Chapter 152: Lin Heng Goes Hunting, a Hawk in the Sky

Lin Heng’s mother looked at him and said, “Your grandma’s fallen ill. Your eldest uncle wants to take her to the city hospital for a thorough checkup.”

As soon as Lin Heng heard this, he had a pretty good idea what was going on.

His grandfather had passed away years ago—six years back—and his grandma had always been frail. She was eighty-one now and tended to fall ill during seasonal changes. It wasn’t unusual.

In his memory, she had passed away the following spring, apparently due to cardiovascular issues.

“Then take her. If there’s not enough money, I’ve got some,” Lin Heng said, looking at his uncle and mother. His grandma had always been fond of him. Lending money for her medical treatment wasn’t even a question.

That said, he actually didn’t recommend sending her to the city hospital. At her age, her body was riddled with chronic conditions that city doctors likely couldn’t cure. And the road to the city was bumpy and long—such a tiring trip might only worsen her condition. But if he said that out loud, his uncle might take it the wrong way and think he was just unwilling to lend money.

His mother shook her head. “No rush on the money. We already withdrew fifty yuan for your uncle, and your second uncle has some too. If it’s still not enough, then we’ll ask you.”

“Has she already been taken to the hospital?” Lin Heng asked.

“Yeah. Your second uncle found someone with a motorbike to take her to the city. I’ll be heading down in a bit too,” Lu Honghai nodded.

Lin Heng thought for a moment, then turned to his wife. “Xiulan, go back and get another fifty yuan for Uncle, just in case.”

“Alright,” Xiulan nodded and went to fetch the money.

Lu Honghai quickly tried to stop her. “The fifty your dad gave is enough.”

“It’s fine, Uncle. A bit more money never hurts. If you don’t end up needing it, just bring it back,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Soon, Xiulan returned with the money and handed it to Lu Honghai. “Uncle, take this for now—no rush to pay it back.”

“Alright. Thank you,” Lu Honghai said, clearly moved.

Lin Heng also reminded him to have the doctors check specifically for cardiovascular issues and to buy medicine targeting that. Maybe this time around, his grandma could live a bit longer.

After chatting for a bit more, his uncle hurried off.

Lin Heng turned to his parents. “You guys probably don’t have much money left either. Let me give you some.” He pulled out twenty yuan and handed it over.

“We’re not sick, and we don’t need anything. What do we need money for? Keep it for yourself. If we need anything, we’ll tell you,” his father refused with a shake of the head.

His mother, however, took the money and immediately stuffed it into Xiulan’s pocket. “Xiulan, you keep it. This guy loves to spend recklessly—make sure to watch him.”

Lin Heng: “…”

“Don’t argue. It’s the thought that counts.”

Before Xiulan could say anything, his mother had already pressed the money into her hand, so she had no choice but to accept it.

By now it was already past 1 p.m. After chatting a bit more, Xiulan took their daughter home to make lunch for Lin Heng.

“Got some good news for you. Our total assets have officially passed 10,000 yuan. You’re married to a ten-thousand-yuan household now,” Lin Heng said with a grin on the way home.

Xiulan blinked. “Ten thousand yuan already? That much?!”

“Of course,” Lin Heng said cheerfully, then went over the numbers for her.

After hearing the details, Xiulan couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. “I can’t believe we actually have that much.”

It all felt surreal. At the beginning of the year, they were still worried over just a few yuan. Now they were what they used to think of as impossibly rich.

“We’re only going to get wealthier from here on,” Lin Heng said, beaming. His wife’s expression filled him with satisfaction.

Xiulan looked at him and shook her head. “This is enough. We’re not short on food or clothes anymore. You don’t need to push yourself so hard.”

“I’m not pushing myself. Just dreaming a little,” Lin Heng chuckled.

After entering the yard, he added, “I’ll see if I can hunt something big in the next couple days. We can have a proper celebration.”

“Sounds good,” Xiulan nodded. “What do you want to eat for lunch?”

“Knife-cut noodles. Make them spicy with hot oil. I’ll help you,” Lin Heng replied after thinking for a moment.

“Alright. Just keep an eye on our daughter then.” Xiulan nodded and turned to scoop flour to start cooking.

