Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

The crowd watching TV was excited, and the noise was deafening. As Aunt Zhang patted the TV, the snow finally stopped, and the villagers erupted in triumphant cheers, filled with joy.

Li Ju'an ignored the shouts of the crowd. He sensed that Lin Mei had not withdrawn her finger, and he became bolder.

He slowly leaned closer to Lin Mei, his large, warm hand moving slowly from her fingertips into his palm. They were so close they could feel each other's warmth.

Lin Mei closed her eyes tightly, her lips trembling slightly, as she focused her entire being on the warmth of his palms. The sensation of skin touching palms, even with just a light touch, was like an electric current, making her fingers tremble slightly, her heart filled with nervousness and anticipation.

Finally, Li Ju'an traced his fingers down her palm, finally grasping her soft, delicate hand and gently pressing them together. At that moment, the world seemed to fall silent.

The airflow slowed, and time seemed to stand still. No matter how much the villagers shouted and cheered around the television, celebrating the Zhang family's purchase of a black-and-white TV, the two of them couldn't hear a thing, as if separated from the world by a wall. Lin Mei blushed and lowered her head, unconsciously squeezing her fingers slightly in response.

A silent hand-holding, quiet and innocent.

Everyone around them seemed to have vanished, leaving only the two of them in the moonlight. Li Ju'an and Lin Mei felt their hearts race, savoring this wonderful moment.

Love in the 80s was different from the fast-paced, superficial relationships of later generations. Love in the mountain villages of the Xing'an Mountains was pure, simple, sincere, steadfast, and tinged with shyness. This unique characteristic made love in that era all the more precious and enduring. In the past, travel was slow; loving one person meant a lifetime commitment.

Suddenly, the chubby boy from the Sun family shouted, "Hey, what are you two doing!"

Li Ju'an was startled. Lin Mei, like a frightened rabbit, quickly withdrew her hand and shyly looked at her toes on the ground.

Just as Li Ju'an was about to scold the little brat from the Sun family for being tactless, he realized that the chubby boy from the Sun family wasn't calling him, but rather telling Lu Wenqian not to imitate Aunt Zhang and slap the television.

"I finally got the TV set working properly, don't make it snow again if you take any more random pictures."

The crowd erupted in commotion again.

Li Ju'an and Lin Mei exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with sweet affection. Sometimes, a tacit understanding in their eyes is enough to convey their feelings, a sweet sensation indeed.

Before Lin Mei left with her parents, she secretly slipped two of the sauerkraut and pork buns from the basket she was carrying into Li Ju'an's hand. She looked up at him with a smile, her crescent-shaped eyes incredibly beautiful.

Having lived two lives, the woman he loved stood before him, causing his heart to surge and ebb uncontrollably. The first girl he loved in his youth, no matter how many years had passed, would still stir his heart upon seeing her again.

Li Ju'an picked up the slightly cooled sauerkraut and meat bun, took a big bite, and kept his eyes fixed on her.

Lin Mei lowered her head shyly and walked away.

After she left, her younger sister, Li Xiao, quietly tugged at Li Ju'an's sleeve and whispered, "Brother, I'll keep your secret. I really like this sister-in-law."

Li Ju'an looked at his sister, whose eyes were sparkling, and chuckled softly, "Trying to eat meat buns? I can't share with you even if I keep it a secret. These are for your brother from your future sister-in-law."

Li Xiao, the younger sister, chuckled and whispered, "My brother is so good to me, he always gives me the best, even the candy and cookies. I won't steal the buns my sister-in-law gives him. I mean, someone's watching."

Li Ju'an looked up and realized that Lu Wenqian had been very close to them. The little girl was staring at him with wide eyes, and also at the steamed bun in his hand. What's even more cunning is that she tugged at her second aunt's sleeve and exchanged a few words with her.

They're already gossiping at such a young age.

As expected, Aunt Lu turned her head and looked over curiously, calling out, "Young man Li, where did you get that toy in your hand?"

The Lu family's sisters-in-law all turned to look.

