But at the same time, two doubts surfaced in his mind.
One was, when had his rear courtyard become a Myriad Realms Garbage Dump?
The other was why no one else had discovered this Myriad Realms Garbage Dump.
If anyone had discovered it, the major departments would surely have taken an interest by now.
Yet judging by the circumstances—especially little sister and second elder sister's reactions—they seemed unaware that such a massive garbage dump lay hidden in the rear courtyard.
If they knew.
Why would they still be in debt.
Why would they still scramble to afford three meals a day?
To put it bluntly, a little scavenging in the garbage dump would be enough to live in comfort.
After all, some things in that garbage heap were worth a great deal of money, whether in the seventies and eighties or decades later.
He had already left the rear courtyard, but the garbage dump remained. Liu Qingsong called to little sister, who was feeding the chickens: "Hongxia, come here for a moment."
"Coming!" Little sister came running over on her short little legs.
When she saw Liu Qingsong pull a plump, headless Wild Hare from the Worn Fishing Tackle Box, her eyes widened and she began to stammer. "Third Brother, ...you... you... you..."
"What do you mean, you? Look and see what's inside." Liu Qingsong pointed toward the rear courtyard.
"What's there?" Little sister scratched her little head and looked over.
The rear courtyard held only dry firewood, a pile of Rice Straw, and Farm Tools in the corner. Oh right—two Wild Hare pelts hung on the wall as well.
"You didn't see anything unusual, like a garbage heap?" Liu Qingsong hinted.
"Have none." Little sister shook her head.
"All right then!" Liu Qingsong let out a breath of relief.
He had finally confirmed that only he, the Reborn Person, could see the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump in the rear courtyard, enter it, and take things from it.
This also explained why no one had discovered the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump before: the trigger condition was likely connected to his status as a Reborn Person.
This was a good thing for him—a tremendous one.
As long as he made good use of it.
Not only would he never go hungry again.
He would also find it easy to make money.
However, he could not tell anyone about this secret.
If word got out, they would probably lock him up and treat him like a lab rat.
"Third Brother, what exactly are you trying to say?" The suspicious little sister interrupted Liu Qingsong's train of thought. "And another thing, where did you get this headless wild hare from?"
"Picked it up in the rear courtyard, would you believe that?" Liu Qingsong asked teasingly.
"Hehe... believe it! Believe it!" Little sister jumped up happily, not doubting Liu Qingsong's words at all. "Third Brother, since this wild hare was picked up, can we cook it and eat it?"
"Of course we can, but you're not allowed to tell anyone else." Liu Qingsong reminded her, then carried the hare and headed toward the kitchen.
Little sister trotted along behind him, beaming.
Seeing that the main gate was open, she hurried back to close it.
Then she ran into the kitchen to add firewood and boil water, helping Liu Qingsong out.
For Liu Qingsong, a Reborn Person, preparing the Wild Hare was simple: bark stripping, gutting, and chopping it into pieces, all in one smooth sequence.
But when it came to seasonings, he found himself stuck.
It wasn't that Liu Qingsong didn't know how to use seasonings.
The family was so poor that it had no seasonings besides Chili Powder, table salt, soy sauce, and Sichuan Peppercorn—not even Rapeseed Oil.
With so few seasonings, cooking a good pot of stewed Wild Hare would be difficult
Was somewhat difficult for Liu Qingsong.
But he didn't bother trying to find more seasonings, choosing instead to just let things be.
After all, delicious food comes not from seasonings but from exceptional cooking skill and a deep understanding of the ingredients.
Of course, the main reason was that after rummaging through the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump for so long, his stomach was already growling with hunger.
Having something to eat was enough for him; he could not afford to be picky.
Liu Qingsong poured all the chopped hare meat into the large iron pot of water, added some salt, and covered it. Then he told little sister, "I'm going out for a bit. Watch the firewood, and don't let the stewed hare meat burn."
"Mm, mm! Third Brother, go ahead!" Little sister nodded. "I know how to stew hare meat. I won't let it burn."
Little sister knew what she was doing.
After all, they lived at the foot of Wild Boar Ridge.
So wild hare meat was something they normally ate quite often.
She therefore knew the right heat and timing for stewing hare meat.
Liu Qingsong smiled, picked up a rag, and wiped his hands. Then he left the kitchen with a Woven Sack of scrap steel and headed toward Blacksmith Wang's Home in the southeastern area.
More than twenty minutes later, he came back.
But the Woven Sack of scrap steel he carried had become a small bag of Sweet Potatoes and a little more than half a bag of rice.
Things went so smoothly because the blacksmith trade was thriving in 1978!
Blacksmith Wang's business was no exception. More than a dozen villagers were waiting for him to forge iron tools.
Blacksmith Wang had no time to chat with Liu Qingsong. After checking that the scrap steel had no problems, he had his wife trade Sweet Potatoes and rice for it.
This was not a favor to Liu Qingsong. Iron prices in 1978 were high, so trading the steel for grain was a good deal for them.
Liu Qingsong knew this, but he didn't bother arguing over it.
Blacksmith Wang's willingness to trade grain so Liu Qingsong's family could survive their current hardship was already generous enough.
