After discussing what to do next, the two gathered some firewood and took it home.

A few days later, the two of them got up early and told their families that they were going to the mountain. Their families were used to it, since no one wanted to go to the mountain in such cold weather, and their cotton-padded coats weren't warm enough.

The two went to the county, and this time they changed their clothes and appearances. Unlike last time, they changed their appearances.

The facial features were all drawn differently from the originals. Tingting's face was covered with freckles, Jianjun's eyebrows were made thicker, and a birthmark was drawn on his face.

This time, the two of them didn't go to the same person's house as before. Instead, they went to a more distant place. One of them waited outside while the other went to sell things. They were busy like this for half a day.

The two of them earned nearly 1,000 yuan, found a secluded spot, changed their clothes, and headed home.

Instead of going straight home, the two went up the mountain, where they ate braised pork, sweet and sour pork, and drank cola to relax after a busy morning.

Take the branches and roots I collected on the mountain out of my spatial storage so I can have something to show them when I get home.

"Honey, I've never been to a supply and marketing cooperative before. I'm really curious if the situation is the same as in the books."

"Don't go now. Try not to be too high-profile. What could be better than what we have in our space? Let's talk about it in a couple of years."

"Well, alright then. When will this day finally end? I've never experienced anything like this before. Thinking about it now, life is really tough. I admire people these days; their tenacious vitality and diligence."

"Alright, honey, let's go back now. We've been out for so long, we're afraid people will get suspicious."

The couple now spends their days either cooking special meals on the mountain or exercising.

Back home, the two of them put the food their parents had left for them into their spatial storage. They didn't usually have much to say; they weren't even full, so they didn't have the energy to talk nonsense.

People only look for trouble when they're full and bored. But now that everyone's starving, they don't have the energy for that. They'd rather lie down and save themselves from hunger and food.

Inside the house, Tingting went to her private space to put the money away. This was their little savings account, meant to prepare for the future.

“Honey, it’s getting colder and colder. The heavy snow has blocked the mountain passes, so we probably won’t need to go out to collect firewood. We have enough at home.”

"Tingting, let's go to town again in a few days, and then we won't go again before spring."

"One reason is that the weather is cold. When it gets cold in Northeast China, there are strong winds and the temperature can drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius, which is normal nowadays. It can freeze people to death."

"Okay, let's take a shower and then go to sleep. It's cold everywhere in this room except on the kang (heated brick bed)."

The family members are now used to two people going up the mountain every day. After all, no one wants to go out in the cold and bring back so much firewood, which will be enough to burn all winter.

The next day, the two of them went up the mountain as usual. After exercising, they were about to eat when they heard some noise. "Husband, what's that sound? Could someone be coming? I'll go check it out and see what's going on."

As soon as Jianjun arrived, he saw a wild boar: "Run, Tingting, wild boar!" Guo Jianjun shouted, and the two of them immediately returned to the space.

“Honey, this is terrifying! Can we get rid of it? It’s such a big wild boar, then we’ll have pork to eat for Chinese New Year. Otherwise, with our situation, we won’t be able to eat anything for Chinese New Year.”

Tingting, you attract its attention while I get the chainsaw.

“Then you must be careful, Jianjun,” Tingting said worriedly.

"Don't worry, there will be no problem."

As they spoke, the two emerged from the space. Tingting shouted, and the big wild boar looked at her and charged towards her. Jianjun went up and used his chainsaw to take care of the big wild boar.

Looking at the wild boar on the ground, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. They used a knife to modify and disguise the wound, making the wild boar's foot look injured.

Tingting, let's hurry up and leave. This pig probably came out looking for food in the winter and we just happened to run into it.

Tingting nodded and put the pig back into her spatial storage. Fearing that the smell of blood would attract large animals, the two of them quickly ran down the mountain.

Fortunately, Old Guo's house was quite far from the village, so the two of them managed to drag the big wild boar home. Exhausted, they lay down on the snowdrift in their yard.

"Everyone in the family came out when they heard the noise. They were all very surprised to see such a big wild boar. Third brother, are you alright? You hunted such a big wild boar?" Guo Lao Er asked.

"We were originally planning to gather firewood, but we unexpectedly spotted a wild boar and decided to strike first," Guo Jianjun said, panting.

"You've really scared us. Sometimes you can't even pierce a wild boar with a knife, and you two killed it." Guo Jianguo looked at the two of them in surprise.

“You don’t know, this pig seemed to be injured at the time. Look at its feet, otherwise even the two of us wouldn’t have been able to handle it.”

"Quickly, don't say anything yet, drag it inside and get it ready. We need to clean it up before anyone finds out. This is all collective property now, so we have to hurry," said Old Man Guo.

The whole family listened and began to go inside to prepare to deal with the big pig.