Chapter 79: Quite Experienced

Occasionally, Bai Xi would have Xiao Hei take a few hunters from the village into the mountains to hunt. After all, no matter how skilled Xiao Hei was, there was only so much game he could bring back on his own. With more people, they could carry a greater haul. Unlike hunting alone, where each family kept what they caught, when Xiao Hei led the team, all the game they brought back was distributed according to Bai Xi’s arrangements. Of course, she would only keep a third for herself, leaving the rest for Chen Daliu to divide up among the villagers.

Although it seemed Bai Xi kept a large share, no one in the village had any complaints. Even if she had kept everything, no one would have objected. After all, it was their duty to honor the grand-aunt, and since they lacked the ability to do so, who were they to complain?

With Bai Xi cultivating lately, her appetite had grown, and Xiao Hei was eating more as he grew as well. Even with a third of the haul, it was only enough to feed one person and one tiger for two or three days.

After Chen Yi’s family entered the ancestral hall, they left a few days later. They had only returned on leave, after all, and once business was concluded, they had to return. This time, it was because Chen Weiguo had been transferred to work in the town. Once everything was settled, they came back to the village.

Chen Yi stayed in the village for a few days and was not shy at all. Upon returning today, the first thing he did was run to the treehouse. “Grand-aunt, Grand-aunt, I’m back!” When he left, his grand-aunt had promised to try to find the big mushroom.

He rushed up the steps, but when he saw Xiao Hei, he froze at the door, eyes wide with amazement. “Wow, Xiao Hei has grown so much?”

Xiao Hei sneered at Chen Yi’s stunned expression and gave him a warning glance before resting his head on the footrest of the wooden couch, letting Chen Rui comb his fur.

Chen Rui was the only person besides Bai Xi whom Xiao Hei allowed to touch him. Even though Chen Zhaodi came every day to cook and helped feed Xiao Hei, the tiger still wouldn’t let her near.

Warned by Xiao Hei’s glare, Chen Yi quieted down and entered cautiously. Turning to Chen Rui, he asked, “Sister Rui, where’s Grand-aunt?”

Before Chen Rui could answer, Bai Xi came down the stairs. “Are you looking for me?”

Chen Yi quickly grinned and stepped forward. “Grand-aunt, my father has been transferred to work in the town, so I’ll be coming back to the village often now.” As he spoke, he set some things down on the table, happily saying, “Grand-aunt, these are from my parents for you—two jin of brown sugar, three jin of walnut cookies, and a jin of beef jerky.”

Though it wasn’t much, Chen Weiguo had pulled some strings to get these things. In the past, they were hard to come by, and nowadays, even more so. The family couldn’t bear to eat them themselves and packed them up carefully to bring back as a tribute to Bai Xi. Originally, Chen Weiguo and Fang Ya had wanted to get everything ready so they could visit Bai Xi together, but Chen Yi couldn’t wait and came over with the gifts first.

“Thank you for your thoughtfulness,” Bai Xi nodded, accepting the gifts. She turned and told Chen Rui to fetch a piece of dried rabbit meat and five jin of rice for Chen Yi.

Who knew how much those treats had cost? Even though Chen Weiguo had a good position and Fang Ya earned a salary, their grain ration was fixed each month. Now that they were in the village, they didn’t receive any communal shares or grain, so Bai Xi thought it appropriate to give them some rice and meat in return.

Only then did Chen Yi notice that the wall of the treehouse cupboard was lined with strings of cured and dried meat. Looking at the rabbit meat and rice in his own hands, he recalled how his parents had said that life was tough in the countryside and had specially traded for a sack of grain to bring all this way. Yet now, it seemed that the ones really struggling were his family, not the villagers.

Bai Xi had no idea Chen Yi was feeling deflated. She asked him a few perfunctory questions before sending him off. She had little patience for chatty children who always wanted to know “why.”

Chen Yi had wanted to ask about the big mushroom, but seeing that Bai Xi seemed to have forgotten, he hesitated and let it go.

Once he was gone, Bai Xi remembered something and turned to Xiao Hei. “Have you found it?”

Xiao Hei had been dozing comfortably, but at her words, he blinked in confusion—Found what, mistress?

But under Bai Xi’s displeased gaze, Xiao Hei quickly caught on. He rolled over and whimpered, explaining that he had searched around the whole village several times but still hadn’t found that mushroom spirit.

Mistress, could the mushroom spirit be hiding deep in the mountains?

Bai Xi considered the possibility. “Then let’s go deeper into the mountains!”

No sooner had she spoken than Chen Rui put down her wooden comb, quickly retrieved a bamboo basket from by the door, slung it on her back, then picked up a machete and fetched Bai Xi’s little straw hat, all ready to go.

“Grand-aunt, we can leave now.”

Chen Rui was already quite experienced. She knew that whenever Grand-aunt wanted to climb the mountain, there was no stopping her. There hadn’t been any stopping her before Xiao Hei, and now that the tiger could hunt, it was even more impossible. Since she couldn’t prevent it, she might as well go along.

Bai Xi was speechless. She hadn’t actually planned to go today, but since Chen Rui was so prepared, she decided to set out.

She wanted to find the mushroom spirit to see if there were any other transformed spirits in the area. If there were, she intended to bring them under her command. It couldn’t be helped—at the moment, only her divine power was usable, and she was still training hard. If she could find the mushroom spirit, perhaps she could learn more about the local situation. Besides, a mushroom spirit was a plant type; maybe it could help the crops thrive in the fields.

While Chen Yi was excitedly telling his parents about the strings of cured meat at Grand-aunt’s house and how country life was better than in town, Bai Xi had already set out into the mountains with Chen Rui and Xiao Hei.

Previously, Bai Xi had only ever explored the foothills, and even when Xiao Hei led hunting parties, they stuck to the outskirts. This time, the trio ventured deeper into the woods.

“Grand-aunt, if we go any further in, we’re going to get in trouble when we get back, aren’t we?” Chen Rui said, worried.

She had thought they’d just circle the outskirts and go home once Xiao Hei caught a couple of rabbits or pheasants. She hadn’t expected Grand-aunt to want to venture deeper.

“Of course not!” Bai Xi replied without hesitation.

Hearing this, Xiao Hei turned his head and gave Chen Rui a look of pity. The mistress would never get in trouble, not even scolded, but as for you… that was another story.

Chen Rui wasn’t quite convinced, but before she could say more, Bai Xi gave Xiao Hei a command: “Go!”

Almost the moment the words left her lips, Xiao Hei shot forward like an arrow, disappearing into the brush.

Chen Rui gasped, her eyes wide in amazement. So this was how fast Xiao Hei could run when hunting!

From the direction where Xiao Hei had vanished, a few cries of wild beasts soon rang out. Before long, he came back dragging a wild deer.

“Grand-aunt, Xiao Hei caught a deer! Can we go back now?” Chen Rui shook the bamboo basket on her back, indicating it was already full. If they went any further, she wouldn’t be able to carry anything more.