Chapter 146: Slacking Off and Killing Chickens

Han Li mentally calculated the items he needed to bring and packed them all neatly, placing some newly made ultra-short javelins into his back basket.

The javelins he used nowadays were getting shorter and shorter, and more than once, Han Li had wondered if he should craft a few flying darts to use instead.

Considering the place he was taking the girls today—although it could still be considered the outer perimeter—having a bit more protection was always the right choice.

Therefore, he decided to bring the dogs along. Although these dogs were still small and couldn't hunt yet, their alertness was by no means weak. In case anything happened, they could give him an early warning, and incidentally, it would allow them to experience the scent of the wild mountains.

After packing everything away properly, Han Li seized the moment to give the dogs an extra meal. As he petted them one by one, He Mi and Qi Zhaodi were the first to arrive.

"Brother Han, when I was back in my hometown, I often went to the small river to catch fish. I'm sure I can be of help catching fish today."

Hearing Qi Zhaodi call him "older brother" always gave Han Li a slight headache. She was clearly older than him, yet she had started calling him older brother later on. After he mentioned it a few times to no avail, Han Li eventually just let her be.

"The place where we're catching fish today is quite simple; we just need to build a small dam over there. But why haven't I ever seen you catch fish before?"

"I noticed that around here, only aunties and married sisters-in-law occasionally go down to the river to catch fish. None of the female educated youths do such things, so I didn't dare to go."

Han Li smiled and said, "It's good that the girls don't go catch fish. If your clothes happen to get wet and someone sees you, there's a high chance people will start gossiping."

He Mi looked at Han Li with a full smile and asked, "Practicing martial arts, hunting, building a private shower room for yourself, and now you even know how to build a dam to catch fish? I suspect there is nothing you cannot do."

Han Li replied, "Practicing martial arts was taught by my master; hunting is a combination of martial arts and the villagers' experience; as for the shower room, any carpenter can make one with a bit of patience. But there really are some things I can't do."

"What kind of things?"

"Hehe, I'll tell you when there's a chance."

By this time, Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying had both packed up and arrived, with the Yun sisters bringing up the rear.

Daylight was growing shorter by the day, so now that everyone had gathered, they needed to set off early.

The group followed Han Li along the riverbank, collecting some soft branches along the way.

They truly acted as if they were on a picnic, chasing after each other along the path and not even letting pretty wildflowers escape their notice. Playing tag from time to time, they enjoyed themselves immensely, filling the entire group with cheerful laughter and chatter.

They walked until the river narrowed into a stream about three to four meters wide, stopping at an open clearing near a bend.

Han Li put down his back basket and shovel, signaling to everyone that they had arrived.

"This is the narrowest spot near the current. Now I'll go find some suitable logs, and you all can weave the branches you collected along the way into a large fish basket. When I get back, we'll build a simple dam here, and before the dam washes away, you can use your woven fish basket to collect the fish."

Yun Yingying said, "I'll go with you to pick up the logs."

"We've walked for such a long time already; you should rest here for a bit. If things go smoothly, you'll have plenty to be busy with later."

Qi Zhaodi asked, "Brother Han, are there any specific requirements for this fish basket?"

"It's just a temporary contraption, so there are no special requirements. Just make sure the holes aren't woven too small."

After that, the young women stayed there weaving the fish basket and chatting, while Han Li went into the woods alone to look for logs.

A stream a little over three meters wide didn't require many logs, and Han Li quickly gathered enough of them.

He took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, and drove the small tree trunks into the stream as pilings.

Then, everyone used stones, grass, and wood to block off the stream, leaving a gap in the middle of this makeshift dam. The woven fish basket was secured right there, waiting for the fish to deliver themselves into the trap.

Next, they walked upstream and used branches to drive the fish schools toward the downstream. Whether it was due to the effectiveness of this method or simply because there were plenty of fish in this stream, the fish basket soon yielded a haul.

Han Li lifted the fish basket and dumped its contents onto the bank, where the fish flopped around frantically. Seeing the ground covered in fish, the girls immediately cheered.

When Han Li took a closer look, most of them were large-mouthed, small-sized fine-scaled salmon.

These fine-scaled salmon were packed with meat and were also known as "meat rollers," with the largest ones growing no longer than 20 centimeters.

Han Li had seen Tiedan and the others catch this kind of fish before, but most of them were taken home to feed the chickens.

There were also some yellow-bellied fish, also known as sand cousins, yellow-tailed diao, or yellow plate fish. Their size was even smaller than the fine-scaled salmon. If deep-fried, they would probably taste quite delicious, but unfortunately, in this era, their primary use was likely feeding chickens as well.

Finally, there were some minnows. These fish were widely distributed, seen everywhere from Heilongjiang in the north to Yunnan in the south.

Yang Xiuying remarked, "How come they're all small fish? Still, I think they'd be great for making fish paste. Come on, Han Li, catch a few big fish so we can go home and make soup or stewed dishes."

