Chapter 23: I Have Set My Sights on Li Xiaowan

“Who?!”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guixiang immediately perked up.

This was a matter concerning her future daughter-in-law; she was eager to know the answer, her eyes fixed intently on Lin Yang.

Lin Yang smiled brightly, his face radiant with happiness, his grin as warm as sunlight: “It’s Li Xiaowan, the eldest daughter of Uncle Li’s family. I’ve had my eye on her for a long time, I just hadn’t realized it before.”

“That’s wonderful news!” Zhao Guixiang couldn’t help but slap her thigh excitedly and exclaim.

Her simple-minded son had finally come to his senses.

She had always been particularly fond of Li Xiaowan.

The girl had grown up alongside her son—obedient and sensible, gentle yet strong-willed. She took great care of her three younger sisters and was clearly someone who knew how to manage a household. She would make the perfect daughter-in-law.

“You little rascal, you better not be lying to your old mother. Are you really interested in Li Xiaowan, Uncle Li’s eldest daughter? If you dare to deceive me, I’ll break your legs.”

“If you truly like her, I’ll go to Aunt Li’s house right now and discuss it. At worst, we’ll treat Uncle Li like a father and be like his son.”

“Besides, it’s not far away. I’m just worried Uncle Li might not be too pleased, so you have to behave well and make him see you in a new light.”

Zhao Guixiang finished her sentence with emphasis.

She didn’t want to dampen her son’s enthusiasm; as long as he stopped obsessing over that Sun family girl, everything else would be manageable.

Lin Yang nodded hurriedly, pecking like a chick: “Mom, I really like Xiaowan. And you don’t know, that girl’s eyes are all on me too! I figured, instead of chasing after someone I like, why not find someone who likes me?”

“Besides, your son isn’t a heartless man. If I marry Xiaowan, I’ll hold her like a precious treasure, afraid to drop her, cherish her like the finest delicacy, never letting her suffer a single grievance.”

Zhao Guixiang’s eyes narrowed into slits with a smile full of satisfaction: “Good. I’ll go talk to Aunt Li and feel out her thoughts.”

Lin Yang breathed a silent sigh of relief as the topic shifted successfully.

He knew well that buying all those supplies from the cooperative wasn’t cheap; his mother had surely done the math before approaching him.

If he hadn’t steered the conversation away, a beating was inevitable today.

At this moment, his mind was still occupied with the lynx.

Knowing that creature was roaming nearby, he couldn’t easily give up the opportunity.

Lynxes generally wouldn’t attack humans unless they were starving.

In the resource-rich Greater Khingan Mountains, the lynx, as the second-ranked predator, would only be starving for two reasons:

Either it was injured and unable to hunt effectively,

Or it was old and no longer agile enough to catch prey, forcing it to take risks.

No matter which, Lin Yang thought it was worth a try.

After all, a complete lynx pelt could be worth over a thousand yuan!

That would be a significant fortune for him, enough to plan for a better future.

Before dawn, while the first rays of sunlight still struggled through the mist, Lin Yang was already busy in the yard.

Clutching pliers tightly, he twisted iron wire with all his might, focused on crafting a trap.

The wire gradually bent under his hands, taking shape as an animal snare.

By mid-afternoon, when the sun began to tilt westward and the sky darkened, Lin Yang, despite his exhaustion, hurried upstream toward the river.

With the magical prey-locking skill granted by the system, he placed each trap precisely where turtles or other prey might appear.

Fortunately, he had caught a snow hare earlier, using its entrails as bait inside the traps.

By the time he returned home, the moon was already high in the night sky.

His hands felt leaden with fatigue, barely able to grip chopsticks.

He ate a few mouthfuls of leftover rice hastily, then dragged his heavy body onto the kang bed, quickly falling into dreams filled with hopes for tomorrow’s catch.

Before dawn the next day, just as the village rooster crowed sharply, Lin Yang leapt from the warm kang like a battle horn had sounded.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he splashed cold water on his face to clear his mind, then eagerly grabbed his net and sprinted upstream.

When he reached his destination, a frown creased his brow.

Eight traps he had placed in the river were now reduced to only two, drifting alone on the water’s surface.

His heart sank sharply as he hurried over to inspect.

Inside the traps, only some small fish and shrimp flailed weakly—no sign of the prized turtles.

“Damn it, who the hell did this?!”

Gritting his teeth, Lin Yang pondered who could be responsible.

He had been rather conspicuous in the village these past few days, naturally drawing attention.

Two figures quickly came to mind as those who might care so much about his actions and have motive for sabotage—Zhang Laohan and Sun Fugui.

Zhang Laohan was a shrewd man who always sought to gain advantage without loss.

His wife, Zhang Xiumei, had mastered his tricks perfectly.

Together, they scurried about like sneaky mice, always looking for ways to make money.

Yesterday, when they saw his catch of over five jin of big turtles, their eyes turned red like ripe persimmons—they must have wanted to steal his traps.

As for Sun Fugui, he probably harbored deep resentment against Lin Yang.

Their past conflicts had left Sun Fugui waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.

Maybe this old fellow was shadowing him like a ghost, waiting for a chance to trip him up.

If it was him who set the traps, he wouldn’t hesitate to take them.

Lin Yang couldn’t be certain yet who the culprit was, so he kept silent.

Without solid proof, making a fuss might cause unnecessary trouble and alert the thief.

He quietly picked up the remaining two traps and began heading back.

Along the way, he stayed alert to any sounds around him.

Oddly, when passing Zhang Laohan’s house, the gate was tightly shut, silence hanging eerily in the air.

Resigned, Lin Yang decided to return home first.

Lin Dahai looked at Lin Yang’s meager catch with confusion: “Why did you only bring back two traps?”

His eyes were filled with puzzlement; in his memory, his son always returned with full baskets.

Lin Yang’s expression shifted, then he smiled and explained: “The other traps didn’t catch much, so I left them in the river. You know, Dad, it’s getting colder; the fish and shrimp are harder to catch.”

“When the weather turns cold, they hide like they’re playing hide-and-seek with me.”

“That’s true. Once the river freezes in a few days, even fish and shrimp won’t be catchable,” Lin Dahai said as he scooped water from the jar into a bottle, then turned to brush his teeth leisurely.

At that moment, Zhao Guixiang emerged from the house carrying the fish and shrimp sauce she had fried yesterday, along with some steaming hot cornbread.

Her face bore a smile, her mood noticeably good.

The aroma of the fish and shrimp sauce mingled with the wheaty scent of the cornbread, creating an inviting fragrance that lifted the spirit.

“I went to talk to Aunt Li yesterday, trying to feel out her thoughts. Guess what she said?” Zhao Guixiang teased, her eyes glinting mischievously as she looked at Lin Yang.