The winter mountains were a vast expanse of white. Wu Jun wandered slowly at the foot of the slopes, his hands tucked together for warmth. He was already regretting running off so fast earlier – his ears must be freezing by now. But turning back wasn’t an option either; he couldn’t face those gossiping villagers just yet.
At sixteen, Wu Jun stood 1.7 meters tall with a straight, slender frame like a young white poplar. His skin was fair and delicate, taking after his mother’s refined features. In an era of scarcity, the fact that he hadn’t ended up lean and gaunt like the other villagers was thanks to being an only child – whatever good food there was always went to him first.
Wu Jun made his way up the mountain, picking up fallen branches as he went. Fresh snow had just fallen, so there was nothing to forage, and hardly anyone was around. After walking for a while, he grew tired. In the distance stood a large birch tree with a straight, upright trunk. Wu Jun headed toward it, intending to rest.
Just as he was about to lay some branches on the ground to sit on, he noticed a small lump of something. He poked it with a stick – soft, with a slight twitch. Leaning in for a closer look, he saw it was a little gray rabbit. Frozen stiff, most likely. The rabbit was quite large, curled up into a ball. Wu Jun reached out, grabbed it by the ears, and hefted it. Wow – it must weigh at least 1.5 kilograms.
Wu Jun burst out laughing. Stepping out and immediately finding meat – he felt incredibly lucky. But carrying it back like this wouldn’t be safe. If the villagers saw it, there would be gossip. The village rules stated that any game caught in the mountains had to be split equally with the village if the amount was small; for larger hauls, a village meeting was required. Otherwise, it would be considered stealing from the state, since the mountains were state property. Of course, no one cared about wild vegetables or dead branches.
After thinking it over, Wu Jun hid the rabbit under a pile of branches he’d tied up with hemp rope and carried the bundle down the mountain on his back. He couldn’t stop grinning to himself the whole way.
He made it home around 11 a.m. The weather was bitterly cold, so few people were out. The villagers he did pass saw only the branches on his back and asked with a smile: “Junzi, you went out gathering firewood today? Running low at home? It’s freezing out there!”
Wu Jun gave vague, noncommittal answers while quickly slipping inside. Grandpa Wu was sitting in the main hall, weaving corn husk mats.
“Junzi, you went to the mountain? What took you so long? Grandpa told you, we have enough firewood. If you need more, your uncle can bring some over. You just recovered – you shouldn’t stay out so long.”
“It’s fine, Grandpa. I’m all better now. I can’t trouble Uncle for everything. And look – I found a rabbit on the mountain.” He untied the rope and pulled out the rabbit. The animal had been jostled during the trip back and looked barely alive.
Seeing the rabbit, Grandpa Wu’s eyes lit up. He smiled and said, “You’re a lucky boy. Found a big rabbit. When your grandmother gets back tonight from your aunt’s place, I’ll make braised rabbit for everyone.”
Just thinking about Grandpa’s braised rabbit made Wu Jun swallow hard. It had been nearly ten years since he’d last tasted it. In his previous life, Grandpa had passed away when Wu Jun was twenty-five. By the time he died at thirty-three, he hadn’t had rabbit meat even once.
“Grandpa, I’ll prepare the rabbit first.”
Wu Jun set the firewood aside by the kitchen, took the rabbit to the well in the yard, and began skinning it. The pelt could be taken to Old Man Wu in the village, who would tan it for ten eggs. Then it could be sold at the purchasing station for cash. Wu Jun decided to keep this pelt and try to make a pair of knee pads for Grandma. Her legs had suffered from cold damage when she was young, and now she could barely stand it when the weather turned cold. This time, her leg pain had required treatment at the county hospital, which was why she’d been staying at Aunt’s house for the past few days.
Lost in these thoughts, Wu Jun finished preparing the rabbit, chopped it into 5-centimeter cubes, and marinated it with salt and chili peppers.
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