"Coo-coo-coo!!"
Early the next morning, Li Yuemin, who had spent the previous night battling with Zhang Chuntao, felt refreshed and rose from bed early. He dressed with light, cautious steps, afraid of waking his sleeping, delicate wife.
Once in the courtyard, he began crafting a bow, arrows, and traps for hunting. He knew he was no longer the all-powerful tycoon of his past life, but a penniless kid. His household was dirt poor; if not for the ten-plus pounds of cornmeal Zhang Chuntao had brought as her dowry, they would have run out of food long ago. In the middle of winter, the only way to obtain extra food was to head into the mountains to hunt. He remembered from his previous life that when he was in the military, he and his comrades would resolve survival crises during field missions by digging into field mouse burrows for their winter stores. He hoped to take his hunting tools into the mountains and try his luck.
Additionally, he hoped to find a specific medicinal herb while in the mountains. In his past life, Zhang Chuntao's father had passed away from a lung disease, a source of deep regret for Li Yuemin. If his memory served him correctly, there was a herb in the mountains with miraculous effects on lung conditions. If he could find it, he might be able to prevent the progression of Zhang Wanshan's illness.
Just as Li Yuemin was concentrating on his work, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and discovered it was Song Mengyao. She was wearing a cotton-padded jacket with a blue background and white flowers, which made her waist look even more slender. With willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and thin, rosy lips, her hips swayed provocatively as she walked. Seeing Li Yuemin sweating from his labor, she stepped forward, crouched down, and took out a handkerchief from her pocket. As she wiped his sweat, she asked with a coy, coquettish tone:
"Oh, Brother Yuemin, why are you up and working so early? Look, you're all sweaty from the effort. Did you hear something last night that kept you from sleeping well?"
"Hmph."
Seeing Song Mengyao’s cheap behavior and remembering what she had done in his past life, Li Yuemin felt nauseated. This fickle woman would flirt with any decent-looking man she saw. He pushed her hand away in disgust and replied coldly:
"I slept just fine. I didn't hear a thing."
Seeing Li Yuemin’s displeasure, Song Mengyao became even more insistent. She liked men who were upright and handsome like him—far better than that flat-faced Li Guolin of hers. How wonderful it would be if she could hook up with him to relieve her boredom. She reached out, grabbed Li Yuemin’s brawny arm, and whined:
"Brother Yuemin, didn't you hear Li Guolin hitting me?"
"Hitting you?"
Li Yuemin felt a secret thrill knowing Song Mengyao had actually been beaten, but on the surface, he remained icy:
"He hit you? What does his hitting you have to do with me?"
"Brother Yuemin, how can you say that?"
Seeing Li Yuemin’s callousness, Song Mengyao actually looked aggrieved. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded pitifully:
"Brother Yuemin, how can you be so unchivalrous? I am your cousin-in-law, after all. Can’t you feel for me and stand up for me?"
With that, she persisted and clung to him again.
"Stand up for you?"
Her shamelessness made Li Yuemin laugh in spite of himself. He pushed her away and refused sternly:
"Why would I feel for you? You’re not my wife. Go on, go do whatever you need to do!"
"Brother Yuemin, don't push me away. You..."
At that moment, under the old locust tree outside the yard, Li Guolin was distractedly sharpening a dull knife, also intending to head into the mountains to find game. He had long suspected Song Mengyao of certain behaviors, but had never caught her in the act. However, as he happened to look up, he caught a glimpse of her and Li Yuemin entangled in his own yard.
His head buzzed. All his suspicions and anger ignited in an instant. He muttered to himself, "No wonder this kid didn't react when we talked about swapping wives in my past life! So, the adulterer was him all along!!"
Thinking of this, Li Guolin bolted to his feet, charged into the courtyard, grabbed Li Yuemin by the collar, raised his fist, and roared:
"You bastard! Li Yuemin, you dare to flirt with my wife!"
Li Yuemin reacted quickly, dodging the fist and delivering a kick in one fluid motion:
"Li Guolin, are you blind or what? Didn't you see it was Song Mengyao throwing herself at me? You can't control your own wife, so you come here to blame me? Who gave you the nerve?"
Li Guolin stumbled back a few steps, regained his footing, and grew even angrier, pointing at Li Yuemin’s nose:
"Li Yuemin, you're the one who’s blind! I saw it with my own eyes—you were all over my wife. Ptooey! You shameless animal, even daring to hit on your cousin-in-law!"
Seeing Li Guolin suddenly appear, Song Mengyao panicked. But she quickly put on a mask of grievance, ran to Li Guolin, grabbed his arm, and cried:
"Guolin, you're finally here! Brother Yuemin... he just tried to force himself on me. I... I'm so humiliated!"
Seeing Song Mengyao crying like a flower in the rain, Li Guolin became even more certain that Li Yuemin had designs on her. Without thinking, he swung his fist at Li Yuemin again.
Li Yuemin gave a contemptuous smile, caught Li Guolin's fist firmly, twisted hard, and pinned his arm behind his back. Li Guolin shrieked in pain, struggling to break free, but Li Yuemin was far stronger and held him immobile.
"Li Guolin, it seems your brain really doesn't work and you can't understand human speech. I guess I'll have to use pain to wake you up!!"
Seeing Li Guolin pinned, Song Mengyao became more frantic. She rushed over to grab Li Yuemin’s hand, pleading:
"Brother Yuemin, please don't do this. Guolin was just acting on impulse. Please, for my sake, let him go!"
Li Yuemin shot her a look of disgust and increased the pressure on his grip. Only when Li Guolin was in so much pain that he started wailing for mercy did Li Yuemin snort and release him.
Li Guolin staggered back and stood firm, his face deathly pale, but he didn't dare strike again. Glancing at the bow and arrows in Li Yuemin’s hand, his eyes rolled, and he said with a hidden meaning:
"Oh, Li Yuemin, looking at you, you’re planning to hunt in the mountains? With your clumsy self, you might not catch a rabbit and end up being dragged off by a wolf instead. But don't worry, I’m a righteous man—if you die in those mountains, I’ll take good care of your wife, Zhang Chuntao, for you!!"
"Whoosh!!"
"Li Yuemin, are you f***ing crazy? You dare shoot an arrow at me!!"
Before Li Guolin’s voice had even faded, there was a *whoosh* as a small wooden arrow zipped directly toward his crotch. It missed his private parts by a single hair’s breadth, tearing a large hole through his pants.
The shock terrified Li Guolin, and yellow urine instantly pooled on the ground.
"Li Guolin, I’m warning you: if you dare talk nonsense again, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life squatting to pee!!"
Having said that, Li Yuemin didn't bother with him anymore as he watched the shivering man. Eager to get on with his hunting, he snorted, tucked away his bow and arrows, picked up his basket, and strode toward the depths of the mountain.