Cheng Duo went up the mountain and accidentally discovered a trail of wild deer yesterday. However, it was already late, and he had already caught a rabbit, so he didn't pursue them.
First, Cheng Duo went to the place where he found the wild deer drinking water yesterday. There were some scattered footprints near the water source, varying in size. Based on his experience, it should be a small group of deer.
These wild deer groups usually stay in the same place for two or three days until they finish eating the grass and leaves they like, and then they move to the next location.
Cheng Duo followed the footprints and indeed found the trace of the deer group in a remote area of the mountain. He carefully concealed himself behind trees and bushes, watching as one of the wild deer separated from the group and grazed on grass, gradually approaching his vicinity.
Cheng Duo felt a bit regretful. If only he had a bow and arrow, it would have been perfect. Throwing a hatchet was too big a target and would easily startle the prey.
Wild deer have extremely sensitive hearing, and they run swiftly. The slightest disturbance would make them disappear without a trace.
Cheng Duo was about to move toward the separated wild deer when he suddenly heard a suppressed growl of a wild beast in his ear, followed by a strong odor…
Cheng Duo quickly rolled to the side and swung the hatchet backhand, inflicting a painful howl on the beast, which swiftly jumped out of Cheng Duo's hunting range.
By now, Cheng Duo could see clearly that it was a robust and well-furred wolf. Half of its face had been slashed by Cheng Duo's hatchet, and it was now baring its teeth, staring fiercely at Cheng Duo with a pair of sinister blood-red eyes.
This wolf was quite clever. Seeing that it was no match for Cheng Duo, it let out a howl toward the sky and quickly disappeared into the forest. Cheng Duo noticed that several other wolf figures emerged from the shadows of the trees and swiftly followed the head wolf's steps, disappearing in an instant.
Obviously, that was the alpha wolf, and Cheng Duo suspected that the gray wolf he had killed earlier belonged to this wolf pack.
The alpha wolf had come to seek revenge.
These wolves were really sharp. Cheng Duo had been a bit diligent these past two days, and they had followed him.
Cheng Duo raised his arm and looked at it. He had accidentally scratched his skin with the fangs of the alpha wolf, leaving a bloody mark.
If it were in peacetime, he would definitely go to the hospital for a rabies shot or something, but now he didn't care. He wasn't afraid of the zombie virus and even ate expired canned meat without hesitation, so why would he be afraid of these things?
Unfortunately, as a result, the group of wild deer was also startled and ran away. Cheng Duo couldn't help it and caught a bamboo rat instead.
Perhaps due to his previous experience of supporting his family, Cheng Duo always felt a bit embarrassed when Yong-ge discovered that he was injured and hadn't caught anything… It was a bit embarrassing.
"You're back?" Seeing Cheng Duo coming out of the woods with the prey in his hand, Yong-ge, who was picking wild vegetables by the water, unconsciously stood up and curiously stared at the prey in Cheng Duo's hand.
Cheng Duo showed Yong-ge the bamboo rat he was carrying with his intact sleeve. "A bamboo rat, I'll prepare it for you later."
"Okay."
Seeing that Yong-ge was still standing there without leaving, Cheng Duo attempted to change the subject. "Where did you get the wild vegetables?"
"I saw some on the side of the field just now, so I picked them on the way." Yong-ge believed him without suspicion. After answering Cheng Duo's question, he obediently went back to continue picking vegetables.
However, when Cheng Duo was skinning the bamboo rat, Yong-ge, who was watching, noticed something. "Why is your sleeve torn?"
Pretending not to know, Cheng Duo raised his hand to take a look. "Maybe I accidentally tore it on the mountain."
"Then take it off later, and I'll help you mend it." Yong-ge said naturally, but after speaking, he realized that something was not right. Cheng Duo wasn't his older or younger brother, let alone his father. Why would he mend it for him?
"Um… You can fix it yourself. I injured my finger today, so it's a bit inconvenient,"
Cheng Duo glanced at Yong-ge and indeed saw bloodstains on his right thumb. He thought it was quite a coincidence that both of them had accidentally drawn blood today.
