17. Try to deceive
Xie Zheng stood up with a sullen face, put on his clothes, and just as he walked out of the door with his crutches, he saw Fan Changyu coming down from the attic holding an oil lamp in one hand and a Saker Falcon whose feathers were blown to pieces in the other.
Seeing Xie Zheng, she was a little surprised: "Did I wake you up?"
The drooping Saker Falcon, which had been slapped a few times, started to cry pitifully again as soon as it saw its owner. However, this time it did not dare to be hysterical. Its cry was as weak as that of a chick, and the hair on its head stood up, no longer as shiny and smooth as before.
Xie Zheng was silent for a moment before speaking: "This is..."
Fan Changyu shook the Saker Falcon in his hand and smiled widely. "I saw this gyrfalcon appear nearby several times. I just bought an old hen, so I tried to set a trap to catch it. I didn't expect to actually catch it!"
Ordinary falcons can only carry away chicks, but this gyrfalcon was really big, with a wingspan of nearly one meter. It was also incredibly strong, and when it was struggling on the roof, it even made a big hole in the roof. If Fan Changyu had not heard the noise and rushed up in time, it would have escaped the trap and ran away. It was only after being slapped several times by Fan Changyu that it became quiet.
She said, "I'll take it to the market tomorrow morning and see if I can exchange it for a few taels of silver."
The Saker Falcon continued to look at its owner pitifully with its small eyes.
Xie Zheng couldn't bear to look at this stupid bird. He said with a cold face and a guilty conscience, "No one buys living creatures like falcons in the market. The meat is sour and dry if you kill it. Ordinary people can't afford to raise it. If it's not trained by a bird trainer, it's hard to change its wild nature and it's very easy to hurt people."
"Is that so?" Fan Changyu was immediately disappointed.
She shook her head. "But this gyrfalcon's leg was injured by a predator's claws, and its wings were broken when it flapped in the rafters. I'm afraid it won't survive the winter if it's released into the wild."
The Saker Falcon made a weak and pitiful cry at the right time.
Xie Zheng: "...I know a little bit about bird training, so I can help train it. A trained falcon can be sold for more than 100 taels."
"Huh?" Fan Changyu was very surprised, but when he heard that this big falcon could be sold for tens or even hundreds of taels of silver after being tamed, he became very happy. He even felt that the fact that he had to repair the roof tomorrow was not a big deal.
"Then keep it at home first!"
She immediately found a chicken cage and locked the falcon inside, then took out some medicine and gauze.
The Saker Falcon huddled in the corner of the cage. Fan Changyu lifted up one of its feet and wrapped it with gauze. Its big eyes were full of fear, but it dared not move.
Xie Zheng's eyelids twitched twice when he saw Haidongqing's feet were wrapped like a dumpling.
After Fan Changyu finished all this, he squatted beside the cage and looked at the Saker Falcon. His eyes were full of pity for the hundred taels of silver. "I'll kill the pig tomorrow morning and give you some fresh offal to eat."
The pork has to be kept for sale, but the offal can be eaten as you like.
The offal of the pig we killed today has become salty.
Before returning to her room, Fan Changyu thought about it and felt that the main room was too cold. She and her sister had a kang in their rooms, but no charcoal brazier. Fearing that Yan Zheng was seriously injured and weak, she lit a charcoal brazier in his room, so that she could put Falcon in his room.
That's more than a hundred taels of silver, you can't let it freeze to death!
So Fan Changyu turned around, carrying the chicken cage and the Saker Falcon, and knocked on the door of Xie Zheng's room.
Regardless of the man's expression, he put the chicken coop in the corner of his room and said, "It's cold at night. Don't let the gyrfalcon get frozen. Just put it in your room for now."
Xie Zheng glanced at Hai Dongqing with a sinister look: "...Okay."
As soon as the door was closed, the Saker Falcon's small eyes met the narrow, gloomy eyes of its owner. It dragged its injured leg, shivering with its wings drooping and many feathers lost.
-
The next morning, Fan Changyu killed the pig and took out half a loaf of chopped pig lungs to feed the Saker Falcon.
It seems to be particularly cold outside today. The snow is almost piled up to the doorstep. When the door is opened, the cold air blowing in on the face makes people shiver. Looking out through the door, there is a row of icicles under the eaves.
Fan Changyu's hands were red from the cold. She put the bowl of pig lungs into the cage, rubbed her hands, and said to the person sitting at the head of the bed: "It's very cold today. You should get up and put on more clothes. I cooked some mao xu wang to warm you up."
Xie Zheng nodded to show that he understood, but he really didn't have any thick clothes to wear. After a while, Fan Changyu found a thick jacket of her father and brought it to him.
Xie Zheng looked a little bloated after putting it on, but luckily he was tall enough and still looked handsome.
Moreover, this winter coat is really warm-proof. No matter how cold the wind blows, my body will remain warm.
However, along with the tunic, there was also a dark blue headband. Xie Zheng had seen this headband before. Last time, Fan Changyu had tied it on her own head out of anger.
He frowned.
-
When Fan Changyu came out of the kitchen with a large soup pot, he saw that he had gotten up and washed up, so he said, "You're up? It's a good time to sit down and eat."
The soup in her hand was bright red, and the air was filled with a very overbearing spicy aroma.
Fan Changyu noticed that he didn't use the headband he took, but didn't say anything.
She saw that he loved cleanliness very much. It was inconvenient to take a bath in winter, but he would wipe his body with hot water every few days. He also washed his headband frequently. Sometimes, when it was not dry for a long time, he would take it to the fire to dry. So she gave him the headband she bought to use.
