My Mother-in-Law is Reborn [Seventies]

As the absolute boss of the family, Zhao Guihua was the one in charge of everything.

Watching Zhuang Zhixi and Ming Mei darting around like wild rabbits, she said, "That's enough, let's divide up the work."

Ming Mei responded, "Sure, you tell us!"

They had come to the mountain to catch fish, not for a spring outing, so Ming Mei became serious: "We'll do whatever you say!"

Ming Mei rarely went to the mountains and knew nothing about such wild places, but she had a good personality and never acted superior about things she didn't understand, always following instructions well. Zhao Guihua nodded with satisfaction and said, "Let's split into two groups. Old man, you and I will fish together on this side. I borrowed a fishing net from Sister Wang, so we can try using that if needed. Let's see how it goes. Third son, you and your wife take the basket and look around to see if you can find any wild fruits or something. If not, gather some wormwood to take home."

She paused, then asked, "You can recognize wild fruits, right?"

Zhuang Zhixi felt wronged: "Mom, I'm not an idiot who doesn't know what's edible. You think I'm as little as Hutou? Don't worry."

Zhao Guihua nodded and said, "Alright, that's how we'll divide up the morning. Come back here for lunch, and after we eat, we'll adjust based on the situation. We'll see whether to dig for wild vegetables or check out the rabbit holes."

Old Man Zhuang said, "Rabbits are clever. Since you blocked their holes last time, they've probably abandoned them."

He knew a thing or two about this. Zhao Guihua wasn't too concerned about it though, nodding as she said, "Fine, we'll go check in the afternoon anyway. If we catch a rabbit while searching through the grass, great; if not, no big deal. We mainly came up here to fish anyway. I just can't believe that I, Zhao Guihua, can't catch even one fish!"

She continued, "There's nothing wrong with my bait either."

She was truly frustrated. She had been practicing for quite a while, going fishing whenever she had time, sometimes specifically biking up to the mountain, but the results were, well, very disappointing. Zero catches, to be exact.

It was really irritating.

"Could it be that we caught too many fish before, and there are none left?"

"Pfft, how is that possible?" As soon as Zhuang Zhixi finished speaking, he met his mother's death glare. He immediately coughed and looked everywhere but at his mother, changing the subject: "Oh my, Ming Mei, shouldn't we get going?"

Zhao Guihua let out a heavy snort and said, "You little rascal."

Zhuang Zhixi grabbed the basket, took his wife's hand, and quickly fled. As he ran away, he whispered to his wife, "I don't think my mom has any talent for fishing."

Zhao Guihua roared like a lioness: "Zhuang Zhixi, you little brat, I heard that!!!!"

Zhuang Zhixi immediately covered his ears while Ming Mei doubled over with laughter.

The couple quickly left. Zhuang Zhixi looked around and said, "Let's make a marker so we don't get lost trying to find our way back."

Ming Mei gave him a surprised look and said, "Don't worry, I remember the way."

Zhuang Zhixi immediately smiled and said, "Wow, my wife is so capable!"

Ming Mei put her hands on her hips proudly, pretending to be cocky: "What did you expect? When I was little, I often climbed into my dad's car and went out with him. I'm very good at remembering routes, I'm used to it."

Zhuang Zhixi gave her a thumbs up.

Ming Mei said, "Let's go! I've rarely been to the mountains before. Are there wild fruits in this season? Don't fruits usually ripen in autumn?"

Zhuang Zhixi replied, "We'll look around. If we find any, we'll pick them; if not, it's fine. Mom said we'll adjust after lunch anyway."

Ming Mei nodded and smiled, "Alright."

She proudly said, "I've always been a lucky person, maybe we'll find something good."

Zhuang Zhixi laughed and teased, "Are you bragging?"

Ming Mei: "...What bragging? I'm telling the truth."

They wandered around together. Taking a walk in spring was truly wonderful, even if they found nothing, it felt great. The whole mountain was much greener than when they had come before New Year's. While Zhuang Zhixi felt nostalgic about this, Ming Mei didn't.

