Chapter 4: If We Encounter a Beast, Dad Will Run Faster Than You
When Yang Mingcheng returned home, the sky had already darkened. He brought in the grain he had purchased and stored it in the granary. Yang Zhengshan handed over the pork, pig bones, oil, salt, and vinegar to Wang Shi.
“Dad, why did you buy so much meat?” Wang Shi asked, her eyes fixed on the pork, her mouth watering.
“Just trying to cook something nice,” Yang Zhengshan replied blandly, without explaining.
This was hard to explain, and it wouldn’t do to say that he couldn’t bear the hardship of being poor.
“Okay,” Wang Shi said cheerfully.
In reality, she didn’t care what wind Yang Zhengshan was blowing; she just wanted to eat meat.
Wang Shi had some culinary skills, and with the oil, salt, and vinegar, she quickly prepared a table full of dishes. The pork stew with Chinese cabbage was particularly delicious. The whole family eyed the dishes on the table, their eyes fixed greedily.
However, they were intimidated by Yang Zhengshan, the head of the household, and only stared without daring to take a bite.
“Dad, you can serve the dishes!”
Wang Shi couldn’t help herself, although she and her granddaughter had already sneaked a taste earlier.
Yang Zhengshan scanned the table, then brought out twenty meat buns he had bought. He gave five to Yang Minghao and kept the remaining fifteen. With nine people in the household, excluding three-month-old Yang Qingwan, Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment before giving three buns to his grandson, three to his second grandson, and three to his youngest daughter.
“Thank you, Grandpa! Grandpa is the best!” his grandson exclaimed, his mouth sweetest.
Li Shi, the second daughter-in-law, looked at the meat buns in front of her, her bright eyes shining. “Quick, thank Grandpa!”
Yang Chengu, the second grandson, who was just over a year old, spoke unclearly, “Thank you, Grandpa!”
The little guy sniffed the meat aroma, saying “thank you” with his mouth, but his eyes never left the meat buns in front of him.
“Grandpa, you’re really great!” his youngest daughter said, her face flushed with excitement.
Yang Zhengshan’s lips curved slightly, and he distributed one meat bun each to the elder son, elder daughter-in-law, Wang Shi, and Li Shi, leaving two for himself.
As for the pork stew with Chinese cabbage, Yang Zhengshan gave each person a large bowl.
“Eat up!”
The meat buns were delicious, with a natural, additive-free flavor. The pork stew with Chinese cabbage was also great, and Yang Zhengshan finally had a full meal after arriving in this world.
…
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.
During these five days, the Yang family almost had meat every day, although not in large quantities. Yang Zhengshan could barely eat his fill.
Wang Shi might have had some small thoughts, taking care of her little family, but she still worried about the big family.
With meat on the table, the atmosphere at home became more lively, and the two children, Yang Chengu and Yang Chengu, became more energetic, playing wildly in the courtyard. The youngest daughter, Yang Yunxue, was also improving her marksmanship.
Emotions were stirred up, and the three days allowed Yang Zhengshan to blend into the family and accept these family members.
During these three days, the Mystical Spring produced a bowl of spirit spring water every day, which helped Yang Zhengshan’s internal injuries recover significantly. Now, he could practice his marksmanship without stopping halfway.
According to his original memories, he had already regained his martial arts skills.
Martial artists were divided into three realms: Body Tempering, Later Heaven, and Innate Realm.
Body Tempering was further divided into three stages: Changing Force, Easy Fist, and Tempering Strength.
A practitioner had to repeat basic exercises to gradually eliminate their clumsiness and replace it with powerful strength, a process known as “Changing Force.”
In simple terms, Changing Force was to make people use their body’s power more reasonably.
Yang Zhengshan was currently at the Changing Force stage, with each punch and palm filled with powerful strength.
With his internal injuries healed, Yang Zhengshan also thought about making a fortune.
He didn’t have much money left, and the pork and pig bones he had bought earlier were almost gone. If he couldn’t find a way to earn money, the family would soon return to their previous poor life.
As for how to make money, Yang Zhengshan had already thought it out.
As the saying goes, “Rely on the mountain and eat from the mountain; rely on the water and eat from the water.” Since Yang Family Village was backed by Longqing Mountain, which had many fierce beasts, if they could hunt a few beasts, it would be enough to support the family for a while.
