"This road was actually an official road in the previous dynasty, and many people used it. However, after the Daliang court rebuilt new official roads, this road fell into disrepair and gradually became abandoned."
The old hunter, surnamed Yang, in his fifties, with a recurve bow on his back, introduced the road to Jiang Pan as they walked.
After walking for a full day, they finally reached the entrance of that road.
The old hunter looked at the ground and pointed to a fresh wagon track. "Someone has already gone ahead of you. It should be someone in a hurry who entrusted an insider to lead them this way. You see, do you still need me to lead the way? If not, I will return the silver to you."
Normally, if someone had already cleared the path ahead, there would be no need to find someone to lead the way.
The old hunter had asked for five taels of silver for this job. This silver was paid out of Jiang Pan's own pocket.
However, after thinking about it, Jiang Pan decided to still have the old hunter lead the way. "Since we found you, we naturally still hope you can lead us."
The old hunter smiled and nodded. "That's fine. Since you trust me, I will definitely lead you there smoothly."
They stayed at the entrance for one night, and early the next morning, the small mountain village's group began to move forward.
Thanks to the drought and winter, although the road had fallen into disrepair, the weeds and some low shrubs on the road surface had all withered. The group that had gone ahead of them had also cut down some trees that blocked the road, so although the small mountain village's group's journey was bumpy, it was indeed much easier.
Similar to what the old hunter had described, the mountains on both sides of this road were relatively low. Because no one had been here for many years, the trees had grown very densely. Therefore, even though the drought had caused some soil erosion, the impact was limited, and there were no collapses.
They walked for a whole day but did not see any trace of the group ahead of them.
However, they didn't mind. It was a good thing that someone had gone ahead to clear the path for them.
When they stopped to set up camp in the evening, some villagers discovered signs of wild animals in the woods.
After a rain, many wild animals had come out.
The villagers wanted to hunt the wild animals, but they lacked experience, so they asked the old hunter for help.
The old hunter was also eager to show his skills and agreed, leading a group of villagers into the mountains.
Jiang Wan did not join the excitement. Instead, she called Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi and walked towards the mountain forest on the other side.
The mountains on this side, being far from human habitation, had developed into the appearance of a primeval forest. If it weren't for the winter, few people would dare to enter such a forest.
But this also meant that the wild resources in the mountains were very rich.
Because of the rain a few days ago, many edible fungi had grown in the mountains.
Jiang Wan had not used her special ability for several days, so she decided to let the 'old immortal' display his divine powers to her heart's content, creating a ground full of mountain delicacies.
Chen Yuezhi was overjoyed. Carrying a basket, she picked the best-looking ones.
Once they had gathered enough, Chen Yuezhi quickly urged Jiang Pan to carry Jiang Wan back to the group, then pointed the way for the villagers, urging them to hurry into the forest to pick mushrooms.
As dusk fell, the villagers who had gone into the mountains with the old hunter also returned, happily carrying a wild boar.
The wild boar was not large, weighing less than two hundred jin, but for the villagers, it was an unexpected joy.
Er Lang, who had gone with them, returned excitedly, dancing with joy. "Hunter Yang's archery is so accurate. He shot the wild boar right in the forehead with one arrow."
Jiang Wan found it quite interesting. She had never seen a real hunting scene before.
However, she was too small. Although she had great strength, her running speed was limited. If she really ran, the adults would soon leave her behind.
Er Lang patted her head. "I'll carry you tomorrow to watch the hunt, okay?"
Jiang Wan's eyes lit up. "Okay!"
After the wild boar was prepared, it was put on a spit. Someone came to ask Chen Yuezhi for seasonings. "After discussion, everyone decided to roast the wild boar and share a portion with each family."
Chen Yuezhi smiled and brought the seasonings. "Then I'll make all the mushrooms I collected today into soup, and we can all eat meat and drink soup together."
"That would be wonderful."
The other villagers who had collected mushrooms, upon hearing Chen Yuezhi's plan, also busied themselves bringing out the mushrooms they had gathered.
After all, it was winter, and without the sun, they couldn't dry the goods. Mushrooms were also difficult to preserve. Rather than letting them spoil, it was better to bring them out and eat them together.
Thus, this meal turned into the small mountain village's first communal feast, with many women coming to help.
A few diligent and capable women cleaned the wild boar's offal, cooked them, chopped them up, and stewed several large pots of soup.
Although there wasn't much food, everyone's faces were filled with smiles. The long-lost aroma of food wafted out, dispelling the gloom that had lingered in people's hearts since fleeing their homes.
After the roasted wild boar was ready, everyone asked Jiang Pan to distribute the meat.
Jiang Pan naturally refused and pushed the old village chief forward. "Uncle is the most respected person in our village. It is most appropriate for him to distribute the meat to everyone."
The old village chief did not decline and picked up the knife with a smile. "My hand is not precise. Don't complain to me if there's more or less."
Everyone smiled and said they wouldn't.
The wild boar, weighing over a hundred jin, excluding the offal, only had a little over a hundred jin left. Distributed among seventy-three households, each family would get just over a jin on average.
Families with fewer members would naturally receive less, while those with more members would receive a bit more, ensuring that everyone could have a taste.
Jiang Wan was the most pampered in the family, so half of the meat they received went into her belly.
Her family was not short of meat, but everyone loved to feed her. One person would feed her a bite, another a piece, and soon Jiang Wan was burping.
The villagers all received meat, mushroom soup, and offal soup. Eating them with their own dry rations, they were all happy.
However, the Jiang family started to make a fuss over these things.
The Jiang family had not split up, with more than ten people, big and small. Calculated, their family received nearly three jin of roasted meat.
The second son of the Jiang family and his wife were lazy, the third son of the Jiang family was timid and injured, and the old man Jiang and his wife were old. After the incident of killing the snake last time, almost every household had some gains, but the old man Jiang's family had absolutely no gains! Therefore, their family lived a very meager life.
With more than ten people in the family, they were relying on their meager stored food to live. Eating meat? It had been a long time since they had.
So when the village distributed roasted meat, the Jiang family members' eyes were all glowing green.
Liu Shi, although also greedy, still cared about her reputation.
Si Lang and Wu Lang were so greedy that they cried out, shouting for meat.
Old Madam Jiang licked her lips and came over with a knife to cut.
"Here, this is for Si Lang, for Wu Lang, for you, my second son. Third son, take it quickly. Old man, this is yours. The rest is mine."