After all, it was her first time here, and she happily looked around everywhere. Zhuang Zhixi said, "My mom picked some strawberries last time, but unfortunately, Hutou was in the hospital, so she took them all to him. Ever since we had Hutou and Xiao Yanzi, I'm no longer mom's favorite child..."

Ming Mei looked at Zhuang Zhixi teasingly.

Zhuang Zhixi sighed wistfully, but quickly brightened up and said, "But fortunately, my brother says the same thing."

Ming Mei: "Pfft!"

Zhuang Zhixi smiled and said, "My brother and sister are close in age, so they don't feel much of an age gap, but I'm several years younger than them. So when I was born, my brother and sister were already somewhat grown up. My brother often says I stole mom's love. I stole it from him back then, and now his son has stolen it from me. Talk about karma!"

Ming Mei: "Pfft."

Seeing her unable to contain her laughter, Zhuang Zhixi said, "You're like a water fountain with all that spraying."

Ming Mei pouted coquettishly: "I can if I want to... Oh, oh oh, look, there are strawberries over there!"

"Let me see, let me see!"

Zhuang Zhixi immediately turned around: "Where, where?"

Sure enough, there was a cluster of wild strawberries on the ground not far away. They immediately went over, and Zhuang Zhixi picked a bright red one and held it to his wife's lips. Ming Mei didn't hesitate to eat it, her eyes lighting up: "It's very sweet!"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Let me taste..."

Ming Mei quickly covered her mouth and said, "What taste? Behave yourself."

Zhuang Zhixi innocently said, "Look at you, misunderstanding me again. I meant picking one to taste! What were you thinking? Hey, wife, you're the one with inappropriate thoughts now."

Ming Mei reached out to pinch Zhuang Zhixi's waist, and he cried out, "Ah!!!"

Ming Mei smacked him: "Stop yelling! What if mom and dad misunderstand?"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Misunderstand what?"

He blinked and teased, "What could I possibly do to you here?"

Ming Mei's concern about misunderstanding was about "encountering wild beasts or danger in the mountains."

But obviously, Zhuang Zhixi was thinking of a different kind of misunderstanding, which was quite ridiculous.

After chasing and playing around for a while, they finally finished picking the strawberries and wrapped them in leaves before putting them in the basket. In this season, besides strawberries, they could only find mountain cherries and mountain dates in their area. The young couple searched for a while longer and indeed found some dates.

Looking at the basket nearly half-full of dates, Ming Mei happily said, "This is really great! Who in the city would think there are so many wild fruits in the suburbs? If people knew, many would come up to the mountain."

Zhuang Zhixi laughed: "You think everyone has as much free time as we do? Ask mom if she would come specifically for wild fruits if there wasn't fishing here."

Ming Mei realized he was right. They had bicycles, but without them, they would need to take the bus to the suburbs, which would cost twenty cents for a round trip. Wild fruits couldn't substitute for meals, so people might not be willing to come.

Of course, there might be wild rabbits and chickens on the mountain, but you'd have to be lucky enough to encounter and catch them, right?

So it wasn't that they were particularly lucky, but rather that others weren't foolish and considered practical matters. While there might be harvests on the mountain, they weren't guaranteed to be substantial enough to make it worthwhile.

Ming Mei: "Let's continue. Mom always catches rabbits when she comes here, she's like a rabbit killer. I refuse to believe we can't do it!"

Zhuang Zhixi laughed and said, "Then let's keep trying."

They smiled at each other, and Ming Mei said, "I... Oh my god!!!"

Ming Mei was in the middle of talking to Zhuang Zhixi when she suddenly burst out and darted forward with a quick step. Zhuang Zhixi was a bit slower than Ming Mei but quickly followed, and at this point, they both saw that there really was a wild rabbit.

You could say this rabbit was quite foolish - they had just been talking about rabbits, and here one was, walking right into their trap.

The two quickly chased after the rabbit, one in front and one behind. Ming Mei moved very quickly. After running a few steps, she stopped, immediately picked up a stone, took aim, and threw it... whoosh!

The rabbit stumbled and was hit, and Ming Mei quickly pounced over, grabbing its ear: "I told you to run!"

She turned triumphantly, showing off: "Look, am I amazing?"

