Chapter 48: A Man Resolves to Leave His Hometown and Forge His Own Destiny!

In the yard, Zhao Tiezhu and Liu Fugui were still staring at the pile of frozen, rock‑hard meat mountain, their eyes a mix of excitement and bewilderment.

Lu Qingshan looked at the mountain of pork and offal piled in the yard and began to calculate quickly in his mind.

With so much, even if they ate it all themselves and gave some to Zhao Tiezhu's and Liu Fugui's families, they wouldn't finish by next spring.

Frozen it can last long, but leaving it all glaring in the yard is no good; it draws too much attention.

Moreover, he urgently needs more cash and various coupons; improving the family's situation is immediate, and there will be many future expenses.

The town's Supply and Marketing Cooperative makes buying easy, but they probably won't take the leftover meat and offal, and even if they do, the price is low, plus his coupon quota is tight.

Especially grain coupons.

It seems he must make a trip to the county town.

The county town is larger, more crowded, with more offices; the market is surely wilder than the town, and he might find buyers offering higher prices or willing to trade for scarce supplies.

He might even stumble upon unexpected opportunities.

"Tiezhu, Fugui," Lu Qingshan called as he entered the yard, his voice low but carrying a decisive resolve.

"We've already dealt with the bulk of this meat. As for the rest, I'm thinking of going to the county town tomorrow to scout the market and see the prices."

"To the county town?" Zhao Tiezhu snapped his head up, surprise written all over his face, his voice raising a few notches, "That's far! It'll take half a day on foot, in this bitter cold!"

Liu Fugui's eyes widened, his hands rubbing as he stepped closer, stammering, "County, county town? Brother Lu, that place must have plenty of good stuff! Can we get a good price for our meat? Higher than the Supply and Marketing Cooperative?"

"Hmm." Lu Qingshan nodded, "The county town has many opportunities and bustling people. Whether the price is good we'll only know after we go. We have to try; staying in the village won't make us rich."

"You two stay home tomorrow, don't come with me."

He looked at them and earnestly instructed, "Help watch the house, mainly keep an eye on Yue E and Xiao Xue, and that little thing on the kang."

He pointed toward the house.

"In the yard, tidy up this meat and offal quickly. Salt what needs salting, clean the pork heads and trotters, keep freezing what should stay frozen, pack it tightly with snow so no one will take notice."

This arrangement was both trust and a concrete sharing of the burden with them.

Zhao Tiezhu immediately pounded his chest, thumping loudly, and vowed, "Don't worry, Brother Lu! We two will handle the house affairs and see to it firmly! Anyone who dares cause trouble, I'll be the first to refuse!"

Liu Fugui also raised his skinny fist, still looking slight, but his eyes now held a firmness and cleverness he lacked before, "Right! Brother Lu, go without worry! Anyone who dares cause trouble, we won't spare them! My eyes are sharp, I'll keep watch for you!"

Lu Qingshan watched these two gradually reveal responsibility and reliability, and felt a surge of confidence.

He pulled ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Tiezhu, "Take this; you'll be helping at home these days, you shouldn't work for nothing—buy some food."

Zhao Tiezhu waved his hand quickly, "That won't do! Brother Lu, you've given enough!"

"Take it!" Lu Qingshan forced the money into him, "Work deserves pay; that's the rule. Stick with me later, you won't lose out."

Early the next morning, the sky just brightening, gray and misty, the cold seeping into the very joints of one's bones.

Lu Qingshan finished packing and prepared to set out.

He selected the remaining Wild Boar leg, which should fetch a good price in the county town.

He also chose several prime pieces of pork belly, each about ten jin, marbled with fat and lean, looking appetizing, and carefully packed them into clean burlap sacks, sealing the mouths tightly.

Lin Yue'e silently adjusted the crooked collar of his cotton coat, then crouched to check whether the laces of his patched cotton shoes were tied tight.

Her gaze held an unhidden worry, her lips moved as if to say something about safety, but seeing her husband's resolute profile, she kept silent.

