Chapter 64: A Forced Melon May Not Be Sweet, But It Quenches the Thirst

Upon entering the room, the village chief gave a full account of the backgrounds of Su Yu, Su Sheng, Huzi, and the others. Learning that they had set their sights on his daughter and had come specifically to speak with the village party secretary about a match, Li Xiuqin glanced at Su Sheng and quickly lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Daniu, that is how things stand. They know your family's situation, hold no prejudice against it, and are even willing to help support you in your old age. What are your actual thoughts on this matter?"

Li Daniu was an honest, simple-minded rural man; what could he possibly say?

"Well... as long as Xiuqin is willing, I am quite satisfied. The young fellow is tall and strong. I'm just wondering, what is it about my daughter that caught your eye?"

That was a remarkably tactful question. He hadn't dared to ask outright: *You have all your limbs and are in good health, so why are you willing to help support an old man like me for my daughter's sake? Are you out of your mind?* Though he didn't look like a fool.

Su Yu knew that some matters could not be concealed, and this certainly wouldn't be settled today; the family would need time to make inquiries.

"Uncle Daniu, if I may call you that, please don't mind. My older brother is a man of few words, so let's speak frankly. My brother isn't young anymore, nearly twenty-four. The reason is simple: my brother is sincere and straightforward, and in his reckless youth, he often stood up for friends and got into fights. He didn't turn over a new leaf until he was eighteen, which delayed his marriage prospects."

"Sister Xiuqin isn't very young either, is she?"

"Mhm, she's twenty-six."

"You see, Uncle Daniu, as the old saying goes: 'A wife three years older holds a block of gold.' Being a bit older is a good thing—she knows how to care for her husband. Don't let my brother's rugged appearance fool you; he certainly knows how to cherish a wife. How about this: you make some inquiries on your end, and we'll return to await your decision. If this works out, rest assured, whatever other families provide, our household will prepare in full. We will never let Sister Xiuqin feel wronged."

Seeing that Su Yu was articulate and persuasive—though perhaps a bit young—and observing that the big fellow beside him, despite looking a bit rough, still knew how to blush, Li Daniu figured the man would likely know how to treat a wife well. He gave an offhand agreement; whether it worked out or not, they would know once they asked around.

"Uncle Daniu, this is my first time visiting, and I didn't bring much, just some pastries. You really must accept them."

After some polite declining back and forth, the pastries were finally left behind. Su Yu, Su Sheng, and Huzi then took their leave, accompanying the village chief back.

"Uncle Li, the timing wasn't right today, so I didn't let my brother and Sister Xiuqin talk at length. Once people have made their inquiries, we can discuss the details further. I must trouble you to keep my brother and Sister Xiuqin's affair close to your heart."

"Shall we leave it at that for today, then? Whenever you have news on your end, please be so kind as to send word to our village. I'm leaving the whole matter entirely in your hands."

With that, Su Yu placed the brought tobacco, alcohol, and pastries inside the chief's house, then waved for Su Sheng and Huzi to follow him as he turned to leave.

"Look at you, we're all neighbors within a few miles; if I can put in a good word, of course I will. But we can't have you leaving these things when nothing has been settled yet."

"Now, you make it sound like I'm not doing things properly. Whether this succeeds or not, you've put in the effort, and when someone puts in effort, we must remember their kindness. This is only your due, so don't be modest. If this comes to pass, we'll certainly invite you to the wedding banquet."

By this time, the group had reached outside the front gate. After a few more polite refusals, Su Yu turned and walked away, while Su Sheng and Huzi had already pushed the wheelbarrow some distance ahead.

The village chief chased after them for a few paces, but failing to catch up, he had no choice but to carry the gifts back into his house.

Upon returning home, Su Sheng was still in a daze.

"What's wrong? Thinking about your bride?"

Su Sheng was given a nudge and snapped back to reality. He curled his lip and said, "I just feel like I'm not good enough for her. By doing this, aren't we kind of taking advantage of someone's vulnerability?"

Su Yu was utterly defeated by his own eldest brother. Such a fine opportunity, and he called it taking advantage of vulnerability? Leaving aside the fact that Xiuqin hadn't explicitly refused, even if she had been reluctant in her heart, if he were in this position, he would still pluck that melon first and dip it in sugar later.

