Chapter 166 Forcing Widow Zhang
There are three or four hunters in Dahe Village who make a living by hunting in the mountains.
There are wolves and leopards in the mountains, and even pheasants and rabbits are prey for these large predators, so it's not easy for hunters to survive.
The most diligent hunter was Zhao, who could hunt a wild deer or a roe deer every few days. Some people in the village would go to Zhao's house to buy some meat when they were craving it.
As soon as Zhao Ergou finished lunch, he went to Zhao the Hunter's house to buy wild game.
However, he was too late. Hunter Zhao was unlucky today and only managed to hunt one pheasant, which was bought by the village head.
"Uncle Village Head said he has guests coming over and he's buying a pheasant to entertain them," Hunter Zhao said sheepishly. "If I catch any game tomorrow, I'll save it for you."
Zhao Ergou asked directly, "How much does it cost per pound to buy wild game in town?"
Hunter Zhao sighed, "Before, when there was no grain, we could sell it for twenty coins. Now that the county magistrate has issued a price decree, wild game can only be sold for fifteen coins a pound. And we have to clean it properly and send it over, otherwise none of the restaurants in town will take it."
After cleaning a wild roe deer weighing over 20 pounds, removing its fur and internal organs, and draining its blood, it only weighed a dozen pounds. No wonder Hunter Zhao sighed.
After considering for a moment, Zhao Ergou said, "Then I'll trouble you to clean it up for me, but you have to keep the innards. Fifteen coins for the meat and ten coins for the innards, how about that?"
Hunter Zhao hurriedly said, "I'll give you the internal organs; it's free."
He always keeps this for himself or gives it to his neighbors. After all, the innards of wild roe deer and wild deer are harder to clean than those of pigs, and have a stronger earthy smell. They are hard to swallow no matter how they are cooked. Pig intestines can be a good dish if you add some dogwood and stir-fry them.
This thing tastes so bad, he definitely can't charge money for it.
"Uncle, you'll have to clean the internal organs properly. You have to pay me." Zhao Ergou turned and walked out. "I'll come back to pick up the goods tomorrow."
Watching his retreating figure, Hunter Zhao didn't know what to say. With this kid coming to collect wild game, he wouldn't have to run to town every few days anymore, nor would he have to put up with the attitudes of those restaurant chefs. The price could actually be negotiated down. What an honest kid.
He would then leave some of these animals' pelts for Zhao Ergou as a way of repaying the favor.
After Zhao Ergou returned home, he helped Cheng Wanwan clean up the wild roe deer. The roe deer was hunted by four wolfhounds together. Xiao Dian made the biggest contribution, and the other three little dogs also contributed their share.
Cheng Wanwan chopped off a roe deer leg with a knife and took it out to give to Aunt Wang.
Aunt Wang was watering the vegetables in the yard when she saw her bring in a roe deer leg. She was startled and asked, "Grandma Dashan, what's wrong?"
Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "Your Wangcai brought back a wild roe deer with Xiaodian and the others. It weighs about 25 jin. Xiaodian weighs 10 jin, and the three smaller ones each weigh 5 jin. The legs of this roe deer should weigh about 4 or 5 jin."
"This won't do!" Aunt Wang took a step back, carrying the bucket. "Wangcai is just playing around. How could it possibly catch a wild roe deer? And you're even giving me a leg? Aren't you just trying to humiliate me?"
“Wangcai really put in the effort, he helped drag it back.” Cheng Wanwan chopped off half of the roe deer’s leg with a knife. “Then how about two pounds? If you still don’t accept it, I won’t let Wangcai go out and run around with Xiaodian anymore.”
Aunt Wang then wiped her hands, took the two pounds of roe deer meat, and said with a smile, "At noon, Father Loach brought back two dumplings. The four children each ate half a bite, which was not enough. Now, let's ask Damai to go to the mountain to dig shepherd's purse, and we will have roe deer meat and shepherd's purse dumplings for dinner."
The two were talking at the door. When they finished, they were about to part ways to go about their own business when suddenly a loud wail came from the other side of the village.
Aunt Wang was a master gossipmonger. As soon as she heard the crying, she threw the meat into Da Mai's arms, grabbed Cheng Wanwan, and ran towards the other end of the village, saying as she ran, "It sounds like Widow Zhang is crying. I wonder what kind of trouble she's up to now. Let's go and see."
Cheng Wanwan quickly threw the kitchen knife in her hand into her yard and went to the open space in the middle of the village.
There were already a lot of people gathered there in three layers.
Aunt Wang pulled Cheng Wanwan into the crowd.
In the middle, Widow Zhang knelt on the ground, hugging a woman's thighs, and wailing loudly: "I won't go... I won't go to see the doctor... Please, aunt..."
Widow Zhang's surname is Zhang, and her husband's surname is Xu. There are about seven or eight families with the surname Xu in Dahe Village. Widow Zhang's parents-in-law died early, and she only had one son, her husband. A few years ago, her husband also died. She, a widow, and her three children inherited more than 20 mu of land that her parents-in-law had worked hard to save over the decades. She had a lot of land, but few able-bodied men in the family. She relied on her looks to trick the men in the village into helping with the work. Many women in the village disliked Widow Zhang.
If people used to dislike her in secret, after the affair between Widow Zhang and Zhao Fugui came to light, they openly loathed her, and some even publicly denounced Widow Zhang for being shameless.
The woman Zhang was holding was her mother-in-law's sister-in-law, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xu family head in Dahe Village.
Aunt Xu held Widow Zhang's hand, forcing a smile: "If you're sick, you have to see a doctor. I, as your aunt, will cover the consultation fee. What else do you want? Stand up and let's go!"
"I won't go, I'm not sick!" Widow Zhang knelt on the ground and refused to move. "Auntie, I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. Let me go, let me go!"
Aunt Xu sneered: "Did you really think that if I didn't tell you, no one would know what happened?"
The villagers gathered around and talked about it.
Aunt Wang pulled Cheng Wanwan aside and whispered, "During the autumn harvest, I heard people say that Widow Zhang was pregnant. I thought it was impossible and didn't take it seriously. But judging from this, it must be true... Widow pregnant, ugh, how could she do something so shameless! In the past, she would have been drowned in a pond or a pig cage. She must have known that the court forbade the village to carry out private torture, so she dared to get pregnant."
The people around them kept talking about it.
"She got pregnant during the autumn harvest. If she had any shame, she should have aborted the child right away. She actually kept the bastard until now."
“You make it sound so easy. Hitting a child can easily cause severe bleeding. If the child dies, her three children will be motherless.”
"I think she's pregnant with an illegitimate child and probably wants to force Zhao Fugui to marry her. A widow has no one to rely on, and Zhao Fugui is a man, so he can at least give her some support."
All sorts of comments flooded into Widow Zhang's ears, and her face turned deathly pale.
Aunt Xu sneered, "A widow getting pregnant? This is a slap in the face to the Xu family! Zhang, you were once on the Xu family genealogy. You've done such a shameless thing. The Xu family can't keep you here. The Xu family's ancestral property should be returned to its rightful owner!"
Widow Zhang's eyes widened: "You did this just to take away the more than 20 mu of land left by my parents-in-law, didn't you!"
"From the moment you got involved with Zhao Fugui, you no longer deserve to call him elder brother, elder sister-in-law, or in-laws. Before, the clan chief turned a blind eye because you bore children for the Xu family. Who would have thought that you would be pregnant with an illegitimate child!" Aunt Xu said righteously. "Now, do you want to come with me to the doctor to prove your innocence, or go to the Xu family ancestral hall to beg for forgiveness?"
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