Yu Hu swallowed unconsciously.

He had a hunch something bad was about to happen.

Seeing that his cousin stopped talking, Li Gou thought that there was something wrong with the carcass, so he said nervously, "Then… Can this meat still be sold?"

"Of course it can, it’s just a little scratch, and it won’t affect its flesh," Yu Hu urged after examining for a while, "Hurry up and get to work, we can go back early today."

Li Gou nodded immediately, stopped asking more questions, and began to bleed the carcass.

After some simple cleanup, the two tied the wild boar to a wooden stick, lifted it up with a shoulder each, and headed to the Linghu Wetland nearly 10 kilometers away.

Although the butcher stall on Baker Street also collected game, the price they offered was far less generous than that given by the blue coats in the outpost.

Such a large wild boar could be sold for 100 silver coins at the outpost, but at the butcher’s on Baker Street, it could be sold for 70 to 80 at most.

If they could earn an extra 20 or 30 silver coins, they didn’t mind walking an extra 5 kilometers.

...

It was already 4:00 in the afternoon, and evening was fast approaching.

As winter was over, the nights tended to become increasingly dangerous, and the 2 who were on the road unconsciously quickened their pace.

They walked along the concrete road through the woods and arrived at the south gate of the outpost.

Just as the two were about to go in, they saw a row of guards in black coats and rifles standing on the west side.

A rough count suggested that there were about 100 people there.

A blue exoframe was also standing there, as if reviewing these recruits.

Yu Hu, who came often, naturally recognized the blue hunk of metal. That was the administrator’s exoframe.

"Are they going to war?" Li Gou had a surprised expression on his face, and there was a hint of excitement in his eyes.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He was different from his older brother Li Niu. He would much rather be a soldier than go to work in a factory.

Those black overcoats and Arbiter rifles were just so cool!

The guards had recently been issued steel helmets and sapper shovels, which was also a man’s dream...

"I don’t know..." Yu Hu shook his head and said dully, "I can’t shake the feeling that something big is about to happen."

They did not disturb Chu Guang’s work.

Yu Hu urged Li Gou to stop looking, and the two took the wild boar to the warehouse together.

The person on duty today was not Zhao Rat, but another young man whose name they did not know. Since they settled their transaction in silver coins this time, the process was straightforward. 𐍂Ａ₦O͍𝐁Ěᶊ

After checking that the carcass had been bled, the man weighed it and put 7 silver coins and a bill worth 100 coins into Yu Hu’s hand.

"Has the price of meat increased again?" Looking at the banknote and coins in his hand, Yu Hu had a surprised expression on his face.

The guy smiled and said: "A little bit. 0.5 kg of wild pork has risen to 6 silver coins on the market. Recently, the administrator has raised the purchase price and inventory limit of meat trading products. If not for the fact that I can’t hunt to save my life, I’d want to be a hunter myself."

Of course, although prices had risen a lot, wages had also risen quite a bit. The warehouse manager’s daily salary used to be only 2 silver coins, and he had to save money if he wanted to eat meat. Now his daily salary had risen to 12 silver coins, and he could buy a kilogram of meat a day.

Then again, it was too troublesome to cook one’s own food. They used to save money just to buy some meat to roast, but now they simply took the money and spent it at the market by the north gate.

A big steamed bun with filling would only cost 1 silver coin; 2 such buns with a glass of soy milk or corn juice was a filling meal, and it didn’t cost much in total.

Compared with the wandering life they lived before, the life in the outpost was like heaven to them.

After discussing with Li Gou, Yu Hu bought some daily necessities such as salt, cloth, and soap with the money in his hand, and stocked up on some bullets along the way.

After purchasing these things, there were still 10 coins left.

The two divided the money, and after Yu Hu asked Li Gou to take the things back, he went to the bank and found Xiaoyu.

Compared with the little girl who had been as thin as a reed just a few months ago, Xiaoyu had not only grown taller, but also grown healthier. Her fair cheeks even showed a trace of baby fat. Those big black eyes were the same as before, exactly as clear and lovely as he remembered, just like the water of Linghu Lake.

Yu Hu was always worried that her younger sister would not be able to do the important work of accounting, because she always burned the green wheat cakes. In his mind, the people who managed account books well were all steady old men like Old Charlie.

But it seemed that his worries were unfounded.

Although she was not good at making pancakes, she was surprisingly good at math.

Could it be because the iron pan was too heavy all along?

Yu Hu suddenly realized this problem and couldn’t help feeling ashamed.

I didn’t realize it at all...

"Yu Hu?" Seeing Yu Hu, Yu Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up from behind the counter.

After the New Year’s party, it had been a month since the last time she saw her older brother.

Yu Hu smiled honestly and said, "I’m here to visit you on behalf of mom and dad. How’ve you been doing recently? Nobody bullied you, I hope?"

Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, then shook her head like a pellet drum, with a happy smile on her face. "Xiaoyu is doing well! Big Brother Chu and everyone are very good people!"

Although she was a little unused to it at the beginning, she was now able to complete the work very skillfully. Everyone was very kind and took good care of her.

The only thing that bothered Xiaoyu a little bit was how there were always some people who secretly put the money on the table, then turned around and ran away. To find out who deposited the money, she had to go to Little Seven to check the surveillance footage.

Especially the big polar bear, who was always secretive when saving money.

Was it because she was too fierce?

Although Chu Guang told her not to mind it, Xiaoyu still couldn’t help doubting herself sometimes.

Encouraged by the sight of his younger sister’s lively and cheerful appearance, a reassured smile appeared on Yu Hu’s face. "That’s good! It’s a big relief for me, your brother, to see that you are healthy and happy."

Xiaoyu immediately asked, "Are mom and dad in good health? What about our big brother? I heard that they encountered marauders near the edge of the fifth ring the day before yesterday. They weren’t injured, right?"

Yu Hu smiled and said, "No, no, don’t worry, they are all in good health. Big brother’s marksmanship is amazing. Last time I watched him shoot a target, he could hit a soda can 100 meters away with a single shot."

Xiaoyu did not understand the significance of the distance and frowned. "No matter how good his marksmanship is, he shouldn’t be careless. The guys in the shelter are also very strong, but even they still get hurt sometimes. And the same goes for you, second brother. Even if you have a gun, you shouldn’t go to places that are too dangerous."

"I know, I know." Yu Hu scratched the back of his head.

He was supposed to be the one checking up on his little sister, but he ended up getting lectured by her instead.

I’m a veteran hunter, of course I know where it’s safe for me to go and where it’s not!

Still, it felt good to be fussed over.