Chapter 26
"What did you say? There are pheasants here?!" the two brothers spoke at the same time.
A question mark slowly rose above Yunmian's head: "...You don't know?"
Both heads shook honestly.
Yunmian: "Then what are you doing here?"
"Pick up some rocks." Zhao Yunhai raised the slingshot in his hand and shook it. "The rocks here are relatively small, so they are the most powerful when used to hit people."
Yunmian: “…”
The three children looked at each other, as if they could see the regret on Yunmian's face. Zhao Yuntao asked tentatively, "So what you just said about... sharing the pheasant equally, does that still count?"
An awkward atmosphere spread in the silence.
Zhao Yunhai was a little afraid of the three dogs beside her, but he didn't want to give up the pheasant that might appear, so he raised his slingshot again: "We can help you shoot. If the pheasant flies away, I can hit it with my slingshot. I'm very accurate with slingshots!"
He said it with great confidence. Under the expectant gazes of the two brothers, Yun Mian nodded hesitantly with a droopy face: "Okay, if we really catch a pheasant, I will give you half."
She then emphasized, "But if you can't hit it, you can only get two wings from this chicken, okay?"
Having said that, I began to expect their aiming level to be equal to zero.
After reaching a temporary agreement, Yun Mian asked the little gray wolf to take Ping Ping An to find the pheasant first. It might not be here, but it would probably not be far away.
Sure enough, the little gray wolf soon found the pheasant on the hillside not far away. When they ran closer, they could still hear the pheasant's cuckooing and flapping wings in panic.
It was blocked by three dogs in a thorn bush. Yun Mian carefully pushed aside the grass in front of him, and the next second his eyes lit up.
"There's a ball!" she exclaimed in a low voice. The two people who were holding slingshots and ready for battle could no longer remain calm. They knelt down beside her and stretched their heads to look inside.
Pheasant eggs are different from ordinary domestic eggs. They are smaller in size and the eggshells are more hemp-colored. In the chicken coop behind the thorn bush in front of you, there are three round and small pheasant eggs.
"One for each of us!" Zhao Yuntao immediately came up with a way to distribute them.
Yun Mian turned around and glared at him: "No! This has to be given to the little gray wolves. We can't have it."
"...You feed the dog eggs? Are you crazy?" Zhao Yuntao asked incredulously, "There's nothing a dog can't eat. One egg can be sold for a lot of money!"
"If it weren't for them, none of us would be able to find the pheasant." Yun Mian firmly defended the three dogs' accidental eggs.
"Stop arguing, let's catch the pheasant first." Zhao Yunhai's target has always been the chicken.
Yunmian and Zhao Yuntao glared at each other. Neither of them was willing to give in, but they also knew that catching the chicken first was the most important thing.
Zhao Yuntao went to find two long branches that were not too dry. He and his elder brother each took one branch and painstakingly separated the thorn bushes, then they looked at Yunmian together.
In front of the pheasant, Yun Mian didn't say much to them. He bent his waist and gradually avoided the thorns that might prick his body, and slowly reached in to catch the chicken.
The three of them held their breath, watching the living pheasant about to be caught. However, driven by some unknown mysterious force, the chicken that had just been trapped and unable to move actually broke free from the thorns, and risked losing its feathers and getting pricked with blood, and rushed in the opposite direction, cuckooing.
Yunmian: “…”
At that time, her fingers were only about 3 centimeters away from the chicken.
In the end, I only caught three gray chicken feathers.
Looking at the direction where the chicken flew, the three children were dumbfounded.
Yunmian crawled out covered in dust and dirt, not even having time to clear the dead grass and branches on his head. He just pushed the two brothers hard and said, "The chicken has flown away, chase them quickly!"
"Woof!!!" The little gray wolf, who had already run away for a distance, saw that his little master did not catch up, so he turned around and ran back, holding Yunmian's clothes in his mouth and barking and urging him.
Three people and three dogs chased after the injured pheasant.
With a huge momentum and a large number of people, they completely surrounded the chicken and gave it no chance to escape.
