Chapter 82 Guishui Comes

Qin Dashun came to help skin the wolves. The wolves had been frozen for a day and a night since they died, leaving their bodies stiff and taut. The two men pulled and tugged at the skins in two directions, while Sui Yu stood by, clutching a kitchen knife, occasionally slicing through the fascia. It took the three of them half a day to completely skin the four wolves.

Next, Zhao Xiping entered the room and pulled out a low couch against the wall. He placed the wolf meat on the couch, and he and Qin Dashun chopped the meat with machetes. They put the legs in one basket, the head in another, the remaining chopped spine in another, and the offal in a basin so anyone who came to buy it could easily see what was there.

Sui Yu and Sui Liang went out to hawk their wares. The brother and sister walked around the alleys, listening for any noise from a house and stopping for a moment.

"Selling wolf meat?" An old man wearing a sheepskin opened the door and came out.

"Yes, no matter which part of the meat, it's one hundred coins per pound." Sui Yu said.

Wolf meat has a strong fishy smell and has not been bled. After stewing, the smell becomes even stronger. In order to sell the wolf meat as quickly as possible, Zhao Xiping did not ask for a high price.

"Is there a wolf's leg?" another family asked as they opened the door.

"Yes, there are eight wolf legs in total. No one bought them when I went out." Sui Yu said.

"Okay, I'll go right over. One hundred coins per pound?" The man who opened the door later asked again, feeling uneasy.

"Don't worry, go ahead. It's a hundred coins a pound. Go to the second alley in Shisantun. There's a pile of bean stalks and golden flowers outside the door. That's the house with the door open. My husband is home, so go ahead."

The man went into the house to get the money and the basket. He went out and called the old man, "Uncle Lao De, let's go take a look. Wolf meat is a hundred coins a pound, much cheaper than mutton and pork."

"Okay, old man, I'll go take a look too. If it's really 100 coins per pound, I'll buy a few more pounds. That way I can buy less mutton for the New Year, and I won't buy camel meat at all." The old man then shouted into the house, "Big Egg, go ask your grandma for money."

The sound of the two people talking made other families in the alley who were interested open their doors. Seeing that Uncle De and Ermaozi had already left with the baskets, some people also walked out of the door with their necks hunched and followed them.

Sui Yu shouted a few more times in the alley next door. Seeing that more people were walking around, she thought it was about time, so she took Sui Liang back the way they came.

By the time Sui Yu and Sui Liang arrived home, some of the wolf meat had already been sold. The first buyers were from the same village. With meat prices low, those on the tight end would buy two or three pounds of pure meat, intending to save it for New Year's Eve dinners. Those with more money would only buy a pound or two to try. Those buying wolf legs and bones were mostly ordinary people who wanted to use the meat as a substitute for pork and mutton, hoping to save money and get more meat for their health.

Uncle Lao De and Sui Yu walked in one after the other. As soon as they entered, they were hit by a strong, fishy smell—the unique flavor of wolf meat. He had a strong palate and loved this kind of meat. He picked through the basket, selecting two meaty wolf legs and handing them over, saying, "Weigh them for me. These two wolves aren't fat."

"Wolves are thin in winter, but their fur is thick. It's not so bad now. When spring comes, in February or March, the wolves have nothing to eat, and then they become really thin," said Qin Dashun.

"That's true." Uncle Lao De nodded, and he went to look in the other baskets.

"The two wolf legs weigh a total of 24.3 jin. I'll give it to you as 24 jin. Do you want some more meat? I'll give you 3 liang." Zhao Xiping asked.

Uncle Lao De thought about it and decided to ask for a pair of wolf intestines and a piece of rib meat. When he had collected three taels of silver, he took the basket and left.

Ermaozi only bought a wolf leg. He was waiting outside. Seeing Uncle Laode buy so many things, he looked inside and said, "Uncle Laode, you go first. I'll go weigh two or three pounds of meat."

"It's okay to weigh more. It will take a long time to store in cold weather. If you can't finish it, you can dry it into jerky. You can use it to satisfy your hunger during the busy farming season in spring." said Uncle Lao De.

When people who came later heard what he said, they nodded in agreement.

In less than an hour, the meat of the two wolves was sold out. People who came later were unable to buy it, so Sui Yu reduced the price by forty cents and sold the unwanted wolf heads at the price of sixty cents per catty.

"Then I'll go back." Qin Dashun said.

"Okay, it's getting dark." Zhao Xiping saw him out and said, "Thank you for troubling me today."

