In such precarious times, a little girl could walk over mountains and across rivers for three months and still be alive and well. It is truly admirable.
When the village chief heard her say that she wanted to go out and buy some supplies, he suggested that she should not bring a gun.
"You're a girl, walking around with a gun. Not everyone will be interested in knowing your background. Be careful you might be mistaken for a bandit. It's best to sell it or throw it away."
Liang Shengdi scratched her head and said, "But I still have to go into the mountains." Even if she didn't want to be a hunter, having a gun in the mountains could really save her life.
The old village chief thought about it and thought it made sense. "Why don't you stay at home? I can ask someone to buy you whatever you want, but you have to give the young man some money for his errands."
The old village chief didn't tell her to leave the gun in the village for safekeeping. It would be better for her not to take on such things. It would be better to make some money for the young people in the village.
Liang Shengdi thought about it and decided that it was okay, since this was not her destination anyway.
She took out all the change she had on her, including the sack of copper coins.
The village chief helped her count them, 133.
Liang Shengdi: ...Fortunately, it is the majority and not the minority.
The copper coins she has are only worth one dollar.
Since the war began, prices have skyrocketed.
Two years ago, one dollar could buy 16 kilograms of rice, or 17 kilograms of flour, or 5 kilograms of pork, or 40 eggs. But now, it only buys half of that.
Liang Shengdi said that this was all she had, so she asked the village chief to buy them, as she couldn't afford any more.
The village chief didn't cheat her too much. He had someone buy her six pounds of rice and a pound and a half of salt, and even provided her with a dinner. Although it was just rice porridge, Liang Shengdi was very satisfied. The old village chief also let her stay in an empty room in his house for a night, and asked his daughter-in-law to boil water for her to take a comfortable bath.
Liang Shengdi thanked him profusely and then went to take a bath happily.
The old man's daughter-in-law looked at her back and pondered for a long time. Finally, when everyone was asleep at night, she pulled her husband and ran to her father-in-law's room.
"Grandpa, the girl looked slovenly when she first came down the mountain, but after washing her hair and taking a bath, she looked pretty good."
"So?" The old village chief sat on the bed, puffing on his pipe, his eyelids half-lifted. "So you want to find a wife for your son?"
His daughter-in-law smiled embarrassedly and poked the man next to her. The village chief's son shuddered and finally remembered that he had to speak.
"Dad! Isn't this a good match? The girl looks about the same age as Xiao Niuzi, and she has no family. It's a good opportunity for her to settle down here. Our family isn't a bad one, so we will definitely treat her well."
"That's right, we can save some money to get married." The woman couldn't help but interrupt, "Look at that girl's waist and legs, she's obviously suitable for childbearing. When the time comes..."
"No." The old man rejected their proposal without even taking off the cigarette holder.
The couple was dumbfounded, "Why?"
The old village chief rolled his eyes at them and said unhappily,
"Didn't you see the gun on her shoulder? And the bag on her back looks like it's military! I just asked her indirectly, and she took it from the Japanese soldier she killed!"
"A girl of sixteen or seventeen walked alone in the mountains for three months, all the way from western Fujian to our area! Do you know where western Fujian is?! That long road could kill you!"
"How can Xiao Niuzi handle a girl like this? If she gets upset, she'll shoot our whole family in the middle of the night!"
"If you two have nothing better to do, why don't you go out and plant some more crops? The price of grain is so high right now, if we sell more, we can help Xiao Niuzi find a wife!"
“Get out, get out, get out!”
…
Liang Shengdi didn't know that something like this was happening outside while she was dreaming.
I just know that I haven't slept so comfortably in a long time. All the pores on my body and head are open to breathe, but it feels so damn refreshing!
She took out a spare lighter and a kettle, asked the village chief's daughter-in-law to change her clothes, and asked for some realgar powder. Then she carried the newly bought rice and salt, and her pile of broken guns and clothes, and set off again.
She just felt that the way the village chief's daughter-in-law looked at her today seemed much more respectful than yesterday.
Liang Shengdi thought that she had been given too much money yesterday, and she felt a little distressed in her heart, thinking that it was what she had earned by working like a slave in the Liang family for the previous 16 years, in exchange for six kilograms of rice, one and a half kilograms of salt, and one night's food and lodging.
...but it's damn worthless.
Fortunately, she still has a small yellow croaker.
After saying goodbye to the old village chief and others, Liang Shengdi returned to the mountain the same way she came.
She didn't feel bad about not being able to go around the city.
After arriving in Yuezhou, she would be able to throw away the gun if she had to, but now, she treasured the gun in her hand more.
There are still three magazines of bullets left in the bag, and I don’t know if they are enough to get to Yuezhou.
Six kilograms of rice is not too much, but not too little either. She cooks porridge every day and makes it thinner. It can last for about half a month. The rest depends on herself.
The best female hunter in the world! Go for it!
***
The first Waterloo the female hunter encountered was the spring rainy season. She didn't see the real sun for half a month.
Mushrooms grew everywhere in the mountains. If she picked them today, there would be more tomorrow, so she could make mushroom porridge whenever she wanted. But meat was hard to come by. On rainy days, Liang Shengdi didn't even dare go near the water for fear of slipping.
She was also afraid that this was the time when the snakes woke up from hibernation and were so hungry that they could eat a cow, so she sprinkled a circle of realgar powder around the cave where she settled, and then stayed there obediently for almost half a month.
The bag of rice, worth sixteen years' worth of labor, was almost empty, but it didn't add to her burden. Even if she didn't leave, Liang Shengdi was afraid she would starve to death here.
So I packed up my things and started heading northwest.
She held the tent cloth over her head as an umbrella, clearing her way with a hoe in one hand and a spear in the other. Occasionally, if she accidentally hit a snake, she would use the spear to knock it away.
Of course, this assumes that the snake is not too big to be lifted.
If I passed a clear stream, I'd stop to see if I could catch any fish. If there were bird eggs in a tree not too high, I'd grab a few, too. I also took every mushroom and vegetable I could find along the way.
Anyway, she took whatever was edible. What good was it if it just grew in the mountains? What was in her stomach was the most valuable.
Time passes by in the mountains. Even though Liang Shengdi drew horizontal lines there every day, she was still a little confused at the end. She didn't know whether she had walked for another month or three months.
If she wanted to know for sure, she would have to carefully count the horizontal lines in the notebook. However, looking at the densely packed horizontal lines, she was no longer interested in knowing.
Only the occasional roar of an airplane in the distance reminded her.
Still in the human world.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
