The next day, Bai Yu took Old Mo into the mountains.
After walking several miles, Bai Yu was panting heavily.
Although his strength had reached 10, equivalent to about 100 jin, his qi and blood were depleted, and his constitution was lacking.
In other words, he was a "five-second real man."
Very fierce, but not enduring.
After resting for a while, he regained his vigor and began preparing for the hunt.
As soon as he entered the forest, the knowledge in his mind became incredibly clear.
He could easily distinguish the footprints of several common wild animals.
He could even deduce which animal it was and how many days ago it had been there based on the droppings.
With his beginner-level hunting experience, he set up several rope loop traps along the paths of the beasts.
As soon as an animal triggered the trap, it would be ensnared and unable to escape.
In addition, he set up numerous stone slab traps.
Underneath the stone slabs, he placed wild fruits. When small animals came to eat the fruits, they would be crushed by the slabs.
By midday, Bai Yu took out two roasted sweet potatoes from his pocket.
He and Old Mo each took one and ate slowly.
"Old Mo, in a few days, we'll be able to eat meat."
He couldn't help but imagine the fragrant braised meat.
"Woof woof~"
Old Mo also started drooling.
In recent days, both man and dog had been starving.
However, the next day when Bai Yu went up the mountain, the traps yielded nothing.
On the third day, he only caught a mountain rat, which had been crushed into a rat pancake by the stone slab.
Although he tasted a bit of meat, it wasn't enough to fill the gap between his teeth.
Bai Yu even tried to perform a funeral for the mountain rat bones, but unfortunately, there was no funeral reward.
Only creatures with awakened intelligence and a funeral commission would yield a reward.
***
On the fourth day, with a sense of unease, Bai Yu went up the mountain once more.
"Amitabha, Infinite Heavenly Sovereign, please bless me with a bountiful harvest this time, Amen!"
He took Old Mo and checked the traps one by one.
Finally, at the last trap, he found a wild deer caught in the snare.
The deer was slightly larger than a goat, hanging from a tree, and appeared to have just died.
"Thank you, nature, for this gift."
Tears of gratitude trickled down Bai Yu's mouth.
He practically jumped over, took down the deer, and carried it down the mountain.
"Old Mo, we have meat to eat."
Bai Yu sang a song of gratitude while gutting the deer.
He carefully skinned the deer.
A complete deer hide could sell for hundreds of wen in the city, and even if sold to a peddler, it could fetch sixty to seventy wen.
Deer antlers could be used in medicine, selling to a doctor for about thirty wen.
This deer alone could bring in nearly a hundred wen in copper coins.
In addition to miscellaneous items, there was over a hundred jin of meat, which, if rationed, could last for one or two months.
Bai Yu prepared the deer antlers and hide, swiftly bled and cut the meat, and hung much of it to smoke and dry.
The small amount of fat was used to render oil, known as deer tallow, which was also a medicinal ingredient.
That noon, he cooked a pot of heart and lung soup.
The delicious innards, along with roasted liver and deer meat, were a feast.
Bai Yu and the little black dog ate until their mouths were greasy, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
"Old Mo, this is what life is about—having food and drink. If only we had a little beauty to accompany us.
When we make it big, I'll definitely find three to five beauties for an all-night... game of mahjong.
Yeah, and then I'll find a few little female—hey, you finished all the roasted liver!
How can you be so greedy? At least leave me some."
Old Mo licked his lips and barked with a silly grin.
He didn't care about beauties or little dogs.
As long as he could follow Bai Yu and eat his fill every day, he was content.
Bai Yu was so annoyed that he drank all the heart and lung soup, leaving none for Old Mo.
After eating and drinking his fill, Bai Yu patted his belly and stood up.
"Old Mo, you stay home and watch the house. I'm going to bring some deer meat to Uncle Dazhuang and the others."
When Bai Yu arrived, Uncle Dazhuang was holding a bowl of wild vegetable and coarse rice.
"Changsheng, have you eaten? If not, come have some. Uncle Dazhuang, I've already eaten. I caught a deer today and brought you some."
Uncle Dazhuang was startled, looking at Bai Yu in disbelief.
In these times, eating meat wasn't easy.
Ordinary families only saw meat during festivals, and any preserved meat was saved for guests.
Uncle Dazhuang quickly waved his hands: "Changsheng, what are you doing? How can I take your things, especially meat?"
Bai Yu forcefully left the deer meat behind: "Uncle Dazhuang, I can't finish it all by myself, and I must thank you for the bag of rice you gave me."
Uncle Dazhuang couldn't refuse and repeatedly praised Bai Yu's abilities.
As Bai Yu turned to leave, he heard Uncle Dazhuang's son, Little Zhuangzhuang, cheer: "Great, we have meat to eat! Mom, let's eat meat today."
"What meat? Save the fat for oil, cure the lean for preserved meat to serve guests."
"Your father is right."
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"Right about what? Look at Changsheng, he's so young and already hunting in the mountains."
"Mom is right too."
Outside, Bai Yu smiled knowingly.
Interestingly, in this world, fat meat was more expensive than lean meat, but unfortunately, deer didn't have much fat.
He shook his head and brought a piece of deer meat to Third Sister-in-law's house.
Third Sister-in-law was equally surprised and kept praising Bai Yu's hunter-like demeanor.
The neighbors secretly sighed, regretting not helping Changsheng when he was in trouble.
Finally, Bai Yu carried a deer leg to Mr. Meng's house.
Mr. Meng was both a teacher and someone who had helped the Bai family, a debt of gratitude he couldn't forget.
Mr. Meng was in the courtyard reading, nodding and engrossed.
Bai Yu hurriedly greeted him: "Mr. Meng, I've brought you a deer leg."
Mr. Meng didn't look at the deer leg but asked sternly: "You haven't been to class for a few days. Have you fallen behind on your studies? Recite the Thousand Character Classic."
Mr. Meng was always strict, prioritizing studies above all.
To him, moral articles were more important than anything.
"Heaven and earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is vast and boundless..."
Bai Yu recited it without missing a word, and Mr. Meng's expression softened.
"The Book of Songs, how many can you recite?"
"You give me a quince, I repay with a jade pendant, you give me a peach, I repay with a jade tablet..."
Bai Yu recited over a dozen poems, and Mr. Meng nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with approval.
When Bai Yu finished, Mr. Meng smiled for the first time.
"Not bad, not bad, the child can be taught."
Only then did he accept the deer leg and invite Bai Yu inside.
He sighed: "Alas, you're my best student, it's truly a pity to stop learning."
Mr. Meng tapped the table with his fingers and said: "I know it's not easy for you, but you mustn't neglect your studies. From now on, come to my house for lessons on the first and fifteenth of each month."
The first and fifteenth were when the village school was closed, meaning Mr. Meng intended to tutor Bai Yu privately.
But Bai Yu shook his head and said:"Thank you for your teaching, sir, but Changsheng is currently burdened with making a living and may not be able to continue learning with you."
Mr. Meng was momentarily stunned, then sighed deeply.
He took two books from a drawer and handed them to Bai Yu.
"One is a handwritten copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals, take it home to study, and feel free to ask me if you have questions.
The other is a martial arts cultivation technique I acquired by chance, practice it for self-defense."
Bai Yu's breathing became heavy.
The Spring and Autumn Annals aside, the martial arts technique was exactly what he needed.
The blue cover read "Five Elements Fist."
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan