pdf-ebookys Chapter 333 Will you be comfortable in the city?
Chapter 333 Will you be comfortable in the city?
At dawn, the eastern sky was already tinged with the pale light of dawn, and the forest was shrouded in a thin layer of morning mist.
Wang Ergou was still fast asleep, snoring loudly.
Li Xiangyang tiptoed out of the tent, went to the stream to wash his face, and the cool water instantly dispelled his sleepiness.
He looked up at the venison hanging in the tree; everything was fine.
He gathered some dry branches, started a fire, and prepared breakfast.
The pot was steaming hot, emitting a fragrant aroma that soon woke Wang Ergou up with its mouthwatering smell.
"Hmm? What smells so good?" Wang Ergou rubbed his sleepy eyes and crawled out of the tent.
"Venom porridge," Li Xiangyang stirred the porridge in the pot, "Eat it while it's hot."
After the two finished eating breakfast around the fire, Li Xiangyang, while cleaning up the pots and pans, said to Wang Ergou, "Ergou, let's go deeper into the mountains today and see if we can run into a wild boar. Wild boars shouldn't be hard to find this time of year."
"No problem. If we manage to hit it, people will remember my good deeds and think highly of me."
After setting up camp, the two continued deeper into the mountains.
After walking for about two hours, the mountain path became steeper and the trees became denser.
Little Tiger suddenly stopped, his nose twitching and making low whimpering sounds.
"A discovery?" Li Xiangyang squatted down, stroked the tiger's head, and looked in the direction its nose was pointing.
On a muddy patch of ground, there were several distinct hoof prints and turned soil.
"Wild boar!" Wang Ergou whispered excitedly. "The tracks are very fresh."
Li Xiangyang carefully observed the surrounding environment: "Judging from these marks, it should be an adult wild boar, weighing at least 150 jin (75 kg). It rooted around here, probably looking for food."
The two carefully followed the tracks and walked for about 500 meters before arriving at an open hillside.
The hillside was covered with oak trees, and many acorns were scattered on the ground.
Li Xiangyang made a gesture, signaling Wang Ergou to stop.
He pointed to a dark figure not far away—a wild boar intently rooting in the ground, searching for acorns.
"It's yours," Li Xiangyang said to Wang Ergou in a low voice.
Wang Ergou nodded, slowly raised his hunting rifle, and aimed at the wild boar's head.
He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and gently pulled the trigger.
"boom!"
Gunshots echoed through the valley, and the wild boar fell to the ground, twitching a few times before becoming still.
"Great marksmanship!" Li Xiangyang patted Wang Ergou on the shoulder.
Wang Ergou smiled smugly: "Of course, that's from practicing with so many bullets."
The two quickly walked to the wild boar and confirmed that it was dead. Just as they were about to deal with the boar, Xiao Hu suddenly pricked up his ears, tensed up his whole body, and let out a low growl of warning.
Li Xiangyang immediately became alert: "What's going on?"
He glanced around and saw the bushes not far away swaying slightly. Then, a dark figure darted out from the bushes and pounced on them.
"Watch out!" Li Xiangyang shouted, raising his gun to aim.
It was a sow even larger than the wild boar they had just hunted. Upon seeing the carcass of her companion, the sow angrily charged at the two men.
"Bang!" Li Xiangyang pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the sow's front shoulder, but it only slowed it down slightly and did not stop it.
"One more shot!" Wang Ergou shouted hurriedly, raising his gun at the same time.
The two men fired almost simultaneously, and the two bullets struck the sow in the head and chest, respectively.
Its massive body crashed to the ground, sliding several meters before coming to a stop.
"Phew—" Li Xiangyang let out a long breath, "I almost got crushed by it."
Wang Ergou patted his chest: "Luckily, I reacted quickly."
The two approached and examined the sow, finding it to be larger than the boar, weighing at least 200 kilograms.
"I'm in luck today," Li Xiangyang laughed. "Two wild boars. Looks like I can't avoid going back now."
Dealing with two wild boars was physically demanding; the two men worked for most of the day to hang the boars from a tree.
As night fell, Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou sat around the campfire, roasting wild boar meat, the aroma filling the air.
“Oh, right,” Wang Ergou said, taking a big bite of meat and speaking indistinctly, “Ma Hongxia told me that she received a letter from her family saying that the ‘three recruitment’ process has become more standardized, providing greater assurance for educated youth to return to the city through fair channels.”
Li Xiangyang raised an eyebrow: "Oh? So she's planning to go back?"
“She wants to go home for a visit, but she won’t stay in the city. She said living with me in the village is just fine.” Wang Ergou chuckled.
