Starting from Mounta Chapter 7

??Chapter 7: Dad, You Eat Dirt

When Chen Xiulan saw this, she couldn’t help but smile, but then she rolled her eyes at Lin Heng: “You’re an adult, yet you still act like this.”

“Co on, just admit how aweso your husband is!” Lin Heng said with pride, puffing his chest out.

Chen Xiulan looked at the wild chicken in her hands, nodding as she examined it: “Amazing, truly amazing!”

“Heh, well then, make sure to reward

well tonight,” Lin Heng said with a sly smile, moving closer.

Chen Xiulan’s face tightened, and she gave him a shy glare: “You’re a father now, still acting like this.”

“I’m just fond of my wife, and that’s completely natural!” Lin Heng said proudly.

Chen Xiulan couldn’t handle these kinds of suggestive conversations and placed the wild chicken into Lin Heng’s back basket before quickly walking ahead.

The two of them chatted and laughed as they descended the mountain. By the ti they reached the foot of the mountain, it was already dusk, and in about an hour, it would be fully dark.

“Xiulan, did you go up the mountain to pick mushrooms?” soone called out from nearby.

Lin Heng turned his head to see an older man in his fifties approaching them. The man had sparse hair and smiled at them.

Lin Heng recognized him. It was Tian Baishun, a bachelor from their village. He didn’t farm much, instead relying on hunting and gathering mountain goods to make a living.

At this mont, Tian Baishun was carrying a dove in his hand, waving it around to make sure they noticed.

“Yes,” Chen Xiulan nodded casually, not wanting to engage with him.

Tian Baishun noticed that Xiulan wasn’t interested in talking to him, so he turned to Lin Heng and saw the slingshot in his hand. He chuckled: “Lin Heng, you’re hunting with a slingshot?”

“Surely you didn’t actually catch anything, right?” Before Lin Heng could respond, he continued with a laugh, “Hunting is no simple matter, it’s a skill.”

“How about this: you let Xiulan cook

two als, and I’ll bring you along next ti I go hunting,” Tian Baishun said with a grin.

He was a bachelor, always trying to flirt with won, and he liked to show off his hunting skills. He had a reputation for being involved with many won.

Lin Heng sneered, stepping in front of his wife to block his view. “Forget it, I’m not interested. I’ll do things my way,” he said.

With that, he motioned for his wife to walk ahead, and he followed behind, heading ho.

The old man was holding a gun, so Lin Heng wasn’t interested in starting a confrontation. After all, the old man hadn’t made any inappropriate remarks.

Tian Baishun was stunned for a mont, then caught up with them. “So you really look down on my hunting skills…”

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes landed on the wild chicken and gray squirrel in Lin Heng’s basket. He froze, shocked: “Wait… you really shot these with a slingshot?”

Catching a squirrel and a wild chicken with a slingshot seed unbelievable to him.

“It wasn’t like that, I just got lucky and found them,” Lin Heng explained, and he continued on his way.

Tian Baishun was speechless. Finding these animals was impossible. He felt like Lin Heng was making fun of him.

“Definitely used a slingshot,” the old man muttered to himself, certain of it.

He couldn’t believe that soone like Lin Heng, a notorious good-for-nothing, could be so skilled. It made him feel embarrassed.

“I’ll definitely show you my hunting skills next ti,” Tian Baishun declared, vowing to impress Lin Heng with a bigger catch.

anwhile, Lin Heng and his wife, Chen Xiulan, had already reached the gate of their ho. Lin Heng had gathered so pigweed to cover the animals in his basket, so people wouldn’t ask too many questions. He knew all too well the dangers of showing off wealth—jealousy ran high in the village, and there were always people who envied others’ good fortune.

“You go ahead, I’ll be right back. I need to use the bathroom,” Lin Heng said, placing the basket down and walking away.

Chen Xiulan entered the yard. Her parents, older brother and his wife, younger sister, and her older brother’s kids had already returned. Her father, Lin Xu’an, and older brother, Lin Yue, were sitting in the shade. Her mother, Lu Hongi, and her sister, Lin Caiyun, were peeling potatoes and preparing dinner.

When her sister-in-law, Liu Juan, saw Chen Xiulan co back alone, she couldn’t resist speaking up with a laugh: “Mom, looks like my second brother didn’t last a day this ti. He’s off again, running around.”

“Hmph, I knew you can’t change a dog’s nature!” Mother Lin grumbled, disappointed. She thought Lin Heng might have stayed ho for a few days, but he had already run off.

Father Lin Xu’an shook his head in disappointnt: “This good-for-nothing is really infuriating. Next ti he cos back, I’ll break his legs.”

“Dad, you really need to keep an eye on him. Look at Lin Yue, he works hard every day farming. Lin Heng does nothing. What’s going to happen in the future?” Liu Juan complained, secretly thinking that Lin Heng was running off for good this ti. She no longer saw any reason to share the family assets with him.

Just then, Lin Heng returned from the bathroom and overheard everything.

“Seriously, not even a basic level of trust?” Lin Heng said in disbelief.

“Hmph, did I say sothing wrong?” Mother Lin glared at him, then turned to her daughter-in-law, Chen Xiulan, asking, “Tell

the truth, did Lin Heng go off again this afternoon and just co back?”

She knew her second daughter-in-law was soft-hearted and kind, so Lin Heng must have persuaded her to cover for him.

“No, he went up the mountain with . He even used his slingshot to catch a squirrel and a wild chicken today,” Chen Xiulan shook her head, smiling as she spoke.

“What?” Father Lin Xu’an stood up, clearly not believing her: “He caught a squirrel and a wild chicken? I’ll eat dirt right now if that’s true.”

He knew what Lin Heng was like and couldn’t believe it.

“Are you sure you’re not making this up?” Mother Lin asked, looking at her daughter-in-law and even patting her head.

It was clear that no one in the family believed Lin Heng had this kind of skill. Unless the sun rose from the west, it seed impossible.

“Here, see for yourself!”

Lin Heng placed the basket down with confidence and looked at his family, thinking, “Are we really at the point where people can’t trust each other anymore?”

Everyone looked at the basket, stunned. They stared and looked again, all wide-eyed in disbelief.

“Did Second Dad get possessed?” Lin Yue’s son, Lin Wei, spoke up, puzzled.

Others shared the sa thought, wondering if Lin Heng had been possessed by a spirit.

“You’re the one who’s possessed!” Lin Heng yelled, kicking him in the butt.

“Dad, you’re not eating tonight. Little sister, go grab so dirt for Dad. We’ll give him your portion tonight,” Lin Heng teased.

Lin Caiyun’s eyes lit up, and before she could move, Lin Wei grabbed a handful of dirt and handed it to Grandpa Lin Xu’an: “Grandpa, here’s so dirt for you to eat.”

Father Lin Xu’an was furious and imdiately reached for a stick: “You two ungrateful grandkids!!”

“Grandpa, you said it yourself!” Lin Wei jumped out of the way, hiding behind Lin Heng with a grin.

“Lin Heng, did you really do this yourself?” Lin Yue still didn’t believe it.

“Yeah, don’t tell

you picked up so dead animals. Don’t eat anything bad,” Liu Juan added, shaking her head, doubting that Lin Heng could have really used a slingshot to catch these animals.

(End of Chapter)