“I got it after going into the mountains with a few of my comrades and hunting a wild boar. We split it among ourselves,” Huo Zhanting explained. In the past, he had always turned his share down.
Jiang Yan’s eyes immediately lit up. She asked excitedly, “Are there a lot of wild boars in the mountains? Can we hunt them whenever we want? Are there other kinds of game, too?”
Huo Zhanting’s brow twitched.
“There are herds of wild boars in the mountains, as well as packs of wolves and even tigers. Don’t go into the mountains recklessly. It’s dangerous.”
Jiang Yan thought to herself, I’ve fought my way through hordes of zombies. Do you really think I’m afraid of going into the mountains?
Hunt a wild boar, take it to the black market, and sell it. Wasn’t that a perfectly good way to make money?
The more Jiang Yan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. But she absolutely couldn’t let Huo Zhanting know.
“I’m not planning to go into the mountains. I was just asking,” Jiang Yan said perfunctorily.
Huo Zhanting didn’t believe her. “I’m serious. Don’t take what I said lightly. I’ll take on more missions and earn more bonuses. I won’t let you go hungry.”
“Even if you earn more, it won’t help when everything’s rationed…” Jiang Yan muttered under her breath.
Huo Zhanting didn’t hear her clearly. “What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing. I said I understand. I won’t recklessly go into the mountains,” Jiang Yan promised.
At most, she would go into the mountains after making proper preparations.
Huo Zhanting could tell that Jiang Yan hadn’t really taken his warning to heart. He was about to say something else when Jiang Yan suddenly threw back her head and shouted,
“Xiaojin! Xiaoxi! Come and see what your stepmother bought for you!”
As she called out, she walked toward the house.
“Ta-da!” Jiang Yan pulled out the new clothes as though she were presenting treasures. “Here, these are new clothes I bought for you two. See if you like them.”
The two little ones looked as though they’d just received priceless treasures.
“Stepmom, are these really for us?” Huo Wenjin asked incredulously.
This was the first time he’d ever had new clothes.
“Mhm, they’re for you. And there’s malted milk powder, White Rabbit Creamy Candy, biscuits… These are all for you, too!”
As she spoke, Jiang Yan grabbed a handful of White Rabbit candies for each of them and stuffed them into their hands.
“Take them. Eat them slowly. Come ask me for more when you’ve finished!”
Xiaoxi was so excited that his face was glowing.
“Big Brother, you were right! If we stick with Stepmom, we’ll have meat to eat!”
Not only had he gotten to eat meat, he’d even gotten White Rabbit candy.
He was so happy!
Huo Zhanting followed them inside and witnessed the scene.
Although his wife could eat and certainly knew how to spend money, she hadn’t forgotten his two sons either.
As long as she genuinely treated his sons well, that was enough. He didn’t ask for much.
However, after Jiang Yan single-handedly polished off more than half a pork leg and then wolfed down ten bowls of rice, Huo Zhanting’s expression finally cracked.
Jiang Yan was eating happily when she suddenly caught Huo Zhanting’s indescribable stare.
“You think I eat too much again?”
“I don’t!” Huo Zhanting denied it smoothly. After a pause, he explained, “I’m just worried that eating this much will upset your stomach.”
“That won’t happen. I have a special constitution. I’m strong, so I need a lot of food to convert into energy.”
After eating her fill at every meal these past few days, even her otherwise useless wood-type ability had begun to show signs of awakening.
It was even more useless than it had been in the apocalypse, but something was better than nothing.
Huo Zhanting suddenly remembered the two enormous bundles she’d been carrying on the train. Curiosity got the better of him.
“How strong are you?”
Jiang Yan thought for a moment and gave him a conservative estimate.
“Right now, I could probably carry a seven- or eight-hundred-jin wild boar and still walk as fast as usual!”
The wild boar they’d hunted that day weighed five hundred jin. The four of them had each grabbed one leg and carried it down the mountain.
Could Jiang Yan really be that strong?
Huo Zhanting found it hard to believe.
Seeing that he didn’t believe her, Jiang Yan didn’t bother explaining. She looked around and spotted the stone table in the courtyard.
She walked straight over, then placed the four stone stools on top of the table. She grabbed the thick stone base underneath and lifted the entire thing into the air.
