Chapter 94: Splitting into 2 Groups
Zhao Wendong had been to this area many times in his previous life, so he was very familiar with it. He was certain there were no unknown dangers for miles around. Plus, they wouldn’t stay out after dark, and with the dogs providing close-range warnings, their safety was guaranteed.
"Alright! We’ll listen to you!"
Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou nodded happily. With a chance to get more food, who would want to stay cooped up at home all winter? Zhao Wendong then turned to Zhao Wenwu and Jin Xiuying.
"Second Brother’s injury is indeed tricky. It didn’t hit the bone, but it’ll still take some time to heal. Besides, Dad will definitely be able to tell it’s a bullet wound. So, I’ll have to ask you to take care of him here, Second Sister-in-law. He won’t be going back to the village for now."
"As for your backstory, Second Sister-in-law, it’s simple. We’ll say we found you passed out from hunger by the road near the mountains. You came from the Central Plains to stay with relatives, but they’d already moved away, leaving you with nowhere to go. As for your identity papers, I’ll see if I can get some made. If not, we’ll just say you lost them."
Zhao Wendong kept calling her "Second Sister-in-law," but Jin Xiuying wasn’t annoyed at all. She just listened with a smile, occasionally nodding to add a few details.
And so, after they finished their discussion and had breakfast, Zhao Wendong’s group left behind plenty of food and prepared to return to the village. Zhao Wenwu, feeling reluctant to see them go, insisted on walking them out, using his uninjured arm to help carry a chunk of the wild boar meat.
They walked all the way to where they had left the sled. After several days, it was completely buried. In winter, even if it didn’t snow, the Northeast wind would blow the loose snow on the ground everywhere. They began loading their haul onto the sled one piece at a time. They had so much that they had to place the large roe deer and half the wild boar on the sled in a way that part of the meat hung over the edge, maximizing the carrying space.
Jin Xiuying noticed Zhao Wendong’s gaze sweep over her several times. A thought suddenly struck her, and she called out.
"Wendong, can I speak with you alone for a moment?"
Zhao Wendong was taken aback. He had been about to approach her himself. ’This future sister-in-law of mine is sharper than I thought.’
"Alright!"
The two of them walked to the side. Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou exchanged a look and continued packing. Zhao Wenwu glanced over and chuckled.
"I’m from a neighboring country. My father was a war hero back in the day. Our family was ranked in the top twenty nationwide. Everyone in my family was killed. I was the only one who escaped."
Zhao Wendong nodded. ’That’s more or less what I figured.’
"Was it the shootout at the border near the frontier city a couple of days ago? The one where they even used artillery?"
Jin Xiuying froze. She had suspected Zhao Wendong might know something, but she never imagined he would know about an event that happened over fifty miles away.
"How did you know? You’re truly impossible to figure out. Yes, it was that day. My entire family is gone. That’s what I wanted to tell you."
Zhao Wendong smiled.
"Thank you for your trust. This stays between you and me. Don’t let anyone else know, there’s no point. So, have you really decided to become my second sister-in-law? To be the wife of an ordinary farmer in the Dragon Country—and a simple-minded boy whose brain was addled by a high fever at that?"
"Yes, I’ve made up my mind. I have nowhere else to go, and your second brother did save my life. But more than that, I genuinely like him. That’s the biggest reason for my decision. I once came from an illustrious family and stood above the masses, but in the end, my family was still destroyed and everyone in it killed. The human heart is the most terrifying thing. Your second brother has a heart as pure as gold, and I really like that!"
"Good. Welcome to the family, Second Sister-in-law. But from this day forward, you must forget your past. You can’t entertain any thoughts of going back for revenge. Because the only ones who could have moved against you would be the Golden Clan, right? Their family still has at least eighty to a hundred years of Dragon’s Luck left. You don’t stand a chance."
Zhao Wendong said at last, combining this with some news he’d heard in his previous life.
"I’m right, aren’t I, Miss Cui?"
Jin Xiuying’s pupils constricted violently. She subconsciously reached for her chest, but then she remembered that Zhao Wendong was not her enemy, and she was no longer the great Miss Cui of the Cui Family.
"Who... who are you? How could you know..."
Jin Xiuying murmured to herself for a moment before looking at Zhao Wendong seriously. "Don’t worry, I understand. Miss Cui is already dead. From now on, there is only Jin Xiuying—a woman from the Central Plains who fled a famine, Zhao Wenwu’s wife. I will stay with him until we’re old, bear his children, honor his parents together, and live out the life of Jin Xiuying to the fullest!"
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Zhao Wendong nodded at her, gave her a warm smile, and turned to rejoin the others. The sled was already packed. The three of them said their goodbyes and set off on the path back to the village.
Watching as Zhao Wendong and the other two pulled the sled further and further into the distance, Jin Xiuying walked over to Zhao Wenwu and patted him.
"What are you standing there gawking for? Let’s go. They’ll be back soon enough!"
"Mhm. Did you and Third Brother come to an agreement?"
"We did!"
"Did you pinky promise?"
Jin Xiuying paused, then immediately understood that when Zhao Wenwu said "pinky promise," he meant a real promise. She smiled and said,
"We pinky promised. Let’s go home."
Zhao Wenwu’s heart felt as sweet as if he’d eaten candy. He nodded emphatically, then turned and led the dogs back to their camp.
The little white fox looked left, then right. After a moment’s thought, it decided to follow Zhao Wenwu.
As Zhao Wendong and the other two walked home, pulling a sled piled high with game, Zhao Wenjun was still a little worried. They had never been separated from Zhao Wenwu for his entire life.
"Third Brother, are you sure Second Brother and that woman will be alright alone in the mountains?"
"Oh, stop worrying. If you two had shown up a few days later, they might have had a kid by now!"
Hearing Zhao Wendong’s amusing reply, Zhao Ergou couldn’t help but cover his mouth and snicker. Zhao Wenjun could only shoot Zhao Wendong a helpless look. Although his third brother was much more reliable now, his mouth still ran a mile a minute.
It was noon when the three of them pulled the sled back into the village. Some villagers who were outside saw them return and hurried over, eager to see what they had brought back.
Zhao Wendong and the others quickly pulled the sled into their yard, pushed it into the shed they used as an outbuilding, and shut the wooden gate. A few villagers who had wanted to snoop around paced in front of the gate a couple of times before leaving dejectedly, muttering amongst themselves as they went.
"Looked to me like there was a lot of stuff on that sled."
"You bet. Zhao Wendong and his brothers must have caught something again!"
"Makes me want to go up the mountain and try my luck, too."
"Then let’s do it! We’ll go together tomorrow!"
Chen Yanmei heard their chatter and pursed her lips. ’Just because my youngest son can catch game doesn’t mean they can.’ Even Zhao Dashan, a veteran hunter, had come back empty-handed with a broken leg.
She and Song Xiaoyu looked at the sled, once again piled high with their haul, and couldn’t suppress their smiles. Their faces bloomed with joy. Chen Yanmei had just started inspecting the wild boar and roe deer on the sled when she suddenly realized something was wrong. She looked left and right, sensing someone was missing.
"Son, where’s your second brother?"