The snow continued to fall until noon the next day, accumulating to nearly twenty centimeters. Xu An, after finishing lunch and preparing to go to school, still felt a bit sluggish. As he reached the door, he glanced back and saw his Big Brother Lu and his sister carrying supplies, getting ready to head up the mountain.

Seeing Xu An like this, Lu Xiaotang smiled and said, “Focus on your studies. I’ll take you up the mountain next Sunday.”

Xu An’s eyes lit up at those words, and he walked away happily.

Lu Xiaotang and Xu Ning escorted Xiao Mo to the cow shed. Under Xiao Mo’s envious gaze, they made their way up the mountain. When they reached the foot of the mountain, Lu Xiaotang squatted down and said to Xu Ning, “Climb on my back. The snow is a bit deep, and it’s hard to walk.”

Looking at the figure half-squatting on the ground, Xu Ning felt her eyes moisten unexpectedly. Influenced by her father in her previous life, she had never dated throughout college and her early career; she had always been a very independent person. After her grandparents passed away, she had not allowed herself to rely on anyone.

Her aunt cared for her dearly, but she had her own family with in-laws and children. Xu Ning had grown up and didn’t want to burden her aunt.

She had never thought about getting married; she just wanted to save money to buy a small house and live a stable life. She didn’t expect that she would travel through time and space to this place. At that time, she had a dream in which she used the demolition money to buy supplies, and she felt a little crazy for doing so.

The parents here loved their children dearly, but they were ultimately powerless. No matter how much they wanted to help, they often found themselves unable to do so.

In front of Xu An, Xu Ning felt she couldn’t show even a hint of weakness; she needed to be his pillar of strength.

However, ever since this person had come into her life, everything he did brought her warmth, calming her once restless heart.

Lu Xiaotang noticed she hadn’t moved for a while and turned to urge her, “Xiao Ning, why aren’t you getting on?”

Turning around, he saw her red-eyed gaze fixed on him, and he immediately straightened up. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? If so, we don’t have to go,” he said, ready to take her back.

Xu Ning quickly grabbed his arm and replied, “I’m fine! I’m not unwell, Brother Lu. Let’s hurry up! You don’t need to carry me; I’m used to walking the mountain trails.”

Seeing her determination, Lu Xiaotang said, “Alright, then I’ll walk in front. You can step in my footprints.”

After walking for almost half an hour, they passed the areas where people gathered wild goods and chopped firewood. They occasionally spotted wild chickens and rabbits in the snow.

Lu Xiaotang took out some small stones he had collected from the mountain and threw them towards a nearby rabbit. He hit it about five or six times out of ten attempts.

Watching the growing number of wild rabbits and chickens in their basket, Xu Ning’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She had previously heard Xu An boast about Lu Xiaotang’s skills, thinking he was exaggerating. Now, seeing it for herself, she felt that Brother Lu was truly impressive.

Noticing her joy, Lu Xiaotang asked with a smile, “Are you cold?”

Xu Ning shook her head and replied cheerfully, “Not at all! I’m not cold at all.”

Lu Xiaotang adjusted her scarf, leaving only her eyes visible, and said, “If you’re not cold, let’s head a little deeper and see if we can find bigger game.”

After walking a bit further, Lu Xiaotang suddenly stopped. Xu Ning, walking closely behind him, almost bumped into his back. She lifted her head and adjusted her scarf, following Lu Xiaotang’s gaze. Not far away, she spotted a large and a small sika deer.

Lu Xiaotang pulled Xu Ning to the side, hiding behind a large tree. He packed down the snow at the base, instructing her, “Stand here and don’t move. If there’s any danger, climb up the tree.”

Then he took out a long piece of rope, tying loops at both ends, and quietly approached the two sika deer, stopping just a few meters away from them.

He threw the loop of rope at the larger sika deer, and it quickly slipped from its head to its neck. Lu Xiaotang pulled the rope hard, and the deer was instantly brought down to the ground.

The smaller sika deer, seeing its companion under attack, charged towards Lu Xiaotang.

Xu Ning gasped in shock, grabbing the hatchet from her basket, ready to rush over and help. Before she could move, Lu Xiaotang had already slipped the other end of the rope around the neck of the charging deer. Both deer fell to the ground, and with a tight pull on the rope, they let out no sound and were soon lifeless.

He tugged the rope forward, leaving deep tracks in the snow as he dragged the two sika deer.

Xu Ning stared in amazement as he approached, pulling the two deer. The larger one looked to weigh over one hundred fifty pounds, while the smaller one was around one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty pounds. In just a few minutes, he had managed to trap them with a single rope.

Seeing her gaze fixed on the two deer, Lu Xiaotang chuckled, “Cold, huh? Let’s head back.”

Xu Ning snapped back to reality, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she said, “Brother Lu, you’re amazing!”

She took the rope from his hands, declaring, “I’ll pull it; I’m strong!”

Lu Xiaotang watched as the slender girl effortlessly dragged the combined weight of nearly three hundred pounds of deer across the snowy ground. He was momentarily stunned but quickly grabbed the nearby basket and moved ahead.

He caught up with Xu Ning, taking the rope from her hands and said, “I’ll pull it; you hold the basket.”

Xu Ning replied, “Brother Lu, I’m strong! I can manage.”

“Even if you’re strong, you shouldn’t exert yourself too much. When working, just do as much as other girls do. If food is scarce, you can always buy it; there’s no need to worry about money. Right now, I’m the deputy camp leader, earning over sixty a month, plus bonuses for missions. I’ll send you money every month.”

Xu Ning walked with her head down, following the tracks left by the two dragged sika deer, with droplets of water falling from her face to the ground.

Lu Xiaotang walked ahead, asking, “Got it?”

Xu Ning sniffled and replied, “Got it, Brother Lu.”

When they reached the foot of the mountain, there was still some time before dark. Xu Ning suggested that she go ahead to check if anyone was around, leaving the basket behind.

She first made her way to the cow shed. A few people knew that she and Lu Xiaotang had gone hunting, and when they saw her returning alone, they quickly asked, “Where’s Xiaotang?”

Xu Ning said that Brother Lu was at the foot of the mountain. Upon hearing this, Father Xu and Uncle Lu quickly headed down to join him.

Together, they helped drag the two deer just outside the cow shed. Lu Xiaotang then sent them back, worried that someone might see them, and continued pulling the deer until he reached the Xu siblings’ home.

He placed the two deer in the kitchen to drain the blood and began skinning them, while Xu Ning boiled water to pluck the feathers from the wild chickens.

When Xu An returned and saw all their spoils, he quickly set down his backpack and rushed over to help.

After more than an hour of work, they had thoroughly cleaned up two deer, five rabbits, and nine wild chickens.

Xu Ning asked Lu Xiaotang to take the skins of the two sika deer and the rabbit skins to Grandpa Qi, who had learned skinning techniques from his adoptive father.

Lu Xiaotang used a large basket to collect the items Xu Ning had prepared, including a leg of deer meat, as he intended to take them to the cow shed. Xu Ning added, “Make sure to ask Grandpa Qi how to prepare the deer antler and deer blood.”