Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

Du Jianguo shuffled forward a bit more and suddenly spotted a large pile of nearly dried animal droppings on the ground.

His eyes narrowed as he crouched to examine them closely. A cold sweat broke out on his back. Could this be bear droppings?

Bad news! Is there a bear nearby?

Although bears are valuable from nose to tail, with their meat, fur, gallbladder, and paws fetching high prices, Du Jianguo knew he had no chance of fighting one with his current skills.

His simple bow and arrow wouldn’t even pierce a bear’s hide. Instead, he would likely be torn to pieces.

The bear, known as the “king of the forest,” was not an enemy to be trifled with. Du Jianguo still remembered a famous hunter from this area who had been bitten to death by a bear.

He stared at the droppings again. They were extremely dry, suggesting they were probably a week or two old.

This meant the bear was likely not nearby, or he would have turned and run already.

Du Jianguo took a deep breath. His eyes sharpened with caution, but he had no intention of giving up on the hunt.

“Da Huang!” he whistled. The hunting dog immediately came running over excitedly.

(Literally means “Big Yellow” a common dog name in China)

Du Jianguo mentally noted the locations of the traps he had set earlier, then led Da Huang toward another area filled with tall trees where many birds were perched. This was the main target of his hunt.

As expected, before he even got close, he saw many birds on the trees. Sparrows, wild pigeons, and a few white-headed birds. All were meat that could fill the belly.

These birds were rarely seen near the village these days, but the back mountain still hid plenty. Du Jianguo couldn’t help licking his lips. He took out his homemade bow, nocked a wooden arrow, and aimed at a sparrow perched on a branch.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew through the air with a whistle and struck the sparrow squarely, sending both bird and arrow to the ground. The surrounding flock was startled, flapping their wings and scattering in all directions.

“I hit it!” Du Jianguo’s eyes lit up with joy. He hadn’t expected to hit anything on his first try with this broken bow. It seemed his hunting skills from his past life hadn’t been completely forgotten.

He patted Da Huang’s rear: “Da Huang, go fetch the bird!”

The dog understood immediately, darted into the woods, and returned moments later with the arrow in its mouth. The sparrow was skewered on the arrowhead.

Du Jianguo took the arrow from the dog, removed the bird, and weighed it in his hand. “This won’t even fill a tooth gap,” he muttered. “To get a full meal, I need to catch at least five or six more.”

He took a deep breath, holding his bow, and chased after the scattered flock. Before long, he knocked down another three or four birds, and his small cloth pouch finally had some weight.

Finally, he even took down a plump wild pigeon. The bird flock was thoroughly panicked now, likely thinking this human intended to wipe them out completely, so they fluttered deeper into the dense forest.

Du Jianguo had to give up. His donkey was tied up not far away, and he couldn’t chase too far without losing it.

Still, his current haul wasn’t bad. He rummaged through his pouch. The sparrows and wild pigeons combined weighed about two jin (roughly one kilogram).

Suddenly, Da Huang’s ears shot up. The dog stared intently at the grass ahead, then lunged forward, barking twice before digging at the soil with its paws.

Du Jianguo rushed over and immediately spotted a muskrat hole. Clearly, a mouse had poked its head out earlier, and the dog had seen it.

“You kid, your eyes are too sharp!” Du Jianguo laughed and patted Da Huang’s back. He didn’t stay idle either, picking up a thick branch to help dig.

When they dug about half a meter deep, a black shadow shot out of the hole, trying to escape into the grass.

Du Jianguo reacted instantly, stepping on it with his foot. The fat muskrat struggled beneath his foot, trying to turn and bite.

“Think you can run?” Du Jianguo crouched, flicked the muskrat on the head with his fingers until it was dizzy, and it finally calmed down.

He lifted the muskrat by its hind legs and weighed it. A smile instantly spread across his face. This was a muskrat weighing over two jin. It wasn’t particularly large for a muskrat, but it was a solid two jin of meat.

He didn’t like eating this himself, but many people in the village were fond of it. He could sell it for a good price. He already had a buyer in mind: Liu Chun’an. The man wouldn’t refuse.

Du Jianguo hummed a little tune and walked back to the traps he had set earlier, checking each one. Unfortunately, none had caught anything.

He was slightly disappointed, but then again, it made sense. The traps had been set for less than eight hours. With patience, he would eventually catch something.

Du Jianguo didn’t plan to wait long. It was getting dark. He wouldn’t mind returning late himself, but Sun Liu’an was waiting for the donkey to be fed.

He quickly placed the birds and the muskrat he caught onto the donkey cart. Then, he took out his sickle and cut over ten jin of fresh grass, piling it on the cart. Finally, he cracked his whip and drove the donkey cart toward the village, arriving just before it got completely dark.

Sun Liu’an was pacing anxiously by the stable, glancing toward the village entrance from time to time. As soon as he saw Du Jianguo driving the cart back, he rushed over, his face dark with anger.

“You kid, how did it take you so long just to cut some grass? With this much time, I could have made a trip to the county town! Where did you go to cut grass?”

Du Jianguo coughed twice, scratching his head awkwardly. “I noticed the grass near the village was sparse. I thought the grass in the wild fields was tender, so I wanted the donkey to have something good to eat.”

“Which wild fields??” Sun Liu’an narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He reached out to pat the donkey’s head, then frowned. “Why does this donkey feel much more tired than usual? Also, why did you bring the dog?”

Seeing this, Du Jianguo quickly took a sparrow out of his cloth pouch and handed it to Sun Liu’an. “Uncle Sun, I took the donkey out for a day and made you worry. Here, take this sparrow. Make a soup to nourish your health.”

Sun Liu’an held the sparrow, his eyes widening instantly. He coughed twice and quickly stuffed the bird into his pocket.

He changed his tone: “Strictly speaking, the donkey is village property. It should be returned on time and cannot be used privately. However, since you will be dealing with these beasts every day, taking them out to exercise and building a bond with them is understandable.”

Sun Liu’an was already beaming inside. This Du Jianguo is too good at handling people. He keeps bringing me gifts. Such a considerate young man is getting more and more likable.

He made a mental calculation: Originally, I thought having Du Jianguo feed the livestock meant I would have to share the annual manure output, which felt like a loss. But now, this loss is worth it!

He waved his hand. “Alright, go home and rest early. I should head home too.”

Sun Liu’an was eager to go home and pluck the feathers off the sparrow to make soup.

Du Jianguo smiled, bid farewell to Sun Liu’an, and instead of going straight home, he circled around in the dark to the village head’s house.

He cleared his throat and called out to the courtyard: “Liu Chun’an, are you home?”