Siheyuan: The Temptation of the Mountains

"I've never seen you so hungry. What's wrong?" Lin Changgui asked with concern.

Lin Ze stuck out his tongue and said, "Master, I have slept all day."

"Kid, you've grown a lot taller recently, so it's normal for you to eat a lot." Liu Ying added another spoonful of chicken into Lin Ze's bowl.

"Grandpa and grandma, I will go back to the city early tomorrow morning." Lin Ze did not refuse. He planned to go up the mountain again in the afternoon to hunt and get more chicken, duck, fish and meat to prepare for his grandparents.

"What? Going back to the city tomorrow morning?" Lin Changgui was reluctant to leave when he heard this. "Xiao Ze, can't you just not leave?"

"Grandpa, I've been in the village for quite a while, two months already." Lin Ze touched his nose and grinned, "If I don't go back to the city, my parents in the city won't recognize me."

The old man and the old lady were silent for a while after hearing the voice. The two old people looked at each other and saw reluctance in each other's eyes.

"Then Xiaoze, when will you come back to the village next time?" Liu Ying asked.

Lin Ze shook his head. "Not sure. I'll try to come back as soon as possible."

"Xiao Ze, your grandparents won't force you to stay. You're a grown up boy now. Ask your father to find you a decent job in the city. Try to marry a beautiful wife in two years and have a baby in my Lin family." Lin Changgui said happily after taking a sip of wine and getting a little drunk.

"Uh, I understand, sir."

...

In the afternoon, Lin Ze went to Nanshan again. The two traps he dug were empty, without even a pig hair.

Helplessly, Lin Ze had to climb to the higher North Mountain. Behind the North Mountain was the Shiwan Mountains. Lin Ze believed that there must be countless prey there.

The side of the North Mountain that we just climbed is not much different from the South Mountain, with swamps next to the big lake and gentle slopes with dense forests...

Lin Ze picked countless mushrooms of all sizes, and caught ten pheasants, ducks and rabbits on this trip.

When he reached the top of North Mountain, Lin Ze discovered that at the other end of North Mountain was a steep cliff.

The cliff has effectively blocked large wild animals from coming to Linjia Village to harm crops and villagers.

The afternoon is short, and Lin Ze has no plans to go down to the bottom of the cliff to explore the deeper parts of the mountain.

"Forget it, no wild boar, no wild boar."

Thinking of this, Lin Ze clenched his pistol and walked down the mountain. Unexpectedly, he encountered a half-grown wild boar on the way. Lin Ze made a prompt decision, opened fire and started a fierce chase with the wild boar.

Finally, Lin Ze succeeded in killing the wild boar. He happily dragged the trophy back home and shared the good news with his grandparents.

Lin Ze returned home, processed the prey, and gave half of it to his grandfather's family.

The next morning, Lin Ze got up early. After having breakfast, he hugged his grandparents and then walked out of the house carrying a backpack.

The morning in the mountain village is particularly quiet, and the air is filled with a fresh scent.

Lin Ze walked slowly along the mountain road in the morning light. He looked back at the village behind him, his heart filled with nostalgia and reluctance.

"Wait for me, grandpa and grandma, I will definitely come back." Lin Ze said softly, then turned around resolutely and walked towards the city.

His figure gradually disappeared in the morning light.

Lin Ze's pace was very fast now. Before noon, he returned to the courtyard with a backpack on his back.

Lin Zhengguo was having lunch at the steel rolling mill, and only Li Xiuzhen, Lin Hao, and Lin Sisi were at home.

As soon as Lin Ze entered the door, Lin Sisi ran towards him.

"Big pigeon, I miss you so much."

Lin Ze picked up Lin Sisi, and the little girl sat in Lin Ze's arms and kissed Lin Ze with a smile.

"Xiao Ze, you're back?" Li Xiuzhen asked with shining eyes, "Have you eaten yet? You're not in a hurry to have dinner this time you're home, right?"

In the past two months, Lin Ze had returned home many times. Every time he came back, he brought some prey and left immediately without even a drink of water at home.

Lin Ze's attitude made Li Xiuzhen feel uncomfortable. She knew that her son was angry with her.

"I'm not leaving for now." Seeing that Lin Hao and Lin Sisi both looked well, Lin Ze's anger gradually dissipated. After all, Li Xiuzhen was the biological mother of this body.

"That's good, that's good." Li Xiuzhen nodded repeatedly, crying with joy, "Put down your things and take a rest. Mom will cook for you."

As she spoke, Li Xiuzhen quickly started busying herself at the stove in the yard, using the ingredients that Lin Ze had just brought back.

Lin Ze put the backpack into the house and chatted with Lin Hao and Lin Sisi for a few words.

In a short while, Li Xiuzhen prepared a sumptuous meal, including pheasant stewed with mushrooms, pheasant egg custard, and cornmeal pancakes.

The family sat together, enjoying the rare reunion moment, and Li Xiuzhen frequently picked up food for Lin Ze.

"Xiao Ze, you've grown taller, and you look much better than before."

Lin Hao and Lin Sisi nodded heavily while chewing on the chicken legs, "Brother has grown taller and looks so impressive."

"Life is good at my grandfather's house." Lin Ze smiled.

Li Xiuzhen's heart tightened and she felt a little uncomfortable. Didn't her son mean that life at home was too bad?

"Xiao Ze, I..." Li Xiuzhen was about to say something but was interrupted by Lin Ze.

"Mom, from now on, we'll have fish and meat at home, and we'll cook according to today's specifications often."

Lin Ze said, "Lin Hao and Sisi are both growing up."

"Hey, eh, good."

The aroma of Lin Zhengguo's chicken filled the entire garden, and the family of Yan Bugui, who lived nearest, was drooling at the smell.

"This Lin family is too outrageous. Other families are tightening their belts and eating coarse food. How can they be treated specially at this critical moment? Isn't this promoting disharmony among neighbors?"

Yan Bugui put a chopstick of shredded radish into his mouth. The aroma of the chicken made his mouth water. He wished he could bite his tongue to taste the meat.

The third aunt sighed, "What can we do? Lin Zhengguo's son is capable, and his hometown is in the mountains. Can you stop him from eating the game he hunted himself? In this era, whether to eat bran or meat depends on one's ability. Those who are poor will die of drought, and those who are poor will die of floods."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui put down his chopsticks heavily and looked at the wild vegetable porridge in the bowl, which was becoming increasingly difficult to swallow.

"Dad, why don't you eat anymore? If you don't want to eat, give it to me!" Yan Jiefang didn't mind his father's slap. He snatched his father's bowl and drank all the porridge at the bottom of the bowl.

These days, there are only a few families whose children can have enough food to eat. Although Yan Jiekuang and his group of children thought that the smell wafting from Lin Zhengguo's food was delicious, they had never eaten meat and had no idea what it was.

I just felt that the fragrance made me even hungrier and I just wanted to drink a few more mouthfuls of wild vegetable porridge.

Yan Bugui was furious and said, "Hey, you little bastard!"