By the time Liu Qingsong returned from Blacksmith Wang's Home, the stewed Wild Hare in the large iron pot smelled delicious. He set down the bags of Sweet Potatoes and rice, picked up a small spoon, and sprinkled Chili Powder and Sichuan Pepper Powder into the pot.
After stirring it thoroughly,
he was about to taste it
When a knocking sound came from outside: "Hongxia, Qingsong, are you home?"
"Huh?" Liu Qingsong turned to look.
That voice...
Why did it sound so familiar?
"It's Eldest Sister! She's back!" Little sister, carrying a bowl and chopsticks, paused, then hurried to open the door on her Short Little Legs.
Liu Qingsong put the lid back on the large iron pot and followed along behind her.
At the Main Gate, a young woman stood looking around with a sack of Sweet Potatoes over her shoulder and a little girl's hand in hers.
The mother and daughter were Liu Qingsong's Eldest Sister, Liu Chunhua, and his Niece, Wang Xiaonuo.
Liu Chunhua's features resembled Liu Qingsong's in several ways, and her skin was a healthy wheat color. She had walked along a mountain road, so yellow mud covered her trouser cuffs.
When her three-year-old daughter started after a nearby butterfly, she frowned and scolded her. "Little Mochi, don't run around at Maternal Grandmother's home. If a Tiger carries you off, I won't come looking for you."
"Oh!" the little girl replied in a babyish voice. Frightened, she reached out and hugged the young woman's right leg.
Liu Qingsong, who had opened the main gate, couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Eldest Sister, how come you have time to come back today?"
"Hehe... hi, Eldest Sister!" Little sister greeted her too, then went over to take the hand of the shy Little Mochi and ran with her toward the kitchen.
"Don't run so fast!" Liu Chunhua, seeing this, hurried after them with the sweet potatoes still on her shoulder. "What if you fall?"
"We won't, Eldest Sister." Little sister, having run into the kitchen, dragged over a long bench, climbed up on it, and struggled to lift the pot lid off.
When Liu Chunhua and Little Mochi saw steam and the mouthwatering smell of meat rising from the uncovered large iron pot, they both froze and swallowed.
When she recovered, Liu Chunhua asked Liu Qingsong with a dark expression, "Did you hunt on the Back Mountain today?"
The Back Mountain was so dangerous that hunting alone there could cost you your life at any moment.
"No, I picked up this wild hare in the rear courtyard," Liu Qingsong said with a smile, brushing it off.
Liu Chunhua did not believe him. How could there be a Wild Hare in the rear courtyard? She was about to lecture Liu Qingsong when little sister spoke up. Scooping hare meat with the wok spatula, she said, "Eldest Sister, Third Brother really did pick up this Wild Hare. I... I saw it with my own eyes."
"Really?" Liu Chunhua asked, surprised.
"Of course it's true. Never mind all that—since you two happened to show up, hurry and grab some bowls and chopsticks and eat." As Liu Qingsong spoke, he turned and brought over the small table.
Liu Chunhua accepted Liu Qingsong's explanation. Without standing on ceremony, she took bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard, ladled out two large bowls of Wild Hare meat, and sat at the small table with Little Mochi to eat.
She was surprised to discover that
the stewed Wild Hare Liu Qingsong had made this time smelled exceptionally good.
Tastier than anything she'd ever eaten before.
She was about to ask Liu Qingsong how he had prepared it
When, in a corner of the kitchen, she spotted the small bags of sweet potatoes and rice.
To clear up the doubt in her mind, she asked, "Qingsong, where did you get this rice and these sweet potatoes from? This morning when I ran into Lijuan, didn't she say our family was out of food?"
"Traded a worn-out axe and some scrap steel with Blacksmith Wang for it." This time Liu Qingsong neither brushed off the question nor lied.
After all, this wasn't something he could hide anyway.
"I see!" Liu Chunhua nodded, feeling reassured.
The family did have plenty of scrap steel lying around. Their parents had picked it up along the National Highway before they were taken away.
Now that there was nothing left to eat at home, trading it for grain wasn't a problem at all.
Relieved that her younger siblings would not go hungry for now, Liu Chunhua said, "Since you found a way to trade for grain, Little Mochi and I will head home. I still have plenty of work waiting for me there!"
Liu Qingsong was about to nod when Little Mochi, unhappy at the idea, spoke first. "Mommy, I... I don't want to go back."
"Why not?" Liu Chunhua asked, puzzled.
"Because the meat at Maternal Uncle's House isn't gone yet. If we go back, we won't have any more meat to eat." Little Mochi answered with complete seriousness, buried her little head in her bowl, and resumed drinking her soup.
Liu Chunhua: "..."
"Hahaha..." Liu Qingsong burst out laughing.
"Hehe..." Little sister laughed too.
Little Mochi didn't feel embarrassed at all.
She laughed along with them, her face bright with happiness.
Seeing this, a smile crept onto Liu Chunhua's face as well.
But soon she put away her smile and grew wistful.
But she soon wiped away her smile and grew wistful, thinking how wonderful it would be if their parents were here—the whole family together, happy and at ease.
……