After Niu Hong left, Zhang Qiaoying was restless, sitting on the edge of the bed watching Niu Flower playing with Shuanbao and Erya. She said softly,
"Dear, did Brother Hong agree to us or not?"
Niu Dongsheng struggled to prop himself up, panting heavily, saying in a broken voice,
"Brother Hong is honest and sincere. If you're more proactive, he'll agree."
"More proactive? Hmm!"
Zhang Qiaoying repeated it, thinking for a moment, then said,
"When Brother Hong comes to our house and things get better, I'll take you to the county hospital to see a doctor."
In the dim light of the kerosene lamp, Zhang Qiaoying looked at Niu Dongsheng's grayish face, feeling a pang of heartache.
Such a strong man, just because he was hit in the waist while logging in the mountains, in just a year he had become this half-dead state.
"Ah... It's me who's dragging you down!"
Feeling his wife's love, Niu Dongsheng sighed deeply, becoming even more determined to bring Niu Hong into their home.
"Dear, it's so late. Won't Brother Hong be in danger out there alone? What if something happens to him..."
Zhang Qiaoying couldn't help but express her concern for Niu Hong.
Niu Dongsheng took deep breaths, looking out the door,
...
At this moment,
Niu Hong saw three wolf-like animals standing on a snow-free rock about ten meters behind him, staring at him motionless.
His hair stood on end, his scalp tingled, and he muttered to himself,
"Wolves, and three of them! It must be the smell of the Hazel Grouse's innards that attracted them."
The three wolves hadn't expected to be discovered, and for a moment they were stunned, staring at this strangely dressed person motionless.
Niu Hong didn't have time to think, with a thought, a loaded sniper rifle appeared in his hand. Without hesitation, he raised the gun, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion.
"Thud, thud."
The bullets instantly pierced through the heads of two wolves, knocking them down in the snow. The remaining wolf, seeing the danger, quickly jumped off the rock and fled down the snow path.
Niu Hong aimed with his gun, but in the end didn't pull the trigger, letting this wolf escape.
The mountain wind blew through the treetops, snow falling on Niu Hong's head and body.
Although he didn't catch any deer or wild boar tonight, getting two wolves wasn't bad.
Wolf meat could be eaten, and wolf skins were even more useful in this cold weather - they could be made into clothes, blankets, or scarves.
Looking at the two wolves in front of him, Niu Hong felt they were much larger than ordinary dogs, with paws bigger than his little sister Niu Flower's hands.
After the two wolves were bled and cleaned, Niu Hong put them in the military warehouse.
He should return. While his little sister and Zhang Qiaoying were still awake, he would mix the Hazel Grouse and wolf meat and cook them a good meal.
Thinking of food, Niu Hong's stomach growled, and hunger washed over him like a wave. He realized he hadn't had a full meal in a long time.
Carefully identifying the direction, Niu Hong slid on his skis back to Niu Village.
The night made Niu Village even quieter. Hunger made people go to bed early, and there wasn't even a dog in the village - with no food for people, how could there be extra food for dogs!
To avoid exposing his movements, Niu Hong skied back to his own house first.
Standing outside the yard, the scene before him made Niu Hong's eyes widen and his body tremble slightly.
The three old houses had been collapsed by the heavy snow, their outlines hidden under the snow, leaving only a mess.
The old house was really too old.
After his parents died, his uncle had used the excuse of dividing the family to give it to him and his little sister. The new house built by his parents was mercilessly taken by them.
Fortunately,
He and his little sister had gone to Zhang Qiaoying's house, or they would have been buried under the house's ruins with unimaginable consequences.
All the furniture, clothes, and other household items in the house were buried under the ruins.
It was night, and he couldn't dig out the buried furniture and clothes until tomorrow morning.
With things as they were,
Niu Hong didn't stay, skiing quickly towards Zhang Qiaoying's house.
Just as he was about to reach the gate, Niu Hong thought, and changed back into his original clothes and shoes.
At the same time, the four Hazel Grouses and two wolves appeared on the snow.
The cold instantly invaded Niu Hong's whole body. He couldn't help but shiver and quickly opened the gate, running into the house.
...
"Brother Dongsheng, Sister-in-law, I'm back!"
Niu Hong said, putting the two wolves and the four Hazel Grouses on the empty ground in the house, turning to close the door and keep the cold outside.
"Brother, why did you come back so late?"
Niu Flower heard the noise, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and complained softly.
"Flower, look what brother brought back," Niu Hong pointed to the four Hazel Grouses on the ground.
"Oh, wild chickens."
Niu Flower instantly perked up, jumping off the bed and stroking the beautiful feathers of the Hazel Grouses, unable to put them down.
Looking at the prey on the ground, Zhang Qiaoying and Niu Dongsheng exchanged glances, their hearts filled with surprise and joy.
Surprised that Niu Hong had caught wolves, which meant danger.
Happy that there were actually two wolves, which meant no more hunger for a while.
Zhang Qiaoying swallowed hard. Since Niu Dongsheng's waist was crushed by a tree trunk, she hadn't eaten meat for almost two years.
Now seeing Niu Hong bring back so much prey at once, Zhang Qiaoying's heart beat wildly, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at Niu Hong standing beside her.
"Brother Hong, you actually shot wolves?"
"Um! If it weren't for my old shotgun exploding, I could have caught a few more," Niu Hong replied calmly.
"Ah, it exploded? Are you okay?"
Zhang Qiaoying said, picking up the kerosene lamp to check Niu Hong up close.
Niu Hong quickly said, "Sister-in-law, I'm fine. Let's cook this meat quickly! Everyone must be starving."
"Good, good."
Zhang Qiaoying said "good" twice, put the kerosene lamp back on the bed, picked up two Hazel Grouses, and said softly,
"Brother Hong, come help start the fire."
"Okay, Sister-in-law."
Niu Hong responded, took two quick steps to the stove, picked up a small stick and poked the ashes in the stove to clear the air passage. The flames in the stove instantly rose, and Niu Hong took the opportunity to add some dry wood to the stove.
At this moment, Zhang Qiaoying added several scoops of cold water to the pot, put on the lid, came to Niu Hong's side, squatted down, and said looking at Niu Hong's side face,
"Brother Hong, never go to the back mountain after dark again. This time you were lucky to return safely after encountering wolves, but next time you might not be so lucky."
"Um."
Niu Hong pulled the bellows, smelling the scent of the opposite sex coming from Zhang Qiaoying. Without looking up, he made a sound in response.
...
"The pot is boiling. Brother Hong, make the fire in the stove smaller."
Hearing the bubbling sound in the pot, Zhang Qiaoying reminded Niu Hong, stood up, lifted the lid, scooped out the hot water into a large pottery basin, and began to pluck the feathers from the Hazel Grouses.
"Brother Hong, your luck is really good today. In the middle of winter, the wild chickens aren't too skinny. After plucking the feathers, they weigh more than half a pound!"
Zhang Qiaoying said while holding up the featherless chicken to show Niu Hong, her eyes looking through the steam at Niu Hong, filled with tenderness.
Niu Hong looked up and met those eyes, his heart suddenly alert.
Having been reborn once, how could he not understand the meaning in Zhang Qiaoying's eyes? That was the most sincere invitation of a mature woman to a man.
Niu Hong's eyes flickered, quickly smiling and saying,
"Sister-in-law, we're six people in total. Two Hazel Grouses might not be enough. I'll cut off a wolf leg and cook it together."
"Um, we had a good harvest tonight. Let's eat more." Under the dim kerosene lamp, Zhang Qiaoying's malnourished face bloomed with a flower-like smile.
Tonight was destined to be a wonderful night.