Zhuang Zhixi laughed out loud, sincerely saying: "You're incredible, wife!"

The rabbit was still kicking its legs. Zhuang Zhixi poked its head and said, "This rabbit's escape skills are not up to par."

Ming Mei laughed and said, "It's clearly because I'm amazing. No matter how fast it runs, it can't escape my grasp."

Zhuang Zhixi chuckled and said, "So you're the big demon king?"

Ming Mei pouted and raised her chin, saying, "Is that not okay?"

She scratched her head and said, "The title 'Big Demon King' doesn't sound very nice. Change it for me."

Zhuang Zhixi laughed and said, "You're like a fairy, what demon king nonsense, that's all just me talking rubbish."

He glanced around and saw a willow tree, pulling off a few branches to tie the rabbit up in a "five-flower" binding. He said, "Let's go, since we've caught this rabbit, we should catch its old one and its children too, so they can be reunited."

Ming Mei giggled: "How can you be so bad?"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Look at you, isn't it for everyone to have a good meal?"

Ming Mei: "Oh, oh, oh."

"Do you think our in-laws have any harvest?" Ming Mei looked at their decent catch and curiously asked Zhuang Zhixi. Since Zhuang Zhixi had been with Ming Mei the whole time, he naturally didn't know, but that didn't stop them from speculating.

Zhuang Zhixi: "Hard to say. Visibly, my mom's fishing skills aren't great, not sure if she can think of other methods. Like breaking ice in winter and deep stirring with branches, it sounds strange but actually makes sense. But now the weather is warm, the ice has melted, so the old method can't be used. If we had a fisherman in the family, it might be easier to catch them all at once. But unfortunately, we don't."

Ming Mei tilted her head and thought, saying, "I think Mom can do it."

Her mother-in-law was reborn, with so much experience, she must have many methods. Even if she couldn't fish today, she would surely think of something tomorrow or the day after!

So Ming Mei believed that her mother-in-law would eventually catch fish.

She said, "I trust Mom."

Zhuang Zhixi looked at her with a sigh, "You're so admiring of my mom, I'm getting jealous. I'm your most beloved sweetheart, you know."

"Eww!" Ming Mei shivered, feeling goosebumps.

She said, "Oh... you're really something."

Zhuang Zhixi confidently said, "Am I not your little sweetheart?"

This guy could say such strange things so seriously, making you feel like it was all your overreaction. If I'm not embarrassed, then the embarrassed one is you. Zhuang Zhixi had such a strong heart and thick skin.

She clicked her tongue, saying, "Did you talk like this when you were little? Did your mom not beat you?"

Zhuang Zhixi retorted, "Why would she beat me? I was so cute. When I was little, I was the best-looking boy on our street. Back then, customs were still there, many people got married and asked me to sleep on their bed. Look how amazing I was? I could earn candy just by sleeping on the bed."

Ming Mei couldn't help but laugh again. She poked Zhuang Zhixi's face and said, "You're so thick-skinned."

Zhuang Zhixi laughed: "I'm earning money through labor, what do you know..."

"You are thick-skinned."

"Am I not?"

"You are!"

The young couple bickered as they wandered around, quite happy. With a rabbit in hand and half a basket of fruit, they had a decent harvest. Even if they went back now, they wouldn't be empty-handed, so they were quite cheerful, laughing and teasing...

It's true that a mother understands her son, and a son also understands his mother to some extent.

Zhuang Zhixi guessed that his mom wasn't very good at fishing, and that was indeed true. She fished for a while with no results. Old Man Zhuang, on the other hand, had already caught six or seven fish and put them in the basket by the shore, full of enthusiasm.

One was gloomy, the other was elated.

A very clear contrast.

Old Man Zhuang tested the depth of the water and found a spot to cast the net. Although he wasn't very skilled since he had been a worker since he was young, their courtyard had Li the Cook, right?

Li the Cook really lived up to his profession. Anything related to food, he could figure out. He often asked everyone for help, and they all went to the river to cast nets and catch fish, then distributed the catch according to labor.

But it didn't last long. Later, they didn't have enough people.

