Chapter 35: Hunting Birds in the Mountains

The next morning, He Zhuzhu left before dawn, stopping at Wang Shuning’s door to say goodbye.

Winter was approaching; waking up in the morning, she no longer heard the chirping of birds, making it unusually quiet.

Wang Shuning opened her door and went to the hall, where He Guocai and He Guoyue were playing. Seeing Wang Shuning, He Guoyue stopped playing with her wooden toy. “Sister Shuning, you’re up!”

“Yeah, have you had breakfast?” Wang Shuning asked.

He Guoyue nodded vigorously. She had eaten a long time ago. It was almost noon. Goudan  had tried several times to wake Sister Shuning, but she had stopped him. Her mother had said that city people were different; they could eat their fill and didn’t need to get up early to work.

Goudan , squatting on the ground, said childishly, “It’s almost lunchtime.”

Wang Shuning smiled apologetically. “Then sister will make you lunch.”

He Guoyue shook her head. “No, my mother already made lunch and dinner this morning. They’re kept warm in the pot; we just need to add some fire.”

“Okay.” Wang Shuning returned to her room, washed up, and started preparing lunch.

A bowl of stir-fried green pepper and pork noodles, with extra stir-fried green pepper and pork served to the children as a side dish.

He Zhuzhu had prepared sweet potato and sorghum porridge for Goudan  and Mingming for lunch and dinner—indeed, just adding firewood would warm it up.

“Mingming, your full name is He Guoyue, why is your nickname Mingming?” Wang Shuning curiously asked.

He Guoyue looked up and replied, “Because my father’s name is He Heming. My mother said my name is to commemorate my father.”

So that’s it. Using her daughter’s nickname to commemorate her deceased husband. He Zhuzhu had remained a widow for so many years without remarrying, suggesting that the couple had been very loving when he was alive.

“Goudan , Goudan !” A child’s voice called from outside.

Goudan  quickly stood up and ran out. “Fengfeng!”

He Fengfeng was standing behind several other children, all from villager families. “Goudan , we’re going to the mountain to hunt birds. Are you and Mingming coming?”

Goudan ‘s eyes flashed with excitement. “Wait a minute, I’ll ask my sister.”

“Sister, Fengfeng and the others are going to hunt birds in the mountains, and he’s waiting for us outside.”

He Guoyue: “No, Mom told us to stay home today before she left.”

Goudan  really wanted to go. He begged, “Sister, there are so many of us; nothing will happen.”

He Guoyue bit her lip, nervously glancing at Wang Shuning. Her mother had said before leaving that they should listen to Sister Shuning.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Shuning stood up and said, “I haven’t been to the mountain yet. How about I come along?”

Goudan  was stunned. Fengfeng and the others were all children under ten, but Sister Shuning was a grown-up.

He Guoyue agreed wholeheartedly. Sister Shuning was a grown-up; with her, she felt safe. “Then Sister Shuning, let’s go together.”

After locking the door, Goudan  ran excitedly ahead. When He Fengfeng and the others waiting outside learned that Wang Shuning was also going, they were surprised.

Wang Shuning shared her candied chestnuts with them.

He Fengfeng peeled one and ate it, discovering that the chestnuts were sweet, even the shells had a sweet taste. “Sister Shuning, why are your chestnuts sweet?”

The children’s steps were short, so Wang Shuning slowed her pace to keep up.

“These are candied chestnuts, stir-fried with white sugar, so the sweetness seeps into the chestnuts.”

Not only Goudan  and Mingming were surprised, but the other children were also amazed. Sugar was so expensive; it was difficult to have a bowl of sugar water at home, yet someone used sugar to fry chestnuts.

The children eating the chestnuts sucked on the shells, determined to absorb all the sweetness inside.

Although it was early winter, the mountain was still green, mostly pine trees; the bushes and grass had turned yellow.

Many children carried bows and arrows—made of bamboo, with hemp rope as bowstrings.

Most of the birds perched on the trees were completely black. These birds were usually not hunted, while Goudan  and the others targeted partridges with gray feathers, as they had more meat.

Birds usually perched on high branches, and their bows and arrows were very simple, so the success rate was not high; the bamboo arrows would fall mid-air, it was more for fun.

Wang Shuning followed the group of children. The air in the mountains was much colder than outside, and the oxygen felt more abundant, making one feel relaxed.

Every time Goudan  and the others shot an arrow, they had to run a long way to retrieve it. After several unsuccessful attempts, they changed their game, abandoning bird hunting for searching for squirrel nests.

The children’s movements in the mountains would startle the squirrels. When they saw one, they would chase after it relentlessly, trying to find the squirrel’s food stores.

A colorful tail flashed through the grass. Wang Shuning immediately chased after it and, upon closer inspection, found it was a pheasant.

He Guoyue noticed Wang Shuning’s movements and immediately shouted, “There’s a pheasant!” The children immediately surrounded her to help.

They surrounded the plump pheasant, but pheasants have wings. Perhaps it was the survival instinct triggered by the crisis; it squawked a few times and spread its wings, attempting to fly out of the encirclement.

Suddenly, a bamboo arrow flew out, piercing the pheasant’s belly.

The pheasant flew a short distance before falling to the ground. Wang Shuning immediately rushed over and caught it.

The bamboo arrow was stuck halfway in, and blood was already flowing.

Wang Shuning smiled at He Fengfeng, who had shot the arrow. “I didn’t expect Fengfeng’s aim to be so good.”

He Fengfeng shyly scratched the back of his head. The pheasant hadn’t flown high, and he hadn’t expected to hit it.

Looking at the pheasant in Wang Shuning’s hand, the children looked at each other. Wang Shuning had found the pheasant, and He Fengfeng had shot it, but they also wanted to eat it and were worried that they wouldn’t get any.

Children can’t hide their thoughts; Wang Shuning could tell.

She asked He Fengfeng, “What do you want to do with this pheasant?”

He Fengfeng was young and innocent, speaking directly from his heart. “Let’s roast it and eat it together immediately.”

Wang Shuning laughed. “There are no ready-made seasonings on the mountain, and we can’t gut and clean it. Aunt Zhu isn’t home today. Let’s take the pheasant to Mingming’s house, and I’ll cook it for you, how about that?”

“Okay!” The children were incredibly excited. They would have chicken, the fruit of their own labor.

Wang Shuning carried the pheasant and took the children home. The kitchen was so small that it could barely fit them all.

The pheasant was very fat, yielding two large plates of braised chicken. Without enough stools, they squatted on the ground, each one eating with oily mouths.

He Fengfeng held a large drumstick, gnawing on the meat. He had the most merit, so he naturally ate the meatiest drumstick. “Sister Shuning, why aren’t you eating?”

Wang Shuning shook her head. “I had too much for lunch; I’m not hungry now.”

Even though the pheasant was large, there were twelve children. Each child only got four or five pieces. She wasn’t short of meat, so there was no need to share with the children.

In a short while, the two plates of braised chicken were completely devoured.

As they left, He Fengfeng looked at Wang Shuning and said, “Sister Shuning, let’s find you next time we go to the mountain.”

Wang Shuning’s lips curved into a smile. “Okay, if I’m free, I’ll go with you.”

He Zhuzhu didn’t return from the county until nightfall.