Lin Heng watched their daughter while also helping to keep the fire going. With their teamwork, lunch was ready in no time.

Spicy knife-cut noodles with fried eggs—the taste was simply unbeatable. Boldly flavorful, spicy, and tangy, with perfectly chewy noodles.

The fried egg was so fragrant it made your mouth water. Xiaoxia ended up eating one and a half eggs by herself, though only a small half-bowl of noodles.

After the meal, Lin Heng brought out the new purple clay tea set he had just bought and brewed a pot of tea to cleanse the palate.

Sipping tea with a dendrobium-scented incense burning nearby, the afternoon was serene and relaxing.

Around three o’clock, Lin Heng’s father and elder brother came over to help move thermal insulation cotton.

They were planning to head back to Red Maple Mountain in the afternoon to harvest soybeans, and it was a good chance to bring the insulation material along too.

Lin Heng carried a bow bag and moved the insulation material. Though bulky, the material was lightweight, and he could carry a lot at once.

After a few trips, all the insulation was moved to Red Maple Mountain.

“We might want to install it now. What if someone steals it overnight?” Lin Heng’s father looked at the pile of insulation, a bit worried.

Lin Heng shook his head. “No one’s going to steal it. We’ll just install it tomorrow.”

“I agree—it should be fine overnight,” Lin Yue said.

“Alright, let’s go pick soybeans then. Once we’re done, we can start digging the pond,” their father nodded.

On the way down the mountain, Lin Heng and the others ran into Tian Baishun, who was carrying a hunting rifle.

Curious, Lin Heng asked, “Old Tian, where are you off to hunt? Got anything lately?”

“I heard a golden pheasant calling in the woods on the back ridge yesterday, so I’m going to check it out. So far, I’ve only gotten a wild chicken recently,” Tian Baishun replied, then added, “Wanna come with? I’ve got a feeling we’ll find a golden pheasant’s nest today.”

Lin Heng was tempted—it was like someone telling you about a prime fishing spot just after you bought a brand-new fishing rod.

“If you want to go, go. Dad and I can handle the rest of the soybeans ourselves,” Lin Yue patted him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, go ahead. Just be careful,” his father added.

“Then I’m going! Dad, big bro, wait for my good news!” Lin Heng laughed and ran off with Old Tian.

“Got your bow in that case?” Old Tian asked, eyeing the hard-shell bow bag on Lin Heng’s back.

Lin Heng grinned. “It’s my new gear—modern compound bow. Hitting a bullseye at a hundred paces is nothing. I’ll show you what it can do in a bit.”

“A modern compound bow? What does that even look like?” Old Man Tian asked with wide-eyed curiosity—he’d never seen such a novel piece of gear before.

“Not the right time to take it out. If we spot the golden pheasant, I’ll show you then. No pheasant, no look,” Lin Heng said with a mischievous grin.

Old Man Tian snorted, eyes glaring. “You rascal, you think I’m trying to trick you? I swear we’re bagging a golden pheasant today.”

Lin Heng just grinned in reply and began scanning the surroundings for prey.

He hadn’t brought Xiongba along today, so he was hunting solo.

They were heading southwest, toward a ridge covered in oak trees that Old Man Tian had mentioned.

After a long walk with no signs of game, they reached a narrow ravine.

“Ji-ji-ji!!”

Just as Lin Heng was about to ask how much farther, a raspy cry echoed from the opposite ridge. It sounded like someone yelling “Urgent, urgent, urgent!”

“That’s where the golden pheasant is calling from. About two li away,” Old Man Tian said.

Lin Heng nodded and led the way. After a few hundred meters, they spotted a man in his forties carrying a hunting rifle.

Lin Heng recognized him—he was Wang Kaidian, another hunter from the village and a former soldier, known for his hunting skills.

Wang’s eyes were fixed across the valley. Lin Heng followed his gaze and spotted a bright red male golden pheasant foraging beneath a chestnut tree.

“Too far. Can’t hit it from here,” Wang Kaidian whispered. His rifle was better than most, but even so, its range was just seventy or eighty meters. Taking the shot would be a waste of ammo.

This pheasant was about 120 meters away, which also explained why it wasn’t running—it didn’t perceive any danger at that distance.

