The mountains rose and fell, covered in a blanket of white snow.
The journey through the deep mountains was exceptionally difficult.
Fortunately, Luo Song was wearing rubber boots, but even so, his feet were covered in a thick layer of yellow mud, making them incredibly heavy.
Every few steps, he had to rub his feet against the dry grass to remove the mud, otherwise he would slip.
The outer areas of the mountains were not worth looking for; even if there was prey, it would be extremely scarce.
So Luo Song headed straight into the depths of the mountains.
After walking for two or three hours, animal tracks gradually became more frequent.
Footprints, droppings, and hair were everywhere.
But Luo Song still didn’t stop, continuing for nearly an hour before slowing his pace.
Reaching a large rock, Luo Song moved to a sheltered spot, rested, drank some hot water, and ate several large steamed buns.
Once his strength had returned, he picked up his spirits and began searching for prey.
Now bound to the system, Luo Song’s physical abilities were gradually improving, and his senses were much sharper.
Nothing within a hundred meters could escape his detection.
Soon, Luo Song discovered a rabbit burrow in a patch of grass.
He was overjoyed and quickly stored his musket in his spatial storage, intending to catch the rabbits by hand and put them there.
Rabbits are nocturnal animals; they generally rest during the day and come out at night.
Rabbit burrows usually have at least three exits, just in case—this is the origin of the saying “a cunning rabbit has three burrows.” Luo Song first carefully surveyed the surroundings from a distance, quickly discovering five exits.
It seemed there were quite a few rabbits here.
Then, he took a deep breath and rushed into the grass at top speed, his figure instantly becoming a shadow.
Just as he approached, a gray shadow flashed out from one of the exits.
Luo Song, quick as a flash, caught the rabbit in his hand.
He weighed it; it probably weighed over three pounds.
Luo Song smiled, but his joy was short-lived.
More rabbits scurried out.
He scooped and scrambled, quickly catching seven rabbits in a short time, tossing them all into his spatial storage.
“Is there one that’s too scared to come out?” Luo Song listened intently for a moment, then quickly retrieved some dry grass from his storage space, lit it, and held it at the entrance of the burrow to smoke it out.
“Pfft!” With a muffled thud, the remaining rabbit finally couldn’t resist and tried to escape, only to be caught red-handed by Luo Song.
“Now that I’ve caught you, you’re in my space.
I’m not going to eat you, and there’s no danger, so why would you run?” Luo Song murmured softly, turning and continuing on his way.
Then, Luo Song’s haul became plentiful.
With the added advantage of Luo Song’s physical abilities and spatial abilities, few of his prey could escape.
In just two hours, he had hunted twelve serows, eight gazelles, thirty-seven pheasants, twenty-six rabbits, eight deer, and two litters of wild boars, totaling sixteen animals of various sizes.
Checking the time, it was already past two in the afternoon.
Today’s hunt had gone even more smoothly than Luo Song had anticipated.
Compared to sleeping comfortably at home, he really didn’t want to spend the night in the wild.
Besides, one shouldn’t be too greedy; there are plenty of prey in the world, more than can be caught.
So without hesitation, Luo Song immediately returned the way he came.
This much game would last him a year, Luo Song thought as he walked.
Although the mountain path was difficult, the return trip was much faster.
Even so, Luo Song hurried as fast as he could, finally arriving at Liangjia Village by evening.
He didn’t go home, but took a detour.
He took out three wild rabbits and two pheasants from his spatial storage, along with fifty catties of flour, and carried them by hand to Qin Jingru’s house.
He planned to deliver everything to Qin Jingru’s family.
For Luo Song, regardless of whether he would marry Qin Jingru in the future, the relationship of exchanging gifts with her family couldn’t be severed.
Besides, this amount of money was nothing to him now.
Also, they were neighbors, and every time Luo Song returned to the city, Qin Jingru’s father would come to help him look after the house.
As for why he took out so much flour, it was because he heard Qin Jingru say that her family was struggling financially, and he wanted to help her out.
