The male pheasant has bright and gorgeous feathers, a white ring around its neck, a mostly brassy head, and eyebrow stripes on both sides of its eyes.

Scattered around their eyes are a few short, dot-like feathers, faintly gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Its back feathers are brownish-brown, the feathers on its waist are mostly olive green, and its tail feathers are exceptionally long, making it truly beautiful.

This was Zhou Qinglan's first time seeing a pheasant, and she was extremely excited.

Seeing this, Sheng Xiping laughed and said, "If you like, I'll pluck those long feathers from the pheasant's tail and give them to you later."

Pheasant tail feathers can actually be sold, but in this remote forest farm, where would Sheng Xiping and his group find people to buy pheasant tail feathers?

If you're going out once in a while, you can't possibly bring something as cumbersome as pheasant tail feathers.

Whenever he had free time, Sheng Xiping would go hunting in the mountains with his master's friends, and he collected a lot of pheasant tail feathers at home.

Since Zhou Qinglan likes it, we'll just give it to her.

"Really? Then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Zhou Qinglan didn't hesitate to refuse; instead, she readily nodded in agreement.

"Don't mention it."

While laughing, Sheng Xiping pulled out the knife strapped to his leg and cut the pheasant's throat to bleed it.

No matter what kind of animal it is, if it is not bled in time, the meat will have a bloody taste and will not taste good.

Sheng Xiping swiftly bled and gutted the pheasant, discarding the internal organs and throwing them directly into the woods.

He then wiped his hands with leaves from the roadside before carrying the pheasant and continuing out with the others.

Four or five miles is nothing to these young people; they walked out in less than half an hour.

After waiting for a while at the roadside bus stop, the commuter bus came from the innermost part of the operating area.

The commuter bus stopped, and everyone boarded at once.

Since there were few seats, everyone stood.

Someone with sharp eyes spotted the pheasant that Sheng Xiping was carrying.

"Hey, Xiping caught a pheasant? And it's quite big."

If you add some mushrooms and stew it in a pot, wouldn't it be incredibly delicious?

Your parents are so lucky to have such a capable son like you. You can bring back wild game from the mountains every now and then. I'm so envious!

"Uncle Xu, I'm embarrassed by your praise. I don't have much ability; I just get lucky occasionally."

Before the accident, Sheng Xiping was always considered the most outstanding young man by everyone, the pride of his parents, and a role model for his younger siblings.

Unfortunately, his youthful arrogance and reckless behavior ultimately harmed himself and others.

Now that he has a chance to start over, he is determined to make it up to his family and never let his parents suffer again.

Qianchuan Forest Farm is adjacent to Dajianchang Village, with the forest farm to the east and the village to the west, both situated in a narrow valley.

This valley is three or four miles long from east to west and two or three hundred meters wide from north to south.

At the foot of Nanshan Mountain, a river flows from east to west, and in winter it freezes over and is covered with ice and snow.

In front of Beishangen is the forest railway, a small train that comes from Songjianghe, running from west to east until it stops at the station.

The railway continues eastward, all the way into the operational area.

Because the area is surrounded by hills, the forests and trees on the hills have never been cut down in order to protect the slopes and prevent soil erosion.

The old trees on the hillside are towering and thick.

In spring, the azaleas bloom all over the mountains, creating a breathtakingly beautiful sight, like rosy clouds.

In summer, the trees are lush and verdant, with varying shades of green that are refreshing and delightful.

Autumn is even more beautiful, with fiery red maple leaves, golden birch leaves, snow-white bark, and evergreen pines, like a richly colored oil painting.

Although the leaves fall in winter, the towering ancient trees stand proudly, and the mountains are covered with pure white snow, creating a beautiful scene of defying the snow and frost, which is equally attractive.

The entire valley is surrounded by forests and trees, offering different scenery in each season, making it a dreamlike and beautiful place.

Most forest farms are similar, with a headquarters, school, canteen, warehouse, small repair shop, tractor shed, and shops, mostly located on the east side. The staff's residences are located further west.

Most of the employees' housing is public housing, with six or seven households per row of houses.

Following the contours of the mountain, the houses are neatly distributed throughout this narrow valley, totaling about three hundred households.

The Sheng family lived at the western end of the forest farm, next to a vegetable garden belonging to the family members' team, which was known as Xidadi.

To the west of the vegetable garden is a large poplar tree, and further west of the poplar tree is Dajianchang Village.

"It's getting late, let's all go home. I'll treat you to drinks when I'm off work."

Everyone got off the bus in front of the venue. Sheng Xiping politely declined his companions' offer of drinks and quickly walked home with the pheasant in his arms.

It's already past 6:30. Who isn't starving? Who has the time to go over and chat idly with others?

"Okay, then let's do it another day. Brother Xiping will cook a couple of good dishes, and we'll drink together."

Most of the time on the mountain was spent joking around. Since they were all friends who had grown up together, there weren't many reservations. So, everyone dispersed and went home.

Chen Weiguo and the Sheng family were neighbors, their houses right next to each other, located at the end of this main road running from east to west.

Before the two even reached their front door, they saw several children running towards them from afar.

"Big brother." A boy came up and immediately pounced on Sheng Xiping.

"Oh my god, you little fatso, you almost knocked your brother out of breath."

The nine-year-old boy, as energetic as a calf, was caught off guard when his younger brother bumped into Sheng Xiping, who was carrying a pheasant in one hand, and almost made him stumble.

"I live at home and come back every day, do you really need to miss me this much?"

"Brother, do you think he misses you? He clearly misses the delicious food you brought back."

"Ever since you left this morning, he's been talking about it, wondering if his older brother can bring back anything good from the mountain today."

Before the boy in Sheng Xiping's arms could speak, the two girls behind him laughed and teased their little brother.

"Look, your younger siblings are so sensible, they know to come out and greet you."

Look at my family, when have they ever cared about me like this?

Chen Weiguo smiled when he saw the three siblings from the Sheng family.

He was also the eldest son in his family, with several younger brothers and sisters.

However, he didn't have Sheng Xiping's skills. He would often bring home some good food, but there were no surprises, so he naturally didn't receive the same treatment as Sheng Xiping.

"You mean my little chubby boy? Just like his sister said, this guy's got his eye on good food."

Sheng Xiping waved the pheasant in his hand, teasing his younger brother.

"What a coincidence! We caught a pheasant today. Mom took care of it tonight and put it in the pot to stew. We'll eat it tomorrow morning."

In the hot summer, meat spoils easily, so it is usually soaked in cold water or marinated by rubbing it inside and out with salt.

Sheng Xiping found it too much trouble, and besides, there was a bunch of little gluttons at home eagerly waiting for him.

This stuff isn't anything rare; if you want some, you can just go hunt it in the mountains.

Why not stew it? The whole family can have a delicious meal tomorrow morning.