"Zhou Huolang will come in a couple of days. I ordered some wound medicine from him. I'll give you some when it arrives," Cheng Duo said.
"No need." Yong-ge's hand trembled, and he unconsciously hid it behind his back. In fact, a scratch on the hand from working in the fields was nothing out of the ordinary, and he didn't really care about such a minor injury. His refusal was just an excuse.
Yong-ge wanted to hide his hand because Cheng Duo was staring at it, and he felt a bit embarrassed. His hand was ugly, with old scars, calluses, and frostbite.
In fact, Cheng Duo's hands were more delicate than his. Even though he was his older brother, he still felt a sense of shame.
Cheng Duo nodded at Yong-ge's words, not paying much attention. By the time Zhou Huolang delivered the medicine, Yong-ge's minor injury would likely have healed.
Yong-ge felt a bit disappointed for some reason. Perhaps it was because it was rare for someone other than his father to show concern for him, and he had refused it. Or maybe he thought Cheng Duo changed his mind about giving him the wound medicine after seeing his rough hands because it wouldn't be of any use…
But fortunately, Yong-ge was a strong young ger who quickly brushed off this feeling of disappointment. He had bigger concerns like having enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, so he didn't have the luxury to dwell on such thoughts.
However, thanks to Yong-ge's reminder, Cheng Duo remembered that he had bought some fabric and hadn't found someone to help with sewing yet.
Actually, there was no need to look for someone because there was a readily available candidate…
Cheng Duo was also worried that Yong-ge would leave after finishing planting the vegetables. Since the vegetable patch didn't require too much attention, he could check on it every ten days or so without any issues. But if that happened, their agreement of helping with cooking until the house was repaired would end early.
Cheng Duo didn't want to lose such a convenient and obedient "cook."
Although Yong-ge refused to mend even the small tear on his clothes to avoid suspicion, Cheng Duo knew that this young ger was genuinely kind. He had helped him mend his clothes back in the cave, after all.
Moreover, the timing of making the request was also crucial…
During mealtime, Yong-ge, as usual, put a bowl of rice and dishes to the side to eat separately. Cheng Duo noticed that he only took three pieces of bamboo rat meat and put them all in a bamboo tube. He even put two steamed buns in one tube, leaving only the leftover buns and wild vegetables to eat.
Cheng Duo chewed a piece of bamboo rat meat and pretended to say, "Ah, the bamboo rat meat today is a bit tough…"
Yong-ge became nervous, thinking that Cheng Duo didn't like his cooking. This was related to his income of two wen per meal: "Did I stir-fry it too much? I'll be more careful next time!"
"No, it's just that the meat itself is a bit tough," Cheng Duo said, pretending to find it difficult to swallow.
Yong-ge looked at him eagerly. After all, it was still meat, and he could eat it even if it was a bit tough. If he had a bowl of meat like that, he wouldn't mind even if it was burnt!
Cheng Duo rubbed his gums and said, "I don't know why, but my gums are swollen today, and eating this meat hurts my teeth."
"Oh…" Yong-ge understood what gums were, and he understood toothache.
"What should we do? If we reheat this meat tomorrow, it will be even tougher. How about you take it back with you, and tomorrow I'll catch a chicken instead? Chicken meat is softer," Cheng Duo suggested.
"Really? Really?" Yong-ge's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't even form words. He felt guilty every time he ate well at Cheng Duo's place, thinking about his father not having enough to eat at home.
Although Cheng Duo didn't mention it, he was well aware of it himself. Occasionally, he would pack a small portion in a bamboo tube to take home.
"Really, when have I ever lied to you?" Cheng Duo saw Yong-ge preparing to use the bamboo tube and straightforwardly pointed to one of the two bowls of bamboo rat meat, saying, "You can take this bowl back, and just bring the bowl back to me tomorrow."
Yong-ge thought about it and happily accepted the bowl of bamboo rat meat.
