Chapter 169: The Rutting Musk Deer and the Hibernating Hog Badger

“I know someone who would definitely want to buy that leopard whip of yours,” Li Baiquan said with a grin.

Lin Heng lost interest the moment he heard that. “Who wants it? How much are they offering?”

People in the village, even if they wanted it, probably couldn’t afford to pay much.

Li Baiquan explained, “It’s Zhang Zhigen. The guy’s got problems in that department and no sons. He’s been chasing folk remedies all over the place. Once he hears you killed a leopard, he’ll definitely come knocking.

His family’s not rich, but rumor has it they’ve got a stash of antiques. You could trade with him for some of those.”

Lin Heng’s eyes lit up. “Antiques?”

If they were real antiques, they could be worth a lot. Trading would be a pretty good deal.

Li Baiquan nodded. “Yeah, they say Zhang Zhigen’s grandfather used to rob tombs and brought back a bunch of porcelain and old relics. Some were smashed back then, but others were hidden away.

I’m telling you this so you don’t turn him down flat when he comes. You might miss out on something valuable.”

“Got it,” Lin Heng nodded. But honestly, this kind of thing wasn’t rare in the Qinling Mountains. Even in this day and age, tomb raiding was still happening.

This land had seen too many dynasties, and the number of burial sites was countless.

But Lin Heng was curious. “If they’ve got antiques, why haven’t they sold them?”

“He’s illiterate. His grandfather died early, and the family has no idea who to sell to. I heard they sold a few years back and got scammed,” Li Baiquan said, shrugging.

“Ah, makes sense.” Lin Heng understood. Illiteracy was still widespread in this era. Situations like this were common.

Li Shiwei clapped Lin Heng on the shoulder. “Come on, let me see that leopard skin.”

“Sure,” Lin Heng said, leading him over. The leopard skin had already been stretched out on a wooden frame and had dried under the midday sun.

Li Shiwei ran his hand over it and sighed. “Feels great. This could fetch two, maybe three hundred yuan. Leopard skins are rare.”

Lin Heng nodded. “Sounds about right.”

But he wasn’t planning to sell it just yet. With the right buyer, it could be worth a lot more.

He planned to tan it properly and keep it for himself, or maybe sell it later if he needed cash.

Two or three hundred yuan wasn’t much to him right now anyway.

After showing off the leopard skin and chatting with Li Shiwei for a bit, Lin Heng went to feed the livestock.

He walked to the chicken coop behind the house and opened the cages, letting the chickens and ducks out.

After being caged for so long, the birds had learned to return home on their own at night and lay eggs in the coop.

Letting them out was good exercise and gave them a chance to eat bugs and such. It made the meat tastier and more satisfying when it came time to cook them.

It also cut down on feed costs since they foraged for themselves.

In the afternoon, Lin Heng went to Red Maple Mountain to help out. The dirt from the pond excavation was being dumped in a patch of scrubland outside the road.

Lin Heng figured that once all the dirt was dumped there, it could be leveled into a decent-sized plot.

Digging was exhausting. After two hours, he took a break and started boiling water for everyone.

He’d tried to talk his father and older brother out of helping, but they insisted. They felt it would be wrong if the whole family didn’t pitch in.

Once the kettle was boiling, Lin Heng wandered nearby and picked up some Chinese date plums.

These things looked bizarre, with a kind of alien beauty. They were full of seeds, but once ripe, they were incredibly sweet.

He plucked off the little black seeds and popped the whole fruit into his mouth, savoring the sweet juice—a simple but rare pleasure.

After munching on two, he saw Caiyun coming over with a basket on her back. She had her hair in twin ponytails and a bright smile on her face.

“Is it tasty, Second Brother?” she asked with a grin.

It was Saturday, and after finishing her homework, she’d come to help the family gather date plums. They used them to brew wine, and every year they waited for them to fall naturally before collecting them.

After the recent rain, the morning frost had been heavy. The cold had made the fruit even sweeter.

“Very sweet. Try one,” Lin Heng said, handing her one.

“Wow, it really is sweet! Help me pick some, okay?” Caiyun smiled.

Lin Heng nodded and asked as they picked, “How’s school? Anything you’re struggling with?”

The town high school didn’t have great teachers. In this era, educated people were rare, and even fewer were willing to teach in the countryside.

Caiyun shook her head. “Everything’s going well except English. I came in second in the grade for the midterms. I’m working hard to catch up in English.”

Lin Heng gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive. You were born to study.”

Caiyun had always been a good student. She had talent and worked hard. Even with poor teachers, she still managed to do well.

She beamed. “You’re paying for my education, Second Brother. I have to study hard—I can’t let you down.”

