Arriving at the edge of the field, Gu Yuan did not stop but continued to move forward.
Most of the mouse holes by the field had already been dug up, making it meaningless to find food here—it was almost a waste of time.
However, in some remote places and the mouse holes at the foot of the low mountain, or possibly in the nests of mountain rats, there might be some harvest.
As he walked, the little Yellow in his arms chirped twice, seemingly to alert him.
Gu Yuan paused for a moment.
Without showing any signs, he glanced back and saw two figures flickering behind the bushes a hundred meters away.
"Is someone tracking me?!"
Gu Yuan's heart sank.
Outwardly, he showed no change and continued walking forward, while his mind raced:
"These two people, one tall and one short, look a bit familiar. Could they be Sun Er and Dong Gui?"
Although the Gu Family Village was named after the Gu family, not every villager bore the surname Gu. Many had the surnames Sun and Dong.
Sun Er and Dong Gui were also villagers of Gu Family Village. However, they often lingered with bullies in the town, engaging in deceitful acts and bullying others, earning a rather notorious reputation.
Previously, before his awakening to the Mystery of the Womb, Gu Yuan generally kept a respectful distance from such people, rarely interacting and having never offended them. His family was so poor they couldn't even afford mice, so there was nothing valuable in his household to covet.
Then why were these two following him?
"Is it related to Qian Yunjie?"
An idea suddenly struck Gu Yuan.
Regardless of whether it had anything to do with Qian Yunjie, at least one thing was certain—these two definitely had no good intentions!
With this in mind, Gu Yuan decisively walked into the forest.
The dense undergrowth in this forest made it easy to hide.
Inside the dense forest, after walking for a while, he crouched down in the bushes and quietly moved to the side.
Soon after, the two stalkers reached nearby and looked around:
"Where is he? Why has this kid vanished?"
"Did he find out we were tracking him and hide?"
"Impossible! We were so far away. This kid isn't a dog, how could he have noticed us?"
"Well, Brother Gui, what do we do now? Should we wait here?"
"Wait, my foot! In this cold weather, are you crazy, or am I, sitting here suffering?"
Dong Gui touched his chin. "This kid had a machete, probably out gathering firewood. Worst case, we'll check if he returns with firewood. This way, we have something to report if Steward Wu asks."
"Let's go back!"
After the two left, Gu Yuan slowly stood up, his face calm as water.
"Steward Wu... so it is related to Qian Yunjie! That old wretch is painstakingly having people watch me, clearly afraid I'll take revenge and escalate the situation."
With Dong Gui and Sun Er watching, if he made any move, Steward Wu would immediately learn of it and respond. Under normal circumstances, Gu Yuan could not stir up trouble.
Gu Yuan was momentarily stunned, then suddenly smiled:
"Should I be saying something like: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't underestimate the young and poor?'"
In any case, Qian Yunjie had nearly killed him initially, leaving his family with no savings or food. Any unexpected event could prevent them from surviving the winter.
Then Steward Wu threatened his parents at home and now sent people to watch him. Gu Yuan remembered all these offenses.
...
Once sure no one was around, Gu Yuan began having the little Yellow search for mouse holes and even mountain rat nests.
Upon finding a mouse hole, he let little Yellow go in first to check for food.
If none was found, he searched for the next mouse hole.
After checking three mouse holes, upon reaching the fourth, little Yellow gave feedback through its mysterious connection with Gu Yuan.
"There really is something!"
Gu Yuan felt a surge of spirit. After little Yellow confirmed the location and came out, Gu Yuan used his machete as a shovel and began digging.
After some time, Gu Yuan, exhausted to the point of sweating, with his still weak body feeling bouts of fatigue, gasped heavily. The bowl of thin porridge he had for breakfast was probably long digested.
However, the results were good. He dug a hole half a meter deep.
At the bottom of the pit lay some grains, such as rice, soybeans, and peanuts.
Quickly, Gu Yuan took a cloth bag from his chest and carefully collected the grains, placing them into the bag, leaving no grain behind.
After gathering everything, he weighed the grains and found they totaled over a dozen pounds!
"Thank you, nature, for this gift!"
Gu Yuan's face lit up with joy, and the harvest before him confirmed that his strategy was indeed viable!
Digging a few more mouse holes would ensure a stable winter!
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Just then, a plump field mouse scurried out of a nearby hole and perched on a mound, angrily chirping at Gu Yuan, seemingly accusing him of wrecking its home and stealing its food.
"Thanks to nature, now I can even have some meat today!"
Gu Yuan's eyes brightened, and with a knock of his machete, sent the field mouse to meet King Yama.
Over the next hour, Gu Yuan found another mouse hole with food, unearthing over a dozen pounds of grains before stopping.
By now, he had gathered over twenty pounds of food, which was enough. Any more would be difficult to carry back and could attract unwanted attention.
Next, Gu Yuan didn't idle, directing little Yellow to locate mouse and mountain rat tracks.
Meanwhile, he occasionally pinched a few peanuts to feed it.
Unaware it had become a mouse traitor, little Yellow eagerly helped Gu Yuan locate other mice and mountain rats.
By noon, with the sun hanging high, Gu Yuan had gathered a wealthy harvest, capturing two mountain rats and three field mice. Combined with the earlier catch, he had six in total.
He found a flat, secluded spot and eagerly started a fire.
He wrapped the prepared mountain rats and field mice in large leaves. Once the fire died down, he buried them in the hot ashes, letting the heat cook them slowly.
Before long, he brushed away the extinguished ash and opened the leaves, releasing an enticing aroma.
It was the smell of meat!
Gurgle! Gurgle!
His stomach grumbled with hunger pangs; he took a roasted mountain rat and bit into it.
The meat was tender, with a firm texture and an aroma that filled the mouth!
It was delicious!
Even though there were no seasonings, the aroma of the meat almost brought Gu Yuan to tears.
Thank heavens!
Gu Yuan had almost forgotten the taste of meat!
Outsiders might never understand the happiness of eating meat at this moment!
Let's just say the mouse is delicious!
After finishing two, Gu Yuan wrapped the rest to take back for his parents.
Afterward, he chopped some firewood, hid the grains among them, and carried them home.
...