Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

"We're almost down the mountain," the old foreman said.

"Take it, and give me half the money from selling it."

Lin Nuo paused for a moment, then squatted down to be at eye level with the old foreman:

"Uncle Zhang, this is your trap. The salt pit is yours, and so is the trap. I'm just a laborer..."

"The salt pit is mine, and the case is mine."

The old foreman didn't turn around: "But you're the one who carried it down the mountain, and you're the one who found a market for it. My hunting rule is half for each person, and everyone who sees it gets a share. I'll take half; that's too much."

He stood up, tucked the knife into the leather sheath at his waist, brushed the dirt off his knees, and turned to walk into the house.

Lin Nuo opened his mouth, as if to say something. The old foreman spoke up in a muffled voice:

"Stop dawdling. Let's get to the county town soon; the roe deer won't be fresh if it's left out too long."

Lin Nuo spoke loudly:

"Uncle Zhang, I'm off!"

The old foreman walked away without responding.

Lin Nuo stood up, retied the sack, and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

When I reached the village entrance, I saw a man squatting under the old locust tree. Liu Jianguo was holding a cigarette, squinting as he puffed out smoke.

He saw Lin Nuo carrying a sack over to him, a cigarette in his mouth, his hand wiping on his trouser leg, before standing up.

"Noko, this is..."

His gaze fell on the sack, and his eyes widened instantly:

"A roe deer?"

"Hmm." Lin Nuo switched the sack to the other shoulder without stopping.

Liu Jianguo leaned closer, reached out and touched the exposed fur, and gasped:

"Wow, that must weigh fifty or sixty pounds, right? Did you hit it?"

"It was the old foreman who beat him up."

"Old foreman... he's really capable."

Liu Jianguo clicked his tongue, his gaze lingering on the roe deer.

"Nuozi, are you going to sell this?"

"Yes, to the county town."

Liu Jianguo hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice: "Nuozi, could I borrow your musket? I'd like to try my luck in the mountains too."

Lin Nuo glanced at him and shook his head:

"Jianguo, muskets are no joke. You haven't practiced, so it's easy to cause trouble. If you really want to go into the mountains, I'll take you another day, teach you to recognize footprints, and set traps."

Liu Jianguo paused for a moment, then grinned and patted Lin Nuo on the shoulder:

"Alright! Nuozi, don't forget."

"I can't forget it."

Lin Nuo carried the roe deer away.

The town bus was already parked at the station. The diesel engine chugled, the bus trembled slightly, and a plume of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, slowly dissipating in the morning light.

Lin Nuo carried the roe deer onto the train. The sack was so big that it rubbed against the door frame as he entered, and he had to squeeze in sideways. The carriage was already more than half full; some were carrying luggage, some were holding children, and a few were dozing with their eyes closed.

He placed the roe deer on the aisle next to the last row of seats and sat down himself. The sack was facing inwards, with only its four legs showing.

The driver saw it in the rearview mirror, turned his head, and glanced at it curiously.

"Comrade, what's this?"

"Roe deer."

The driver's eyes lit up. He pulled the handbrake, turned around, leaned over to take a closer look, and clicked his tongue twice.

"A roe deer? Those are rare! Did you hunt it?"

Lin Nuo nodded.

An older man who had been dozing by the window suddenly opened his eyes and leaned closer when he heard this. He reached out and touched the burlap sack, pressing his fingers on the roe deer's leg:

"Wow, that must weigh fifty or sixty pounds! Bro, which village are you from?"

"From Liujiagou."

"Liujia Gou?"

The middle-aged man smacked his lips:

"Was it you who did that incident on the bus the other day? The one who fought the thugs with a flintlock pistol?"

A moment of silence fell over the carriage. Several heads turned simultaneously, their gazes all fixed on Lin Nuo. Someone muttered softly, "I heard my cousin mention it..."

"Absolutely! My neighbor was in that car. He told me when he got back that the young man didn't even blink, pointing a gun at the thug's forehead. He was incredibly tough!"

"Oh my goodness, that's serious. That thug has a gun; it's no joke."

"They're not afraid, so what?"

Lin Nuo felt a little uncomfortable under their gazes, tightened the sack, looked up, and smiled at the uncle: "Uncle, it's not that mysterious, I just got lucky."

This can be considered an admission.

The middle-aged man chuckled, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and handed it to me. It was a "Da Qianmen" brand. He twirled it in his hand a couple of times.

"Hey bro, are you selling your roe deer? I know someone at a restaurant in town, can I ask them for a price?"

Lin Nuo waved his hand, refusing the cigarette, a smile playing on his lips:

"Thanks, Uncle. It's already taken."

The middle-aged man put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it with a match, took a drag, and exhaled a puff of white smoke.

"It's sold? How much?"

Lin Nuo didn't reply, but just smiled and turned her face towards the window.

The older man wisely refrained from asking further questions, but the chatter in the carriage continued unabated.

