Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

After his intimate moment with Ding Wanru, Chen Yongqiang got dressed and sat at the table for a while.

Ding Wanru also tidied up and ladled a large bowl of stewed pheasant meat from the pot and brought it up.

"I've added a few more medicinal herbs. Try them and see how they taste," she said, handing chopsticks to Chen Yongqiang.

Chen Yongqiang picked up a piece of chicken, put it in his mouth and tasted it. The flavors of the spices were perfectly blended, removing the gamey smell and enhancing the aroma of the meat.

"It definitely tastes better than before. What did you add this time?"

Ding Wanru said with a hint of pride, "I added some wild Sichuan peppercorns. I also added a small handful of dried tangerine peel, which adds a refreshing aroma and cuts through the greasiness."

Chen Yongqiang picked up another piece of pheasant meat and reminded Ding Wanru as he ate, "In the future, when making this kind of seasoning packet, try to chop all the spices into small pieces and mix them together so that people can't tell exactly what's inside."

Ding Wanru asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why do you do that?"

"You can't be too careful. This is a great formula that you figured out yourself. If it sells well and becomes a signature product, you can't guarantee that no one will be envious and try to imitate it. Mix the ingredients together so that you can't see them clearly. The more you do, the better."

Chen Yongqiang is a reborn person; he knows all too well the greed in people's hearts.

In my past life, I witnessed far too many instances of people resorting to any means to gain profit, including cunning and forceful acts of plunder.

Ding Wanru agreed, finding it reasonable. She remembered her grandfather's advice when she was little: never tell outsiders about family recipes. "I understand."

After Chen Yongqiang finished eating and drinking, he got up, kissed Ding Wanru on the cheek, and then left.

Back home, there were still quite a few neighbors watching TV in the kitchen.

Liang Meie was also sitting in a corner. When Chen Yongqiang walked in, she turned her head and looked at him affectionately.

Chen Yongqiang found a seat and casually chatted with his neighbors who were watching TV about the recent strange occurrences:

"Sister-in-law Mei'e, please try not to let the children go out to play alone at night these days."

Liang Meie asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Yongqiang?"

Chen Yongqiang brought up recent events: "He Jun was bitten by a wild animal on the mountain yesterday, and the injury was quite serious. I suspect it might have been a snow leopard coming down from the mountain."

"Those creatures usually live high in the mountains and rarely come down, but once they do, they can injure people, which is a real problem. Nighttime is when they are most active, so it's not safe to let children go out alone."

Upon hearing this, the people inside immediately started talking amongst themselves, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

Liang Meie's face showed worry: "Yongqiang, you have to think of a way to get rid of this menace quickly! Otherwise, no one will dare to go out at night."

"I can only do my best. I've been searching the mountains all day, and I haven't even found a single snow leopard hair. Those creatures are very wary and hard to find." Chen Yongqiang also wanted to complete the mission as soon as possible.

In the following days, the village was filled with fear because of the snow leopard attack.

The adults would close their courtyard gates tightly before dark, and the children were kept under close watch, no longer daring to run around the village like before.

As evening approached, fewer people were chatting at the village entrance, and everyone was feeling somewhat uneasy.

Chen Yongqiang still went into the mountains every day without fail to check the traps he had set.

Because he used the corn he grew in the space as bait, his harvest was quite good.

Over the past few days, we have caught six or seven pheasants and three or four rabbits.

But the snow leopard that had attacked them was still nowhere to be found.

Chen Yongqiang put a hazel grouse that had just stepped into a trap into his spatial storage and pondered for a moment:

"We've caught quite a few prey, and the storage space is almost full. Looks like I'll have to go to the county town tomorrow to sell these goods and also check out the market for wild game there."

He remembered something else: "The time I arranged with the distillery to haul away the lees has arrived."

Chen Yongqiang wanted to maintain a good relationship with the winery to secure a stable source of feed.

This is also to pave the way for brewing my own wine in the future; I need to learn some of the tricks of the trade.

Since they were going to the county town the next day, Chen Yongqiang put away today's prey and did not set any new traps.

This is an unwritten rule among hunters, and it can also be seen as a form of reverence for the mountain god.

"Leave the trap in case you catch prey but the person isn't in the mountains and can't retrieve it in time."

As Chen Yongqiang cleared the last trap, he thought to himself, "It's a waste to let prey die in a trap, and it also ruins the resources of the mountains."

When they reached the last trap, Chen Yongqiang noticed something amiss.

The trap had been triggered; the snare was pulled taut, and the end of the rope secured to the tree stump showed signs of struggle.

But the prey was gone. Scattered on the ground beside the trap were some pheasant feathers.

"Did someone else beat you to it?" Chen Yongqiang squatted down to examine it closely.

His gaze fell on a low branch to the side. There, a few grayish-white animal hairs hung from the rough bark and swayed in the wind.

Chen Yongqiang reached out and picked up a few hairs, bringing them close to his eyes for a closer look.

"It's a snow leopard..."

Chen Yongqiang called Tianlang to his side and held the few snow leopard furs to its nose: "Tianlang, remember this scent."

Sirius leaned closer and sniffed the scent on those few hairs.

Then it lowered its head and began searching the surrounding snow.

Unfortunately, a light snowfall last night covered most of the smells and footprints.

Sirius circled around a few times, then looked up at Chen Yongqiang with some confusion, letting out a few low growls to indicate that tracking was difficult.

"No rush, we have plenty of time. If we let it get away this time, we'll run into it again next time." Chen Yongqiang patted Tianlang's head.

After putting away all the traps he had set, Chen Yongqiang slung his gun over his shoulder and led Tianlang down the mountain.

I had just returned to Shimen Village when I ran into Yang Dahai on the dirt road in the village.

"Yongqiang, did you find any trace of the snow leopard that attacked the man when you went into the mountains?"

Chen Yongqiang took out the few snow leopard furs he had found near the trap from his pocket and handed them to Yang Dahai: "I found something, but I was too late, and the snow covered the traces, so it's already gone."

Yang Dahai's face grew even more worried: "Yongqiang, this whole thing depends on you! You're very capable, so put in the effort and get rid of that menace as soon as possible. Then our whole village can rest easy! If you need any help from the village, just let us know!"

"No need for that. Too many people would make too much noise and easily alert the enemy." Chen Yongqiang was used to working alone.

"That's good, that's good." Yang Dahai then remembered something else.

"By the way, the village's brick kiln is going to have its first trial firing tomorrow. It's a big event for our village! Do you want to go and watch?"

"It's a bit unfortunate, I happen to have something to do tomorrow, I have to go to the county town. With you, the village chief, in charge, everything will definitely go smoothly." Chen Yongqiang also had to deliver wild game to a restaurant in the county town.

Yang Dahai nodded. "It takes several days to fire a kiln of bricks. You can go and take a look on your way back from the county town."