The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 140 The Method of Perfection_1

Chapter 140: Chapter 140 The Method of Perfection_1

Professor Wang looked around and also felt that they hadn’t considered things thoroughly enough.

"Well," Professor Wang said, "be careful on your way! Wrap a scarf around you and wear a hat, don’t catch a cold."

He Tiantian was about to leave when Old Man Bai gestured to her and said, "Girl Tian, if Village Chief Qi can’t make it over, could you relay a message for him? Tell him we’ve found a lot of stuff here. Right now, only a few of us from the livestock team know about it, the village isn’t aware yet, so ask him how to handle it."

Indeed, if there were less, everyone could just split it and eat it.

But with so much at stake, nobody wanted to take the risk; they had to report it.

After all, in the village, there were not only Village Chief Qi but also some people who stood in opposition to him, sharp-eyed and eager to cause trouble. With hunger not an immediate threat, they had to consider many more things.

After these people arrived in Qijia Village, they led stable lives, ate their fill, and were held in high regard, and had their dignity, so they were very grateful and didn’t want to see Secretary Qi ousted.

Instead, they hoped to help Village Chief Qi, to establish his authority in the village. That way, with Secretary Qi’s backing, their days would continue to be stable.

If someone else took over, with their penchant for stirring up trouble, these few old-timers would sooner or later be tormented to death.

They were scared, and didn’t want to go through that kind of turmoil again.

He Tiantian nodded and said, "Okay, when I head back, I’ll look for Xiao Yan and also talk to Village Chief Qi about this!"

"Then we’ll trouble you with that," Old Man Bai said, hoping that this would help them secure a stable environment in Qijia Village. Since the goods had been found by Zuo Li and Xiang Rong, Old Man Bai had the right to decide.

The others, though feeling a sense of loss upon hearing Old Man Bai’s words, were helpless in the matter.

They comforted themselves that being able to eat their fill was already a blessing.

When other villages harvested in the autumn, they didn’t do a good job protecting against the rain, and many of their crops were waterlogged, some even sprouted. Now, they could only manage to eat two thin meals a day, while in Qijia Village, under Secretary Qi’s wise leadership, they had taken measures against the rain and not a single grain was wasted. So this winter, life in Qijia Village was very good indeed!

They couldn’t be too demanding; things were already quite good for them now.

He Tiantian went back and informed Third Grandma Qi before heading over to Village Chief Qi’s house.

After the distribution of the food, Village Chief Qi had nothing else to do and was just staying at home. When He Tiantian arrived, he immediately said, "Xiao Yan is in the house!"

Qi Xiaoyan had learned something from Professor Wang and, after doing some household chores at home, always kept to her room and studied diligently. Were it not for certain taboos, Qi Xiaoyan would have liked to practice her singing loudly every day.

Hearing this, He Tiantian said with a chuckle, "Village Chief Qi, I didn’t come to see Xiao Yan, I came to deliver a message from the people at the livestock team."

"What message?" Village Chief Qi asked eagerly, "Any trouble there?"

It’s not busy now, everyone is hiding inside their houses, there shouldn’t be any problem!

"That’s right, Secretary Qi, Uncle Zuo, and Uncle Xiang set up several traps in the back mountain and caught a lot of things. More than a dozen rabbits, two deer—a large and a small one—and a wild goat, along with a small wild boar. They don’t know what to do with them and wanted to ask for your opinion," said He Tiantian, knowing that Village Chief Qi was very shrewd and would surely find a perfect solution.

Village Chief Qi was also startled and asked, "Girl Tian, where did they manage to hunt so many things?"

"It was after passing through the dense woods on the back mountain, by the side of a small creek where they dug the traps. I heard from Grandpa Qi that there are blind bears, tigers, leopards, and other fierce animals there. But we looked and didn’t find any trace of them, and Comrade Zuo, Comrade Xiang also said that they didn’t find any footprints of large predators near the creek," recounted He Tiantian, reporting the conversation between Old Man Qi, Zuo Li, and Xiang Rong. If more traps were set up, perhaps the village could catch even more game.

The New Year is approaching, and everyone is short of money. These game animals could fetch a good sum if sold to the commune’s purchasing station!

This year, every household in Qijia Village received some grain, so if they could make some money from hunting too, that would be even better.

"Are you telling the truth?" Secretary Qi asked again, already forming plans in his mind, but he was always cautious and still hadn’t made up his mind.

"This is based on the investigation by Comrade Zuo and Comrade Xiang. I went up the mountain with them twice this morning, and we didn’t discover any large predators," said He Tiantian. "I’ve delivered the message. As for what to do, that’s not for me to say. I need to go home for dinner, or Grandma Qi will start to worry."

"Alright then, you go back first, thank you for your hard work," Secretary Qi said as he saw He Tiantian off, mulling over her words.

Qi Xiaoyan also came out to say goodbye and complained that He Tiantian didn’t stay for dinner.

After He Tiantian left, Third Grandma Qi had already prepared the meal. The old and the young fared quite well, with meat at every meal. Although it was only a few small pieces, the vegetables stir-fried with those slices of salted meat tasted much better!

In the afternoon, when He Tiantian went to the livestock team, she saw Secretary Qi, Qi Ergou, and another elder from the village over fifty called Qi Shulin.

Qi Shulin was a formidable hunter in the village, and his father was also a famous hunter before he died. He occasionally used his homemade bow and arrows to hunt some game, just to have a taste of meat, and like everyone else, he wouldn’t dare sell it publicly.

When they saw the string of wild rabbits hanging on the rope, the grunting half-dead wild boar, the big and small deer, and the goat, they were astonished.

"Goodness me, ever since someone from Hujia Village got killed by a blind bear over there the year before last, few people have visited that area," remarked Qi Shulin. "It’s no wonder there’s so much game. The surrounding villages haven’t gone hunting in the mountains for two years. But with so many small animals, there should also be a good number of large wild beasts! Are you sure you didn’t see any footprints of large predators in that area?"

Zuo Li and Xiang Rong said, "Before we dug the traps, we checked around the creek within a five- or six-mile radius, and we didn’t find any large predators. The biggest was just a wild boar."

Qi Shulin frowned, deeply puzzled by this illogical outcome!

"Never mind, I’ll join you and take a look myself," declared Qi Shulin, as seeing is believing.

If he didn’t go personally, he would never trust it!

Qi Shulin loved hunting, but thinking about how the game he worked hard to catch would be shared among everyone, leaving little for his family, and considering the dangers, he had refrained from passing through the dense woods for the past two years due to his family’s objections, thus he knew nothing about the area. Secretary Qi asked him to come this time, hoping to join everyone to check the area, and if there were no large predators confirmed, they would probably organize the village strongmen to dig traps and catch game in the mountains.