Chapter 103 The chicken porridge was so thin you could see your reflection in it.

With the prospect of hunting in mind, the atmosphere in the valley became much more lively.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the open space in the middle of the valley was already crowded with people.

This is where everyone usually hangs their clothes out to dry and gathers to chat. The ground is flattened by footsteps, making it perfect for assembling groups.

The members of all three teams carried bows and arrows, ropes, and some even held machetes, their faces full of enthusiasm.

Liu Dazhuang, dressed in thick short-sleeved clothing with a gleaming hunting knife at his waist, was loudly instructing his team members: "Don't wander off after entering the mountains. Follow the team's footprints and be careful not to slip and fall off the cliff."

Lin Yao also arrived at the open space early, watching the team members make their final preparations. Her gaze swept across the crowd and she saw Kang Shi standing at the edge of Fang Dayu's team, adjusting the cloth at her waist. She seemed well-behaved, but her eyes kept glancing at Lin Cheng, which made her a little more cautious.

Only after the large group set off towards the mountain pass did she take Wang Xiaoyu and Lin Song back to the house.

Meanwhile, the three teams entered the mountains and discovered that there were far more prey than they had imagined. Perhaps due to the chaos of war in the past two years, few people had ventured into the mountains to hunt, resulting in a plentiful supply of game.

Liu Dazhuang's group was at the front. Following the sounds in the forest, he soon spotted a group of pheasants pecking at pine cones under the pine trees.

"Squat down and be quiet!" Liu Dazhuang lowered his voice, slowly drew his hunting knife from his waist, and gestured to the team members beside him to draw their bows.

Once the team members were ready, he lunged forward, his hunting knife precisely blocking the pheasant's path. At the same time, the team members fired their arrows, and they immediately captured a plump pheasant.

"We caught a pheasant as soon as we came out! What good luck today!" Liu Dazhuang held the pheasant by its wing and told his team to stuff the prey into their baskets. "Let's keep going. There might be a rabbit on the slope ahead!"

Lin Yougong's team then headed towards the stream.

Upon arriving at the stream, they saw several wild rabbits drinking water on the bank. Lin Yougong didn't rush to act; instead, he had his team form a circle and slowly narrow the area. By the time the rabbits sensed danger and tried to escape, they had already been trapped by the team members with ropes.

"We caught three! All female rabbits, and the meat is so tender!" The team members excitedly put the rabbits into cages, replenished their water bottles by the stream, and continued deeper into the mountains. They also wanted to look for wild boars; if they could hunt one, the whole team could have a good New Year.

Fang Dayu's group moved a little slower. He was familiar with the mountain forest environment and knew where the caves where prey often appeared.

"There's a rabbit hole up ahead!" Fang Dayu suddenly stopped and pointed to the bushes in front of him.

Lin Cheng immediately stepped forward and, together with his team members, dug open the hole. Soon, a rustling sound came from the soft soil, and two fat, gray-brown wild rabbits suddenly darted out, only to be caught in nets by the prepared team members. After struggling a few times, they were exhausted.

Seeing this, Ah Zhu quickly stepped forward to help tie up the wild rabbit. He wrapped the rough hemp rope around the rabbit's hind legs twice and said with a smile, "I didn't expect there to be so many prey in the mountains. We've already made a catch as soon as we entered the forest!"

"Hmph, what kind of harvest is two rabbits?" Ma Liuzi, a member of the team, weighed the bow and arrow in his hand, curling his lip with disdain. "This little bit of meat isn't enough to eat! It's not even enough to fill a tooth gap! If you ask me, we should go deeper into the mountains and find a wild boar's den! If we hunt a wild boar, not only will everyone in our team get a share, but everyone in the entire valley might get a share too. We won't have to go out hunting for a while, which would be much more convenient!"

Ma Liuzi was one of the second batch of workers Lin Yao had bought. Although Azhu wasn't as close to him as he was to Afu, he had never seen Ma Liuzi so greedy and impatient. Azhu was taken aback for a moment. He glanced at Fang Dayu beside him.

Seeing Fang Dayu squatting on the ground checking if there were any rabbits left in the rabbit burrow, seemingly oblivious to Ma Liuzi's words, Azhu turned to look at Lin Cheng. Seeing Lin Cheng merely glance at Ma Liuzi, he quickly chuckled and smoothed things over: "Brother Liuzi is right. There are indeed enough wild boars to eat, but the deep mountains are dangerous. We didn't bring any tools to deal with wild boars. If we encounter a crazed boar, it's no joke. Let's keep these two rabbits for now; maybe there will be an even bigger harvest ahead. Take it slow, take it slow."

Ma Liuzi wanted to say something more, but was pulled back by his teammate. The teammate gave Fang Dayu a look, signaling him to stop talking.

Ma Liuzi shut his mouth in annoyance, but couldn't help rolling his eyes as he followed the group forward.

Fang Dayu seemed oblivious to the little incident in the group. He stood up, dusted off his hands, and pointed to a birch forest ahead, saying, "The forest ahead is dense, and pheasants often nest there. Let's head that way and try to catch a few more." With that, he took the lead and walked forward. Lin Cheng and Azhu quickly followed, and the group soon resumed its previous rhythm.

All three teams gained a lot in one morning.

Liu Dazhuang's team caught five pheasants and four rabbits. Lin Yougong's team caught three rabbits and two pheasants, and also unexpectedly discovered a nest of wild eggs. Fang Dayu's team also had a harvest of three rabbits, three pheasants, and two fish.

As noon approached, the three teams began to head back one after another.

When the three teams appeared at the mountain pass, the villagers who had been waiting in the open space immediately surrounded them.

