Chapter 187: How to Endure the Cutting Wind, How to Bear the Bitter Cold

After finishing their meal, everyone sat on the ground, shaking their heads in admiration. “That was delicious.”

To be able to enjoy such a feast in these freezing mountains—what a stroke of luck. In the old days, even during the New Year, they might not have eaten this well.

“What about the pig offal? We can’t cure that stuff,” Lin Yue asked.

Old Man Gao waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. In this cold, it won’t spoil for ten days or even half a month. As long as we eat it here, it’ll be fine.”

“If the weather stays like this, that’s probably true,” Li Baiquan nodded. The mountains were indeed cold enough to preserve it.

Li Baiquan didn’t want to go home—he thought the mountains were way more fun.

Old Man Gao also wanted to enjoy himself out here. He wasn’t short on food; hunting was more about nostalgia and passing the time.

Lin Heng understood that his big brother wanted to take some of the offal back home. To him, nothing went to waste. He had three sons to feed, and meat was always in short supply. Every bit had to be carefully rationed—no matter what he did, he was always thinking of saving some for the kids.

But Lin Heng couldn’t say that out loud. If he did, Old Man Gao would definitely insist his brother take some home, and that wouldn’t sit right.

After thinking it over, Lin Heng said, “Bro, come with me tomorrow.”

“I’ll stay here and watch the meat. You guys go,” Lin Yue shook his head. You couldn’t leave the smoked meat unattended.

“Alright, that works too,” Lin Heng nodded. Guarding the camp counted as a contribution too, and they’d divide the spoils later.

Li Baiquan chimed in with a grin, “Let’s all go together. That way we can look out for each other.”

He hadn’t had much luck the day before, but after hearing Lin Heng’s explanations and seeing Old Man Gao’s skills, he wanted to tag along and learn.

“Sure, let’s go together,” Old Man Gao nodded, lighting a cigarette.

Lin Heng hated the smell of smoke, so he stepped out for a walk. The camp was in rough shape—reeking of foot odor, smoke, and sweat. But that was just how it was in the mountains. Hunting was mostly about enduring hardship.

Tonight, a half-moon hung in the sky, and the snow reflected its light, making the forest unusually bright and clear.

As Lin Heng wandered, he couldn’t help but think of Xiulan. He missed being in her arms, missed sleeping next to her.

“Sigh, I’m completely done for in this life—totally wrapped around her finger.”

He shook his head and sighed.

But he had to keep working hard. He couldn’t go back yet. He had to make this family better, had to turn the Lin family’s fortunes around in his generation.

Just as he turned to head back, he caught a strange glimmer in the woods.

Turning his head, he spotted a feline figure under the shadows of the trees.

They locked eyes for a moment before the creature turned and darted away.

“Ah, just a big golden cat.”

As it left, Lin Heng got a good look at it. It reminded him of Jinbao, their lazy, gluttonous housecat.

He didn’t think much of it. A pelt like that wasn’t worth much, and besides, he didn’t have a shot. By the time he went back for his bow, it’d be long gone.

Looking up at the moon, he silently made a wish—hoping for a good hunt.

Back at camp, everyone had already gone to sleep. Lin Heng curled up with Xiong Ba for warmth and drifted off.

The next morning, he woke up from the cold. The campfire had burned down to a few glowing embers.

He got up and rekindled the fire. The others were waking up too.

Old Man Gao was outside doing stretches. Lin Heng fried up some pig intestines and made a bowl of sour cabbage and pork intestine noodles.

The sourness balanced the richness of the intestines, creating a surprisingly delicious combination. Not a drop of broth was left when they were done.

Just as they were about to head out for the hunt, a golden sun broke through the sky.

“Damn, the sun’s out!” Lin Heng threw up his hands in frustration.

Whenever they needed sun, it was cloudy. Now that they didn’t need it, of course, it showed up. Classic Murphy’s Law.

“With the snow melting, hunting’s gonna be a pain,” Li Baiquan grumbled, cursing the weather.

Old Man Gao looked up at the sky and shook his head. “We’ll have to make the most of today. Let’s explore thoroughly.”

“Yeah, let’s move,” Lin Heng nodded, a bad feeling creeping into his gut.

With his brother staying at camp, there was nothing to worry about there. The three of them grabbed their weapons and headed toward the Sancha Valley with the dogs.

Even though Li Baiquan and Lin Yue hadn’t had much luck yesterday, Lin Heng and Old Man Gao still wanted to give it another shot.

The forest was howling with cold wind. Trees were snapping in half from the gusts, and if you looked closely, you’d see the break points were where beetles had eaten through the wood.

Old Man Gao wrapped his coat tighter and quickened his pace, humming as he walked:

“Ah, how to endure the cutting wind, how to bear the bitter cold? The rich man’s house is warm and bright, while we poor folk have nowhere to hide…”

“Haha, we’re all poor folk here,” Li Baiquan laughed. He liked the rhythm of the verse.

