I wandered around the market a good while before I finally found a gun stall tucked in a corner. The owner was a middle-aged guy with a scruffy, stubbled face. He lifted an eyelid and pointed at a few guns on the stall.
"Left one's a single-barrel hunting rifle, leaked out from the supply co-op. Forty. That double-barrel next to it fires two rounds back to back, packs a bigger punch. Sixty. Ammo's ten cents a round."
I gave it a once-over, and my eyes landed on that double-barrel. The body felt smooth in the hand. Just looked right to me.
"I'll take this double-barrel. And start me off with two hundred rounds." I pulled out a hundred and handed it over.
Money came too easy. As long as I had the space, I'd never be hurting for cash. Sixty bucks to buy some peace of mind. Worth it.
The owner rubbed the bills between his fingers, made sure they were real, then suddenly dropped his voice, his face going dead serious.
"Listen, buddy, I'll give it to you straight. This gun, this ammo, whatever you do, never point it at a person. Inside a hundred meters it's basically a one-shot kill. Inside fifty, even a wild boar, a black bear, a Siberian tiger, it'll blow them into a red mist. Take a big chunk of flesh clean off."
That put a chill in me. I nodded, dead serious. "Got it. Thanks, man."
I slung the gun over my back. Right alongside the phoenix tail bow in the space. The phoenix tail bow hit way harder, and it locked onto the head every time. But I only had twenty arrows, and every single one was precious. Short of a life-or-death jam, I wasn't touching it.
Gun slung, I was in no rush to leave. Wandered the street a bit more.
Rounded a corner and spotted a stall selling canned goods. These days, deep winter, the mountains were snowed in, no way to truck fruit and veggies up from the south. Canned goods were a hot, nutritious item. I grabbed two cans of yellow peaches and two of sardines. Canned pork was five bucks a can, but fresh pork at the market was only a buck a pound, so no sense throwing money away on that.
A little further on was a stall selling cloth and cotton. The cloth and cotton coupons in my pocket were all going back home, and the cotton outfit I had on wasn't going to cut it against the mountain cold. So I just used cash to buy a zhang of cloth and ten pounds of cotton, enough for a thick cotton outfit. Whatever was left, I'd let Xiuhua keep, make herself a couple of sets of padded clothes and pants.
She was my woman. I had to take good care of her.
Once I'd bought everything, it was pitch dark out. Cloth bundle and cans in hand, gun on my back, I turned and headed out of the market.
That midnight mountain road was cold as a knife. Going up's easy, coming down's the hard part. The trip up took less than an hour and a half, but the way back was dark and slick. One deep step, one slippery one. Every step careful. Wind poured down my collar, froze my hands and feet stiff. All I could do was grip that bundle tight, hunch my neck down, and keep inching forward.
No idea how long I walked before I finally caught sight of my own window. Light glowing inside. Xiuhua was waiting for me.
I knocked lightly. Knock, knock, knock. "It's me. I'm back."
The door flew open and Xiuhua grabbed my arm and yanked me inside, frantic. "You're finally back. I waited half the night, worried sick, scared to death something happened to you at the market or in the mountains."
The warmth in the room wrapped around me, and half the cold melted away in an instant. Seeing the fright still all over her face, my heart went soft. I pointed at the stuff on the floor.
"Sorry I made you worry. Look, this cloth and cotton. Make me a thick cotton outfit and keep the rest for yourself. And these cans, sardines and yellow peaches. Eat here before you go. Don't head back on an empty stomach."
Xiuhua followed my hand with her eyes and her cheeks flushed bright red, startled and shy all at once. She nodded again and again. "Okay, okay. I'll make it for you tomorrow. I promise it'll be thick and it'll fit. If anybody asks, I'll just say it's for my husband." She paused, her voice dropping. "Anyway, he won't make it past this winter. Nobody will think twice about it."
The firelight flickered across her face. That fair skin, those soft, curving eyes. Especially lovely. I got a little lost looking at her, honestly.
Feeling me stare, Xiuhua went hot all over and hurried to change the subject. "I heated up some water for your feet. It's still warm. Soak them. Warm yourself up."
And with that she rushed off into the kitchen, steps all flustered, forgot to even straighten the hem of her jacket. I watched her slim little figure go and couldn't help but smile.
I hung the gun on the wall, sat down at the table, and pulled out the rest of my money to count it up. This trip cost me around a hundred. Still had about a hundred and eighty left in my pocket.
I ran the numbers in my head. In a few days I'd head into the mountains, bag some game, take it to the market for cash. Once I'd saved up five hundred, I'd send it along with the cloth and cotton coupons and the national grain coupons, all back to the family in the capital.
I was the baby of the family, held in the palm of my folks' hands since I was little. Now I was stuck out in the countryside, couldn't be there to look after them, and here I was making them worry on top of it. It really didn't sit right with me. Sending more money and coupons back was the only way to ease things up for the whole family.
Right as I was thinking all this, Xiuhua came in carrying the foot basin. She set it down by my feet and actually crouched down like she was going to take my shoes off.
"Go on. Soak. Warm up."
I quick pulled my feet back. "Sis, I can do it myself. I can't have you washing my feet."
"It's no trouble." She waved me off, firm about it. "You walked all that mountain road. You're worn out. Come on, take them off. The water's getting cold."
I couldn't win against her, so I peeled off my shoes and socks and slid my feet into the basin. The warm water wrapped around them, and the heat shot right up from my soles. The cold and the exhaustion melted out of me all at once. Felt so good I closed my eyes.
Xiuhua crouched beside me, reached out and gently rubbed my feet, her touch tender, careful not to hurt me.
I felt warm all over, and suddenly remembered the shipping thing. I opened my eyes and asked her, "Sis, what's the famous local stuff around here? I want to buy some to send home, let my folks give it a taste too."
Xiuhua thought about it, then smiled. "The most famous stuff around here is ginseng, sable fur and ula grass. The three treasures of the Northeast. The ginseng's all wild from the mountains. Best thing for building your body back up. Sable fur coats are super warm, just pricey. You came from someplace warm though. You won't have any use for a fur coat." She thought some more. "The dried mushrooms from the mountains, now those'd be perfect. Great flavor, keep a long time, cheap too. Tasty in stews and stir fries. Send them home and your folks will love them for sure. If you want ginseng, I'll ask around, see who's got some to sell."
But right there, her smile suddenly faded, and this fearful edge crept into her voice. "Just, whatever you do, don't go into the mountains picking mushrooms or digging ginseng on your own. It's too dangerous. Last year some folks from the village went up, ran smack into a black bear. By the time they found them, every bit of flesh had been gnawed off. Just a set of clothes left. The family only recognized them by the clothes."
My stomach sank, and I gave a heavy nod.