Mr. Jing and His Little Husband

Chapter 2

Feng mountain was formerly called Abundant Mountain, and as the name suggests, maple trees dominate the entire mountain range, including the small hills behind the village.

Although the vegetation is diverse and the resources are abundant, once autumn arrives, the maple leaves become fiery red, and nothing else can be seen.

Due to the significant role Feng mountain plays in the lives of the people in the surrounding areas and the longing and obsession for a good harvest, the official records have always referred to it as Feng mountain.

The Feng mountain mountain range has several peaks, and on the southern side, there is a slightly independent small peak called Xiao Feng mountain. It is also the closest entrance to Feng mountain from Xiwan village. By passing through the middle of Xiao Feng mountain, one can reach the depths of the continuous Feng mountain.

In early summer, when looking from Xiwan village, the various shades of green on distant mountains and nearby hills create a magnificent spectacle, especially during misty mornings when the fog is thick and mysterious, deterring casual exploration.

The paths around Xiao Feng mountain are not difficult to traverse, and there are several routes that people have treaded throughout the year. Villagers often venture up the mountain to gather wild vegetables and pick wild fruits. Those familiar with medicinal herbs also collect some to sell at the town’s herbal shops. The hunters from nearby villages also rely on the mountains for sustenance and lead a relatively prosperous life.

Speaking of which, Jingyi’s main source of income at this stage is digging medicinal herbs in the mountains and setting traps for hunting.

During Jingyi’s years in the military, he participated in numerous wilderness operations, and even after entering civilian life, he still enjoyed participating in outdoor survival activities. Almost every year, he would spend a considerable sum of money to join high-end club organizations for wilderness survival activities. Recognizing basic food ingredients and medicinal herbs, setting up traps in the wilderness, and making simple hunting tools were skills he had long mastered. Now, he couldn’t help but marvel at how his interests and hobbies from his previous life had become a means of earning money.

Jing’s three brothers headed towards Xiao Feng mountain, encountering many uncles who were busy working in the fields or going to town for jobs. They exchanged greetings and continued on their way. However, when they saw the aunties sitting at their doorsteps or on the village paths, they had to stop and endure questions about various topics. Jingyi politely answered their well-intentioned gossip one by one.

There were also those who didn’t mind their own business and asked things like, “Did your father spend a lot of money on his illness?” or “I heard your family offended Mr. Liu in town, that’s quite serious.” Jingyi smoothly changed the subject, but in his heart, he made a mental note of several individuals.

And those who purposely avoided them from a distance had long made it onto Jingyi’s blacklist. Who didn’t have a little notebook in their heart?

“Auntie, you carry on with your work. We’ll be on our way. If we’re late, we won’t be able to dig enough wild vegetables, and if we run out of lunch ingredients, we’ll have to borrow some.” Jingyi said to a nosy gossiping woman, looking at her with an expectant gaze.

“Oh, you didn’t say so earlier! You rascal, you’re still here chatting away without calculating your time. Hurry up and start digging. Come to think of it, my own vegetables won’t be enough either.” Saying that, she hurriedly picked up a stool and left. It seemed like if Jingyi took one more step, he would have followed her to get some vegetables. And she didn’t forget to give Jingyi an eye roll before leaving.

Once they left the village, it became much quieter, and the scenery along the way was quite beautiful.

After crossing the fields, they entered a small hill where many wildflowers bloomed along the road, in various shades of pink and purple. Under normal circumstances, Jing Shu would run around picking several flowers and tie them into a small bundle around her waist. Jing An would pick up a small stick, swinging it around, sweeping through the grass and hitting tree branches. Being a ten-year-old boy, he was full of energy like a Husky.

As they entered the mountain, Jingyi remained vigilant. His two younger brothers, aged seven and ten, were still young, so he kept a close eye on them. He insisted that they move together as a group when picking wild vegetables and even implemented a military-like check-in system.

In reality, there were very few large animals deep in Xiao Feng Mountain. The terrain was gentle and easy to climb, attracting frequent visitors and discouraging large animals from coming. Moreover, they were still on the outskirts. However, Jingyi knew that in the wilderness, it was better to be cautious, especially when accompanied by his two younger brothers.

After picking the large patch of orchids, Jingyi thought that the weather was good today, and it was still early. With more people going up the mountain recently, it was relatively safe. He decided to take his two younger brothers a little deeper into the mountain to check the traps he had set.

As they ventured further, the vegetation became denser, and the wild grass grew taller. Both of his younger brothers were sensible and understanding. They knew that the danger increased as they went deeper into the mountain, so they obediently followed their big brother.

As they walked, they observed their surroundings, while the small animals in the forest silently watched the group of people. Finally, they arrived at the location of several traps, with each trap placed a short distance apart.

When setting the traps, Jingyi had considered the possibility of someone accidentally stumbling upon them and getting injured, so he used dark pieces of torn cloth that were no longer used at home as markers. He hung them in prominent places as a warning to others who came to hunt. Furthermore, Jingyi was cautious and made the markers conspicuous, but the traps were skillfully concealed to prevent others from stealing the prey.

In total, he had set up four traps. It was challenging to catch larger animals like wild boars and adult deer, but those were rarely seen in Xiao Feng Mountain in recent years. However, it was almost certain to catch naive deer, small deer, and wild chickens.

“You two wait here for me now. I’ll go check what’s in the pit,” Jingyi said, ensuring his brothers stayed about ten meters away from the traps. In case of any unexpected situation, they would have enough time to react.

“We got it, big brother,” Jǐng ān and Jǐng shū answered excitedly and eagerly, their eyes shining as they focused on the pit their big brother had just shown them. They spoke in soft voices, with Jǐng ān shrugging his shoulders and Jǐng shū covering his mouth, as if making any sudden movements or speaking too loudly would scare away the prey. This was the activity they had been most looking forward to today!

These adorable younger brothers truly touched Jingyi’s forty-year-old heart.

Quickly approaching the first trap, Jingyi looked inside and saw a grey, struggling wild chicken. One of its wings was pinned tightly to the wooden spike at the bottom of the pit, barely flapping.

Jingyi skillfully jumped into the trap, grabbed the wild chicken, and threw it up. With a push and a step, he leaped out of the pit. He held the wild chicken and gave it a shake. Not bad, it was quite plump. It felt like it weighed around five to six catties, which was rare. Wild chickens didn’t accumulate fat like domestic chickens, so it was generally difficult for them to grow heavy.

Taking the hemp rope, Jingyi tied the two chicken legs together and threw them into the basket behind. He quickly called his younger brothers over and headed to the second trap.

The second trap had no luck. The camouflage of dried branches and straw on top remained undisturbed, indicating that they had caught nothing. Jingyi didn’t bother checking it and went straight to the remaining two traps. In the third trap, there was a wild rabbit. Its fur wasn’t attractive, and it didn’t seem to have much meat. Jingyi thought it was better than nothing, and bringing it home to stew would still make a delicious dish. Everyone in the family could use some nourishment.

Then they proceeded towards the last trap.