"Stop letting your imagination run wild. Sister Xiuqin has had a hard life. If you feel you aren't good enough for her, just treat her doubly well after you're married."

Realizing his eldest brother wasn't a complete fool, Su Yu watched him nod heavily.

"By the way, how much did you spend today? And how much did we make from the sales?"

"What? Are you planning to pay me back?"

Su Sheng rolled his eyes. "I just want to know if you've been squandering money."

"All right, don't you worry about the money. Just wait peaceably for the news. Unless something unexpected happens, you won't lose your chance to be a groom."

Patting his brother's shoulder, Su Sheng strapped on his rifle and went to find Huzi.

He still had about one hundred and fifty yuan on hand. The silly roe deer alone had fetched sixty; a sheep and a wolf had brought in another sixty or seventy. Mostly, the price of sheep was approaching that of pork—ninety jin yielded nearly sixty yuan, which, combined with the wolf meat, brought in one hundred and seventy yuan. However, they had spent a considerable amount today purchasing gifts and grain.

Before long, Su Yu and Huzi emerged together from Huzi's house.

"Brother Yu, it's already getting late. Will heading into the mountains yield anything?"

"Don't worry. Didn't we run into that badger last time? Do you remember the spot? Let's go take a look; we might just find something."

That location wasn't far—it was right along the mandatory path up the mountain, and the two of them arrived quickly.

Reaching the spot where they had previously spotted the badger, they searched around for quite a while without finding a single trace.

"Could there have only been that one? Why isn't there any sign of others nearby?"

"Badgers aren't solitary creatures; there are definitely more. No use looking higher up—it's all rock, and they can't dig through that. Let's head toward that side; it's a grove, and the soil is soft."

Reaching the small grove at the foot of the slope, the two began their search. Relying on his tracking skill, Su Yu sniffed the air for scents to determine direction and quickly located a burrow entrance.

"A badger's burrow never has just one entrance. Search around nearby, block off the other exits, and later we'll burn firewood at one end to smoke it out."

Before long, they found three entrances in total. Su Yu set a fire at one of them, blocked another, and left only a single exit unguarded, while Huzi watched the fire-starting entrance and Su Yu guarded the sole open exit.

*Click.*

Su Yu loaded his rifle. At such close range, they either had to shoot the animals dead or hack them down with knives; but if there were many of them, using firearms was undoubtedly the most convenient and fastest method.

It wasn't long before he heard movement. Others might not have caught it, but Su Yu did. He aimed his muzzle at the burrow entrance. A badger bolted out, and just as it tried to make its escape, the crack of a gunshot rang out.

*Bang.*

This wasn't the end; it was merely the beginning.

*Bang.*

*Bang, bang, bang.*

Su Yu moved with incredible speed, barely needing to aim, scoring a headshot with every single shot. It was no joke—his marksmanship was at Level IV-8. What did that concept entail? Reaching level nine was the absolute limit of human capability, and anything beyond nine bordered on mutation, a realm unattainable without the system.

In other words, Su Yu was now merely one level away from the ultimate limit of human marksmanship. That draw speed and accuracy required almost no deliberation; he simply swung the horizontal barrel across and pulled the trigger directly.

To prevent the badgers from blocking the burrow entrance from the inside, he deliberately let them run a few paces away from the exit before opening fire.

"Holy shit, holy shit... Brother Yu, come help! A badger just rushed right through the fire on my end!"

Perhaps hearing the gunfire on Su Yu's side, a badger had actually braved the risk of being burned alive and bolted from Huzi's end.

Su Yu ran over a few paces and saw Huzi engaged in an even match with the creature, wielding a firewood chopper. Badgers were vicious biters, especially fond of biting people's heels—they were a match for honey badgers.

*Bang, bang, bang.*

Three in total, and Su Yu dispatched them effortlessly. Headshots every time, not a single one escaped.

"Holy crap, Brother Yu, is your marksmanship divine?"

"All right, stop chattering and hurry up and pack these away. There shouldn't be any left inside."

Counting them up, the two of them had bagged a full nine badgers. The heaviest weighed over thirty jin, and the smallest around ten jin. It seemed this had been a whole colony, wiped out in one fell swoop by Su Yu.

"There are so many, how are we going to carry them back?"

It wasn't that they couldn't lift them—two men could certainly manage—but nine of them made for an awkward load.