A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 10 Picking Chestnuts

"What a coincidence, to meet you here," Zhang Ting said, a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek.

"Hmm, what a coincidence! I came here today to buy some ducks to take home."

"Oh, is that so? Then why do I see you with empty hands?" Zhang Ting, with her sharp eyes, noticed Zhang Niu's empty hands.

Zhang Niu couldn't possibly say he threw everything into his spatial storage to save effort. He could only claim that the villagers helped him take it back first.

"I can see you really have the potential to be a farmer. I'm so envious of your wheat-colored skin." He said happily, looking at her tanned skin.

"Hehe, it's alright. I've been busy lately, but I'll have some free time soon. I forgot to tell you, haven't you always wanted to see wild boars? I have a big wild boar at home that weighs over 200 pounds. How about it? When do you have time to come and see it? I guarantee you'll never forget it." Zhang Niu immediately thought of his own King Kong.

As soon as Zhang Ting finished listening, he excitedly grabbed Zhang Niu's hand, causing Zhang Niu's old face to flush red. "Sorry, I was too excited and didn't notice..." Zhang Ting then realized his rudeness and hurriedly explained.

Zhang Ting first learned about wild boars from a book, and wild boars are rare these days. It's already difficult to see a live wild boar in the county. Since then, Zhang Ting has been obsessed with wild boars. When he heard Zhang Niu say that his family had wild boars, he was so happy that he grabbed Zhang Niu's hand without thinking.

"Is your wild boar fierce?" After all, in her eyes, 200 jin (100 kg) is a huge amount, especially for city dwellers.

"Usually, because they're wild, they all retain a bit of their wildness. It's fine with strangers who don't come around often. But with acquaintances, it's no big deal. They treat you like family and even joke around with you," Zhang Niu replied patiently.

Zhang Ting then asked a silly question, "Are your wild boars chained up?"

Zhang Niu laughed heartily, "You think this is like raising a dog? You're usually so smart, but you can be so foolish."

"Why are you laughing at me too? It was just a slip of the tongue, you know?" Zhang Ting tried her best to defend herself.

Zhang Niu looked at the sky and realized it was getting late. If it got any later, he would have to travel in the dark.

"It's getting late, so I'll head back now. If you have time, come visit me!"

"Okay, sure. It would be easier to contact you once you buy a new phone."

"If you have the chance, go buy one, and I'll let you know first." Before leaving, he invited Zhang Ting to come and sit down for a while.

When I got home, it was just in time for dinner.

"King Kong" has been so comfortable staying at home these past two days that he's gone straight to the pigpen to eat and live with the female pig. He's just so happy.

This incident caused "Little One" to squeak and squeak. Upon seeing Zhang Niu return, it jumped onto his shoulder and began to criticize King Kong.

King Kong is living the life of an emperor now. He shook his head helplessly. He decided to ignore it.

September is the peak season for chestnuts. Villagers go up the mountain in the morning to pick chestnuts, and some even try to "find the leftovers".

On the hill behind the village, Zhang Niu's family also planted several acres of chestnuts. However, they were all old varieties. They didn't fertilize or weed them much, and only enjoyed them once a year.

Zhang Niu's chestnuts are small, local variety, but they taste better than others. In the morning, he put on cloth shoes and a straw hat, grabbed a bamboo pole, and, fully armed with his bodyguard "King Kong," headed towards the back mountain. It took Zhang Niu a lot of effort to drag King Kong out of the pigsty. It was because he was big and heavy and wouldn't cooperate; if he hadn't threatened to castrate it if it didn't come out, King Kong would have been scared into coming out obediently.

Now, it's no longer as strange to see a wild boar following Zhang Niu around as it used to be in the village. Now, King Kong walks around the village without any problems. However, Zhang Niu is still worried and usually keeps him by his side. After some time, he noticed that King Kong seems to have grown taller again.

There were still quite a few people picking chestnuts in the mountains today. Arriving at my own mountain, I saw dozens of chestnut trees with small, round, green clusters hanging from them, covered in sharp quills like little hedgehogs in a field. The only difference was that one could move, while the other was hanging on the tree.

Ripe chestnuts will split open on their own and fall off completely. Unripe chestnuts are usually knocked down with bamboo poles. Once split open, you can step on them and use fire tongs to pry them out. You can usually pry out four at a time.

Zhang Niu's chestnut tree wasn't tall, and its branches were rather sparse. There weren't many chestnuts hanging from it, so it was an old variety. He used a bamboo pole to tap the branches. *Snap! Snap!* Small, green, spiky clusters fell from the tree, hitting the wild boars below and making them grunt. The wild boars, with their thick hides, watched Zhang Niu tap the branches as if nothing was wrong. One of the "King Kongs" grunted a few times and then charged at the chestnut tree. Many fell with a clatter, much easier than Zhang Niu's tapping. Only a few remained, which he then knocked down with the bamboo pole.

Zhang Niu now realized that King Kong wasn't just a freeloader; after all, its tree-ramming ability was quite impressive. So he shouted for King Kong to go and ram the chestnut tree. The branches rustled loudly as it hit the tree. Zhang Niu then sat behind it, picking up the fallen chestnuts with a satisfying air.

With this capable assistant, things got much faster; Zhang Niu could just focus on stuffing the chestnuts into the sacks. Seeing there were still many chestnuts on the ground, he quickly called for Jin Gang to stop. Otherwise, if they bumped into too many, he wouldn't be able to carry them all back.

While Zhang Niu was still packing chestnuts, "King Kong" in the distance grunted a few times and suddenly darted into the bushes. The little one on his shoulder also quickly darted over.

Could it be that something has been found? Zhang Niu quickly dropped the sack and ran over. Following the bent weeds along the way, he soon saw something under the "King Kong" pig's trotters. The little one next to it was reaching out its tiny paws and constantly poking at the thing.

When Zhang Niu went closer, he saw that a gray wild rabbit was trapped under King Kong's hoof, struggling to get rid of King Kong's pig hoof.

Catching a rabbit while hunting chestnuts is incredibly lucky. "Not bad, King Kong, I'll add some extra food for you tonight."

The hare was quite heavy when I picked it up. Hare are usually very difficult to catch. However, quite a few people in the village have set traps on the mountain.

Go back and pack up the rest of the chestnut balls.

Once you get home, pour the chestnut bundles into a corner and let them sit for a few days. They will slowly crack open, at which point you can use tongs to remove the chestnuts inside. Chestnuts that have been left to sit for a few days will taste sweeter when roasted.

Zhang Niu didn't know how to handle wild rabbits, but his father was quite adept at bleeding and skinning them. After a flurry of activity, all that was left for the two of them to do was wait to eat.

At this time of year, wild rabbits are at their fattest and considered authentic wild game; selling them for tens of yuan in a restaurant is no big deal.

When the stewed rabbit with radish was served, Zhang Niu's mouth watered. The little one next to him squeaked and occasionally stretched out its paw.

He placed a piece of rabbit meat in front of "Little Dot," who, undeterred by the heat, stretched out his paw and began to gnaw on it. This was the first time Zhang Niu had ever seen Little Dot eat cooked food.

It's past midnight, and Corn is preparing his grand summoning spell. Please send lots of recommendations, favorites, and votes!