Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

After descending the mountain, Chang Kun rode his bicycle back home.

As he passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, he glanced inside and saw Director Song laughing and talking behind the counter.

There were only two tables occupied at the state-run restaurant. Director Zhu was eating sunflower seeds and playing chess with the old man across from him.

No matter how scarce the supplies were or how stressful their lives were, it did not affect them.

Chang Kun didn't stop.

Director Song and Director Zhu only mentioned wanting meat yesterday, and it's already being delivered today—that's incredibly fast.

Although there's plenty of space, these days who can just ask for meat today and get it tomorrow? It's too conspicuous.

Let's leave it for a couple of days; the meat won't spoil in the space anyway.

The same goes for Zhang Qingfeng's side; let's talk about it in a day or two, and let the people in the unit get their mouths watering.

When I got home, the gate was half open, and I could hear voices coming from inside.

Pushing open the door, I looked up and saw my second aunt, Liu Meiling, sitting next to the stone table, holding a broom handle in her hand, her expression a mixture of anger and helplessness.

Xiuer and Zixia stood in front of her, their heads drooping, their braids askew, their faces covered in black and gray streaks, like little kittens.

His clothes were covered in black marks—collar, cuffs, knees—even his fingernails were black. He looked like he had just crawled out of a stove.

Chang Kun propped up his bicycle, glanced at the two little girls, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Second Aunt, what's wrong with these two?"

Liu Meiling slammed the broom handle onto the stone table, glared at the two young girls, and said angrily, "Ask them yourself what they've been up to!"

Chang Kun squatted down and looked at Xiu'er.

Xiuer pouted, chin raised, with an expression that said "I did nothing wrong," but her eyes darted around, and she didn't dare to look at him.

"What did you do to get this mess?"

Xiuer tucked her hands behind her back, shuffled her toes on the ground, and whispered in a voice barely audible, "We're just playing hide-and-seek."

"Where did you hide? Look what happened."

Xiuer lowered her head, her voice even softer, "I hid in the pile of ashes that they pulled out."

Chang Kun was speechless.

My mother always saved the pile of ashes left over from burning the wood in the stove, saying she wanted to use them to grow vegetables in the yard. She put them in a large winnowing basket, placed it in the corner of the wall, and covered it with a plastic sheet.

Xiuer, on the other hand, lifted the plastic sheet and crawled inside. The dust was so light and fine that it flew away at the slightest touch, and she ended up covered in it from head to toe.

He turned to look at Zixia and asked her what had happened.

Zixia pouted and said matter-of-factly, "She hid in the dust, all black, like a little devil. I laughed at her for being dirty, and she threw dust at me! Of course I wouldn't stand for that, so I threw dust at her too!"

Her tone made it seem as if Xiuer had started the fight and that she was simply acting in self-defense.

Chang Kun looked at the ash marks on Xiu'er's face, then at the ash marks on Zixia's face, and understood.

These two weren't just playing hide-and-seek in the ashes; they actually fought in the ashes and got covered in them.

Liu Meiling tapped the foreheads of the two little girls, poking each of them once.

"You're all going to get your butts bruised and battered! None of you will escape today!"

Xiuer pouted, and Zixia hung her head, neither of them saying a word, neither admitting their mistake.

Looking at them like this, Chang Kun recalled doing similar foolish things when he was a child, and felt a sense of "they really are my own children."

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, but he quickly stopped himself. If he smiled now, his second aunt would probably scold him as well.

Looking at his second aunt's sullen face, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Second Aunt, didn't you go to see what Sister Hongxia was up to? Did you come back after you finished?"

Liu Meiling's face instantly turned even worse, like a balloon that had been blown up with air and was about to burst.

"Don't mention that brat! She's learned her tricks from her father. We were almost at the destination when she spotted me, turned around and glared at me."

"She even questioned me about why I was following her, and I couldn't admit it at the time... Later, she practically forced me to come back!"

Liu Meiling grew angrier as she spoke, and she poked the stone table twice with her finger, making a thumping sound.

Chang Kun remained silent.

My second aunt has been with her husband for so many years, but she hasn't learned any skills. She can even find out that her daughter is following her, and she was chased back halfway.

If my second aunt's husband were here, he probably would have followed her to her destination without her even knowing.

Before Liu Meiling could calm down, she spoke again, this time with a hint of smugness in her voice.

"But I didn't follow her for nothing. I saw her go into a place, the Qianmen Railway Station Police Station."

She looked at Chang Kun with a hint of expectation in her eyes, "Xiao Kun, aren't you guys from the same system at this train station? Do you know anyone there? Help me find out what she's doing there. That brat, I hope she's gotten into trouble again."

She didn't want her old man to know about following his daughter, especially since he'd been caught; it was too embarrassing.

Chang Kun was taken aback.

He knew the Qianmen Railway Station Police Station very well; he had personally arrested many of the people inside.

The people there colluded with a theft gang. A while ago, I cooperated with Director Huang to catch them all in one fell swoop. Those who should be sentenced were sentenced, and those who should be sent to labor camps were sent.

The entire police station has now been replaced by a new batch of officers.

His second aunt asked him to find out what Hongxia was doing there, but he wasn't thinking about causing trouble.

Hongxia is a tomboy; she gets into fights but never complains. Her father raised her like a son, teaching her martial arts and kung fu.

What can someone like that do at the police station?

Report it to the police? Losing a fight and then filing a complaint? That's not like her.

Looking for someone? Who does she know at the police station?

A thought suddenly flashed through Chang Kun's mind: Could it be that Sister Hongxia has taken a fancy to some young man?

When the thought came to mind, he was stunned for a moment, then realized that it wasn't impossible.

"Okay, Auntie, I'll go find out what's going on."

Liu Meiling repeatedly said, "Okay, okay, you can help me hurry up."

Chang Kun didn't say anything more, and glanced at Xiu'er and Zixia.

The two little girls were still standing by the stone table with their heads down, their faces still covered in dust, looking like two wild cats who had just finished fighting. They didn't look at each other, pouting and not saying a word.

Suddenly, Chang Kun recalled the method his teacher used in his previous life to deal with two students fighting.

He clapped his hands and slowly began, "I'm going to the mountains in a couple of days to catch greyhounds and pheasants. I wonder who I should take with me?"

The two little girls' ears perked up at the same time.

Xiuer suddenly raised her head, her face still covered in dust, her eyes shining like two stars: "Take me with you! Take me with you, big brother! I can catch pheasants!"

Not to be outdone, Zixia tiptoed forward, her voice no quieter than Xiuer's, "Take me with you! My father taught me so many skills, I'm better at catching things than her!"

"Take me with you! But not Zixia!" Xiuer shouted.

"Take me with you! No way, I don't want to take Xiu'er, she's the naughtiest one!"