After Accidentally Marrying the Big Shot in a Period Novel

Chapter 20

Upon hearing about the black bear, Yan Xue was genuinely startled.Black bears, known as "black blind ones" locally, are among the most dangerous animals in the forested areas. The scars on Grandpa Liu’s face and his missing half an ear were gifts from one such encounter.

Her mind raced through survival strategies for a wilderness bear encounter, but something felt off.

First, the Changbai Mountains were still deep in winter, with temperatures below freezing. Black bears typically hibernate during this season, a behavior called "denning," and only emerge in spring when nature revives.

It was early March, and the temperature hadn’t yet risen above zero. Logically, the bear shouldn’t have left its den this early.

Second, while humans feared bears, bears weren’t necessarily fearless of humans. The work zone was noisy with machinery, and wild animals usually avoided such areas.

That’s why most lumberjacks foraged in the woods near the work zone—to minimize danger.

But Yan Xue wasn’t just near the work zone; she was at the mountain camp. Unless the bear was starving, why would it venture into a place teeming with human activity?

Yan Xue’s body tensed imperceptibly, but she quickly composed herself and turned toward the source of the voice without panic or a scream.

This reaction surprised the newcomer, who raised his air rifle at her. "Hey, you! Didn’t you hear? There’s a black bear behind you."

His posture, especially his face, confirmed Yan Xue’s suspicion.

She recognized him—Yu Yongzhi, the troublemaker who had drunkenly crashed her wedding.

Today, Yu Yongzhi wasn’t drunk, but he was just as unreliable. During work hours, he was wandering around with a gun.

Yan Xue frowned but said nothing.

Yu Yongzhi, however, recognized her. His teasing expression darkened instantly. "Aren’t you that little bride Qi Fang married?"

He’d assumed she was just another worker’s family member, someone he could scare for fun. But it was Yan Xue.

He still remembered how sick he’d been that night and the pounding headache the next day. This woman had definitely known her limits and deliberately outdrunk him.

Yu Yongzhi shifted the gun barrel, now aiming it directly at her. "You’ve got some nerve, huh? Not even flinching at a black bear. Not afraid to die?"

This time, Yan Xue was genuinely annoyed. "Shouldn’t you be working right now?"

She meant it as a reminder, but Yu Yongzhi was even more of a jerk than she’d thought. "Whether I work or not is none of your damn business!"

Not only did he not back down, but he also pretended to chamber a round. "Listen, I’m about to shoot that bear. If you don’t move, don’t blame me if you get hit."

He was outright threatening to shoot her.

Yan Xue’s eyes turned icy, but before she could respond, someone moved faster—Qi Fang had already clamped down on Yu Yongzhi’s gun hand.

"Is this your first time holding a gun? No one taught you never to point it at people?"

Qi Fang stood beside Yu Yongzhi, his voice and gaze colder than the winter air. Yu Yongzhi struggled, but the gun might as well have been pinned under a boulder—it didn’t budge.

This infuriated Yu Yongzhi. "Let go, damn it! Or I’ll shoot you!"

"With this bird-hunting air rifle?" Qi Fang scoffed.

Air rifles, powered by compressed air, were far weaker than firearms, barely fit for small game.

Yu Yongzhi’s pride took a hit, and his voice rose. "What’s wrong with an air rifle? It can still kill you! My family’s got real hunting guns—I just didn’t bother bringing one!"

"Air rifles aren’t for threatening your own people. Unless you’re not one of us—maybe a spy?"

Qi Fang lifted his gaze, his piercing stare drilling into Yu Yongzhi.

Usually, Qi Fang was reserved and quiet, giving off an unassuming vibe. Yu Yongzhi had never taken him seriously and had never seen him this sharp.

And then there was the mention of spies. Everyone remembered how intense the anti-spy campaigns had been years ago—even kids playing cops and robbers pretended to catch spies.

Yu Yongzhi instinctively took half a step back before catching himself. He glared, trying to regain his bravado. "Don’t you dare pin that shit on me!"oo young and the other too old. Fresh meat wouldn’t survive the journey, but maybe dried meat would.

She vaguely remembered a type of extremely dry beef jerky from her past life—almost devoid of moisture, so it wouldn’t spoil even unrefrigerated.

But she wasn’t entirely sure how to make it. She’d have to experiment—frying it in oil, drying it in a pan, or roasting it over a fire.

She cut a larger piece of the roe deer meat into strips about the thickness of a pinky finger, marinated them with seasoning, and the next morning after breakfast, she began testing each method.

Frying in oil made the meat crispy but too greasy, especially once cooled.

Roasting over a fire was tricky—it was easy to burn before the meat fully dried.

But drying it in a pan, keeping the heat low like toasting peanuts, turned out just right.

She took a bite. The roe deer meat had a slight crispness at first, and though it was too dry to taste much initially, the flavor grew richer with each chew.

She took one strip of each type and went out to find Tiedan playing in the yard. “Help Sister taste these and tell me which one’s better.”

Hearing it was for her, the boy didn’t refuse like last time. His eyes lit up at the first bite. “Yummy!”

The second one earned another bright-eyed reaction. “Yummy!”

By the third, his big eyes were practically glowing. “This one’s yummy too!”

After some hesitation, his small finger finally pointed to the third one. “This one. Grandma says we can’t use too much oil.”

In these times, people still didn’t have enough fat in their diets. Sometimes, frying a dish meant barely dipping the chopsticks in oil.

“Then the third one it is.” Yan Xue handed him all three strips. “Thanks for helping.”

Tiedan’s grin widened, and he clutched the jerky, as if tempted to pocket it. But after a moment, he dashed back inside. “Grandma! I have something yummy for you to try!”

Yan Xue prepared about two pounds of roe deer jerky before finally dropping her reply into the mailbox. The package would have to wait for the postman to take it to town.

As she turned to leave, two middle-aged women wrapped in scarves approached, chatting as they walked.

“What’s going on this year? The seasonal work team’s starting so early?”

“Who knows? Spring’s been dragging on, so I thought it’d be later. But they notified us two days ago—my daughter-in-law isn’t even back from her parents’ place yet.”

“Better hurry then. Every day you miss is money lost…”

Yan Xue had already passed them when she suddenly turned back. “Auntie, excuse me—are you talking about the seasonal work team?”

Qi Fang: Once you’re really sharing a bed with me, you’ll find out whether I sleep at night or not.