However……
The chicken seemed to be assisted by God. It would suddenly flap its wings and fly away when it was about to be caught, or it would quickly brake when it was about to be bitten by a dog. The worst thing was that as the encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, Zhao Yuntao actually slipped and fell.
The chicken flapped its wings and calmly stepped on the back of his head and slipped away.
Three people: “……???”
Sangou: “…”
System: ...It seems to know why.
But it did not stop Mianmian. Instead, she and the three little kids chased the chicken that had escaped death all the way down the mountain.
Then it crashed straight into the leg of Zhao Xiaoli, who was going up the mountain to find Yunmian. The next second it was like the lowest level of fraud scene. In front of four pairs of human eyes and three pairs of dog eyes, it tilted its head and fainted.
The three men and three dogs' steps forward came to an abrupt halt. They looked at the pheasant in tacit understanding, then moved up a little bit, and their gazes finally stopped on Zhao Xiaoli's face full of confusion and innocence.
The system was so happy that it rolled around on the tree: "Hahahaha, it turns out it didn't escape death, but was about to deliver a chicken head a thousand miles away, hahahaha..."
"Still split it equally?" Zhao Yuntao asked quietly beside him.
Yunmian, Zhao Yunhai: "..."
Four people and three dogs, tell me how to divide the chicken so that we can get two pieces of meat, huh?!
On the opposite side, Zhao Xiaoli vaguely guessed what was going on after a brief moment of confusion. She first looked strangely at the three people and three dogs who should not be together, then, under their collective heartbroken gazes, she bent down and reached out to pick up the chicken that had fainted from the accident.
"Anyone who sees it gets a share?" She used an idiom that only a cultured person could say.
Then, as I wished, I saw three faces reluctantly fall down at the same time, with a bit of heartache mixed in their expressions. It was really a wonderful scene.
Three minutes later, the four children returned to the mountain together, and after once again pushing aside the grass and thorn bushes, they laboriously picked out the three pheasant eggs inside.
"How do we divide it?" Zhao Xiaoli held the pheasant and shook it. The chicken's neck was stretched very long, but it didn't wake up even so.
Zhao Yunhai was the oldest of the four children, and he got the first say: "We each get a chicken wing and a chicken leg, and cut the body into four halves. The remaining chicken necks, chicken heads, and chicken butts... give them to the dogs?" He wanted to share them among himself, but Yunmian and the three dogs were glaring at him covetously. The three dogs seemed to understand what people said, which made him feel guilty.
His division was relatively fair, and Yunmian and Zhao Xiaoli had no objection. Zhao Yuntao felt that he and his brother together got more than Yunmian, and he felt that he had gotten a huge advantage. He was very proud of himself and had no objection either.
So the children tied up the pheasant's feet and wings with straw ropes, wrapped them with layers of tung leaves as a cover, and returned to Zhaojiagou.
"Let's go to my house and let my dad kill the chicken. You can take it back." Zhao Xiaoli proposed first.
In fact, Yunmian's house was closer, but Zhao Yuntao and Zhao Yunhai didn't dare to go in. They were afraid that Aunt Yunjin would take the knife and not kill the chicken, but would choose to slaughter them.
So the question is, who owns the chicken blood and internal organs?
In this day and age, anything that has a hint of meat on it is considered a good thing. Except for those that are really inedible, everything else can be swallowed.
"Give it to Mianmian." Zhao Xiaoli made the decision, "She found the pheasant. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to eat it."
Of course, she was an exception. After all, it was such a strange luck that the chicken had to die in front of her eyes...
Yunmian happily took a quarter of a chicken and a chicken wing home and shared them with her mother. Her mother didn't say much about her and Zhao Yuntao sharing the chicken equally.
Aunt Jiaxiu collected the shed feathers from the pheasant. She said that after washing and hanging them up, she would make two chicken feather shuttlecocks for Zhao Xiaoli and Yunmian to play with.
Yunmian originally thought that no one would know that they had caught a chicken, but the next day, many people actually ran to the mountain, holding slingshots or knives and sticks, hoping to see such a good thing again.
At the foot of the mountain, Yunmian and Zhao Xiaoli were riding on a not-too-tall crooked tree. Everyone who passed by would ask them about how they found the pheasant yesterday.