"Stop being so polite." Qin Dashun waved his hand and strode into his house.

Zhao Xiping also turned around and walked in, closing the door behind him.

Without the cold wind blowing into the yard, the house was much warmer. Sui Yu rubbed her frozen hands. She picked up the broom and swept up the meat scraps on the ground, pouring the ashes and dirt to the black pig to eat. This pig also loved to eat meat.

Zhao Xiping sent Sui Liang to light a fire and boil water. He took the shovel and shoveled away the blood-stained soil. After all the blood and soil were shoveled away, the bloody smell in the yard also dissipated for the most part.

"There is not enough salt at home," said Sui Yu.

Zhao Xiping glanced at the sky and said, "All the shops are closed now. I'll go buy some tomorrow. I won't marinate the wolf meat tonight. It won't hurt to leave it out overnight."

"Okay, I'm tired today. I'll go to bed early after dinner." Sui Yu went into the kitchen to prepare cooking.

At a certain moment, the sky became completely dark, thick smoke came out of the chimney, and in the entire courtyard, only the kitchen was lit.

The cat official, who had eaten his fill, couldn't stand the cold any longer. He gave up guarding the mountain of meat, and dashed into the kitchen with a chill all over his body. He climbed onto Sui Liang's legs and lay on his knees to warm himself by the fire.

Zhao Xiping carried the meat basket into the woodshed. The yard was empty, and he spread four wolf skins on the ground.

"Sui Liang, go away. I'll shovel out some ashes." Then he changed his tone and said to Sui Yu, "Put the lid on the pot first and take the dishes out first to avoid dust."

"Can't we do it after dinner?" Sui Yu took the basin out.

No, Zhao Xiping is in a hurry. He wants to prepare the wolfskin saltpeter as soon as possible.

Grass ash was spread on the wolf skin. Zhao Xiping took out the oil lamp from the main room to illuminate it. He squatted on the ground and scraped the meat, fat and fascia from the wolf skin with a kitchen knife.

The vegetable dumpling soup is ready and Sui Yu calls for dinner.

After dinner, the man continued to scrape the wolf skin.

After washing the pots and pans, Sui Yu asked Sui Liang to wash his feet and go to bed first, and she went out to help.

Because of her, Zhao Xiping gave up his plan to achieve quick results. He shaved the wolf skin clean and told Sui Yu to wash her face and feet.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Xiping heard Sui Yu's uncomfortable breathing. He sat up and found that she was hunched over. He got dressed and got out of bed, then went to the kitchen to light the fire and the oil lamp.

As the oil lamp lit up, he heard some movement in the room. He went in and saw that Sui Yu had also woken up.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Sui Yu glanced at Sui Liang, pulled up the mattress to cover his face, took off his pants and saw that it was true, her menstrual period, which had not lasted for two years, had come.

"Don't look at me like I'm a pervert. I'm not trying to seduce you, I'm having my period." Sui Yu pulled up his pants and lay down again, saying, "I have a stomachache. Boil some hot water and use it to cover my stomach. There's also a menstrual belt. Luckily I prepared it in advance. It's in the wooden box next to me. Take it to the kitchen and stuff it with a handful of fine grass ash."

Zhao Xiping looked embarrassed. He held the oil lamp and went to look for the menstrual belt. After confirming with her, he went out again, holding the rope and the oil lamp. After a while, he brought the menstrual belt first.

"There's needle and thread in the sewing basket. Please sew a few stitches in the seam where you stuffed the straw ash." Sui Yu continued to instruct, "Do you see the strip of cloth left on the edge? Press the cloth on the seam to prevent the straw ash from leaking out."

"good."

Zhao Xiping did what she said. He sat at the foot of the bed, buried in his needlework, and looked up at her from time to time. Judging from her expression, she must be feeling very uncomfortable.

"I'm going to have to do this every month from now on. It makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it." The conditions were really too bad. Using grass ash to suck blood made Sui Yu feel uncomfortable all over just thinking about it.

Zhao Xiping bit the thread and asked, "Every month?"

"If you're pregnant, stop for ten months." Sui Yu winked at him.

Zhao Xiping lowered his eyes and ignored her. He put the menstrual belt on the bed and went out to get water.

The sound of their conversation woke Sui Liang. Sui Yu felt him move and she picked up the wolf skin and put it on him, saying, "Don't move. My sister is changing clothes and you can't watch."

Sui Liang didn't move.

Sui Yu put on a menstrual belt and changed her bloody pants. She turned on the air conditioner, lifted the mattress and lay down on the bed.

