Fox Friends, Dog Companions

Perhaps because of the skills that had formed on the panel, Li Chengfeng felt as though his stomach had become a bottomless pit.

There had been a full eight jin of meat stripped from that fat bamboo rat. Aside from the little over one jin Liu Yuniang had eaten, he had devoured all the rest by himself before finally feeling full.

After eating all that, warmth spread through his body, so comfortable that it made him drowsy.

"Chengfeng, I haven't eaten this full in a long time. There was even meat."

Liu Yuniang had eaten her fill as well. After clearing away the bowls and chopsticks and fetching water for herself and Li Chengfeng to wash their feet, she climbed onto the bed and lay beside him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Happiness filled her eyes as she spoke, but after finishing, a hint of anxiety surfaced between her brows. "But it wasn't easy for us to eat our fill. You risked your life going into the mountains to hunt for this. Promise me you won't go drinking and gambling with those old friends of yours anymore, all right?"

Li Chengfeng, who had been a little sleepy, froze when he heard Liu Yuniang's words.

Only then did he remember that the original owner of this body, a humble short-term laborer, had struggled to earn even a little money. Not only had he failed to live properly, but whenever he got a bit of cash, he had the habit of going drinking and gambling.

Poor as dirt, yet instead of getting his life together, he had picked up bad habits. Li Chengfeng was speechless. This guy had really been useless.

But then he thought about how this body had the exact same name and appearance as he had before crossing over. Perhaps this was simply another version of himself in another world. At once, he felt a little awkward.

"Don't worry, Yu Niang. I know what matters. Hunting isn't easy. Even if I have money, I won't go drinking, much less gambling."

Li Chengfeng wrapped an arm around Liu Yuniang's shoulders and comforted her.

There was only one bed in their home, so he and Liu Yuniang slept together every night. In the past, though, Liu Yuniang had always kept to her own side. Today, she had taken the initiative to come sleep beside him.

A lone man and a lone woman sharing the same blanket—it was rather ambiguous.

But the situation was tense. They could not even be sure of having enough to eat, and Li Chengfeng felt a heavy sense of crisis. Coupled with the exhaustion in his body, he truly could not summon the slightest thought of man-woman matters.

Men actually needed a sense of security the most. When there was danger, tension, and pressure, there was no way to get worked up in that regard, nor could one get into the mood.

So Li Chengfeng merely held Liu Yuniang by the shoulders and comforted her. He did not do anything else.

As for after his body had recovered, when they were full and stable and things at home were better... Li Chengfeng would definitely make sure Yu Niang lived a comfortable, good life.

"Alright, Chengfeng. I believe you."

Hearing Li Chengfeng's words, Liu Yuniang's lips curled into a smile. Then she softly leaned against his shoulder and spoke gently, "Then I won't go out to work tomorrow. We can sell the two wild geese at home and trade them for some grain and salt at the market. Meat alone won't do without grain."

"If you catch more prey in the future, we'll trade it for two bolts of cloth and buy two shoe soles. I'll make clothes and shoes for you."

"If you can't catch much prey, then we'll eat it ourselves first. If there isn't even enough for us to eat, then I'll go out to work again..."

Liu Yuniang quietly made her plans, her face brimming with anticipation for their future life, radiant with light.

She had once been a married woman, but she had never lived a life as hopeful as this one. As she looked forward to the future, an unexpectedly tender, feminine expression appeared between her brows.

But eating her fill had made her terribly sleepy, and she was already exhausted. As she spoke, she gradually drifted into a deep sleep without realizing it.

Feeling the affection of the woman in his arms, Li Chengfeng was deeply moved. Yet beneath that emotion lay a weight in his heart.

His desire to kill Liu Hong grew even stronger.

Liu Hong isn't the only problem. Master Zheng is trouble too.

As thoughts churned through Li Chengfeng's mind, he silently closed his eyes and went to sleep after Liu Yuniang had drifted off.

"..."

The next morning.

Liu Yuniang woke early. She brushed her teeth with a willow twig, plucked a wild chicken, and cooked it into meat porridge.

Li Chengfeng got up a little later, but he quickly brushed his teeth as well, checked on the cured bamboo rat hide, and sat down to eat once the meat porridge was ready.

After breakfast, he reminded Liu Yuniang to lock the door and stay safely at home alone. Carrying the bamboo rat hide and two wild geese, while leaving the other wild chicken at home to eat, he set out for the market with his bow on his back under Liu Yuniang's hopeful gaze, intending to sell the goods and exchange them for some grain and salt.

Their home was not far from the market.

Following the original owner's memories, Li Chengfeng went to the most suitable place and sold the two wild geese, the wild chicken, and the bamboo rat hide, receiving three qian and a half of silver.

He used the silver to buy one dou of rice and one jin of coarse salt, then exchanged all the remaining silver for copper coins. He bought some vegetables and still had four hundred copper coins left.

Li Chengfeng threaded the four hundred copper coins onto an iron wire and hid them among the grain, his heart brimming with delight.

Sure enough, working for others will never make you rich. One trip into the mountains to hunt earned enough to support us for over two months. Even if I can eat more now because my body awakened the panel, it'll still last more than a month!

Feeling content, Li Chengfeng tested the weight of the more than one dou of rice on his back, along with the jin of coarse salt and the copper coins. A strange glint flashed through his eyes.

Compared with his condition before he had been knocked unconscious, after one night and yesterday's meal, along with the effects of the skill, it seemed that he had already recovered the physical strength he possessed before being struck down!

"Broken bones and torn muscles take a hundred days to heal, yet I recovered this well in a single night. The skill's effects really are miraculous!"

Li Chengfeng's heart thumped. Unable to suppress his joy, he happily hugged his things and headed home.

"Huh? Isn't that Li Chengfeng? Good grief, did this guy really sell his wife to get rich? He actually bought so much stuff to take home."

As he passed an intersection on his way back, two youths walking together in patched cloth jackets noticed Li Chengfeng at once. Seeing the grain on his back, one of them, with a little fuzz on his upper lip, could not help speaking up.

"Must be true. Otherwise, Liu Hong just robbed him of all his money. Where would he get the money to buy so much grain?"

The other youth, taller and thinner, could not help chiming in. As they spoke, the two unconsciously pulled each other toward Li Chengfeng and called out to him.

"Li Chengfeng! Li Chengfeng..."

As the two called and approached, Li Chengfeng, who had been walking back along the street, heard someone calling his name and could not help turning around. He saw one tall and one short youth, both around his age, walking toward him.

Searching through his memories, he recalled that these two also worked as short-term laborers for the Zheng Family. His brows lifted as he waited for them to come closer.

"Li Chengfeng, I heard Master Zheng has taken a fancy to your brother's unwed wife. You've struck it rich now, huh? Why not go have a drink together to celebrate?"

The shorter youth on the left grinned broadly at Li Chengfeng.

"Hehe, now that we've got money in hand, let's go try our luck at the gambling house again and win back everything we lost before!"

The taller youth also chuckled, his eyes filled with excitement.

Li Chengfeng frowned slightly and shook his head calmly. "No. I have things to do at home, so I'll be going first."

With that, Li Chengfeng directly left with his belongings under the two men's stunned gazes.

"You've got money, but you're not going to have a little fun? What's wrong with this guy? Did he suddenly grow a conscience?"

"Forget it, let him do as he pleases. Come on, come on, let's go drink our own wine."

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