Old Su and Old Zhou left, and a few others didn't want to get involved. In the end, only Li the Cook, him, and Old Bai were left. They were getting old and couldn't manage it anymore. Later, policies changed, and they didn't dare to go fishing together anymore. After all, the city was more strictly managed.

Time passed, and they had long forgotten, but somehow, when they tried again, the feeling came back.

And so, he did better than his wife, catching several fish one after another, happily. He said, "Hey, hey, here it comes, here it comes, wife, this one must be a big fish, come help me, it's a bit heavy!"

Zhao Guihua heard and, despite her strong disappointment, quickly ran over, took off her shoes, rolled up her pants, and rushed into the pond, Old Man Zhuang: "Quick!"

The two of them pulled the net together, straining, "One, two, come on, one, two!"

"We must have caught something big."

The happiest thing was to have a harvest.

"Charge!"

Finally, they pulled the net up, and upon seeing it, the old couple burst into laughter.

Old Man Zhuang almost let go: "This... hahaha!"

Zhao Guihua: "What are you doing, hold on! Come on, pull it up before you laugh!"

She herself couldn't hold back either! But they couldn't lose heart, pulling it up wasn't the end, getting it ashore was! They held back their laughter and quickly dragged the net to the shore. Zhao Guihua was so tired she sat down directly, pointing at the net and laughing uncontrollably. She said, "How could such a thing happen!"

Old Man Zhuang also laughed hard, but he still went forward, picking up a stone and hitting it a couple of times, separating the "three fellows"!

Three fellows?

Yes, three fellows!

They didn't catch weeds or stones, but a real big fish. This fish was quite large, almost a meter long. Who knew how such a big fish ended up in this small pond.

Probably because no one had found it here, they grew wildly.

But usually, such a big fish wouldn't go to shallow waters. This fish was unlucky, encountering an attack!

Poor fish!

It's unclear how this big fish provoked two turtles, or rather, soft-shelled turtles.

The two turtles played tactics, biting it from both sides. The big fish probably got hurt and fled, accidentally running into Old Man Zhuang's net. They got lucky.

Zhao Guihua pointed at the three fellows and laughed, Old Man Zhuang also laughed, but he still hit them with stones. The old turtles hurt and retracted into their shells. Old Man Zhuang didn't untie the net, still trapping them. They couldn't fit the big fish in their basket. As for the two turtles, they couldn't put them in either, in case they got aggressive and ate the small fish.

The small fish were their harvest too!

Old Man Zhuang, usually introverted, was also a bit proud at this moment, saying, "Look, even though I'm old, I'm still quite capable, right? I'm telling you, even if Li the Cook is good at fishing, he hasn't caught anything this big."

Zhao Guihua nodded and laughed, saying, "You're very impressive."

Old Man Zhuang immediately blushed, even though he was old, he could still be shy.

Old Man Zhuang coughed and immediately stood up, feeling even more motivated. He said, "Then I'll keep setting the net!"

Zhao Guihua shook her head. "No need, the net is still holding fish."

Her gaze fell on Old Man Zhuang's legs, which were red and frozen from the cold. Although he had rolled up his trouser legs, his pants were still wet. Fishing like this was inevitable, no matter how careful you were.

Although the weather was warming up, it wasn't yet time to freely wade into the water.

She decisively said, "Don't go in anymore. Come over here and fish. I'll gather some firewood to make a fire. You need to warm up or you'll catch a cold."

Old Man Zhuang mumbled and hesitated for a while before finally responding with an "oh." Despite his reluctance, he felt a warm glow inside. His old lady, always so caring, hehe!

Zhao Guihua's feet were also wet, so she decided to go barefoot. Old Man Zhuang quickly said, "Be careful of the stones and branches on the ground."

Zhao Guihua replied, "Do you really think I need you to tell me that? I'm the most cautious person there is."

She picked up some nearby twigs. It hadn't rained recently, so the twigs were very dry. Zhao Guihua busily collected a pile of firewood. Seeing plenty of dandelions, she decided to dig them up as well. Their courtyard didn't have such "good stuff." Despite being wild vegetables, many people still dug them up.

Anything edible saved money on buying vegetables, so it was always worth saving where you could.

