Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Killing the Wolf, Disaster Relief

“Mom, quick, step on me and climb up the tree!”

Zhong Zijun finally realized what had just happened—that was a wolf.

“You step on me instead,” Zhong Zijun quickly crouched down, wanting her daughter to go up first.

“We don’t have time to argue! You go up first, I’m stronger, and I need to help Uncle Ji.” Gu Qinghuan anxiously shouted, keeping an eye on Ji Linhai’s situation.

Zhong Zijun knew the situation was urgent—this wasn’t the time for back-and-forth. She didn’t want to hold them back, so she quickly stepped onto her daughter’s back and climbed up the tree.

“Huanhuan, be careful!”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t respond, immediately running over to help Ji Linhai.

The wolf was facing off against Ji Linhai, circling and probing for a weakness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Ji Linhai remained patient, matching the wolf’s movements.

After a few rounds, neither man nor wolf had gained the upper hand.

“What are you doing back here? Get up the tree!” Ji Linhai shouted distractedly when he saw Gu Qinghuan return.

That split second of distraction was all the wolf needed—it lunged at him.

Without hesitation, Gu Qinghuan pulled out a homemade pepper spray from her pocket (actually from her space) and sprayed it hard in the wolf’s direction.

This wasn’t ordinary pepper spray—it was her own concoction, with chili water, scallion and ginger juice, strong liquor, vinegar, and all sorts of irritants. If it got in the wolf’s eyes, it would be in for a world of pain.

The wolf didn’t dodge and ran straight into the spray. Instantly, it let out a piercing howl.

Its eyes burned so badly it couldn’t open them. It tried to run, but blinded and in agony, it stumbled around helplessly.

Ji Linhai seized the opportunity, rushed forward with his knife, flipped onto the wolf’s back, locked its neck, and with a swift, clean stroke, slit its throat.

The two exchanged a glance, both letting out a sigh of relief—thankfully, nothing serious had happened.

“I’m getting old! When I was younger, I could take down two wolves by myself. By the way, girl, what did you just spray?” Ji Linhai plopped down on the ground, curious.

“Want to try it yourself?” Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help teasing, waving the spray bottle.

Ji Linhai was about to reply when Zhong Zijun came over.

“Stop teasing your Uncle Ji. What is that thing? It’s so effective!”

Zhong Zijun had watched everything from the tree and was very interested in Gu Qinghuan’s “secret weapon”—sometimes these little gadgets could save your life.

“It’s just chili water! I added scallion and ginger juice, strong liquor, vinegar, and other irritating stuff,” Gu Qinghuan explained.

“Not bad. You should make one for your mom too—this thing is really useful in a pinch,” Ji Linhai praised.

Zhong Zijun turned away, a little embarrassed.

Gu Qinghuan almost burst out laughing at the dog food being shoved in her face—these two were just too cute together.

There was no time for more chatting. Killing a wolf meant the scent of blood would soon attract other animals.

Luckily, they’d already dug up most of the wild gastrodia (tianma) in the area—what little was left, they decided to leave behind, so it could spread and grow next year.

The three of them packed up their tianma and headed down the mountain, the dead wolf stuffed in Ji Linhai’s big basket, covered with a heap of tianma.

Gu Qinghuan, strong as ever, carried over 150 jin of tianma herself, leading the way and carefully avoiding people as they made it back to their courtyard.

The job of skinning the wolf was left to Ji Linhai.

The two little ones, Dabao and Beibei, watched him kill and skin the wolf with wide eyes—not only were they unafraid, they were fascinated.

Gu Qinghuan, worried they might brag and let something slip, reminded them not to tell anyone.

Zhong Zijun and Gu Qinghuan washed the freshly dug tianma and spread it out in baskets to dry.

That night, the family ate braised wolf meat for the first time in their lives.

Wolf meat has a gamey, slightly sour taste, similar to dog meat, and is tougher than regular poultry.

But after braising and with the spicy flavor masking the gaminess, the dish turned out great—everyone ate their fill.

After dinner, Gu Qinghuan packed up the leftover wolf meat and had Ji Linhai and Zhong Zijun each bring some home for their families.

The remaining wolf meat was divided into three portions, one for each family. As for the wolf pelt, it went to Ji Linhai—Gu Qinghuan didn’t want it; it looked a bit creepy.

As usual, Ji Linhai walked Zhong Zijun home and helped carry the meat.

The customers who had ordered Qinglongyi (a medicinal herb) had already received the first and second batches and were very satisfied with the quality.

But the buyer hadn’t expected Gu Qinghuan to come up with 1,500 jin of wild tianma.

He’d miscalculated—he’d said he’d buy as much as she had, but now he was caught off guard.

At 1,000 yuan per jin, buying all of it would cost 1.5 million yuan.

Though the tianma was rare, he couldn’t use that much and didn’t want to risk holding too much stock.

