After Lu Jiao ate, she bathed in the spiritual stream.
Though her space was perfect, she couldn't stay there for long. She was capped out at three hours each time. Even if she didn't want to get out yet, the space would force her out. So normally, she would stay at most three hours before she left.
After she bathed, she drank a cup of spiritual water. She felt her exhaustion disappear and felt every cell and every hair on her regenerate.
It was late now so she quickly exited her space. She cleaned the kitchen and finally headed to the east bedroom.
When she entered, Xie Yunjin, who was originally already asleep, opened his eyes to gawk at her. He looked cautious and defensive. However, when he realized it was Lu Jiao, his eyelids subsequently dropped.
Now that he settled down and the annoyance he showed was gone, Lu Jiao rolled out her blanket on the floor and went to sleep.
The next morning, Lu Jiao woke up very early. The sun hasn't risen yet so she quietly got up to go into the mountains.
The moment she headed out of her home, however, her neighbor, Xie Xiaobao rushed over to her.
"Third aunt, are you going into the mountains this early?"
Lu Jiao nodded and asked Xie Xiaobao curiously, "Do you not sleep in in the morning?"
Xie Xiaobao giggled, "Third aunty, the braised pork you made yesterday was so delicious. I want to go up to the mountains to hunt animals. If I can hunt something down, my mom can braise it for me. Ah right, third aunty, can you teach my mom how to cook that?"
Lu Jiao laughed, "I saved the seasoning I used last night. If you want, tell your mom to come and take some. You can just pour it into a pot and cook meat in there."
Xie Xiaobao skipped around in excitement, "Hurray, third aunty, you're the best."
Lu Jiao found this funny. What an innocent child.
The two of them headed to the mountain. Since Lu Jiao already told Xie Xiaobao she would teach him how to make a trap, she didn't conceal any information and taught him as they walked.
"There are many different types of traps. The one I made before was the simplest one. You dig a hole that's small at the opening but big at the bottom. Then, you shave some bamboos until they're super sharp and stick them into the hole. You lay a layer of grass on top to conceal the hole, then finally, place something bloody or meaty on top."
"There's another type of trap you can make. You can use barbed wire to trap animals. You shape the wire so there's only one opening for them to enter. You place a piece of bait in the middle so they come in. Then, when they try to run with the food, they'll be strangled by the wire."
"Another one is a trapping device. If you put meat in the middle of it, the animal would be lured to go eat it and the device would clamp it and trap it. Of course, those devices need to be concealed by grass so the animals don't see them."
"You can also make a trap using a fish net. You put the fish net on the ground and hang each corner of the net onto different branches. You put meat in the middle of the net and of course, conceal the fish net. Animals can be very smart, and if they get a feeling that something's wrong, they wouldn't fall for the trap. When the animal runs into the fish net trap, the four branches would get pulled and the fish net would pull up. They then wouldn't be able to escape."
Lu Jiao taught him many different types of traps and the information made Xie Xiaobao dizzy. In the end, he asked Lu Jiao, "Third aunty, which type of trap did you choose?"
"I used the easiest one. I dug a hole and stuck in some sharp bamboo sticks. I used meat to lure in prey."
Honestly, Lu Jiao didn't even dig a hole. She found a naturally formed hole and stuck sharp bamboos on over the bottom.
The reason for her success was mainly due to her spiritual stream water. That stuff was highly attractive to preys. Of course, she couldn't tell that to Xie Xiaobao.
Xie Xiaobao was in shock, "But I didn't bring a shovel. Third aunty, let me go get a shovel so I can dig a hole."
Xie Xiaobao then ran off. Lu Jiao wanted to call him and tell him to just use the hole she found. However, Xie Xiaobao ran faster than a rabbit and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Lu Jiao continued to head up the mountain to gather firewood. Today, she wasn't interested in her traps. The squirrel that was in the trap before had disappeared so there was no way any prey would've fallen for her trap.
She didn't need meat anyway, so she wasn't interested.
Lu Jiao was quick to gather the firewood. When she saw that it was rather late, she put everything into her basket and started to descend the mountain.
Before she could get down, however, she ran into a rather sly-looking man around a concealed corner.
Lu Jiao recognized him right away. This man was one of the hoodlums in the village who stole and tricked for a living. He was the same kind of person as Shen Xiaoshan. She remembered his name was Luo Wangcai.
Though Lu Jiao knew this man, she didn't want to talk to him. So slowly, she tried to surpass this guy.
However, the moment they got close, Luo Wangcai revealed a smile and posed in a way he thought was flirtatious.
"Lu Jiao, you here to get firewood?"
Lu Jiao narrowed her eyes at this man. Why did he stand like that? Did he have something planned?
Lu Jiao didn't stop and nodded, "Yes. You're up here because…?"
The sun hasn't even risen so why would this dishonest man be up here if he had no ill intention?
Her words widened Luo Wangcai's grin. He personally thought his smile was very attractive since several young wives from the village had fallen for it before. A fat chick like Lu Jiao was basically his to have.
He remembered what Shen Xiu had told him. If he could successfully seduce this fat woman, Shen Xiu shall grant him 500 copper tokens.
Luo Wangcai was happy with just the thought of it. Though he didn't find this fat woman attractive, the money made it worth it.
He said in a tone that made him sound sad, "My heart aches that you have to do this alone. I was planning on helping you with it."
Lu Jiao was speechless. She was already done yet he said he wanted to help her?
"Are we close enough for you to ache for me?"
Luo Wangcai raised an eyebrow and then winked at Lu Jiao.
Lu Jiao's temples jolted. What was that wink? It looked more like he tore his eyelid. He must have thought of himself as attractive, but she almost wanted to puke.
Luo Wangcai didn't know what was on her mind and said in a gentle voice, "We may not have been close, but we will be. Jiaojiao, I want to spoil you."
He then lifted his arm to pull Lu Jiao close. Lu Jiao picked up her foot and stomped him away by more than three meters.
Luo Wangcai was a lazy man who never did anything so he had no muscles. He couldn't handle this kick and his face turned white from pain.
He angrily struggled his way up, "Lu Jiao, damn you, you fat woman."
After he cursed, he remembered the money he was promised, and his expression changed, "Jiaojiao, you are making me very sad. My heart aches for you that you have to take care of a disabled man. I wanted to help you so how could you treat me this way?"
Lu Jiao wanted to puke again after she heard his greasy words. Whatever, she had no time for this.
She walked over and straight up lifted Luo Wangcai off the ground. Then, she shoved him into a tree and slammed her fist into his stomach.