Dandelions were at their tenderest now, and Zhao Guihua worked diligently.

Old Man Zhuang turned back to see his wife digging vigorously on the ground and smiled, shaking his head. Just then, his fishing rod twitched slightly. He immediately reeled in the line. Oh ho, not bad!

Though not a big fish, it was still quite good.

It was undeniable that Old Man Zhuang had a knack for fishing, far surpassing his wife Zhao Guihua in this regard.

He smirked proudly, his smile a bit arrogant. People were always happy when they had a catch. The four essential things in life—eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating—eating was the first on the list.

Old Man Zhuang called out loudly, "Guihua, I caught one!"

Zhao Guihua pouted and said, "Don't show off to me. I know I'm not good at this, and it hurts my heart."

Old Man Zhuang quickly added, "You may not be good at fishing, but you can do other things. I love dandelions, especially the ones you dig. Besides, being good at fishing isn't much. Being good at cooking fish is the real skill. Even Li the Cook can't compare to your cooking."

Zhao Guihua spat and said, "You've become quite slick with your words, always saying nice things."

Though she said that, it was clear she liked hearing it. She stopped digging, stood up, and said, "I'll get the fire started first. Warm up your feet."

The firewood was so dry that it caught fire easily. Zhao Guihua couldn't help but praise herself for being so clever. It was essential to bring everything you needed when going out. She had spent the morning waiting for Zhuang Zhixi and his wife, organizing the bag and packing everything she thought might be needed. Now it seemed like the best decision.

Having matches with her was perfect.

The fire was burning, and Zhao Guihua said, "Come warm up first, then we'll fish. Today's catch is already plenty. Even if we don't get anything more, it's enough." She added, "I wonder how Zhixi and his wife are doing."

Old Man Zhuang said, "They certainly can't compare to us. Our catch, who can match it?"

Zhao Guihua nodded in agreement. "That's true. Although Ming Mei has some martial arts skills, this is the mountains, not a fight. She can't be of much use here. Our harvest must be better."

"Definitely!"

Both of them were warming up... "Gurgle gurgle!"

Old Man Zhuang's stomach growled. He rubbed his belly and said, "I'm hungry. It's getting late."

Zhao Guihua said, "It must be noon by now."

They had left the house late in the morning, and the bike ride took quite some time. They had also been busy for a while. Time flies when you're busy.

"Why haven't those two come back yet? Don't they know they're hungry?"

Zhao Guihua had only brought a few steamed buns with her on this trip. It wasn't that she was stingy, but bringing any dishes would just get cold. She had thought about making meat sandwiches, but they had been eating better lately, and there wasn't enough flour left at home.

She hadn't bought new flour yet, so she settled for steamed buns, just to make do for a meal. Still, Zhao Guihua had come with the hope of a good catch. That's why she also brought some salt.

Zhao Guihua said, "With the fire going, let's grill some fish."

She chuckled proudly, "I brought salt."

Old Man Zhuang was a bit reluctant but had no say in the matter. He unconditionally trusted Zhao Guihua, as she was the one in charge at home.

"Alright! I'll handle it."

Old Man Zhuang said, "Let's pick a few smaller fish to grill? They'll cook faster. If we use bigger fish, the inside might not be cooked while the outside burns."

Zhao Guihua agreed, "Okay."

Old Man Zhuang had already caught a few small fish earlier, which was perfect.

"Should we start now or wait for Zhixi to come back?"

Zhao Guihua said, "Let's start now. You can eat after you're done. No need to wait for them. They'll come back when they're hungry. I bet they haven't caught anything and are waiting to come back with something before showing up. That's how it must be."

Old Man Zhuang thought about it and said, "Makes sense."

Meanwhile, the couple they were talking about... had a full catch.

The old couple had indeed guessed wrong.

It all started with a rabbit. The rabbit was tied up and thrown into the basket. The couple immediately went to look for its siblings. It turned out that rabbits were quite promiscuous creatures, reproducing rapidly. If this had been the 1960s, they would have been eaten out of existence.

Back then, food was scarce, and even tree leaves were eaten, let alone rabbits. The outskirts were crowded with people.

