Chapter 12 Hidden Big Shot

Chapter 12 Hidden Big Shot

The livestock yard was a fairly spacious quadrangle courtyard with three main rooms in the front. The east and west wings were used as animal sheds, while a few simple thatched sheds to the south housed hay and some farming tools.

The eastern and central rooms of the three main rooms were for living quarters, while the western room stored harnesses and other equipment used for the animals' work.

Since it was a livestock yard, it wasn't as meticulously arranged as a regular residence. There were no walls or doors between the eastern and central rooms; only a wall separated the stove and the heated brick bed in the south.

The stove had an eight-inch-wide iron pot.

Originally, it was a new pot, but within a couple of days, someone swapped it out, and after several exchanges, it ended up being a broken one, riddled with rivets and white marks from cast iron chips.

Still, it was better than the broken pot at Old Tang's place, at least it didn't leak.

In the north of the central room were two large water vats and some feed for the livestock.

Dad Tang and Mother Tang placed their belongings near the heated brick bed in the eastern room.

They had so few things that even after placing them down, the room didn't seem any more cluttered.

It was already bright outside, and they still had to go to work soon. Mother Tang quickly washed the pot and started cooking.

She felt a bit dazed. Was this really how they had split the household?

She was skilled in farm work but unfamiliar with cooking.

At home, everything related to food and condiments was managed by Old Lady Tang, not allowing anyone else to touch them.

In the past, she could only help with the firewood; handling the cooking utensils was her mother-in-law's job.

Now that she was responsible for cooking, she had to think about what to make.

She asked Tang Yuan, "Daughter, what do you want to eat?" She also asked Dad Tang what he wanted.

Dad Tang was easy to please; as long as there was something to eat, he didn't mind. He wished he could make some noodles for his daughter, but they didn't have any.

In fact, there wasn't much choice anyway. All they had were coarse grains, which wouldn't taste good no matter how they were prepared.

Mother Tang looked through the grains pushed over to them, mostly stored in hemp bags woven with hemp rope, along with two willow baskets.

Without grain storage containers, it would be easy for rats to cause trouble.

Tang Yuan sat in front of the stove to help start the fire. "Mom, let's cook some dry rice. You and Dad need solid food for your work."

This was the busiest time for plowing in the commune. With insufficient livestock, manpower had to pull the plows, and without a full meal, they couldn't handle the workload.

Boiling beans would take too long, but boiling millet and sorghum was feasible.

Mother Tang thought about it but decided against using all millet and sorghum for the dry rice. Instead, she washed some dried sweet potato slices and broke them into pieces to boil with the grains, making the porridge cook faster.

Dad Tang glanced at his daughter and tentatively suggested, "Daughter, let me handle the fire."

Tang Yuan smiled. "Dad, I can manage."

Seeing his daughter acting normal, Dad Tang found it strange.

Could it be true, as Zhonghe said, that his daughter would be fine without being provoked?

Would his mother, sister-in-law, and nieces and nephews really provoke her?

Was she... normal now just because they weren't around?

Not only was she normal, but she seemed even more gentle and well-behaved than before her illness. In the past, she always looked angry, either frowning or pouting.

Thinking about this, Dad Tang felt both heartache and concern, deciding to ask Tang Zhonghe again.

He cautiously looked at his wife.

Mother Tang avoided his gaze. "Go help clean up the animal shed. We're staying here, so we should contribute some labor."

Dad Tang told his daughter not to tire herself and to rest if she felt uncomfortable, then went to clear the accumulated manure in the animal shed.

Once Dad Tang was far enough away, Tang Yuan whispered, "Mom, find someone in the village to rent us a room. We'll stay for a while and then try to build our own house."

Staying in the livestock yard long-term wasn't feasible.

With seven or eight animals, the smell was overwhelming, and the stench of animal waste permeated the air while eating and drinking.

Living here long-term would be depressing.

Mother Tang was a bit hesitant. "Everyone's houses are cramped; who would have an empty room to rent to us? The secretary's family has plenty of space, but they wouldn't rent to us."

Tang Yuan: "Isn't there a vacant room at the Feng family's place?"

Mentioning the Feng family, Mother Tang immediately shook her head. "I doubt it. Old Lady Feng only accepts cash upfront, and she's hard to get along with. In the past, the commune rented her house to the educated youth and cadres stationed here, but within two months, she kicked them out, saying she'd rather leave it empty than rent it to others."

The Feng family didn't have a good reputation in the village.

Old Lady Feng had been widowed early and raised her two sons with a mill and a few acres of land. Later, she sold the mill to the commune for money and used the proceeds to support her elder son's education while her younger son worked the fields.

Her elder son attended high school in the county and later became an accountant at the County Hospital, eventually starting a family.

Her younger son married and took care of his mother in the countryside.

During the nationwide construction of large-scale water conservancy projects, every village and household had to provide volunteer labor.

Feng's younger son, strong and clever, learned to handle explosives from the captain of the guerrilla squad during his childhood, and thus joined the dynamite team of the construction crew.

During a mountain excavation operation, there was an unexpected landslide. He saved two other technicians but was killed in the explosion. His pregnant wife, upon hearing the terrible news, died during childbirth.

He was posthumously recognized as a martyr, and the government provided compensation to his family.

