Chapter 7: Fang Youyou, This Fatty

“Wasn’t she pestering that educated youth Chen for a while?”

“Educated youth Chen is handsome, and I heard his family often mails him things.”

“Quite a few young girls in our brigade like educated youth Chen.”

The daughter of one of the aunties liked educated youth Chen, but Fang Youyou, that fatty, was always going to find him and pestering him.

“A lot of people have seen Fang Youyou pestering that educated youth Chen.”

There was only one girl that fat in their entire brigade.

“Why did she take those nephews of hers into the mountains?”

“Who knows?”

“Didn’t we hear there were wild boars before?”

“There are wild boars; they’ve rooted up and eaten quite a few sweet potato vines.”

Fang Youyou looked at the somewhat barren mountain.

“Give me the woodcutter’s knife.”

Fang Youyou took the knife and chopped a branch to make a simple slingshot.

If she had a good bow and arrows, she could hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces.

How did Aunt suddenly become so capable?

“Aunt, is this a slingshot?”

He had asked his dad to make him one, but his dad wouldn’t do it and even gave him a beating.

Fang Youyou bent down to pick up a stone from the ground. Her gaze swept across the surroundings, and suddenly spotting a turtledove, she fired at it.

*Snap.*

“She hit it, she hit it!”

“I’ll go pick it up, I’ll go!”

The eldest son of Fang’s second sister-in-law, who was the second child in his family, ran over in a flash, afraid that other children might snatch it up. This was something Aunt had brought down, after all.

It was meat.

Having many people around was useful; he soon came back carrying a turtledove that had been knocked unconscious.

“Aunt, I got it.”

Too thin; there wasn’t much meat on it.

Wild pheasants and wild rabbits had meat.

“Keep moving.”

The few little ones, neither fearing fatigue nor hardship, followed behind Fang Youyou to pick up meat—yes, to pick up meat.

Fang Youyou saw a wild pheasant that had flown up, startled by the noise, and took out her slingshot to aim at it.

“Hurry up and pull some weeds to cover it; don’t let anyone else see.”

Little Aunt was truly amazing; she could actually hit a wild pheasant.

Only Third Uncle had the skill to hit a pheasant; his own dad couldn’t do it.

“Aunt, chestnuts, chestnuts! I’ll climb up and pick them.”

Fang Xiao’er put down his basket and looked at the tree. He hadn’t noticed it before, but they had to pick all these chestnuts.

“No need.”

Fang Youyou pulled Fang Xiao’er back. “You all stand a bit further away.”

The children didn’t quite understand, but they listened to their aunt and immediately stood far away.

The next moment, they saw their aunt shake the tree with great force, and all the burr-covered chestnuts fell down.

“Aunt, you’re so amazing!”

Fang Xiaosan, the second child of Fang’s eldest sister-in-law, also ran over to pick up the chestnuts. Being a precocious little one, he wasn’t afraid of the thorns and used a branch to pry the chestnuts out.

Fang Youyou didn’t help; instead, she looked around again.

Those who live on the mountain live off the mountain; those who live by the sea live off the sea.

This mountain wasn’t very high, but it had plenty of wild fruits and mountain goods.

Not only was the basket filled to the brim, but since there was no more room, the children took off their shirts to carry the chestnuts. In any case, they couldn’t leave the chestnuts Aunt had shaken down behind.

So, when they went down the mountain, Fang Youyou carried the basket, while the few little ones were shirtless, holding bundles wrapped in their clothes.

The commune members watched in amazement.

“Look, the fatty girl is coming.”

The educated youths working nearby immediately started talking as soon as they saw Fang Youyou.

They all knew that this fat daughter of the brigade leader’s family had been clinging to educated youth Zhao ever since he came to the countryside. One day she’d bring him eggs, the next day something else. But educated youth Zhao would accept them without eating them, instead passing them on to the others to eat.