“It’s freezing,” Lin Heng shook his head. Melted snow was colder than falling snow, and with the mountain wind, even walking didn’t warm you up.

Before long, they reached the edge of Sancha Valley.

The three split up to search for game. They didn’t dare go into the valley itself, but the edges were fine.

There were still some evergreen shrubs here, a favorite of herbivores.

Not long after setting out, Lin Heng spotted some hoofprints—his eyes lit up. They could belong to a muntjac or a musk deer.

But his excitement quickly faded when he saw human footprints alongside them. That meant his brother and uncle had already found this trail yesterday.

He pressed on, and before long, came across a pile of bones. Judging by the remains, it looked like some kind of feline had died here—probably a wildcat.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye. The wind in the valley howled relentlessly. They saw plenty of sparrow-sized birds, but not a single large animal.

Li Baiquan had the same luck. He looked at Lin Heng and shook his head. “Probably scared them all off when I fired my gun yesterday.”

When they went to find Old Man Gao, they saw he was holding a bamboo partridge.

“This is all I found—just this one bird,” he said, shaking his head.

“We’ll have to change direction. Let’s head toward Mount Taibai,” Lin Heng said.

“Yeah, let’s check the kiwi grove nearby first,” Old Man Gao agreed.

There was a kiwi grove nearby, so they went to take a look—but came up empty-handed.

“It’s already noon and we’ve got nothing. Should we head back to camp?” Lin Heng asked, his stomach growling.

With the snow melted, the cold felt even worse, and hunger came faster. In the dead of winter, skipping meals really wasn’t an option.

“Let’s search a bit more,” Li Baiquan said reluctantly.

Old Man Gao shook his head. “Let’s head back for lunch. We’ll explore toward Mount Taibai in the afternoon.”

“Then let’s eat,” Lin Heng said without much hesitation, turning back with the others.

For lunch, they stir-fried fatty intestines and pork tripe with pickled radish they’d brought along. Paired with rice, it was a real treat.

“Good thing we got those two wild boars yesterday,” Old Man Gao said with a chuckle.

“No kidding,” Lin Heng nodded. Without those boars, today’s meals would’ve taken a serious hit.

After finishing lunch, the three of them set off toward Mount Taibai, hoping for a fruitful day.

The snow hadn’t fully melted yet—by tomorrow it probably would—so they had to pick up the pace. The mountains where they were already loomed large, with steep slopes everywhere. Slopes of sixty or seventy degrees were common, and they even had to climb rocky faces at eighty or ninety degrees.

As they got closer to the Mount Taibai range, the slopes became nearly vertical. It was almost impossible to descend into the valleys from the mountains, and climbing up from the valleys was just as tough.

Lin Heng’s goal was still green vegetation—he was looking for signs of musk deer.

In a forest this vast, the three of them didn’t dare spread out too far. Everything looked the same, and getting lost here could be a nightmare.

One wrong turn and you could be stuck for good. Getting lost is one of the deadliest dangers in the mountains.

Luckily, all three of them had grown up in the mountains. They might get lost in a city, but out here, the chances were lower—not zero, but lower.

Around three in the afternoon, they reached a mountaintop. The slope was close to ninety degrees, and the ground below was mostly grayish-white rock.

“Look over there, a muntjac grazing,” Lin Heng said sharply, spotting a yellow muntjac halfway up the slope of a mountain across from them.

The mountains near Mount Taibai were taller, and there seemed to be more evergreen plants.

“Where?” Li Baiquan squinted for a long time but couldn’t see anything.

Old Man Gao was the same—completely missed it.

Lin Heng pointed it out for a while, and only after the muntjac moved did the other two finally spot it.

“Damn, you’re right!” Li Baiquan exclaimed in surprise.

Old Man Gao shook his head. “Too bad it’s too far. You know the saying—‘a mountain looks close, but it’ll kill a horse getting there.’ Looks near, but it’d take at least an hour and a half to reach it.”

Lin Heng nodded. “What a shame. Maybe we should head this way tomorrow. That Sancha Valley area really doesn’t seem promising anymore.”

He had thought Sancha Valley looked decent, but after seeing this place, he felt this side held more potential.

“I’ve been thinking the same. The only problem is the wild boar meat,” Old Man Gao agreed.

They’d scored some game on the first day, but it wasn’t worth much, and it was a hassle.

Heading back wasn’t ideal, but neither was pressing on while lugging wild boar meat. That would be plain stupid.

“How about this—tomorrow, Lin Yue and I head back and drop off some of the boar meat?” Lin Heng suggested.

“Let’s decide when we get back,” Old Man Gao said, shaking his head.

They wandered around the area a bit more. Lin Heng took a good look at the Mount Taibai range—towering and majestic, truly awe-inspiring.

