Early the next morning, Ye Hao's biological clock woke him up. He got up, tidied everything, and prepared to go out with Captain Xu.
Looking at Sun Chaoshu and Lu Bingsheng who were still sound asleep, Ye Hao abandoned the idea of playing a prank on them. It was better to let them sleep well.
Ye Hao and Captain Xu went down the mountain with the weapons and ammunition they had captured yesterday.
Having walked so many times, Ye Hao was already familiar with the path down the mountain. Both of them were in excellent physical condition, and they reached the foot of the mountain with ease.
This time, they did not go to Captain Li's house to borrow a mule cart; today's main purpose was to hand over weapons and report their work.
The two did not linger and headed straight for the City.
Ye Hao felt a bit nostalgic for the bicycle in his space at this moment. If he could ride a bicycle, it would be much faster, but at a time like this, he could only think about it.
The two of them were essentially doing an armed cross-country trek, carrying so many guns, ammunition, dry food, and water. An average person certainly wouldn't have their speed.
By mid-morning, the two arrived in the City and headed directly to the Forestry Bureau.
Upon arrival, Captain Xu recounted yesterday's events in detail.
"This must be the young hero Ye Hao you mentioned. Truly, a hero emerges from youth. Facing so many enemies alone, he remained calm in danger and even managed to kill all of them. Truly impressive."
"Leader, you flatter me. I was just lucky. They were all poachers with little combat ability. If they had been a few more experienced people, I estimate I would have been left in the mountains." A proper display of humility, while also emphasizing the danger he faced, was the way to claim credit before a leader.
"Don't be modest. This is your true strength. Even an experienced patrolman would find it difficult to do as well as you did."
"Old Xu, leave the guns here. Then I'll approve some more ammunition for you. Comrade Xiao Ye has such good shooting talent, don't waste it. Also, take care of the other two Comrades and let them practice more. You two go back first; we'll have a meeting here and get back to you then."
"Alright, thank you, Leader. We'll be going now."
"Xiao Hao, do you want to wander around the City or go straight back?" Captain Xu asked after they left the Forestry Bureau.
"Captain Xu, I want to wander around."
"Okay, then we'll meet at the entrance to the City this afternoon."
After speaking, the two parted ways. Ye Hao returned to the black market, disguised himself, and entered the black market carrying a basket of eggs.
After dealing with some of his stock from his space, Ye Hao went back to Heizi, the gun seller, at the same spot where he first met him. The melon-skin hat was visible from a distance.
"Do you have any handguns?" Ye Hao asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yes, what model are you looking for?" Heizi became enthusiastic when he saw a customer.
"What models do you have?"
"I have 'Wang Ba He Zi' (Broomhandle Mauser), 'He Zi Pao' (Mauser C96), Browning M1900, M1911, and our own domestically produced Type 51. Which one do you want?" Heizi introduced each of the weapons.
"How much is the M1911?"
"And another 200 rounds of ammunition."
After some haggling, they settled on a price.
Finally, they happily completed the transaction. Ye Hao knew he had paid too much, but he had no other place to buy guns.
This amount of money would be earned back with a few more trips to the black market.
Ye Hao saw that it was still early and dealt with some more supplies from his space.
His savings increased significantly. Ye Hao left the black market feeling satisfied.
He entered his space, had a big meal, and then walked out of the City, preparing to meet up with Captain Xu and return to the mountain.
Ye Hao arrived outside the City and found Captain Xu leaning against a tree, dozing off.
"Captain Xu, are you asleep?"
"Xiao Hao, you're back. Shall we head back now?"
On the way back, with no heavy loads, the two walked much faster than they had on the way there.
Upon reaching Li Family Village, they saw Niu Jianwu and a few others busy in the fields.
"Brother Hao, there's a letter for you and Sun Chaoshu. Wait, I'll get it for you to take up the mountain," Zuo Lei called out anxiously when she saw Ye Hao preparing to go straight up the mountain.
The letters had arrived yesterday. Besides Niu Jianwen, only Niu Jianwu had been up the mountain among them; everyone else in the village also had work, so they thought they would give the letters to Ye Hao and the others when they came down. And now, Ye Hao happened to be coming down the mountain.
Zuo Lei came out of the house with two letters and handed them to Ye Hao, "Here, these are your letters and Sun Chaoshu's. They're both from the same place."
Ye Hao knew without looking at the envelopes that they must be from Aunt Wang.
Thinking about it, they had been here for so long, the letters should have arrived by now.
Ye Hao took the envelopes, thanked her, and then went up the mountain with Captain Xu.
"Chao Shu, your letter, from home." Back on the mountain, Ye Hao handed the letter addressed to Sun Chaoshu to Sun Chaoshu.
Ye Hao himself also opened the letter from Aunt Wang.
The content was very simple: it just told them to take care of themselves, and to take care of Sun Chaoshu as much as possible, helping to keep an eye on him and prevent him from causing trouble.
Ye Hao put the letter away after reading it.
Meanwhile, Sun Chaoshu opened his envelope. Inside were several sheets of paper and a few vouchers.
There were a total of 20 jin of national grain coupons.
The content of the letter was relatively simple, mostly Aunt Wang's longing and concern for her beloved son. She also said that if he couldn't bear the hardship there, she would find a way for him to return.
Various admonitions filled a page, and Lu Bingsheng was also mentioned, asking the three of them to look out for each other in the future and to bring him home when they returned to the capital. Finally, there were greetings from Uncle Sun and Sun Chaoyue.
From the lines of the letter, one could see Aunt Wang's doting affection for her beloved son.
"Bingsheng, look, my mom is really nice. When we go back to the capital, you can come to my house, and I'll ask my mom to make you braised pork." Sun Chaoshu jutted his chin at Lu Bingsheng.
"Chao Shu, that's enough. We know your mom is good, you don't have to be so smug. How was your rest today? We still have to go into the mountains tomorrow." Ye Hao quickly interrupted Sun Chaoshu's smugness. Knowing that Lu Bingsheng had lost his family and still showing off in front of him, wasn't that just pure nastiness?
It was clear that Lu Bingsheng was forcing a smile. Having spent so much time together, he knew Sun Chaoshu's character: he just liked to show off, had no ill intentions, and was very good to his brothers. However, knowing was one thing, but hearing others talk about how good their mothers were still made him think of his own parents and grandfather, and thinking about it made him feel so sad.
"Brother Hao, I rested all day today, so patrolling the mountain tomorrow won't be a problem. Oh, by the way, did you two gain anything from going to the City, or did you just go to hand over weapons and ammunition and come back?"
"You'll find out tomorrow what we gained. Bingsheng, let's go out and see if we can hunt some prey. I'm tired of eating fish every day; let's change the taste. We'll use your crossbow for hunting. I haven't used a crossbow since I got a gun. Today, I'll practice with it. Come on, don't just sit on the bed." Ye Hao pulled Lu Bingsheng and walked out.