By the time they arrived in the county town, the sun was already high in the sky. Lin Nuo got off the car carrying the roe deer and walked along the main street towards Jianming Restaurant.

Lin Nuo pushed open the glass door, and the aroma of food wafted out. Zhao Jianming was standing in front of the counter when he saw Lin Nuo carrying a sack in, and his eyes lit up immediately.

"Brother Lin! You're here?"

He pushed the abacus away:

"This is... a roe deer?"

"Brother Zhao, please take a look at the goods."

Lin Nuo put the sack on the ground, squatted down, and untied the rope. Zhao Jianming also squatted down, opened the sack, peeked inside, and gasped.

"Holy crap, it weighs over sixty pounds! Look at its coat, its build, it's a real gem!"

He stood up, rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming. He shouted towards the kitchen:

"Old Li! Come out and check the goods!"

A chubby cook ran out of the kitchen, his apron splattered with oil and his hands smelling of scallions. He squatted down, pulled the roe deer out of the sack, and examined it.

"Brother Zhao, this is good stuff. This roe deer just died recently, the meat is fresh."

He flipped the roe deer over and pointed to its hind legs:

"The hind leg meat is tender and suitable for stir-frying; the foreleg meat is chewy and suitable for stewing; the back meat is the most expensive and can be sliced ​​for hot pot."

He stood up and looked at Lin Nuo:

"Brother, name your price."

Lin Nuo didn't rush to speak. He squatted down, turned the roe deer over, revealing the wound on its neck from the clip, and calmly said:

"The old foreman beat him; one clamp and he was dead. He didn't suffer any pain, and there was no bruising. You should give me a fair price."

Zhao Jianming stretched out one hand, fingers spread:

"Fifty?"

Lin Nuo shook his head. This guy is really cunning; he's driving the price down too hard.

This is the market.

Zhao Jianming added another finger: "Sixty?"

Lin Nuo shook his head again. He stood up, brushed the dirt off his knees, and smiled slightly.

"Brother Zhao, pork is one yuan a pound at the county market, and lean pork is one yuan twenty cents. You know better than I how much more expensive roe deer meat is than pork."

Zhao Jianming gritted his teeth and gestured with both hands:

"Eighty. Brother, that's the highest price I can offer."

Lin Nuo calmly walked to the counter, picked up the teapot, poured himself a bowl of water, took a sip, and put it down. He turned to look at Zhao Jianming, his tone resolute:

"One hundred. Brother Zhao, let me do the math."

He held up his finger:

"You can cut a few plates of roe deer meat as a specialty dish, charging three or five yuan per plate. That's not expensive, is it? If you sell ten plates a day, that's thirty or fifty yuan. One roe deer is enough for you to sell for several days. You won't lose money in this business."

Zhao Jianming paused for a moment, then laughed:

"Brother, you're better at math than I am! Fine, one hundred it is! I'll just lose a little. Old Li, get the scales!"

His last sentence was clearly an attempt to save face. Lin Nuo smiled and didn't call him out. Loss? How could he possibly lose money? Roe deer meat is in high demand in the county town; it sells for at least two yuan and fifty cents a pound. How could he possibly lose money?

If it weren't for the consideration of not putting all his eggs in one basket, he would have gone to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The roe deer weighed 63 jin. Zhao Jianming counted out ten bills from the drawer.

Lin Nuo took the money, counted it in front of Zhao Jianming, and then held the banknotes up to the light to check that they weren't counterfeit. He folded the money and put it in his pocket.

Zhao Jianming pulled two bottles of liquor from under the counter, put them in a net bag, and stuffed them into Lin Nuo's hand:

"Brother Lin, take this wine back with you and let the old foreman try it. Tell him that I, Zhao Jianming, am thanking him for saving my life last time."

Lin Nuo pushes it:

"Brother Zhao, you're too kind."

"Take it, take it!"

Zhao Jianming pressed his hand down, his voice sincere:

"The old foreman is a real expert; he's the kind of person I admire most in my life. Next time you hunt something good, send it to me! Pheasants, rabbits, turtles—take whatever you can get!"

"Alright. Brother Zhao, it's settled then."

Lin Nuo, carrying the wine, pushed open the glass door and walked out. The sunlight shone warmly on his face. He touched the hundred yuan in his pocket.

By the time we reached the village entrance, the sun was already setting. Under the old locust tree, several women were chatting and eating sunflower seeds, leaving shells scattered all over the ground, while a few chickens pecked at them nearby.

Aunt Wang, with her sharp eyes, was the first to spot Lin Nuo:

"Hey! Nuozi's back? Did you strike it rich? Buy two bottles of good wine!"

Lin Nuo smiled:

"Auntie, this is for Uncle Zhang."

Aunt Liu leaned closer, lowered her voice, and stared at the two bottles of wine:

"Nuozi, I heard you went to the county town to sell roe deer today? How much did you make?"