If Lin Heng and the others tried to cross the valley, the bird would surely flap away in an instant.

“Uncle Wang, if you’re not going to shoot, mind if I give it a try?” Lin Heng asked softly. Wang Kaidian had a good relationship with Lin Heng’s father.

Wang glanced at him, surprised. “If you want to try, go for it. If you hit it, it’s yours. But you’re using a bow, right? That distance might be pushing it.”

“I’ll give it a shot.” Lin Heng smiled as he set down his hard case and pulled out a matte black modern compound bow.

“Is that bow made of metal?” Wang Kaidian was stunned—he’d never seen anything like it.

Lin Heng said nothing, pulled out a standard carbon arrow with no special hunting tip, and nocked it. For a pheasant, any arrowhead would do.

The wind was still in the ravine. Lin Heng, wearing a mechanical release on his right hand, took aim and let the arrow fly.

The sleek arrow arced gracefully through the air before piercing straight through the pheasant with a soft thwack.

“Holy crap! That new contraption of yours is seriously powerful!”

Old Man Tian gawked in disbelief at the strange iron contraption in Lin Heng’s hand—he couldn’t believe how deadly it was.

“Incredible shot. That gear of yours is something else,” Wang Kaidian added, giving Lin Heng a thumbs-up. He’d always believed that nothing could beat a gun—until now.

“This is a modern compound bow, the undisputed king of cold weapons,” Lin Heng said with a grin. Nothing beat the feeling of using a good bow.

“Can I take a look?” Old Man Tian asked eagerly.

“Sure, just don’t dry fire it,” Lin Heng replied, handing it over.

“Lighter than I expected. But why can’t you dry fire it?” Old Man Tian asked as he examined the bow.

“If there’s no arrow, all the energy from drawing the bow gets dumped into the limbs. It damages the bow,” Lin Heng explained.

That applied to all bows, but with a compound bow’s greater power, the risk of damage from dry firing was even higher.

After a look, Old Man Tian passed the bow to Wang Kaidian, who also inspected it with unconcealed envy. No hunter would turn down a weapon with such range and precision.

While the compound bow couldn’t match a firearm’s power, it had unique advantages in the mountains: longer range than old hunting rifles, and it was silent.

“How much did this cost?” Wang Kaidian asked. He was seriously considering switching to archery. With his skills, he figured he could pick it up quickly.

“It’s all imported—no domestic production. This one cost over three hundred. But Uncle Wang, don’t you already have a rifle? Why not just use that?” Lin Heng asked with a laugh.

Another benefit of bows—they’re always legal, and no one can confiscate them.

“I’m out of bullets. They’re expensive and hard to get. And if I shoot a golden pheasant with one, it’d explode—nothing left to eat,” Wang Kaidian shook his head.

With tighter firearm regulations, ammo was pricey and hard to come by. That’s why most village hunters still used old-school black powder rifles.

They were cheap, easy to maintain, and good for game big and small.

“Wanna come up the ridge with us?” Old Man Tian asked Wang.

“You go ahead. I’ll check out another area,” Wang replied. He preferred hunting alone.

After he left, Lin Heng packed up his compound bow and crossed the ravine to collect the pheasant.

“Damn impressive. That pheasant didn’t even know what hit it,” Old Man Tian said, clearly envious.

“You could always get yourself a rifle,” Lin Heng chuckled.

“I’m not crazy,” Old Man Tian waved a hand. “If we had black bears around here like in the Greater Khingan Mountains, I’d consider it. But for a few muntjacs and wild boars, a rifle’s overkill.”

Carrying the pheasant, Lin Heng casually asked, “You’ve been hunting for what, over ten years now? Ever seen a tiger or a black bear?”

“Never seen a tiger. Spotted two black bears, though. I was a few hundred meters away and ran like hell—didn’t dare mess with them. My gun couldn’t kill one,” Old Man Tian said, shaking his head.

Then Lin Heng told him about the leopard he’d run into a few days back.

“I heard about that too. Sounds like a leopard eating another leopard. If it were a tiger, it would’ve devoured everything, not left anything behind. But who knows.” Tian Baishun shook his head, analyzing the situation.

