The house hadn't been lived in for a long time, but it wasn't very dirty, and there were no cobwebs everywhere, so it seemed that someone came to clean it regularly.
Some of the vegetables in the backyard garden were already out of season and had been picked, but the edible ones were still growing quite well. It was obvious that someone had come to water them, and the village chief and others had really taken good care of them.
The two pigs we raised, as well as the rabbits, chickens, and ducks, are all gone; they were all used to cook food at the tavern. Now that we're back, we'll have to buy some more to raise, but we'll have to wait until after the rice harvest.
Only their family's rice crop was left unharvested, and rats and wild boars were eyeing it. Old Zhou didn't dare to delay any longer, so the next day he led his wife and children to harvest rice, and the village chief also found a few helpers.
Zhu Lin and his group were not good at farm work, so they didn't join in the fun. Zhou Laoda and his wife told Xingxing not to go to the fields and to take care of the group from Xianwu Island.
"But you're all busy in the fields while I'm just playing. I feel bad about it." Xingxing held up a sickle, looking like she wanted to go to the fields with them.
"We've already hired several helpers, so we don't need you. We have enough manpower, and we won't miss you. We can't neglect our guests, so you need to take good care of them." Zhao Guihua gestured for Xingxing to take her senior brothers and sisters around the village, or they could go up the mountain if they wanted.
Xingxing thought to herself that her senior brothers and sisters didn't need her to entertain them at all; in fact, they were taking care of her instead. However, being a good girl, she naturally wouldn't argue back and obediently nodded in agreement.
"Okay, you guys go ahead and do your work. We'll bring lunch over." Xingxing said seriously, knowing that during the busy farming season, her family usually ate lunch in the fields and didn't have time to come back for lunch.
However, when lunch was mentioned, Zhao Guihua realized that no one at home cooked, so it seemed she would have to come back half an hour earlier to cook.
"Mom, don't worry about lunch. I can start a fire and cook. Don't worry, I've got it covered." Xingxing patted her little chest confidently.
"Aunt Zhao, my junior sister and I will make lunch. It's not a difficult task, so don't worry about it," Zhu Changge said casually.
“You are guests, how can we let you go through this trouble?” Zhao Guihua disagreed.
However, the people from Xianwu Island didn't give her a chance to refute. They only said that they would cook lunch and deliver it to the fields, and then left without waiting for Zhao Guihua to say anything more.
"Where are you all going?" Zhao Guihua asked as they went out the door.
"Let's go for a walk up the mountain first. Aunt Zhao, don't worry about us, go and do your work." Zhu Changge's gentle voice came from afar.
The group, carrying Xingxing, disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye. Zhao Guihua knew she couldn't keep up with them, so she didn't chase after them or worry about lunch anymore; having someone help with cooking would save her a lot of trouble.
Xingxing, perched on Zhu Lin's back, felt everything rushing past her. They stopped at the entrance to the deep mountains because they had spotted two large wild boars there.
Zhu Lin sat on a tree with Xingxing, and Zhu Qiuyu and Zhu Yueran each drew their swords and cleaved the wild boar down, much to Xingxing's dismay.
"Pig's blood, fresh pig's blood."
"Don't worry, the wild boar isn't dead yet, it's just unconscious. We can still bleed it out when we get back," Zhu Lin reassured him.
"Huh?" Xingxing looked closely and realized it was true.
"Since these two wild boars were hunted by Senior Brother and Fifth Brother, I'd appreciate it if you could carry them back first and kill them while you're at it," Zhu Lin said.
"We don't know how to slaughter pigs," the two senior brothers replied expressionlessly.
"Find some villagers to kill it, share some meat with them, and naturally someone will help," Zhu Lin suggested.
"Ask Uncle Village Chief for help. He can find people. Wild boar is delicious. You can fry it into pork cracklings. Pork cracklings mixed with honey are so sweet. There are also a lot of offal. The pork can be used to make stew or smoked meat..." Xingxing counted on her little fingers, explaining how good wild boar was.
Seeing their junior brother's tightly pursed lips, the two senior brothers secretly realized that things were not good. If they didn't cooperate, their junior brother would probably challenge them to a duel. Once their junior brother got angry, he was not so easy to persuade. He wouldn't stop until he beat the two senior brothers into begging for mercy.
They'll be the ones who lose face then.
Sigh, we have no choice but to accept our fate and carry the wild boar back first, even though it might damage their otherworldly and refined demeanor.
By this time, chestnuts had already appeared on Ji Mountain. Xingxing led Zhu Lin and the others to find several chestnut trees and picked them all. When they came, they left without bringing any baskets or backpacks.
"Cut the vines and weave them into baskets," Xingxing suggested matter-of-factly, assuming that her senior brothers and sisters were just as good at these kinds of tasks as Fu Ge and the others.
However, Zhu Changge and the others didn't know how, but they were fast, so they sent Zhu Xichen back to get a few baskets. Zhu Xichen was a little tired. He had spent the whole morning hunting wild rabbits and pheasants, collecting bird eggs, picking chestnuts, and then had to run back to get baskets.
This pastoral life wasn't as wonderful as I'd imagined. I felt quite tired, covered in sweat, and my white clothes were scratched by thorns several times. If it weren't for the special fabric, the clothes would have been torn long ago.
Xingxing was the happiest of all. She was planning all sorts of ways to cook the chestnuts. If they couldn't be eaten, she could sell them. Her senior classmates had also caught a lot of wild rabbits, which she could take home and raise. She could also raise pheasants.
Before noon, the group returned laden with their spoils. The wild boar had already been butchered in the yard, and the village chief and Zhou Fagen were helping to marinate the meat. The village chief's wife was tending the fire in the kitchen; she had come over specifically to help with the cooking.
Both wild boars were very large, weighing over 300 jin each. One of them was bled, and its head and trotters were kept. The rest were to be distributed among the villagers by the village chief. This was Zhu Qiuyu's idea.
"Uncle Village Chief, please have lunch at my house. Please cook all the pig offal." With her parents not home, Xingxing, the little manager, greeted the guests very politely.
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