Chapter 4: The Opening Salvo

“Such bad luck!”

Li Ping’an made a striking move toward a dead tree stump because he had discovered the old nest of the cry-baby bird. Inside, three small mice looked up fearfully at him from their nest.

If these cry-baby birds were raised together, they could continuously produce golden fertilizer—a somewhat fragrant path to prosperity.

The five-spirit resin was a miraculous herb. Taken with yellow wine, it could treat excessive menstrual bleeding in women. Combined with motherwort and angelica, it could also cure amenorrhea; truly a wonder drug. Most importantly, it could neutralize snake venom. Its price was high, and demand outstripped supply.

But just when he was overjoyed, fate cruelly threw a wrench in his success. He turned his head and, sure enough, saw a rogue figure.

“Hey, isn’t this Li Si? You’re still alive?” Li Ping’an’s eyes flickered as he began to think of how to handle the situation. If Li Si discovered the nuts and the little mice, trouble would surely arise.

So he casually stuffed some dead leaves to block the tree hole.

Li Si glared at Li Ping’an with deep disdain. Grinding his teeth, he stepped forward a few paces and glared at him fiercely.

They came from the same village and both had some education, so neither could accept the other’s superiority.

Once, Li Si mocked Li Ping’an, claiming his father was a cripple and his mother blind. Li Ping’an lost his temper and struck him with a stick, leaving a gash on Li Si’s head. From then on, they became mortal enemies.

Whenever they had the chance, they would fight, but Li Ping’an never dared to go too far because of his two burly older brothers.

Today, finally, Li Si felt justified.

“Folks, come see! Li Ping’an has taken off his pants and is about to mess with my tree!”

At Li Si’s shout, neighbors collecting fruits and digging for wild vegetables nearby on the hill rushed over.

This patch of mountain farmland did belong to Li Si’s family, and the tree stood right beside it. Li Si was usually lazy, so the farmland was overgrown with weeds; even Li Ping’an hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Li Ping’an, eager to prove himself after being sent away by his wife who ran off with a rebel, had become the village’s spectacle.

Now the villagers were gossiping again.

“Look at this worthless wimp who’s never seen a woman for eight generations. He got kicked out and is now so frustrated he’s ready to destroy Li Si’s tree?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. He doesn’t have the guts.”

“Hey, you can never tell. If he had no skills, he wouldn’t have become a son-in-law to the Song family. Hey, isn’t there a fist-sized hole in the tree with some weeds and leaves stuffed inside?”

“That’s true. But through all history, he’s the first to do something like this to a tree. How embarrassing…”

“Still, he’s brave. If I had that kind of capital, I wouldn’t stuff leaves in.”

Li Ping’an’s face turned green—not because of their mockery, but because he was amazed at how keen the villagers’ eyes were. They could even see through his clothes and judge his true assets.

He brushed the dust off himself, stood up slowly, and kicked the dirt clod with a cold voice. “Since when did this tree become yours? I recall when the land was divided, this tree was nearly ten feet from your field. You’re just sneaking a free ride from the government!”

The villagers were taken aback because he was telling the truth.

Long ago, the Great Kang dynasty returned land to the people, and everyone tried to claim as much as they could.

Li Si’s family was the worst offender; their narrow piece of land nearly encroached into the mountain path.

Everyone secretly expanded their land, but no one was as blatant as Li Si.

The key was that even if you occupied land, you should at least cultivate it well. Leaving it to grow wild was deeply despised by the villagers.

Someone spoke up, “Whether Li Ping’an messes with the tree or not isn’t your business. This tree isn’t yours anyway. Why worry so much? Don’t push him too far, or he might report you to the magistrate and you’ll get punished.”

Li Si placed his hands on his hips, fuming. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. Look at how bulging his pants are; he must be hiding loot he stole from my land!”

The crowd noticed Li Ping’an’s pants legs were tied tightly, bulging as if filled with something.

Curiosity piqued again.

Li Ping’an smiled confidently. “Heh, there’s not much food at home. Being kicked back, I need to bring something for the family. I can’t just leech off my father and brothers. So I gathered some wild vegetables and caught some wild creatures.”

“Don’t say that just because I caught wild game or picked wild vegetables by the mountain path, that it’s yours.”

He had injuries on him and sincerely explained to the villagers, which made his words more convincing.

They knew Old Li had a hard life and didn’t want to make it harder. Besides, few wanted to side with Li Si, who was disliked by most in the village.

“I don’t care if you say you picked wild vegetables or hunted wild game. Maybe the vegetables came from my land. Show me your haul. Do they look like the ones growing on my fields? I see mouse holes on my land. Are you hiding mice in your pants legs that you caught from my land?”

Li Ping’an was secretly pleased. Luckily, he had stuffed the cry-baby bird into his sleeve; with so many people around, it didn’t dare to make noise. Otherwise, trouble would have been unavoidable.

