Xu Feng gently pushed the door open, tossing the bled chicken into the yard.
Pushing open the wooden door, moonlight spilled into the simple room.
In the dark, a pair of bright eyes met Xu Feng's. His foolish wife had waited for him all night, not sleeping at all.
"Why aren't you sleeping? I told you not to worry."
Xu Feng stepped forward and pinched his wife's small head; her soft hair felt silky smooth to the touch.
"I'm scared, scared that after I sleep, you'll..."
Lin Xiyue didn't finish her sentence, but Xu Feng knew what his wife was afraid of.
He cupped his wife's small head in his hands, leaned in, and gently bit her cheek.
"Does it hurt?"
Lin Xiyue pouted and nodded sadly, a small tear immediately falling from her eye.
She didn't know if it was from being tired from not sleeping all night, or because Xu Feng was teasing her.
"If it hurts, it proves it's not a dream. Your man hunted a deer on the mountain last night!
I'll go to the village chief's house to share the meat in a bit. You go to sleep quickly; staying up late isn't good for the baby in your belly, got it?"
Lin Xiyue was still surprised that her man had hunted a deer, but then she heard that not sleeping was bad for the baby in her belly and immediately panicked.
She obediently lay down and closed her eyes, not even asking more about the deer.
It was summer, and this was the coolest time of day.
Xu Feng covered his wife's belly, closed the door, and hurried to the village chief's house.
Xu Shoushan was the village chief's son, and his hunting skills were learned from his father.
On the way back, Xu Feng had mentioned it, asking them why they didn't use guns.
In this era, one couldn't say every household had a gun, but for hunters, a gun was standard equipment.
Shoushan replied that he also wanted to use a gun, but unfortunately, their marksmanship was average, and they didn't have many bullets.
No wonder, if they had guns, that deer wouldn't have been Xu Feng's business.
It was already dawn, and in this era, no one slept in late.
News that the village chief's son had hunted a buck had already spread, and many people rushed to the village chief's house to join the excitement.
Of course, not all of them were just there to watch; in these times, every family lacked meat, and some thought of exchanging their own goods for some meat to satisfy their cravings.
Without needing to think, from a distance, the house with smoke rising was the village chief's, likely already boiling water to scald the fur.
To be honest, Xu Feng was still very excited. This wasn't just a piece of venison, but the beginning of his good life.
"Oh, it's rare to see you up so early!"
The one speaking with an exaggerated tone was Xu Qiang, Li Shen's eldest son from next door. He heard Shoushan had hunted a deer and came to watch the excitement, hoping to get a bowl of deer blood or something.
At worst, he'd shamelessly follow Shoushan the next time he went up the mountain.
Listening to Xu Qiang's words, those watching the excitement knew he was mocking Xu Feng for being a lazy bum who only knew how to eat and be idle.
Truly, like mother, like son; both were talkative and loved to stir up trouble.
"Shut your stinking mouth. Your mouth stinks so bad, no wonder you can't find a wife."
Xu Feng wasn't one to back down; even if it came to a fight, he wasn't afraid.
"Aren't you just..."
Xu Qiang stopped halfway through his sentence. After all, Xu Feng at least had a beautiful wife.
Since he couldn't attack him on that front, he'd change direction.
"Well, everyone else brought something, are you just here empty-handed to watch the show?
You want to take advantage empty-handed? I'm telling you, don't even think about it!"
At least Xu Qiang had brought a pack of cigarettes; he had just given one to each of Shoushan and the others.
Xu Feng couldn't be bothered to argue with him; in a moment, he would be proven wrong with a resounding slap.
This made the other onlookers only think Xu Feng was too embarrassed to continue being stubborn, and they couldn't help but laugh out loud.
And Xu Qiang was like a victorious rooster, raising his proud head to receive praise.
You, Xu Feng, besides being 1.8 meters tall, having a ruggedly handsome appearance, and a beautiful wife at home, what else do you have?
What else are you?
Being poor at home is shameful!
Xu Feng ignored the mocking sounds, pushed through the crowd, and walked into the yard.
His 1.8-meter height was indeed conspicuous, and many people shifted their attention to him.
However, seeing that it was the village's notorious lazy pauper, no one even bothered to greet him.
"Xu Feng, you're finally here! Someone in our village wants to trade for the deer hide and deer penis, and I told them it wasn't mine, but they didn't believe me.
Now that the owner is here, you can discuss it with them."
As soon as Shoushan spoke, the yard became noticeably quieter.
What's going on? This buck was hunted by this lazy bum?
Who doesn't know this kid is uneducated, only knowing how to drink and beat his wife, and nothing else?
Now you're telling me this kid quietly killed a deer?
If anyone else had said this, they wouldn't have believed it even if it killed them.
But since Xu Shoushan said it himself, no one would joke about such a thing.
Those who had just mocked Xu Feng now felt their faces burning.
The deer belonged to him, so what was the point of bringing anything over?
Especially Xu Qiang, his eyes were almost red with jealousy.
"No trade. When I have time, I'll go to the city and see if I can trade for some good things."
These people in the village would only take advantage. This was Xu Feng's first step to becoming rich, so he couldn't be careless.
"Alright, it's your stuff anyway. It's still being scalded, so it'll be a while."
Xu Feng said he wasn't in a hurry; he had already stayed up all night, so a little more time wouldn't hurt.
In that short time, no less than three groups of people asked Xu Feng if he would sell the deer penis and deer hide, and Xu Feng refused them all.
After waiting a while longer, the village chief, Xu Li, had skillfully butchered the venison.
Xu Feng's estimation was off; this buck weighed almost a hundred catties, yielding about seventy catties of meat, three catties of intestines and organs, and over three catties of deer blood.
The six of them each received over ten catties of meat and half a catty of deer blood. As for the intestines and organs, the three hunting dogs each got one catty.
"Here, Xu Feng, this is yours. Make sure to return the bamboo basket to me!"
The village chief's high prestige in Xu Family Village was not without reason; knowing Xu Feng's family was poor, he gave him the deer ribs and hind leg meat, which could be exchanged for more valuable things.
Since the village chief was so good to him, Xu Feng certainly couldn't fall short.
He directly grabbed a piece of meat from the bamboo basket: "Village Chief, I haven't even thanked you for finding me such a good wife. You must accept this piece of meat, no matter what you say."
One must know that the piece of meat Xu Feng grabbed was at least two catties, which could be exchanged for a lot of grain.
"Huh!"
Village Chief Xu Li let out a surprised grunt: "Is this still the Xu Feng I know?"
As the village chief, how could he not know how much of a scoundrel this kid was?
In recent years, he had more than once regretted introducing Lin Xiyue to him as a wife, but what was done was done, and even he, as the village chief, couldn't interfere in household matters.
When his son came back today and told him about last night, Xu Li even wondered if his son had taken the wrong medicine.
Now, it seemed this scoundrel truly had grown up.
"Of course it's true. I now understand how much of a scoundrel I was before. It's all thanks to your guidance, Village Chief."
There was no falsehood in Xu Feng's words.
"Good, good. A prodigal son's return is worth more than gold. Just treat your wife well from now on, and that will be repayment enough for me."
The old village chief was truly relieved.
Xu Feng didn't want to argue with the village chief and simply tossed the meat into the village chief's arms.
His action made the surrounding onlookers only think he was a fool, giving away meat he didn't need to the village chief.
The village chief's family already had enough, so why would they need so much more? It would be better to give it to them.