Cheng Duo seemed to be unusually talkative today. While eating, he sighed and said, "I accidentally tore my sleeve today. This is my only set of clothes, and I bought some fabric but don't know how to sew. I have no idea when I'll be able to change clothes again. I'm almost getting moldy…"
Just when Yong-ge was feeling grateful after benefiting from Cheng Duo, he immediately and without hesitation said, "I'll do it for you!"
"Oh? Then thank you very much!" Cheng Duo didn't give Yong-ge a chance to back out. He took advantage of the situation and continued talking about how he needed several sets of clothes and several quilts… If it wasn't too much to ask, he even wanted Yong-ge to make shoes for him.
In the end, he pretended to hesitate and showed concern: "I hope I'm not causing you trouble. If it's inconvenient…"
Yong-ge, influenced by his smooth-talking, got carried away and readily agreed, saying, "No, I'll do it in the mountain periphery. Others won't find out."
"That's good." With his objective achieved, Cheng Duo picked up his chopsticks again and quickly finished everything on the table, including the bamboo rat meat that he had just complained about being too tough to swallow.
Yong-ge watched him with a puzzled look, but being a simple rural ger, he had no understanding of the intricate ways of modern people. He had no clue that he had been tricked with a bowl of bamboo rat meat.
Cheng Duo looked at the figure of the young ger obediently cleaning up the dishes and couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. Well, when Zhou Huolang arrived, he would buy a jar of sheep fat ointment for Yong-ge to use on his hands as a token of gratitude.
In fact, Cheng Duo had seen many unfortunate people in the post-apocalyptic world, and Yong-ge didn't even rank in the top ten. But because he was genuinely simple, Cheng Duo sometimes felt that Yong-ge's innocence and kindness were like a mirror, reflecting his own ugliness clearly.
In the post-apocalyptic world, Cheng Duo wouldn't necessarily associate with someone like Yong-ge. But in the slow-paced and somewhat boring life of Yang Village, he thought it was nice to have someone like him around. At least he didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back…
Yong-ge took the bowl of meat back home and shared it with his father. However, after finishing the meal, he washed the bowl clean and hid it deep in the cupboard. Somehow, his older brother found it when he was rummaging around.
"Where did this bowl come from?"
"I, I…" Yong-ge felt nervous, but at that moment, he suddenly remembered the incident where Shanzi exchanged a hair rope with Da Tou. He quickly came up with an alternative version, saying, "Last time when the peddler came to the village to sell things, he left in a hurry and accidentally dropped a bowl. It was picked up by the village kids, and I traded two buns with them for it."
He was gambling on the fact that Cheng Duo lived in a remote area, and the villagers still had no idea that he was working for Cheng Duo. His older brother and second brother certainly didn't know either.
Yong-ge knew that his older brother and second brother still remembered the incident when they were beaten up last time. If they found out that he was working for Cheng Duo, he would undoubtedly receive another beating.
Li Da believed him and held the bowl, examining it. "No wonder this bowl looks so new."
At that moment, Yong-ge couldn't help but feel relieved. He was afraid of leaving any traces, so he had washed the bowl several times with wood ash.
Seeing Li Da and Li Er going to the cupboard to get other bowls, Yong-ge couldn't help but say, "Brother, we only have these few bowls…"
Li Da impatiently pushed him away. "Do you think I don't know? Do you need to blabber about it? Get lost, I get annoyed just seeing you!"
Li Er also sneered, "Just these few shabby bowls, why do you treat them like treasures?"
"You two scoundrels—" Li Wang heard the commotion and came out, just in time to catch Yong-ge, who had been pushed down. Furious, he was about to scold the two troublemakers.
"Old man, don't think I won't hit you just because you're my father. If you annoy me with your nonsense, I won't hesitate to hit you again!"
"Get out of the way!"
After saying that, he brushed past the two and left.
"Scoundrels, unfilial sons! Why didn't they die outside!" Li Wang covered his chest, his anger causing his heart to ache.
Yong-ge quickly supported him. "Father, let it go. It's just a few bowls. If they want to take them, let them take them…"
As for Cheng Duo's bowl, he could only use his wages for cooking to compensate him. That bowl was different from the ones they had at home—it was glazed and decorated with patterns, worth at least ten wen…