Chapter 114: Going to be an Aunt

"Nan Nan, are you going to the Back Mountain again after eating?" Li Xiue asked.

"Right, it's hot now, and our meat isn't easy to store. I've already cured it with coarse salt. Although the texture will be a bit worse, we'll still have meat for every meal." Zhao Qiuhua also remembered; the snow had melted, and if the meat wasn't cured, it wouldn't keep at all.

What's more, Nan Nan hadn't even kept track of how much she had brought over herself, let alone the others. It wasn't until the snow melted that she and Xiue discovered several pieces of meat hidden in the snow, which they had almost forgotten to eat.

In this era of scrimping and saving, wasting meat really is a sin.

"Cure it. Later on, we can also boil it down into meat sauce. Meat sauce keeps well; it'll be fine even in the middle of summer," An Yinan said.

In truth, what she had brought out wasn't even one or two tenths of what she had; there was still a huge pile of game in her space, and Zhang Qian was still helping her process it.

Who could blame her when the Back Mountain had so much game? Who could blame her when her hunting skills were improving day by day?

Ever since she learned to use leverage and understood the stress points of every joint, she moved across the Back Mountain as if on flat ground; climbing trees and mountains was nothing to her.

"I'm heading to the mountain, ha. I'll pick up some firewood and give my brain a rest. You two shouldn't copy books for this month either; just review what you've already copied. You must always gain new insights through reviewing the old," An Yinan said.

Once Li Xiue heard this, she stopped worrying about copying books, thinking that what she said made a lot of sense.

When it came to learning, their group really couldn't compare to An Yinan, and everyone was truly convinced.

After the few of them cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, they each returned to their courtyards.

An Yinan put on her basket and headed toward the Back Mountain. Besides Zhang Qian and her, no one else ever came there on a normal day.

Old habits meant she didn't scout ahead and just ran straight toward the mountain, but she didn't notice a tail following behind her.

An Yinan habitually picked up stones that felt right. Now, once a stone was in her hand, she could roughly tell how much force she needed to throw it, and she no longer specifically looked for stones of the same shape and weight.

She had just entered the mountain and only climbed about fifty meters? An Yinan frowned.

Just because she wasn't careful when entering the mountain didn't mean she didn't value her life.

If she were this careless on the mountain, she would be playing with her own life.

"Who is it?" An Yinan turned around.

Er Gouzi didn't hide this time and stepped out from behind a tree. "Beauty, we meet again."

With a lewd smile on his face, his palms kept rubbing together. Such a top-tier beauty—he had even thought about marrying her home before.

But since she had a relationship with that wild man, he would just play with her; once he was done playing, he would just toss her aside. He could even seize her weakness—wasn't she an Educated Youth?

Building such a large courtyard—she was definitely someone with money!

Using this matter to hold her hostage, having a beauty to sleep with, and having money to spend, while marrying a woman at home who would honestly do the chores—just thinking about it made him laugh out loud!

An Yinan saw the person who had come and gave a mocking smile. If this person hadn't appeared again, she would have even forgotten that such a person existed.

But she also owed him some thanks; otherwise, how would she have gotten to know Chen Xun so quickly?

"Oh? Any advice?" An Yinan put her basket on the ground. Although it wasn't filled with anything yet, it would still break her heart if it got damaged.

The person in front of her wasn't worth as much as her own basket.

Er Gouzi smiled. "What kind of lesson does the beauty want? Last time you were fooling around with that wild man—Brother Gou can't marry you, but I certainly don't mind pampering you."

Er Gouzi stepped forward and immediately reached out his right hand, wanting to grab An Yinan's shoulder.

Unexpectedly, An Yinan's movements were faster. She grabbed the arm he reached out, pulled it hard toward the back, and shifted her body to the side, leaving a spot for this 'Brother Gou' to face-plant.

With a "slap," Er Gouzi landed face-first on the ground, and An Yinan's knee pressed straight into the small of Er Gouzi's back.

Er Gouzi heard a crisp, sharp sound. "My back!"

An Yinan, however, smiled, her eyes devoid of any warmth. She had already been magnanimous enough not to hold a grudge, so why did he have to come begging for it?

"Bitch, I won't let you off! Dog-master will sleep you to death!"

An Yinan didn't speak; she just applied more force with her knee, then, avoiding Er Gouzi's line of sight, took out a dagger.

After letting go of Er Gouzi, she walked in front of him. The dagger slowly pressed against Er Gouzi's face; that icy cold sensation was now constantly stimulating Er Gouzi's nerves.

"What are you doing?" Er Gouzi even forgot about his back pain and looked at An Yinan in terror.

An Yinan pulled a smile devoid of warmth. "What am I doing? Didn't you want to sleep with me? Isn't this me helping Dog-master get in the mood?"

Er Gouzi was truly afraid. The people he had slept with before—none were this ruthless. This was playing with one's life.

"I was wrong, Educated Youth An. I'll stay far away from you from now on. I'll walk around you whenever I see you in the future. Please, you're a big person with a big heart, let Er Gouzi go this time." The weak fear the strong, and the strong fear those who don't value their lives.

An Yinan sneered. "Get lost. Don't let this lady remember you, or I won't be able to stop myself from taking action."

Er Gouzi's eyes were full of gloom, but he left, holding his back in frustration.

This was Quanshui Village. If he weren't from Quanshui Village, she would have beaten him until he was covered in blood and then dragged him into the deep mountains.

Killing someone? Ever since she saw the Japanese die last time, she was no longer afraid.

Controlling evil with evil might not be advisable, but sometimes it really works.

After dealing with Er Gouzi, An Yinan acted as if nothing had happened and continued up the mountain to hunt. In a few days, grass sprouts would emerge from the ground, and it would be much harder to hunt rabbits then.

An Yinan thought about it and still told the Captain about Er Gouzi.

As for how the Captain would handle it afterward, that wasn't something she could manage.

Having finished the spring planting so calmly, An Yinan looked at the small muscles on her arms—let's just say, the 'Diamond Barbie' had arrived.

It hadn't even been a month—only half a month had passed—when new translation materials were mailed over. When the courier delivered the mail, there was also Chen Xun's daily letter, as well as the New Year's gift sent by her sister-in-law.

That's right, a New Year's gift.

On the festive day of the New Year, her eldest brother and sister-in-law had both gone out on missions one after another. It had been almost four months, and only now did the two of them send a letter of safety and a New Year's gift.

However, the letter this time brought good news: her sister-in-law was pregnant.

Her sister-in-law spoke in a bold and straightforward manner, which had to do with her military style.

"Nan Nan, you're going to be an aunt." Her sister-in-law glossed over the matter of the child, but one could still feel a mother's tenderness between the lines.

In the same envelope, there was another letter: "Nan Nan, can you mail some more of that kimchi? Your sister-in-law's morning sickness is quite severe; she can only eat her meals with the kimchi you sent."

To make the introverted Chen Family write this letter, it was clear that her sister-in-law's morning sickness was indeed severe to a certain degree.

After seeing the letter, An Yinan hurriedly packed six canned jars of kimchi, added some refreshing spicy cabbage, and various meat sauces, packed them into a large basket, and went to the Post Office to mail them off first.

Replying to the letter was a small matter; the next generation was the big one.