Tian Jing happily gave herself a thumbs-up, having secured a pile of meat without a single soldier.
She manipulated the pile of green vines in the pit to the edge of the pit and pulled them up. As expected, they were pumpkin vines. She needed to accelerate their growth, as the Li family was so poor they didn't even have seeds.
She also needed to accelerate the growth of some kudzu seeds. Kudzu was a very useful vine, good for use as a tool later on.
While she was busy here, Li Zhengguo, who was looking for her, was already sweating profusely. He followed the usual path where people cut firewood all the way to the end but couldn't find any sign of Tian Jing.
He then searched along the paths on both sides where people usually dug for wild vegetables, but still found no one.
After calming down, Li Zhengguo had two guesses: one, she had been abducted, or two, she had gone deep into the mountains.
If she had been abducted, there would be no traces.
But if she had gone deep into the mountains, why couldn't he find any clues of her entering the mountain?
However, the difference between him walking on his own and being abducted was significant, so Li Zhengguo was convinced that Tian Jing had entered the deep mountains on her own.
Such a thin and small person actually dared to enter the deep mountains?
Li Zhengguo felt that he should give her a good lecture once he found her.
He found a direction and ran quickly into the deep mountains, observing his surroundings carefully as he ran, looking for any suspicious traces.
The deeper he went, the more worried he became, and the less confident he felt. Had he misjudged?
Just as he was about to change direction to search, he heard a scream. It was the sound of a wild boar, trapped and howling. Was someone hunting a wild boar?
It shouldn't be Tian Jing, right?
But he had no other target, so he could only head towards the sound. Before long, the sound stopped again. He had to go and see what was happening.
Half an hour later, a figure appeared in his line of sight. It was only after he recognized the figure as Tian Jing that his hanging heart finally settled down, and his tension eased.
Tian Jing was carrying a basket on her back, with the bundled pumpkin vines hanging from her left shoulder and the bundled kudzu vines hanging from her right shoulder. Sudan Novel Network.
In her hands, which she dragged behind her, was a wild boar tied up with kudzu vines.
After dragging it for more than ten minutes, she actually saw Li Zhengguo. Just then, she said, "Li Zhengguo, hurry up, you drag the wild boar."
A wild boar?
Li Zhengguo was sizing up Tian Jing. Seeing that she was safe and sound, and relatively clean and tidy, the relief he had just felt was raised again by her words.
He sidled to look behind Tian Jing and only then discovered the wild boar she was shielding. Was Tian Jing the one who hunted the wild boar earlier?
Doubt flashed in his eyes, but then he thought of the many differences between this life and his previous one, especially the differences in Tian Tian. It was good. Tian Tian would no longer clash head-on with the Chen family.
No, it should be that Tian Tian would no longer be tricked out of money by the Chen family. That was also not right. If Tian Tian in the previous life was like she was now, how could she have been tricked?
Could it be? Was she like him?
Then where did her fighting power come from? He needed to observe this carefully. However, having fighting power was a good thing; she wouldn't be afraid of those petty people from the Chen family.
If she was like him, should he reveal himself?
But Tian Tian had never liked him. If he exposed himself, would she even stay temporarily?
Thinking this, Li Zhengguo immediately restrained his thoughts. He couldn't reveal himself. He still had five years from when the Chen and Xiao families found her to win Tian Tian's heart.
That way, when Tian Tian left, she would take him with her, and he could help her.
Once he figured it out, he immediately accepted all the differences between Tian Jing and her past life and reminded himself to be careful and cautious so as not to reveal himself.
"Tian Tian, did you hunt this?"
Li Zhengguo's eyes flickered with doubt. Tian Jing saw it, but she didn't care. She wasn't the original owner, and she couldn't fail to upgrade her abilities or fill her stomach.
So, if Li Zhengguo had any objections, they could just part ways.
This Kusan mountain was simply her backyard. If necessary, she would live in the mountains and only come out when the Xiao and Chen families arrived.
By then, for the sake of her common child with the Chen and Xiao families, someone would help her with her household registration, and she wouldn't have to worry.
"Yes, I hunted it. But I don't really want to share it with the villagers."
Tian Jing said with reluctance. Why should she share the prey she hunted with others?
"Then do you want to eat meat openly?"
Li Zhengguo had already adjusted his mindset. To win Tian Tian's heart, he had to use sincerity to soften her.
Things he had wanted to hide in his previous life could be gradually revealed to her, letting her know that he could be her support.
"Alright." Tian Jing compromised. Without handing over the wild boar to the production team, the Li family couldn't stew meat.
"If we hand these in, we'll get work points. With more work points, we can exchange for more meat."
Li Zhengguo spoke to her as a friend. This kind of equal interaction would make Tian Tian let down her guard.
When facing problems, if she could discuss them with him, she would gradually develop a sense of dependence on him, unable to leave him.
"Bring back the pig liver and lard. The pig liver is for your mother to eat, to supplement her blood. The lard is for refining oil to cook with. For the rest, you decide."
Tian Jing stated her requirements. "Also, these pumpkins and kudzu are not to be handed in."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
Li Zhengguo smiled happily. Tian Tian calmly accepted his opinion, which was a good start.
"Huh?" Tian Jing stared at Li Zhengguo's smile. "You have a nice smile, especially those faint dimples. They're so cute."
This time, Li Zhengguo was certain that Tian Jing was like him, reborn. Who would say "cute" in this era?
At this moment, his heart was as sweet as if he had drunk honey. He and Tian Tian shared the same experience.
"Tian Tian, this wild boar, you understand if I say I hunted it?"
"The towering tree catches the wind."
Tian Jing nodded in agreement. As a woman, she had easily hunted a wild boar. She would surely face a lot of gossip. She didn't want to attract attention anyway, and she still had to go to the mountains to cultivate her abilities.
Seeing Tian Jing agree, Li Zhengguo was relieved. "Put the pumpkin in the basket and cover it up. People won't know how to make kudzu powder from these vines, they'll only use them to tie firewood."
"I know, I know. It's even better if people don't take these seriously."
Tian Jing squatted down and messed up the kudzu vines, then picked the pumpkins. When she saw the leaves in the basket, she remembered the ginseng. "There are two ginsengs here. I don't need to hand them in, right?"
Ginseng?
Li Zhengguo looked at the two obviously aged ginsengs on the leaves handed to him and felt more surprised than discovering he had been reborn.
Tian Tian went up the mountain and got both meat and vegetables, and even precious medicinal herbs. He swallowed hard. "Tian Tian, you are very lucky."
"Of course," Tian Jing accepted the compliment without reservation. "Is this enough for your accommodation and food expenses?"
Her polite demeanor made Li Zhengguo's heart ache as if it were being squeezed, but he didn't show it.
"No need. You keep it. The food you got, we'll all eat together. How can we still calculate food expenses? And accommodation expenses are even less to mention."