The two rabbits were startled and fled in opposite directions.

However, for Li Xiang, a Tier One Transcendent, letting even one of the two wild rabbits escape would be utterly humiliating. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He flung his High-Density Blade, instantly lopping off one rabbit’s head. At the same time, he dashed forward like a shooting star and caught up to the other. A large hand descended from above, grabbing the wild rabbit’s neck. A swift twist, and he gave it a quick end.

The wild rabbit could never have imagined that a human’s speed could completely overwhelm its own.

Li Xiang walked over and picked up his High-Density Blade, wiping it clean on the grass. He then retrieved the head and body of the other rabbit. He glanced around and spotted a small stream nearby. He went to the stream’s edge to bleed, skin, and gut the rabbits, cleaning them on the spot.

’Doing it back home would just make a bloody mess, and I’d have to throw out the waste. It’s so much more convenient to handle it out here.’

It was still early when he got home. Li Xiang took the Tier One Mutated Spirit Grass he had gathered—three Golden Chanterelles and six Purple Coral Mushrooms—mixed them with some termite mushrooms, matsutake, and big-foot mushrooms, added one of the cleaned rabbits, and took it all to his maternal grandmother’s house on his tricycle.

His maternal grandparents were delighted. They had Li Xiang stay for dinner before letting him head back.

His uncle had two children. One was a daughter in high school who only came home during her monthly break, and the other was a slightly younger son in the fifth grade. The little guy had actually stumbled upon Li Xiang’s videos. During dinner, he kept insisting that he had to make an appearance in his older cousin’s videos, saying that maybe he’d become an internet celebrity too.

He also nosily asked Li Xiang how much money he was making.

Hearing this, his grandparents were quite surprised. ’You can make money from that?’ they thought.

Li Xiang explained, "I don’t make much. I just sell some local specialties from the mountains. It’s just a little better than a regular job."

His grandmother was very pleased and encouraged him to keep up the good work, saying that you can make a name for yourself in any profession.

His grandfather, however, sounded a bit regretful. He felt that for someone as educated as Li Xiang to return to the countryside and farm was a waste of his talents. How wonderful it would be if he could pass the civil service exam and get a government job.

His grandfather didn’t mean to be critical; he was genuinely concerned about Li Xiang’s future and felt he might have better options. The old man had always hoped Li Xiang would achieve great things.

Li Xiang fell silent, ashamed. ’It’s not that I never thought about taking the civil service exam,’ he thought, ’I just didn’t pass.’

’But with the Apocalypse coming, when less than one in ten of the world’s ten billion people will survive, a government job won’t be an ’iron rice bowl’ anymore.’ He had absolutely no interest in taking the exam now.

To live each day well, to enjoy the few precious years of peace before the Apocalypse, and then, after it arrives, to be better able to protect himself and his family—if possible, even lead more people through that calamity—that would be enough to be content.

Even with the system, he didn’t think he could be a savior.

In the face of the calamity of the entire Solar Element, he as an individual was simply too insignificant. All he could do was his best. It would be good enough to have a clear conscience.

His younger cousin’s grades weren’t very good, which worried his grandparents. They asked Li Xiang to tutor him when he had time. Aside from picking him up and dropping him off and taking care of his daily needs, the two of them couldn’t help at all with his schoolwork.

Elementary school homework these days was too difficult, with too many complicated assignments. They just couldn’t keep up. This was the plight of "left-behind children."

Li Xiang said it was no problem and that during winter break, his little cousin could come over to his place, and he would tutor him properly.

Besides, he would be tutoring Jiang Cai’Er then anyway, so adding his younger cousin wouldn’t be a problem. If his female cousin wanted to, she could come over as well.

The little cousin excitedly agreed. He wasn’t very interested in doing homework, but going to his older cousin’s house to play, with all those fun videos, sounded amazing. He was full of anticipation.

’Even though the Apocalypse is coming and exams aren’t that important anymore, you study for your own sake. The more difficult times are for humanity, the more important knowledge becomes.’

’Otherwise, if the "legacy" is broken, humanity really will regress to a primitive society.’

By the time Li Xiang got back, his paternal grandmother had already washed the Solomon, chopped the rabbit into pieces, rubbed it with salt to cure, and put it in the refrigerator.

Tomorrow’s delicacies: Braised Rabbit Head and Jianghu-Style Fresh Pot Rabbit.

It had to be said, for the foodies of Sichuan Province, these were two dishes they could never get tired of.

Besides, the rabbits people in the city ate were all farm-raised; they couldn’t compare to the delicious wild rabbit Li Xiang had hunted.

Li Xiang continued going into the mountains to dig for Solomon, but he stopped filming videos. He dug for five straight days, harvesting a full three hundred kilograms of high-quality wild Solomon. Only then did he begin the process of "nine times steaming and nine times sun-drying."

The kitchen was too small for the operation, so he found a spot in the backyard and built two large wood-fired stoves. He went to town and bought two large iron woks and two large steamer sets to start the steaming process.

These two wood-fired stoves were much more "crude." They were really just bricks stacked together for temporary use. Anyone who’s been to a rural banquet knows that building such a stove only takes about ten minutes.

Of course, many people use gas canisters or burn honeycomb briquettes now, which is more convenient, but Li Xiang still preferred to burn firewood.

The "ambiance" and "healthiness" of a wood fire were things gas and briquettes just couldn’t replace.

In Europe, many families still have traditional fireplaces and burn firewood as well.

On this trip to town, Li Xiang also picked out a kitchen knife he’d been eyeing.

Its style was similar to the one at home—an old-fashioned wrought-iron knife with a steel-clad edge. Of course, it couldn’t compare to the one at home that was mixed with shield machine blades, but Li Xiang tested it and found it had a good feel. The edge was also quite sharp.

The shop owner said it was dual-purpose for chopping and slicing. Because the spine of the blade was thick, smashing garlic or cucumbers was no problem. It would never break from a single smack like some big-name brands. He also threw in a Sharpening Stone.

But the free one was rather small, and Li Xiang wasn’t impressed. So he negotiated with the owner to add a little money for a discount and bought a larger Sharpening Stone.

Besides these items, he also brought back some vegetables, meat, fish, lotus seeds, snow fungus, dried longan, dried scallops, dried shrimp, rock sugar, seasonings, flour, and so on.

Anyway, every time he went into town, he basically came back with a tricycle piled high with goods. The villagers all said that Li Xiang’s family was living lavishly now, willing to spend on good food and nice clothes.

Li Xiang wasn’t stingy either. Whenever he passed the village entrance, he would hand out some small pastries. If he ran into any male elders, he would offer them a few cigarettes, so his "reputation was excellent."

Night fell, but Li Xiang’s backyard was "ablaze with activity." Firewood crackled and burned fiercely in the two large stoves, water boiled in the large iron woks, and the tall steamers were filled with washed Solomon.

His paternal grandmother hadn’t gone to bed. She sat with Li Xiang in the backyard, feeding the fire in the stoves. The two dogs lay beside them, keeping their masters company.

The weather was turning cooler, and the large fire was pleasantly warm. His grandmother’s kind face glowed with a rosy light. She recalled the past few years when she was home alone, going to bed early every day in a cold and quiet house. When had the home ever been this "lively"?

Li Xiang placed five large sweet potatoes by the edge of the fire, turning them as they roasted. When there were more hot coals, he buried the sweet potatoes in the embers, which were still dotted with sparks. About half an hour later, he pulled them out, blew and brushed off the ash, and gently peeled one open. Damn, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, steaming hot and wonderfully fragrant.