"Uncle, uncle, I'm hungry."
Uncle?
Liu Tiezhu opened his eyes, swept his gaze across the thatched hut, and quickly sat up from the wooden plank bed. He hadn't died—he had been reborn in 1980, on the very day his eldest brother's family met with disaster.
Back then, his eldest brother's family had spent all their savings to support his schooling, only to encounter a once-in-a-decade blizzard. To hunt for food, his brother had ventured into the mountains alone, but a heavy snowstorm had trapped him. By the time the villagers found him three days later, he had already stopped breathing.
"I never expected that a battle would send me back thirty years after my death. In this life, I won't let anything happen to my brother."
Liu Tiezhu tightly hugged his emaciated niece, Liu Yaoyao, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.
"Uncle, can we go dig up sweet potato roots in the field? I'm so hungry."
Liu Yaoyao blinked her lively eyes, her thin body trembling from the cold, stirring a pang of pain in Liu Tiezhu's heart.
"Yaoyao, don't worry. Starting today, your uncle won't let you go hungry. Stay here at home, and I'll go get you something delicious right away."
Liu Tiezhu patted Liu Yaoyao's head, wrapped himself in a cotton-padded jacket, and stepped outside, only to run into his eldest brother, who was about to leave.
"Brother, are you heading into the mountains?"
Liu Tieshan nodded. "Uncle Liu said a group of wild boars showed up in the back hills, some weighing over three hundred jin. I'm planning to go with him and try my luck."
Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu panicked.
"Brother, you can't go into the mountains. A blizzard is coming soon—once you go in, you won't make it out."
"Kid, what nonsense are you talking? How could there be a blizzard in this weather? You stay home and take care of Yaoyao and your sister-in-law. I might even bring back a wild boar tonight."
Liu Tieshan tightened his military overcoat and picked up a rusty iron pitchfork, ready to leave.
Liu Tiezhu snatched the pitchfork from his brother. "Brother, you can't go into the mountains. In three days, a blizzard will hit, and the whole mountain range will be sealed off. You stay home and look after your wife and Yaoyao—I'll go get food."
With that, Liu Tiezhu didn't wait for his brother to refuse. He grabbed the pitchfork and headed toward the bamboo grove behind the house.
In his past life, after his brother's death, he had worked hard and become a mercenary. He had spent decades on battlefields, honing deadly combat skills and wilderness survival expertise. He had planned to return to his homeland for a peaceful retirement, but an accident occurred. His mercenary squad was ambushed, and he died on the battlefield. When he opened his eyes again, he was back thirty years ago.
An hour later, Liu Tiezhu arrived at the bamboo grove behind the outskirts. Looking around, the grove was a vast expanse of white. Aside from the howling, biting wind, there was nothing else.
Liu Tiezhu shrank his neck and slowly walked deeper into the bamboo grove. His goal here was to hunt bamboo chickens. These birds could grow to about two jin when fully mature, with vibrant feathers that were easy to spot in heavy snow. However, bamboo chickens were extremely alert—any slight movement would send them flying away. But for Liu Tiezhu, with decades of wilderness survival experience, hunting them wasn't difficult.
He carefully ventured deeper into the grove and spotted dense claw marks covering the thick snow. Excitement surged through him. He had stumbled upon a flock of bamboo chickens.
Liu Tiezhu rubbed his hands together to get his blood circulating faster, then crouched low and crept forward quietly. The presence of bamboo chicken tracks meant they were nearby.
After a few dozen steps, Liu Tiezhu stopped abruptly, his breathing quickening. Five meters ahead lay a thick layer of withered bamboo leaves, where a flock of bamboo chickens huddled closely together for warmth. Liu Tiezhu counted—twenty-three in total. But five meters was still too far; he wasn't confident he could take them all down. Decades of wilderness experience told him he needed to get within three meters.
Liu Tiezhu steadied his excitement, flattened himself into the snow, blending in with the white expanse, and crawled forward slowly. His entire body shivered from the cold, but for the sake of this meat, he gritted his teeth and endured the bone-chilling cold.
Minutes later, Liu Tiezhu was three meters from the bamboo chickens. He held his breath, slowly aimed the iron pitchfork, and then hurled it swiftly.
*Caw, caw, caw...*
A burst of chicken cries reached his ears, followed by feathers flying everywhere as several bamboo chickens fled in the chaos. Liu Tiezhu quickly got up and rushed over to check the results. The pitchfork had taken down five bamboo chickens—two were pierced through, and the other three were crushed to death by the blow.
Liu Tiezhu pulled out a rope, tied the bamboo chickens together, and chased after the ones that had flown away.
By dusk, Liu Tiezhu emerged from the bamboo grove, panting heavily. In four hours, he had hunted thirty bamboo chickens in total. Together, they weighed dozens of jin, enough to feed the family of four for several days.
By the time he returned to the village, it was already dark. At the doorstep, Liu Tieshan was anxiously looking around, while his sister-in-law, Huang Xiumei, scolded him for letting Liu Tiezhu go to the bamboo grove alone. In this weather, getting lost could lead to disaster.
"Brother, sister-in-law, I'm back."
Just as the couple was tense with worry, Liu Tiezhu's shout put them at ease.
"Good to have you back. There's sweet potato porridge left in the pot for you—go have some."
Huang Xiumei said as she walked toward Liu Tiezhu. In the darkness, she didn't notice the bamboo chickens slung over his back. When she got closer and saw them, she gasped.
"Ba... bamboo chickens... Tieshan..."
Liu Tieshan came over and quickly covered his wife's mouth. In these times, if you had food at home, you had to keep it hidden, or you'd attract thieves.
"Let's talk inside."
Liu Tieshan took the bamboo chickens and the pitchfork, motioned for them to come in, and quickly locked the courtyard gate.
Staring at the thirty bamboo chickens, Liu Tieshan couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Uncle is amazing! I want to eat chicken!"
Yaoyao's lively eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands happily.
Liu Tiezhu patted Yaoyao's head, his face full of affection.
"Brother, kill five and cook them for Yaoyao. As for the rest, kill them and store them in the cellar."
Liu Tieshan quickly waved his hand. "No way. We need to sell these bamboo chickens to save up for your bride price."
Liu Tiezhu replied, "Don't worry about the bride price. Yaoyao is growing up and needs proper nutrition. There are plenty more bamboo chickens—once I get my gear ready tomorrow, I'll hunt even more. It's going to snow heavily for a long time, so we can't let anyone know about our food, or it'll cause trouble."
If he remembered correctly, the snow would keep falling, growing heavier and heavier, eventually leading to a great famine. To survive, the villagers would band together and resort to robbery and murder.