pheasants and four fat rabbits.
In addition, there was a piece of braised meat the little girl had made, weighing at least three jin, and a small bottle of monkey wine she had found in the mountains.
She didn’t understand it, but felt it should be something good, so she wanted him to try it.
There were very few people in this world whom the little girl was close to.
Her family situation seemed complicated, and after so long, no one had even written to ask whether she was doing well.
Her maternal grandparents had not seen her for years and were far away. No matter how close the affection was, there were still children, grandchildren, and distance between them.
Was the little girl’s situation really this lonely?
Ah.
If that was the case, then he and Taozi should count as people relatively close to the little girl.
No wonder she treated him and Taozi so sincerely.
He was overthinking, but somehow, he was roughly correct.
No.
He needed to tell Taozi.
From now on, they had to protect the little girl like their own younger sister.
Yes.
He would go tomorrow.
Bringing the string of live animals home, he told his father what the little girl meant.
The old man didn’t hesitate and directly made the decision.
“Then send the big one to Taozi. Kill and clean the rest. Add some things from our home and send them out together.”
The old man looked at his wife, his other two sons, and his daughters-in-law.
“Don’t feel reluctant. Look at her. A little girl in her teens has such generosity. What family could bear to take out so many things all at once and give them to others?
This old man is far inferior.
This should have been the responsibility of our village, yet we haven’t done it as well as a little girl. My old face…”
Everyone knew the old man was only sighing emotionally, so no one tried to persuade him.
Fortunately, the family members were all sensible.
“Don’t worry, old man.”
“Dad, we understand. Don’t worry.”
Then the old man looked back at his third son.
“Don’t keep the one meant for you either. Send it away too. You have no generosity at all. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
…
Lin Guanghui felt more wronged than Dou E.
The braised meat was sliced as a dish, and the children ate until their mouths were oily.
The moment the wine bottle was opened, his father discovered it.
Then after Lin Guanghui fought for one sip, the bottle was forcibly confiscated.
Before he could protest, he felt a warm current surge inside his body. It was warm and comfortable, as if he were floating on clouds.
He looked toward his father, who had just taken a sip.
As expected, his father’s expression was filled with disbelief.
Then the old man quickly closed the lid, stuffed the bottle into his pocket, and even patted it lightly.
Before dawn the next morning, Lin Guanghui led the deer meant for Jiang Tao straight to Jiang Tao’s house and blocked his door.
This time, the villagers did not sell the meat they received.
After all, New Year was coming soon, and the weather was cold, so everything could freeze without spoiling.
This year, the village had divided meat three times, sold meat twice, and distributed some money too.
It was time to keep some for their families to properly nourish themselves.
With money in hand, they could buy some New Year goods in town before the holiday.
This year, they could have a good New Year.
They had heard that people in some other villages were still starving.
Xiangyang Production Team was truly good.
Such good days needed to be cherished.
With free time again, the little girl followed Neighbor Grandma Li to learn how to make Northeastern sticky bean buns, steamed sponge cakes, rice cakes, and all kinds of foods.
She learned quite well.
The next day, the little girl herself fermented dough and steamed over a dozen large pots of buns.
They had all kinds of fillings:
Roe deer meat, bear meat, wild boar meat, wolf meat, deer meat, lamb, fish, mushrooms, sauerkraut, cabbage, and radish.
She even added soup dumpling seasoning from her space.
The taste was incredible.
The little girl, who usually didn’t eat much, ate three and still licked her fingers afterward.
As soon as the buns came out of the pot, she stored them away while still hot.
Whenever she wanted to eat, she could simply take them out.
Mm.
The neighbor’s pickled sauerkraut really was delicious.
She couldn’t get enough.
After steaming buns, she made dumplings.
Again, all kinds of fillings.
After wrapping them, she left them outside for half an hour until they froze solid.
Then she boiled several pots and stored them in her space.
Haha.
The little girl was extremely pleased.
When Lin Guanghui knocked on the door, the little girl had just finished making delicious food and cleaning up the kitchen.
She opened the door and let him in.
Lin Guanghui couldn’t help asking:
“What delicious food did you make? It smells so good.”
How embarrassing.
His mouth was almost watering.
The little girl wasn’t surprised at all.
She had looked just as greedy earlier.
“Buns. Meat buns. I’ll get some for you.”
Before Lin Guanghui could stop her, the little girl had already entered the kitchen.
A moment later, she carried out a basin of steaming buns.
“Hurry and try them. They just came out of the pot. I just finished eating too.”
Lin Guanghui couldn’t resist.
After one bite, rich meat flavor spread through his mouth, so comforting it felt as though it seeped into his bones.
Then there was no “then.”
Lin Guanghui kept his head down and ate buns.
The little girl poured him a cup of water and sat there watching as Lin Guanghui devoured one bun after another in just a few bites.
Within several minutes, an entire basin of ten buns, each the size of a man’s fist, had been completely destroyed.
Lin Guanghui let out a deep breath and drank some water.
Why did he feel like this was what being full truly felt like?
Then where had all the food he ate before gone?
“Your cooking is too delicious. I’ve never eaten such delicious buns before. It seems like every one had a different filling?”
Lin Guanghui did not hold back his praise.
“Yes. Every one was different. Could you tell?”
What?
“Each bun really had a different filling?”
“Yes. Which filling did you like best?”
He tried hard to remember.
No, if he thought about it again, his mouth would water.
“They were all delicious.”
That was the absolute truth.
His performance just now proved he wasn’t lying.
“I also made dumplings. Do you want to try some?”
I want to eat them, but my stomach won’t cooperate.
Wasn’t that awkward?
The little girl brought over a plate.
There weren’t many, only a dozen or so.
“Here, try them. Dumplings are small and don’t take up much space.”
That was true.
Dumplings were small.
He could squeeze them in.
Lin Guanghui once again lamented that his stomach was too small.
“Ah, how are your dumplings this delicious too? If I can’t eat them again in the future, I’ll miss them to death.”
The little girl laughed.
“You can come over often to eat.”
Come over often.
That sounded like a pretty good idea.
Looking at the little girl lowering her head with a faint smile, he wondered what she was thinking…