Siheyuan: The Final Winner

Chapter 16 Hunting in the mountains, harvesting a lot

 The mountains are undulating and covered with white snow.

 It is extremely difficult to travel deep in the mountains.

Fortunately, Jiang Pingan was wearing water shoes. Even so, the soles of his feet were covered with thick yellow mud, making them extremely heavy.

 When walking a few steps, you should step on the withered grass with your feet and rub it to remove the mud, otherwise it will slip.

 There is no need to look at the outer areas of the mountain. Even if there are prey, they are very rare.

 So Jiang Pingan went straight to the mountains.

After walking for two or three hours, there were gradually more and more signs of animals.

 Footprints, feces, hair, etc. are just some of them.

But Jiang Ping'an still didn't stop and continued walking for nearly an hour before slowing down.

 Came to a huge rock, Jiang Pingan walked to the leeward place, rested, drank some hot water, and ate a few big buns.

Once your physical strength is restored, you will pick up your spirits and start looking for prey.

In Jiang Pingan today, no one within a hundred meters radius can escape his detection.

 After a while, Jiang Pingan found a nest of hares in a bush.

He felt happy and quickly put the musket into the space, intending to catch hares with his bare hands and then put them in the space to breed.

 Rabbits are nocturnal animals. They usually rest during the day and come out at night.

 The hare's nest usually has at least three exits, just in case. This is how the cunning rabbit's three burrows came to be.

Jiang Pingan first stood in the distance and looked around carefully, and soon discovered five exits one after another. It seemed that there should be a lot of rabbits here.

Then, he took a deep breath and rushed into the grass as fast as he could, his body instantly turning into a shadow.

As soon as he got closer, a gray shadow flashed out from an exit.

Jiang Ping'an had quick eyes and quick hands. He caught the hare in his hand in an instant and weighed it. It should weigh more than three kilograms.

Jiang Ping'an smiled. Before he could be happy for too long, another rabbit ran out.

He fished left and right, and in a short time, he caught seven hares in a row, and they were all thrown into the space.

 “Is there another one that’s too scared to come out?”

Jiang Ping'an listened carefully for a moment, quickly took hay from the space, lit it, put it at the entrance of the cave and smoked it inside.

 “Poof!”

With a muffled sound, the remaining hare finally couldn't help but ran away, and was caught by Jiang Ping'an.

“You were caught by me and kept in the space. There is no shortage of food and no danger. Why should you run away?”

Jiang Pingan murmured softly, turned around and continued walking forward.

 Next, Jiang Ping'an gained a lot.

This is indeed a deep mountain and old forest, with many kinds of prey.

In addition, Jiang Ping'an has master-level martial arts and space blessings.

 As long as the prey he encounters, very few can escape.

In just two hours, he hunted five pheasants and 16 hares.

 Looking at the time, it was already past two in the afternoon.

 Today's hunting went more smoothly than Jiang Ping'an expected.

 Compared to sleeping comfortably at home, he really didn’t want to spend the night in the wild.

 Besides, one should not be too greedy. There are many prey in this world and it is impossible to catch them all.

So without any hesitation, Jiang Pingan immediately returned the same way.

"There is still a fish farm that I haven't used yet. I'm afraid I have to go to the market to buy it after I return to the city." Jiang Ping'an thought as he walked.

Although the mountain road is difficult, it is still much faster to go back.

Even so, Jiang Pingan hurriedly hurriedly arrived at Liangjiacun in the evening.

 He did not go home, but took a detour.

He took out three hares and two pheasants from the space, carried them with his hands, and headed to Qin Jingru's house.

 He planned to send a hare and a pheasant to Qin Jingru's family.

 For Jiang Pingan, no matter whether he wants to marry Qin Jingru or not, the relationship with her family cannot be severed.

After all, they are neighbors. Every time Jiang Ping'an returns to the city, Qin Jingru's father comes to help him guard the house.

As for why the hares and pheasants were brought out, they were of course just for show.

The sky is dark and it is hard to see the road.

The cold wind was blowing, blowing on my face like a knife.

Qin Jingru’s house was very quiet, there was no sound of anyone talking.

 Since the year before last, drought has continued in most parts of the country, farmland harvests have plummeted, and food is extremely scarce.

 In recent months, Jiang Ping'an has been to the countryside many times, and it is rare to see people lighting fires to cook in their homes in the morning and evening.

 Most of them only have one meal for lunch, which is hominy porridge with clear soup and little water.

 When there is slack in farming, people huddle in their rooms, not talking or moving, trying to save energy as much as possible.

Jiang Ping'an came to Qin Jingru's house, knocked on the door, and shouted loudly: "Uncle Qin, is Uncle Qin at home?"

 “Coming!” A rough voice came from the room.

Soon, the door opened, and Qin Jingru was standing behind the door with a smile on her face.

Just as Jiang Ping'an was about to speak, Qin Jingru's father Qin Dingguo stood up from behind and pulled his daughter aside.

“You came back from the mountains safely? Oh, it’s a good harvest today, you caught so many prey!”

Qin Dingguo grinned, looked at the prey in Jiang Ping'an's hand and said with a smile.

Jiang Ping'an handed a pheasant and a hare to him and said with a smile:

“Uncle Qin, I have really gained a lot today, so I brought some to supplement my sister-in-law and nephew’s nutrition.”

Qin Jingru has three brothers and sisters. Her elder sister is married and her eldest brother has two children after getting married.

 The little one was born a few months ago and is still nursing, which is when he needs nutrition.

Qin Dingguo shook his head and refused: "It's too expensive, I can't have it!"

"Ping An, please take it back. Thank you for your kindness. Even if you don't eat it yourself, you can exchange it for food!"

It’s no joke that food is expensive these days. If you have a wife, three liters of wheat would be more respectable.

Of course this is the countryside, prices in the city are slightly higher, but the bride price is generally only three to five yuan.

 As for the three turns and one ring, most families do not have enough to buy them.

 This is not only about money, but also about votes.

Jiang Ping'an frowned and said, "Uncle Qin, does he treat me as an outsider? Your family has done a lot to help me."

"I'm going to give you a chicken and a rabbit as a token of my gratitude. Uncle Qin, you can't refuse, or you'll be out of sight."

After several dodges, Qin Dingguo finally accepted and invited Jiang Ping'an to sit in the house.

“It’s getting dark now, so I won’t sit down. We are so close, and we can come over at any time in the future.”

Jiang Pingan smiled and said goodbye.

Qin Dingguo couldn't keep her, so he asked his daughter Qin Jingru to give her away.

 After returning home and opening the kitchen, Jiang Pingan threw the remaining two hares and a pheasant to the ground.

Lighted the oil lamp, turned back to Qin Jingru who was holding a flashlight to illuminate it, and said with a smile:

“Come here just in time, kill these hares and pheasants quickly, and let’s have a good meal!”

“Eat all of it? What a waste! Wouldn’t it be better to keep it and exchange it for food?” Qin Jingru frowned and said in distress.

Jiang Ping'an smiled and stepped forward to take the flashlight from Qin Jingru's hand, and then said:

 “What’s wasted? Eat it in your belly and replenish nutrients, so there’s nothing wasted.”

“Look at you, you are such a beautiful girl, but your face is sallow and your hair is yellow, which really affects your appearance.”

Qin Jingru gritted her teeth and said hesitantly: "I haven't seen meat for a long time. If I eat meat like this, I will have diarrhea."

　　"A few days ago, you invited me to eat fried eggs, so I went back to work for a whole day, but it tortured me terribly!"

 (End of this chapter)