Chapter 66: Do You Call That Proper?

“Liu Lan, I heard that Lin Heng learned archery in the city. He’s been hunting a lot lately and even caught a badger. Is that true?”

In Tongshu Valley, a beautiful woman dressed in a denim jacket asked curiously while searching for mushrooms.

This beautiful woman was named Tang Qing. She was tall, with a fair and delicate face, a red hairpin in her hair, and a women’s watch on her wrist. She was the wife of the village chief, Zhao Xiancheng. While others were picking mushrooms to sell, she was simply collecting them to eat since money wasn’t an issue at home.

Liu Lan, standing nearby, looked complicated upon hearing this. “Of course it’s true. My husband, Old Liu, helped them build their house and saw it with his own eyes. That Lin Heng’s archery skills are impressive. He shot a target from over 30 meters.”

After a pause, Liu Lan continued, “The Lin family must have struck it rich. I heard that the reason they were able to build a house was because they dug up wild ginseng. Now, Lin Heng hunts every day. I often pass by his house and smell the scent of stir-fried meat.”

Although she didn’t want to admit it, it was clear that the Lin family had become visibly wealthier. Liu Lan’s family could barely afford meat once a month. She couldn’t help but envy them, and every time she smelled the stir-fried meat, her mouth would water.

This had caused several arguments with her husband recently. The useless man could only farm, and life was too difficult.

Upon hearing Liu Lan’s words, Tang Qing nodded with a smile. “When Lin Heng came to our house with my son Zhao Hu in the past, I didn’t realize he had such skills.”

There was a hint of envy in her tone—not for the Lin family’s newfound wealth, but for Lin Heng’s transformation into a responsible person. Her son, on the other hand, had gone to the city recently and she wasn’t sure when he’d settle down.

“But hunting doesn’t bring in much money. Even if he hunts for a month, he won’t make as much as your family’s store in town does in ten days,” Liu Lan said, complimenting her.

Tang Qing shook her head with a smile. She was being polite, but deep down, she agreed.

“I don’t think hunting will make Lin Heng rich,” Liu Lan added, “He’ll just buy more things once he has a little money, wasting it faster than he earns it. He’ll be poor again eventually.”

At that moment, Li Caifeng returned and spoke in dissatisfaction. She held a deep grudge against Lin Heng. She still remembered how she was embarrassed when showing off her new clothes earlier, and she had spread rumors about him being a spendthrift ever since.

Seeing someone who was once poorer than her family suddenly build a new house and buy new clothes, with the scent of stir-fried meat wafting to her house, made her feel worse than if she herself had lost money.

After hearing this, Liu Lan laughed and added, “Lin Heng really is reckless. Yesterday, he spent three mao buying a bunch of broken bee hives. Who knows what was going through his head.”

“That’s how nouveau riche people are,” Li Caifeng sneered. “I bet he’s relying on luck for his hunting. Just wait. Once his luck runs out and he can’t catch anything, he’ll be poor again.”

Her mother had been praising Lin Heng for turning his life around, but Li Caifeng thought maybe he’d just end up back to his old ways.

Suddenly, they heard a dog barking from the uphill direction.

“A dog? Looks like someone’s hunting here. Do you know who it is?” Tang Qing asked curiously.

“I don’t know, haven’t heard anything,” Liu Lan replied, shaking her head.

“Who cares who it is? Let’s go take a look. It can’t be Lin Heng, right?” Li Caifeng said, shrugging her shoulders, and started walking toward the sound of the barking.

After a few steps, they heard the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. Soon, a man and a woman emerged from the dense forest.

“Lin Heng!” Li Caifeng’s eyes widened in surprise. How could this be? She felt like she had cursed herself.

“Yes, it really is Lin Heng!” Liu Lan and Tang Qing also froze. They had just been talking about him, and now they were face-to-face with him.

“Are you picking mushrooms, Liu Lan, Li Caifeng, Aunt Qing?” Lin Heng was equally surprised to see them. He had thought it was another group of hunters.

“Aunt Qing, why are you all the way out here picking mushrooms?” Xiu Lan greeted them as well.

Li Caifeng and Liu Lan were of Lin Heng’s generation, while Tang Qing was of his mother’s generation.

“We ran out of mushrooms nearby, so we came here to look. Are you hunting? Did you catch anything?” Tang Qing smiled, asking curiously.

From far away, they hadn’t seen the roe deer in Lin Heng’s basket.

“Did you go up the mountain yesterday afternoon and not come back until now?” Liu Lan asked, noticing how they were dressed.

Seeing Lin Heng holding a tree, Li Caifeng couldn’t help but laugh. “Lin Heng, hunting isn’t easy, huh? Sometimes you won’t catch anything even after hunting for days.”

Lin Heng gave Li Caifeng a glance. This woman was truly petty and still held a grudge. It was she who had bullied Xiu Lan earlier. He smiled and replied, “Hunting isn’t easy. We left yesterday noon, and we’ve only managed to catch one decent animal so far.”

“What kind of animal?” Li Caifeng and Liu Lan were both a little jealous when they heard he had caught something. They both hoped it was something small.

“See for yourself.”

Lin Heng shrugged and walked closer. He slightly turned his body and revealed the roe deer, which was so large that it couldn’t be hidden.

Seeing the enormous roe deer, all three women were stunned.

“You call this a ‘decent’ catch?” Tang Qing’s voice changed.

“Did you really catch this roe deer?” Li Caifeng’s face darkened. How could this be? Where did Lin Heng get such luck? A badger was one thing, but a roe deer that big?

Li Caifeng felt her jealousy twist inside her. Seeing her rival’s success was worse than if she had lost everything.

Liu Lan stared at Lin Heng with eyes full of envy. “Lin Heng, you really have skills. Did you really learn archery to catch this?”

Her voice was almost sweet, and she couldn’t help but wish she were the one standing next to Lin Heng, not Xiu Lan. She had once looked down on him, but now she was drooling with envy.

How long would they be able to eat this roe deer? The skin alone could sell for over a hundred yuan!

Liu Lan earned barely a hundred yuan a year from selling mushrooms and herbs.

Lin Heng nodded seriously, “Of course I caught it. Compared to the other animals I’ve hunted, this one is indeed a decent catch.”

Li Caifeng wanted to slap him, annoyed by his arrogance.

“You’re quite something. A skilled hunter has emerged in the village,” Tang Qing said, shaking her head with a smile. She then asked, “Where did you catch it? This roe deer is huge.”

“Up on the mountain behind. I can’t really pinpoint the exact location,” Lin Heng replied with a smile, not wanting too many people to know the specific place.

“Well, we should get going. We need to head back and process the roe deer,” Lin Heng said after a brief conversation.

Under the gaze of the three women, Lin Heng turned and left with the deer in his basket.

“A roe deer skin can sell for over a hundred yuan!” Liu Lan sighed, her tone and expression filled with envy. She practically wanted to eat Lin Heng alive.

Li Caifeng was too frustrated to speak. How could his luck be so good? She stomped her foot angrily, crushing a mushroom she had picked.

She had only seen the roe deer. If she had seen the ganoderma and the old turtle in Xiu Lan’s basket, she would have probably gone insane with jealousy.

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End of Chapter