70: Raising a wife, the whole village is inhaling the aroma of stewed meat.

"You want to carry water? Okay, let's go together, it'll be quick."

"OK."

Zhou Qingwen and his second brother, Zhou Qingshan, went to the well not far away to fetch water. Zhou Qingwen took the small bucket and threw it into the well with a "plop!"

With a thud, the bucket was filled with water and lifted up; it took only three or four lifts to bring up a bucket.

Other villagers had to lift it many times, at least ten times, before it was finally lifted up.

Zhou Qingwen's hands were very strong; he filled both of his second brother's wooden buckets with water in no time.

The second brother immediately grabbed the carrying pole, hoisted the water buckets onto his shoulder, and said, "I'll go back first; you rest here for a bit."

"OK."

Zhou Qingwen threw the small bucket into the well again and poured water into it for the aunt next to him.

The auntie said happily, "Thank you so much, Qingwen, you're really great!"

Zhou Qingwen smiled and said, "We're all from the same village, so we'll help each other out if we can."

Zhou Qingwen glanced around and saw a woman hurrying over carrying buckets: "Zhou Laosan, could you help me carry some water too?"

"I won't help!"

Zhou Qingwen said in a slightly cold voice.

The woman tensed slightly and said, "So stingy."

Zhou Qingwen subtly moved away, keeping a safe distance from the woman.

This woman is the one who scared the dead snake so much that she cried at night.

She quickly carried a bucket of water and left.

Clearly, she was there to seduce Zhou Qingwen.

Is it just that Zhou Qingwen ignores her?

She didn't linger and quickly left.

Zhou Qingwen glanced at her retreating figure, 'Shameless!'

Zhou Qingwen was planning to marry Yu Yalan and settle down.

If she gets clingy, he'll probably never be able to get married.

After waiting for his second brother, Zhou Qingwen fetched some water and then headed back. He also filled his small bucket with water and carried it with him.

At this moment, the second brother said, "Who did you just have a disagreement with? You don't look too happy."

"Second brother, I was just thinking that building a house would cost a lot of money, so I thought about going hunting."

Second brother Zhou Qingshan said, "There's no rush to hunt. You should take care of your scrapes first. There's no rush."

Zhou Qingwen then said, "Second Brother, that old man Zhao who just left said he's buying five more pairs of wolf kidneys, and each pair can sell for 20 yuan!"

Zhou Qingshan took a deep breath: "That can make a lot of money, five pairs would be a hundred yuan, right?"

"Yes, Second Brother is quite quick at calculating."

"hey-hey!"

Zhou Qingwen looked at it and said, "Second Brother, make sure you finish your work points for me, then I'll go hunting in the mountains first thing tomorrow morning. You absolutely must get this wolf kidney!"

Zhou Qingshan said nervously, "Third brother, be careful! Wolves are not to be trifled with!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

This wasn't Zhou Qingwen's first time fighting wolves, given his previous experience.

With his past life experience, hunting wolves is all about being careful, having luck, and having a dart in hand that hits its mark every time!

I ask the wolf, are you afraid?

After Zhou Qingwen threw the dart, he was so skilled that he wouldn't even panic when facing a tiger!

The next day, before dawn, Zhou Qingwen got up early.

While making breakfast in the kitchen, Liu Yue'e said with slight concern, "Third brother, are you really going to hunt wolves? Can't we hunt something else? Wolves are too scary, and I'm a little worried about you going alone."

Liu Yue'e put the cakes she made into a white cloth bag; there were nearly ten in total.

Because Zhou Qingwen said that this hunting trip might take several days in the mountains.

Therefore, you should bring plenty of staple foods.

Liu Yue'e got up early to knead dough and make pancakes. Her sister-in-law, who was tending the stove, said, "Yes, Third Brother, you'd better be very careful!"

"Yes, Mom, sister-in-law, don't worry. I'll be out in the mountains. Even if no one's collecting wolf kidneys, I'll still hunt wolves. Too many wolves will be a disaster for other animals. After all, wolves are carnivores, and they hunt a lot of animals every day!"

Liu Yue'e nodded and said, "Okay, you decide for yourself, but don't overdo it!"

"Okay, I'm off."

"Okay, sure."

"Go back to bed and relax for a while; it's still early."

"Okay, we'll go in a bit."

Liu Yue'e came out of the gate and saw Zhou Qingwen disappear into the dark night road.

"It's so dark, can you even see?"

"I can see it, I'm used to it."

Zhou Qingwen's voice echoed back from not far away, followed by the sound of footsteps fading into the distance.

"Mom, shall we go back to the shed and sleep a little longer?"

"Okay, go ahead, go back and get some sleep."

Liu Yue'e also took off her apron and went to sleep in her own shed.

The eldest sister-in-law also turned and went back.

Zhou Qingwen went up the mountain, and by the time the sun rose, he had already crossed three mountains.

Zhou Qingwen took a sip of water, broke off a small piece of staple food, and slowly chewed the pancake.

Looking around, Zhou Qingwen saw that he had encountered many small animals along the way, but he didn't hit any of them.

His goal was clear: to find the wolf!

Why not make money off wolf kidneys?

Zhou Qingwen crossed two more mountains in succession, but didn't see a single wolf!

This is what hunters often say: the more you want something, the less likely the animals in the mountains will come out, as if they've received advance notice.

Left with no other choice, Zhou Qingwen casually shot down two wild goats.

By the time they carried the wild goat, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Zhou Qingwen glanced at the clock; it was around 1 p.m. If he went back to the village now, he estimated he wouldn't get home until after 7 p.m.

Zhou Qingwen didn't go too deep into the mountains; after all, hunting was just a way to make a good living.

There's no need to go to such great depths just for wolf kidneys.

Besides, wild goats fetch a very good price.

It's just as good as wolf kidneys!

On his way back, Zhou Qingwen encountered two more rabbits. He threw a dart at them, and the rabbits were hit on the first throw!

Both rabbits were quite plump.

It's quite heavy when you carry it in your hand!

One rabbit weighs over six pounds, so two rabbits weigh about twelve pounds.

Zhou Qingwen arrived home before dinner that evening.

When his family saw his prey, they exclaimed in surprise, "Third brother, you actually hunted a wild goat?"

The older brother excitedly went forward to take a look.

"Yes, that's right."

The second brother immediately grabbed a knife: "I'll skin the sheep!"

Be careful!

Zhou Qingwen was in a good mood today. He handed the rabbit to his older brother and said, "Brother, after we skin this rabbit, we can make a pair of boots for Jinfeng, or a rabbit hat or scarf or something."

The sister-in-law said excitedly, "That's wonderful!"

At this moment, Liu Yue'e said, "Eldest sister, quickly stir-fry some meat. Third brother wants to have a drink later."

The older sister-in-law immediately said, "Okay, I'll go stir-fry the meat."

The eldest sister-in-law also laughed and said, "Luckily, the third brother is back. He hasn't had any meat these past few days, and Jinfeng has been craving it."

Zhou Qingwen asked in surprise, "Why don't you eat meat?"

Liu Yue'e laughed and scolded, "Look at what you're saying! With the third son not at home, even meat doesn't taste as good."

The eldest sister-in-law laughed and said, "Mom's heart is the best; she wants to see the third son every day. This way, the meat tastes so good!"

Zhou Jinfeng then said, "I won't eat meat until I see my third uncle, because he hunted the wild goat, and he has to eat the meat first!"