Lin Nuo did not answer directly, only saying:

"Not bad, enough to buy two bottles of wine."

Aunt Liu wanted to ask more questions, but the aunt next to her tugged at her sleeve and gave her a wink. Aunt Liu awkwardly shut her mouth, but her gaze still lingered on Lin Nuo a few times.

Lin Nuo quickened her pace without turning around. Behind her, she heard several women whispering amongst themselves:

"Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable."

……

Pushing open the courtyard gate, Lin Nuo turned to the entrance of the chicken coop and squatted down.

The fifty-four chickens have already settled into their new home, running around on the hay-covered ground. A few of the bolder ones have even dared to crowd around the feeding trough to grab food.

Zhao Xiuying poked her head out of the kitchen, a spatula in her hand, her apron smeared with flour. She saw Lin Nuo squatting at the chicken coop entrance and called out:

"You're back? I heard you went to sell roe deer?"

"Sold out." Lin Nuo stood up, patted the dirt off his knees, and went into the kitchen.

Steam rose from the kitchen; the cabbage and vermicelli stew in the iron pot bubbled and steamed, white vapor rising from the edge of the lid. Zhao Xiuying glanced at Lin Nuo, her hands still busy, stirring the pot a couple of times with the spatula.

"How much did you sell it for?"

Lin Nuo handed over a ten-yuan note with a grin: "Mom, this is for you."

Zhao Xiuying stared at the ten-yuan note, her spatula hovering in mid-air, momentarily stunned. She took the money, a smirk playing on her lips, but her words were sharp:

"You little brat, you know how to show off after making a little money."

Lin Nuo chuckled:

"Mother, please don't let me take it back."

"Get lost." Zhao Xiuying stuffed the money into her apron pocket.

Lin Nuo then took the two bottles of wine out of the basket and placed them on the stove:

"This is for Uncle Zhang. I'll take it to him tomorrow."

Zhao Xiuying glanced at the wine bottle, nodded, and her tone became serious:

"The old foreman has been kind to our family, so you should visit him more often; it's the right thing to do."

The kerosene lamp sat on the table, its flame flickering, casting two swaying shadows on the wall.

Su Wanqing sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), several sheets of paper spread out in front of her, a pen in her hand, but she wasn't writing. She looked up and saw Lin Nuo take out a wad of money from his pocket.

"How much?" she asked.

"I sold the roe deer for 100 yuan, gave my mother 10 yuan, and I have 90 yuan left."

Lin Nuo neatly stacked the money and handed it over:

"Teacher Su, take a look..."

Su Wanqing took the money: "You're getting richer and richer these days."

"Of course,"

Lin Nuo sat down next to her and put his arm around her waist:

"Don't you even know whose man you are?"

Su Wanqing rolled her eyes at him:

"Lin Nuo, my article... is finished."

"Oh?"

Lin Nuo's eyes lit up, and he loosened his grip on her waist:

"show me."

Su Wanqing pulled a stack of manuscript paper from under her pillow and handed it over.

The handwriting on the manuscript paper was much neater than last time, each stroke precise and upright.

It's still just everyday prose.

A bit of an artsy type.

After reading it, Lin Nuo said, "Teacher Su, this one is better than the last one."

"real?"

Su Wanqing's eyes lit up.

"Really. I was a bit reserved in the last post, but I'm more relaxed this one. Just write what you see, don't overthink it. What you see is what others can't see."

Su Wanqing nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. After a moment of silence:

"Lin Nuo, do you think... I can still be a writer in this lifetime?"

Lin Nuo pulled her closer, resting his chin on the top of her head, and spoke softly:

"Yes. There's nothing that Teacher Su can't do if she sets her mind to it."

"You're good at saying nice things." Her voice was soft and slightly nasal.

"I'm telling the truth."

Lin Nuo lowered his head and touched her forehead, his tone serious:

"I'll mail the manuscript out for you tomorrow. If the county newspaper won't accept it, we'll submit it to the regional newspaper; if the regional newspaper won't accept it, we'll submit it to the provincial newspaper. It'll get published eventually."

Su Wanqing didn't say anything, but Lin Nuo knew that she had taken it to heart.

Lin Nuo tightened her grip on her hand slightly and said:

"Now that we're hunting, Zhao Jianming has a ready-made market, so there's no worry about selling. The prices are even higher than at the supply and marketing cooperative, so the highest bidder wins."

Su Wanqing looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips:

"You're talking like a businessman now."

"Of course,"

Lin Nuo grinned mischievously:

"Don't you even know whose man you are?"

Su Wanqing spat lightly and turned her face away.

Lin Nuo liked Su Wanqing's personality; she would reveal her true nature when teased, unlike her previous cold demeanor. She was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

Lin Nuo hugged her: "Teacher Su, you can definitely become a writer."

Su Wanqing hummed in agreement.