Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"DouDou, let's go home with Daddy."

Li Yunshan called out to Dou Dou, who was playing by himself on the earthen pit inside the house.

Upon hearing Li Yunshan's voice, Dou Dou immediately climbed down from the ditch, put on her shoes, grabbed a rattle drum, and ran to Li Yunshan's side, raising her little hands high for a hug: "Daddy, hug me, I want to be hugged, I want to be lifted up high."

Li Yunshan grabbed her under the armpits and lifted her high up.

"Mother, I'm going back now."

After telling Huang Zhifang, Li Yunshan took Dou Dou home.

"Father, why did you and Mother take so long to come back and pick me up?"

On the way home, Dou Dou rode on Li Yunshan's shoulders and asked in a childish voice.

"Daddy is taking Mommy to the commune clinic for a checkup, DouDou. Daddy has something to tell you. Mommy is pregnant. You'll have a little brother or sister, and you'll be the big sister."

Li Yunshan held Dou Dou still with one hand and then spoke to her.

"Daddy, when will I become a big sister?" Dou Dou tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"Next summer, you'll be the older sister."

Li Yunshan thought for a moment. It was the end of November, and Dr. Wang said that Lin Xiulan's due date was in July or August of next year, so he said...

"Oh, I'll be a big sister next summer! I'll be a big sister next summer!" DouDou shouted excitedly.

After Dou Dou finished shouting, Li Yunshan instructed her, "Dou Dou, Mommy is pregnant with a baby. You can't be too naughty from now on, because Mommy needs to rest more so that the baby in my belly can grow up healthily."

"Father, I understand."

DouDou nodded seriously.

After the father and daughter returned home, Li Yunshan put Dou Dou down and went into the kitchen to cook dinner.

"Mom, Dad said I'll be a big sister next summer, is that true?"

Inside the house, Dou Dou nestled in Lin Xiulan's arms and asked in her childish voice.

"Yes." Lin Xiulan affectionately patted her little head, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Dou Dou, do you want a little brother or a little sister?"

Dou Dou was taken aback by the question. She bit her finger and thought for a moment before answering seriously, "Mom, I want a little brother."

Hearing Dou Dou's answer, a genuine smile appeared on Lin Xiulan's face: "Okay, then Mother will give you a little brother!"

Meanwhile, Li Yunshan went into the kitchen and started cooking.

First, I fried a few eggs in oil and set them aside. Then, I fried two crucian carp, mashed them, added boiling water, scooped out the minced meat, and then put the fried eggs back in to cook.

Soon, a pot of fresh and delicious crucian carp and egg soup was ready.

Next, I made a stew of old hen and mushrooms, a dish of pork stew with cabbage, and a few steamed buns. A simple dinner was ready.

After preparing dinner, Li Yunshan took off his apron, put all the dishes on the table one by one, and then called Lin Xiulan and Dou Dou to eat.

After Lin Xiulan sat down, he served her a bowl of crucian carp and egg soup and also gave her a chicken leg.

"Leave the chicken drumsticks for DouDou, I'll just eat the chicken meat."

Lin Xiulan put the chicken leg into Dou Dou's bowl.

Looking at the sumptuous meal on the table, she still felt as if she had been transported to another world.

Not long ago, we rarely saw any meat in our home all year round, but now we have plenty of fish and meat.

Most importantly, Li Yunshan's attitude towards her underwent a complete change.

Being good to her is also being good to DouDou.

Knowing she was pregnant, he still spent so much money buying her food and drinks to help her recover.

"I set aside both chicken drumsticks, one for DouDou and one for you."

Li Yunshan took the chicken leg out of the pot and put it in Lin Xiulan's bowl.

……

After Lin Xiulan's pregnancy was confirmed, the weather grew colder and colder. A heavy snow fell in the middle of the night, and by the next day, the outside was covered in a blanket of white snow, with snow a foot deep.

Li Yunshan kept his word and donated 3,000 yuan of the money from selling the bear to the village primary school as funds for rebuilding the school building and purchasing desks and chairs.

Under Li Yunshan's leadership, the villagers of Guapigou Village also donated money and goods. Together with Li Yunshan's donation, they raised a total of more than 4,500 yuan to fund the renovation of the village primary school and the purchase of desks and chairs.

The two families harmed by the bear each received a compensation of 500 yuan from Li Yunshan.

Li Yunshan's reputation underwent a dramatic transformation through his actions of donating money to the village primary school and distributing compensation to two families affected by bears.

Before he had mastered his studies, in the eyes of the villagers, he was a good-for-nothing loafer who idled away his days.

After he mastered his skills, his reputation improved significantly through hunting tigers and bears.

After he donated money to the village primary school and provided compensation to two victim families, the villagers praised him endlessly.

After all, anyone with a bit of knowledge knows the principle that knowledge can change one's destiny.