So he told her honestly that he could only take 500 jin at most.

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t upset—she could just list the rest for sale herself. As long as the product was good, it would sell.

She shipped 500 jin to the big client and received 5,000 yuan.

The rest she put up in the online store, and it sold out quickly.

This round, she made a total of 15,000 yuan.

Officially, she reported 7,500 yuan in sales, of which she could keep 2,500 yuan for herself.

So, her personal income was 10,000 yuan.

Wait, there was also the Qinglongyi—there were still several hundred jin left. Even if it wasn’t much, every little bit counted; she could make a few hundred more.

After this busy spell, she planned to take a break—she’d been hustling all summer and was exhausted.

Early August.

The commune’s radio broadcast a special announcement:

Most of the Central Plains was experiencing continuous heavy rain and flooding. Many people had lost their homes, families were torn apart, and the death toll was in the tens of thousands. The whole country was in mourning.

After careful thought, Gu Qinghuan wrote a letter in Wang Zhiyuan’s name and sent it to the local government in the disaster area.

She also sent thirty large gold bars. In those days, shipments weren’t checked very strictly—she packed them up and mailed them off without any trouble. Luckily, no one opened the package; otherwise, it would have been hard to explain.

These were part of the gold bars Wang Zhiyuan had left behind—putting them to use here was just right.

It could help the disaster victims and also be a good deed, earning merit for Wang Zhiyuan’s family in the afterlife.

In the letter, she specifically told the government staff that she would be supervising their relief work to make sure the money was used for the victims.

This was also a way to put pressure on them and prevent anyone from skimming off the top.

Most people are good, but there are always a few rotten apples.

After receiving the gold bars, the local government did a self-check, confirmed the money could be used for disaster relief, quickly converted it to cash, and bought food, clothing, and bedding for the victims.

The money was limited and could only help some people, but it was better than doing nothing.

When the local newspaper interviewed them, the officials didn’t take credit but truthfully said it was Mr. Wang Zhiyuan’s generous donation.

For a while, the newspapers were full of praise, but no one really knew who Wang Zhiyuan was.

That night,

Gu Qinghuan once again dreamed of the Underworld Palace and saw Wang Zhiyuan—not just him, but his wife and child as well.

The three of them bowed to her in gratitude.

“Comrade Gu, thank you for your help. The three of us have finally accumulated enough merit and can enter the next cycle of reincarnation together,” Wang Zhiyuan said happily.

He’d checked his merit in the Underworld Palace that day and found it had suddenly shot up by tens of thousands. He and his family finally had enough merit to be together in their next life.

This was all thanks to Gu Qinghuan—a girl with a truly kind heart. She was said to be the person with the highest merit in the Underworld Palace in the past ten years, so it was no wonder.

“Congratulations on getting your wish,” Gu Qinghuan said, cupping her hands in congratulations.

Wang Zhiyuan’s wife smiled, “In those boxes, there’s one full of my jewelry—my parents carefully picked them out for me when I got married. If you don’t mind, please accept them as a keepsake.”

Gu Qinghuan’s eyes lit up. “Really? You’re giving them to me?”—those would be worth a fortune in the future!

The couple exchanged a smile—this girl really had principles.

The things were already in her hands, so they were hers by default, but she still stuck to her values—truly rare.

“Everything is yours to do with as you wish. It’s the least we can do for our connection.”

Gu Qinghuan looked like a greedy little miser.

“Thank you, thank you!”

When she woke up in the morning, she was still savoring the dream—it felt so real. Had they really entered reincarnation?

She hoped they would be happy in their next life!

And just like that, summer vacation ended.

At the end of August, Gu Qinghuan made another batch of beef jerky and mailed it to each family, along with her homemade chopped chili sauce and doubanjiang (fermented bean paste).

There were so many summer vegetables, she couldn’t eat them all.

She picked the green and red peppers and made spicy doubanjiang, perfect for stir-fries and stews.

She also made chopped chili sauce, which could be kept for a while as long as the jars were clean and oil-free.

It was the perfect match for steamed buns and pancakes.

Ming Ruxue and Gu Lanting, the two youngsters, had graduated at the end of June.

With Zhang Zheng’s help, Gu Lanting got a job as a librarian, studying while working and attending night school at Huaqing University.

From his letters, it was clear he was satisfied with his current life and was working hard to improve himself.

People grow bit by bit—Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried about him.

Ming Ruxue, on the other hand, had a different opportunity.

Given her parents’ situation, the state gave her special treatment and let her go straight to Huaqing Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University for further study.

Gu Lanting could only envy her—his own circumstances meant he’d never meet the requirements for that kind of recommendation.

But he’d come to terms with it.

It didn’t matter where you studied—as long as you worked hard and kept at it, you’d get results.

Though the two youngsters had different opportunities, they both worked hard, learning from each other and devouring knowledge.

Even Zhong Luoning praised how much they’d grown and matured."