Chapter 214 The Uses of Wolf Fangs

The meat was divided up, and Wang Jianshe and the others felt embarrassed to eat at the Sheng family's house. They all made excuses to go home quickly to put their families at ease, and each took their share of meat with them.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Shuzhen told Sheng Xiping that since they weren't at work for the next few days, they should cook something delicious at home.

Please invite Sheng Xiping and his buddies, as well as the Liu brothers, to come over. Let's all get together and have some fun.

“These past few days, other families have been hosting dinner parties and such, but you went to Songjiang River on the second and third days of the Lunar New Year, and then went hunting in the mountains on the fourth and fifth days. We haven’t even had time to host a dinner party yet.”

Chinese New Year is a time for eating and drinking.

Normally everyone is busy and doesn't have much time, but at this time of year, we should at least prepare some good dishes and invite our relatives and friends together for a lively celebration.

"Okay, let's decide after we come back from the mountain tomorrow."

They set a lot of traps in the mountains yesterday, so we'll have to go check them out again tomorrow. If nothing else goes wrong, the day after tomorrow might be a good option.

Sheng Xiping didn't care about this.

Wang Jianshe and his group, along with Liu Yujiang and Liu Yuhe, are all close friends. Even without this meal, they would still get along as usual.

Of course, we're about to go up the mountain to work, so it wouldn't be bad to get together and have a good meal.

Wang Jianshe and the others didn't stay for dinner, so Zhang Shuzhen simply didn't cook too many dishes.

Stew some pickled cabbage and glass noodles, then bring out slices of the wolf meat that was stewed yesterday, and serve it with chili oil and other seasonings.

The wolf meat had rather coarse shreds and tasted a bit like beef; anyway, it was quite delicious.

"Mom, did you keep those two wolf fangs? When I have time, I'll make two amulets for the fourth and fifth sons to wear."

While eating wolf meat, Sheng Xiping suddenly remembered something: those wolf teeth couldn't be thrown away carelessly; they were useful.

"Oh, I kept it. Your dad said that it can calm your nerves and ward off evil spirits, so I put it away."

The fourth and fifth children are grown up, so there's no need to give them to them. Wait until you get married and have children with Qinglan, then you can give them to the children.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen quickly expressed her gratitude.

According to folklore, wolf teeth have the power to calm the nerves, ward off evil spirits, and protect the wearer.

Although people are not allowed to be particular about these things nowadays, many people still care about them in private.

The wolf's tooth was more than five centimeters long, with the tip alone being almost two centimeters long. There was also a gray horizontal stripe on the tip of the tooth, which was the blood groove that the wolf used to suck the blood of its prey after catching it.

Generally, you can drill holes in the wolf teeth, thread a cord through them, and wear them on your body. It is said that this can calm your nerves and ward off evil spirits.

Zhang Shuzhen's idea was that the children in the family were all grown up and there was no need for them to wear the amulets; it would be better to leave them for the next generation.

Young children are easily startled or attract unwanted attention, so having a wolf fang amulet can provide some psychological comfort.

"Mom, I'm not even married yet, and you're already thinking about grandchildren? You're too impatient."

Sheng Xiping laughed as soon as he heard this, thinking that the old lady was eager to become a grandmother.

"Of course! Right now, I have no other thoughts but to look forward to Qinglan coming in soon."

When you have a few children, I'll help you take care of them while I'm still in good health and able to move around, so you two can go back to work.

When I get old, even if you want me to take care of children, I won't be able to anymore.

People these days mostly have very simple ideas.

In most families, the sons don't separate from the family after they get married; they still live together. If a grandmother doesn't help take care of her grandson, the neighbors will laugh at her.

Zhang Shuzhen married Sheng Liancheng and followed him to this remote mountain village in Northeast China.

Zhang Shuzhen raised all six children in the Sheng family single-handedly, as her mother-in-law lived far away in her hometown and couldn't help at all.

Zhang Shuzhen knew how hard it was to raise a child alone, so she thought that after her daughter-in-law gave birth, she would help as much as she could to prevent her from suffering.

"Brother, I can help coax him then."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Yunfang immediately raised her hand, indicating that she was happy to help coax her nephew or niece.

“Yes, yes, I can also coax my little nephew,” Sheng Yunfei chimed in.

"Uh, I can take them out to play and give them delicious food."

Sheng Xitai didn't know how to coax the child. After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and decided that when he had a nephew in the future, he would give the good food to the nephew.

Regardless of what these individuals will achieve in the future, for the time being, as their uncle and aunt, it's already quite commendable that they've said such things.

"Oh my, they've all grown up so much, they even know how to love their little nephew now."

"Alright, when your little nephew is born, we'll see how you behave." Sheng Xiping was amused by his younger siblings.

Over there, Sheng Liancheng and his wife were also imagining the scene of their daughter-in-law giving birth to several grandchildren, creating a harmonious and joyful family of three generations.

After finishing their meal, Sheng Liancheng led his sons to rinse the remaining meat in cold water and then freeze it on the cutting board.

Once the water on the meat has frozen, put it back in the water and freeze it again. Repeat this process three or four times until a thick layer of ice forms on the outside of the meat.

In some places, this is called "coating meat with wax," but it's actually about coating it with ice.

Meat preserved this way will not lose moisture, and when you open it slowly in the future, the meat will still be fresh.

The meat, covered with a layer of ice, was placed in a large wooden barrel, then snow was poured in to bury it. It was then placed in a cool, shady place in the barn, covered with wooden planks, and weighed down with large stones.

If stored like this, it can basically last until almost May Day. In the years before refrigerators, people could only make use of natural conditions to store meat as much as possible.

After finishing all this, it was already dark. Sheng Xiping and the others had barely slept the night before while on the mountain.

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