Reborn in the Great Northern Wilderness in 1982, I farmed and hunted to support my whole family.

Li Mu had the money from selling bear skins and bear paws in his pocket, but instead of rushing back to the village, he went to the purchasing station.

The person guarding the gate outside the purchasing station had changed; judging by his upright appearance, he must also be a veteran.

Li Mu immediately became respectful, even his words were tinged with reverence: "Brother, I'm looking for Station Chief Zou Ming. Is he here?"

"Station Chief Zou is here. What's your name? I need to go in and ask him something." The man spoke concisely and efficiently, without the slightest hesitation.

Li Mu didn't waste any more words and said directly, "My name is Li Mu. I brought villagers here to deliver mountain products before."

"Li Mu, right? Then wait a moment!" the man repeated, turning and walking towards the office area.

Li Mu stood outside the door waiting, and soon Zou Ming followed the man over.

Li Mu is currently unsure whether Zou Ming knows about the poisonous mushrooms, but regardless of whether he does or not, he needs to explain this to Zou Ming first.

"You've finally shown your true colors, kid. I heard you've gone into the mountains again. What good stuff did you bring back this time?"

Zou Ming smiled and spoke. He then looked Li Mu around and, seeing that he wasn't injured, said, "It's good. Don't worry about whether he got anything or not, as long as he's safe."

Li Mu was moved, but he had no choice but to pour cold water on Zou Ming's enthusiasm at this moment.

"Uncle Zou, are you aware of the mushroom poisoning incident involving Jin Dachuan at the Lakeside Hotel?" Li Mu asked in a low voice, his eyes filled with anxiety as he looked at Zou Ming.

Zou Ming chuckled softly, and seeing Li Mu's nervous expression, he said jokingly, "You're quite well-informed, aren't you? You went straight to the Lakeside Hotel as soon as you got back. Didn't you get beaten up?"

"No! Jin Dachuan is a good guy. He didn't blame me for the poisonous mushroom incident. Not only that, he even bought the bear paws I brought over."

Speaking of this, Li Mu quickly turned around and took out a snowball wrapped in a few dry leaves from the sled.

"This is bear bile. Find a skilled doctor to prescribe some medicine for your mother. It is effective for liver and gallbladder diseases."

Zou Ming was surprised that Li Mu still remembered this; his mother was indeed hospitalized because of liver problems.

But he couldn't just take this for free.

"If this were sold to a pharmacy, it would probably be worth a lot of money, right?" Zou Ming asked as he took the item.

Li Mu had anticipated Zou Ming's response and, without hesitation, held up two fingers: "Two hundred yuan! That's not expensive. One bear bile, dried into bear bile powder, can be used to treat a lot of medicine."

His words were delivered with a sarcastic tone, and Zou Ming couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, I know you too well. I'll definitely pay you, but I'll give you the money after I've consulted a doctor who can handle this kind of thing."

Zou Ming's words clearly showed that he didn't believe Li Mu's claim of "two hundred yuan," considering that even half-hunters wouldn't bother hunting a black bear.

Because this thing looks clumsy, but its combat power is not low.

Under normal circumstances, no hunter would go back to hunt it.

"Alright! Whatever you say. But... there's something else I need to tell you." Li Mu spoke hesitantly, his voice becoming even softer.

"You're talking about the mushrooms, right? Don't worry, we sort them again after we collect them to ensure that none of them are poisonous."

Zou Ming knew what Li Mu was worried about, so he didn't keep him in suspense and explained it to Li Mu directly.

"Uncle Zou, that's not what I'm worried about. I want to ask if any poisonous mushrooms were picked out from the ones sent from our village!"

Li Mu lowered his voice even further, afraid that others would hear him.

"Don't worry, no," Zou Ming replied with a smile.

Only then could Li Mu finally put his mind at ease.

“As soon as this happened, Li Siming from your village came to me. To be honest, the poisonous mushrooms at the lakeside hotel may not have come from your village.”

"But the matter didn't escalate, and Chef Jin, who was poisoned, didn't investigate further, so it was impossible to find out exactly what happened."

Li Mu naturally thought the same thing, but he couldn't say it to Jin Dachuan. He could only wait until later and find an opportunity to mention it.

Don't let people think they're deliberately shirking responsibility; that's worse than picking the wrong mushrooms.

"Okay, thank you for reminding me, Uncle Zou. I'll head back now; I haven't been home since I came out of the mountains!"

Having learned what he wanted to know, Li Mu left without saying anything more.

Li Mu got into the sled that Gao Ga Zi lent him and went straight back to the village. It was getting dark, so he didn't go anywhere else and went straight home.

The Li family had already eaten dinner, and the three of them sat neatly on the kang (a heated brick bed) discussing the approval of a land plot for building a house in the spring.

"I wonder when Mu will be back. I'll have to ask him again about building the new house." Li Guozhang frowned, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

He acted on impulse that day; how could he have agreed to let his son go into the mountains?

The blizzard has lasted for half a month, and I wonder how his son is doing.

But the moment he mentioned Li Mu, Liang Meifen exploded like a firecracker lit on fire.

"You have the nerve to say that? If anything happens to Mu Zi, I'll kill you!"

As she spoke, Liang Meifen kicked Li Guozhang in the buttocks three times in a row.

Li Guozhang was kicked so hard he grimaced but didn't dare to dodge, while Li Qianjin, sitting opposite him, had tears welling up in his eyes.

He's the eldest son in the family. Since his father isn't capable, he, as the eldest brother, should shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family.

Now his younger brother is shouldering all the responsibilities at home. If something were to happen to him, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

However, just as the house was making a lot of noise, there was a sudden "bang bang bang" knocking on the door.

"Open the door! Open the door now, or I'll freeze to death!"

As soon as Li Mu entered the courtyard, he heard a commotion coming from inside the house. No matter the time, his father was always the one being intimidated.

He used to find me annoying, but now that I haven't been home for half a month, he seems especially affectionate towards me.

"It's Mu Zi, it's that little bastard Mu Zi back!" Liang Meifen exclaimed excitedly, shifting her position to get off the kang (a heated brick bed) and open the door for Li Mu.

Li Qianjin stood close to the door, moving even faster.

As soon as the door opened, Li Mu, whose body was already covered in snow, immediately shook himself off and strode into the room.

He walked straight to the head of the kang (heated brick bed) and stuffed his hands into the mattress.

"It's fucking cold today. I wonder if it'll warm up before the New Year," Li Mu said, sniffing hard.

But his words were as good as saying nothing at all.

No one in the house paid any attention to him; they were all looking him up and down.

Li Mu raised the corner of his lips and said smugly, "Hey! What are you all looking at? I'm fine! I even made another sum of money. I'll go find Village Chief Tao to get two more plots of land for building houses."

"Let's build a big house with six rooms in a row, and build the new house for my future wife at the same time."