Chapter 8

Gu Keqing really wanted to say, “No need,” but she couldn’t refuse the elderly woman’s kindness, so she had no choice but to accept.

After dinner, Qi Zhiyun took the initiative to handle the dishwashing.

Shen Yan, taking advantage of the fact that it wasn’t completely dark yet, pulled his wife’s hand and returned to their room.

As the saying goes, newlyweds always bask in marital bliss—even the toughest man can’t help but indulge a little.

All the more so when his wife was as beautiful as Gu Keqing.

“Tonight, Han Dashuan and I are going up the mountain to hunt. Make sure to bolt the door tonight. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you into town,” Shen Yan said, pulling Gu Keqing into his arms. Breathing in her scent, his heart softened to the point where he didn’t even want to leave.

“Hunting?”

Gu Keqing’s heart skipped a beat. “There are wild animals in the mountains, right? You can’t go—it’s too dangerous.”

When she had read the book, she had been fascinated by the scenes where Shen Yan hunted wild beasts, thinking now that’s what a real man is.

The delicate, effeminate “pretty boys” of modern times couldn’t even compare.

But now that she had transmigrated into the novel and married this towering, mountain-like man, she naturally couldn’t bear to let him take such risks.

“Don’t worry—you still don’t know my skills?”

Shen Yan pinched her little nose, his eyes full of tenderness.

“But… I’m still worried.”

Wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest, she said coyly, “You must be careful, come back early. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Mm.”

After that, they lingered in each other’s arms for a while until Han Dashuan came to call for him, and they reluctantly let go.

“Come back early!”

Although Gu Keqing was reluctant to see him go, she couldn’t stop him.

Men have their own ways of thinking—sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can’t stop them.

She secretly resolved to earn a lot of money so Shen Yan would no longer have to risk himself doing this sort of thing.

He was so capable—if he got the right opportunity in the future, he might even be able to return to the army.

After Shen Yan left, Gu Keqing bolted the door and entered her spatial dimension.

Inside the grand castle, there was everything one could imagine—and plenty of things she could sell on the black market.

Many of the antiques could fetch sky-high prices in modern times.

But since she hadn’t found the right channel yet, she couldn’t just take them out recklessly.

She could only pick things that were both easy to sell and could make her some small profit, to test the waters first.

She walked around the space twice, selecting twenty bars of beautifully packaged soap, forty eggs, five bags of white flour, five bags of rice, and ten bunches of leafy vegetables.

She also packed a few bags of apples, fragrant pears, water, and bananas.

By her rough estimate, selling these at the black market could bring in a few hundred yuan—better than nothing.

After packing everything, Gu Keqing checked the time inside the space before coming out.

She climbed onto the kang bed, looked at the alarm clock, and realized that time still flowed normally inside the space.

She thought this was great—if she went to the black market and ran into trouble, she could just hide in the space until the danger passed.

Lying in bed, her thoughts returned to Shen Yan’s safety. She wondered if he had caught anything yet.

Meanwhile, Shen Yan and Han Dashuan set off up the mountain with their gear.

They didn’t waste a single minute, nor did they dare to tell anyone.

If they caught something like a wild boar but didn’t hand it over, the production team leader would be unhappy.

And if the villagers found out, they might face a round of criticism.

So the two of them always did this secretly.

“Yan-ge, I’ve already set the traps and dug the pit. Now we just wait for something to take the bait,” Han Dashuan whispered, crouching by the trap after turning off his flashlight.

As they chatted quietly, a series of grunting noises came from the grass.

“A wild boar—and a big one, too,” Shen Yan said, listening intently as he tightened his grip on his iron rod and machete. “I’ll lure it over. Once it falls into the trap, we’ll kill it.”

“Be careful, Yan-ge!”

Han Dashuan was thrilled—judging by the sound, the beast must weigh at least 200 jin (about 100 kg).

If they could sell it overnight, they’d make a tidy sum. Just thinking about it made him excited.

Shen Yan moved quickly, banging hard on a large rock to get the wild boar’s attention.

In an instant, the boar spotted him, let out two angry squeals, and charged at full speed.

Shen Yan ran toward the trap, and moments later, the boar let out a pained cry.

Han Dashuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yan-ge, you okay?!”

“Don’t worry!”

They both looked at the trapped boar, which was struggling violently.

“Whoa! It’s even bigger than I thought. Lucky the trap is big enough, or it wouldn’t fit!” Han Dashuan grinned, raising his sharpened iron rod and driving it into the boar’s eye.

Three hours later, the two of them carried the wild boar, along with over a dozen wild rabbits and pheasants, down the mountain via a different path.

Han Dashuan had already prepared a donkey cart nearby.

They hauled everything straight to the black market under the cover of night.

By the time they returned, dawn was breaking.

Shen Yan, anxious to get home, urged the donkey forward at top speed.

“Yan-ge, the poor donkey’s been working all night—look at how hard you’re whipping it. My heart aches for it,” Han Dashuan muttered. His family only had this one donkey, and he treated it like treasure.

“We’re going back up the mountain in three days,” Shen Yan said, giving him a sidelong glance. “Another wild boar.”

“Heh… Yan-ge, I was just saying. The donkey’s not that precious,” Han Dashuan replied sheepishly.

This trip had brought in 420 yuan—210 each.

Since it was Shen Yan who had risked his life, Han Dashuan was more than happy to agree to another hunt.

“Yan-ge, you never worked this hard before. Getting married really changes a man,” Han Dashuan teased as he drove the cart.

“My wife’s in poor health and can’t do farm work. I don’t want her to suffer, so I want to earn more money for her to spend,” Shen Yan said. After a long night, with money in his pocket and thoughts of his wife, he felt content.

If he worked hard for a month or so, she wouldn’t have to worry about buying anything she wanted.

When they reached the Shen family’s yard, Gu Keqing had already woken up, washed, and was preparing to leave with a basket on her back.

“You’re back! I was so worried about you.”

She quickly took his hand, looking him over from head to toe to make sure he wasn’t hurt, then led him inside.

Pouring him a bowl of warm water, she said, “Breakfast is in the pot. Eat something, and don’t go to work this morning—rest at home.”

“I’m not tired.”

Seeing how much she cared for him, Shen Yan felt a warm current in his heart.

“Even if you’re not tired, you should rest. Lack of sleep can make you faint. Missing a few work points won’t kill you. I’ll ask Shen Ming to tell the team leader you’re taking the day off.”

Gu Keqing deliberately put on a stern face as she scolded him.

“Then… I’ll listen to you. But if I’m not going to work, I’m coming with you to the city. I don’t feel safe letting you go alone,” Shen Yan said, taking 210 yuan from his pocket and handing it to her.

“You don’t need to come with me. Once I get to the city, I’ll go to my friend’s house. If you come, it’ll just be inconvenient. Be good and listen.”

Gu Keqing put the money away in her space, then smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before getting up.

“Wife, I’ll take you to the village entrance so you can catch the ox cart.”