Arriving at Shen Wei's house, Shen Wei carried the food and headed toward the east room.
Since Shen Wei wasn't home, there was no one to cook for the elderly and the children, so they wouldn't be able to eat.
However, in Northeast China nowadays, most households only ate two meals: one around 10:00 AM and another around 3:00 PM!
There was no other reason for this besides saving grain!
Any other explanations, like finding cooking too troublesome or not having enough time, were all nonsense—just excuses to save grain!
It was just that everyone cared about face; they weren't willing to admit their families were poor, so they were simply saving face for one another.
Living in the same village, who didn't know what everyone else's situation was like?
But mountain hunters were different. They had to eat three meals because they entered the mountains too early and returned very late; besides, a little extra food didn't make a difference!
After settling the old and the young, Shen Wei walked out of the east room and closed the door behind her.
Perhaps she knew, or was perhaps hoping, for what was about to happen!
Following Wang An to the west room, Wang An had just finished pouring various meats out of the sacks.
He turned around, and instantly his mouth hung half-open, his eyes widened, and he was too shocked to speak!
Was she this proactive? More importantly, this speed was incredible! This was way too fast!
At this moment, Shen Wei was already completely naked, standing on the quilt of the *kang* bed, shivering from the cold!
The quilt was very old, covered in various colored patches, but it was exceptionally clean!
This woman was truly excellent when it came to managing a household!
In fact, most women of this era were like this; the phrase "diligent and thrifty in managing the home" applied to them without any fault!
The main reason was that Shen Wei had been helping out at Wang An's house all day and hadn't had time to heat the *kang*, otherwise she wouldn't be freezing like this!
After the initial shock, Wang An naturally wouldn't let her keep freezing.
Wang An was young, so his internal fire was strong, and he wasn't particularly sensitive to the cold.
He immediately stripped off his clothes and used his warm embrace to provide warmth to Shen Wei.
In a short while, the sounds of a mountain beast being driven out—panting heavily from exhaustion—could be heard.
After a long time, all sound ceased!
And then, the sound of the two of them chatting.
"Why is it so big here?"
"I don't know. It was fine before, but after Lai-jie arrived, it grew again."
"What have you and Xueqing been talking about?"
"About you, of course. She already knows about us. How could you be so careless?"
"She didn't scratch you? I noticed you two seem to be getting along quite well?"
"Xueqing isn't that kind of person. Besides, I don't affect you guys!"
"So she didn't scold you?"
"No. She said there isn't a cat that doesn't sniff around, and besides, you've already confessed to her! But in all my life, including before I went to the countryside, I've never seen anyone as perfect as Xueqing in every aspect!"
"That's my wife, of course! If you hadn't seduced me, I wouldn't have bothered with you!"
"Hmph!"
"What are you huffing at? Hmm?"
"Nothing! ~ Mm-hmm! Here we go again."
"I'll give you something to huff!"
"Go easy..."
"No."
"Aiya!"
"Come, turn over."
"Oh, okay."
A crisp *pa* sound rang out!...
...Game over!
Wang An put his clothes back on and looked at the naked Shen Wei. Although this woman's figure and looks weren't as good as Shen Wei's, she truly was a temptress!
Mainly, she was extremely obedient; she did whatever she was told and never resisted!
Even when it came to playing the trumpet—though she had never learned and had no musical talent—once she got the hang of it, she could play in tune!
Walking out of Shen Wei's house, Wang An strolled toward the small shop. That was just how it was in this era; the small shop in every village would attract a large crowd of villagers!
People playing cards, bystanders watching the excitement, and people bragging and boasting!
In any case, in the Northeast winter, basically every household had no work and nothing to do! Thus, a large group of idle people appeared!
On the road, Wang An casually greeted the villagers. Although Wang An's reputation as a "Big Rogue" was loud, no one had heard of him bullying people or scheming against them in the village, so no one feared him!
Of course, Wang An never considered himself a "Big Rogue." He always felt that although he wasn't a good man, he had a strong sense of justice and was always eliminating pests for the people!
As soon as he entered the shop, the interior was no different from a *kang* hole—filled with smoke, everything was a hazy blue!
There were many people there: playing poker, playing old cards, and a table playing mahjong. This small shop had originally been an Anti-Japanese United Army command post, so the area wasn't small, about 150 to 160 square meters. Of course, it was actually just a single-room earthen house without partitions; after peace was established, the command post was disbanded.
Therefore, in Kaoshan Village, this small shop could be considered a landmark, and its location was right in the middle of the village.
Basically, all the gossip and various news spread from here.
Wang An's purpose for coming here today was very simple: to see if he could hear any news about black bears, brown bears, or sika deer and other prey.
His old uncle Feng Chengmin was right: wild boars and Siberian roe deer were truly not worth much every day; he had to find a way to hunt something valuable!
Coincidentally, two hunters, Lyu Deshu and Zhang Tiegang, were also at the shop, likely there to listen for news! Xu Laonian, Tan Shunyi, and a man surnamed Zhang—the five of them were playing *Zha Jin Hua*.
Wang An stood to the side as a bystander, watching them play while listening to the group talking in the room.
After listening for a long time, he didn't hear a single useful thing; it was all various forms of boasting and nonsense.
At this time, seeing that Wang An had been standing to the side, Xu Laonian spoke up: "Little An, want to join a hand? More people makes it lively, and the stakes aren't big."
Wang An was quite familiar with various gambling methods, and he even knew some simple cheating tricks.
They weren't playing big, but they weren't playing small either. The ante was 1 cent, the cap was 5 cents, the reveal was 10 cents, and a "Leopard" (three of a kind) swept the pot. Everyone also had to give the person who drew a Leopard 5 cents in "joy money"!
The surrounding villages basically played this way too.
Wang An thought about it and agreed. He went to the shop owner, Ding Wanbing, to buy a pack of Changbaishan cigarettes, broke some small change, pulled up a stool, and sat by the table.
Wang An had money in his pocket, but not much—about 30 yuan, which was the money from selling that living roe deer in the county town the other day.
The money was in his cotton coat pocket; he had forgotten to take it out when he paid the money for Mu Xueqing. It wasn't that he was intentionally keeping "private funds"; with Wang An's personality, he didn't need to be intentional to keep money!
And so, after smoking a round of cigarettes, Wang An played with the other five people absentmindedly. Cheating was out of the question; in such a small setting, it wasn't worth the trouble.
After playing for a while, Wang An kept losing money. Eventually, he stopped looking at his cards and just played "blind"!
Playing blind meant that after the cards were dealt, you didn't look at them and went straight to the bet. In this situation, the previous bet was 2 cents; if others looked at their cards, the bet would be 5 cents.
If it went down to the last two people and the opponent looked at their cards, the blind player could pay 4 cents to see the opponent's cards, while the opponent would have to pay 10 cents to see the blind player's cards. It mostly relied on luck!
Just like that, he played for a while longer, but playing blind was useless; Wang An was still losing. Even if he went blind with a straight flush, he still lost. Most importantly, he hadn't heard any news!
Having no other choice, Wang An started "buying small."
Buying small meant spending 3 cents to throw directly into the pot, and then everyone compared small cards; whoever had the smaller hand won!
Surprisingly, Wang An was actually right about buying small. Consequently, he bought small every time and began winning money. He even drew a "Leopard 3"—a Leopard that wins regardless of size—and not only did he win, but he also collected the joy money!
Just as Wang An had won about ten yuan, he finally heard the news he had come to the shop to hear today: news of a large brown bear!