“As long as you’re happy. It’s not much money to me. Just don’t overwork yourself,” Lin Heng said, waving it off.

He planned to send her to a better high school after this one. For a family to thrive, having educated members was essential.

“I know, Second Brother,” Caiyun replied with a smile. Not working hard wasn’t an option. The more she studied, the more obsessed she became with learning.

“Oh right, who’s first in your class?” Lin Heng asked curiously.

“Liu Ciwen. He’s really fast at learning English. I’m just a bit behind him, but I’ll beat him by finals,” Caiyun said, determined to take the top spot.

“Liu Ciwen’s that good, huh? Then you’d better work hard,” Lin Heng said with mock surprise, though he’d already guessed as much.

The two chatted as they picked all the date plums and piled them together.

Lin Heng grabbed a basket from the worksite to help carry them back. In the old house’s courtyard, Tian Yan was chatting with Xiulan and occasionally playing with Xiao Xia.

She just nodded at Lin Heng, but when she saw Caiyun, her face lit up. “Caiyun, come play!”

“I’ll come after I drop off the date plums, Teacher Tian,” Caiyun said with a smile.

“It’s fine, go play. I’ll carry the rest. Just help with the baby tomorrow,” Lin Heng said with a grin.

“Thanks, Second Brother!” Caiyun didn’t argue. She set down the basket and went to chat with Tian Yan and Xiulan.

Lin Heng brought out Xiong Ba and headed back to Red Maple Mountain. The dog was all over him, rubbing against his legs and howling with excitement.

Lin Heng tossed a stick, and the two of them played happily together.

After hauling all the date plums home, Lin Mu started cooking dinner. While waiting, Lin Heng took Xiao Xia for a walk around the village, satisfying her curiosity.

“Daddy, what’s this~?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“That’s a ginkgo tree,” Lin Heng replied with a smile. Without its leaves, Xiao Xia didn’t recognize it.

She still didn’t quite grasp the concept of changing seasons.

…

By the time they got home, dinner was ready. There was stir-fried leopard meat and a whole table full of other dishes. Everyone ate heartily.

Li Shiwei sighed contentedly. “Hey, you know what? This stuff really is delicious.”

Lin Heng’s third uncle, Lin Xutao, nodded. “Not only tasty, it’s good for you too. We’re lucky to have Lin Heng.”

“Exactly. We don’t even get pork that often, let alone leopard meat. We really got lucky this year,” Lin Hai agreed.

And speaking of luck, he was the luckiest of them all—Lin Heng had helped him find Tian Yan, a cultured and beautiful partner.

“Alright, enough with the praise. Catching that leopard was pure luck,” Lin Heng said with a chuckle, raising his glass for a sip.

After dinner, Lin Heng took his daughter home. The night wind howled, and even with a coat on, it was chilly.

“Let’s give Xiao Xia a bath tonight,” Xiulan said, pulling her coat tighter. She’d had a couple of drinks, and her cheeks were flushed with a hint of tipsiness.

“Okay,” Lin Heng agreed.

Back home, he lit a fire in the warming room and started heating water, making sure the six-square-meter space was warm enough so Xiao Xia wouldn’t catch a cold.

After bathing Xiao Xia, Lin Heng took a bath himself. Xiulan hadn’t done much that day, so she just washed her face and feet.

Once Xiao Xia was asleep, the two cuddled up together and soon drifted off into a deep sleep.

The leopard meat really seemed to work wonders—Lin Heng slept soundly through the night and woke up feeling warm and cozy all over. Xiulan, who usually had cold hands and feet, also felt noticeably better after eating some.

“Come on, I’ll take you mushroom hunting today. We’ll bring some back and make hotpot,” Lin Heng said with a smile, looking down at the little face nestled in his arms.

“Okay,” Xiulan nodded softly in agreement.

They got dressed, washed up, and brushed their teeth. The morning air was bitterly cold. Ever since that last rainfall, it felt like winter had truly set in. Frost blanketed the courtyard in a pristine white, with only the pines and orchids still showing a touch of green.

Lin Heng and Xiulan did a bit of morning exercise to warm up. Then one of them went to make breakfast while the other fed the animals.

“Cluck cluck cluck!!”

With a basin in hand, Lin Heng opened the chicken and duck coops and called out. Immediately, the birds came running out.

The chickens and ducks at home were all at least six or seven jin now—plenty big enough to be fed corn. But Lin Heng still insisted on feeding them his custom-mixed feed, mainly to ensure a steady supply of eggs.

“Awoo~~”

In the front yard, the musk deer let out a cry and started ramming its head against the railing.

