Making A Fortune Through Hunting To Support My Wife - Chapter 6

The villagers surrounding the Xu family home dispersed in a flurry. The house, located at the very end of the village, sank back into its usual seclusion and desolation.

Grandma Xu was so incensed by Xu Jing’s arbitrary decision making that she didn’t want to stay a moment longer. She headed straight for the home of another old friend, likely to vent her frustrations about Xu Jing and gossip about the “inhumane” Wang family women.

However, unlike the usual silence, a small fire pit had been set up in the desolate courtyard. Xu Jing was holding bamboo she had cut from halfway up the mountain, patiently roasting and bending it.

Song Yu, who was hanging laundry in the yard, couldn’t help but speak up when she saw Xu Jing’s clattering activity.

“Are you making a bamboo bow?”

Xu Jing gave a slight tug on the bowstring, which was made of twisted hemp rope. The string emitted a faint vibration, and a sharp sting pulsed through the fingers resting against it.

“Yeah. I plan to head into the mountains to find a way to survive.”

The draw weight of this bamboo bow was a bit low, a truly good bow required better wood and proper tools to craft. But given her current circumstances, she had to make do with what was available.

She planned to hunt small game first like pheasants and hares and use the opportunity to scout for better timber to make a professional bow.

Xu Jing had considered visiting the hunters living further out to borrow a bow, but a bow was a hunter’s livelihood. Furthermore, the original owner of this body had a poor reputation and had never hunted before with no prior relationship, it was highly unlikely they would lend her such a vital tool.

“You’re going hunting? Which mountain?”

Song Yu was surprised by Xu Jing’s idea. The Xu family were honest farmers, even during the slack season, she had never seen Xu Jing venture into the deeper forests to hunt like some of the other villagers.

Dayue Village sat at the foot of Mount Dayue. Deep within its peaks were tigers, fierce beasts, giant wild boars, venomous serpents, and wolf packs. Even seasoned hunters dared not set foot in the heart of it.

Ordinary villagers looking to catch a few pheasants or rabbits to improve their diet usually stuck to the outskirts or smaller nearby hills. But because everyone hunted there, the animals were easily spooked, these days, it was difficult to catch anything at all.

Song Yu seemed to vaguely understand Xu Jing’s logic. The family owed money and had no other way to earn it. To “live off the land” meant Xu Jing was preparing to follow the hunters’ path and trade prey for silver.

She wasn’t optimistic.

Sitting on a small stool, Xu Jing paused her whittling and looked up at Song Yu with a hint of surprise. This woman wasn’t much for talking usually, she couldn’t wait to get away from Xu Jing. Why the sudden conversation?

Sensing the confused gaze, Song Yu pursed her lips. Although she could palpably feel that this person was different, even protecting her in front of Grandma Xu, the original owner’s gloomy image was deeply ingrained and hard to erase.

Seeing the flicker of unease on her face, Xu Jing offered a faint, reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll only stick to the outskirts of Mount Dayue for now. I won’t go deep.”

Song Yu, moving between the drying racks, may or may not have heard her clearly. She gave a non-committal “mm,” picked up her wooden basin, and headed toward the kitchen.

Xu Jing withdrew her gaze and sighed softly. She began fitting the arrows she had carved with iron shards she’d scavenged from the general store, creating crude arrowheads to increase penetration.

If I catch something, the first priority isn’t saving for the debt, it’s buying a proper bow, she thought. To do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools.

Unfortunately, an ordinary bow here cost anywhere from eight or nine hundred wen to over a tael of silver. Her meager savings were only enough for a few arrows.

Besides the self-made bamboo bow, a spear was essential. Should she encounter slightly larger prey, like mountain deer or goats, it would make the kill much easier.

Xu Jing prayed for that kind of luck.

Just then, there was a knock at the courtyard door.

Xu Jing set down her work and called out lazily, “Stop knocking, I’m coming.”

Though she didn’t know who was outside, given the Xu family’s current situation, it likely wasn’t a bearer of good news.

The old wooden door opened to reveal two ordinary looking teenagers, one tall and one short.

Xu Jing frowned instinctively. Searching the original owner’s memories, she recognized them as the sons of the Xu Clan’s Second Great Uncle, Xu Wu and Xu Liu.

The Second Great Uncle, Xu Fugui, held considerable influence within the clan. He had been a close cousin to the original owner’s grandfather, Xu Daping, the two had grown up together. Because of that bond, he usually looked after the Xu household, which now consisted only of a lonely grandmother and granddaughter.

But that “care” was a double-edged sword.

Xu Fugui would help the Xu family when outsiders bullied them, but he also exerted control over their affairs, despite only being a great uncle.

In his words: “We are kin, connected by blood and bone. Since Daping isn’t here, I, as his older brother, must watch over things for him.”

“If he ever returns and sees his wife and grandchild being bullied, how pained would he be?”

“If it weren’t for him pulling me along during the famine, my bones would have rotted out there. I will never stand by and watch his family suffer.”

