Before the sky even lightened, Qin Du shouldered his homemade musket and headed up the mountain. He didn't even know what he was trying to escape.
The places he usually frequented had been emptied of prey long ago, so this time, he headed straight for the deep mountains.
The deep mountains were incredibly quiet. The heavy snow reached past his knees. Qin Du crouched on the leeward slope, tightly gripping the polished, gleaming powder gun.
He waited there until nightfall. Eating the dry rations he had brought along, Qin Du remained in his spot.
Finally, a sound came from the opposite side. Qin Du held his breath and picked up the powder gun beside him.
Not far away, a black-skinned wild boar weighing four to five hundred catties was slamming into a pine tree like a maniac, its tusks gleaming in the moonlight.
Qin Du stared intently at the boar, hoisted his gun, and aimed it at the beast without a shred of hesitation.
"Bang—"
The wild boar let out a tragic squeal as half its neck was blown apart. However, it didn't fall immediately. Instead, its eyes turned red with bloodlust, and it charged straight at Qin Du.
Just as Qin Du drew his hunting knife, the boar's tusks tore right through his clothes and slammed into his chest.
Qin Du let out a muffled groan. Ignoring the sharp pain of his wound, he gripped the knife backhanded and plunged it directly into the boar's eye socket.
The blinded boar's offensive power was drastically reduced. After a good while, the surroundings finally fell silent again.
Looking at the boar lying on the ground, Qin Du didn't hesitate. He took a few large bites of his dry rations and began to butcher the meat.
He was only wearing a thin layer of clothing, his eyes calm. The sharp skinning knife in his hand emitted a cold glint in the moonlight.
The boar's blood spilled all over the ground, dyeing the surrounding snow completely red.
Qin Du bypassed the boar's bones, cutting precisely along the fascia. Soon, the wild boar was dismantled into pieces.
Qin Du set aside the most tender tenderloin and the pair of intact kidneys.
He would save these for her to eat.
Everything else was stuffed into a worn-out gunny sack.
There was no time left today, so Qin Du dragged the sack into a cave, waiting to go to the county town tomorrow to sell it.
At this time, Ji Zhaoxi was lying on her bed, looking depressed.
Ji Zhuxin cast a helpless look at her. "Qin Du went hunting, how could he be back so quickly?"
"But he used to come back very quickly before."
Ji Zhuxin tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed. "Alright, alright, go to sleep. Why are you so clingy with him?"
"Because Brother Qin Du treats me well."
Ji Zhuxin could not refute that. She looked at Ji Zhaoxi hesitantly, wanting to ask something but not knowing how.
"Xi Xi, tell me honestly, do you like your Brother Qin Du?" Ji Zhuxin looked at her carefully.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't hesitate at all. "I like him!"
Ji Zhuxin choked on her words. Forget it, there was no point talking to her.
Seeing Ji Zhuxin turn away, Ji Zhaoxi tugged at her. "Sister, don't you like Brother Qin Du?"
Ji Zhuxin replied helplessly. "I like him."
Sigh, it was like playing the lute to a cow.
Around one o'clock the next morning, Qin Du got up.
The weather was freezing. He pulled his clothes tighter and shouldered the sack of meat, preparing to head to the black market.
It would take about two hours of walking to reach the black market. Arriving there past three o'clock meant he would still be in time.
By the time Qin Du arrived at the black market, there were already quite a few stalls set up. The vendors were rubbing their hands constantly from the cold.
Qin Du's large gunny sack quickly attracted attention. A man walked over with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his voice carrying the hoarseness of someone who hadn't fully woken up. "Is that stuff from the mountain?"
Qin Du gave a sound of affirmation. "Hard goods, fresh off the mountain, no ration coupons required."
The man glanced at the meat in the sack and became interested. "How much per catty?"
"Eighty cents."
The man's brows immediately furrowed. "Eighty cents a catty? That's too expensive, no thanks."
Qin Du glanced at him and said nothing.
The man complained as he walked away. "Eighty cents a catty, everyone else sells for fifty cents."
After taking a dozen steps and seeing that Qin Du hadn't chased after him, he turned back. "How about fifty cents?"
Qin Du frowned slightly. "Eighty cents, no less."
This price was already lower than what others would charge.
The man sighed. "Fine, fine, give me two catties."
He poked at the wild boar meat, his eyes showing a hint of satisfaction. "This meat is pretty good. Which village hunted this?"
Qin Du didn't answer his question and simply handed him the meat.
More and more people came to buy meat. As Qin Du collected the money, he finally realized clearly just how much he had been losing out on before.
In the beginning, Mother Qin strongly tried to stop Qin Du from hunting because he wouldn't hand the meat over to the village, which would definitely lead to gossip.
However, the village's grain distribution never reached their hands, so Mother Qin eventually stopped preventing him from hunting.
When Qin Du left this time, he didn't mention he would go straight to the black market to sell the meat. If he told his mother, she would surely be terrified. Profiteering was no small crime.
A few slouching, idle-looking men sauntered over. Seeing that Qin Du was young, they started looking for trouble.
"This meat isn't clean. Here, and here too. How dare you sell it for so much?"
"These pieces won't sell anyway, why don't you just give them to us?"
The men pushed and shoved, and the one in front grabbed a piece of meat, trying to run off.
Qin Du stared into his eyes, a trace of murderous intent revealing itself in his gaze.
"Thwack—"
Qin Du drew the blood-stained bleeding knife from his body and pinned it directly into the wooden post next to them.
The men froze stiff. They gave Qin Du sheepish smiles and shoved each other as they hurried away.
A few more people came by later, and the meat in Qin Du's sack was almost sold out.
The sky was still only dimly lit. Just then, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out from the alley, and several flashlight beams swept in.
"Catch the profiteers! Nobody move!"
As soon as the voice rang out, the crowd gathered in the black market immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
Qin Du kicked over the candle on the ground, grabbed his things, and vaulted over the wall to escape.
Previously, Qin Du used to cooperate with people in the black market. He was responsible for hunting, and they were responsible for selling, but he would only get a few dollars for a whole wild boar.
He avoided the crowds and, under the dim morning light, pulled out the crumpled stack of bills from his chest pocket.
This money amounted to several months' wages for an ordinary person.
Qin Du calmly wiped the blood off his body and went straight to another black market to exchange for ration coupons. The person trading coupons was shocked to see him asking for so many.
Qin Du first went to the hospital to pick up medicine, then bought some nutritional supplements for Mother Qin and Ji Zhuxin, before heading straight for the department store.
The department store had a vast array of goods. Qin Du didn't understand these things, so he just watched what other girls were picking out and bought the same things. He also bought her a Hero brand fountain pen and a notebook.
It wasn't until late at night that Qin Du returned home.
Ji Zhuxin was sweeping snow at the doorway. As soon as she saw Qin Du carrying bags big and small, she was stunned.
"Qin Du, what is all this?"
Qin Du set the things down. "Sister Zhuxin, I bought this for you and Xi Xi."
When Ji Zhuxin opened them, she found that besides various candies, there was malted milk extract and canned luncheon meat. None of these were cheap.
Her hands paused. "Did you earn all this from hunting these past few days?"
Qin Du gave a sound of confirmation.
Ji Zhuxin roughly guessed how he had earned it and said nothing more.
She wasn't someone who stuck strictly to the rules either, otherwise she wouldn't have collaborated with the village chief's wife. Rules were only meant for those who had nothing to begin with.