“Looks like you’re in heat again. I’ll see if I can find you a mate in a few days,” Lin Heng said, tossing in some fodder with a helpless sigh.

This female musk deer went into heat around this time every year, then carried her young for five months before giving birth around May or June.

She had always been quiet, but lately she’d started making noise—clearly in heat. But catching a male musk deer alive was no easy feat. Even getting this female had been a stroke of luck.

After tossing in the fodder, the deer didn’t eat properly and just ran around the pen in circles.

Lin Heng shook his head and went to check on the hog badger. This one was male and already weighed thirty jin—fat and healthy.

But with the weather turning colder, its appetite had dropped significantly, showing signs of preparing for hibernation. Hog badgers normally hibernate, and despite the “hog” in its name, it had nothing to do with pigs.

“You’d better not fall asleep, or I’ll have to butcher you early,” Lin Heng muttered with a sigh.

Hibernation meant losing weight, which meant it’d be better to turn it into cured meat before that happened.

“Snort~”

After being fed, the hog badger snorted, got up, took a few bites, paused, then nibbled again. Who knew if it was being picky or just sleepy.

It had no idea that the human outside was already plotting to teach it a lesson.

“Awoo~~”

Xiong Ba frolicked beside him, occasionally hugging his leg or trying to nibble on Lin Heng’s hand—anything to get his attention.

“Silly dog.”

Lin Heng ruffled his head, then opened the courtyard gate. A gust of cold wind made him shiver.

Still, he headed over to his parents’ place. It was just past seven, and they were just getting up and washing their faces.

“Mom, Dad, you haven’t made breakfast yet, right? Come over to my place for some chicken giblet noodles,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Mother Lin shook her head. “You two go ahead. We’re about to cook some noodles too, just going to finish off last night’s leftovers.”

“Yeah, you go ahead,” Father Lin added, shaking his head. He knew there wouldn’t be enough chicken giblets for five people.

“Alright then. Caiyun, want to come?” Lin Heng didn’t press the issue.

“Sure, I’d love some chicken giblet noodles,” Caiyun said with a grin, following Lin Heng back home.

“Great.” Lin Heng nodded and went to tell Xiulan to cook a bit more noodles.

The giblet sauce had already been stir-fried earlier. Lin Heng also mashed up some garlic chili paste. Once the noodles were done, he poured the giblet sauce over them and added a dollop of the garlic chili—instantly, the aroma hit like a punch.

Lin Heng squatted under the eaves with a big bowl of noodles. Somehow, squatting made them taste even better.

The noodles were tangy and spicy, rich with the flavor and texture of chicken giblets. The garlic chili added a kick that made you want to swallow your tongue along with the noodles.

“This is amazing!” Caiyun said between bites, sitting on a bench.

“Xiulan’s cooking is unbeatable. Smells incredible,” Lin Heng added, completely smitten by this woman.

He had two bowls, while Xiulan and Caiyun each had one and a half. The chicken giblet noodles really were something special.

After breakfast, Lin Heng went to the construction site with his father and older brother. They were expecting forty more workers today, so he had to take roll and assign tasks.

Once everyone arrived, he reorganized the new forty with the existing sixty. Aside from his own relatives, he promoted four new team leaders. Team leaders would get a bonus when wages were settled.

With the new and old workers mixed together, he didn’t need to explain everything from scratch. After supervising for half an hour, he headed back home.

“I’ve got everything ready. Should we head out now?” Xiulan asked.

Lin Heng grabbed his bow case and quiver of hunting arrows, tossed them into the basket, and nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.” Xiulan nodded and set off with Lin Heng, with Xiong Ba happily bounding along behind them.

Caiyun stayed back at the house to study and help look after Xiao Xia.

Their destination was Baishi Gully. The mushrooms they were after included wild enoki, oyster mushrooms, and lion’s mane.

“Not sure what we’ll find today. I bet most of the lion’s mane mushrooms have already been picked,” Xiulan said a bit regretfully. They were a bit late going up the mountain—yesterday would’ve been the perfect time.

“You never know. I doubt they’ve all been picked clean. And even if the lion’s mane are gone, there’s still plenty of other mountain goods,” Lin Heng replied with a smile.

They brought ropes and hoes, ready to grab anything else they might come across. Foraging in the mountains was all about luck—what you planned for often didn’t pan out.

“Guess we’ll see,” Xiulan said, nodding as she followed behind Lin Heng.

They hadn’t gone far when someone called out to them from a distance, “Wait up! I need to talk to you!”

Lin Heng turned around and immediately recognized the person. He’d thought they weren’t coming after all.

(End of chapter)