These pheasants hadn't flown far, landing on thorny trees just a dozen meters away. Liu Tiezhu wasn't in a hurry; as he chased the pheasants, he kept an eye on the foothold traps beneath his feet. The pheasants' feathers were brightly colored, standing out sharply against the snowy backdrop.
After taking a dozen steps in pursuit, Liu Tiezhu pulled the trigger of his compound crossbow. The bamboo arrow shot out, and the pheasant immediately fell to the ground. The remaining pheasants, startled, took flight again. Liu Tiezhu remained calm, retrieved the killed pheasant, and continued advancing toward the birds.
Just then, Er Gouzi caught up. "Gouzi, leave these game birds here for now. We need to change our strategy. You go right, and we'll flank them from both sides—that'll be faster. And watch out for the foothold traps," Liu Tiezhu reminded, then headed left.
The two split up, one left and one right, surrounding the thorny grove and hunting until dusk fell. There were so many pheasants in the grove that the more they hunted, the more excited they became. They only stopped when they heard Second Uncle and Big Brother calling out. By then, the snow had stopped, but the cold was still bone-piercing.
Seeing the mountain of pheasants piled up, Second Uncle and Big Brother stood stunned for a long while, unable to snap out of it. Though they'd heard Er Gouzi say last night that there were hundreds of pheasants in the thorny grove, the visual impact of seeing hundreds of them right before their eyes still hit them hard. "Did you two wipe out all the pheasants in the thorny grove?" Second Uncle grinned, stuffing pheasants into burlap sacks as he laughed. Last night, he'd worried about two extra mouths to feed and not enough food. Now, with thousands of pounds of pheasant meat, the weight on his mind could finally be lifted.
Liu Tiezhu said, "We'll come back tomorrow. I reckon there's more in the cassava field below the thorny grove." While hunting these pheasants, he'd heard constant rustling from the cassava patch, likely hiding more game. Hearing this, Second Uncle and Big Brother grinned again.
The thousands of pounds of pheasants were quickly loaded into sacks as darkness fully set in. The temperature plummeted, and as soon as they stopped moving, everyone couldn't help shivering. Big Brother brought over a mule pulling a wooden cart and loaded the sacks onto it. This scene sparked an idea in Liu Tiezhu's mind.
"Brother, where'd you get the mule?" "From Brother Tian's place. Why?" Liu Tieshan said. "Perfect, this mule will be a huge help," Liu Tiezhu said excitedly. He'd been worrying about how to transport the game they'd catch when venturing deeper into the mountains. With this mule, it could handle the hauling. Mules had great endurance, and their strength was no less than a horse's. With enough fodder, hauling thousands of pounds of meat per trip would be no problem.
Liu Tiezhu's sudden excitement baffled Liu Tieshan. "Tiezhu, what else can this thing do besides haul stuff? You're not thinking of training it to hunt for you, are you?" Second Uncle and Er Gouzi perked up at this. The idea of training a dog to hunt was novel to them, but they'd never heard of training a mule to help hunt.
"Brother, this mule can indeed help with hunting. Not by tracking prey, but by transporting the game," Liu Tiezhu said, not beating around the bush as he explained his idea. In his past life as a mercenary, on harsh battlefields where vehicles couldn't deliver supplies, the unit would pick sturdy horses to transport goods to designated spots. After training, those horses didn't need a handler—they'd deliver the supplies on their own. Mules, being a cross between a horse and a donkey, were no less intelligent than horses. They weren't as fast as horses, but he didn't need speed; he needed endurance. Deep in the mountains, with no real paths, without enough stamina, it was hard to keep hauling. The mule's unique advantage was its endurance—it could pull thousands of pounds of cargo for hours without issue.
Liu Tieshan said, "Tiezhu, I didn't get much schooling, so don't try to fool me. Can this thing really be trained? Brother Tian said it's stubborn as hell and was planning to butcher it for jerky." Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu got anxious. "Brother, don't let Brother Tian kill this mule. I have a way to train it. We'll need it for going deep into the mountains."
Second Uncle pulled a bottle of *shaodaozi* liquor from his cotton coat and handed it to Liu Tiezhu. "Don't worry, Tiezhu. If this mule is as amazing as you say, I'll talk to Hai Tian when we get back. These thousands of pounds of meat will last us half a year—no need to butcher the mule. Have a drink to warm up. Dinner's ready; let's get this game back and eat."
Liu Tiezhu took the *shaodaozi*, downed a couple of gulps, and passed it to Er Gouzi. Er Gouzi did the same and handed it back to Second Uncle. The sky grew darker, and the temperature dropped faster. No one dared to keep chatting; they quickly loaded the pheasants onto the cart and followed the mule home.
The wooden cart creaked, leaving deep tracks in the thick snow. The mule chewed on its fodder, occasionally puffing out warm breath. Despite hauling thousands of pounds of game, its pace didn't slow at all. Liu Tiezhu held onto the cart's side, carefully observing the mule. He noticed that while it wasn't large, Yang Haitian had raised it well—its endurance and strength were top-notch. With enough fodder, it could still gain a hundred pounds, making it even stronger.
After about forty minutes, they returned to Yang Haitian's home. After unloading the pheasants, Liu Tiezhu led the mule to the shed by the gate and tied it up, waiting until it finished its fodder before heading back to the yard.
Inside the yard, Yang Haitian and his sister stood in shock. In all their lives, they'd never seen so many pheasants. "Tiezhu, Gouzi, how did you manage this?" Yang Haitian asked Liu Tiezhu, puzzled. "Brother Tian, we used these to hunt them. Tiezhu modified them—they can fire six bamboo arrows at once," Er Gouzi said, pulling out the modified compound crossbow to show off before Liu Tiezhu could speak.
Yang Haitian took the crossbow, examined it closely, and gave Liu Tiezhu a thumbs-up. "Tiezhu, you've got a good head on your shoulders. If my sister marries you, she'll never go hungry or lack clothes." At this, Yang Yulan beside him instantly blushed. Her situation with Liu Tiezhu had already been discussed by Second Uncle and Big Brother today. She had no objections to Liu Tiezhu. They knew each other well, so there was nothing to worry about. The only thing left was Liu Tiezhu's opinion. As long as he didn't mind her being older, it was basically settled.
Liu Tiezhu felt awkward too, not expecting Yang Haitian to be so direct. Yang Haitian pressed on, "Tiezhu, about you and Yulan, I've talked it over with Shanzi and Second Uncle. Yulan's fine with it—now it's up to you." "This..." Liu Tiezhu's gaze shifted to Yang Yulan. She lowered her head, suddenly nervous. "I'll go along with what Big Brother and Second Uncle say. But Brother Tian, I have one request—I hope you won't refuse," Liu Tiezhu said after a moment.
Seeing the serious look on Liu Tiezhu's face, the others, who had been happy, felt their hearts tighten again.