Upon hearing this, Chen Shuning was indignant. After all, the hawthorn cake made by Gu Xinyi was sweet, sour, soft, and chewy, and it tasted really good. So he quickly said with a fawning expression, "Lingling, you're wrong. Our Xinyi is kind and generous. She wouldn't hold a grudge against me over such a small matter."
Then Chen Shuning looked at Gu Xinyi with a grin and said, "Xinyi, do you think I'm right?"
After saying that, Chen Shuning looked at Zhong Lingling and accused her, "Lingling, I'm heartbroken. This is a typical case of betraying a friend for personal gain. So, in your heart, I'm not as important as a bite of food? Tell me, do you like me or you like hawthorn cake more?"
"Of course it's... hawthorn cake."
Zhong Lingling's words caused another burst of laughter. He Chaoyang and Chen Jiandang heard the laughter from the backyard as soon as they entered the courtyard.
The two, who were already in a good mood, smiled even more broadly.
"Hey Brother He, is this a roe deer? Yours looks like it weighs eighty or ninety pounds, right? It's really big."
Dong Weiwei was drawn out by the laughter from the backyard. Unexpectedly, she saw He Chaoyang carrying a roe deer into the yard and Chen Jiandang carrying several pheasants and rabbits.
She couldn't help but feel envious. Just that roe deer alone could fetch a lot of money. How lucky Chen Shuning was to find a boyfriend like He Chaoyang, who was capable, considerate, and good-looking, as soon as she went to the countryside.
Looking back at herself, she had been in the countryside for several years, surrounded by either peasants or impoverished educated youth; none of them were worthy of her attention.
While Dong Weiwei was thinking about those men she didn't find attractive, she didn't know that in He Chaoyang's eyes, she was also unattractive.
He Chaoyang nodded slightly with a blank expression, then strode towards the backyard. He needed to get rid of the roe deer as soon as possible.
Hearing from his brother-in-law that his future father-in-law was fond of this kind of food, He Chaoyang thought he would take advantage of the few days he had free time to go into the mountains more often. If he could hunt a deer, that would be even better, as it is a very nutritious food, which is perfect for a middle-aged man like his father-in-law.
Left out in the cold, Dong Wei pouted and muttered, "What's so great about it?" before turning and going back into the house, not even wanting to go to the backyard.
The return of He Chaoyang and his companion to the backyard caused quite a stir.
The new educated youth had never seen a roe deer before, especially the male educated youth like Gao Hongyuan and Wang Zhi, who surrounded the two with eyes full of envy.
The crowd that had been watching in the backyard did not disperse until He Chaoyang had finished dealing with the roe deer.
However, upon hearing that the two were going into the mountains again the next day, Gao Hongyuan and Wang Zhi hesitated and expressed their desire to go with them.
Since they were all adults and relatively calm, He Chaoyang didn't refuse and agreed to take them with him when he left early the next morning.
What He Chaoyang didn't expect was that what was originally just the two of them hunting small prey for fun would eventually turn into a collective hunting event that all the male educated youth in the educated youth settlement had to go on.
However, since He Chaoyang had already agreed to Gao Hongyuan and Wang Zhi's request, he didn't care about having a few more people.
Chen Shuning didn't expect them to come back so quickly. When the two returned, Chen Shuning hadn't prepared lunch yet. While the two were cleaning up the game, Chen Shuning hurriedly and hastily made a simple meal.
Fortunately, neither of them were picky eaters, and Chen Jiandang even told Chen Shuning about hunting in the mountains while eating.
"Sister, you didn't see it. Brother He is amazing. He never misses a shot. He takes down his opponent with every shot."
Brother He shot the roe deer and the rabbit. I fired over ten shots, but only managed to hit two pheasants. I felt like I was just wasting bullets hunting.
Chen Jiandang became increasingly frustrated as he spoke, and eventually his face fell.
Instead of offering comfort, Chen Shuning mocked him, saying, "So you know you're wasting bullets? Don't you know how old you are to be handling a gun? You're quite something."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiandang, who had been looking dejected, was instead aroused by his competitive spirit and said defiantly, "Then I also caught two pheasants. Brother He praised me. It's already quite good for my first time."
Then, with a wronged expression, she muttered, "How can you hurt your own brother like that? Are you even my sister anymore?"
Feeling that her authority as the older sister had been challenged, Chen Shuning glared and continued to attack without any politeness: "What, you only shot two pheasants with a dozen bullets, and I have to praise you for your ability?"
Those pheasants are so clumsy; the kids in the village can easily catch a few with a bamboo basket. You spent the whole morning with a gun and only managed to shoot two. And you expect me to praise you?
"Hurry up and eat. After you finish, come with me to Grandpa Yang's to deliver some things and also to finalize the car arrangement for the second day of the Lunar New Year."
Unable to argue with his older sister, Chen Jiandang pouted and looked at He Chaoyang with a wronged expression.
He was simply throwing his flirtatious glances at a blind man, a complete waste of his feelings, because in his eyes, the all-powerful Brother He was even more obedient than him in front of his sister.
The three of them ate lunch chatting and laughing. After tidying up, Chen Shuning took Chen Jiandang to Old Yang's house to deliver gifts, leaving He Chaoyang at home to continue preparing the game.
Chen Shuning only got along well with the brigade leader's family and Old Yang's family in Qingshan Brigade, so he didn't need to send New Year's gifts to too many families.
Perhaps because she didn't get comfort from Chen Shuning, Chen Shuning was disliked by her own younger brother that night.
When it was time for bed that night, Chen Jiandang took his bedding and went to the room he was temporarily renting to find his brother He.
The next morning, before Chen Shuning was even fully awake, Chen Jiandang came to knock on the door. It turned out that Gao Hongyuan and several other male educated youths were quite excited and had prepared early in the morning. They were just waiting for He Chaoyang to get up so they would come out of the house to ask when they would set off.
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