The stone table weighed two or three hundred jin, and the four stone stools weighed another thirty or so.
Yet she lifted the whole thing with ease.
Huo Zhanting could hardly believe his eyes.
Xiaojin and Xiaoxi were also swallowing nervously.
From now on, they absolutely must never make Stepmom angry.
One punch from her could probably turn them into pancakes!
Terrifying!
Jiang Yan even carried the stone table around the courtyard once before setting it back down.
“Believe me now?” Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow at Huo Zhanting.
Huo Zhanting’s expression was strained.
“I believe you. I believe you!”
Hmph!
Jiang Yan gave him a frosty look over her shoulder and went back to eating, sweeping every last bit of food from the table.
Huo Zhanting didn’t dare say another word.
Neither did the two little ones.
They silently watched Jiang Yan eat her fill, collect the dishes, and wash them.
The next day, Huo Zhanting was suddenly called away on an emergency mission. He only had time to say a quick word to Jiang Yan before hurriedly leaving.
With Huo Zhanting gone, Jiang Yan decided to go into the mountains and scout the area.
These days, even raising two extra pigs was considered a collective matter. If she carried a wild boar down the mountain in broad daylight, there would be too many eyes watching.
So Jiang Yan planned to scout the area during the day and hunt at night.
She thought she could make it back before noon, so she didn’t tell the two little ones that she was going into the mountains. She merely told them she was going out for a while and that they could play by themselves.
The two little ones obediently did as she said. Wearing the new clothes Jiang Yan had bought them and carrying their White Rabbit candies, they went out to play with their friends.
Zhao Xiaomei also hated the two little ones.
If it weren’t for those two burdens, she wouldn’t have hesitated for so long about marrying Regiment Commander Huo.
If she’d agreed to marry Huo Zhanting sooner, she would be the regiment commander’s wife now. The new clothes should have been hers to wear, and the White Rabbit candies should have been hers to eat!
The more Zhao Xiaomei thought about it, the angrier she became.
She walked over, chased the other children away, and then said to the two little ones, “You two are still showing off here? Your stepmother is about to be eaten by wolves!”
Xiaoxi immediately became agitated.
“Auntie Xiaomei, you’re lying! My stepmom isn’t going to get eaten by wolves. She can kill a wolf with one punch!”
Zhao Xiaomei didn’t believe for a second that Jiang Yan could kill a wolf.
“Why would I lie to you? I saw her go up the mountain with my own eyes this morning!”
When the boys had first arrived at the compound, their father had already warned them that there were wolves in the mountains that could eat people. They were strictly forbidden from going up there.
“Big Brother, what do we do?” Xiaoxi asked, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked at Huo Wenjin.
Huo Wenjin didn’t know what to do either!
Zhao Xiaomei’s face was full of malicious delight.
“If you go look for her now, you might still find a couple of bones. If you wait any longer, the wolves will have chewed even those bones to pieces!”
Huo Wenjin’s face turned deathly pale.
“Let’s go. We’re going to find Stepmom!”
When Zhao Xiaomei saw the two little ones run toward the mountains, a vicious smile spread across her face.
Good riddance.
It would be even better if all three of those pests were eaten by wolves!
……
By this time, Jiang Yan had already gone deep into the mountains. She had absolutely no idea that the two little ones had been tricked into following her.
Just as Huo Zhanting had said, there was an abundance of game in the mountains, and all kinds of animals could be found there.
After scouting the area, Jiang Yan also caught two wild chickens and brought them back down the mountain. She didn’t encounter the two little ones who had gone looking for her.
At lunchtime, Jiang Yan planned to make wild chicken stewed with mushrooms.
She carried the chickens home, but didn’t see Xiaojin or Xiaoxi.
“Where did those two little ones go?”
Jiang Yan didn’t pay much attention to it. She assumed they’d gone to play with the other children.
Once the food was ready, Jiang Yan finally went looking for them.
She searched the entire compound but couldn’t find them.
Eventually, she learned from the political commissar’s children that Xiaojin and Xiaoxi had last been seen with Zhao Xiaomei.
Jiang Yan immediately headed to Zhao Xiaomei’s house.
She barged straight into the Zhao household.
“Where are Xiaojin and Xiaoxi?” Jiang Yan demanded as she strode up to Zhao Xiaomei.