Otherwise, how could he bring himself to sleep with her when she was so thin and pale?
The sky was darkening, and he could barely see the road.
A cold wind whistled, scraping his face like knives.
The Qin Jingru family home was eerily quiet; not even a sound of voice could be heard.
Since the year before last, most parts of the country had suffered from a prolonged drought, resulting in drastically reduced harvests and severe food shortages.
In recent months, Luo Song had visited the countryside several times and rarely saw anyone cooking breakfast or dinner.
Most people only ate one meal a day at noon, a simple corn porridge.
During the off-season, people huddled indoors, silent and still, conserving their energy.
Luo Song arrived at Qin Jingru’s door, banging on it and calling out, “Uncle Qin, is Uncle Qin home?” “Coming!” a gruff voice came from inside.
The door opened quickly, revealing Qin Jingru standing shyly behind it, a smile on her face.
Just as Luo Song was about to speak, Qin Jingru’s father, Qin Manguo, stepped out from behind and pulled his daughter aside.
“Xiao Song’s back from the mountains?
Wow, a good haul today!
So much game!
Luo Song handed over two pheasants and three rabbits, then gave the bag to Qin Jingru with a smile: “Uncle Qin, we had quite a haul today, so I brought some over for my sister-in-law and nephew to help them get some nutrition.
Also, Jingru said your family is almost out of food, so I have a lot of flour that the leaders gave us as a reward, to tide you over.” Qin Jingru has two siblings.
Her older sister is married, and her eldest brother has two children.
The youngest was born a few months ago and is still breastfeeding, needing extra nutrition.
Qin Manguo shook his head, refusing, “It’s too precious, I can’t accept it!” “Xiaosong, take it back.
Thank you for your kindness, but even if you don’t eat it yourself, you can exchange it for grain!” These days, grain was incredibly valuable.
For a bride, three liters of wheat was considered respectable.
After all, sons were favored over daughters, and daughters needed to be fed at home, so most people were eager to marry their daughters off as soon as possible.
Of course, this was in the countryside; the prices in the city were slightly higher, but the bride price was generally only three to five yuan.
As for the “three turns and one sound” (a traditional Chinese accessory), most families couldn’t afford them.
This wasn’t just because of the money; ration coupons were also required.
Luo Song frowned and said, “Uncle Qin, are you treating me like an outsider?
Your family has helped me a lot.” “I’m giving you two chickens and three rabbits as a token of my gratitude.
The flour is also part of the betrothal gift for Jingru.
After all, you raised her so well, Uncle Qin, you can’t refuse, otherwise it would be too formal.” After several refusals, Qin Manguo finally accepted them and invited Luo Song to sit inside.
“It’s getting dark, I won’t sit down.
We live so close, you can come over anytime.” Luo Song smiled and took his leave.
Qin Manguo couldn’t persuade him to stay, so he asked his daughter, Qin Jingru, to see him off.
Back home, Luo Song opened the kitchen door and took out two wild rabbits and a pheasant from the room, throwing them on the floor.
He lit the oil lamp, turned to Qin Jingru who was holding a flashlight, and smiled, saying: “Perfect timing!
You’re here.
Quickly slaughter these rabbits and pheasants, let’s have a good meal!” “Eat them all?
That’s such a waste!
Wouldn’t it be better to save them for grain?” Qin Jingru frowned, feeling distressed.
Luo Song chuckled, took the flashlight from Qin Jingru, and said: “What’s wasteful about it?
It’s nutritious, so it’s not wasteful.
Would your man let you live a hard life with me?” “Look at you, such a pretty girl, yet you look so pale and your hair is dry and yellow.
It’s so unsightly.” Qin Jingru gritted her teeth, hesitating, “I haven’t eaten so much meat in a long time.
If I eat meat like this, I’ll get diarrhea.” “The other day you treated me to fried eggs, stir-fried meat, and beef, and I got diarrhea as soon as I got home.
It was awful!”