If this were the past, Yang Zhengshan wouldn’t have had such thoughts, as fierce beasts weren’t easy to deal with. However, he was now a martial artist. As long as he was careful, there shouldn’t be any danger.
At noon, Yang Zhengshan said to Wang Shi, “Prepare some dry rations. I’ll enter the mountain tomorrow and stay for two days!”
This remark caused everyone eating their meal to raise their heads, looking at him in surprise.
“Dad, the mountain is very dangerous,” his elder son, Yang Mingcheng, worriedly said.
“I know,” Yang Zhengshan replied, his expression calm.
“I’ll go with Dad!” Yang Mingcheng didn’t know what Yang Zhengshan was going to do in the mountain, but he thought it would be better if he went along.
“Let me go instead, big brother can take care of the family,” Yang Mingzhi, who was usually quiet, said.
Li Shi secretly tugged on Yang Mingzhi’s sleeve, unwilling to let her man enter the mountain.
There were no wild beasts on the mountain behind Yang Family Village, but Yang Zhengshan said he would enter the mountain and stay for two days, which meant he wasn’t going to stay on the mountain behind the village. He would venture deeper into the mountain.
Yang Family Village didn’t have any hunters, but many villages in the west had hunters who would often enter the mountain and never return. Such news had spread to Yang Family Village.
“Don’t worry, my martial arts skills are not much inferior to big brother’s,” Yang Mingzhi reassured Li Shi.
Yang Zhengshan looked at his elder son, then at his second son, both of whom were filial and good sons.
“Second son will come with me.”
Thinking that he really needed someone to help him, Yang Zhengshan decided to bring Yang Mingzhi into the mountain.
…
The next morning.
After eating breakfast, Yang Zhengshan carried two short guns and brought Yang Mingzhi into the mountain.
The mountain was dense with vegetation, and the long gun was inconvenient to use, so Yang Zhengshan deliberately brought two wooden short guns. He also brought a hatchet.
Yang Mingzhi brought a hatchet, as well as biscuits, a water bottle, and a fire starter.
The two of them didn’t enter the mountain from the back of Yang Family Village but instead walked west for half a day before entering the mountain.
After entering the mountain, Yang Mingzhi became cautious, his eyes vigilantly observing the surroundings, occasionally glancing back, afraid that there were wild beasts attacking them from behind.
His cautious behavior made Yang Zhengshan feel a bit annoyed.
“There’s no danger here!” Yang Zhengshan couldn’t help but say.
Excessive caution was not a good thing, as it consumed a lot of mental energy. If Yang Mingzhi continued like this, he would soon feel physically and mentally exhausted.
“Dad, I heard that there are beasts in this mountain. We won’t encounter any, right?” Yang Mingzhi’s brain was like a rotating drum, constantly scanning the surroundings.
“Don’t worry, if we encounter a beast, I’ll run faster than you.”
Yang Mingzhi looked at him incredulously.
You’re my dad, how can you abandon me and run?
Yang Zhengshan saw his expression and couldn’t help but smile.
“Relax, this mountain is near Jiang Family Village, and Jiang Family Village has many hunters.”
Although the original body wasn’t a hunter, it was still familiar with this mountain, and the section near Jiang Family Village was relatively safe, with no large wild beasts or poisonous snakes.
Yang Mingzhi heard this and felt relieved, but he couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, what are we doing in the mountain?”
Yang Zhengshan said, “We’re going to hunt that beast.”
Yang Mingzhi was stunned.
Although he had become the biological son, at the end of the day, he was just a seventeen-year-old boy.
“Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you. If we encounter a beast, you can run first!” Yang Zhengshan said, leading the way deeper into the mountain.
Yang Mingzhi stood still for a moment, then followed closely behind his father.
The two of them walked slowly, resting for a while at noon, and continued deeper into the mountain in the afternoon.
The first day in the mountain was just them traveling.
At night, they rested at the foot of a steep cliff, and the next day, Yang Zhengshan began searching for animal tracks.
He wasn’t trying to hunt a beast, although he now had martial arts skills. Tigers were the kings of beasts, and even if he were arrogant, he wouldn’t dare risk his life to fight a tiger.
(End of chapter)
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