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

"Why are these people so slow and inefficient!"

In the evening, Li Xiangyang leaned against the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), his mind filled with unease.

Ever since he returned from the mountain, he knew this matter was far from over.

The village official from Shanghe Village, having been publicly humiliated by him, will surely send people to cause trouble.

As soon as he starts calling for people, even if you don't care about the monks, you still have to follow him and waste your time.

If we don't want to waste time, we need to act properly this time and give each other a way out.

Li Xiangyang was fully aware of this.

But after all this time, we haven't seen a single person.

He rolled over, filled with regret.

If he had known this would happen, he would have done it later; it was quite uncomfortable.

Just as I was pondering this, a fragrant aroma suddenly wafted into my nose—the smell of the rabbit my mother was cooking on the stove.

"It's better if they don't come; at least it lets me have a peaceful meal."

As he was talking to himself, he heard his younger sister, Li Xiaohua, calling from outside the door: "Mom, is it ready yet? Brother's been lying down for ages, he needs to eat something warm quickly."

Hearing this, Li Xiangyang felt a warmth in his heart.

This girl really thought he was sick; she got really worried.

In order to make the act more convincing, Li Xiangyang had no choice but to keep it a secret from her.

Li Xiangyang had just sat up straight, wrapped in a blanket, when Li Xiaohua came in carrying a plate. "Brother, you need to eat well when you're sick so you can get better quickly, okay?"

Li Xiaohua's coaxing tone made Li Xiangyang and his mother laugh.

"Xiaohua, your brother isn't a child anymore, look how you're making him laugh." Mother Li shook her head with a smile.

"Just laugh it off. A good mood will help you recover faster."

After Li Xiaohua finished speaking seriously, she put another piece of meat into Li Xiangyang's bowl, "Here, have another piece."

The family was enjoying a cozy meal when suddenly footsteps echoed in the yard.

Hearing this commotion, Li Xiangyang was furious.

These people really know how to pick their timing; they won't even let us have a hot meal in peace.

"Li Xiangyang! You come out here!"

The village officials from Shanghe Village arrived, their voices ringing with energy.

"I'd like to see if you dare to talk back to me like that in front of your old Party Secretary! I asked you for a small favor, and you're sabotaging me. If we can't catch the culprit, I think you'll be at least half responsible!"

These words were so harsh and unconvincing that even Chu Qingxuan, who was supporting the old Party Secretary, couldn't help but glare at him angrily.

Li Xiangyang was so angry he wanted to get up and slap the guy twice.

"Don't move." Li's mother pressed down on Li Xiangyang's shoulder and called out, "Coming, coming, old Party Secretary, please slow down."

The old Party Secretary entered the house leaning on his cane, his glasses fogged up.

He waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and slowly asked, "Xiangyang, what's going on? Did you really sabotage someone?"

"Old Party Secretary, I'm innocent!"

"Since you're here, you can be the judge."

"He saw me at the educated youth settlement in our village, and without even asking if I was willing, he insisted on dragging me into the mountains to follow him in his search for someone. Was I giving him too much face?"

"Going into the mountains late at night, hearing some noise, he acted like a fool and insisted on firing a couple of shots..."

"They came to find me the next day, told me to go back into the mountains, and wouldn't let me bring a gun..."

"Tell me, are all these things he did even humanly?"

"Now that they see there's no hope of catching them, they insist on calling you here regardless of whether you're sick or not, and then they try to shift the blame onto me. What a serious charge! I'm half responsible for not being able to catch them."

"Why doesn't he just fly to the moon?"

"Ha, I'm truly thankful I'm not from their village. Otherwise, first I'd run into that production team leader who fathered sons without an anus, and now I've encountered someone so good at shifting blame—how would I possibly survive?"

As soon as Li Xiangyang finished speaking, the other party instantly became agitated, his face turning bright red: "You're talking nonsense! You know perfectly well why you wouldn't let me fire at night. I think you're deliberately protecting him!"

"Oh, what are you saying? I'm not going to talk to you about danger or not, since you can't understand human language anyway."

Li Xiangyang lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) and sneered, "It was pitch black, you didn't even see a shadow, how can you be so sure it's the person you're looking for? Or are you some kind of fortune teller?"

"Don't try to be unreasonable with me. The principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' applies. I'll pretend it wasn't the case at night, but what about during the day? You've been hunting for so long, can't you tell which tracks were made by hunters and which by ordinary people?"

"Shut up!"

Before Li Xiangyang could speak, Li Xiaohua objected, "You're a grown man, don't you have any shame?"

"Last night you immediately concluded that the noise was made by the person you were looking for. During the day, you saw the traces; you're so capable, how could you not determine who made them? How is it my brother's fault again?"

“Then according to your logic,” Li Xiaohua glared, “the teacher said one plus one equals two, but I insisted it equals three. Then others told me it equals two, so I said the teacher told me it's three?”

Hearing Xiaohua's words, Li Xiangyang secretly gave her a thumbs up.

This girl has been clear-headed since she was little, able to see the essence of a problem at a glance. So when she gets married in the future, she will definitely not be deceived by anyone.

He was thinking a bit too far ahead, but Xiaohua's performance really pleased Li Xiangyang.

"What do you know, you little brat? I'm not going to lower myself to your level."

Unable to win arguments, the village officials of Shanghe Village turned to the old Party Secretary for help: "Old Party Secretary, please be the judge."

"No, you only remembered me now that you've lost the argument. If I had to judge, I think the little girl is right."

"Besides, Li Xiangyang helped you find people out of a favor; not helping is simply his right. All this trouble you've caused him to fall ill. What more do you want?"

"Sick? Don't tell me you didn't notice, he was faking it..."

"Stop!" The old Party Secretary interrupted him, his tone calm but authoritative. "Whether he's sick or not is up to me. I think Xiangyang is really ill and needs to rest and recuperate."

"Alright, stop arguing. If you want to find someone, go ahead and keep looking. If you need help from anyone in our village, just let me know. Mentioning me won't hurt; I still have some face to lose."

"I haven't eaten yet, and I can't just sit there smelling this delicious rabbit meat."

As he spoke, the old Party Secretary sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "I'm hungry, and I'm not going anywhere anyway. What about you?"

Upon hearing this, Li's mother quickly said, "What are you saying? Even if you wanted to leave, I wouldn't let you. Xiaohua, quickly go and fill two sets of bowls and chopsticks."

"Coming!" Li Xiaohua responded, and hurriedly brought two more sets of bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen.

"Qingxuan, don't be shy. Come and have something to eat." Seeing Chu Qingxuan still standing at the door, Li's mother greeted her warmly.

"Auntie, no need to trouble yourself..." Before Chu Qingxuan could finish speaking, Li Xiaohua had already stuffed a pair of chopsticks into her hands.

“What’s the trouble?” Li Xiaohua said with a smile. “My mother is really good at stewing rabbit, you should try it.”

The village officials looked very grim as they witnessed this scene.

He glared at Li Xiangyang fiercely, then turned and left without saying another word.