Li Xiangyang poked at the campfire, sparks flying everywhere, and said with emotion, "Ergou, Ma Hongxia's decision shows she truly cares for you. Giving up going back to the city for you, that's something not everyone can do."
Wang Ergou scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, I didn't expect her to be so nice to me. Since she wants to go back and visit, I'll buy a train ticket for October. Want to come along?"
“Okay, bring Li Xiaoyun along. She’s pregnant, she should relax a bit.” Li Xiangyang thought of his wife, and a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
"Then it's settled!" Wang Ergou clapped his hands happily. "By the way, what should we do with all this game? We can't take so much back at once."
Li Xiangyang looked around and pondered for a while.
"Let's take the deer back tonight. The wild boar is too big for the two of us to carry; we'll have someone come and get it first thing tomorrow morning."
"Great idea!" Wang Ergou agreed. "Nothing will happen in this deep mountain forest overnight."
The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the forest path as Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou trudged along, carrying heavy loads of venison.
After walking and stopping for about five hours, the outline of the village finally appeared in the distance.
It was late at night, the moon was high in the sky, and the village was already silent, with only a few faint lights still flickering.
"Finally back." Wang Ergou breathed a sigh of relief, put down the load on his shoulders, and stretched his sore shoulders.
"You go back first. We'll go to the production team tomorrow morning and take them to get wild boars," Li Xiangyang said to Wang Ergou.
Wang Ergou nodded: "Okay, then I'll head back first." With that, he quickly walked towards his home.
Li Xiangyang dragged the venison slowly toward his home.
It was the dead of night, and Li Xiaoyun was already asleep. When she heard the knocking, she cautiously asked what was wrong, and only opened the door in surprise when she realized it was him.
"Why are you so late? Did something happen?" Li Xiaoyun asked with concern as she welcomed them into the courtyard.
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "No, it went very smoothly this time. We not only hunted a deer, but also two wild boars. They were too heavy to bring back, so we left them in the mountains. We plan to take some men to retrieve them tomorrow. We're bringing the deer back first."
"You came back at night because you were afraid the villagers would see the venison?" Li Xiaoyun suddenly realized.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Yes, the deer family paid for it, so they can't share it with the villagers. That's why they came back at night so the villagers wouldn't see them and feel uncomfortable."
Li Xiaoyun nodded understandingly: "You're so thoughtful. By the way, are you hungry?"
Li Xiangyang rubbed his stomach. "I'm a little hungry."
"I'll give you food." Li Xiaoyun stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
After having a late-night snack, Li Xiangyang carefully put away the venison. When he returned to the house, Li Xiaoyun had already made the bed and was sitting on the edge of it waiting for him.
"Come on, lie down. You must be exhausted." Li Xiaoyun patted the bed.
Li Xiangyang took off his coat and lay down on the bed. Li Xiaoyun sat beside him, gently massaging his shoulders.
"You've been running around in the mountains all day; your shoulders must be stiff," Li Xiaoyun said with concern.
Li Xiangyang closed his eyes, enjoying his wife's massage: "With you here, it's all worth it, even if I'm tired."
Li Xiaoyun chuckled softly: "Smooth-talking."
After a while of massage, Li Xiaoyun lay down and snuggled up next to Li Xiangyang.
"By the way, Er Gou said today that he's going back to the city with Ma Hongxia in October." Li Xiangyang paused, gently smoothing a stray hair behind Li Xiaoyun's ear, his expression serious. "Er Gou mentioned to me that Ma Hongxia's family wrote that the 'three recruitments' process is much more standardized now, and the chances of educated youth returning to the city through formal channels are much greater. What do you think? Should we take this opportunity to go back to the city too?"
Li Xiaoyun was taken aback at first, her brows furrowing slightly. After a long while, she spoke softly, "This is too sudden. Going back to visit is fine, but going back to the city is out of the question. We've lived here for so long, we've grown attached to every tree and blade of grass in the village, to our neighbors. How can we just give it all up? Besides, will you feel comfortable in the city?"
Li Xiangyang held Li Xiaoyun's hand on her stomach, gently stroking it, and said softly, "Wife, I know you mean well, but I can't be too selfish, after all, we have a child. If we go back to the city, the medical conditions are better, and the baby's birth will be more secure. Of course, I'm just mentioning it to you, but the final decision is still yours."
Li Xiaoyun gently withdrew her hand, her tone firm and without the slightest hesitation: "When I'm about to give birth, we can go to the city to give birth. The rest of the time, we can stay in the village and live a peaceful life. Things will definitely get better and better in the future."