Hao Yansen also smiled, and after releasing the rabbit, he walked back with Mo Jun hand in hand.
The rabbit, upon gaining its freedom, zipped back into its hole with a whoosh.
Mo Jun, carrying mushrooms, walked back hand in hand with Hao Yansen.
By this time, the sky had darkened, and standing atop the mountain, one could see many households lighting their cooking fires, and plenty of parents loudly calling their children home for dinner.
Such a pastoral tableau inexplicably brought tears to Mo Jun’s eyes.
She squeezed Hao Yansen’s hand and said, "Why do I find this so touching?"
Actually, she didn’t even know how to describe the feeling, just that her heart felt very comfortable, very pure, as if something beautiful had filled it.
"Have you never seen such a life?" Hao Yansen looked deeply into her eyes.
Mo Jun nodded, "Mhm, I’ve never seen it. But I really like it..."
"Then let’s properly experience it for the next few days."
"Sure!" Mo Jun nodded, then looked at the pheasant he was carrying and said, "Let’s release it too. At this time, everyone should be going home for dinner, it must have children or family to take care of, and I feel a bit guilty about eating it."
Hao Yansen’s lips curved slightly, "If we release it, you won’t even have chicken to stew with mushrooms."
"Then let’s just have mushrooms!"
"Alright..." Hao Yansen laughed and released the wild pheasant as well.
When they got home, Mo Jun regretted her decision, "We really only have mushrooms, how are we going to eat?"
It wasn’t possible to live on mushroom soup, that definitely wouldn’t be satisfying.
Hao Yansen didn’t blame her at all and simply proposed, "Do you agree to trade the mushrooms for some food?"
"Trade for what?" Mo Jun asked expectantly.
"Don’t know, but we can try."
"Great! I’ll go with you!" Mo Jun excitedly headed out the door with him, but she also felt a tad nervous, uncertain of what the mushrooms could be exchanged for.
The mushrooms weren’t worth much, right? They probably couldn’t trade for much...
Hao Yansen decided to approach a nearby house and knocked on their door.
The door was opened by a young woman with somewhat tanned skin, who was startled to see the two of them, and instinctively asked with courtesy, "May I help you with something?"
Mo Jun smiled as politely as she could, "Hello, sorry to disturb you. It’s , we live in that house over there, but we don’t have anything to eat at home, only these mushrooms, so we were wondering if we could trade these mushrooms for some food from you? We don’t need much, just enough for one meal would be great."
The woman, hearing her words, looked even more puzzled. The two of them didn’t look like bad people, and they were quite good-looking too – could they be big stars from the city here to film a TV show in the countryside?
There have been quite a few such shows recently, right?
The woman looked around, but didn’t see any cameras...
Still, she kindly said, "Come in, please. We’re just having dinner. If you don’t mind, you can join us."
"Wow, thank you! I really appreciate it!" Mo Jun said with delight.
Then she and Hao Yansen entered their house, only to find that it was just her and a middle-aged woman dining inside.
Their meal was very simple: just two stir-fried green vegetables under a dim overhead light.
The woman served them both a bowl of rice and urged them to eat without reserve. Mo Jun and Hao Yansen both ate without any complaints, quite comfortably.
"Is it just you and your mother-in-law at home?" Mo Jun asked the young woman curiously.