Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

That evening, Xue Bingbing and Le Yao had just finished showering, their hair still wet and dripping with water, when they said they needed to go back to their room to get something. As Xue Bingbing was leaving, she winked at Le Qi: "Qi Qi, remember to make the bed facing the sun."

The two ran off hand in hand and disappeared in a flash, leaving only Leqi and Liu Xiangyang in the courtyard.

Liu Xiangyang gently pulled Le Qi to his side, letting her sit sideways on his lap. Le Qi's cheeks flushed, and she shifted slightly to find a comfortable position, nestling softly into his arms.

"Qiqi," Liu Xiangyang lowered his head, his warm lips brushing lightly against her earlobe, "did you arrange shifts?"

"Mmm..." Leqi tilted her head, feeling his gentle kisses, her voice soft and sweet, "It was all Bingbing's idea, we each take a day."

Liu Xiangyang's breath became hot, spraying onto her delicate collarbone: "So, you and Yaoyao have one more day than Bingbing?"

"What do you mean?"

He leaned close to her ear and deliberately blew a soft breath: "When it's Le Yao's turn tomorrow, won't you be able to sense it too?" As he spoke, his hand gently stroked her back. "Is there anything else about your telepathic connection?"

Leqi almost melted in his arms, her voice as soft as a dream: "Our connection has always been very strong... When we were little, we played hide-and-seek, and no matter how well we hid, we could always find each other..."

Liu Xiangyang reached out and picked up a piece of purple pottery, gently rubbing it between his fingertips: "So tell me, how does Yao Yao feel right now?"

Leqi buried her face in his chest in embarrassment, her ears turning bright red. She pretended not to hear and tilted her head back to offer her lips.

......

The next day at noon, the open space in front of the office was bustling with activity. All three leaders were present, and the villagers sat around the table, their laughter and conversation filling the air.

Several middle-aged women who had helped with the cooking finished their meal and were busy washing pots and dishes in front of the makeshift earthen stove.

"Inspector Liu, you've finally finished building these two houses!" A villager, his face flushed and his tongue slurring, said, "Luckily, it's only been windy and hasn't rained these past few days. The kang (heated brick bed) will be ready to live in in another day or two."

"Thank you all for your hard work." Liu Xiangyang smiled and raised his bowl. "I'd like to toast you all!"

After the banquet ended, Leqi and the others carried the chopped firewood to the new house to heat the kang (a heated brick bed). After seeing the guests off, Liu Xiangyang stood in the courtyard, pondering: Snow is coming soon; I need to take advantage of the still-accessible mountain roads and hurry to the county town to get some iron to forge a few spearheads. Tomorrow I'll go into the mountains and see if I can hunt some more game.

He greeted Xue Bingbing, then hopped on his bicycle and headed towards the county town.

The same old man was still on duty at the recycling station.

"Grandpa, do you still recognize me?" Liu Xiangyang smiled and offered him a cigarette.

The old man took the cigarette, squinting as he sized him up: "You look somewhat familiar... don't you...?"

"The educated youth who came to you to exchange newspapers last time." Liu Xiangyang could tell from the old man's stammering that he had long forgotten.

"Oh, it's you!" the old man said, pretending to just remember. "What do you want to change this time?"

Liu Xiangyang leaned closer: "I want to get some scrap iron to make something, about ten pounds will do."

"That won't do," the old man waved his hands repeatedly, "The scrap metal from the recycling station all goes to the ironworks; I can't make that decision myself."

Liu Xiangyang grabbed the old man's hand and stuffed a freshly opened pack of Lotus cigarettes into his palm: "Grandpa, please be lenient. Our village is so poor; many families don't even have a decent kitchen knife. I just wanted to make a few and give them to them."

The old man squeezed the cigarette in his hand and quietly slipped it into his pocket: "Public iron is definitely off-limits... but I do have a piece of scrap iron at home that I haven't dealt with yet, it weighs about six or seven pounds, you see..."

"That's wonderful!" Liu Xiangyang exclaimed with delight. "You're happy to return it to me. Just tell me what else you want."

The old man hesitated for a moment: "Let's exchange it for grain, twenty-five jin."

Liu Xiangyang reached into his satchel and took out twenty-six jin of grain coupons from his storage space: "Grandpa, how about I give you the grain coupons and money? It'll be more convenient for you to buy grain yourself. I'll give you an extra jin of grain coupons for money."

"Sure," the old man readily nodded, "It'll save you the trouble of going back and forth."

The old man's house was right next to the recycling station. After the transaction was completed, Liu Xiangyang left satisfied, clutching the heavy piece of iron.

Back then, iron and steel were scarce commodities, and private individuals simply couldn't buy them. If the old man hadn't been short of food, he would never have gotten his hands on that piece of iron. People were truly honest back then.

Back in the courtyard, Liu Xiangyang closed the door and took out the piece of iron to examine it closely. He was overjoyed—it wasn't pig iron at all, but a piece of rough steel! He'd really gotten a great deal from the old man.

Liu Xiangyang first broke the crude steel into tiny particles, then fused them back together. After repeating this process several times, the surface of the steel block gradually developed a cool, gleaming light. It lost about a pound in weight, but its texture became denser and more uniform. He flicked it lightly with his fingernail, and it produced a crisp, ringing sound. Its quality was no less than that of spring steel.

Taking out the nine short oak spear shafts, Liu Xiangyang carefully attached the refined steel blocks to the wooden shafts. Under his mental control, the steel blocks flowed slowly, perfectly fusing with the wooden shafts, gradually shaping into a 15-centimeter-long willow-leaf-shaped spearhead.

The spearhead has a sleek design with blades on both sides. The sharp edges gleam coldly under the light, and a blood groove is specially left in the middle.

The most amazing thing is the joint between the spearhead and the wooden pole, which is perfectly formed without a single seam. Anyone who sees it would think that it was forged from a single piece.

Holding the finished product and examining it closely, I gently ran my fingertips over the sharp blade, and a chill immediately ran down my fingertips.

This spearhead is not only beautifully shaped, but more importantly, its blade is as thin as a cicada's wing, yet exceptionally hard.

Liu Xiangyang, carrying his brand-new short spear, arrived at a grove of trees, a place where few people usually came.

He chose a tree about the size of a bowl, stood ten paces away, took a deep breath, and suddenly threw the short spear.

With a "whoosh," the short spear transformed into a streak of light, precisely embedding itself in the tree trunk. Upon closer inspection, the spearhead was deeply embedded in the wood, with only the shaft trembling slightly outside.

Liu Xiangyang tested the force of the straight thrust again, stabbing hard at another tree trunk. This time, the spearhead still penetrated the trunk about seven or eight centimeters deep.

Liu Xiangyang nodded in satisfaction, casually pulled out the short spear, and saw that the spearhead was still as sharp as ever, without even a trace of dulling.

"Good heavens," he couldn't help but exclaim, "If we encountered a wild boar in the mountains, one spear thrust would probably pierce right through it."

After testing, he carefully put away the six short spears. Tomorrow, when he went hunting in the mountains, how much he caught would depend entirely on these treasures.