"Yo, Gu Yuan, are you off to chop wood again?"
"I heard you were seriously injured. You must take care!"
When Gu Yuan returned to Gu Family Village with firewood on his back, some neighbors greeted him. Gu Yuan smiled and replied while hurrying home.
Watching Gu Yuan leave, many people silently marveled at his resilience, and some sighed.
"I heard old Gu sold all the family's winter food supply to treat Gu Yuan's injuries?"
"Yes!"
"It looks like this winter will be tough for this family of three!"
"Alas, times are hard for everyone. Even the landowners have no extra grain..."
Not far away, Dong Gui and Sun Er were also observing Gu Yuan, whispering to each other.
"This kid truly went to chop wood."
"He's downright foolish, can't even fill his stomach but still goes to chop wood instead of finding work... at this rate, he'll starve sooner or later!"
"Alright, let's not worry about him. Let's head to town later and buy half a pound of braised meat for our drink tonight!"
"Drinks? Great, great! Brother Gui, you're very generous!"
...
However, Dong Gui and Sun Er didn't notice Gu Yuan glance back at them with a cold smile on his lips.
When he got home, Gu Father and Gu Mother had already returned. Seeing Gu Yuan with firewood, the two elders were both surprised and astonished.
"Child, your injuries haven't healed, why are you chopping wood?"
Gu Mother scolded, "Old man, hurry and take the firewood."
"Wait!"
Gu Father was just about to take the firewood when Gu Yuan stopped him:
"Dad, Mom, bring this inside first, keep it quiet, don't let anyone know."
Saying this, he pulled a bulging cloth bag from the firewood and handed it to Gu Father.
The family of three went inside.
Gu Father opened the bag and was shocked, his eyes wide as he hurriedly looked at Gu Yuan and instinctively lowered his voice, "So much grain! Son, where did you get this?"
"Son, we mustn't do anything dangerous!"
Gu Mother, though delighted, expressed some concern.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry, I dug this grain from a field mouse's nest."
Gu Yuan reassured them, taking out a few roasted field mice from his pocket, and explained, "Today, when chopping wood, I met a hunter who took pity on me and taught me some hunting and tracking skills... I tried them out, and they were really useful!"
Gu Yuan didn't plan to tell his parents about his beast taming ability.
It's not that he didn't trust them; a secret is only a secret if only one person knows it.
The more people who know, the less of a secret it becomes, and the more chance there is of exposure!
And for the two elders, it might not exactly be a good thing.
So he concocted a story to pass it off.
Seeing the mouse meat and smelling it, the two elders were indeed thrilled.
Gu Father swallowed his saliva, "As they say, a great disaster leads to good fortune. Indeed, my son is blessed!"
"But don't spread this news, or it will stir up envy! And to be safe, we can't store all this grain in one barrel; we have to hide it."
He pondered and said:
"Otherwise, everyone knows our family is short on food. If someone discovers it, it's hard to explain."
"Old woman, and you, keep helping others with laundry for now to avoid arousing suspicion."
Gu Mother glared at him, "I don't need you to remind me!"
Nevertheless, with Gu Yuan's contributions, the family was overjoyed, no longer plagued by previous gloom.
Dinner was more sumptuous than usual, with salted dried radish, mouse meat, and even thicker porridge.
With Gu Yuan's earnest persuasion, the elders each ate a mouse, stubbornly refusing to eat more, leaving the last two for Gu Yuan.
In their words: "We two old ones don't need to eat this well. Gu Yuan, you're still growing, and with your injuries not healed, you should replenish your body!"
...
In the following days, Gu Yuan frequently went out to chop wood, but in reality, he used it as an excuse to secretly dig up field mouse nests and mountain rodent dens, with almost daily gains.
Compared to humans, Ah Huang, a small-sized mountain rodent, clearly did not easily alert the forest beasts.
So sometimes Gu Yuan used Ah Huang to scout ahead, crafted simple traps with fine hemp ropes, and even caught pheasants, wild rabbits, and snakes, enriching the family's diet with more meat and oil.
Notably, when Gu Yuan caught a venomous snake, intending to tame it, the attribute panel informed him that he wasn't qualified to tame a second pet for some unknown reason.
After over ten days, Gu Yuan's wounds were almost fully healed, leaving only some rather frightening scars.
At seventeen, he was the age to grow.
Thanks to being well-fed, even eating meat regularly, Gu Yuan's once skinny figure had filled out and strengthened considerably, with his sallow complexion turning rosy.
Now that his body was healed, Gu Yuan planned to venture into the mountains, catch some wild animals to sell in town.
Earning money was secondary; mainly, he needed to visit town to inquire about martial arts training.
Speaking of which, Gu Yuan was quite interested in cultivating Martial Arts in this world, as it was said to grant the strength to tear apart tigers and leopards, and even transform one's being, achieving the Extraordinary to Saint!
Gu Yuan suspected that perhaps only by training in Martial Arts could he tame a second, or even more, pets!
Additionally, Gu Yuan intended to find an opportunity to come into contact with some ancient objects to gain "Dao Rhyme Points" for Ah Huang's evolution and upgrade.
Since he couldn't tame a second pet for now, he'd think of ways to advance Ah Huang.
By that time, he might gain the talent of the Iron-toothed Rat. But he wondered, what would the Iron-toothed Rat's talent be?
...
As winter advanced, the weather grew colder.
One chilly morning, Gu Yuan donned warm clothing, took some dry food, grabbed a hatchet, and tucked Ah Huang into his jacket before heading out the door.
At the village entrance, watching Gu Yuan's departing figure, Dong Gui frowned.
"Has Gu Yuan gone mad, heading to chop wood every day?"
"Yes, Brother Gui, it's strange. Old Wu from the village can't even fill his stomach, surviving on a bowl of thin porridge, unable to walk from hunger."
Sun Er scratched his head, puzzled:
"Yet, this kid's complexion is improving, and he still has the energy to chop wood daily. It doesn't seem like he's starving at all. Do you think he's up to something shady every day?"
"You're not wrong. This kid acts so mysteriously; there's definitely something fishy!"
The more Dong Gui thought, the more suspicious he became. His eyes flickered as he mused, "We must find out, or if Steward Wu finds we've shirked our duty and blames us, neither of us could bear it."
...