Putting aside other things, just take the year when the college entrance examination was reinstated in 78 as an example: someone from Guapigou Village was admitted to university.

The villagers still remember that the villager who got into university was highly sought after by the village officials and the leaders of Xiangyang Commune.

It is said that as long as you are admitted to university, not only will your tuition be waived, but the government will also provide you with a monthly living allowance. After graduation, you will be directly assigned a job by the government, securing a stable and secure job.

The village primary school building had long been in disrepair, leaking during the rainy season and being windy in the winter. How could the children study peacefully in such an environment?

Now things are much better. Someone took the lead in donating money to the village primary school to rebuild the school buildings and add desks and chairs, which everyone is happy to see.

So what if Li Yunshan was idle and didn't do any proper work before? He killed the bear that was harming the villagers. Even if he pocketed all the money from selling the bear, no one dared to say anything.

Yet he was able to donate most of the money to rebuild the village primary school, add desks and chairs, and provide compensation to the two families harmed by the bears. Even though he was idle and irresponsible in the past, his merits outweighed his flaws, and everyone had to praise him.

Some even suggested that Li Yunshan should be elected as the new village chief after the old village chief retires next year.

In contrast, Li Yunshan simply smiled.

He had no interest in being the village chief. After his rebirth, all he wanted to do was make money, work hard to give Lin Xiulan and Dou Dou a good life, reconcile with Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua, and stop his mother and older brother from worrying about him.

"Li Yunshan, I heard someone's trying to get you to be the village chief. You're quite capable!"

Because the pit was burned and the doors and windows were closed, the house was warm and cozy even though it was snowing outside.

While cracking sunflower seeds, Gao Hongmei teased Li Yunshan.

Gao Zhankui was discharged from the hospital yesterday. She and Su Lihua took Gao Zhankui on a bus from the county town to Xiangyang Commune, and then on an oxcart back to the village. They arrived home yesterday afternoon.

After undergoing surgery for his fracture, Gao Zhankui recovered quite well and can walk with crutches, but it will take some time before he is fully recovered.

Upon returning to the village, Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua heard that Li Yunshan had accomplished another feat: he had shot and killed a bear that had entered the village and was harming the villagers with two shots. He had also donated the money from selling the bear to the village primary school to rebuild the school buildings, add desks and chairs, and even gave a sum of money to the two families harmed by the bear.

Upon hearing this news, Gao Hongmei, Su Lihua, and Gao Zhankui remained silent for a long time.

Killing the bear and saving the village's old hunter was already a heroic act, but he was so generous as to donate all the money he earned from selling the bear. This was quite different from the impression Li Yunshan had given people before.

Remembering how generously Li Yunshan had lent her money before, Gao Hongmei went to Li Yunshan's house the day after settling Gao Zhankui in.

Lin Xiulan warmly welcomed Gao Hongmei.

However, as soon as she saw Li Yunshan, Gao Hongmei couldn't help but tease him a couple of times.

"This is all wishful thinking on everyone's part. I know my own limitations. I'm not capable of being the village chief. Besides, with my personality, what if I became the village chief and led the villagers astray? I don't want to be talked about behind my back."

Li Yunshan waved his hand, then asked, "By the way, when did you get back? How's your father's recovery?"

"He came back yesterday and is recovering well," Gao Hongmei replied, then gave Li Yunshan a deep look before continuing, "I have to thank you for lending me such a large sum of money, which allowed my father to have surgery. Otherwise, he would have had to endure the pain of his fracture at home."

"No need to thank me, it's nothing."

"What do you mean 'it's my duty'? It's not like you're obligated to pay me back just because you lent me money." Gao Hongmei rolled her eyes at him and said, "When are you going hunting in the mountains?"

"It just snowed heavily, so it's hard to say when we'll go hunting in the mountains. Why are you asking this?" Li Yunshan was also curious as to why Gao Hongmei suddenly asked this.

"I want to go hunting in the mountains with you."

"What? You're coming with me to hunt in the mountains? Are you kidding me!" Li Yunshan looked Gao Hongmei up and down several times. Whether in his past life or now, he had never seen a woman go hunting in the mountains.

Besides, given Gao Hongmei's situation, would she really go into the mountains to hunt? If she encountered wolves or bears, she'd be the one being hunted by those beasts.

"What? You, who's such a lazy bum, can go hunting in the mountains and even kill tigers and bears, so why can't I go hunting in the mountains?"

"Hongmei, stop fooling around. You're completely incapable of hunting. Listen to me, don't even think about going hunting with me. When I go to the commune market one day, I'll buy you some flowered cloth so you can make yourself some new clothes."

"Li Yunshan, are you looking down on me? Let me tell you, I also participated in militia training. If you don't believe me, let's grab our guns right now and go test it out near the village."

Feeling looked down upon by Li Yunshan, Gao Hongmei was furious. She glanced at the hunting rifle hanging on the wall, stood up abruptly, and grabbed the rifle.