Chapter 197 Killing the Rabbit
Take some of the chicken soup and leftovers to feed the dog, and keep the rest in the breeding shed to keep it fresh for the next meal.
I gave Mancang some anti-inflammatory medicine to prevent wound infection.
Having fed the pigs, chickens, and rabbits, and having finished all the chores, I should take a break.
I've been lazy for too long, and I really can't go on without taking a nap during the day.
I grabbed a small blanket and snuggled up on the sofa. Tie Dan snuggled into my arms and squinted his eyes, ready to sleep.
"Aunt Cheng, aren't we going up the mountain to chop firewood? Will we have enough firewood to burn if we lie here sleeping?"
Seeing that I didn't go out all day and that I was lying down to sleep again, Mancang couldn't help but ask with concern.
"Don't worry, there's enough for now."
Ignoring Mancang's worried expression, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Life with a full warehouse isn't much different from before, except that after taking a shower, I can't dress as casually as before, and I've lost some of my usual laziness.
During the days that Mancang was recuperating, I didn't go out. I cut up the old lady's cotton shoes and made three pairs that fit Mancang perfectly.
Although the stitching was crooked and ugly, it looked very sturdy.
In Mancang's words, "It's sturdy and warm, it's simply the best in the world."
Mancang rested in bed for a total of 7 days. The frostbite blisters on the backs of his hands and feet have subsided, and he has almost fully recovered.
However, there are still some frostbite scars on my face and the back of my hands. This can't be rushed; it just needs to heal slowly.
When I woke up in the morning, I told Mancang that starting today he could get out of bed and move around freely, and he wouldn't need to stay on the kang (heated brick bed) to rest all the time.
Upon being granted permission to move around freely, Mancang cheered with joy. Even the warmest bed gets boring after seven or eight days.
We found a smaller sweater and cotton pants for Mancang to change into, but the clothes were still too long. We had to roll up the sleeves to reveal his little hands.
Mancang really liked her new clothes and looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction.
I didn't tell Mancang what work he needed to do for me, but after he had looked at himself in the mirror enough, he took the initiative to start helping me with the work.
She was very skilled at everything from lighting the stove and fire to sweeping the floor and washing dishes; her movements seemed more mature than mine.
After breakfast, I asked Mancang for his opinion: "We've been lying at home for so long, do you want to go out for a walk?"
Mancang nodded in agreement almost without hesitation.
I put on comfortable cotton shoes, a cotton coat that covered my knees, and then dressed Mancang in a hat, mask, and scarf just like I did.
He now looked like a Russian nesting doll, standing there round and clumsy, mechanically turning to look at himself in the mirror, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
It had been a long time since I had taken the dogs out. As soon as I stepped out of the yard, the dogs started running around excitedly.
I walked behind them with my backpack and Mancang. Although Mancang was small, he walked quite fast and could keep up with me.
They found some frozen crabapples along the nearby mountain and chopped two bundles of firewood before heading home.
Mancang has just recovered from a serious illness, so he only needs to do some light exercise. I'm afraid that walking too much might not be good for his body.
Back in the courtyard, I placed the two bundles of firewood next to the woodpile. Mancang still looked at my woodpile with a worried expression.
He still felt I hadn't stockpiled enough firewood, which suggested that other farmers had indeed stockpiled a lot.
“Aunt Cheng, I’ll go to the mountain to chop firewood every day from now on. Let’s stock up on more, because we don’t know when this winter will be over.”
I smiled helplessly and agreed to his suggestion.
I led Mancang to the pigsty to show him my livestock.
After being outside for a long time, a warm smell still hits you when you open the pigpen door, so be sure to close the door quickly to prevent the heat from escaping.
Mancang lay outside the pen gate, utterly astonished by the sight of the flock of chicks, a few pigs, and a large, noisy herd of rabbits.
"My goodness, Aunt Cheng, you're amazing!"
From the time he came to my house, the thing I heard most often every day was him praising me for being amazing.
Finally, Mancang was so attracted by the rabbits that he couldn't move his feet and stared intently at the group of little rabbits.
I stood next to Mancang and started studying the rabbit colony. The rabbits had been having litter after litter, and now there were probably thirty or forty of them. If we didn't deal with them soon, we wouldn't be able to supply enough hay for our home.
I swallowed hard and suggested, "How about... we kill a rabbit and have some?"
Mancang stared at me with wide eyes, hesitated for a moment, and swallowed hard: "Ah! Yes, that works too!"
Without further ado, I rolled up my sleeves and stepped into the rabbit pen to catch rabbits. Actually, the rabbits weren't too afraid of me, and I easily caught a fat rabbit with one hand.
Seeing it lying obediently on the ground, letting me catch it, I felt extremely guilty. The little rabbit trusted me so much, and I was still going to kill it.
Looking at the dozens of rabbits in the rabbit pen, my heart gradually darkened: Is there any way to solve this?
With a determined look, he pointed to the cage next to him: "Mancang, hand me the cage!"
He took the cage from Mancang, threw the plump rabbit into it, and then caught the second, the third, until he had caught eight big, fat rabbits.
Since we've already started killing them, let's kill a few more.
The cage, which contained eight large, fat rabbits, was almost too heavy to lift. Each rabbit weighs about seven or eight pounds, and the cage, weighing several tens of pounds, was quite a challenge for me.
Seeing this, Mancang quickly rushed to help. Although he was very thin, he was quite strong.
The two of them worked together to carry the rabbit home and began to study how to slaughter it.
I observed carefully when Brother Liu and Taozi killed the rabbit last time, and I still remember their technique.
He stood there holding a sharp knife, unsure of how to proceed.
Mancang and I looked at each other in bewilderment.
I spoke first: "You, can you?"
When Mancang saw me extend the knife forward, he took a step back in fright: "Aunt Cheng, I, you..."
I shook my head helplessly, realizing how foolish I had been to entrust the task of killing a rabbit to a nine-year-old child!
With a firm resolve in his heart, he steadied his trembling hands, assumed a horse stance, and sharpened his knife, ready to strike the little rabbit.
Holding the long rabbit ears in one hand, he used a knife in the other to slash at the fat rabbit's throat.
Mancang and I stopped pausing and focused intently on the rabbit.
The cleaver was slashing back and forth at the rabbit's throat for a long time, but the rabbit didn't bleed or struggle.
"Huh?"
Mancang was puzzled and squatted down so that his little head was level with the rabbit's head.
Then she looked up at me and said, "Aunt Cheng, not a single hair has fallen off your neck."
"ah?"
I was really surprised to hear Mancang say that. I picked up the rabbit and saw that its skin was not even broken.
I chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe, the knife is too dull."
Mancang scratched his head in distress: "Should we still kill them?"
I'm thinking of giving up, but I've raised such a bunch of rabbits, I can't just not get any meat because I'm afraid to kill them!
A living person shouldn't be allowed to die from holding in their pee.
I seemed to have made up my mind: "Kill!"
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