TATLC Chapter 45 — Going into the Mountains

After spring had passed for a while, Chen Xiaomi wiped down his bow and arrows, getting ready to go hunting.

“Going into the mountains to hunt?” Lu Lin asked.

Chen Xiaomi nodded. “Yeah!” Even though they’d made quite a bit of money recently, he couldn’t let his skills get rusty.

These days, Chen Xiaomi didn’t rely on hunting to make money, but it was still good to bag some pheasants or rabbits to improve their meals.

After spring arrived, the vegetables and cabbage in their field had ripened, and Lu Lin had been stir-frying them for several days straight.

Chen Xiaomi had never been picky before, but Lu Lin had spoiled his taste buds. After eating vegetables for several days in a row, he felt like his mouth was about to fade away from how bland everything tasted.

Chen Xiaomi’s taste preferences were gradually moving closer to Lu Lin’s too. He didn’t like fatty meat anymore and preferred lean meat instead.

“I’ll go with you,” Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiaomi glanced at him. “Fine, but be careful! There are lots of snakes out during this time of year.”

During the boring winter days, they would chat about many things. Chen Xiaomi was very curious about that strange and wonderful world Lu Lin described. At the same time, he learned that Lu Lin was originally a young master from a wealthy family who owned a big store and could live comfortably just off the rental income without working hard.

The store had rice, flour, grains, and oil, everything you could need. Without much effort, he could eat well and dress warmly. The world Lu Lin came from was truly magical.

Lu Lin smiled and said, “I know.”

His eyes flickered with amusement. Xiaomi’s attitude toward him seemed much better now. Before, when he followed him into the mountains for the first time, his husband would only tell him not to hold him back.

The fact that Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin were going hunting together caused quite a stir among the villagers.

Many villagers suspected that Chen Xiaomi had made a lot of money selling wine, but seeing him head back into the mountains made them doubt it. If he really had that much money, why would he still risk his life hunting? Of course, some just thought he was bored.

A rustling sound came from the grass in the distance. Chen Xiaomi raised his dagger and threw it in one smooth motion, piercing the rabbit’s throat with perfect accuracy.

Lu Lin watched this scene and blinked. His husband rested for an entire winter, but his arm strength hadn’t weakened at all!

Chen Xiaomi walked over to the rabbit, picked it up, and grinned. “This dagger is really useful!”

“I’m glad you like it,” Lu Lin said with a smile.

Chen Xiaomi lifted the rabbit by one leg, examining it. “This one’s pretty plump. How about making some spicy stir-fried rabbit?”

Lu Lin nodded. “Sounds good.” When he first arrived at the Chen family, Chen Xiaomi would eat whatever he cooked. Now, he was even making requests. His husband seemed to have quite heavy tastes and loved spicy food.

After the spicy strips in the convenience store ran out, Xiaomi missed them for a long time.

Fortunately, even though there were no more spicy strips, the convenience store still had chili powder, and they could find wild peppers in the mountains, so they could occasionally cook spicy dishes.

Chen Xiaomi’s hunting skills were as sharp as ever. He basically never came back empty-handed from the mountains and could always catch some pheasants and rabbits. This time, he found two rabbit burrows and caught several rabbits. Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin used vines to string the rabbits together and headed home.

“Chen Xiao-ge, you caught rabbits!”

Seeing Chen Xiaomi dragging several rabbits out, a few villagers who spotted them came over to chat, their eyes flickering with envy.

Chen Xiaomi wasn’t good at talking with people, so he mumbled a few vague responses before walking off.

“Hunting is really great! There’s no shortage of meat at home.”

“So many rabbits, that’s enough for several meals.”

“Why is Chen Xiaomi hunting again? I heard the Chen family has been making good money recently!”

“Yeah, they fixed up their house and bought a mule, but they haven’t bought any land. I guess he didn’t make that much money.” In the villagers’ view, land was still the most important thing. If he’d made a lot of money, he should have bought land.

“Even if he wanted to buy land, someone would have to be selling it!”

“Chen Xiaomi probably won’t stop hunting.”

“…”

As they walked, Chen Xiaomi muttered, “Lately, more and more people keep trying to talk to me.”

Lu Lin smiled. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“But they’re not afraid of me anymore,” Chen Xiaomi grumbled.

Lu Lin chuckled. “Do you want people to be afraid of you?”

Chen Xiaomi blinked. “Well, not really.” But if those people were afraid of him, it would be easier to solve problems when they came up.

“There’s more than one way to solve problems besides making people afraid of you,” Lu Lin said.

Xiaomi shot him a sidelong glance and huffed. “Scholars are so annoying, always with this roundabout talk.”

Lu Lin: “…”