Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

Li Xiangyang carried the silver fish wrapped in lotus leaves on his back as he walked on the snow, with the black cat nimbly following beside him.

Throughout the journey, he kept repeating his mother's instructions to himself, fearing that he might say the wrong thing.

In the courtyard of the educated youth settlement, Li Xiaoyun was tidying up the clothes that had been drying.

Despite the howling wind, she was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat and wore black gloves as she deftly removed the clothes from the bamboo pole, one by one.

Fingertips, red from the cold, moved nimbly through the icy clothes without the slightest hesitation.

"Let me help you." Li Xiangyang walked over quickly and reached for the highest-hanging cotton coat.

Li Xiaoyun glanced at him sideways, a slight smile playing on her lips: "What brings you here?"

Li Xiangyang collected the clothes and handed over the package: "I caught a special kind of fish today, and I was thinking... thinking of having your... my mother... no, I was thinking of having my mother make some ingredients so you can stew it."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized with annoyance that he had let something slip.

Sure enough, Li Xiaoyun smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons: "Did your aunt teach you to say that?"

"Huh? How did you know?" Li Xiangyang was taken aback, then realized that he had inadvertently given himself away again.

Li Xiaoyun was amused by his appearance even more: "Just by looking at you, it's obvious you didn't think it was your own idea. But Auntie taught you well, just keep it that way."

She took the package, opened it, and looked inside: "This fish...it's so beautiful! How can it glow?"

"That's a long story..."

Li Xiangyang recounted how he caught her, and Li Xiaoyun listened with curiosity.

The black cat meowed smugly to the side, as if to say that it was all its doing.

"By the way, there's a market in town tomorrow, want to go?" Li Xiangyang asked shyly.

Last time, the two of them had agreed to go down the mountain, but Wang Jingyun came to their house, which delayed them.

"I knew you'd ask that." Li Xiaoyun folded the clothes in her hands, looked up at him, and smiled. "I let it slide last time, but if you miss it again this time, you'll be sorry."

"It's settled then, I'll pick you up tomorrow."

Li Xiangyang said happily.

"You're certainly being very attentive," Li Xiaoyun teased with a smile, but a hint of anticipation flickered in her eyes. "Alright, I'll wait for you then."

Li Xiangyang helped Li Xiaoyun finish packing up the rest of her clothes and offered to start a fire to stew fish for her.

"This fish is fresh, it's best to stew it now," Li Xiangyang said, starting to add firewood to the stove.

Li Xiaoyun stood to the side watching him busy himself, a smile in her eyes: "You're getting better and better at taking care of people."

Soon, the fire in the stove was blazing. Li Xiangyang put the fish and seasonings into the pot, added an appropriate amount of water, covered the pot, and simmered it slowly.

Gradually, a faint aroma of fish wafted through the air. This aroma was different from ordinary fish soup; it seemed to have a hint of sweetness, making one's mouth water.

"It smells so good!" Li Xiaoyun leaned closer to smell it. "This fish is really different."

"You'll find out soon enough," Li Xiangyang said with a smile.

The two of them sat by the stove, chatting about everyday things. The firelight illuminated their faces, but couldn't hide the shyness in their eyes.

Once the fish soup was ready, Li Xiangyang ladled out a bowl and handed it to Li Xiaoyun.

"It's hot, be careful," he cautioned.

Li Xiaoyun took the bowl, gently blew on it, and took a sip of the soup: "It's delicious! What kind of fish is this?"

"To be honest, I don't know either. It must be unique to the special terrain of Fox Fairy Valley."

The two chatted and laughed over the fish soup, and before they knew it, it was getting dark.

"It's time to go back." Li Xiangyang stood up. "I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Li Xiaoyun saw him to the door. "Be careful on the road."

Such a simple sentence made both young people blush.

In this era, feelings are always subtle; a glance or a greeting is enough to express one's feelings.

The black cat jumped down from the wall and landed lightly at Li Xiangyang's feet.

It looked back at Li Xiaoyun, then at Li Xiangyang, as if laughing at their naivety.

As dusk fell, Li Xiangyang's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

Li Xiaoyun remained standing at the door until she could no longer see his back before turning around and going back inside.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Li Xiangyang got up early to wash and get ready.

He needs to borrow a donkey cart from his second uncle's house soon, so he needs to do it quickly.

When he went out and arrived at his second uncle's house, there was already some noise in the yard.

My second uncle was feeding the donkey when he heard footsteps and looked up.

"Good morning, Second Uncle." Li Xiangyang greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, it's Xiangyang. So early?" Second Uncle put down the hay and patted the hay clippings off his hands.

"I'd like to borrow a donkey cart to go to the market."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Er smiled and said, "I knew you'd come today. Your mother told me yesterday that she was going to pick up Li Zhiqing, right?"

Li Xiangyang scratched his head sheepishly: "Yes..."

“Okay, that’s fine,” Uncle said with a smile. “I just fed the donkey, you can just hitch up the cart.”

"Thank you, Second Uncle."

After harnessing the donkey cart, Li Xiangyang drove it towards the educated youth settlement.

The morning light was just breaking, and the sky was turning pale.

He deliberately laid a thick layer of dry grass on the vehicle and covered it with a clean burlap sack.

When they arrived at the educated youth settlement, Li Xiaoyun was already waiting at the gate.

Today she wore two neat braids and a coarse cotton-padded jacket over them. Although simple, it made her look exceptionally neat and tidy.

"You're here so early?" Li Xiaoyun asked with a smile.

"It'll take more than an hour to walk there. If we go early, we can catch the better stuff." Li Xiangyang jumped off the donkey cart. "Get on."

“I can manage on my own.” Li Xiaoyun blushed and dodged his outstretched hand, nimbly jumping into the car by herself.

The black cat appeared out of nowhere, nimbly jumped onto the car, and curled up in a warm spot.

“This cat,” Li Xiaoyun laughed, “is quite clingy; it follows you everywhere.”

The black cat looked up at her, then closed its eyes again, but the tip of its tail twitched slightly, as if in response.

Li Xiangyang pulled two cornbread buns from his pocket: "My mother told me to take them with me to eat on the road."

Li Xiaoyun took it, broke it in half, and gave him one half back: "Let's eat together."

The donkey cart moved slowly along the road in the early morning, creaking and groaning.

The distant mountains gradually became clear in the morning light, and the snow on both sides of the road reflected the sunlight.

The two chatted intermittently along the way, both wanting to talk, yet seemingly needing to say nothing at all.

“I want to learn how to hunt,” Li Xiaoyun suddenly said.

Li Xiangyang was taken aback: "Why do you want to learn this?"

"You said you wanted to open a hunter's supplies shop and teach people how to hunt," Li Xiaoyun said earnestly. "I think I can help."

“This…” Li Xiangyang hesitated.

Do you think I'm stupid? Or do you think girls aren't good enough?

“Nothing like that,” Li Xiangyang said seriously. “It’s just that the mountains are too dangerous. Hunting is my hobby, not yours, so you don’t have to force yourself.”

He turned to look at Li Xiaoyun: "Besides, didn't you want to be a teacher? That's the proper future. It's me, on the other hand, who wants to learn some cultural knowledge from you."

"Okay, then I won't force you. Anyway, I'm just..." Li Xiaoyun shyly raised her head, a smile in her eyes, "If you want to learn from me, you have to learn well. I'm very strict."

“Perfect,” Li Xiangyang smiled, “I like strict teachers the most.”

After saying this, both of them froze, neither daring to look at the other for a moment.