Chapter 8

On his way back to the bus station, Song Haowen accidentally saw an old market mainly selling second-hand clothes and used household appliances. He went in to take a look, and the items were indeed convenient. A red lantern portable second-hand radio was only ten yuan, while a used Flying Pigeon bicycle was only fifteen yuan, originally priced at around a hundred yuan, and it even required a ticket for purchase.

Song Haowen tested both items and felt that the quality was good, so he bought them. In addition, he bought a large bag of candies and pastries to bring home for his family and relatives.

With the bicycle, Song Haowen no longer needed to take the bus to the station; he could ride directly home. The thirty-kilometer journey, enjoying the scenery and listening to the radio along the way, took only two hours. The sun hadn’t set yet.

Seeing Song Haowen coming back on a bicycle, the whole family was very surprised, especially since at that time, not many families in the countryside could afford bicycles. His second sister snatched the handlebars from him and wouldn’t let go, asking him to help her learn to ride the bike. His fourth brother proudly showed off the radio in his youngest sister, and his youngest sister, munching on the candies given by her third brother, followed him, wanting to snatch the radio to see.

During dinner, his parents confirmed again that the bicycle and the radio were bought with the money earned from selling wild rabbits and chickens, and only then did they feel relieved. They all thought that being a bit poor was okay, but if they took the wrong path, it would be over. As for how much money their son earned today, they didn’t ask in detail.

Song Haowen’s grandparents lived alone in the old house. He had been back for two days and hadn’t visited them yet. After dinner, he took two bags of gifts and went to visit his grandfather and grandmother.

His grandparents had four children together, and Song Haowen’s father, Song Huaisheng, was the second eldest. The eldest son, Song Huaibao, the third daughter, Song Xiaoying, and the fourth son, Song Huaiyu, had all established their own households, and their children were already grown up. They all lived in the same village.

Song Haowen’s arrival made the two old people very happy. They talked about family matters and chatted a lot. Thinking about how kind the old people were to him in his previous life, he felt a bit guilty for not visiting them more often. If it weren’t for fear of disturbing their rest, he really wanted to sit for a while longer.

After leaving a bag of gifts for his grandparents, Song Haowen spent some time at his relatives house, also leaving a bag of gifts, before finally returning home.

The next day, at dawn, Song Haowen went out hunting again, leaving the task of cutting pig grass to his fourth brother.

Song Haowen’s harvest today was still plentiful.

After a whole day, Song Haowen caught eleven wild rabbits, fifteen wild chickens, and five wild ducks.

Early the next day, Song Haowen used his bicycle to carry these spoils, along with a wild chicken and a wild rabbit left at home from the day before, to Lakeside City.

At the farmers’ market, the customers who had pre-ordered the previous day didn’t break their promise. Not only did none of them back out, but it also attracted a big customer. This big customer, named Ma Yu, was the manager of a food company, specializing in supplying seafood and wild animals to several large hotels in the city and the provincial capital. Not only did he take all the remaining goods from Song Haowen, but the price was fair, even higher than the retail price by two cents. They agreed that from now on, Song Haowen’s goods would be delivered directly to the customer’s store in the city. Cash settlement would be made on the spot in the morning and afternoon, for however much was delivered.

This made Song Haowen extremely happy. Thinking that he had earned over five hundred yuan today, combined with the three hundred yuan left from the day before, he now had over eight hundred yuan in savings. This was a considerable fortune at that time.

On the way back home, Song Haowen hesitated about whether to mobilize others to hunt together, so he could act as an intermediary and profit from the price difference. After some thought, he decided against it. Firstly, without professional tools, hunting was not easy; secondly, he was only hunting to address the urgent need, and after the summer vacation, he wouldn’t do it again; thirdly, even though hunting wild animals wasn’t illegal at the moment, if people got addicted to it, it could lead to the extinction of these small animals, and he would bear the guilt.

After realizing all this, Song Haowen returned home and, without letting anyone in the family or relatives help, quietly worked alone. After returning home, considering it was still early, he went out alone again to hunt.

For the next consecutive days, Song Haowen was either hunting or on the way to deliver the wild animals. The range of his hunting had far exceeded the territory of his own team, and the money on the deposit slip quietly increased to five or six thousand yuan.

During these days, Song Haowen’s parents complained to him every day, saying that the population of wild muntjacs around the house was increasing, becoming more rampant, whether it was the collective land or the individual reserved land for each family, they were constantly harassed by these pests. Although these muntjacs felt sensitive, were good at hiding, ran like rabbits, and were good swimmers, making it difficult for people to approach them, without a hunting rifle, there was no way to catch them. It was easy to drive them away, but once driven away, they would come back. Because of this, everyone was suffering.

Song Haowen remembered that Ma Yu had mentioned to him several times about capturing some wild muntjacs to sell. Between their commune and several neighboring communes, there were tens of thousands of acres of continuous wetlands, which made it easy for muntjacs to breed and multiply. It was estimated that there were over a thousand muntjacs now. These muntjacs roamed in groups of three to five, often appearing in the fields and villages. Although they were not ferocious animals and rarely harmed people, due to their large numbers, they had gradually become a public nuisance.

