The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

The group chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at Zhao Laosi's house.

The dozen or so villagers who had been invited bid farewell after entering the village and went home.

Now, only Li Kaixin and the other four remained, following Zhao Laosi.

Zhao Laosi's wife was standing at the gate looking around. When she saw them coming, she quickly went up to them and said, "Husband, you're back."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Li Kaixin behind her husband, and a smile immediately spread across her face:

"Hey! Brother, it's great to see you again."

"Sister-in-law, it's been a long time!" Li Kaixin greeted her with a smile.

Zhao Laosi's wife quickly stepped aside and warmly ushered him inside.

"Come in quickly, come in quickly, the food is all ready, we've been waiting for you!"

Inside the house, several bowls of home-style dishes were already placed on the table.

Stewed cabbage, stir-fried shredded potatoes, a bowl of wild mushroom soup, and a big pot of cornmeal porridge.

Although there was no meat, in a year of food shortage in the countryside, this meal was already quite plentiful.

Zhou Zhiming and the others were starving, and their eyes lit up at the sight of food, but they were too polite to start eating first.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Zhao Laosi greeted them with a smile:

"Brother Zhou, please don't stand on ceremony. We don't have so many rules in the countryside!"

Then, he put some food on Li Kaixin's plate.

"Brother Li, I don't have anything good here, please make do with this."

"Brother Zhao, you're too kind. This meal is already quite lavish," Li Kaixin replied with a smile, picking up his bowl.

Zhou Zhiming and the other three didn't stand on ceremony anymore, and picked up their bowls and chopsticks to wolf down their food.

The meal was a lively affair, and all the dishes and porridge on the table were completely devoured.

After the meal, Zhao Laosi asked his wife to clear the dishes while he took Li Kaixin and the others to see the three wild boars.

In the yard, three plump and strong wild boars were laid side by side on a makeshift wooden frame, their blood drained.

"Brother Li, these three heads tied together must weigh at least seven or eight hundred jin (350-400 kg)." Zhao Laosi walked up to the wild boar and patted it.

Then he leaned close to Li Kaixin's ear and whispered his advice:

"Why don't you take it to the county town to exchange for money? My third brother and I will take you to the county's black market tonight."

"No need!" Li Kaixin shook his head. "Brother Zhao, didn't we just agree on this?"

Zhao Laosi wanted to say a few more words of advice, but just as he was about to speak, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard gate.

Li Kaixin recognized the person at a glance and quickly stepped forward: "Village Chief, what brings you here!"

The visitor was none other than Zhang Youfu, the village chief of Kaoshantun, whom they hadn't seen for a year.

He smiled and squinted, looking Li Kaixin up and down:

"Comrade Li, I heard you came to our village, so I came to visit."

Li Kaixin didn't reply immediately, but instead smiled and invited the person into the courtyard.

Village chief Zhang Youfu entered the courtyard and immediately spotted the three wild boars, clicking his tongue twice in disapproval.

"Good heavens, these three wild boars are quite large! Comrade Li, your strength is as good as ever!"

Actually, he had seen it before; after all, carrying three large wild boars into the village made such a commotion, how could he not know?

"Village Chief, you flatter me. It was just luck," Li Kaixin said with a faint smile.

Zhang Youfu immediately burst into laughter.

"Comrade Li, you're still so modest."

Then, he changed the subject casually and asked, "By the way, did Zhang Quansheng give you any trouble today?"

Li Kaixin was stunned, not knowing who Zhang Quansheng was.

"Brother Li!"

Zhao Laosi, who was standing nearby, quickly explained, "Zhang Quansheng is Zhang Mazi's father. Also, most of the people who went to the commune today were called there by the village chief."

Li Kaixin felt a warmth in her heart again and quickly said, "Village Chief, thank you so much!"

"What are you thanking me for! You gave our village such a big gift last year, this little thing is nothing."

Zhang Youfu waved his hand, his tone magnanimous.

"Besides, the people in our village can't stand Zhang Mazi's misbehavior because of his father, and they've been hoping someone could teach him a lesson."

"Village chief, I have some good news to tell you."

Zhao Laosi took over the conversation with a smile on his face.

"Zhang Mazi has been arrested by the police and sentenced to three years of hard labor!"

"Really?" Zhang Youfu asked, somewhat incredulous.

He knew that Zhang Quansheng had a relationship with Director Zhou in the county, otherwise the villagers wouldn't have tolerated him so much.

Seeing that the village chief didn't believe him, Zhao Laosi recounted the whole story in detail.

After saying that, he added:

"Village chief, you know what, Brother Li's identity as a military region instructor is really impressive. Even the county leaders were stunned."

But these words were heard differently by Zhang Youfu.

He wasn't as naive as Zhao Laosi, and the county leaders weren't fools; they wouldn't be easily fooled.

Clearly, Li Kaixin's identity is not as simple as Zhao Laosi made it out to be.

However, since they had already said that, he couldn't very well call them out.

"Comrade Li, should I have someone deliver these three wild boars to the guesthouse for you?" Zhang Youfu changed the subject directly.

Li Kaixin smiled, her tone relaxed:

"Village chief, no need to trouble yourself. These three wild boars have already been handed over to Brother Zhao Si to handle."

Zhang Youfu was slightly taken aback and turned to look at Zhao Laosi.

Zhao Laosi understood and immediately whispered something in the village chief's ear.

After listening, Zhang Youfu whispered a few words to Zhao Laosi, then looked up.

"Comrade Li, you all take a rest for a while. Xiao Si and I have something we'd like to discuss privately."

"Village chief, you're busy, don't worry about us."

Seeing this, Zhang Youfu gave Zhao Laosi a wink, and the two of them walked into the main room one after the other.

Li Kaixin had no intention of finding out what the other person was saying. He turned around and beckoned Zhou Zhiming and the other three to find a few small stools in the yard and sit down.

Zhou Zhiming spoke first, his face still showing reluctance: "Master, when are we going back to the county guesthouse?"

"What? Zhiming, it seems you don't want to leave?" Li Kaixin glanced at his apprentice.

Zhou Zhiming immediately chuckled and moved closer to Li Kaixin:

"Master, I just hadn't had enough of climbing the mountain today!"

Wu Tian, ​​Qian Dazhuang, and Du Ziteng nodded in agreement. It was their first time in the mountains, and they had already encountered so much wild game and mountain produce. Who wouldn't be tempted by such a bounty?

Although the unexpected incident involving Zhang Mazi occurred, it only strengthened their resolve.

As long as Li Kaixin is around, there's no danger going into the mountains.

Seeing the eager looks on Zhou Zhiming and the others' faces, Li Kaixin's lips twitched. He was starting to regret agreeing to come hunting with them.

These guys didn't see any of the dangers on the mountain; they were only focused on their gains.

"Zhiming, you absolutely must not go up the mountain alone. Hunting isn't that simple." Li Kaixin's expression turned serious.

Zhou Zhiming, Wu Tian, ​​Qian Dazhuang, and Du Ziteng exchanged glances.

"Master, please don't worry!"

Zhou Zhiming patted his chest and assured them, "We know our own limitations. Without you here, even if someone else invited us, we wouldn't go."

"Yeah, yeah!" Wu Tian, ​​Qian Dazhuang, and Du Ziteng echoed in unison.

"That's good! That's good!" Li Kaixin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they had listened to her.

He was genuinely afraid that these guys might suddenly get carried away and run off up the mountain on their own.