Lin Heng nodded. “I thought the same.”

As the two chatted, they soon arrived at the ridge where the golden pheasant had called out earlier.

But with the leaves just starting to turn yellow and none falling yet, it was still hard to spot anything.

They split up to search, and not long after, Lin Heng heard the cry of a muntjac from the other side of the mountain.

After a quick glance, he gave up. It looked close, but getting there would take thirty to forty minutes—and by then, the deer would be long gone.

“Chirp-chirp-chirp!!”

Just then, the golden pheasant called again. Lin Heng immediately slowed his pace; this one was much closer than before.

The sky had begun to darken—it was dusk, the time when golden pheasants usually roost in trees.

Crouching low and moving stealthily, Lin Heng spent ten minutes narrowing down the location.

Beneath a large oak tree, two female golden pheasants were foraging.

Females were smaller, covered in dull gray-brown feathers, far less striking than the colorful males.

His current position wasn’t ideal—about 200 meters out, with a wide open space in between.

Glancing at a nearby slope on his left, he quietly retreated, pulled out his compound bow, and started circling toward higher ground.

Approaching from the slope, he got within thirty meters—much better.

At this moment, he found himself missing a shotgun. One blast would’ve taken out both pheasants. But with a bow, he could only pick one.

Taking out both with a single arrow would take a miracle—the two birds were two or three meters apart, not close enough for a clean double shot.

Choosing the one closest to him, Lin Heng knelt down, drew the bow, and loosed his shot.

Whoosh—with a full 40-pound draw, the arrow flew with incredible speed and force, striking the pheasant and pinning it straight into the dirt.

Chirp!

The other pheasant flapped up in panic, scrambling to escape.

KEEEE!

At that moment, Lin Heng suddenly heard a sharp eagle’s cry and looked up.

From the top of a distant fir tree, a huge hawk dived down, snatching the escaping pheasant mid-air and soaring off with it.

“Goshawk!” Lin Heng was stunned. Clearly, this bird had been eyeing the pheasants for some time. Its white-striped underbelly was unmistakable.

These things were notorious for stealing hens and chicks—every rural person recognized them.

But they were extremely alert and usually perched high up in tall trees, almost impossible to shoot.

Shaking his head, Lin Heng went to retrieve his kill.

He had to admit, tagging along with Tian Baishun today had paid off. There really were a lot of golden pheasants here. The old guy knew his stuff.

After picking up the bird and recovering his arrow, Lin Heng kept searching.

But the sky was growing darker by the minute, so he decided not to head farther up and instead started down into the ravine to head home.

Today’s two pheasants were a solid haul—a nice blooding for his newly bought compound bow.

Bang!

He’d barely taken a few steps back when a gunshot rang out not far away.

Following the sound, Lin Heng called out as he walked, “Old Tian, did you hit anything?”

“Heh, nailed three with one shot! Felt great.” Not long after, Tian Baishun came running down, grinning with satisfaction.

“Damn, shotguns really are a blast,” Lin Heng muttered in defeat. One shot had beaten his whole afternoon’s work.

“Those homemade shotguns aren’t even expensive—you should get one,” Tian chuckled.

“Nope.” Lin Heng preferred his bow and arrows.

They turned and started heading back. That one gunshot had scared off every pheasant and wild chicken in the area.

On the way home, more gunshots echoed through the hills. Plenty of people still hunted with firearms. Their village had maybe thirteen or fourteen hunters—some skilled, others just shooting blindly.

By the time Lin Heng got home, it was completely dark. Xiulan and Xiaoxia had already eaten and were waiting for him.

“Well? Impressed?” Lin Heng walked into the courtyard, holding up the two pheasants with a grin.

“Awesome!” Xiaoxia raised her little hands and cheered.

Xiulan smiled. “I knew you’d come back with something. I’ve already boiled water to clean the birds.”

“What if I hadn’t caught anything? You weren’t planning to make me kneel on a washboard, were you?” Lin Heng teased.

“Then I’d just say it was bathwater,” Xiulan said with a playful wink.

She took the birds from him. “Go eat dinner. I’ll prep the soup.”

“Alright.”

Lin Heng set his bow case on the cabinet and headed to the kitchen to get his food.