But in recent years, people rarely went to the outskirts, and the rabbits thrived, multiplying wildly. They were everywhere, though they were fast and not easy to catch. Ming Mei was adept at it because of her quick hands and good aim. Zhao Guihua had a hard time the first time, ending up disheveled and exhausted.

The couple searched diligently for a while but found nothing.

But just as they stopped looking and started pulling mugwort, they suddenly spotted a rabbit nest.

There were five or six rabbits in the nest.

It was unclear if they were relatives of the tied-up rabbit, but the couple immediately pounced. The rabbits reacted quickly, escaping three of them, but they still caught three.

Ming Mei held one in each hand, triumphant.

Zhuang Zhixi only caught one, but he was still happy. He couldn't compare to a martial arts expert, after all.

The first step in progress was having a catch.

The couple quickly tied up the three rabbits and added them to the basket, which now had four rabbits.

They were both elated, feeling like they were floating. Ming Mei exclaimed excitedly, "Why didn't I discover this place earlier? It's like my lucky spot!"

Zhuang Zhixi also smiled brightly, saying, "Let's come here often."

Ming Mei nodded vigorously but then added, "But we can't come too often. We can't catch them all out of existence. We need to sustainably manage them, leave room for them to grow."

"Oh, you know a lot," Zhuang Zhixi teased.

Ming Mei smiled, "Of course."

She pouted and said, "I may not often venture into the wild, but I did go to school."

Zhuang Zhixi said, "That's true."

He laughed, then rubbed his stomach and said, "I'm a bit hungry. Let's head back?"

He added, "Let's also see what my parents have caught. I'm sure it's not as much as ours, because I have the most capable Ming Mei."

Ming Mei said, "Alright, let's go."

Zhuang Zhixi agreed, "Okay."

The young couple walked back together. Surprisingly, despite chasing the rabbit and getting lost a few times, Ming Mei still remembered the way back clearly. It was evident that she had a good memory.

Zhuang Zhixi: "You're really something, huh? The trees here all look the same, yet you can still remember the way?"

Ming Mei: "What's so hard about that? Just because they look the same doesn't mean you can't find differences. When I was little, my dad used to take me on drives and teach me how to read the road. I... oh! What was that?"

"What's wrong?" Zhuang Zhixi thought she had spotted something again, but Ming Mei said, "Something just caught my pants."

Zhuang Zhixi looked down and said, "Oh, it's just a twig." He bent down to pull it off and glanced around, smiling. "Have you seen this plant before? Look at its fruit..."

He pinched it, and the seemingly sturdy fruit turned into tiny black dots, much smaller than grape seeds. Zhuang Zhixi continued, "When we were kids, we used this to catch sparrows. Sparrows love these seeds, so we'd scatter them on an open field and set up a net. When the sparrows came down to eat, we'd yank the stick and trap them. Then we'd have sparrow kebabs. My brother and sister used to sneak off to do this. I knew they were going to catch sparrows, so I insisted on tagging along. They were so annoyed... haha! I was young, and while I couldn't help, I still wanted to eat more. My brother and sister didn't like me much back then."

Ming Mei chided, "Hutou doesn't seem like much of an older brother, though. He's quite loving to his sister."

"My brother and sister were good to me too, but back then, life was nothing like it is now. It was just after liberation, and things were really tough."

Ming Mei thought about it and said, "I guess I was lucky. My family was always doing okay."

Zhuang Zhixi: "Of course. Being a driver has its perks."

He looked at the plant and said, "I'll take some of this back. You don't see this in the city anymore. I'll bring it back for Hutou to catch sparrows. We'll be contributing to pest control, won't we?"

Ming Mei: "Sure."

She rubbed her stomach and said, "Actually, I'm a bit hungry. Let's hurry back after we're done."

Zhuang Zhixi immediately said, "Then let's just go back now."

Ming Mei widened her eyes: "What do you mean, 'forget it'? I want to see how you catch sparrows. Get to it."

Zhuang Zhixi laughed and they both started picking the seeds, wrapping them in large leaves. They gathered four bundles before stopping. Zhuang Zhixi: "Shall we head back?"

"Okay!"

The young couple each carried a small basket and walked back together. "Shall we sing a song?"

