Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Chapter 100: Hunting

Zhang Guoqing brought along his hunting musket, bow and arrow, and other hunting gear, stealthily slipped out from the back door with a bamboo basket on his back, and quickly headed towards Daqing Mountain, avoiding people along the way.

He had no idea how long Daqing Mountain was, as the peaks were connected one after another, with villages in between some of them. Since the age of five, he had followed his grandfather from the south to Tiger Gully and could still see the distant peaks to the south. Going north to the neighboring county, he could see small hills one after another. Daqing Mountain did not belong to their county, and the neighboring county was at the northernmost part of Daqing Mountain. "Living by the mountain, one survives on the mountain; living by the water, one survives on the water." Every family living by the mountain depended on Daqing Mountain to sustain generations.

Zhang Guoqing headed towards the north. In his memory, in the direction of the neighboring county, there was a small hill with a mountain col. The entire mountain col was large, with a dense forest, and not far away, there was a sizeable brook.

On several occasions, he discovered a group of pigs appearing in that clump of forest looking for food, with an old sow often bringing piglets to play by the stream. Upon hearing any noise, they would run into the dense forest. A group of wild boars is easier to handle than a solitary pig. If a solitary pig appeared, he would have to weigh whether it was worth it or not. People often say, "One pig, two bears, three tigers," referring to a solitary pig.

Thinking about that 800-900 pound solitary boar, with its long tusks and aggressive wild nature that charges at people and animals, Zhang Guoqing felt somewhat tense. This time, he was hunting wild boars because he knew this group would be easier to deal with. He chuckled to himself at the thought of the group of pigs coming out for a stroll at dusk.

Zhang Guoqing walked lightly, constantly listening to the surroundings. The nearer he got to his destination, the denser the trees became. In recent years, with fewer hunters around, the paths once traveled were gradually disappearing. Now overgrown with weeds and brambles. Zhang Guoqing used a machete to carve a path, finding along the way many common medicinal herbs, even numerous wild mushrooms and fungi in damp, shady spots, and various wild vegetables on the ground.

Feeling future resource scarcity, Zhang Guoqing silently regretted not bringing Jiao Jiao. If they had her space, they could store everything at any time without worrying about collecting too much to carry back.

Thinking about the large snowfall sealing off the mountains until spring, day after day of radishes and cabbage without any green vegetables and endless frozen meat and cured wild game was unpalatable. He couldn’t help but slow down, taking note of landmarks along the way, planning to bring Zhou Jiao next time. Besides mushrooms and wild vegetables, there were thick layers of chestnuts under a few chestnut trees and ripe pears hanging on a nearby wild fruit tree.

Upon reaching his destination, Zhang Guoqing stretched his limbs, sorted his gear, and then quietly headed towards the brook.

Perhaps due to its proximity to the neighboring county and being a small hill, fewer people came here. The wildlife’s alertness was significantly reduced. Before reaching the brook, he had already caught a few wild hens and several fat rabbits. There were surely more around, but pressed for time, his target was wild boars, and he let the other small animals go all along the way.

He found that walking in the forest came especially easy, his hearing more acute, with a natural sense of impending danger — as if born a hunter. Since crossing over, he hadn’t personally hunted yet; now he understood why felt so pleasant in the woods.

By now, he was used to his great strength. Gradually accustomed to controlling his strength, unlike at first when he would shatter the heads of wild chickens and rabbits, leaving their scalps torn. The prey he’d caught then was too bloody even to look at. Now, a single stone broke the skull without tearing the skin or spilling blood. Even the bow and arrows he brought seemed unnecessary.

"Autumn rabbit, cured duck, spring wild chicken," hill folks are extremely particular about this in hunting. Autumn’s rabbits are the fattest, cured ducks in December are the juiciest, and spring wild chickens are the most tender.

Recently, with Zhou Jiao in confinement, the wild chicken would be perfect for nourishing her body. Zhang Guoqing didn’t care about these particularities anymore. As long as it was nutritious, taste could wait until next time. So, with a handful of small stones, he hit several wild chickens and let most of the rabbits go, even going as far as to crazily steal nest after nest of wild chicken eggs, stopping only when he feared too many would break.

From afar, animal noises came from the grasslands. Zhang Guoqing pricked up his ears; upon hearing the rough breathing and rustling movements — it was wild boars.

He immediately held his breath, cautiously creeping forward. There he saw on the grassland by a small brook, two big wild boars with piglets foraging and playing by the water.

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