Hunting Preparation

"Xiaobei, you called me Dad again, and you're willing to call me Dad again! Dad will eat now. Eat well, and we'll be busy tomorrow." Tong Dinshan hadn't heard this Dad for the past two years. He knew the child held some resentment towards him, but he couldn't get over it.

The current Dad from Bei was due to affection for this ancient man and a compassionate heart for his loneliness. She didn't expect the reaction to be this significant, but she was delighted to unintentionally resolve the knot between Tong Xiaomei and her father.

While Tong Dinshan was having his meal, Bei quietly accompanied him, using her consciousness to silently examine the peaks where the Tong family resided. After passing the water pool gorge, it could be considered the Tong family's territory. People in the mountains mostly made a living by hunting, and just like the animal kingdom, they silently guarded their autonomous territorial awareness. It was during this time that Bei noticed the misty boundary of her space had expanded outward by about forty miles. Both the nitrate pit and coal mine were rich deposits, and for generations, they didn't have to worry about reserves. Unexpectedly, the current coal mine vein seemed more like a graphite mine, with only a small amount of coal seams accompanying it. The thick coal vein appeared under the mountain to the west of the water pool, covered by a small bamboo forest. The entire mountain looked almost black, with only some rhododendrons and ferns covering it. That wasn't just a mine; it was essentially a coal mountain! The mountain to the west that the Tong family depended on for their houses was completely hollow, with stalactites that had grown for millions of years, hidden rivers crisscrossing, occasionally exposed in the gorges, and sometimes disappearing into deeper and more distant mountain ranges. This area showcased typical karst landforms. Within a radius of about forty miles, green mountains and clear water, colorful clouds, and steam filled the air. It seemed that the hot spring resources here were also quite abundant. Considering the upcoming hunting expedition, should they head towards the nearby hot spring valley?

"Dad, everyone is preparing for the hunting expedition the day after tomorrow. I'll also go take a look. You eat slowly."

"I've finished eating. I'll go with you; I need to prepare too. If we catch good things this time, it's just right to give them to Mr. Cheng as a thank-you for saving your life."

"You don't need to go in person; just prepare more of what he wants, and he'll be all smiles."

"Naughty, how can you speak of our benefactor like that?"

The two of them chatted and laughed all the way out of the nitrate pit. Bei took out the sheepskin cape and put it on Tong Dinshan. When passing the coal kiln, she squatted down and picked up some flakes of graphite, filling a basket.

"Dad, I'll carry it. Why are you picking so much soft carbon? This stuff can't make fire."

"When ground finely, isn't it just eyebrow powder? Mr. Qiao asked to mix it with yellow mud, grind it finely, and stuff it in pine wood sticks to make brushes. He'll take as much as we can produce."

"That's a good business. We only have these three things here, and they're inexhaustible."

When they returned to the hall, the meals were already cleaned up, and bows, arrows, and snares were spread out on the floor. Seeing the father and daughter coming in together, everyone happily greeted them.

"I brought back a lot of mandragora. I'll go get it and ask Grandpa to make it into medicine paste. Soak the gun and arrowheads in it for a day, and even big game will fall with a single shot!"

Everyone clapped and cheered excitedly, but Old Master Tong grumbled discontentedly, "Mandragora is rare and precious. It's hardly seen outside deep mountains. You guys, instead of thinking about using it in medicine, you're using it to soak arrows."

When Bei returned again, she had a back basket and a basket full of various grains, herbs, duck eggs, and goose eggs. She handed the rare herbs to Old Master Tong, and the remaining food was pushed in front of Mrs. Zhang. "Aunt Li, these ingredients and these two big bags of refined salt and sugar cubes are all given by Mr. Cheng. Take them to make some dry food for us to take to the mountains."

"Sister, Jia Wei and I also want to go hunting." Sì Nán stared at the basket of food, requesting.

"If you don't go hunting, these delicious things won't be any less for you. When you grow up and pass your thirteenth birthday, you can go into the mountains to hunt. Tomorrow, we'll take you two to collect honey. The day after tomorrow, you and Jia Wei will stay at home with Aunt Li and accompany Grandpa. Sister will bring back a few lambs for you to raise, okay?"

Little Sì Nán didn't respond to his sister's words. He and Jia Wei buried their heads, arguing about how much honey there would be tomorrow and what delicious things it would be used for.