RYEY – Chapter 167 Qin Guoqing

Organizing a hunting team was a different matter. First, Li Huan had an earthen-wood warehouse and some homemade traps, so there was at least some basic protection against large wild beasts.

“I hereby announce: each household must send one person, aged between twenty and fifty, male only—women do not need to participate.”

“Additionally, all large game caught must be sold to the state procurement units. The money earned will be evenly distributed by household. Those who agree, please register with the former village head.”

The villagers immediately turned and ran toward the village committee. Everyone knew that when it came to registration, you had to line up properly. Anyone daring to cut in line wouldn’t be able to register at all.

Shouhou stared blankly at the villagers running off, a little confused. “Brother Huan, if we really send the hunted animals to the state, how are we supposed to make any money?”

Li Huan quietly explained. In reality, the authorities did not allow villages to form hunting teams on their own—it was too dangerous, and it could be seen as undermining socialism.

But this year’s harvest wasn’t good, and the grain that had to be handed over couldn’t be reduced. So if the villagers wanted to eat enough and stay warm, they had to get creative.

So Li Huan had subtly proposed forming a hunting team to the commune. If they caught small animals, the villagers could eat some meat to withstand the cold. If they caught large animals, it would count as a contribution to the state.

Shouhou felt like he had just attended a live social studies lesson; his eyes lit up. He discussed with Li Huan that before the villagers went hunting, they could first make a transaction, as he had found a reliable buyer.

Li Huan enthusiastically agreed, and the couple took little Cheng Li to the county town the next day. Cheng Qiao kept taking things out of the storage space, so much that little Cheng Li was so amazed he didn’t even notice the drool.

Previously, Cheng Qiao had never taken little Cheng Li to the grocery store, let alone the warehouse behind the house, so he had no idea his mother’s secret base contained so many treasures.

“Oh… ah…”

“Baby, do you want to eat these?”

Cheng Qiao, hearing little Cheng Li’s sounds, immediately understood what he was thinking and asked with a smile.

Little Cheng Li nodded quickly. Cheng Qiao thought, he was almost five months old, so adding some supplementary food wouldn’t hurt. She opened a can of food and used a spoon to give him a bit of the juice to drink.

After tasting the canned syrup, little Cheng Li puckered his lips and made more excited sounds. Li Huan found it amusing and took the can and the child from Cheng Qiao, sitting down to feed him carefully.

“Don’t let him eat too much, it’s too cold.”

“Okay, just one more sip.”

Li Huan began playing with his son, scooping up a spoonful of fruit to bring to little Cheng Li’s mouth. When he opened it, the spoon was redirected, and the fruit ended up in his own mouth.

After a few rounds, little Cheng Li’s big eyes filled with tears. The look of injustice made Li Huan’s heart ache—it was pure love.

“Son, Daddy was wrong. We shouldn’t have teased you. Let’s ask Mommy for something delicious.”

Little Cheng Li had wanted to cry, but hearing Li Huan’s apology, he gradually stopped. He remembered his mother’s words: bad people could hurt his father, so he couldn’t be angry at him.

Cheng Qiao, watching the interaction between father and son, felt her heart melt. It was her first time being a mother, and she didn’t know what a child under five months could eat. She hesitated when she saw the ice cream but eventually took it out.

Li Huan had never seen ice cream packaged so beautifully. He bit a piece himself—cold, hard, but delicious—and then used the spoon to feed little Cheng Li.

Little Cheng Li first frowned, confused by the coldness, but after tasting it, he reached out eagerly, wanting to grab it.

Li Huan couldn’t let such a small child eat such a large piece, so he scooped two small portions for him and asked Cheng Qiao to put the rest away.

“Son, it’s very cold now. Eating too much of this will upset your stomach, and you’ll have to go to the hospital for injections and medicine.”

Although little Cheng Li had never had injections in his past life, he had taken medicine, so he obediently nodded. His nod surprised Li Huan—this child seemed unusually clever.

After putting things away, Cheng Qiao heard the sound of a vehicle outside. She quickly took out the earthen-wood warehouse, handed it to Li Huan, and disappeared in an instant, holding little Cheng Li.

Cheng Qiao stood under the ginseng tree, placing little Cheng Li down, her eyes fixed outside. Seeing his mother staring unblinkingly, little Cheng Li became curious.

While playing with the tail of a red-headed pit viper, he imitated Cheng Qiao, occasionally looking outside.

Soon, Shouhou brought in a boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen. Li Huan immediately went on high alert; his sixth sense told him this boy might be young, but possessed formidable martial skills.

“Comrade Li Huan, hello. We are extremely short of supplies over there. Whatever you have, I want it all. But one thing—can you offer me a price slightly lower than the black market?”

Cheng Qiao saw the boy’s upright posture and precise movements and felt a strange sense of familiarity, like her father, Cheng Liguo.

Always disciplined, like a standing clock; if she ever slouched or reclined, she would have had to stand for two hours with a book on her head.

At that time, Wang Ping was delighted when Cheng Qiao was punished, because no matter how relaxed she was, Cheng Liguo would not spare even a glance. Cheng Qiao had thought that having a stepmother would mean having a stepfather, but now she understood—it was truly a father’s love for his daughter.

“Sure, I have five thousand yuan worth of goods here, originally priced twenty percent lower than the black market.”

“Good. By the way, my surname is Qin, Qin Guoqing. Brother Li Bing introduced me. Can I take a look at the goods first?”

“Li Bing, my brother!”

Li Huan was shocked, and his gaze toward Shouhou was filled with suspicion—how could Shouhou be connected to his brother’s circle?

Shouhou was also surprised. No wonder this person seemed familiar when he found him—it turned out he was Li Bing’s comrade.

Cheng Qiao completely relaxed and began a new round of medicinal planting with little Cheng Li, while Shouhou and Li Huan brought Qin Guoqing to the inner courtyard.

Seeing the shelves stacked with cured meat, canned food, rice, flour, oil, milk powder, red dates, and other nutritious products, Qin Guoqing was extremely excited.

Occasionally, they had small conflicts with border people. Injured personnel, lacking nutrition, suffered greatly.

Many weak soldiers had to be discharged, but if there were sufficient meat, eggs, and milk, the situation could improve significantly.