"Bang, bang, bang."
"Xiao Zhuang? Xiao Zhuang? Why is the door locked in broad daylight?"
In the courtyard, Zhuang Mingcheng's eyes lit up. He immediately felt that a good helper had arrived. The captain was an old hunter and would definitely know how to skin a bear.
He quickly opened the courtyard gate and welcomed Gao Dajiang in.
"Xiao Zhuang, I heard from the sisters-in-law that Xiao Lu killed a bear? And it was quite a big bear?"
As he spoke, Gao Dajiang curiously walked into the courtyard.
He paused for a moment, staring at the large black bear lying on its back in front of him.
This...this isn't just big, it's absolutely gigantic, like a mountain of flesh.
He rubbed his eyes and looked over again. "This...this was done by Xiao Lu?"
"Xiao Lu, Xiao Lu, did you hit this?"
Lu Fangfang came over carrying a plate of grapes.
The grapes of this era weren't as sweet as those of later generations, but they had a fruity aroma, and she found them quite delicious.
"Commander, have some grapes."
Gao Dajiang waved his hand, pointed at the big bear on the ground, and asked incredulously, "Xiao Lu, did you hit this?"
"Yes, we hunted it in the woods on the north mountain."
Gao Dajiang stared at the giant bear on the ground, utterly shocked.
A woman, and not even a particularly strong one at that, hunted down such a large bear—that's a record for the county, no, for the city!
He gave Lu Fangfang a thumbs-up and exclaimed in admiration:
"Xiao Lu, you are truly a woman who is just as capable as any man. Our group has hunted some bears over the years, but the largest one weighed only 600 pounds. You have really broken our group's record. Even in our city, we have never hunted such a big bear."
He bent down and looked around the big bear carefully, marveling at it.
Looking at the bear, he admired it even more. The bullet holes on the bear's head could only be accurately shot by a skilled marksman.
Zhuang Mingcheng stood next to Gao Dajiang and said without any ceremony, "Commander, it's just in time that you've come. My arm is injured, and I was looking for someone to help me with this bear skin."
Skinning the bear? Leave that to me.
Gao Dajiang was itching to get his hands dirty, and he felt quite honored to have such a large bear.
He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a knife, and immediately got to work.
After a while, Xiao Aiguo also arrived, and he was shocked to see such a big bear in the yard.
Since he had nothing else to do, he rolled up his sleeves and helped Gao Dajiang.
Lu Fangfang couldn't stand it anymore, so she pulled Sister Shufen inside to eat grapes.
After a while, more people came to watch the excitement in the courtyard, including women and cadres from the troupe.
The story of the burly bear weighing a thousand pounds has spread throughout the residential compound.
While she was at it, Lu Fangfang went out and borrowed a large iron pot.
She had already processed most of the big bear in the yard; she had seen it all. The bear's outer layer was all white fat, and it must weigh at least one or two hundred pounds.
There's so much fatty meat that a regular large pot wouldn't fit; it has to be a big iron pot.
After a while, Gao Dajiang and Xiao Aiguo peeled off the entire bear skin.
The two of them took the knife and cut Xiong Ba into pieces again.
"Alright, Xiao Zhuang, you still need to find someone to properly process this bear skin. It's such a big bear skin, we can't let it spoil."
Gao Dajiang washed his hands and prepared to go back.
Seeing that the courtyard was full of people, he waved his hand and shooed them away, saying, "Alright, that's enough. Go back now and don't get in the way."
"Commander, let's take another look."
"It's all bloody, what's so interesting about it? Everyone, hurry back."
Gao Dajiang's face immediately turned serious.
Seeing this, everyone reluctantly left.
They could see it; the bear had a thick layer of fat on its body, truly fine fat.
"Commander, thank you so much for your trouble. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
"No need, Xiao Zhuang just got back, I can't disturb you two."
Gao Dajiang waved his hand and left with Xiao Aiguo.
“Mingcheng…”
"What's wrong?"
Lu Fangfang looked at the big bear and felt it was too eye-catching.
She understood exactly what everyone was thinking.
Such a big bear, her family couldn't possibly eat it all, and they couldn't even dry all of it to make jerky. But rather than giving it away to others for free, she preferred to process it herself.
"How about we hold our wedding banquet the day after tomorrow? You can invite all the soldiers who went on the mission with you. We don't need to buy expensive meat anymore, just some expensive flour will do."
On the other side, Zhuang Mingcheng was taken aback.
He looked down at the bear meat on the ground, then nodded, "Okay, whatever you say, let's have the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow."
Lu Fangfang smiled, and her mood inexplicably improved.
"Girl, Xiao Zhuang, you two should have gotten married a long time ago. How can you just get a marriage certificate without actually getting married? It's not like we can't afford to."
"I've been busy before and haven't had time."
Lu Fangfang was still a little embarrassed. She grabbed an enamel basin and, together with Sister Shufen, started cutting up the fatty meat.
The two men became increasingly alarmed as they cut deeper. The fat on the bear's body was incredibly thick and plentiful. They had cut through most of it before they finally touched the bear's lean meat.
Soon, the small basin was full of fatty meat.
Lu Fangfang washed it with clean water and then poured it into the big pot.
Looking at the glistening white fat in the pot, she gasped in amazement. How much oil must have been rendered? They'd really struck it rich.
"Girl, first heat up the bottom of the pot and let it simmer slowly, then we'll add the fatty meat inside."
"Okay, I'll light it right away."
Soon, a meaty aroma wafted from the large iron pot.
The aroma was so enticing, even more so than rendered lard, that the three people in the yard couldn't help but swallow hard.
"My goodness, this smells amazing! This bear oil is a real treasure!"
Across from her, Lu Fangfang nodded.
The moment she smelled the aroma, she felt weak all over. She quickly went inside, found a pancake, and took a few bites.
When she went outside again, she saw Sister Shufen pour the freshly cut fatty meat into the large iron pot.
"Girl, this pot isn't enough, we need to make another one. Go find something to hold the bear oil, and pour it in as soon as we're done cooking."
Upon hearing what Sister Shufen said, Lu Fangfang went back inside.
She looked around and then carefully moved the large water vat that was next to her outside.
She poured out the water and then took a clean cloth and wiped the inside clean.
After another while, the aroma from the large iron pot grew stronger and stronger.
Lu Fangfang swallowed hard, her mouth watering. She quickly went inside to get a bowl and chopsticks and ran out.
"Sister Shufen, quickly scoop out a few pieces of bear fat cracklings for me, I want to taste them."
Wang Shufen smiled and shook her head, saying that the girl was acting like a child.
Holding a strainer, she rummaged through the iron pot, found a few pieces of rendered pork fat that were almost done, and scooped them out into her sister's bowl.
Lu Fangfang blew on it, then put it in her mouth and chewed it.
"Hmm..."
The bear fat cracklings were fragrant and crispy, and she was instantly satisfied.
It smelled so good, it was the first time she had ever tasted anything that smelled so good.
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