Chapter 68:
About seven or eight li away from the foot of the mountain, Luo Zhi’er put down Miaomiao, planning to rest for a bit before continuing!
She vaguely felt footsteps of something ahead gradually approaching; that thing was climbing up from behind the tree branches below…
Luo Zhi’er became alert, shielding Miaomiao behind her, picking up a stick. Could it be a wild boar?
“Mother, look, it’s Father!”
“Father came to pick us up!”
Joy flashed in Miaomiao’s eyes as she pointed at Li Sanmao, happily jumping a bit, waving her hand, and shouting, “Father, Miaomiao is here!”
Li Sanmao had a sickle tucked in his waist, climbing the mountain with his head down. Looking up, weren’t these the two people from his family that he missed so much and couldn’t stop worrying about?
Joy lit up in his eyes, and with a few quick steps, he climbed up, going forward. “Wife… are you worn out today?”
“Miaomiao’s Father, why did you come?”
Looking at the man with distinct features, handsome and upright, full of concern, she still wasn’t quite used to it.
Her heart started pounding inexplicably again. Wasn’t he supposed to go help with plowing the field?
Luo Zhi’er saw he was sweating profusely from the heat and said somewhat awkwardly and embarrassedly.
“Heh heh, I was setting hunting traps this morning when I kept feeling like Miaomiao’s voice was calling Father in my ear…”
“I went to the field to dig for a while but was restless. Father and Oldest Brother went home for lunch, so I came to find you two!”
“You must be starving, right? Your Grandmother made egg pancakes today; let’s go home and eat!”
Li Sanmao looked at them both warmly, taking the bamboo basket from her back and putting it on his own while chattering on with explanations.
“Father, you didn’t hear wrong; Miaomiao did call you this morning!”
Li Sanmao picked up Miaomiao.
“Father knew it; where did that calling voice come from? Father looked up at the sky then, and besides the tree branches, there were just chirping birds, nothing else to see!”
“Miaomiao missed Father?”
“Hmph! Father, Miaomiao didn’t!”
The young maid was still playing coy, then continued, “Father, Mother found a hawthorn tree. Later you can go pick fruit with Miaomiao and Mother…”
“Good!”
Li Sanmao nodded. “So Miaomiao was calling Father because she wanted to eat fruit!”
He smiled, turned his head to look at Luo Zhi’er, and only then noticed bloodstains on her sleeve.
“Wife, where did the bloodstains on you come from?”
He frowned, immediately looking nervous. “Are you injured?”
“Oh, this? It’s not mine…” This was from when Luo Zhi’er dragged the black bear and got it on her unintentionally.
“Father, it’s the black bear!”
“What? You encountered the black bear? Wife, are you okay?”
Li Sanmao was startled, wanting to pull her over and turn her around a few times to check if she was injured anywhere!
He looked at Miaomiao in his arms too, checking her over, his eyes filled with a fear he didn’t usually show…
The black bear—even for him, who had hunted for over ten years—was something to fear. Those big paws could kill a person with one swipe…
He had almost lost them; no wonder he had been restless all day…
Luo Zhi’er saw his worried expression and thought he was making a fuss over nothing!
But suddenly, she felt like Li Sanmao was a towering tree for her and Miaomiao, trying to shield them from wind and rain with his big hands.
“Husband, I’m fine, Miaomiao is fine too. This blood is from the black bear; the black bear is dead. Miaomiao’s Father, you came at the right time; that black bear still needs you to carry it back!”
“It’s dead?”
Unbelievable…
“Wife, quickly tell me, how did the black bear die?”
He didn’t believe his wife and Miaomiao could have killed it!
“Mother threw stones and killed it!”
Miaomiao interjected.
“What?”
Li Sanmao widened his eyes, scared out of his wits…
“No! Miaomiao didn’t explain clearly! It was… we met a hunter who was hunting; he killed it, but he only took the bear gallbladder, and gave the bear to me!”
Luo Zhi’er shrugged nonchalantly…
“Wife, if you see a black bear in the future, hurry away quickly; life comes first, don’t run into it.”
“Wasn’t I thinking its big paws were valuable? So I watched the excitement and threw a few stones…”
“No matter how valuable, are they more valuable than you and Miaomiao?”
Li Sanmao saw she wasn’t taking it seriously and began lecturing her like an old father.
Luo Zhi’er covered her ears.
“Oh, got it!”
“Don’t act like you don’t want to hear it; this is a very serious matter…”
“Oh!”
“Wife… I’ll take you two back first, then come back for the black bear. Tell me the position!”
Luo Zhi’er told him the position and markers. From her tone, the black bear was pretty big; probably one person couldn’t carry it back.
Thinking about it, he’d still need to get a knife to chop it up and carry it back in batches!
He’d have to go back for Li Daqiang and Father, and come up together before dark to carry it.
As they walked, Luo Zhi’er smelled a very fresh and pleasant floral fragrance…
It was orchid grass.
She excitedly started searching; this was her favorite flower from her rural home in the modern era!
It grew in the big mountain too; she would dig it up and plant it in the flower bed.
Waking up in the morning to its scent would be wonderful!
Luo Zhi’er searched around nearby but couldn’t find it. Lowering her head, her eyes scanned the forest, looking disappointed…
“Wife, you like orchid grass?”
“Don’t you think it smells nice?”
“Mm, it’s pretty good!”
“I want to find it and plant it in front of the door; waking up in the morning to waves of fresh fragrance would be great!”
“Father, Miaomiao likes this scent too!”
“Alright!”
Li Sanmao put down Miaomiao and shuttled into a forest in the direction his instincts told him. As expected of someone born and raised in the mountains, he soon found the clump of orchid grass and carefully dug it up root and all with the tip of his sickle.
Ten minutes or so later, Li Sanmao climbed back through the forest: “Here, for you!”
It turned out to be a clump of Jianlan Orchid…
Elegant and free-spirited, with full petals like butterflies dancing gracefully, emitting a pleasant fragrance…
Luo Zhi’er took it and sniffed at the tip of her nose. “Wow, it smells so good!” Her mood instantly brightened!
Her eyes sparkled.
“Heh heh! It’s so fragrant; thank you, Husband!”
Li Sanmao looked at her indulgently.
“As long as you like it!”
…
“Orchid? She likes orchids too?”
The man trembled…
“Bu Wei, am I seeing something wrong?”
Feng Qingcheng looked like he had discovered something unbelievable, shock and heartache in his phoenix eyes…
He kept confirming something with the person beside him!
“Master, please restrain your grief. She isn’t… General Hua she… is already dead!”
“Shut up!”
