To be a hunter, one must be hard-hearted and cold-blooded.
He kissed Lu Liu tenderly: “I’ll take care of you.”
Lu Liu snorted: “I’m not a squirrel.”
Li Feng continued kissing him: “You’re my husband.”
Lu Liu dodged him and said: “You can’t treat me like a squirrel.”
Li Feng didn’t actually think of him as a squirrel. It was just that his daily life in the mountains and forests made him associate such things with his surroundings.
He tried to explain this to Lu Liu, who bit his lip to stifle a laugh, his shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles.
Mid-sentence, Li Feng cut him off with a fierce kiss.
“You’re getting worse and worse.”
Lu Liu wasn’t being naughty; he’d just thought of something amusing.
He wanted to raise Li Feng like a wolf, making sure hunger never clouded his eyes.
Li Feng’s most ravenous gaze was reserved for chicken. As the saying goes, “A weasel pays New Year’s call to the chicken.” This proved weasels loved chicken.
Weasels love chicken.
Lu Liu couldn’t help but laugh when he looked at Li Feng.
Even after that fierce kiss, their eyes locked, and he still had to laugh.
Li Feng asked him, but he wouldn’t say.
After devouring a whole chicken, Lu Liu told him, “I think being a squirrel is pretty great too.”
Squirrels and weasels make a fine pair!
Li Feng, unaware of his thoughts, finally swept away his gloom and let it go.
That night passed without incident. The next morning, he rose early. Lu Liu followed suit, helping him pack his things and preparing his meal.
As he escorted him out the courtyard, Lu Liu reminded him, “Mother said to buy extra wine on the way back.”
Li Feng had brought all his silver. Today he also needed to buy paper and ink. Lu Liu could start cutting the paper; once the woodblocks were ready, they could print the illustrations directly.
Lu Liu also suggested he visit the blacksmith: “I noticed your fork is a bit bent and not sharp enough. Why not take it to get sharpened and repaired?”
Li Feng declined. The chipped fork was still usable. It wasn’t his primary weapon anyway; he was comfortable using his spear as a makeshift fork.
He left early, descending the mountain to meet up with Daqiang and Wangmeng. They proceeded to the new village, where they would meet Sanmiao.
The four families were partnering to make fermented sauce. After Lu Liu finished teaching them, most would prepare it at home. They simply brought the sauce ingredients from home.
Yao Fulang had her maternal uncle help deliver spring bamboo shoots today. Lu Liu dug up some wild greens to bring along too.
This time they didn’t carry mountain produce—too bulky to transport. Only a small basket of hedgehog mushrooms and cordyceps flowers. These were goods Li Feng had been commissioned by Xie Yan to source.
For the rest, he brought a small jar of pickled radish.
This stuff stimulates the appetite. Lu Yang was looking sickly, saying he had no appetite and couldn’t eat. Bringing him a jar of radish might help boost his appetite.
The group traveled along the road in six vehicles. Passing through other village entrances, they encountered people who asked where they were headed.
Businessmen aren’t afraid to hawk their wares.
Li Feng explained they were selling sauces, mountain produce, spring bamboo shoots, and wild greens: “Next time we bring our goods, we’ll stop by your village. Today we’re rushing to the county seat, so we won’t linger.”
After days of sun exposure, the earth along the main road was parched, kicking up clouds of dust as they traveled. The sauces absolutely must not be opened during transit.
The mountain goods were specifically requested by Xie Yan. The wild greens were scarce, brought along by Lu Liu for Lu Yang. Only the spring bamboo shoots were easy to sell.
The stretch from the village entrance to the main road had few travelers. Stopping for a handful of passersby wasn’t worth the effort. A quick shout-out sufficed.
Upon reaching the county seat, they turned into the alleys.
The crowds and carts would clog the narrow lanes.
Their carts didn’t enter the shop’s courtyard; they stopped at the entrance to unload.
One cart unloaded, then departed. They agreed to regroup outside the city gates.
The county town was crowded these days with exams underway, people packed everywhere.
Li Feng planned to make a detour to the eastern district to visit Old Master Lu. He wouldn’t return with the others, instead entrusting Sanmiao and Wang Meng to carry the wine back to the village for him. He’d haul the rest of the goods himself.
