Ye Hao put Aoxue back into the space, then pulled out a wild rabbit from the space, and came to the warehouse with the things. As soon as he arrived, he saw Huang Su Su washing sweet potatoes, seemingly preparing dinner.
"Ye Hao, why are you down here? I heard Niu Jianwen say that your living place is very far from Li Family Village. Why do you come down every day?" Huang Su Su asked with surprise.
"Well, Captain Xu caught a wild pheasant today, so I brought it down for Niu Jianwen to help him recover faster," Ye Hao gestured with the pheasant in his hand.
Everyone else in the house, except Niu Jianwen and Zhao Yuanhang, came out when they heard the noise outside.
"Ye Hao, are these the prey you hunted?" Zuo Lei was the most active one.
"The pheasant was shot dead by Captain Xu, and the rabbit was caught by me on my way down the mountain."
"Ye Hao, you're too amazing! You can catch a rabbit with your bare hands."
"Alright, you guys clean up this rabbit and pheasant first. Stew the pheasant into a soup for Niu Jianwen to recuperate, and you can share the rabbit. You're working hard every day, so you need some fat in your belly. I'll go to Captain Li's house to return the flashlight first." With that, he handed the pheasant and rabbit to everyone.
Ye Hao arrived at Captain Li's house and knocked on the door, "Captain Li, are you home?"
"Yes, who is it? Come in."
"Captain Li, I came to return your flashlight."
"No need to rush with the flashlight, you didn't have to make a special trip; it's quite a long way."
"It wasn't just to return your flashlight. Captain Xu caught a wild pheasant today, and I brought it over for Niu Jianwen and the others to help him recover. I just brought your flashlight along at the same time."
"Good, have you eaten? Wait here for a bit, your aunt will have dinner ready soon. Eat before you go back."
"No need, dinner is also ready on the mountain, and they're waiting for me. If I eat at your place, I'll have to go up the mountain in the dark again."
"Captain Li, since I still have to go up the mountain, I won't stay long at your place. I'll be leaving now."
"Alright, then I won't keep you. Be careful on your way, this mountain is not peaceful."
"Got it, I'm leaving then." With that, Ye Hao left Captain Li's house.
Ye Hao came to the warehouse, where Huang Su Su and Niu Jianwu were processing the pheasant and rabbit. The others were watching. When they saw Ye Hao approach, Tang Zilan said, "Brother Hao, are you still going up the mountain tonight?"
"Yes, why?"
"How about you eat here before going up the mountain? We're having rabbit tonight."
"No need, we can eat anytime we want on the mountain. Yesterday we had stewed chicken with mushrooms, and it was so fragrant."
"Is it really that fragrant? I want to eat it too, but unfortunately, we don't have mushrooms," Zuo Lei said with an expectant look.
"You can go to the village to trade for some. See if anyone has hazel mushrooms and trade for some; the taste is absolutely superb."
"I'll go to Captain Li's house and ask right now." With that, Zuo Lei headed towards Captain Li's house.
"I'll go in and check on Niu Jianwen."
Niu Jianwen listened to the conversation outside, his mouth watering. That stewed chicken with mushrooms sounded super delicious. Although he was injured now, he didn't have to work, someone was taking care of him, and he could eat meat. The thought alone made him feel wonderful, and he really wished he could lie in bed for the rest of his life.
Ye Hao, of course, didn't know what Niu Jianwen was thinking. If he did, Ye Hao would probably burst out laughing, wondering if this kid had hit his head when he fell.
"Niu Jianwen, does it still hurt?" Ye Hao asked, seeing that Niu Jianwen looked pretty good.
"It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you so much for bringing me the pheasant from so far away; you really worked hard," Niu Jianwen said fawningly.
"Then you should rest well and recover. If you have any difficulties, find Captain Li. I'll come down again in a few days." After a few pleasantries, Ye Hao left the room.
"Alright, you guys make dinner. I'm going up the mountain, otherwise it'll be dark soon."
"Be careful on your way."
After Ye Hao left Li Family Village, he released Aoxue. This time, Aoxue didn't howl like a wolf as she did last time.
However, Aoxue was still very excited, chasing various small animals along the way. But Aoxue must have been full, as she only chased and didn't kill when Ye Hao didn't want the prey, allowing the small animals in the forest to experience the joy of escaping from a wolf's jaws, just like the pheasants and rabbits in the space.
When Ye Hao returned to the camp, it was almost dark. Before returning, he had put Aoxue back into the space.
Ye Hao took out another wild pheasant from the space, chopped off its head, and walked into the camp carrying the pheasant.
Coming to the stove, he saw Zhang Shan cooking. Zhang Shan looked at the wild pheasant in Ye Hao's hand and asked doubtfully, "Didn't I tell you to give it to Niu Jianwen and the others? Why did you bring it back?"
"This isn't that one. This was on my way back; a chicken flew past me, and I went up and just slashed it. Luckily, I hit its neck."
"Whoa, that's amazing." Captain Xu and the others came out of the wooden house when they heard Ye Hao's and his conversation.
"Haha, I was just lucky; it can't compare to Captain Xu's marksmanship," Ye Hao replied when he heard Captain Xu's words.
"Alright, since Ye Hao got a wild pheasant, we'll eat wild pheasant today. Do you want to eat stewed chicken with mushrooms like yesterday, or iron pot stewed wild pheasant?" Captain Xu asked everyone.
"Stewed chicken with mushrooms," Sun Chaoshu, living up to his reputation as a foodie, was the first to reply.
"Haha, alright, then it's stewed chicken with mushrooms. But if so, dinner will be a bit later today."
"It's fine, a little late is fine. It doesn't matter after dinner."
"Good, then Er Gou, go process the wild pheasant, and Da Shan, go get some hazel mushrooms to soak first." Captain Xu began to assign tasks.
True delicacies don't mind how long you wait, just like some gourmet restaurants in later generations where people often wait two or three hours, yet still flock to them. Today's stewed chicken with mushrooms took two hours to wait, but everyone still felt it was very worthwhile.
Captain Xu and the others all felt that today's stewed chicken with mushrooms was more delicious than ever before, with a very fresh taste. Lu Bingsheng, who rarely spoke, even praised the chicken meat and chicken soup a few times today. Sun Chaoshu, needless to say, almost swallowed his tongue. However, Sun Chaoshu noticed that this chicken meat was somewhat similar to the chicken Brother Hao had brought home before, but then he dismissed the thought, simply feeling that it was all very delicious, which made it seem similar.
Ye Hao didn't know Sun Chaoshu's thoughts. If he did, he would definitely say, "What a clever little guy, you even tasted that."
Ye Hao also felt that hazel mushrooms paired with wild pheasants raised in the space were truly a perfect match. He decided he must grow some hazel mushrooms in the space in the future, so he could eat them whenever he wanted.
It was very late after dinner, so Captain Xu said that they didn't need to get up so early tomorrow and could sleep in a bit. Sun Chaoshu was so full that he lay in bed for a long time unable to sleep. He discussed with Lu Bingsheng how to make a crossbow, and the two chatted until midnight before finally falling asleep in a daze. Ye Hao didn't mind; ever since he drank the space water, his spirit had been exceptionally good, and two or three hours of sleep a day was enough for him.