He frowned and hesitated, “Li Si, why don’t we just drop it? This isn’t a deep mountain. Even if I caught wild game, it’s nothing to make a fuss about.”

Li Si grew more excited at Li Ping’an’s hesitation. “Li Ping’an, you went to be a son-in-law outside, don’t shamelessly show your face here. Today, either you show me or we take this to the village head!”

Li Ping’an feigned helplessness and said to the crowd, “Everyone, be a witness. Li Si insisted on seeing it himself. It’s got nothing to do with me.”

The villagers, now intrigued, wanted to see what this worthless man had caught. Some even thought Li Ping’an might have caught mice from Li Si’s field and considered helping Li Si get some meat.

“Just let him show it. That way he’ll give up.”

“Yeah, Li Ping’an, if you didn’t do anything wrong, prove your innocence.”

“If you want to live here, don’t let people suspect you’re stealing.”

“We’re all out here for wild vegetables. You got wild game. This is our village’s land. If you share, we won’t shun you.”

Seeing their concern, Li Ping’an smirked inwardly.

He looked at Li Si and said, “Li Si, did you hear? The folks say sharing is caring. Want me to show you?”

Li Si grew anxious. “Why should I? What business is it of yours?”

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight.

The crowd, seeing the bulging pants legs and Li Si’s stinginess, only shook their heads, dismissing it as a joke.

Li Ping’an said, “Li Si, you really want to see?”

Li Si nodded eagerly.

Li Ping’an pretended reluctance. “Fine, come here, I’ll unfasten the pants leg.”

He opened the pants leg, and the subdued snake suddenly flipped, its sharp fangs flashing as it lunged out.

“Damn it—”

Before he could finish, Li Si screamed and fled in terror.

The onlookers asked, “Li Si, what was it that scared you so badly?”

Li Si clutched his chest and ran while shouting, “A snake! A venomous snake! Run!”

Every year, villagers died from venomous snake bites, so their fear was genuine.

If they were brave, they wouldn’t just gather fruits on the mountain’s outskirts.

Upon hearing Li Si, the villagers’ expressions changed and they fled as fast as the wind, afraid the snake would chase them.

The snake was under Li Ping’an’s control and posed no threat. Since it had no current use, Li Ping’an crushed it with one hand.

He removed the grass blocking the hole, carefully stuffed the three little mice into his sleeve, then gathered the nuts from the nest in his clothes.

Exhausted, he found a stone to sit on.

His body was strong but his temper was fierce. He still couldn’t catch his breath.

After resting for about an hour, Li Ping’an began walking home.

Though he hadn’t earned money today, he had gathered plenty of valuable things.

At the door, he overheard his eldest brother and sister-in-law arguing, the children crying loudly.

“Dad, Mom, stop fighting, I’m hungry.”

“Me too!”

The one-eyed old woman sat by the windowsill, scolding the two little girls, Li Yu and Li Mei. “Good-for-nothings, why are you crying? There’s no food to feed you.”

The sister-in-law retorted angrily, crying, “Mother, why? Why does Li Ping’an coming home mean cutting off food for my daughters?”

“They’re not even human!” the old woman snapped. “I never said to cut their food. I said from now on, they won’t get dinner. Always eating but never working! Better send them off as child brides!”

Hearing the words “child brides,” the two little nieces were terrified, clinging to their aunt’s legs, crying harder.

Just then, Li Ping’an pushed open the door.

From the sister-in-law to the little nieces, their gazes were hostile.

Li Ping’an hadn’t expected his return would cause so much trouble and that the women at home would be denied food.

He truly realized how poor his family was and how urgently things needed to change.

Li Hu shot his wife a fierce look, then approached Li Ping’an. “Third brother, you must be hungry. Here’s some food, eat first.”

Li Xiao added, “Third brother, this is your share. You’ve just recovered; you need to eat more.”

Li Ping’an glanced at his second sister-in-law, who lowered her head silently, wiping tears while looking at her child.

He pursed his lips. Truly cruel—why must the girls suffer when he returns?

He pushed the bowl back, blushing, and headed inside.

His two older brothers and the old woman looked puzzled.

Usually, Li Ping’an came back hungry and was urged to eat first without concern for the children.

Today, he just went straight inside without a word.

He first set aside the five-spirit resin, then found an old chicken coop to keep the cry-baby bird family safe.

Finally, he laid out the wild vegetables, skinned dead snake, and a large pile of nuts on a plate.

After tidying up, he carried the plate outside.

“This is snake meat!”

“These are wild peach pits and walnut kernels. Third brother, you’ve got skills. Where did you get these?”

The deep mountains held wild beasts—wolves, bears, tigers, even packs of wolves—so most dared not enter.

The mountain outskirts had long been scoured clean.

Usually, people could only bring back wild vegetables.

No one expected Li Ping’an to come back with so much, including a snake.

That was real meat!

Though they had just finished porridge, the eldest and second brothers’ stomachs growled uncontrollably.

“Gurgle~~”

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