“Soft flatbreads? Nice.”

He was pleasantly surprised—soft flatbreads smeared with fermented bean curd and chili paste, wrapped around some spicy-sour shredded potatoes… absolutely delicious.

He scarfed down four in one go. The soft, chewy bread, the tangy potatoes, and the unique aroma and flavor of the chili bean curd made for a perfect combo.

Just as he finished eating, Xiulan had finished cleaning the birds. Xiaoxia was swinging a flashlight around.

“I’ll do it.”

Lin Heng grabbed a knife and gutted the birds, saving the heart, liver, and gizzard, while the rest was quickly cleaned to feed Xiongba the next morning.

As he finished, Xiulan thought aloud. “Why don’t we braise one of them? We still have that marinade from last time.”

Marinade gets better the more it’s used, as long as it’s properly filtered and reheated every couple of days.

“Let’s braise the big one and stir-fry the smaller one. We’ll invite my parents and big brother over tomorrow—it’ll be a little celebration.”

Lin Heng nodded and hung the cleaned birds on the kitchen wall.

“Huh? That bath barrel—did Liang Muliang bring it?”

Heading to the backyard for a wash, Lin Heng noticed a long wooden tub with half a tub of water in it.

“Yeah. I gave him five yuan, but he only took four,” Xiulan’s voice came from inside.

Looking at the new tub, Lin Heng was quite pleased. After bathing, he returned inside to read Xiaoxia a bedtime story.

He had bought her a new storybook from town, and Xiaoxia was loving it—so much she didn’t want to sleep.

In the end, Lin Heng had to make a rule: only three stories per night.

Once his daughter was asleep, he went to bed and cuddled his wife.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Lin Heng grabbed his tools and headed out, eager to start building his log cabin.

Lin Heng’s father and older brother arrived at Red Maple Mountain with a diesel chainsaw and other tools.

“Today, let’s get the insulation installed inside the cabin first, then put up the interior wall panels and install the doors and windows,” Lin Heng said with a smile. The maple leaves were gradually turning red, and the forest was becoming more and more beautiful—it was time to get moving.

“Piece of cake. I bet we can finish it in half a day,” Lin Yue said with a grin.

All they had to do was cut the boards to the right length, attach the insulation to the walls, and nail it all in place.

By noon, the three of them had finished the wall panels all around the cabin.

In the afternoon, they moved on to the roof, installing insulation and nailing wooden boards over it.

“Should we plane the boards for the doors and windows?” Lin Heng’s father asked while they were working. They’d brought a hand planer with them.

“No need. This rugged look is perfect,” Lin Heng replied, shaking his head.

The wooden doors didn’t need to look fancy—just solid. They nailed planks together, and even the door handles were made from gnarled bits of tree branches.

Lin Heng left the door and window work to his father and brother, while he painted the cabin with waterproof varnish.

He used a rich brown varnish, and once it dried, the whole cabin immediately looked more refined.

With the doors and windows in place, the little wooden house was essentially finished.

The remaining boards were painted and left to dry nearby. In a couple of days, he’d come back and use them for flooring around the cabin.

His flooring method would be just like the cabin—using wooden stakes to raise the boards about 30 centimeters off the ground, which would help prevent rotting.

“Alright, let’s head back. Dad, Xiulan’s already made dinner—I bet she’s just waiting on us.”

Seeing his father preparing to cut more boards for a table, Lin Heng called out to him.

“Alright then, we’ll finish the rest in a couple days,” his father nodded.

“Now that all the crops are harvested down in the fields, when are you planning to start digging the fish pond?” Lin Yue asked as they made their way down the mountain.

“Dad had someone pick a good date—it’s the day after tomorrow. That’s when we’ll break ground,” Lin Heng replied. He figured this project would take at least a month or two to finish.

But it wouldn’t interfere with his hunting—his father and brother could help oversee things.

When they got home, Xiulan had laid out a full table of dishes. In the center was a braised chicken, torn into pieces. The rich, familiar aroma filled the house the moment they walked in.

“Quite the feast today—worth it for helping out little bro,” Lin Yue said with a smile.

Lin Heng laughed. “Good! Eat up—there’s plenty of good food in autumn.”

(End of chapter)