Later, Zhao Xiaoli got tired of being asked so she simply took Yunmian to the edge of the pond, away from the mountain.
"Mianmian, when you go back, remember to tell Aunt Yunjin not to let the little gray wolves out again." Zhao Xiaoli warned solemnly.
"Why?"
"Didn't you see the situation this morning?" Zhao Xiaoli poked Yun Mian's head with her finger. "They all ran to the mountain just for a pheasant. I heard those adults chatting yesterday. They said that you fed pheasant eggs to three dogs and they were simply hungry. They also said that if there is really no food in the future, they will ask the village chief to organize the villagers to kill all the dogs and chickens raised by each household and share the food. Human life is more valuable than animal life. When there is no food, it is better to kill and eat the dogs instead of letting them starve to death."
Yun Mian's eyes widened gradually as she listened. At the end, she stood up suddenly and said, "No!"
Zhao Xiaoli shook her head: "Mianmian, one person's voice can never drown out the shouts of the masses."
If that time really comes, not to mention chickens, dogs, pigs and ducks, even the rats in the holes will be dug out, skinned and eaten.
After they separated, Yunmian walked home slowly with her head down.
The system followed her, not intending to disturb her, but suddenly the system prompt sounded: "Current main task progress: 43%."
"Current side quest progress: 17.5 percent."
Yun Mian looked up blankly: "Uncle System, I haven't completed the task yet..."
The system's tone was complicated: "You don't need to do the task. It was the protagonist Zhao Xiaoli who anonymously sent the money from the sale of ginseng and the gold to the village cadres' office."
There was no surveillance in that era. Zhao Xiaoli sneaked in and left secretly. Her luck helped her not to be seen by anyone.
Compared to having Yunmian constantly go against the protagonist to complete the task, this time it is more like the protagonist... the protagonist successfully completed self-strategies time and time again in the process of getting along with Yunmian.
I was so angry at Yunmian that I comforted and convinced myself while I was angry.
Being struck by Yunmian's stupidity, he explained things to her while also understanding the things that he had previously been unable to see through.
After Yunmian released the fish without her permission, she decided to give in. Following Yunmian's strange logic, she released all the fish at once. In the end, she was complacent about sharing Yunmian's fish trophies.
Yunmian dragged her to find the teacher to answer questions. The teacher and Yunmian couldn't figure out anything. The seemingly plausible words became a life philosophy that made the protagonist, who had lived for more than eighty years, suddenly enlightened her.
...Don't even mention Yunmian. Even the system was confused by the rocket-like progress of the mission and the strange way of completing it.
But no matter what, the result is good.
The system flew up: "Mianmian, don't be sad. With this money, even if the village cadres are incompetent, they will definitely find a way to keep these villagers alive. I will help you watch the three dogs. If someone steals them for food, I will notify you immediately!"
Based on the host's speed in completing tasks, the system saw hope of escaping the novice world, so even if it turned from a teacher into a dog-watching tool overnight, it had no complaints!
A long time had passed since Zhao Xiaoli put the money and gold in the village cadres' office, and Zhaojiagou had entered winter again, but there had been no news about the money and gold.
At first, Zhao Xiaoli was anxious and worried that the village cadres might have secretly divided the money up. But at the end of the year, the village suddenly held a meeting and distributed food to every household. She suddenly realized that the village was afraid that the appearance of this money would arouse envy, and that greedy people would be more difficult to deal with than hungry people.
But Zhao Xiaoli also knew very well that the money could not completely solve the problem.
After the spring, the village will have to spend money to buy enough high-quality grain seeds and clear the farmland again. By then, the consumption of labor will make people need food more.
"Of course the country will provide subsidies." The system patiently taught Yun Mian: "But the countries in this world and this era are far less powerful than your era and country, so when faced with natural disasters and man-made disasters, the country is more likely to be powerless. In the end, it still depends on the tenacity of the people themselves to find ways to survive."
Yunmian was holding a tough sweet potato in her hand. She leaned over the table and said worriedly, "But the teacher seems to be running out of food. He was so hungry today that he kept drinking water."
