Knowing Wen Ran’s temperant, plus Xiao Chenye’s dogged following of her lead, everyone thought it over and simply agreed.
There was no choice but to agree; those two have long legs and will sneak away.
"Alright, I’ve brought you three days’ worth of dry food. Just wander around and co back, got it? Safety first in everything."
"Got it!"
According to Wen Ran’s plan, as long as she encounters a wild boar, she’d hunt it and co back. Outside, it’s all ice and snow, and she’d have to be really bored to look for trouble herself.
Thinking of this, she gave her lips a light slap.
Bla it.
Such gluttony.
Xiao Chenye was delighted, his eyes almost flashing green, full of energy and not afraid of the cold.
In his eyes, this was no different from being alone.
"Don’t worry, we’ll definitely return safely. We’re off."
"Alright, take it slow, and be careful on the way!"
Hongguo was teary-eyed, reluctant, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Sister, I’ll wait for you at ho."
Wen Ran didn’t even turn her head, waved a hand, and walked away carefree.
Once they were far off, Hongguo pouted and went into the yard to work.
"Sister, look at her, so shy."
Xiao Chenxing grinned, "So grown-up, yet still crying."
Xiao Chenyue slapped this careless younger sister, "Laugh, laugh, laugh, what’re you laughing about? If I scored like you, I’d be so anxious I couldn’t sleep!"
Xiao Chenxing: "...Sister, I sleep just fine."
Xiao Chenyue: "."
She closed her eyes; it was over.
This sister is so clueless she can’t even understand good advice.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Chenyue left a word quietly and got up to go inside to look after the child.
"Xiao Chenxing, if Hongguo learns faster than you and knows more than you...tsk tsk tsk."
Xiao Chenxing: "..."
That’s a terrifying thought!
~~~
The two stumbled their way up the mountain, Wen Ran laughing, "We’re really sothing, everyone avoids the snow-covered mountains, and here we are running into the thick of things."
"As long as we’re safe," Xiao Chenye saw Wen Ran walking unsteadily and simply grabbed her hand to steady her. "We’re not going deep into the mountains, just staying around the edge."
"Alright."
Their luck was great; shortly after entering the mountains, they stumbled upon a nest of wild chickens.
Wild chicken stewed with mushrooms is delicious, and the two didn’t hold back, taking them.
"What do you think they eat for the winter?"
"Anything they can find, I guess. But chickens aren’t as smart as squirrels. Squirrels know how to store food and place it in several spots.
Even if one food stash is raided, there are others."
Thinking of this, Xiao Chenye recalled the field mice and rabbits on the plains.
These creatures love digging everywhere.
Cattle, sheep, and horses, when stepping into one of those holes, might break a leg. Cattle and sheep can still be saved, but horses usually are done for.
"Oh," he exhaled white breath, "I reckon soon people will be raiding mouse and rabbit nests on the plains. We should join the fun when that happens?"
"Sure!"
As long as Wen Ran wasn’t made to do hard labor, she was all for this idle chatter, which she was most skilled at and interested in.
Xiao Chenye was also adept at finding wild boar lairs, and after trekking the mountain for two hours, they finally found traces of wild boars.
Good news, there were plenty of boars, more than enough to eat.
Bad news, there were so many boars, they might not be able to defeat them.
Wen Ran gazed at that large nest of black wild boars and felt numb, whispering, "Seriously, do these things just love to hang out in groups?"
"It’s warm and safe, makes sense."
Xiao Chenye’s eyes sparkled, "Be content. At least we found the wild boar’s den. So go up the mountain only to be blown by the wind, not even spotting a boar hair."
"If you put it like that, it’s not fun anymore."
Wen Ran was tempted but hesitant, nudging Xiao Chenye with her elbow, "What should we do? Go all in and take one back, or move on to find another spot?"
"Let’s watch and see if any wild boar strays away."
Dostic pigs are gentle, but wild boars are much more aggressive. As omnivores, they have territorial instincts; missing this group of boars would make finding another difficult.
"Alright."
"You wait here, I’ll check around."
Wen Ran lowered her gaze, and while Xiao Chenye cautiously scouted, not noticing her, she quickly took out a few apples from her space and scattered them to the side.
In the cold heart of winter, the sweet aroma of apples was sure to attract the little greedy wild boars.
By then...
Hehehe, she’ll grab a piglet and run for it!
Xiao Chenye was planning the best escape route, scanning the terrain around so they wouldn’t get caught out due to unfamiliarity.
His heart was on edge.
Suddenly a sound.
"Hey~"
Hearing Wen Ran’s voice, Xiao Chenye’s heart leapt to his throat, and upon turning, he was t with a pig’s face.
The little black pig was innocent, still smacking its lips.
He was so startled he nearly struck the wild pig.
"Hehehe," Wen Ran, clutching the piglet in her arms, restraining her excitent, "Let’s go, we swiped it.
If we run quickly enough, before its parents catch up, we’re ho free."
Just like that, Xiao Chenye found himself running off with Wen Ran in a complete daze.
The pig was caught, but he had no idea how it happened.
The two of them sprinted like madn, neither saying a word, and every ti they opened their mouths, the cold wind rushed in.
After running for over half an hour and feeling relatively safe, they finally started to slow down.