She knew that for the family to improve, he had to go out and fight his fate; it couldn't be stopped, nor should it be.

"Dad, where are you going?" Xiao Xue's sleepy, nasal voice drifted from inside the house.

The little girl, awakened by the commotion, stepped barefoot on the icy floor, rubbing her eyes as she reached the doorway, and seeing her father shouldering a bulging burlap sack, her face instantly filled with reluctance.

"Dad's going to the county town." Lu Qingshan quickly set the sack down, walked a few steps, lifted his daughter, warming her cold little feet with his own heated hands, his voice unusually gentle as he lightly pinched her chubby baby‑face.

"I'll go buy Handcrafted Flower cloth for Xiao Xue, a piece as red as window‑paper cuttings, and make you a new cotton coat when I return, okay?"

Xiao Xue's eyes lit up like two polished black grapes; she nodded vigorously, "Okay! Red! Like the chubby doll in New Year pictures!"

Just as Lu Qingshan was about to rise and shoulder the sack, Jin Hu, who had been quietly lying on the kang, let out a low whimper.

It struggled out of the warm, torn cotton padding, its four short legs wobbling, yet it tumbled clumsily like a furry little meatball onto the edge of the kang.

It extended its fluffy forepaws, using all its strength to gently paw at Lu Qingshan's trouser waist, emitting an anxious, pleading whine—clearly meaning it wanted to come along.

Lu Qingshan's heart softened to mush.

He halted, squatted again, and met Jin Hu's wet, crystal‑clear eyes eye‑to‑eye.

He could feel the creature's total, unreserved dependence on him.

He reached out, patting the little dog's soft warm head repeatedly, feeling its body tremble slightly from the effort.

"Good boy Jin Hu, you're still young, still wounded; the road is too far, the ice and snow too harsh—you can't make it."

His voice was low and gentle, carrying an undeniable soothing power, as if Mountain Wild Heart also passed a hint of calm.

"Someone has to stay at home; you must protect Mother and Sister Xiao Xue, understand? This is your mission, an important mission."

Jin Hu seemed to understand his words, or perhaps sensed the unwavering resolve in his tone.

It fixed its still‑wild yet utterly trusting eyes on Lu Qingshan, its little head nudging his palm.

Then it slowly released its paw from his trouser leg, reluctantly stepping back two paces, curling up again on the kang's edge, close to the small stool where Xiao Xue had been sitting.

Yet its gaze, as if glued, kept following Lu Qingshan tightly.

Watching him stand, adjust the heavy sack on his shoulder, he cast one last deep look at his wife, daughter, and the little dog inside the house.

Then he pushed open the creaking wooden door, his tall figure vanishing into the gray, cold morning wind.

The yard gate was gently lifted, producing a soft "ka‑da" click, sealing off the house's warmth and that lingering gaze.

Lu Qingshan tightened his old cotton coat, feeling the sack's heavy weight on his shoulder—a burden of the whole family and a hope for the future.

He inhaled a breath of ice‑cold, bone‑piercing air tinged with snow, the chill flooding his lungs instantly.

It cleared his mind further and dispersed the faint melancholy of parting.

The county town, a place broader than Wan Gou Zhen, yet more unfamiliar and complex.

There are opportunities there, but also risks and troubles he cannot yet foresee.

This time, going out wasn't just to sell those mountain goods for cash; more importantly, it was his first step leaving Shanwan Village to expand a larger living space for his family and himself.

The road ahead was unknown, yet in his heart there was not the slightest hesitation; instead, it was filled with an unprecedented determination and an indescribable anticipation.

He turned back for one last glance at his family's tightly shut wooden door and the faint, warm light leaking from the window, as if trying to etch this scene into his heart.

Then, he resolutely turned around, stepping into the biting, icy wind, striding forward along that winding, snow‑covered mountain road leading to the county town.

In the snow, a series of firm, clear footprints appeared, step by step, heading toward the unknown and toward hope.