Ignoring Jiang Xile's explanation, Zhang the hunter took out a wild rabbit from the bag he was carrying on his back.
"Since we've run into each other by chance, do you mind if I give you a ride?"
"Of course, no problem!"
Jiang Xile sat down and continued to work on the pheasant in her hand, which was still slightly undercooked, while Zhang the hunter deftly began to prepare the rabbit by the pond.
Soon, he had completely skinned the rabbit. Having seen so much bloodshed in the apocalypse, Jiang Xile was not afraid.
"It seems you're quite brave, girl. Many men wouldn't dare to watch something so bloody!"
"It's just killing a rabbit, not killing a person. Besides, there are plenty of people watching when a pig is slaughtered, and that's much bloodier than this!"
Having been subtly rebuffed by Jiang Xile, Zhang the hunter lowered his eyes, his gaze filled with vigilance.
"That's true, but there are quite a few people living in your educated youth settlement, why didn't you team up with any other comrades!"
"I'm not that close to them. Besides, I was just craving meat and didn't want to share it with others. Eating alone means sneaking around!"
The conversation circled back to the point, and Zhang the hunter felt that this little girl was too cunning.
"So, you came up the mountain just to eat a pheasant?"
Sensing the other party's probing, Jiang Xile frowned, feeling that the person in front of her was a bit strange. Could it be that he had some hidden identity?
Or perhaps there are secrets in these mountains that she doesn't know?
"I'd like to eat something else too. We only caught pheasants, oh right, and fish too. We were lucky enough to catch two in this pond. If you want some, you can try your luck!"
Jiang Xile spoke frankly, regardless of whether the other party believed her or not; she said everything she could.
"You're really lucky. I come here often. The fish in this pond are extremely cunning and hard to catch!"
"Do you come here often?"
"Yes, look over there if you don't believe me!"
Looking in the direction Zhang the hunter pointed, sure enough, there were some faint burn marks under a large rock not far away, clearly left from before.
"Looks like I've taken your spot again this time!"
"Haha, you can't say that! This mountain belongs to the country, everyone can come, there's no such thing as yours or mine!"
Hearing this, Jiang Xile smiled and asked:
"I don't know your name yet, Uncle. I'm a sent-down youth from Suzhou. My surname is Jiang and my given name is Xile."
"The little girl looks very literate; she must have gone to school!"
"I only attended high school for two years, but judging from what you're saying, you should be someone who has been to school!"
"What kind of school am I attending? It's just the village literacy class. My surname is Zhang, and everyone in the village calls me Zhang the Hunter. You can call me that too!"
Hearing the girl calling him "uncle" repeatedly, Zhang Zhenghao felt a little uncomfortable. He wasn't that great; calling him "brother" would be more appropriate, not "uncle"!
But he couldn't say that. The situation didn't allow it, and he had to keep up appearances. He hadn't yet completed the task assigned to him by his superiors.
It's just that Phoenix Mountain is too big; he has to search every inch of it, afraid of missing anything or making the slightest oversight.
With limited information and not wanting to attract attention in a big way, I can only compromise for now and accept being an older man!
Jiang Xile naturally couldn't just call him Hunter Zhang, so he settled for Uncle Zhang instead.
"Then I'll call you Uncle Zhang. Do you live on this mountain all year round? I don't think I've ever seen you at work!"
“I’m a forest ranger and a hunter, so I don’t have to work. I also like to stay in the mountains, so I don’t go back to the village much.”
"Oh, I see. Uncle Zhang must be very familiar with these mountains!"
"I wouldn't say that. Phoenix Mountain is huge, and I can't possibly walk through every part of it. Sometimes, after walking through one side, I forget what the other side looks like!"
"Have you encountered a tiger in the mountains?"
Zhang Zhenghao shook his head.
"You silly girl, what, you want to see what a tiger looks like?"
"No, I was just asking out of curiosity. I heard the aunties in the village say there are wolves in this mountain. It must be true!"
"That's true, but the wolves live deep in the mountains, and this is considered the outer area, so it's relatively safe. They'll only come out of the mountains when they can't find any food and are extremely hungry!"
"What about bears? Are there any too?"
"Yes, it's true that you're more likely to encounter bears this time of year, especially near beehives!"
"Uncle Zhang, have you ever hunted a bear? I heard they're worth a lot of money!"
Zhang Zhenghao shook his head.
“The bear is taller than me, it’s not so easy to fight. I’ve encountered it twice, but I didn’t dare to provoke it and left as soon as I saw it from a distance.”
"Such a big bear!"
"Yes, so you little girl, never go deep into the mountains. If I see you again, I'll have the brigade leader give you a good safety lesson!"
"There's no need for this! Besides, if you don't say anything, this is the outer perimeter, which is relatively safe. This is just one of my hobbies, so you don't have to be so ruthless!"
"What do you mean by 'exterminating everyone'? I'm doing this for your safety!"
"Okay, I got it. I'll try to go to the mountains less often in the future!"
Jiang Xile readily agreed, but in her heart she thought, "We can't run into each other every time, can we? There's no such thing as a coincidence."
As long as she doesn't get caught, she'll dare to come again next time. No one can stop her from making money off meat!
While they were talking, Jiang Xile's pheasant was ready. Given the previous "life-saving grace," Jiang Xile couldn't possibly eat it all by herself this time!
He cut the roasted pheasant in half, handing one half to Zhang Zhenghao and saying:
"Try my pheasant first, your rabbit still needs some roasting!"
Zhang Zhenghao thanked him and then took the pheasant. However, he did not put it in his mouth immediately. Instead, he waited for Jiang Xile to eat first before starting to eat himself.
The pheasant, roasted by Jiang Xile, was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a perfect balance of saltiness—truly a unique flavor.
"The little girl's cooking skills are not bad!"
"You flatter me. That's all I know how to make. I'm not so sure I'm good at cooking!"
"As long as we can fill our stomachs, that's enough. These days, there's no need to be so picky!"
"Yes, Uncle is right. There are still so many families who can't even fill their stomachs! But I believe our country will get better and better."
One day, everyone will be able to eat meat to their heart's content and live a better life. Maybe then, people won't even want to eat meat anymore and will just crave vegetables!
"Haha, you silly girl, who would want to eat vegetables when there's meat to eat? But you're absolutely right about one thing: our country will definitely get better and better!"
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