Its ruggedness lived up to the poetry of Li Bai. In this day and age, the untouched wilderness of Mount Taibai was downright dangerous. If you wanted to climb it, you had to be ready to risk your life.

The scenery here was stunning. The snow in the gorge hadn’t melted yet and looked like a ribbon of white jade. On both sides, evergreen shrubs added a touch of life to the otherwise cold and desolate winter.

Farther off, black pines stood tall and strong on the cliffs, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun—a truly picturesque scene.

Lin Heng only took a couple of glances before losing interest. He was after bigger game.

They searched around a bit more before heading back. Once it got dark, it was easy to get lost, and a single misstep could be dangerous.

But dusk was also prime hunting time. Just as the sun was about to set, Lin Heng spotted two golden pheasants perched on a tree branch.

He crept up and, without a hitch, shot down the larger one.

It wasn’t much of a thrill anymore—he’d hunted plenty of golden pheasants—but still, it was better than nothing.

As they descended the mountain and followed the stream back, Lin Heng suddenly caught sight of a dark shape perched on a tree branch.

He thought it was a large crow at first, but as he got closer, he grinned. “Turns out it’s a black crane. I was wondering what kind of crow was that big.”

He drew his bow and let loose a sharp whistle of an arrow. The black shape dropped from the tree.

Lin Heng walked over and picked it up. Long legs, long beak—no doubt, it was a black crane.

Boom!!

Just as he picked it up, a gunshot rang out not far away.

Moments later, his uncle-in-law, Li Baiquan, came down carrying four bamboo partridges. “This is all I managed to get today,” he said with a sigh.

“Looks like Lin Heng had the best haul today,” Old Man Gao said with a smile.

He’d only gotten one pheasant himself. Even with the bamboo partridges from the morning, it didn’t weigh as much as Lin Heng’s black crane, which looked to be at least five or six pounds.

By the time they got back to camp, it was already 7:30. They’d spent a lot of time on the way back looking for game, which slowed them down.

For dinner, they stir-fried pig hearts and kidneys. The staple was cornbread—Lin Yue had made it that afternoon.

They used the spicy pickled sauce they’d brought to stuff the cornbread, and it actually tasted pretty good. Lin Heng hadn’t had cornbread in ages and found himself enjoying it.

During the meal, they discussed the plan they’d talked about earlier.

Lin Yue thought for a moment and said, “Heading back is too much trouble. It’d take two full days just for the round trip. I’ll stay here and watch the pork. I noticed there’s a lot of wild yam and some medicinal herbs nearby.”

“Sounds good,” Old Man Gao nodded immediately.

He liked this young man and planned to give him a bigger share of the meat when they returned. He didn’t need that much wild boar meat anyway—couldn’t eat it all himself.

Seeing Lin Heng still a bit hesitant, Lin Yue patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. This place is safe. No need to stress.”

“Alright then,” Lin Heng nodded. That was probably the best option. Heading back really wasn’t worth it.

With the plan settled, they finished dinner and packed up their things.

Aside from the food they brought, the three of them took most of the pig offal and two slabs of smoked bacon.

The next morning, they had a quick breakfast and set off toward the foot of Mount Taibai.

They followed the stream. The closer they got to Mount Taibai, the steeper and taller the mountains became. Eventually, they couldn’t see anything beyond the valley walls.

But that didn’t matter—the stream originated right at the base of Mount Taibai.

They had set out at seven in the morning and didn’t reach the stream’s source until 3:30 in the afternoon. They’d spent the whole day walking into a cold mountain wind, and today was even colder than yesterday. Their padded jackets felt like they were made of paper.

The one upside was they found a cave. With a bit of work, the area outside could be turned into a decent camp.

“This place is great—no wind, and it’s nice and warm,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

The cave was about eight or nine square meters. They were lucky to find it.

“Damn, my legs feel like toothpicks,” Li Baiquan groaned as he set down his gear.

Old Man Gao looked around and said, “There are a lot of caves like this around here. The rocks are solid. Who knows, maybe we’ll find an even better one tomorrow.”

“Let’s just block off the entrance a bit and rest for now,” Lin Heng said with a nod. He was exhausted too.

If the path hadn’t been so rough, he definitely would’ve ridden Hongzao over.

After setting down their gear, Lin Heng took charge of cooking and daily chores, while Old Man Gao and Li Baiquan worked together to build a shelter.

They’d gathered a good amount of kudzu vines along the way, so for beds, they simply used two sturdy logs and wove the vines between them, creating makeshift cots like stretchers.

With frames set up on either side, the three of them could sleep off the ground. It was even more comfortable than just lying on dry grass.

By the time the camp and beds were ready, night had already fallen. Lin Heng had finished cooking a fragrant, mouthwatering meal.

That night’s dinner was stir-fried pork belly with fermented tofu. The meat was coated in a rich, spicy fermented tofu sauce—just that with rice was enough to devour two full bowls without needing any other dishes.

(End of chapter)