Yunmian is a child with strong observation skills. He Kaijin usually doesn’t drink so much water during class because going to the toilet will interrupt the class, but he almost always drinks water these days.
She had heard her mother say before that if she didn't have anything to eat, she could only drink more water to trick her stomach into thinking it was full so that she wouldn't be growling with hunger all the time, but it would still be very uncomfortable.
"...In the plot, your teacher survived in the end." The system could only comfort her in this way.
Yun Mian frowned subconsciously when she heard this.
She stared at the dried sweet potatoes in her hand, thought for a while, then got up and ran back into the house.
"Mom, can I share some of my food with Teacher He?" Yun Mian explained seriously: "Teacher He is very good to me. He gives me books and pens, gives me candy, and praises me every day..."
She listed them one by one and could point out so many good things that Teacher He had done for her.
In other words, it is good for all the students of Zhaojiagou Primary School.
After saying that, Yunmian pulled her mother's sleeve and shook it gently: "Mom, I don't want to see Teacher He hungry. I can eat less and share some with Teacher He, okay?"
Yun Jin touched her daughter's head and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I am going to send the things to Teacher He. His kindness to you and our family cannot be replaced by a simple thank you. Even when you grow up, you must remember that the first book we opened in our lives was given by this teacher, understand?"
Yunmian nodded with sparkling eyes: "Yes, Mianmian will always remember it!"
For various considerations, this timely help was finally wrapped in layer upon layer of cloth, then hung on the backs of three dogs and delivered to He Kaijin's home by Yunmian.
Some people saw them, but the three dogs and Yunmian ran very fast, and before anyone could call out to stop them, Yunmian would disappear like the wind.
When they arrived at Teacher He's house and took out the contents of the bag, Yunmian repeated her mother's previous instructions word for word like a little adult in front of the teacher's shocked gaze.
"Teacher, my mother said that these things are dried goods that we dried at home, and no one knows about them. You can eat them secretly and don't tell others."
"Mom also said that nowadays, every household is afraid to light a fire to cook, for fear that the smoke from the chimney will be spotted by others and they will know that there is food in the house. That's why she didn't send you rice or flour. These dry goods can be eaten directly. If you find it hard to chew, you can soak them in water before eating."
"But teacher, don't go out and eat these things. It would be bad if someone found out. I always bring little sister Xiaoli home to eat them secretly, and no one knows!"
Yunmian finished speaking in one breath, but the teacher was still in a daze holding the dry goods. Yunmian sighed helplessly, waved his hand to wake him up, and then repeated what he had just said.
"Teacher, have you remembered everything?" she asked with her eyes wide open.
He Kaijin nodded slowly and heavily: "I remember, Mianmian, thank your mother for me when you go back."
He didn't say too many words of gratitude, because he knew very well that using all his knowledge to teach Yunmian well and enable Yunmian to have the ability to leave Zhaojiagou and Hongshan City in the future would be the best way to repay the mother and daughter.
Yunmian waved her paws carefreely: "You're welcome, teacher, it's hard for you to teach me to read, this is what our family should do."
After saying this, she hesitated for a while before leaving with the three dogs.
The system followed behind her and looked at the three silly dogs. It always had the illusion that it was also being walked around like a dog by Yunmian every day.
It has been a long time since the locust plague ended, but Zhaojiagou and even the entire Hongshan City are still trapped in the suffering caused by the locust plague and have not recovered.
As the temperature rises in the summer, the atmosphere in the village becomes increasingly tense.
Every day, someone goes to the village cadres' office to cry and beg, every day, relatives and brothers-in-law go to each other's doors to beg for money, and every day, there are people who try their best to fill their stomachs.
Yunmian's three dogs had long been targeted, but the little gray wolf was smart, Pingping was alert, and An'an followed Yunmian all the time, so no one had a chance to attack them.
That day, Yunmian left home with Little Gray Wolf, and went to find her sister Xiaoli to do homework together. However, not long after they left the house, a man stood in the corner and waved at her with a smile.
Yunmian knew this person, a well-known gangster from the neighboring village, Li Shuanzi. His parents died early, so he didn't even have a formal name. He grew up eating at other people's houses, but he did sneaky things every day.