Han Li replied, "That's not something I can guarantee, but this time, sinking the fish basket straight to the bottom should yield some larger fish."

With fish piling up on the bank, the girls stopped playing in the upper reaches of the stream. They all gathered by the creek to slaughter the fish and clean out their internal organs, then spread them out on nearby rocks to drain the water.

Han Li watched over the fish basket, and before long, it was time to empty the basket once again.

This time, there were a few more yellow-head catfish in the mix, which friends in the south called yellow-laced nails.

People in the Northeast liked to braise them with soybean paste after catching them, while friends in the south preferred to make soup with them—a point confirmed by Yang Xiuying's enthusiastic shouting.

The third basket still yielded no big fish, and even Han Li began to feel a bit anxious.

Were they really going to take these small fish fry home to make fish paste today? That didn't quite match his carnivorous nature.

After securing the fish basket this time, Han Li took a wooden stick, focused his spiritual perception, and personally headed upstream to drive the fish downward.

He actually managed to catch a few Northeast big-head catfish weighing over two jin each, so tonight's meat dish was finally secured.

Just then, Han Li saw a few pheasants fly down not far ahead. Before the dogs could bark, he stopped them with a gesture, picked up a few javelins, and gave chase.

"Han Li, did you spot something?"

Yun Yingying was the first to notice Han Li's action and asked directly.

"Shh."

Han Li turned his head and pressed his index finger to his lips in a gesture for silence, then continued to stalk forward stealthily.

The others looked at Han Li's movements with curiosity. Yang Xiuying whispered,

"What do you guys think Han Li found? It wouldn't be dangerous animals like wild boars or wolves, would it?"

He Mi replied, "Unlikely. If it were a dangerous animal, Han Li would have warned us to be careful. He must have spotted some small animals."

From afar, Han Li could hear the clucking sounds of pheasants. Walking closer, he saw a group of five pheasants—one male and four females.

Han Li placed a few javelins within arm's reach, gripped one in each hand, stared intently for a moment, and then hurled the javelins in rapid succession.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck."

With a smile, Han Li stood up. The vigilance of creatures like pheasants fell far short of capercaillies; out of the six javelins thrown, four pheasants were left behind, including the brightly colored rooster.

When Han Li walked back carrying the pheasants, Yun Yingying was the first to rush over to greet him.

"Han Li, you're amazing! You actually managed to bring down four pheasants. How did you spot them just now?"

"When I looked up, I happened to see them land not far ahead, so I ran over to try my luck. Now it seems my luck is quite good."

Yun Jingjing took the pheasants from Han Li's hand and asked, "Are we taking these home to eat, or what?"

"Didn't we purposely bring the pot out with us today? We can stew a couple right here, otherwise this outing would feel a bit incomplete."

Yang Xiuying exclaimed, "Fantastic! I'll go move some stones to build a stove right now."

Qi Zhaodi stared at the wounds on the pheasants with an incredulous look, and it took her a long time to speak.

"Brother Han, did you bring down all these pheasants using just those little sticks?"

Han Li answered, "That's right. But those little sticks were carefully selected; you can't use wood that's too light or too soft. Besides, it involves the power-generation techniques from my martial arts training, so it's not something you can just toss casually."

He Mi looked at the wounds on the pheasants and noticed that they were much smaller than the injuries on the wild wolf they had encountered together. Did this mean Han Li's kung fu had improved even further?

Noticing He Mi's expression, Hao Hongmin asked, "Sister He Mi, is something wrong with these pheasants?"

"Ah, no. I was just marveling at how Han Li's accuracy seems even sharper than before."

"Sharp? Oh~ if you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot that the two of you once killed a wild wolf together."

"What do you mean 'together'? I was just hiding in the back and didn't dare to move at all."

Han Li took Yun Yingying to look for mushrooms and wild vegetables nearby to put in the pot later, leaving the task of cleaning the fish and pheasants to the other girls.

Once out of the others' sight, Han Li took Yun Yingying's small hand and gradually pulled her into his embrace.

To be honest, this was the first time the two of them had embraced in broad daylight outdoors. Looking at Yun Yingying's still somewhat shy face, Han Li slowly lowered his head.

The moment left Han Li wanting more; if this place hadn't been so far from his secret base, he truly would have wanted to take her there for a while.

Yun Yingying rested in Han Li's arms, calming her beating heart. Suddenly, she remembered what they had come out to do in the first place.

"Han Li, let's go find the things quickly, otherwise we won't make it back in time for the pot, and the others might make fun of me."

"We're a couple; their teasing is just out of jealousy."

"Oh, you."

Despite saying that, Han Li quickly led Yun Yingying back toward the group.

By this time, the pheasants had already been put into the pot, though the way they were prepped was rather tragic.

Since it wasn't convenient to scald the feathers off with hot water in the wilderness, the girls had simply skinned the two pheasants directly.