"What should we sing? I'm too tired to sing. I want to eat... oh my god!" Ming Mei couldn't help but swear! She was usually a well-mannered young woman and rarely used bad language. This was just... too shocking. Who would have thought that while walking, a wild chicken would suddenly rush towards Ming Mei? Just as it was about to hit her, Zhuang Zhixi managed to grab it.

This wild chicken was easier to catch than a wild rabbit!

He held the chicken and was a bit dazed: "Wait, what..."

He wiped his face and said, "Wife, I used to think you were joking when you said you had good luck, but now I see... you were being modest. This isn't just good luck; this is luck on steroids. How can a wild chicken just run into you while you're walking? This is too absurd!"

Ming Mei: "Uh..."

She did have good luck, but this was clearly a bit of an exaggeration!

Was this wild chicken just throwing itself into her arms?

Ming Mei scratched her head and said, "I've heard of the story about waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree, but I never thought I'd experience it myself."

Was she really that lucky?

Before she could fully process it, a rabbit also came running towards them. "Oh my god!" The couple was equally shocked!

The situation was too absurd, and neither of them managed to catch the rabbit. The little rabbit quickly dashed past them and ran off into the distance... leaving the couple stunned.

"No, that's not right!" Zhuang Zhixi quickly realized, his expression turning serious. "They're not running towards us because of your luck. They're running for their lives."

Ming Mei suddenly understood and said, "Yes, they're running for their lives."

Just as she finished speaking, they heard a rustling sound. Ming Mei looked up and nearly fainted: "Ahhhhhhh!!!"

She let out a deafening scream!

Zhuang Zhixi followed her gaze and also screamed: "Ahhhhh!!"

A large snake was coiled on a nearby tree, its tongue flicking as it glared at them with a terrifying expression. Zhuang Zhixi: "Run!"

Ming Mei: "Ah! Okay!"

At this moment, any thoughts of fighting back were gone. They just needed to run!

The snake seemed to sense their fear and slithered after them, its tongue flicking greedily.

Ming Mei: "Ahhhhh!"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Ahhhh!"

Ming Mei: "Why is it always chasing us? This is terrible!"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Who knows! It must be a coward, seeing us scared and trying to bully us!"

Humans couldn't understand the snake's mind!

They just needed to run for their lives!

Zhao Guihua and Old Man Zhuang had just finished roasting two fish when they faintly heard the couple's heart-wrenching screams from the forest. Zhao Guihua was startled and immediately grabbed a kitchen knife.

Old Man Zhuang: "You really came prepared."

Zhao Guihua: "Something's wrong. Let's go!"

They quickly headed towards the direction of the screams and met the couple running towards them. Ming Mei: "Mom, run! There's a big snake chasing us!"

Zhao Guihua: "Oh my god!"

The sight was terrifying. The snake was huge, looking like it could eat a person!

"Run!"

Zhao Guihua waved the knife: "I'll hold it off, you run!"

Seeing her son and daughter-in-law in danger, Zhao Guihua, despite her usual sternness, didn't hesitate: "I brought a knife. I'll hold it off!"

Even in the midst of running, Ming Mei was stunned.

Zhuang Zhixi immediately said: "Mom, go! Dad, take Mom and run!"

He wouldn't let his parents risk their lives. If something had to happen, he'd rather it be him: "Go! Give me the knife!"

His mom could hold it off, so could he!

"You..."

At that moment, no one expected Ming Mei to suddenly snatch the knife from Zhao Guihua and throw it at the snake. The knife flew like a dart, landing right in the snake's body. The snake instantly collapsed.

It was a perfect hit, right at the snake's vital point!

The panicked group suddenly fell silent. Zhuang Zhixi: "This..."

Ming Mei panted: "I have better aim than you."

She was about to step forward when Zhao Guihua stopped her: "Don't go. Snakes are very resilient. Sometimes, even after they're dead, their heads can still reflexively bite. We can't take that risk."

She might not have much knowledge, but she'd heard of such things. And indeed, there were cases where a dead snake's head could still attack. They couldn't gamble on that.

Zhuang Zhixi nodded: "Mom's right."