Yun Mian grabbed the little gray wolf's ears and stood far away, not walking over.
"Kid, come here. Brother has a lot of food here. Do you want some?" Li Shuanzi smiled frivolously and took out the cheapest fruit candy in his hand like a magic trick and shook it towards Yunmian.
Yunmian: “…”
The little girl rolled her eyes at him as if he were a fool, then turned around and walked away with the dog.
Li Shuanzi was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed him and said in a familiar voice, "Kid, you don't know me, do you?"
Yunmian walked away silently, and he followed her and continued, "I called you for something serious. I want to ask you, why don't you put your dog on a leash? What if it bites someone? It's too dangerous. I almost got bit by a dog before, you know? It was so dangerous!"
Amid his chatter, Yunmian stopped, turned around, and looked up: "Uncle, I'm here."
Li Shuanzi looked up and saw another little girl standing at the door. She was staring at him fiercely and warily as if he were a human trafficker.
Li Shuanzi: "…Are you here already? Well, see you next time. Remember what I said, when you get back you must ask your parents to tie the dog up, otherwise it will be troublesome if it bites someone or eats a chicken. I'm doing this for your own good!"
As he earnestly exhorted her, Yun Mian held Zhao Xiaoli's warm hand and rolled her eyes at him rudely, her childish voice full of control: "Uncle, you threw egg shells to Pingping the day before yesterday, gave An'an peanuts yesterday, and today you wanted to steal the little gray wolf but were afraid it would run too fast and bite you... You are really the dumbest villain I have ever seen!"
After saying this, he left without even glancing at the petrified Li Shuanzi.
My mother didn't raise dogs casually. Since they were young, they were not allowed to eat anything that fell on the ground, nor were they allowed to eat things given by outsiders, nor were they allowed to chase the chickens and ducks that were raised freely in the village. They were not allowed to show their teeth or be aggressive towards people. If they were caught doing so, they would be severely beaten. I don't know how many times the three dogs had to be beaten since they were young before they remembered these rules deeply. Li Shuanzi's little tricks, and he was reluctant to even drug the dogs with a piece of meat, were not to be fooled by the three dogs in the house, not even the Dahuang next door.
Nowadays, not many people in rural areas would tie up their dogs. In the eyes of dog meat dealers and thieves, dogs tied with ropes are just like door gods posted on doors. They look good but are actually useless.
But if Yunmian doesn't go out, she won't let the dog run around.
After all, almost every household in the villages has a guard dog, and they don't put it on a leash. If someone comes to her door with dog muzzle marks and asks for explanation, she won't know whether it was her own dog that bit her.
So the three dogs are the most attached to Yunmian, because only when Yunmian takes them out can they have a happy time to run around and relax.
"Mianmian, now only your family and a few other families have dogs in the village." Zhao Xiaoli gently stroked the thick fur of the little gray wolf and sighed, "My third aunt also brought a dog home to raise, but a few days ago Zhao Yunbo cried and made a fuss, saying he wanted to eat meat, and Zhao Yunjiang also said he was too hungry to have the strength, so finally my third uncle took the dog out and killed it."
She was ordered by her grandmother to deliver peanuts to Zhao Yunjiang, so she watched helplessly as the dog named Wangcai was stabbed in the neck by her uncle. Wangcai died without even putting up a fight.
She didn't eat the dog meat. Her third uncle and aunt only brought a small bowl to her grandparents' house, and no one shared any of it afterwards. Her eldest uncle and aunt even had a fight with her grandparents because of this.
The ending of the previous chapter has been slightly revised. If you read it yesterday, you can go back and read it again.
In fact, this world is about to end, so the story of the cubs will not be described in detail after they grow up.
(Also, now is not the same as it used to be, dogs need to be on a leash!)
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution:
30 bottles of Zhuozhuozhiyao;
It’s impossible to have 20 bottles;
The Moon Under the Sun 17 bottles;
One ink cherishes 15 bottles;
SAKURA, Gentle Day 10 bottles;
I really want to fall in love, Zhang Gongchang 3 bottles;
24476344, Qingmeng, Donger in the north, 1 bottle of legs;
Love you all!
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