Chapter 8

"I'll go call Brother Shi to come see."

Hearing the little boy's words, the first person Diao Chan thought of was Duan Yu.

It's Brother Duan back.

Diao Chan revealed a delighted expression.

Then she strode toward the village entrance.

Before long, Diao Chan arrived at the village entrance.

And saw Duan Yu surrounded by quite a few onlookers.

Carrying a flower leopard on his back, with several fox pelts and wild rabbits tied around his waist, Duan Yu was being surrounded by a crowd of people.

With a smile on his face, Duan Yu responded to everyone's questions one by one.

"Brother Duan!"

Diao Chan called out joyfully.

Duan Yu's gaze passed over the crowd and saw Diao Chan.

Then he raised his arm and waved at Diao Chan with a smile.

In the sunset, the upright Duan Yu, with a longbow on his back and a full load of prey, fulfilled his promise and waved at Diao Chan.

In this moment.

Diao Chan's beautiful eyes were full of admiration.

In the courtyard.

Duan Yu held a dagger, skinning and plucking the wild rabbit, wild pheasant, and flower leopard.

When it came to the bow and arrow, Duan Yu was a novice.

But when it came to wielding a dagger, Duan Yu was absolutely an expert.

Although modern warfare had guns.

The dagger was also a required course.

In indoor close-quarters combat, the dagger was absolutely the top choice.

So Duan Yu handled the dagger very skillfully.

His skinning was also highly professional.

Ever since seeing Duan Yu, the smile on Diaochan's pretty face had never faded.

While adding firewood to boil water, she watched Duan Yu, who was intently skinning the animals.

Her eyes were filled with adoration.

Outside the fenced courtyard, many children and villagers gathered to watch.

Duan Yu's physique was outstanding to begin with.

Coupled with bringing back so much prey at once, he immediately attracted the attention of the whole village.

Even the village's Third Elder and the Township Assistant had come.

In all her years, this was the first time Diaochan had been watched by so many people.

Some praised Duan Yu's prowess.

Others said Diaochan had found a good man.

The young men in the village even said they wanted to learn hunting from Duan Yu.

The Third Elder and the Township Assistant even intended to have Duan Yu serve as the township's Patrol Officer.

Everything seemed to have come too suddenly, too blissfully.

"Chan'er, distribute these portioned meats to the neighbors."

"Didn't you say last night that the neighbors have taken good care of you all these years?"

"We can't store all this meat, and if we can't finish it, it will spoil before long."

"We might as well share it with everyone."

"First, to thank everyone for taking care of you all these years."

"Second, it also builds good relations with the neighbors."

Duan Yu portioned the flower leopard's meat.

The flower leopard was not large; once skinned and gutted, it was only about forty or fifty catties.

It was divided into more than twenty portions by Duan Hu.

With both bone and meat, each portion was about two catties.

Listening, Diaochan nodded gently and said, "I'll listen to Brother Duan."

Duan Yu smiled, then turned around and waved to the neighbors outside the fenced yard.

"Everyone, come on in."

"I've portioned all this meat; everyone, come in and take some."

"Thank you all for taking care of my Chan'er all these years. Duan Mou has no way to repay you."

"Take this meat and divide it among yourselves."

Duan Yu said loudly.

Beside him, when Diaochan heard Duan Yu say "my Chan'er," her pretty face turned as red as a fully ripened apple.

She pursed her red lips and shyly lowered her head.

But the smile at the corners of her lips was incredibly sweet.

The villagers outside the yard were initially a bit embarrassed and hesitant upon hearing this.

Duan Yu held a portion of meat in his hands.

After opening the courtyard gate, he placed it into the hands of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth.

The youth was named Shitou.

He had a sturdy, stocky build.

Duan Yu remembered that Diaochan had mentioned earlier that this youth named Shitou often helped her carry water.

"Bro... Brother Duan, can I learn hunting from you?"

Holding the flower leopard meat, Shitou looked at Duan Yu somewhat timidly.

At over one meter eight, nearly one meter nine, Duan Yu exuded an imposing presence standing before any villager.

Furthermore, since Duan Yu could hunt a flower leopard alone, the villagers all looked at Duan Yu with a trace of fear.

"Sure, when there's a chance, I'll teach you."

Duan Yu reached out and rubbed Shitou's head.

Shitou immediately sniffled in immense gratitude and nodded vigorously.

Several other youths around Shitou's age, seeing that Shitou's request actually received a response, also mustered their courage and said they wanted to learn hunting from Duan Yu.

In this era, boys of fourteen or fifteen were no longer children.

They were even about to start serving corvée labor.

Shouldering the burden of a family.

Compared to boys in later eras who were still in middle school, at fourteen or fifteen in this era, they were already adults.

Once a few young men from the village started talking with Duan Yu, the rest of the villagers saw him speaking with a smile and were no longer as afraid as before.

So they all stepped forward one after another.

Duan Yu took the meat handed over by Diaochan and gave it to the villagers, portion by portion.

After the last portion was distributed, most of the villagers had already dispersed.

The flower leopard meat was fully distributed.

However, there were still two wild rabbits and two wild pheasants.

Duan Yu prepared one of them, letting Diaochan take it to make soup to nourish Auntie's body.

Then he roasted another rabbit for an extra dish at dinner.

That night, they did not cook porridge, but instead boiled a meal of wheat.

By dinner time, Diaochan's uncle Li Gouer still had not returned.

Duan Yu did not wait any longer either.