“Village Head, Aunt Chen.”

Worried they might have farm work to attend to in the afternoon and not wanting to take up too much of their time, Shu Wanxiu greeted them briefly before getting straight to the point. She concisely explained the entire situation from beginning to end.

“It’s not like the rabbit’s burrow was built right at our doorstep – I’ve cleared all the grass around the house and never found any wild rabbit nests. And it doesn’t look like it died from illness either. Seeing it die from crashing into our doorstep for no reason, I find it truly unbelievable. After much thought, I speculated that perhaps it was chased and frightened by a hunter during a hunt? Causing it to flee in panic without watching where it was going…”

“We don’t know if anyone in the village hunts, so we came to ask you elders. If this belongs to someone’s hunt, please help return it to them.”

Pang Zhishan rubbed his face a couple of times, fully waking from his drowsiness, then went over to carefully examine the wild rabbit in the basket.

Just as the Shu family girl had said, from its appearance, there was only that one wound on its forehead.

He placed the rabbit back in the basket properly and said, “What return? It wasn’t shot, injured, or caught in a trap by anyone. Since it came to your house on its own and accidentally died from crashing, it belongs to you.”

Having settled the matter, Pang Zhishan drank a bowl of cold water, put on his straw hat, shouldered his farming tools, and went out to tend to his family’s fields.

Shu Wanxiu was stunned. She had imagined several ways Pang Zhishan might handle this, but never expected him to be so decisive, assigning such a large, fat rabbit to her family with just one sentence.

Chen Sanhe came over to help her cover the rabbit with plantain leaves, sincerely congratulating her: “After surviving a great disaster, there will be great blessings. Now that such good fortune comes to you even while staying at home, I think your luck won’t be bad from now on. Take good care of your health and live your days carefully.”

Shu Wanxiu collected herself and expressed her thanks.

Carrying the basket, she was about to turn back to figure out how to handle the rabbit and then bring over a bowl of meat, when Chen Sanhe suddenly remembered something and called out to stop her repeatedly.

“Rabbit fur is valuable – it’s perfect for keeping warm. Don’t go wasting it carelessly.”

“Here’s what you should do: go to the blacksmith shop and find Xun Yi. Besides running the blacksmith shop, he hunts in the mountains during his spare time. He’s the only person in the village who knows how to tan animal hides.”

Their winter clothing and bedding were indeed still unresolved. Shu Wanxiu took the advice and went out, turning a corner as she made her way to the blacksmith shop.

Along the way, they encountered villagers going out to work. Shu Wanxiu led Shu Shouyi in greeting each one.

When someone asked why she was carrying a basket of plantain leaves, she explained that she’d been working under the sun recently and sweat kept getting into her eyes, causing some discomfort, so she was picking some plantain leaves to boil for drinking water.

These were all true – she had indeed drunk plantain leaf boiled water several times over the past couple of days. She just didn’t mention the rabbit hidden beneath the leaves.

Before they knew it, the surrounding houses became fewer, and the faint “ding-ding-dang-dang” sounds of blacksmithing quietly reached their ears.

Last time, Shu Shouyi had been quite afraid when he saw the blacksmith, hiding behind the stove throughout their conversation without daring to come out. Today, since they had to meet him to ask for help, Shu Wanxiu comforted him briefly before leading him closer.

Stopping some distance from the doorway as usual, she called out loudly: “Brother Xun? Are you there?”

The clanging sounds from the forge room ceased after a short while. Shu Wanxiu heard a clear male voice ask, “Who is it?”

Shu Wanxiu paused briefly.

In the past, she would have identified herself as someone’s daughter or someone’s younger sister, but now…

“I’m Shu Wanxiu from the mountain. I need to discuss something with you, Brother Xun.”

Silence lingered inside for a moment.

“Come in.”

The clanging sounds resumed as Shu Wanxiu brushed aside the plantain leaves covering her bamboo basket and led Shu Shouyi inside.

Upon entering the room, the temperature noticeably rose. The tall, sturdy man she remembered stood beside the source of heat a furnace glowing bright red.

Shu Wanxiu glanced at him briefly, relieved to see him fully dressed, then got straight to the point.

“Aunt Chen mentioned you tan animal hides. This noon, a rabbit happened to run into our door and died. I was hoping you could help me tan its hide.”

“I’m not sure what you usually charge for tanning hides. We… can’t offer much in return, but we can give you most of the rabbit’s meat.”

“Would that be acceptable?”

Shu Wanxiu wasn’t skilled at bargaining. On her way here, she had already decided on the maximum she could offer. If the blacksmith wasn’t interested, she planned to apologize for the disturbance and return to the mountain.

The taciturn man looked up calmly, his hands never ceasing their work, and spoke for the first time since she entered. “Lift it up and let me see.”

That indicated interest.

Shu Wanxiu quickly released Shu Shouyi’s hand and, as instructed, held up the rabbit for inspection.

After showing its sides, belly, and back, she noticed him give an almost imperceptible nod.

Just as she hesitated whether to confirm with him, he said, “I don’t need rabbit meat.”

Shu Wanxiu’s grip on the bamboo basket tightened, her heart sinking.

Xun Yi finally set down the hammer he had been wielding and returned the cooled, blade-shaped iron piece to the fiery furnace.

With his back to them, he said, “I need firewood. Cut two camphor trees as thick as a bowl’s mouth on the mountain as payment.”

The terms were good unexpectedly good.

Compared to nourishing meat, a bit of physical labor was nothing.

The problem was…

After a moment’s thought, Shu Wanxiu suggested tentatively, “I don’t have a firewood chopping knife. How about this? Lend me one, and in three days, I’ll cut four trees of that size for you.”

Rather than embarrass herself by borrowing from other villagers, it made sense to ask the man before her.

This time, she received an immediate reply.

“Firewood chopping knife is on the table. Take it yourself.”

Since entering, Shu Wanxiu had avoided looking around after spotting Xun Yi’s location. Now, she carefully observed her surroundings.

As she moved, Shu Shouyi also grew less restrained, and both pairs of eyes scanned the small forge room.

Xun Yi wiped his face with the towel draped over his neck, allowing them to look freely.

Shu Wanxiu noticed that all the ironware in the room whether hanging on the walls, placed on the tables, or piled in baskets was brand new.

The items on the table were smaller tools like sickles and firewood chopping knives, complete with finished handles.

She rarely scratched her head and hesitated before saying, “Is that appropriate? They’re all new. Please give me the old firewood chopping knife you usually use, or tell me where it is so I can fetch it.”