Chapter 37: Hunter Lin’s Back Injury

Lin Shanye accepted the silver with a serious expression, thanking the old woman earnestly.

At that moment, a figure appeared at the door of their dwelling: it was Hunter Lin, one hand propped against his back, the other gripping the door tightly. He bent his body slightly to greet them, calling out, “Wang San, come in and sit for a while!”

“Grandpa, why are you up? Isn’t your back hurting badly?” Lin Shanye exclaimed, running over with the silver in hand to help support the elderly hunter as he stepped out of the house.

“I’m fine now. I heard voices outside and thought I’d see what’s happening,” Hunter Lin replied.

The old woman stopped a few steps away from him, her brow furrowing with concern. “Old Hunter, how are you doing? Is the injury serious? Have you seen a doctor?”

Song Liangzuo trailed behind his grandmother, watching the old hunter grimace slightly as he spoke, “It’s nothing major, just a bit of a back sprain. This boy, Shanye, is very considerate and wouldn’t leave my side, which is what made you all come over to help. I feel sorry for troubling you, and now you’ve brought vegetables as well.”

“We were going to sell herbs, anyway, so bringing some vegetables along was just a matter of convenience. Shanye is such a filial boy; you are indeed blessed,” responded the old woman.

Seeing Hunter Lin smiling, Song Liangzuo urged Lin Shanye, “Quick, go get a chair for your San and put it in the courtyard. It’s too hot in the house!”

Song Liangzuo understood the underlying message: it wasn’t just the heat that kept Hunter Lin from wanting to be inside; he was avoiding the discomfort of sitting in cramped quarters.

“Don’t bother, don’t bother. We came just to deliver the silver; we really ought to be heading back now,” said the old woman, pulling at Song Liangzuo’s hand as if to leave.

“Not so fast, not so fast! Wait!” Hunter Lin said, noticing they were about to depart. His body, however, wasn’t in sync with his urgency; he nearly stumbled as he tried to reach for them.

Lin Shanye was quick to step in and support him again as he nearly fell.

“Go, get half of a dried rabbit for Liangzuo. He used to love our rabbit meat the most,” Hunter Lin insisted.

Upon hearing that the old hunter wanted to give them some meat, the old woman shook her head, saying, “No, no, that’s not necessary,” but her actions betrayed her as she didn’t hurry away.

Song Liangzuo shot a quizzical glance at his grandmother. What was going on with her? Did she really want the rabbit meat?

Their family was now doing well, making five to six hundred wens daily, so finding meat to buy wasn’t a problem. Why bother asking Hunter Lin for it?

As Song Liangzuo considered this, he quickly glanced towards the small house down the hill, realizing that compared to his abode, it was in a state of disrepair.

If only the old woman knew her grandson’s inner thoughts; she would protest vehemently. She’d feel more wronged than Dou E—indeed, she might as well have snow falling in June!

Her intentions were genuinely for her beloved grandson.

Back when Song Sanquan was alive, he frequently took her grandson over to Hunter Lin’s house for meals, and each time she asked, “What delicious food did you have today?” The answer was always that the rabbit meat at the old hunter’s was the best.

Each time he said that it was accompanied by a gleam in his eyes and the instinctive gesture of wiping drool from his mouth.

In recent days, they had eaten scraps and fatty meat, along with broth made from bones and pig offal, and her grandson only said her cooking was good.

Not only did he not protect his meal, but when it came time to talk about meat, his expression was utterly indifferent, not even a hint of the joy he had for the rabbit meat.

That comparison in her heart made her believe the rabbit meat from Hunter Lin’s place had to be especially delicious.

Thus, when her grandson wanted to pick vegetables, she didn’t hold him back at all.

At this point, Song Liangzuo had no idea what his grandmother was plotting. If he did, he would have loudly declared, “I’m innocent! I’m more wronged than Dou E! I need a knife to prove just how wronged I am!”

It was the old Song Liangzuo who had drooled over the thought of meat. In the past, when their household had barely enough to eat, they might have had only two meals of meat in a whole year. His most extravagant meal was often vegetables cooked in lard.

So, whenever he had been at Hunter Lin’s and enjoyed the rabbit meat, how could he not salivate at the memory?

But who was Song Xiaoxiao now?

She was someone who had seen the world and tasted fine foods.

Though her eyes would light up at the sight of delicious food, they wouldn’t be overtly needy. If she saw something mouth-watering, she wouldn’t make a scene about it.

Therefore, no matter how much she liked something, she would simply enjoy it without any pretense of hunger.

The two of them, grandmother and grandson, seemed to be sharing a silent exchange, misunderstanding each other’s intentions entirely.

Just as Song Liangzuo was about to pull his grandmother to walk faster, his other hand was suddenly grabbed, yanking him back.

He turned to see Lin Shanye running out after them, looking slightly serious. “Don’t go! I’ll get you some meat.”

This was reminiscent of the times he had seen on social media, where relatives would offer red envelopes while the younger generation would say “no” but end up opening their pockets wide enough for the money to fill in.

This time, his grandmother said, “No, no,” but her actions were clearly indicating her interest in the meat, as she now seemed to be in a competition with Lin Shanye over it. The “refusal” performance was something he never expected to see and left Song Liangzuo wide-eyed.

In this amusing tug-of-war, he once again appeared like an innocent bystander.

In the end, Lin Shanye pulled him inside the house to fetch the meat, and despite being only eleven years old, he had the strength of a bear. Song Liangzuo felt like his wrist might snap from the grip.

Once inside, he noticed the room was small but very tidy, with no unpleasant odors in the air.

He shook his sore wrist and said to Lin Shanye, “I won’t leave, just let go of me.”

Lin Shanye looked at him with an expression of disbelief and, without releasing his grip, pointed towards the old hunter. “I’m going to check on Grandpa Lin.”

Only then did Lin Shanye relent and let him go.

Song Liangzuo walked up to Hunter Lin, concerned, and asked, “Grandpa Lin, where does it hurt? Let me help you back to bed to rest.”

The old hunter smiled, revealing gaps in his gums where his teeth had once been. “It doesn’t hurt, it’s feeling much better now.”

Noticing the old man’s hand resting on his lower back, Song Liangzuo reached out to touch that area. “Is it here that hurts…”

Before he could finish, the old hunter instinctively flinched away from his touch, inadvertently letting out a sharp breath as the pain caught him off guard.