Old Lady Feng had been a widow for many years. Already known for her strong personality and peculiar temper, after her younger son's death, she took on the responsibility of raising her grandson, which only made her more difficult to get along with. She often quarreled with villagers.

Many people said she was harsh, selfish, and hard to deal with, and that she had spoiled her grandson.

She felt sorry for her grandson, who had lost both parents at a young age, and pampered him excessively.

Although Feng Chen was tall, handsome, and strong, he refused to work diligently and spent his days idling around, always thinking about getting his uncle to help him move to the city to become a worker.

But in those days, moving to the city to become a worker was no easy feat.

Even city dwellers couldn't secure jobs, and young people were being sent to the countryside.

The village officials took turns trying to persuade him to work and earn points, but he scoffed at their efforts and continued to do as he pleased.

Being the orphan of a martyr, he could buy food from the commune, and the commune had no way to punish him.

Thus, he became even more reckless, often not returning home and instead wandering around the city with others.

If he got into trouble or was caught, his uncle would have to bail him out, which greatly annoyed his aunt.

Now 19 years old, Old Lady Feng began to worry and wanted to find him a wife, hoping marriage and children would make him more responsible.

However, no respectable families were willing to marry their daughters to him.

In those times, the competitiveness of rural bachelors in matchmaking primarily depended on whether they were children of commune officials with jobs, followed by their ability to earn work points, with appearance being a lesser consideration.

If someone was idle and unproductive, even if they looked good, respectable families wouldn't consider them.

Mother Tang whispered to her daughter about the Feng family, glancing outside before continuing: "A few days ago, the Feng boy finally came to work and ended up beating Liu Big Nose."

Tang Yuan: "Why?"

Mother Tang: "Liu Big Nose made some joke, and he slapped him so hard that Liu Big Nose bled profusely. His mother said his teeth were loose."

Tang Yuan: "Maybe Liu Big Nose had it coming."

The original Tang Yuan had a very bad impression of Liu Big Nose. He was a man with a foul mouth who would flirt with any girl he saw and even approach women nursing their babies, saying, "If you don't want it, give it to me."

He was just asking for a beating.

Mother Tang used to dislike gossip, but recently, since her daughter pretended to be crazy, she listened closely to avoid others talking about her daughter.

A few days ago, a woman saw him come out of the mountains with two pheasants and two rabbits. She tried to trade with him, but he glared at her menacingly.

A woman carrying manure to the fields asked him for help when she couldn't carry the load, but he ignored her and walked away.

Two days ago, a woman digging wild vegetables on the sunny slope saw him. The proper wild vegetables hadn't sprouted yet, but early shoots appeared on the sunny slopes. When she arrived, he had already dug them all up, leaving nothing for her.

Thus, besides being seen as a lazy loafer, Feng Chen also gained a reputation for being stingy and mean.

In those days, one's reputation was crucial, and once tarnished, it greatly affected marriage prospects.

Tang Yuan sifted through the original Tang Yuan's memories and found that she didn't have a bad impression of Old Lady Feng and Feng Chen.

She guessed that Feng Chen secretly did small business in the city and admired his resourcefulness.

As for Old Lady Feng being harsh, she thought it was because people were trying to take advantage of her. After all, she too had been called selfish and isolated, so she understood.

Trying to take advantage of a widow is despicable, spreading rumors about her is shameless.

While reviewing the memories, Tang Yuan naturally reviewed the original plot.

To her surprise, she discovered that Feng Chen was actually a hidden powerhouse in the book—a skilled hunter and a recluse in the agricultural world!

In the early part of the story, it highlighted Feng Chen's hunting skills and how he unintentionally caused trouble for the heroine.

Tangjia Village is located at the southern foothills of Qinglong Mountain.

Qinglong Mountain stretches from north to south across four provinces, with undulating terrain and complex geography.

The mountain is rich in various herbs and wildlife such as pheasants, rabbits, wild boars, roe deer, deer, and goats. Deep in the mountains, there are even tigers, bears, and wolves.

Behind Tangjia Village, the mountains are rocky and steep, with few trees, making them difficult to climb.

Most people can only climb nearby peaks, beyond which are tall, sheer cliffs that are impossible to scale.

Feng Chen preferred entering the mountains from the north.

This spring, after turning over a new leaf, he stopped idling in the city and returned home to care for his grandmother. He still avoided working in the fields and instead ventured deep into the mountains for days at a time.

Initially, everyone said he was courting death, expecting him to be killed by a beast at any moment, but he returned unscathed with plenty of game.

Later, Tang Xiang wanted to gather herbs to sell in the city to earn money for her uncle's leg treatment.

Good herbs were found deep in the mountains, where gathering was both exhausting and dangerous. One wrong step could lead to fatal falls, and encountering beasts or venomous snakes could be deadly.

Thinking she had good relationships, she asked Feng Chen to help her gather herbs, but he coldly refused.

She assumed he wanted to get closer to her, thinking his height, strength, and hunting skills would provide security, so she agreed to go with him. But he refused again!

Tang Xiang felt slighted; no one except Tang Yuan had ever ignored her, which made her angry.

She thought Feng Chen was putting on airs, being cold and arrogant, and disliked him, silently cursing him to remain single forever.

Perhaps the heroine's words had power, as Old Lady Feng struggled to find a match for her grandson, with each attempt failing.