Xiao Chenye, in disbelief, asked, "How did you manage to get it?"
"How should I know? It was staying in its den just fine, suddenly it ca running to , so of course I grabbed it and ran."
Of course, what Wen Ran didn’t ntion was that they didn’t actually need to run that fast; there was no wild boar chasing them.
She had silently crept over and basically cleared out the entire boar family.
Now, they were all keeping each other company in her space.
Xiao Chenye, unaware of the truth, just felt it was all very odd.
But with at on hand, not eating it would be a waste.
"Let’s go!"
On their way down the mountain, they encountered a little rabbit watching the excitent, and Xiao Chenye swiftly shot it with an arrow, bagging the rabbit as well.
The two of them returned with a bountiful haul.
They left in the morning and got back by late afternoon.
Upon seeing their haul, Mrs. Xiao was flabbergasted, "Is this a young wild boar? I an, how did you..."
Xiao Chenyue was also shocked, "Wild boars with piglets are incredibly fierce; how did you manage to bring back a piglet?"
When faced with sothing they couldn’t comprehend, the Xiao Family never dwelled on it too much. They just knew that they’d have a great al tonight.
Mr. and Mrs. Xiao imdiately got busy, heating water, slaughtering the piglet, and prepping the at and bones. All these processes take ti.
After rushing around for most of the day, Wen Ran and Xiao Chenye washed up, rubbed their hands together, and went inside to get sothing to eat.
"Sis, you didn’t get hurt, did you?"
"I’m fine," Wen Ran said, seeing Hongguo’s worried expression. She spun around on the spot, "Look! I’m all good, didn’t even trip on the mountain."
"As long as you’re okay."
At ho, she found it hard to concentrate on studying.
"Hongguo, hurry up, today we’re learning numbers."
Wen Ran smiled, "Go on, the more you learn now, the more progress we’ll make when we get back to the main team."
"Okay!"
Speaking of returning to the main team, Xiao Chenyue sat down next to Wen Ran with Minmin in her arms, "When do you plan to go back?"
"We’ll leave after the New Year," Wen Ran replied, teasing Minmin and watching her gnaw happily on a peppercorn teether, her heart softened.
"It’s only because I had a relative visiting pass, and the team leader was lenient with , that I could bring Hongguo along."
This trip was worth it.
Fun and eventful.
"Secretly, I wish you could stay a bit longer."
"We have to go back," Wen Ran sighed, looking at Xiao Chenyue, "Honestly, your uncle and aunt are very worried about you. Seeing that you’ve been doing well here, they’re finally relieved."
"Everything is great here, except it’s a bit cold," Xiao Chenyue said, her face filled with a happy smile, "But as long as the firewood burns brightly, it doesn’t feel cold at all.
Oh, I have sothing else I want to tell you..."
Just as Xiao Chenyue started to speak, Mrs. Xiao pulled back the curtain and entered, puzzled, "Xiao Yue, there’s a tall and burly man at the door looking for you."
Xiao Chenyue’s heart skipped a beat. She handed Minmin to Wen Ran and got up to go out.
Wen Ran: "?"
Holding the exquisitely carved and lovely Minmin in her arms, Wen Ran adjusted her round little body, feeling reluctant to part with her.
Such an adorable little human, with a milky scent.
Outside.
Xiao Chenyue reached the door and saw Gula. She took a deep breath and a big smile spread across her face.
"You’re back."
"Yes!"
Gula was tall and well-built, over six feet three, with a strong body and a serious face that naturally intimidated people.
He pulled out a bag from the horse and handed it to Xiao Chenyue, "Here’s so snow cream for you, and there’s one for the child too.
In there, there’s also the peach crisps you love and so biscuits for the child."
The bag was heavy, and Xiao Chenyue nodded, "Co in and sit for a while, my family is here."
The two talked at the door, while Mr. and Mrs. Xiao were feeling extrely nervous inside.
"I don’t know, but this young man seems to have so close relationship with Xiao Yue? It’s a bit too familiar."
Mr. Xiao felt the sa, but what ca out of his mouth was, "Ah? This young man isn’t that young. He’s about one and a half of in height."
Mrs. Xiao: "???"
She grabbed Mr. Xiao’s ear with precision, "What are you saying?! What did you say?!"
"Ow, ow, it hurts!"
Watching her parents behind her, Xiao Chenyue smiled discreetly and made way for Gula, "Co in and sit for a bit."
Gula gazed deeply at Xiao Chenyue, his dark blue eyes filled with calmness.
"Alright."
He tethered the horse and confidently strode into the house.
"Dad, Mom," Xiao Chenyue cheerily introduced, "This is Gula, my neighbor, who helped a lot when I first arrived here."
"Hello, Uncle, Aunt."
"Oh, so this is Gula!"
Mrs. Xiao quickly let go and wiped her hands on her apron twice before stepping forward to hold Gula’s hand.
One cannot help but feel a bit uneasy, he’s so tall.
Looking at the little wild boar, Gula let go of her hand and rolled up his sleeves, "Uncle, Aunt, why don’t you go inside and sit? I’ll handle everything here."
He didn’t treat himself as an outsider, and Mr. and Mrs. Xiao, curious as well, said a few polite words and followed Xiao Chenyue into the house.
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