Liu Dazhuang put the basket on the ground, lifted the lid, and revealed the plump pheasants and rabbits inside: "There are plenty of prey in these mountains. Let's go into the mountains again tomorrow, maybe we can catch a wild boar!"

The villagers cheered excitedly as they looked at the prey in the baskets on their backs.

Seeing Lin Cheng return safely, Lin Yao finally felt relieved and quickly stepped forward to ask, "How are you? Did you encounter any danger?"

Lin Cheng shook his head. "We didn't encounter any danger, and there was plenty of prey. It's just that Ma Liu kept talking about going deep into the mountains to hunt wild boar the whole way."

As they spoke, the village head had already organized the villagers to begin dividing the game.

The prey from the three teams were piled up in the center of the open space, and the three team leaders, Liu Dazhuang, Lin Yougong, and Fang Dayu, stood aside to distribute it according to the principle of more work, more pay.

The village head called out names while directing the villagers to hand over the divided game.

Lin Cheng also stepped forward to take their prey, which consisted of half a chicken and half a fish.

Although the three teams had a good harvest, each team had a large number of members and support staff, so the amount of prey distributed to each household was actually not much.

Even so, the villagers were still overjoyed. After all, in this year of food shortage, being able to get meat was already a great blessing, much better than drinking wild vegetable porridge every meal.

Lin Cheng returned home with his prey, where Lin Yao and the others were already waiting in the yard.

"You got your share of the game?" Su Niang quickly stepped forward, took the lotus leaf package, opened it, and her eyes lit up immediately. "There's fish too! That's wonderful! The children haven't had fish soup in ages!"

Lin Yao smiled and nodded: "Let's have a nice meal today. I'll go get the spicy rabbit I marinated earlier. You and Zhao Niangzi can prepare this half chicken and half fish first."

As she spoke, she turned and went into the house, taking out a piece of spicy rabbit meat wrapped in oil paper from a ceramic jar in the storage room.

This was specially marinated before entering the valley. It was coated with layers of dogwood, Sichuan pepper, and salt, and then hung in a ventilated place to dry. This allows it to be preserved for a long time and tastes spicy and flavorful.

Su Niang and Zhao Niangzi quickly and efficiently prepared the ingredients.

Lin Yao set up an iron pot outside, first lighting a large fire, then cutting the spicy rabbit meat into small pieces and putting them into the pot. As the oil temperature rose, the aroma of the rabbit meat, mixed with the fragrance of dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns, gradually filled the air.

This attracted Lin Song and Xiao Man, who were playing in the open space, to come over and stare longingly at the iron pot.

"Sister, when can we eat? It smells so good!" Lin Song stood on tiptoe, his mouth practically watering.

Lin Yao smiled and ruffled his hair: "Wait a little longer, the rabbit meat will taste better if it's stir-fried until it's dry and fragrant."

She kept stirring the rabbit meat with a spatula until the surface of the meat became crispy and fragrant. Then she sprinkled in some chopped green onions, making the aroma even stronger. This dry-fried rabbit meat is spicy and addictive, perfect for whetting everyone's appetite.

On the other side, Zhao Niangzi had already poured the shredded chicken into the boiling porridge pot. The white rice porridge simmered, coating the tender shredded chicken, and then she sprinkled on a little salt and ginger shreds, and a light yet delicious aroma wafted over.

Su Niang also put the cleaned fish into the earthenware pot, added water, and a few slices of ginger to remove the fishy smell, and sat by the stove to cook it slowly.

Before long, all three dishes were ready. The stir-fried rabbit meat was glossy and tempting, the chicken porridge was soft, sticky and fragrant, and the fish soup had a light milky white hue. Although it wasn't a lavish meal, it made everyone in the Lin family's room light up.

The men sat around the stone table, picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and began to wolf down their food. Even Wan Chunlai, who was usually quiet, was slurping down his chicken porridge.

Ma Liuzi, however, sat in the corner, taking only a sip of fish soup before putting down his chopsticks, looking particularly out of place among the other waiters who were wolfing down their food.

Wan Chunsheng happened to be sitting next to him. Seeing his appearance, he swallowed the porridge in his mouth and asked in confusion, "Brother Liu, why aren't you eating? You've been out hunting all day, you must be very tired. If you don't eat more, you won't have anything to eat tonight if you get hungry."

Ma Liuzi looked impatient and gave a faint smirk: "I have no appetite, you guys eat."

Wan Chunsheng assumed that Ma Liuzi was tired from hunting and wanted to persuade him further, since meat was a rare treat. However, seeing that Ma Liuzi turned his face away and was unwilling to say more, he had no choice but to swallow his words and continue eating the chicken porridge in his bowl.

Ma Liuzi was holding back his anger. When he drank the fish soup earlier, he felt it was as bland as water, and he couldn't even taste the fish flavor. The stir-fried rabbit meat was marinated, and although it was spicy, there wasn't much meat in it. The chicken porridge was so thin that you could see your reflection in it.

After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. After a long day, the men fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows, and soon the room was filled with the sound of snoring.

In the dead of night, the valley was so quiet that only the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind could be heard.

The door to one of the Lin family's rooms was gently pushed open a crack, and a dark figure slipped out silently, sneaking off toward the west side of the valley.

The houses on the west side are mostly inhabited by scattered villagers, and most of them are dark at this moment, except for one room in the far corner, which is still lit by a faint candlelight.

The dark figure walked to the door of the house and gently knocked on the door.

A woman's voice came from inside the door: "Who is it?"

The dark figure whispered, "It's me."

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