The wine was stored in the neighboring shop; he could simply pay for it at the listed price.
With the county so crowded, carts couldn’t pass easily, so Li Feng planned to walk to the eastern district. The mule cart would be temporarily parked at their shop.
He met with Lu Yang to weigh and account for all the goods. Only the spring bamboo shoots and sauces were for business; the rest were gifts of goodwill.
Lu Yang also had things for him. He’d set aside meatballs and fried tofu for his younger brother.
Li Feng was about to head out on an errand, so Lu Yang reminded him, “Ask Old Master Lu if he has any old printing blocks. Something that’s still usable will do, and the price will be lower. His family used to sell books outside the county too, so they must have some blocks in storage.”
They were artisans at heart; they couldn’t abandon their craft. Selling books required significant upfront costs and offered no guarantee of success.
They worked when they had jobs. Only when work dried up did they venture out to sell books for extra income.
Li Feng agreed and thanked him.
Thanks to Lu Yang’s influence, Old Master Lu was quite accommodating. Li Feng explained his purpose and took ten pages of woodblocks home. They were all illustrations.
Printed on scrap paper for his review, several illustrations were new to Li Feng.
The old woodblocks weren’t cheap. Rarely used and bearing only pictures, each page cost a hundred cash coins. Ten pages totaled one tael of silver.
Li Feng recalled that wine jars always bore the character for “wine” on their labels. Surely those weren’t handwritten—they must be printed too.
He wondered if they could print signs for their own goods in the village too.
This was worth considering.
During the scholar examinations, everything related to studying saw price hikes.
Even for just one day of testing, writing brushes and ink rose thirty percent. Prices would drop back down in a few days.
Li Feng bought paper and ink from Old Master Lu, grabbing a paper cutter while he was at it.
After finishing here, he headed to Lu Yang’s shop to stock up on peanuts for the journey back. Then he drove out the mule cart to replenish supplies—rice, flour, oil, salt—before returning to the village.
This time around, there was little small talk.
Both parties were preoccupied with making money and racing against the clock.
Back in the village, Li Feng couldn’t sit still. He organized all the supplies, planning a hearty dinner for the evening.
He set aside the meatballs and fried tofu in a separate room for Lu Liu to enjoy later.
There wasn’t much of it. Lu Yang had kept it for a few days, thinking of saving it for Lu Liu. With four mouths to feed at home, sharing it would mean it would be gone quickly.
Keeping it in the room meant Lu Liu could enjoy it for several days.
Lu Liu didn’t keep it. She shared the meatballs and tofu with Li Feng, then took them to the kitchen to store properly.
In a household, things couldn’t be divided so precisely.
Their kitchen was always open; with just one stove and one oven, no one ate alone.
He also found some wax paper, wrapped five meatballs for Li Feng, and placed them in his small bag to carry tomorrow. They were easy to eat.
The oil paper was meant for wrapping candies; they saved it each time they bought sweets, knowing it could hold other foods. Now it served its purpose.
That night, the couple held back, speaking little and skipping the chicken.
Li Feng feared talking too much would make Lu Liu cry. Lu Liu feared talking too much would keep Li Feng from resting.
At dawn’s first light, after breakfast, Li Feng took Er Huang out and headed up the mountain with Wang Meng and Da Qiang.
With him gone, Lu Liu’s days would carry on.
Somewhat dazed, he counted the days yet couldn’t recall the exact date when asked.
Spring arrived, and all things revived.
Many in the village were expecting children, Yao Fulang among them.
He brought a red-dyed egg to share the joy with Lu Liu.
Lu Liu touched her belly, happy for him. To share in his good fortune, she ate the red egg.
Tears streamed down her face as she ate. Why couldn’t she conceive?
It was all because Dafeng didn’t try hard enough. When he got home, she’d have a serious talk with him.
………………………………….
Around the time of the county exams, the shops were bustling.
The closer the exam date drew, the more people gathered in the city.
Hundreds of examinees arrived, many accompanied by family.
Add in the throng of vendors seeking to capitalize on the bustle—people flocked to the hub, wealth flowed to the center. The prefectural office entrance and county academy grounds became colloquially dubbed the “golden nest” and “silver nest.”
Lu Lin joined his father and two elder brothers to sell roasted flour and bulk melon seeds and peanuts.
Leave a Reply