The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Chen Yang scrambled out of bed.
Glancing at his wife and daughter sleeping soundly while protecting the little milk bun, the middle-aged man tiptoed to the backyard and retrieved a dusty old wooden bow from the wall of the woodshed.
The crooked bow was likely made from wood from some oddly shaped tree. Fortunately, the bowstring was well-maintained.
Chen Yang tested it, drew it back, and estimated that its effective killing range should be about fifty meters; anything more, he suspected, would be out of reach.
In his previous life, while not good at many things, he was quite proficient at horseback archery. After all, he had hired a coach for the price of several apartments in Shenzhen, so he had certainly honed some flashy skills.
With the ten or so iron-headed arrows in the cloth bag hanging next to the wooden bow, Chen Yang felt much more confident about bagging a catch or two today.
"This western mountain old forest is home to plenty of pheasants and wild rabbits. Ten to twenty years from now, they say you could often hunt wild boars. I’m not asking for a wild boar, but I should at least be able to hunt a pheasant for the little one to taste some meat."
The morning dew still clung to the shrubs as Chen Yang ventured into the old forest, making his way towards the eastern cliff.
In his past life, before returning to the city, he had heard that an old hunter from the village had found a pheasant nest under an old crow tree and caught four pheasants. That year, Old Man Tu’s family had a very abundant harvest.
It was still a long way from the end of the year, and he wondered if the pheasants had settled in that old crow tree.
After walking for about half an hour, Chen Yang finally spotted the colossal old crow tree in the depths of the forest.
Its trunk was so wide that seven or eight people couldn't embrace it, and it stood over a hundred meters tall. No one knew how many years it had been growing, but it was still lush and verdant. In later generations, it would undoubtedly be cordoned off as a scenic attraction.
Chen Yang circled the tree meticulously, but found no sign of a pheasant nest anywhere nearby.
"I only heard it in passing then, and I don't know if this is really the place."
Holding his bow and arrows, Chen Yang felt a bit of a headache. The forest was vast, and wild boars and jackals sometimes roamed here. Even an old hunter like Old Man Tu wouldn't necessarily return unscathed if he encountered a jackal or a wild boar, and he wouldn't venture deep inside alone.
It was only because Chen Yang was so determined to get meat for his wife and daughter that he had rashly rushed in.
Now, if he couldn't find any prey, wouldn't he have come all this way for nothing!
"Coo, coo."
Just as Chen Yang was about to turn and look for prey elsewhere, a pheasant’s call suddenly came from a low patch of shrubs ahead.
He instantly nocked an arrow onto his bow, his gaze following the sound. Chen Yang indeed spotted a few inconspicuous pheasant feathers scattered among the shrubs.
"Swish!"
Having locked onto his target, Chen Yang instantly drew the wooden bow to its fullest. With a pained cry, he rushed towards the shrubbery.
"Coo-coo-coo!"
A pheasant let out a shrill cry and quickly darted out of the shrubs. But before it could spread its wings, Chen Yang grabbed it by the neck.
An iron arrow had pierced one of its wings. Even if Chen Yang hadn't caught it, it wouldn't have been able to fly.
"Flap!"
But just as Chen Yang caught the pheasant, a rustling sound of wings suddenly erupted from the shrubs again. By the time Chen Yang reacted and shot an arrow, the other pheasant had vanished without a trace.
"It's fine. One is enough for my wife and the little one to have a meal. No need to take their whole family."
However, Chen Yang was not unhappy at all. Having managed to hunt a pheasant right after coming out, he was already quite satisfied.
What's more, when he parted the shrubs, he was overjoyed to find a pheasant's nest with a dozen neatly arranged pheasant eggs inside.
"Wife and the little one can each have one, and that’s enough for six days."
Chen Yang held the pheasant in one hand and carefully placed the pheasant eggs into the pocket he had brought with his other hand. Before leaving, he didn't forget to retrieve the arrow that had missed the other pheasant.
He only had about ten arrows in total, and he couldn't bear to lose them. He was counting on this bow and arrows to find meat for his wife and daughter in the future.
On his way back, Chen Yang passed a pile of deadwood stumps and surprisingly found clumps of wild mushrooms. He quickly gathered a large cloth bag full.
These wild mushrooms were a treasure. Washed clean and simmered in soup, they could produce a "meat broth" flavor even without meat. In those days, there were no MSG or oyster sauce for seasoning.
If anyone added a few mushrooms to their soup, it was enough to make a child lick the bottom of the pot clean.
"Pheasant stew with mushrooms. This time, I'll make sure my wife and the little one have a delicious feast."
By the time Chen Yang returned home, Shen Xue was already boiling a pot of wild vegetable porridge in the yard, with plenty of vegetables and little rice.
The little milk bun blinked sleepily, not yet fully awake, but she was staring at the wild vegetable porridge in the pot, reluctant to move.
The sweet potato porridge they had eaten yesterday had been digested long ago.
In those times, adults couldn't eat their fill, and neither could children. As a result, having enough to eat was the greatest goal for most people for the next twenty to thirty years.
"Where did you go? You disappeared early this morning."
"I have to go to work later. Hurry up and eat, and then keep an eye on Yanyan. The sun is strong, don't let her play in the sun."
Shen Xue hadn't noticed the pheasant hanging from the stick Chen Yang was carrying on his back. She quickly started to ladle porridge for Chen Yang.
She had been waiting for Chen Yang to return, and she would serve the thick porridge to Chen Yang first, and then to the child and herself.
"Wife, quickly boil these two eggs. Today, I'm making a special treat for you and Yanyan."
"When you get back from work, we'll have meat – pheasant stewed with mushrooms!"
Chen Yang placed the pheasant hanging on his back by the pot, then, as if holding a treasure, took the ladle from Shen Xue's hand and placed two pheasant eggs into her palm from his pocket.
"You, where did you get these?"
Shen Xue held the pheasant eggs in her hand, her heart trembling. Since they got married,
Although Chen Yang had never disliked her, he had never cared for her either. She knew his heart was never here; his heart was in the city.
He was going to attend university and secure a stable job.
She respected knowledge and loved him!
She hoped Chen Yang could get into university and return to the city; that was her greatest wish.
But she also feared losing him. She heard that the policy for educated youths returning to the city was coming. For someone like Chen Yang, who had married and had a child in the countryside, there was definitely no going back.
She had even made up her mind. As long as Chen Yang was well, she could raise the child alone. She would never be a burden to his future.
But looking at Chen Yang, who was presenting her with two eggs in his hand as if they were treasures, her heart throbbed fiercely.
He knew how to care for her now.
This made Shen Xue feel as though her years of effort had finally found meaning.
"Yanyan, eat some wild vegetable porridge to fill your stomach first. Mama will cook eggs for you later. From now on, Yanyan will eat an egg every day to grow tall."
By the time Shen Xue recovered, Chen Yang was already holding the little milk bun and feeding her porridge.
"Hurry up and drink your porridge. I'm boiling the eggs in the thermos. After you finish your porridge, you eat one, and I'll feed Yanyan a bite."
"You have to go to work soon, don't dawdle. We'll talk about things tonight when I get back."