"It's so cold, it's so cold, Liang Ge'er, hurry up and warm me up."

Sui Liang pulled down the wolfskin and looked outside, "Is it morning?"

"No, go back to sleep."

As he was speaking, Zhao Xiping came in. He handed over the water bag, saw that Sui Liang was awake, and asked him if he wanted some water.

Sui Liang shook his head.

"If you don't want to drink, just go back to sleep." Zhao Xiping took off his clothes and went to bed. As soon as he lay down, two legs were stuffed into his arms.

"Come and sleep with me?" he asked.

"Okay." But Sui Yu didn't want to move. Her stomach hurt so much that she let Sui Liang fall asleep.

Zhao Xiping took over and skillfully picked up the cold legs and feet and stuffed them into his stomach.

"No, no, I'm afraid it will leak." Sui Yu retracted her legs, stretched them out and stepped on his legs. She took his hand and said, "Hold the water bag for me. If the water bag is not warm anymore, cover my stomach with your hand."

"good."

Sui Yu was in so much pain that she couldn't fall asleep for a while, so she asked him to tell her about hunting wolves. Sui Liang, who was sleeping on the other side, woke up immediately after hearing this and pricked up his ears to listen quietly.

When the rooster crowed three times, Sui Yu changed the menstrual belt and the water bag to a warm one, and then fell into a deep sleep.

When it was bright, Zhao Xiping got up to cook. He felt that the water bag was no longer hot, so he changed the water in the bag and filled another bag with hot water and stuffed it under Sui Yu's feet.

Sui Liang also woke up.

"Don't get up, just lie on the bed. I'll call you when the meal is ready." Zhao Xiping said in a low voice.

Sui Liang lay down obediently and covered his sister with the quilt.

After dinner, Sui Yu got dressed and got out of bed. There was a bulging and heavy menstrual belt tied between her legs. She had to walk with her legs apart. She felt uncomfortable and it showed on her face.

Zhao Xiping and Sui Liang subconsciously did not dare to speak loudly.

"After dinner, you can take care of the housework yourself. I want to go back to my room and lie down." Sui Yu said.

"Okay." Zhao Xiping responded decisively, "If you're not feeling well, I'll bring you lunch in bed. What would you like to eat?"

"Please eat something light. I have no appetite."

In the next few days, Sui Yu lay in bed all the time except for going to the toilet. Even when she went to Qin Dashun's house for dinner on New Year's Eve, Zhao Xiping brought her food.

With that thing tied under her crotch, she couldn't close her legs when standing, and was worried about it shifting when sitting. She would be exposed as soon as she went out. Sui Yu finally understood why the ladies in ancient times didn't go out when they had their period.

It was not until the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month that Sui Yu was finally clean. She could not wait to boil a pot of water and warm up the kitchen. She took off her clothes and took a good bath.

Zhao Xiping brought back wolf skins that had been soaked for seven days on a camel. The wolf skins were thrown into the river and soaked in cold water during the day, and then collected at night and soaked in alkaline water containing grass ash. The meat and fat on the skins were soaked and scraped off, and most of the fat on the fur was also removed. The next step was to hang them up to dry in the sun, and then tan the skins after they were dry.

"You're back just in time. Come in and get some water and pour it out." Sui Yu sat in front of the stove to dry her hair and said to the outside, "I'll boil two more pots of water so you and Liang Ge can take a bath."

Zhao Xiping was a little reluctant and said, "In the middle of winter..."

"Don't sleep with me if you don't wash."

The rest of the words were choked in her throat, and the man came in obediently to pour water.

"You're the only one who's clean." He muttered.

"It's hard to find someone as clean as me. If you marry one, just be happy." Sui Yu said loudly, "Don't you feel uncomfortable without fleas on your head?"

"I raised it on purpose."

Sui Yu took off her shoes and threw them at him.

Zhao Xiping laughed out loud, picked up the shoes and brought them in.

Sui Yu glared at him and said, "You're itchy."

"Can you rub it for me?" Zhao Xiping winked at her.

Sui Yu's expression changed. After a moment of hesitation, she said righteously, "It's not appropriate in broad daylight."

She was afraid that she would lose control if the atmosphere was right. Now that her period had come, she became cautious and didn't dare tease him as before. If she wasn't careful, she might get pregnant.

When Zhao Xiping was taking a shower, Sui Yu hid outside. She took the money and went to the street to buy cloth. This year she had more money, so she bought a few more feet of cloth, intending to buy two sets of underwear for each of the three members of the family.