Chapter 33: The Dilemma of the Aunt's Family

The sun was already setting, and Zhang Xingwang had been lurking among the rocks for two or three hours, but his prey had not appeared.

I thought to myself that if I waited a little longer and still no prey appeared, I should go back.

Otherwise, it would be troublesome if he couldn't get out of the mountain before dark. He didn't have any camping equipment, and it was easy to get lost in the mountains at night, and it was very dangerous.

Most carnivorous beasts appear at night, and it is not very safe to stay in a tree at night. If there is a snake, it is basically impossible to find it.

Although I have only encountered black bears, when I went back to the village with my parents to visit my grandfather, I heard from the old people in the village that there were wolves and even leopards in the mountains.

Just as I was thinking about it, suddenly a silly roe deer jumped out of the woods and ran happily towards the stream.

Zhang Xingwang immediately lowered his head carefully, hiding his body behind the rocks, and stared at the prey through the cracks in the rocks, holding his breath.

This silly roe deer was unaware of the danger. It trotted to the stream, looked around, and prepared to lower its head to drink water.

Zhang Xinwang looked at the prey, which turned from a moving target to a stationary target, adjusted the shooting angle of the bullet, stretched out his right hand and made the number eight, and then three bullets flew out from space in succession.

Hearing two "puffs", the silly roe deer, who was drinking water, suddenly had its head and neck hit by a sledgehammer, and fell to the ground instantly, with most of its body falling into the stream, splashing some water. After struggling for a few times, it never stood up again.

This was Zhang Xingwang's most successful hunting trip. He looked around and found nothing unusual.

He trotted over to the silly roe deer and saw that his limbs were still twitching slightly, and blood was slowly flowing into the stream from the wounds on his head and neck.

Animals are fat and strong in autumn. This one weighs at least 70 kilograms, which is a big guy.

He put the robe into the space, cleaned up the blood that had seeped onto the shore, looked up at the sun, and prepared to return.

At this time, a large dark cloud slowly floated over. Not long after we walked, a breeze blew through the mountains, bringing a hint of coolness.

When we were almost halfway there, a light drizzle started to fall in the mountains.

It is not a good thing to have rain during the autumn harvest. It would have been better if this rain had come half a month earlier. The crops in the fields could have grown better.

Because of the light rain, Zhang Xingwang went down the mountain more slowly. The road in the forest seemed a bit muddy, and the animals had no idea where to hide from the rain.

In this way, Zhang Xingwang walked out of the mountains slowly when it was completely dark.

We didn't encounter any prey along the way, and when we got out of the mountain, the drizzle gradually stopped.

When I returned to the old man's house, I saw that only the old lady was there, so I asked:

"Why hasn't Grandpa come back yet?"

"Didn't you bring two bags of snacks? Your aunt's family is having a hard time, so your grandfather took some corn flour and the snacks you gave him to send to your aunt. I think he will be back soon."

Zhang Xingwang's father is the youngest, with three older sisters. They have a very good relationship. When he was a child, his grandfather and grandmother were busy working in the fields all day and had no time to take care of his siblings. His father was basically raised by his eldest aunt and second aunt in turn.

The three aunts loved him and were especially kind to him since he was a child.

My mother Wang Xiulan said that when he was seriously ill, although my aunt lived in poverty, she still asked around for folk remedies and herbal remedies. After the busy farming season, she would go up the mountain to collect herbs, dry them in the air, and bring them to him.

The second aunt and the youngest aunt would send some money and food every now and then during the slack season. Although it wasn't much, it showed that they loved their nephew very much.

And since my father passed away, the three aunts have taken turns to come and look after the old couple whenever they have time. Now is the busy farming season, so I have no time to visit the old man recently.

Among the three aunts, the youngest aunt married better, while the second and eldest aunts did not live very well, and the eldest aunt's family had the most difficult life.

My eldest uncle’s surname was Zhou, and his parents died early. He lived about 40 miles away from my grandfather’s house. When he was young, he followed a barefoot doctor and studied pharmacology for a period of time.

After marrying my eldest aunt, I occasionally went up the mountain to collect herbs to supplement the family income. Once, when I was collecting herbs, I had an accident, leaving my cousin, who was only 13 years old at the time, and my eldest aunt in a panic.

Later, my aunt never remarried and worked hard to raise my cousin. My cousin was also sensible and could earn 16 centimeters when he was 8. But because of the poor family conditions, he was still unmarried at the age of 26. There was a little girl in the village who fell in love with my cousin who was practical and capable.

In the end, my family would not agree to let me live with my cousin and suffer hunger, and my cousin didn't even have a decent adobe house. So I was considered an older youth in the village.

In these famine years, we probably can barely make ends meet.

About half an hour later, the old man came back and the family started to finish their meal.

While eating, Zhang Xingwang asked the old man:

"How is my aunt's house?"

After listening to this, the old man put down his bowl and chopsticks, sighed and said:

"It snowed last year at your aunt's house and one of the rooms collapsed. When I went there, I saw rats running out of the pots. The team still owes money for famine relief. Even if we settle the accounts after the harvest, let alone wait until next year, I don't think we'll be able to survive this winter."

Think about it, this is normal, we are not related, and we should not owe each other debts. Everyone is hungry and full, even when visiting relatives, we have to bring our own food, for fear that we will eat more and others will have nothing to eat.

Even if it was a big pot meal, there had to be food in the village. Basically every family secretly brought some food back to eat at home, otherwise they would starve to death or die of exhaustion if they only relied on the village.

When there is a shortage of food, it is not just one or two families that can no longer make ends meet.

My aunt has no hope at all. After the autumn harvest, she will have to wait for the famine to be resolved. Then she can only see if she can bear the hunger. Winter is coming soon. Unlike summer, when she can still dig some wild vegetables to make ends meet, she can only stay at home in winter.

"Hey, Grandpa, you should have told me about this earlier. I'll go back to see my aunt and try to find something for my cousin to do during the free winter."

"You have just recovered from this illness, and you should be aware of this. Your family has only had enough to eat for a few days. You can't get yourself into this if you don't help the poor."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I know what I'm doing, as long as I can do it."

He turned around and thought for a while and asked again:

"How are the second and youngest aunts doing at home?"

"Your younger aunt is fine. She can have a full meal occasionally. Your second aunt is not so good, but she is not starving either. Everyone is the same now. Don't worry about her."

After hearing this, the old man immediately responded. The old lady next to him was still complaining that she shouldn't have told Zhang Xingwang about his aunt's family.

It seems that the second and youngest aunts are still doing well, so I'll go visit them when I have time. I have to make time to visit the eldest aunt's house anyway.

Thinking of how the eldest aunt went out in the dark on a snowy day wearing thin clothes and came to see him when the original owner was sick.

He gently touched the original owner's face with his hands covered with frostbite, with a look of heartache on his face. He ignored his mother Wang Xiulan's dissuasion, left behind the folk remedies and herbal medicines, and returned to the village in the dark with a thin back.

The courier, Master Zhang, cursed and said that he would have to deliver to more houses in the future and make sure that his mission was accomplished.

After dinner, the three generations of grandparents had no interest in chatting because of the matters at their aunt’s house. Plus, Zhang Xingwang was tired after a whole day in the mountains, so they went to bed.

There was no conversation that night. Zhang Xingwang got up early the next day before dawn. He told his grandmother that he might be back late today, and then he carried his grandfather's hunting rifle and set off into the mountains.