[Ding, intel is being acquired, please wait… Recent fortune: Misfortune will turn to blessing.]
[Fresh Wild Ginseng: Mid-slope of Xiaoyue Mountain, there is a fresh wild ginseng waiting to be harvested.]
[Hungry Wild Chicken Foraging: A Hungry Wild Chicken has come near the mountain foot to forage due to hunger, this is the best time to capture it.]
[Wild Boar Sighting: Deep within Xiaoyue Mountain, wild boars have appeared. As food decreases, the wild boar herd is becoming increasingly violent. Hunt with caution!]
It was still the classic three choices. Xu Changnian looked at them; two were familiar and only the wild ginseng was new.
“I choose… the Hungry Wild Chicken!”
After thinking for a moment, Xu Changnian chose the second intel. Today, he would go up the mountain to catch a Hungry Wild Chicken.
There were two main reasons. First, he had learned many tricks from Xu Tielin last night about catching wild pheasants, so he could test them out today.
Second, the other two intel options were not ideal!
Hunt Wild Boars? Unless he was insane! There was a saying in the hunting world: boar first, bear second, tiger third.
It wasn’t that wild boars were more terrifying than tigers or bears, but wild boars liked moving in groups.
Their skin was thick, and once covered in mud it was like armor.
Ordinary blades and arrows could barely hurt them.
Moreover, wild boars had violent tempers and would attack people on sight. They were extremely troublesome.
Without absolute certainty, it wasn’t even worth thinking about. That one was instantly rejected.
Digging wild ginseng was not bad either. Selling it at the market could earn a lot of money.
But he would need to climb halfway up the mountain. The steep mountain path was hard to travel.
After comparing a bit, Xu Changnian decided the Hungry Wild Chicken was still the best choice.
Especially hungry pheasants—according to Xu Tielin, they were very easy to catch!
Wild pheasants were not only stupid but also remembered food rather than danger, especially when starving.
Set a snare and they would practically jump into it.
As long as you found the right place, there was an eighty percent chance of gaining something.
“Husband, wash your face and eat. Sister-in-law used yesterday’s leftover meat soup to cook porridge. It smells wonderful.”
Shen Yourong shyly returned to the room, helped Xu Changnian dress, then took the bedsheets out to wash.
That bright red stain was far too eye-catching.
Her soft voice calling him “husband” made Xu Changnian’s bones melt.
After last night, Shen Yourong had become even more gentle and graceful.
The eldest brother may tolerate it, but the second brother cannot. Xu Changnian hugged Shen Yourong from behind and rewarded her well on the bed. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Only after a while did Shen Yourong finally escape from his arms. She tidied her messy hair and glanced at him with gentle resentment.
“Sister-in-law is washing bedsheets too?”
“Ah, why do you look so tired? Did you exhaust yourself yesterday? I’ll catch a mountain chicken today to nourish you.”
When Xu Changnian went out, he saw Yun Niang and Shen Yourong washing sheets together, both looking shy.
Shen Yourong’s condition seemed fine, but Yun Niang appeared sleep-deprived, yawning nonstop.
“Go away.”
“Just don’t cause trouble for me. Catch a mountain chicken? Be careful not to break your back instead.”
Yun Niang glared resentfully at Xu Changnian, then glanced at Shen Yourong. Wasn’t it obvious who caused this?
“Husband, I’ll go serve the porridge…”
Inside the main hall, Shen Wei blushed when she saw Xu Changnian coming in and hurried to serve porridge for him.
“You brat, two innocent girls fell right into your hands, you lucky thing.”
“Look at these tools.”
Xu Tielin came in with a stern face, spoke once, and tossed a big bag to Xu Changnian.
Inside were all the hunting tools. Since Xu Changnian said he wanted to learn hunting yesterday, the old man had been preparing early in the morning.
Xu Changnian quickly finished the porridge and then opened the bag excitedly like opening a blind box.
There weren’t many things: a hunting knife, a bow, and seven arrows.
They were all tools Xu Tielin had used in his younger days.
“That bow is made of mulberry wood and ox tendon. The draw weight is about half a stone. It’s perfect for you to practice with. When you master the mulberry bow, I’ll give you the stone bow. That one has a draw of one and a half stone.”
According to the Empire’s standard, a one-stone bow had a draw strength of about 60 kilograms.
Ordinary adults would struggle to fire four or five shots in a row.
They were mostly used by soldiers or seasoned hunters. Xu Changnian currently wasn’t suited for those.
“Perfect.”
Xu Changnian pulled the bowstring and practiced drawing a few times. The strength suited him perfectly.
This mulberry wood bow was a short bow, easy to handle in forests, precise in short distances, and quiet.
The old man had clearly put a lot of thought into choosing it for him.
The arrows were ordinary willow arrows with wide blades.
Wide blades didn’t deal extremely high damage, but caused large bleeding wounds while protecting the fur.
They were very suitable for hunting.
This set of equipment definitely wasn’t suitable for hunting wild boars or bears.
But for Hungry Wild Chickens, foolish deer, or sika deer, it was absolutely perfect.
For Xu Changnian, it couldn’t have been better. He currently had zero interest in heavily built beasts.
“Then I’ll head up the mountain. Tonight, we’ll eat braised chicken.”
After preparing everything, Xu Changnian happily set off, even putting on a fur coat for warmth.
Hungry Wild Chickens foraged in the morning and roosted at night. Morning was the best time to hunt them.
“Braised chicken?”
“Really?”
The moment Xiaoyue heard it, she jumped up excitedly and started looking everywhere.
“You just had braised rabbit and now you want braised chicken. You’d drown in happiness if you could.”
“And you, why let him go up the mountain alone…” Yun Niang complained.
“Sigh, hunting isn’t something you learn in a day or two. Just learning to track prey will take him years.”
“Let him try. It’s still better than wandering around with Liu Ermazi and those useless fools.”
Xu Tielin stroked his beard and smiled contentedly.
Seeing his son settle down and become responsible after getting a wife made him incredibly happy.
“It’s a pity we don’t have paper or brush at home. I can read and write, and I’m good at drawing too. I could earn money writing letters. Wei’er has also learned some medical skills.”
Now that her hands were free, Shen Yourong couldn’t sit still anymore. She kept thinking of ways to help lighten the household burden.
Could they really rely on Xu Changnian hunting every day?
That was unrealistic.
Hunting depended too much on luck, unlike farming which guaranteed harvests.
“Sister, this poor countryside barely has anyone who can read. Most people can’t even write their own names.”
Yun Niang was helpless.
Reading and writing were luxuries of wealthy families. If they wanted letter-writing business, they’d have to go all the way to the county town 15 kilometers away.
Thinking of this, Yun Niang suddenly grabbed Shen Yourong’s hand excitedly.
“The day after tomorrow is the big town market. Come with me. We’ll exchange those two jars of wine and rabbit skins for grain. Maybe someone will need writing services…”
In Qingshan Village, anyone who could recognize their own name was considered a scholar.
Shen Yourong’s talents in reading and painting were practically useless in the countryside, not even as useful as picking up firewood.
All Yun Niang could do was take her to the market. Maybe someone getting married or dealing with funerals would need writing or painting services.