The Sweet Little Fulang

    The only wisp of cooking smoke in the mountain forest rose, and the barking of dogs came from a distance, not only Lu Gu who heard it, the puppy howled towards the door a few times, as if he was responding to Dahui.

    Lu Gu added some firewood to the bottom of the stove, and hurriedly went to look outside the courtyard gate.

    The two small dogs ran back first, wagging their tails around Lu Gu, and lowered their heads to sniff the puppy. Lu Gu looked into the forest, and soon saw Shen Xuanqing and Dahui.

    Shen Xuanqing seemed to drag something, Lu Gu remembered that he was still carrying a bamboo basket, and he didn't know if it would hard or not, so he simply went to pick it up.

    "I caught a dwarf deer, and I shot it in the leg. I will raise it for a few days and take it down when we go back down the mountain." Seeing Lu Gu approaching, Shen Xuanqing was very happy. The dwarf deer had a cloth to wrap around its limp front leg, oozing the green medicine and red blood stains, he couldn't run anymore, he wrapped a hemp rope around his neck and pulled him all the way back.

    This dwarf deer had quite a temper, and sometimes it would stick its neck to fight against Shen Xuanqing, pulling the rope backwards and unwilling to go forward, but there was Dahui roaring fiercely at the side, making a gesture of attacking and biting it, the dwarf deer frightened, it finally moved forward. Shen Xuanqing was not used to it, and when it didn’t want to walk again, he whipped the hemp rope like a whip a few times, so he didn't need Dahui to threaten it anymore.

    Now that it was autumn, the vegetation han’t completely withered, and the wild fruits were ripe and luxuriant. During this period of time, most of the wild animals in the mountains were fattened up. There were more edible fruits and grasses, so they were naturally fatter.     

"I'll carry it." Seeing that Shen Xuanqing had to drag the dwarf deer, Lu Gu knew that he couldn't control it. If the dwarf deer broke free, wouldn't it be a waste of work for today, it would be better for him to carry the bamboo basket.     

It was not far from the yard, and the bamboo basket wasn't too heavy, so Shen Xuanqing gave it to Lu Gu, saying: "Dahui and the others caught two long-tailed pheasants, and they are all inside."     

The bamboo basket was big enough, but Lu Gu was also able to carry it, and seeing Shen Xuanqing smiling all the time, he was also happy, and said: "I picked some persimmons, they are all red, you can eat them when you peel them off."

    "Okay, I'll eat one." Shen Xuanqing agreed, with a smile on his handsome face.

    And compared to the timid and cowardly one before, Lu Gu would gradually show a light smile, although not many times, but his brows and eyes were slightly curved, his eyes were bright and energetic, and he could tell that he was in a good mood just by looking at him.

    Once back, Shen Xuanqing drove a wooden stake to the corner of the backyard, nailed it deep into the ground, and tied the deer with a short hemp rope.

    The puppy was very curious about the dwarf deer, and he followed Shen Xuanqing to the backyard when he was working. The chickens and ducks were all in the fence, so he couldn't get in. When he wanted to bite the chickens and ducks, he was taught a lesson by Dahui’s growl. Now that he had a little memory, he only opened his mouth to bite when he was excited to play, but with Lu Gu watching, he grabbed him away every time.

    "Woof!" The puppy leaned forward slightly, jumping and calling at the dwarf deer, as if he wanted to show off his abilities. Although the dwarf deer was shorter than the sika deer, but it was bigger than the puppy, especially this one was an adult deer.

    After Shen Xuanqing finished his work, he went to the front yard to wash his hands and eat. The puppy was still playing in the backyard, barking powerfully. Even if the owner was not there, he was not afraid of living creatures taller than him at all.

    The picked persimmons were placed on the window sill of the kitchen window, and they were lined up in a row. Lu Gu had already scooped the water for washing his hands. After Shen Xuanqing finished washing, he first handed over a soft red persimmon. He also said: "I’m still heating the steamed buns and rice porridge, you can eat this first, and then you can eat after that."

    "Yeah." There was a smile in Shen Xuanqing's eyes. The persimmons picked by himself were not as sweet as the persimmons fulang brought back and handed to him. Lu Gu was washing the dishes in the kitchen. By now, the courtyard door should be locked, but Shen Xuanqing hesitated, and went into the kitchen to help Lu Gu to wash the dishes. He could put the clean bowl away.     

"I want to hunt foxes these few days. It's cold, and fox fur can be sold at a high price. Shifu said that he has a network in Fucheng. If I can find good furs, the price will be higher than in the town."

    Lu Gu raised his head and listened to him carefully without interrupting.

    "It's just that when I go out tomorrow, I guess it will take a day or two to come back. Foxes are cunning, quick-witted and hard to catch, and they often come out at night, so it's more troublesome to track them down. I'm going out tomorrow, so I probably won't come back at night."

    Lu Gu suddenly felt a little nervous, he was at a loss, but he couldn't hold Shen Xuanqing from hunting. After a moment of stupor, he asked, "Then where do you sleep at night?"

    Shen Xuanqing said, "There's no need to worry about it. Take the dogs and find a place, bring thick clothes, one night is over."

    "I'm not here at night, you have to remember to lock the door, so come and take a look how Iock it." Shen Xuanqing said and walked out, Lu Gu naturally followed.

    The thick tree trunk used to cover the courtyard gate was heavy, and it was specially strong wood. Otherwise, if a wild animal attacked the gate, it would be too light to hold it.

    "When I open the door tomorrow, I will lean it to the left, and only open one door to go out. You can move it at night, and the door bolt can be held when you move it over." Shen Xuanqing didn't worry much about himself, but he was a little worried about Lu Gu who was alone, and he would bring all three big dogs with him tomorrow, leaving Lu Gu alone.

    "Okay." Lu Gu nodded his head and made a note. He didn't need to hold the tree trunk from the wall, but it was still possible for him to hold it by moving it to the middle. It only took a little effort.

    It was agreed and there was no further objection, the two of them washed up and fell asleep.