They all stared at the snake, which seemed to be dead.

"Looks like it's really dead?"

Zhao Guihua: "This thing is cunning. Let's watch it a bit longer."

Ming Mei: "Since you're afraid that the snake might attack, why not just hit it on the head with a rock? If it's smashed, it definitely won't be able to attack anymore, right?"

Oh, that... makes sense.

Zhuang Zhixi: "I'll do it!"

From a not-so-far distance, Zhuang Zhixi wasn't so clumsy that he couldn't hit it. With one throw, the snake's head reflexively moved, but then a few more rocks followed, and soon it was a mess!

Zhuang Zhixi put his hands on his hips: "Just tell me, tell me how amazing my wife is, she can even take care of this thing. She's really something."

Ming Mei patted her chest, grimacing: "This thing looks really disgusting."

She hated these kinds of things the most.

Zhuang Zhixi patted his wife's shoulder and hugged her, saying: "Don't be afraid, think about it, no matter how powerful it is, it's not your match, you can take care of it in a minute, right? We have nothing to fear, do we?"

Ming Mei took a deep breath and exhaled, saying: "Mmhmm."

Zhuang Zhixi: "Let's take it back and cook it into soup, eat it! See how it can still be so arrogant!"

Ming Mei frantically waved her hands: "No way!"

This time, she reacted quickly: "I'd rather die than eat this thing."

Zhao Guihua, who was nearby, also spoke up, both disdainful and firm: "I'd rather die than eat it too!"

Zhuang Zhixi: "..."

He thought for a moment, then nodded: "Indeed, just thinking about it is disgusting, let's not eat it. Besides, we don't know if it's poisonous, although even if it is, we can handle it, but who knows what this thing has eaten, maybe it came at us because it wanted to eat us, no, can't think about it, the more I think, the more disgusting it gets."

It was him who suggested eating it, and it's still him who's now disgusted by it.

Old Man Zhuang: "..."

So among the four of us, am I the only one who's not disgusted?

But he, being the kind of person who definitely wouldn't go against his family, immediately said: "So if we're not eating it, we should just leave it here?"

"Why leave it?" came the unanimous reply.

Zhao Guihua, Zhuang Zhixi, and Ming Mei, three people with six eyes, looked at Old Man Zhuang as if he were a fool, and they all said in unison: "Take it back and sell it!"

Yes, everyone thought the same.

This kind of thing, the recycling station would buy it!

Zhuang Zhixi: "Don't take it to the recycling station first, I'll have the doctor at our clinic identify it first to see if it's poisonous. If it is, we'll send it to the hospital, our clinic has a corresponding hospital, don't think it's just meat, actually the snake's gallbladder, snake venom, maybe the hospital can use it. If the hospital buys it, it's more valuable than selling the snake's meat. That's a profit."

He looked at the big snake in front of him, saying: "Not sure if it's poisonous, if it is, that's great!"

Those who don't understand would think that non-poisonous is better.

But as someone who knows a lot, Zhuang Zhixi deeply understands that being poisonous is what makes it valuable.

Others might not know where to sell this thing, but he does! Their clinic, although part of the machinery factory, isn't large in any aspect, so usually, medications and medical supplies are not applied for separately, the higher-ups arrange for them to go to the corresponding hospital, the one where Bai Fendou and Zhou Qun live. Zhuang Zhixi is a young guy at the clinic, usually busy with the back-and-forth coordination.

He's familiar with it!

At this moment, when Zhuang Zhixi looked at the big snake again, it wasn't a snake that wanted to eat people anymore, but... a golden ingot!

This thing, it's valuable.

Although Zhuang Zhixi himself couldn't say exactly how much it was worth, he had a good idea in his heart, things that are rare are valuable. He thought the same about everything.

Rare, means valuable.

His eyes became more and more sticky, looking at the big snake with a full expression of "love."

At the same time, Ming Mei also reacted.

Ming Mei's eyes lit up, she swallowed and asked: "Is this... very valuable?"

Zhuang Zhixi nodded: "Absolutely!"

The two spouses looked at each other, no longer afraid, and burst out laughing like a bell—hehehehehehe!