Song Haowen knew that wild muntjacs were valuable all over, with their skin, meat, and bones all being worth money. The “Muntjac Treasure” from young muntjacs sold for seven to eight thousand yuan per kilogram in his previous life, and now it was still around one thousand yuan per kilogram. The “musk” in the scent glands of adult male muntjacs was even more expensive, measured by the gram and more expensive than gold. In his previous life, it was priced at over a thousand yuan per gram, and now it was nearly a hundred yuan per gram.

However, under the constant nagging of his parents and considering his excellent hidden weapon skills, Song Haowen, confident in catching muntjacs, gradually became interested. He thought of it as a way to eliminate a nuisance for the community.

Once he had this idea, Song Haowen’s interest in hunting rabbits and chickens began to wane. He spent half of his time each day confronting muntjacs, especially targeting the mature male muntjacs that had “musk” in their scent glands.

On the first day, Song Haowen achieved a resounding victory, catching two mature male muntjacs. Each of their scent glands contained a surprising seventeen to eighteen grams of “musk.” He sold the two muntjacs to Ma Yu, earning more than three thousand two hundred yuan.

For several consecutive days, Song Haowen continued to successfully hunt mature male muntjacs. Soon, the balance in his account exceeded twenty thousand yuan.

On a rainy day returning from the city, Song Haowen, now having some money on hand, thought about improving his family’s living conditions. Their house was too old, with numerous cracks in the mud walls and bird nests on the roof. During heavy rain, water leaked everywhere, and he worried that a typhoon might blow the house down.

Song Haowen decided to build a two-story small Western-style building for his family, with front and back courtyards and two kitchens and three pigsties built in the backyard, separate from the main building. This would be both hygienic and safe.

During dinner, Song Haowen shared his thoughts with his parents, surprising them. They said it was impossible and must cost a lot of money.

With confidence, Song Haowen raised his fingers and said, “The construction cost mainly involves bricks, tiles, cement boards, and the like. The wood for building furniture and doors can be sourced from our own trees. As for labor, the production team will send workers, which is standard practice. The commune pays eight work points for a small job each day, and carpenters and bricklayers each receive sixteen work points. The household building doesn’t need to cover labor costs; we just need to provide lunch.”

“I roughly estimated the cost, and two thousand yuan should be enough,” Song Haowen said. “During this period, I earned quite a bit of money. I’ll take out three thousand yuan for you to use. I’ll keep some as a reserve, and if the money at home is not enough, you can come to me.”

After saying that, he took out a three-thousand-yuan current deposit slip from his pocket and handed it to his parents.

The parents looked at each other, both unable to believe that their son had earned so much money in less than twenty days. It equaled several years of farm work for a rural family, and they found it unbelievable. However, the deposit slip was real; this matter could not be faked.

His fourth brother and youngest sister slapped the table with their hands, shouting, “We’re going to build a new house! We’ll live in a building!”

His second sister lightly patted the heads of his fourth brother and youngest sister, reproaching them, “What are you making noise for? Too annoying!”

Song Haowen chuckled and said, “Second sister, you also need to help our parents with the house.”

His second sister happily said, “I never expected that in the family of three generations of poor farmers, there would be a wicked landlord with money.”

His parents couldn’t help laughing after hearing this. His mother scolded, “Only you, this stubborn girl, would say that! However, in this era, many people suffer from the jealousy disease. Even if you have money, you have to pretend you don’t, or you’ll suffer.”

His father ignored his wife’s words and arranged, “Times have changed. We earned this money ourselves. What are we afraid of? Third son, tomorrow go with me to talk to the Village Elder about building the house.”

Building the house on the existing site didn’t require additional land approval from the commune, and they readily agreed. They even assigned an experienced team leader specifically responsible for coordinating the construction workers.

When the news spread that the poverty-stricken family of Song Huaisheng and Li Ying was going to build a new house, and it was the only two-story building in the brigade, the Village was in an uproar. They suspected the source of the funds. Even Song Haowen’s grandfather, Song Dehai, couldn’t rest assured and came specifically to understand the situation.

Song Huaisheng explained, following the family’s agreed-upon narrative, that the money for building the house was raised by Song Haowen and his classmates, whose families were wealthy. Although Song Dehai half-believed and half-doubted this explanation, he still supported building the house and immediately called over his eldest son, Song Huaibao, third daughter, Song Xiaoyan, and youngest son to help.

Since they were going to build the house on the existing site, the current house had to be demolished. Song Huaisheng borrowed a tent from the production team and had the whole family temporarily sleep in it. Without a kitchen, they set up an open-air stove outside the tent and placed a table for cooking, making do with the situation.

The family started construction, and Song Haowen, feeling it was not appropriate to go hunting again, stayed at home to help.