Sun Yunpeng and his team didn't have much work left, so they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. By five o'clock, they had finally finished their assigned tasks.

The group left the work site, boarded a commuter bus, and returned to the forest farm.

Sheng Xiping has carried such a huge snake; who wouldn't see it?

Everyone stared at that huge lump and marveled at it.

"I've been in Qianchuan Forest Farm for many years and I've seen countless snakes, but I've never seen one this big."

"Xi Ping, did you kill the ancestor of the long worms?"

The man wanted to say "long worm spirit," but quickly changed his mind. In this day and age, one dared not talk about such things, lest someone seize upon it and cause serious trouble.

"I don't know if it's from our ancestors, but it'll definitely be a dish in the pot tomorrow," Sheng Xiping said with a smile.

These days, people don't care about anything, and no one pays attention to those superstitious beliefs about things like ash, yellow, willow, white, and gray.

"Oh my, I knew Captain Sheng was lucky! Look at his son, he's so capable."

These days, meat is rationed, and the few meat coupons we get each month aren't enough to do anything; we're always hungry.

Even if there's only a little meat on such a big snake, it's still enough for a family to eat. Who wouldn't be envious?

Sheng Xiping chatted casually with the other person, and time passed quickly.

A little after 6:30, the commuter bus arrived at the forest farm, and everyone jumped off and went home.

"Brother Sheng, this is for you."

Zhou Qinglan took out the piece of tree chicken mushroom from her pocket and handed it to Sheng Xiping.

Sheng Xiping wanted to suggest that Zhou Qinglan come to his house for a meal.

But then I thought, this girl is shy, she definitely wouldn't agree to go to the Sheng family alone without anyone accompanying her.

"Okay, be careful when you get back, and remember to come to my house for dinner tomorrow," Sheng Xiping instructed.

Zhou Qinglan nodded in agreement, waved to Sheng Xiping, and then went to the canteen with the other educated youth.

Sheng Xiping carried a large bunch of snakes on his back, with gastrodia elata in his crossbody pocket and a whole piece of tree chicken mushroom in his other hand, and walked home happily.

Before he even reached his own door, he saw his two younger sisters waiting for him outside.

The eldest son, who is usually the first to appear on a daily basis, was nowhere to be seen today.

"Brother, what are you carrying? Let me help you."

Sheng Yunfang stepped forward and took the tree mushroom from Sheng Xiping's hand.

"Wow, tree chicken mushrooms! Great, we'll have vegetables again tomorrow."

"Not only are there tree mushrooms, but there's also a snake, a really big one."

Sheng Xiping was worried that the snake was too big and would frighten his sisters, so he made sure to inform them beforehand.

The two sisters looked behind their brother in the direction he pointed and sure enough, they saw a huge lump of something.

"Wow, it really is a huge snake. Brother, you're amazing, you managed to catch it."

Unexpectedly, these two girls were quite bold and fearless, instead letting out bursts of exclamations.

"Hey? Where's Lao Liu? Why didn't he come out to pick me up today?" Sheng Xiping asked casually, thinking of his eldest son.

"Don't even mention it, he was so hungry for meat this morning that he was late."

Then the teacher asked him why he was late, and he said, "My mom stewed a chicken this morning."

When their younger brother is mentioned, the two sisters are speechless.

How can you do that? If you're late, so be it. If the teacher asks, just say you got up late.

But Sheng Xitai refused to listen. He actually told the teacher that his family had stewed a chicken that morning.

It is said that all the students in the class laughed uncontrollably, and before noon when school was over, everyone in the entire elementary school knew about it.

Sheng Xitai was late because the Sheng family had stewed a chicken that morning.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping was stunned.

Because he stewed chicken in the morning, he was late. What was Lao Liu thinking?

"My God, this child is really dangerous."

"After school in the afternoon, the homeroom teacher of Class 6 came to my house."

Tell Mom to prepare breakfast earlier in the morning so that Lao Liu won't be late all the time.

Then she added, "Breakfast doesn't need to be too lavish, just something simple is fine; the child's studies are the priority."

Sheng Yunfei mimicked the teacher's tone perfectly.

"It made our mom so angry. As soon as the teacher left, she grabbed a feather duster and gave Lao Liu a good beating."

"When Dad got back and heard about it, he kicked him a few more times. He's still crying at home right now, so he didn't come out to pick you up," Sheng Yunfang explained.

Sheng Xiping shook his head and sighed deeply. He was truly exasperated; there was no way to deal with this brat.

"Let's go home and visit."

Someone like Sheng Xitai, who gets beaten up so often, needs to be disciplined properly. A sapling won't grow straight without pruning, and a child won't become successful without being disciplined.

As they spoke, the three siblings entered their own courtyard.

"Mom, I picked some wood ear mushrooms today, found a piece of tree chicken mushroom, and also brought back a snake."

I've already told Haining and Weiguo they'll come over for dinner tomorrow afternoon.

I'll leave work early this afternoon and cook with you when I get home. Qinglan is coming over tomorrow too.

As soon as Sheng Xiping entered the courtyard, he deliberately spoke very loudly.

One reason was to inform his mother so she wouldn't be startled when she saw the snake; the other, of course, was to attract the attention of their youngest son.

That kid is greedy and loves to play. He'll definitely be curious when he hears that his older brother brought back so many things.

Sure enough, just as Sheng Xiping had expected, a dark figure rushed out of the house as soon as he finished speaking.

"Brother, where's the snake? Let me see."

Sheng Xitai had just cried and hadn't washed his face yet.

I don't know what he did during the day. His face was covered in dust, snot, and tears. Well, his face was a mess, it was so funny.

Sheng Xiping took two steps back with obvious disgust. "Stay away from me, or I'm afraid you'll smear your snot on me."

Sheng Xitai was full of curiosity and wanted to see the snake, but his brother disapproved of him.

The little guy stood in front of his older brother, looking completely bewildered.

"Big brother, you also despise me?" Sheng Xitai accused, his voice trembling with tears.

“My mom and dad beat me, my fourth and fifth sisters dislike me, and now even my eldest brother dislikes me. Nobody in this family cares about me.”

When Sheng Xiping saw his younger brother's pitiful appearance, his heart softened again.

"Alright, stop crying. Look how big this snake I killed today is!"

This guy was skinned, cleaned, and chopped into sections; I reckon it could make a whole stew.

Sheng Xiping placed the stick with the snake tied to it in front of his younger brother and coaxed him.

Sheng Xitai wouldn't listen to anything else, but as soon as he heard that it could be stewed into a pot, his eyes widened and he looked at the huge pile of things in front of him with surprise.

"My God, what a huge snake! Brother, you're amazing!"

"Second brother, third brother, Dad, come out and see! My brother killed a huge snake!"

Sheng Xitai was overjoyed and turned to shout into the house.

Sheng Liancheng, who arrived home a little earlier than his eldest son, Zhang Shuzhen, who was serving rice inside the house, and the two little brothers reading in the west room.

They all came out of the house and were amazed when they saw the lump on the ground.

"My God, I've never seen such a big thing before. How did we come across it?" Sheng Liancheng asked.