She is not a petty person, how can she really not give it to him?
The pot was too full, and it was very hot right after it came out of the pot. After Fan Changyu put the pot on the table, he pinched his ear with his burned finger and said, "Wow, it's so hot!"
Little Changning came over and said, "Ning Niang, please blow it, and it won't be hot anymore."
Fan Changyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry and passed his finger to his sister. Changning puffed up his cheeks and blew on it for several breaths before stopping.
When Fan Changyu looked up, she saw Xie Zheng looking at her strangely. She wiped her face and found that there was no charcoal black on it. She couldn't help asking, "Is there something on my face?"
The other party looked away and just said, "No."
Fan Changyu glanced at him suspiciously and put the bowl and chopsticks over to him: "Try this blood stew! It tastes best when it is boiled and eaten right away, but it's too late today."
The top of the soup noodles was covered with a layer of peppercorns and dried chilies dipped in hot oil, and underneath were chopped pig blood, fat intestines brined last night, pig stomach, pig lungs and other offal. Unfortunately, we didn’t grow bean sprouts at home, so there was no layer of plump, white, crispy and tender bean sprouts at the bottom.
Fan Changyu scooped a piece of pig blood from his sister's bowl. Little Changning gasped because of the spiciness. After eating a piece, she stared at the soup pot eagerly: "More!"
Fan Changyu picked up two more pieces for her.
It was the first time that Xie Zheng saw this huge hodgepodge look like a pot of soup. The soup didn't look drinkable, and the Fan family didn't have the habit of using serving chopsticks.
On normal days, it would be fine to just have some stir-fried dishes and eat a side dish, but with this whole pot of stew, it’s almost impossible to even start eating.
While he was hesitating, the Fan Changyu sisters had almost finished half a bowl of rice. Seeing that he only ate rice and not vegetables, Fan Changyu asked in confusion, "You don't eat spicy food?"
“…No.”
He finally gave up his obsession with eating and picked up a piece of pig's blood that had been cooked into a dark red color with a frown on his face.
The first feeling when you take a bite is numbing and spicy. You hardly need to chew it. Just take a sip with a little force and the blood sausage will melt between your lips and teeth. It is unexpectedly delicious.
He tasted the brine again and again. The brine was first brine and then boiled. The perfect combination of brine fragrance and spicy taste made him unable to control his chopsticks.
After finishing the meal, Xie Zheng almost forgot about his food obsession.
Just as Fan Changyu said, I soon started sweating from the spiciness and didn't even notice the cold weather outside.
He asked, "Is this a local dish?"
Fan Changyu said, "I guess so. It's the famous dish in the Yixianglou in the town. The female shopkeeper knows a lot of dishes!"
Xie Zheng only had a brief thought about promoting this dish in the military before giving up. The food in the army only cared about filling the stomach and could not be so exquisite. Besides, seasonings such as chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorns were also a considerable expense.
After Fan Changyu cleared the dishes, he carried the Saker Falcon from his room to the fire pit. Before leaving, he reminded him, "There's still half a loin of pig's lung in the kitchen. You can chop it up and feed it to the gyrfalcon later."
She shook her head and said sheepishly, "If you have time, try to tame him?"
Xie Zheng glanced at him lazily but his answer was slow: "...Okay."
The Saker Falcon trembled in the cage with its neck retracted, like a giant quail.
Fan Changyu pushed the cart to the shop without any worries. It was snowing heavily today and at this time, there were only a few pedestrians walking on the street.
When we got to the street with the butcher shop, it was also deserted.
Fan Changyu opened the shop door and cleared the snow under the eaves. Only then did she realize that the stove outside that she had built with bricks had been smashed.
She was so angry that she laughed. She had only been selling salted meat in her shop for a few days? How could someone become jealous so quickly that they wanted to smash her things?
After what happened with Fan Dahe and the casino, she has always been known for her ferocity and brutality. Sometimes, having a fierce reputation has many advantages.
Fan Changyu immediately threw the broom away, put his hands on his hips and cursed: "That bastard smashed your aunt's things? He dared not say it to my face and only dared to do these things behind my back. Did his ancestors have to be bastards?"
She has practiced martial arts since she was young, and when she curses, her voice can penetrate the entire street.
The butchers in the neighboring shops didn't say a word. Only Butcher Guo, who was caught by her gaze, immediately shouted, "Why are you looking at me? I didn't smash it for you!"
Fan Changyu really didn't doubt him, because Guo the Butcher's face showed nothing but schadenfreude and no trace of guilt.
The butcher lady at the side seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Oh no, Changyu, your shop was closed for a month. Didn't you pay the security fee?"
This was the first time Fan Changyu had heard of protection fees, so he asked in confusion, "What is that?"
The butcher's wife sighed and said, "In addition to paying taxes to the government every month, we also have to give some money to the gang leader who manages this street. Your shop must have been doing great business these days, and those people must have heard about it. I say they will probably come over soon."
Fan Changyu had an idea in her mind. Those people smashed the stove at her door last night to intimidate her, and they would definitely come to her again today to collect protection fees.
She thanked the butcher's wife, put the fresh meat and salted meat on the chopping board, put a long stick behind the door, and sold the meat while waiting for the thugs to come over.
At three quarters past noon, a group of street thugs came charging towards the meat market. They were so arrogant that people passing by avoided them.
Fan Changyu heard the noise in the store and looked outside.
Hey, old acquaintance!
The author has something to say:
Haidongqing: This night that this lame green and my lame master spent together is a shadow that will haunt this lame green for the rest of his life QAQ
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