Although it's said that men should marry when they're of age and women should marry when they're of age, the two of them doing things behind each other's backs is never good for Lin Mei's reputation if it gets discovered. Especially when the village's aunts and sisters-in-law start gossiping behind her back, who knows what nasty things they might say. Li Xiao stepped forward first, raising her innocent little face and smiling, "Aunt Lu, this is something my pretty sister gave me especially because she cares about me. I'm sharing it with my brother."

Li Xiao was cute and innocent, and many girls in the village loved playing with her; the older women all took good care of her. How could a little girl talk nonsense? As soon as Li Xiao said that, the Lu family's aunts and sisters-in-law immediately lost interest and stopped paying attention.

Li Xiao glared at Lu Wenqian, stomped her foot, and pulled Li Ju'an back, saying, "Brother, I'm never playing with Lu Wenqian again. She's not a good person."

"Why?"

"Those who talk behind my back are not good people."

Li Ju'an let Li Xiao pull him along, a warm smile spreading across his face as he felt the warmth of family love. This little sister wasn't spoiled for nothing; she knew how to care for her brother at such a young age.

……

The next day, the village was quiet. In the freezing cold of December, the villagers had worked hard all year and spent the winter at home "hibernating".

The old man of the Lu family sat on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), poured himself two ounces of grain liquor, sipped it, and ate a bite of food, thoroughly enjoying himself. Despite the scarcity of resources, life was wonderful.

He suddenly called Lu Jinyang over and asked where Lu Zhiqiang had gone off to again.

Lu Jinyang stutters whenever he lies. He stammered that Lu Zhiqiang had been summoned by the forestry workers. The old man of the Lu family immediately sensed something was wrong.

With heavy snow blocking the mountain passes, the forest farm doesn't need temporary workers to help out.

"Who did Lu Zhiqiang go into the mountains with?"

The old master of the Lu family put on a stern face, and without even needing to use a ruler, Lu Jinyang was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and admitted his mistake: "Brother and Sun Weimin went into the mountains yesterday."

With a flick of his beard and a glare of his eyes, the Lu family was thrown into chaos. The sisters-in-law cried and made a scene, filling the house with their shouts, making the men's heads swell up as if they were two heads bigger than once.

Lu Zhiqiang had just been tricked by Sun Weimin, nearly losing his life in a gunshot wound. How could he dare to go into the mountains with Sun Weimin? The Lu family believed it must be the Sun family secretly instigating this. Otherwise, how could such a thing happen?

The Lu family had many men, and they went to the Sun family in the middle of snow to confront them. The two families started arguing again.

Sun Quande had no idea that Sun Weimin had gone into the mountains. Upon hearing that his son had gone into the mountains with the Lu family, anger surged within him. His son had just been beaten up by the Lu family, and his bruises hadn't even healed. How could he possibly go into the mountains with them? The Lu family must be trying to harm him.

It was a classic case of each side having their own version of events. A large group of people from both the Lu and Sun families stormed into the village headman Yang Dezheng's office. Along the way, all the villagers peeked and watched the spectacle.

When the village head, Yang Dezheng, saw the two families arguing heatedly at his door, he sighed with a headache. "What a mess! Being a village official is really tough; it's all about these trivial matters, constant commotion."

Captain Yang said, "That old bastard is always making a scene about dying. The two kids are both grown up, it's not as bad as you say. We know Lu Zhiqiang and Sun Weimin, they used to be best friends when they were kids. Now they've made up, they've calmed down, stopped fighting, and are going into the mountains to gather some local produce. Isn't that a good thing?"

The Lu family and the Sun family continued arguing, even fighting in front of the brigade office.

Captain Yang was thoroughly annoyed. He waved his hand and said, "Enough of this nonsense. If the two kids haven't come down the mountain by tomorrow, our village will organize a team to go up the mountain and rescue them. Nothing bad will happen to them, don't worry. The two kids are clever. They'll think things through more often. I'm worried about them."

No matter how anxious the Lu and Sun families were, it was no use. The village couldn't send a team to go into the mountains until the next day. They could only shovel snow in front of their houses, hoping the snow would stop soon.

At this time, Li Ju'an had already led the tiger into the mountain.

He headed towards the clinic in Niubeitun. He carried the meat his mother had cooked that morning, along with cornbread and sticky rice cakes, intending to check on Qin Pao's injuries at the clinic.