There was a lot of water dripping around the straw shed, and the backyard was not paved with stones like the front yard. Fortunately, the straw shed was directly connected to the back door, so the shed was not very wet and did not affect the charcoal burning.
Chunxiao looked up at the distant mountains in the yard, which were all white. She finally understood where the artistic conception of poets and painters came from. While one side was concentrating on burning charcoal, Zhou had already started clearing the snow at the gate of the yard in straw sandals. There was no water at home, and she would have to go fetch water later, so she had to clear a path that was easy to walk on.
The sun was very bright today, but the air was very cold. Chunxiao closed the stove and immediately went to the stove in the main room. Zhou was still clearing the snow.
"Mom, stop it. It will melt in two days of sun. It's cold outside." Chunxiao shouted outside.
"It's almost ready. I have some meat porridge cooking in the pot. If you're hungry, you can eat it first."
"Dongsheng, come in. Be careful of the snow. Why are you here?" It was her mother's voice outside. Is Dongsheng here? Chunxiao got up and walked out of the yard. Sure enough, she saw a person coming over from the fence in the distance.
"Mom, you have very good eyesight. You recognized him from such a distance." Chunxiao also stared at the person who came.
"It's not that my mother has good eyesight. It's winter, and he's the only one wearing thin clothes. He only wears the same two sets of clothes all year round. I can tell at a glance."
"Aunt Zhou, Sister Chunxiao." The young man walked over carefully step by step.
"Why are you here? What's up?"
"I set a few traps on the mountain before the snow fell. I went to check this morning and found some goodies. I wanted to come over and ask Sister Chunxiao if she still wanted them. If not, I'll take them to town and sell them."
"What a great thing." Chun Xiao looked at him. The boy was indeed wearing thin clothes. "Aren't you cold wearing so little?"
"I'm used to it." Dongsheng touched his head and smiled awkwardly, "There were two pheasants and a roe deer. They weighed about 40 kilograms. I was lucky. They fell into my trap while foraging on a snowy day."
Chunxiao had never eaten roe deer before, but she heard the meat was quite delicious. "What's your price?"
Dongsheng saw that she was interested in buying it, and said hurriedly, "It's not expensive. The roe deer is 40 catties, plus two pheasants, so a total of 700 coins is enough for you."
Chunxiao calculated and found that it was indeed not expensive. Zhou pulled her aside and said, "Didn't you ask your eldest brother for 100 kilograms of pork? Why do you want a roe deer now?" She spoke in a low voice so that only the two of them could hear.
"Mom, we're all from the same village, so any help is appreciated. Besides, this stuff costs at least 20 wen per pound if you buy it outside. They don't make any money on us, so we can just pickle the leftovers." After saying that, she turned and looked at Dongsheng, "Dongsheng, my family has been too busy lately and I'm afraid we don't have time to slaughter the roe deer. If it's convenient for you, could you help your Aunt Zhou clean out the roe deer meat? I'll give you two pounds of meat to try later."
"Okay," the young man looked very happy, his ears red, not sure if it was from the cold or from happiness, "Then I'll get the stuff over to you right away. Where do you plan to get it?"
Chunxiao looked around and said, "Let's do it right here at the gate of the yard. I'll go get some pots ready."
Seeing him about to leave, Zhou quickly stopped him and said, "I need to go to the river to fetch some water. Wait for me, and we can go together."
"Then please bring an extra bucket and I'll help you get some water before we go back."
Zhou liked such sensible children. She went back to the house with a smile to get the bucket and followed the man.
With Dongsheng's help, the water tank was filled after two trips. He went home to get something and came back half an hour later carrying a roe deer and a pheasant.
Zhou and he worked together at the courtyard gate, while Chunxiao plucked the scalded chicken feathers. Dongsheng was quite skilled at this, quickly skinning the roe deer and then moving on to cleaning the internal organs. Chunxiao took a bucket and dumped the entrails into it. He then cleaned the meat in a basin, removed the bones, and cut it into strips, each weighing about 2 to 3 pounds. In total, he had nine strips, including the four legs, a roe deer head, and a pile of bones.
Chunxiao went into the house and took out 700 coins for him. Dongsheng returned her ten coins and said, "I still owe you 10 coins last time."
Chunxiao smiled and gave him another 10 coins. "Here, you've been helping me for half an hour. 10 coins isn't too much." Then she handed him another piece of meat and pointed to the internal organs on the side. "Do you want these? I don't want them."
Dongsheng nodded quickly when he heard it and said, "Of course you want it. If you don't want it, just give it to me. I don't want the meat." The internal organs are also good things for them.
Chunxiao picked up a piece of meat and hung it next to the bucket of offal, then gave her a few bones. "Your mother is not feeling well. You can use these bones to make soup for her. It will be good for her health. I'll lend you the bucket. Just return it when you're better."
The young man lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long time, he said "hmm" and walked away in the snow with the bucket in his hand.
"This child has had it so hard." Zhou shook her head as she watched the man walk away and carried the trimmed meat back in. "Hurry up and eat the porridge. You've been so busy that you forgot to eat."
Chunxiao followed Zhou and washed her hands before starting to eat. As she was eating, she heard some noise outside the courtyard. She ran to the door and saw Yan Bingfa and his son had returned. "Mom, Dad and the others are back! Light up the charcoal stove!"
The three of them quickly entered the yard, "Are you guys just having dinner?" It was almost 3 p.m.
"Hurry up and warm your feet in the kitchen. It's better for you to come back at the right time than to come back early. I don't have to warm the pot." Zhou went back to the house and got each of them a pair of prepared shoes. She asked them to dry their feet by the stove and served each of them a large bowl of meat porridge.
Dahe was sharp-eyed and immediately noticed the meat by the wall. "What kind of meat is that in the basin? There's quite a lot of it."
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