The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

The next morning, Bao Ya and Jiang Yuan went into the mountains again after breakfast. She was a little disappointed that they hadn't found anything good. This time, they planned to go further afield.

Jiang Yuan, carrying a hunting rifle, led her along another path. This path was difficult to traverse, and it seemed that few people usually came here.

She didn't encounter any living creatures along the way, but she found quite a few herbs. Elsewhere, only a few could be seen scattered under the withered yellow leaves, but here they grew in large patches.

Once dried, these can be sold to hospitals and recycling centers; that's all money! She couldn't resist, so she picked up her little shovel and started digging them up one by one.

In no time, the two sacks they brought were stuffed full. Seeing his wife digging happily, Jiang Yuan didn't stop her and dug with her.

"Oh dear, we won't have anywhere to put the prey after we hunt it."

Bao Ya looked at the two burlap sacks that were already overflowing and the half-filled basket and said to Jiang Yuan.

"It's okay, just find somewhere to put it, I'll come back for it later."

With that, Jiang Yuan put the two burlap sacks in the grass and pulled Bao Ya along as they continued walking.

Along the way, Bao Ya couldn't resist digging up medicinal herbs whenever she saw them. She felt bad for leaving small coins lying on the ground. In no time, her basket was full.

"You wait here."

Jiang Yuan noticed some movement on the other side, told Bao Ya to wait under a big tree, and went over with his hunting rifle.

Bao Ya didn't object. Standing under the big tree, she looked left and right. Just as she turned her head, she met a pair of large, wet eyes, looking at her curiously. Their eyes locked, and they both saw the same question in each other's eyes: "Who are you?"

"what!"

Bao Ya cried out in surprise and immediately picked up a large rock from the ground, intending to throw it at the ground.

The guy was startled and turned to run. Before he knew it, "bang!" he crashed into a tree.

Bao Ya reacted quickly and threw the stone in her hand, hitting it on the head.

Having just bumped into a tree and then been hit again, the guy was dazed and fell to the ground. But he was still conscious and struggled to get up.

"Third Brother, quick, there's a big one!"

As she spoke, Bao Ya picked up another stone, intending to repair it again.

Then a gunshot rang out, and the silly roe deer rolled its eyes and went silent.

Bao Ya, holding the stone, stared blankly at the roe deer, then turned to see Liu San holding a gun.

Liu San glanced at the silly roe deer, then at the stone in Bao Ya's hand. He shook his head, pursing his lips. This was too cruel; it didn't resemble a proper young lady at all.

Jiang Yuan and Liu Erge rushed over and looked at the prey on the ground.

"That's a big one, and your aim is pretty good!"

When the Liu brothers arrived, they saw the roe deer lying on the ground and, remembering it, shot it again. Seeing Bao Ya holding a stone, they assumed she had hit it first.

"It crashed into a tree by itself. I added that."

Bao Ya was also a little surprised. To encounter a roe deer on her first hunting trip, she was lucky enough to win the lottery.

Jiang Yuan looked at the roe deer on the ground and said to Liu San:

"Little Sanzi, you carry it. After you've cleaned up, we'll split it in half."

When Liu San heard that he was to be made to shoulder the burden, he was about to ask why. But then he heard Jiang Yuan say that it would be split 50/50, so he quickly shut his mouth.

"Make sure the leather is in good condition; I need it to make cotton boots."

Bao Ya said bluntly, and Liu San rolled his eyes at her, nodded, and took it as an agreement.

Having made a harvest, the four of them stopped wandering around the mountain and headed back together.

On the way back, Jiang Yuan took out the two burlap sacks again, and Liu Erge helped him carry them back.

They were almost home when Liu Erge told Liu San to go back and prepare the game, while he helped Jiang Yuan carry the sack back.

At this moment, Liao Chunhua and Jiang Laoshan were wearing new cotton shoes and chatting with several uncles and aunts. Old Liu from yesterday was also in the crowd.

"Oh, you're back so soon. Baoya, come and say hello to your aunties and grandmas."

When Liao Chunhua saw her daughter-in-law return, she quickly greeted her. Finally, she had a day to show off her daughter-in-law, who was also the most beautiful daughter-in-law in the surrounding area.

"This is your Aunt Liu, this is Aunt Wang, and this is your Aunt Zhang..."

Bao Ya greeted several elders. She accepted all the compliments from her aunts.

"Bao Ya, you've set your sights on our back mountain as soon as you arrive. I see you've got a lot of good stuff, but you won't even let us see it."

Aunt Liu glanced at her sideways, her face long and drawn. Her tone was unfriendly, as if she were deliberately picking a fight.

"Mother, let's go home. The mistress has already gone back."

Liu Erge knew his mother was trying to cause trouble, so he quickly spoke up to stop her.

Oh, this is Liu San's mother. No wonder, she's here to avenge her son.

Aunt Liu glared at her second son with exasperation. This useless son—who was she doing all this for? None of them could find wives, yet they still had the nerve to chatter in front of her.

She still remembered the time her youngest son had his head cracked open. She wanted to go to that child's house, but her son absolutely refused to let her.

Later, when they found out it was Lin Baoya who did it, they thought their son had a crush on her and someone had beaten him up. They figured they could just wait until their son was older and ask her to propose.

As a result, Lin Baoya married Jiang Yuan without any explanation. What about her son? All that blood was shed for nothing.

Brother Liu didn't know what his mother was thinking, yet she kept trying to persuade him earnestly. No matter how he tried, it was no use.

Liao Chunhua was also unhappy. What was wrong with this old woman from the Liu family? Whoever has the ability can take what's in the back mountain. Why is she so fixated on it?

"Hey Liu family, what are you trying to do? You think my daughter-in-law is young and delicate, so you're deliberately bullying her, aren't you?"

How could Liao Chunhua bully her daughter-in-law right in front of her? Doesn't she have any dignity?

"What's wrong with me just checking what's in her basket? Is there anything shameful about it?"

Aunt Liu's temper flared up, and she insisted on seeing what was in their sack.

"Hey, Aunt Liu, what are you saying? What could possibly be in the back hill? It was your second son who helped carry it back."

An older woman nearby also chimed in, saying that the Liu family was making trouble for no reason and picking on a newlywed woman.

"Yeah, yeah, never mind, let's all go home."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, advising that since they were all neighbors, they shouldn't make things awkward for everyone.

"Auntie, you look at mine, and I'll look at yours too. How about we share what we see?"

Seeing that she was being unreasonable, Bao Ya knew that Aunt Liu was holding a grudge against her because of Liu San's matter. It was not right for her to stay like this. She should let her suffer a little so that she would learn her lesson.

As soon as she spoke, everyone fell silent. Why only half? These two large sacks of stuff were quite a lot.

"Sure, you've shown me, and I'll show you mine too. After you've seen them, we'll split them in half."

As she spoke, Aunt Liu pulled Liu Erge over, indicating that she was determined to see what was in the sack.

"Okay, this is close to my house, let's go to my house to take a look, it's not easy to clean up outside."

"walk."

Aunt Liu held her head high, looking confident and determined, and followed Bao Ya to her house.