Over twenty years ago, before Xu Jing was even born, the Great Kang Dynasty suffered consecutive crop failures. The villagers had hoped for a fall harvest to fill their bellies, but a horrific locust plague struck, leaving them with nothing. They survived the winter by tightening their belts on government relief grain.

Unexpectedly, the locusts were followed by a once in a century drought.

That was the breaking point. Many starved to death, and a massive migration of refugees across several provinces began. Even Dayue Village, nestled against the mountains, was not spared. Mount Dayue dried up, many trees died, and predators from the deep mountains descended in search of food.

Xu Jing’s grandfather, Xu Daping, had been separated from Grandma Xu and their younger son’s family during that flight, taking the eldest son’s family with him.

Setting the past aside for a moment, Xu Jing raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. “What brings my two cousins here? Does Great Uncle have business with me?”

Xu Liu despised Xu Jing. Though he was surprised by the disappearance of her usual gloom, his loathing was bone deep.

He let out a cold snort, tilted his chin up, and crossed his arms. “If your family hadn’t caused trouble again, why would my father look for you?”

“Always making my father clean up your messes… don’t you have any shame?” He lowered his voice for the last part, but it remained clearly audible.

If this had been the original Xu Jing, she would have felt a surge of resentment, her face darkening as she clenched her fists in silence.

The current Xu Jing merely raised her brows, unbothered by the teenager’s stinging words.

Leaning one hand against the doorframe, she said softly, “There’s no need for Great Uncle to worry about this. Go back and tell him I will handle it. A person must stand on their own two feet, we can’t rely on others for everything.”

“Maybe tomorrow or the day after, I’ll visit him personally to explain my plans. That should put his mind at ease.”

Not rely on others? Rely on yourself? Your family is so poor the whole village is laughing about your debts, what ‘plans’ could you possibly have?!

Xu Liu was about to snap back with a mocking retort when the older, more silent Xu Wu pulled at his sleeve.

“I will tell my father what you said,” Xu Wu interrupted, then added, “Where is Great Aunt?” He was referring to the other key figure their father wanted to see.

“Grandma went to Shuisheng’s grandmother’s house to chat. She’s not in, and she’ll probably be back late. I’ll mention it to her when she returns,” Xu Jing said with a beaming smile.

Though she claimed she would tell Grandma Xu, she was essentially telling the brothers where the old woman was, clearly signaling for them to go find her themselves.

Xu Wu gave Xu Jing a long, searching look before nodding. “Fine. We will relay the message to Great-Aunt as well.”

“Safe travels. Sorry to trouble you both for the trip.”

Xu Jing waved at the departing pair and then briskly shut the door. She was ready for lunch, she could already smell the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen.

Looking at the closed gate, Xu Liu felt the urge to rush back and kick it. He spat on the ground. “Kindness treated like a dog’s liver! What a piece of work!”

This time, Xu Wu didn’t stop his brother, though his own expression was visibly displeased. He was more observant than Xu Liu and could clearly tell that Xu Jing had changed, she was no longer gloomy, and she was no longer cowardly.

Xu Jing didn’t care what the brothers thought. The most important thing now was eating, then heading into the mountains this afternoon.

With only Xu Jing and Song Yu at home, the meal was simple: a plate of stir-fried cabbage and a dish of chive scrambled eggs.

Because Grandma Xu wasn’t home, Xu Jing ate with great peace of mind, polishing off two large bowls of coarse rice.

The coarse rice was as scratchy on the throat as ever, but compared to the agonizing hunger and heart pounding starvation of the apocalypse, this was a feast.

Finishing her meal, Xu Jing wiped her mouth.

Noticing Song Yu’s hesitant expression, she waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about what Grandma says. If she asks about the eggs when she gets back, just say I ate them all.”

“You should eat, too. You probably have things to do, and I need to head out to track some game.”

Song Yu’s grip on her chopsticks tightened. She neither nodded nor shook her head, her fair, pale brow furrowing slightly.

Given their brief interactions and the original owner’s memories, Xu Jing simply assumed she was a quiet person who didn’t like to talk. She gave another quick goodbye, grabbed her makeshift hunting gear, and left for the mountains.

As Xu Jing’s back disappeared past the doorway, Song Yu’s awkwardness vanished, replaced by a complex look in her eyes.

She didn’t finish her meal. Instead, she turned and walked into their shared bedroom.

She went toward the only piece of furniture with a lock, a large camphor wood chest. The chest held Song Yu’s dowry, and she kept the key to the copper lock on her person at all times.

Grandma Xu had hinted several times that she wanted the fabric inside to make clothes, but Song Yu had rebuffed her with polite firmness.

Though Grandma Xu coveted the cloth, their social standing dictated certain boundaries, stealing a granddaughter-in-law’s dowry would ruin her reputation. She didn’t dare use force, but she often made snide remarks, hoping Song Yu would “know better” and show some filial piety.

Song Yu never took the bait. After a few failed attempts, Grandma Xu would back off, only to find other ways to pick on her and say nasty things.

Click. The key turned in the lock. The chest opened to reveal neatly organized belongings.

Sitting atop the stacks of fabric was a delicate wooden box.

This was everything she owned in this world.