It was now the dead of winter, the days were getting shorter and the nights longer, and the sun was setting earlier than usual. Therefore, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling had to exert every ounce of their strength and race against time to properly dispose of all the wolf carcasses before nightfall.

After a full day of non-stop work, all four of them were exhausted and mentally drained. Despite their extreme fatigue, they managed to finish all the work before dark. However, this did come at a price: firstly, everyone was utterly exhausted, as if all their strength had been drained; secondly, their stomachs were growling with hunger.

It turned out that in their rush to complete the mission, they hadn't even had time for lunch. Although they'd eaten late in the morning, the entire day had been filled with heavy physical labor, leaving them extremely exhausted. The morning was somewhat better, as they hadn't felt hungry much after eating; but by the afternoon, their stomachs were growling uncontrollably, and they could only hastily grab handfuls of dried fruit to stuff into their mouths, barely filling their empty stomachs. Even so, they still felt unbearably hungry, so they reached for a few more dried fruits to stave off their hunger, not even bothering to wipe their hands clean. Their hands, covered in blood mixed with the nuts, were put into their mouths, the strong, metallic taste of blood still lingering in their mouths. However, driven by their unwavering goal and the allure of a delicious dinner, the four of them gritted their teeth and persevered, successfully decomposing all the wolf carcasses.

After a hard-fought battle, Wang Lun, Liu Ruoling, and Li Ling, dragging their heavy and exhausted bodies, carefully collected the wolf meat, bones with meat on them, and edible internal organs, and placed them properly one by one. As for Liu Ruoxi, she went back to the house to cook, and although her physical condition was ultimately not as good, she still insisted on coming out to help whenever she had a spare moment while cooking.

Wang Lun and his team cleverly utilized the accumulated snow, creating three enormous snowdrifts that served as natural "refrigerators" for storing food. Because of the frigid weather, placing the ingredients outdoors in the snow effectively preserved their freshness. This way, whenever they wanted to enjoy a meal, they could simply take it from the snowdrifts, ensuring every bite was fresh and delicious meat, rather than dry, hard, and salty jerky. Of course, it wasn't that they were picky; they simply preferred to eat better when possible. Without the luxury of better food, they could still stomach jerky.

After Wang Lun, Li Ling, and Liu Ruoling carefully stored all the wolf meat, offal, and bones, Liu Ruoxi inside the house had successfully stewed two pots of fragrant wolf bone soup. The two large pots were filled to the brim with bones rich in succulent meat. The only slight drawback was the limited availability of seasonings due to environmental constraints; only salt was available. But surprisingly, even with just this most ordinary salt, the bone soup still emitted an incredibly enticing aroma, like a precious culinary gift from nature.

After quickly washing their hands, Wang Lun and the other two eagerly sat around the fire pit, grabbing bones and gnawing on them without a word. They were exhausted and starving; the sight of food made them unable to move. Seeing this, Liu Ruoxi quickly got up, went to the table, and brought over the cold wild vegetable salad that had been there, gently placing it on a stone by the fire pit. Then she turned and went to the shelf, taking out several pairs of chopsticks and neatly arranging them on top of the vegetable salad. After doing this, Liu Ruoxi returned to the fire pit, sat down on a small stool, and casually scooped a rib from the pot beside her.

These bones, having been simmered for a long time, have become very soft. With just a little force, the pieces of meat attached to them can be easily peeled off, leaving no other meat residue on the bones.

The bones, seasoned only with a touch of salt, retain the original freshness and aroma of the meat to the maximum extent, without any off-flavors, making them so pure that they are intoxicating, overflowing with a rich and mellow meaty fragrance.

The pot contained rows of neatly arranged ribs, along with several thick, sturdy spine and leg bones, almost encompassing the entire wolf's skeleton. However, the wolf's head was conspicuously left out. After all, the amount of bones prepared for the day was more than enough for everyone to eat their fill, even to the point of being stuffed. The wolf's head would be saved for later. Tomorrow morning, it would be used to cook a pot of steaming wolf head soup, which would be cooked together with acorn flour noodles. In this way, one could enjoy both delicious noodles and a flavorful, hot soup—just imagining it made one's mouth water and one's mouth water.

Whether the wolf-head acorn noodles are actually tasty remains to be seen, but the bones currently simmering are undoubtedly a delicacy! The four of them each grabbed a bone, tightly gripping it with both hands and gnawing away. When they got a little greasy, they would pick up their oil-stained chopsticks, grab a bite of cold wild vegetables to cleanse their palates, and then quickly put down their chopsticks to continue their culinary adventure. If the bones were too dry and difficult to swallow, they would scoop up a bowl of steaming bone broth from the side, tilt their heads back, and gulp down two large mouthfuls before immediately continuing to enjoy their meal.

And so the meal continued from sunset until the moon was high in the sky. By this time, everyone was stuffed and their bellies were bulging. If they hadn't been by the fire pit, they probably would have collapsed onto the kang (heated brick bed) long ago, too lazy to move an inch.

The two pots brimming with wolf bones were devoured by the four gluttons, leaving only a large pot of delicious bone broth. The bowl of refreshing wild vegetable salad was also completely cleaned up, leaving not a single scrap. Just as they put down their chopsticks, Wang Lun turned to Liu Ruoxi and said, "Don't throw this broth away. Tomorrow morning, whoever is on night watch should throw in the wolf head and simmer it for a few hours. When we get up at dawn, we can roll out some noodles and put them in. It'll be warming and comforting." Liu Ruoxi nodded gently in agreement.

Then, Wang Lun continued, "We encountered some dangerous situations last night, so we need to continue our night watch. Besides, there's snow everywhere outside, so we can't do anything. Let's just do it the same way as before, with two people taking turns on night shifts. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling will be in charge of the first half of tonight; Liu Ruoxi and I will handle the second half. Does anyone have any questions or opinions?"