Before long, several guards from the Song family carried a wild boar past the Zhou family's gate. The Zhou family's gate was not closed, and Xingxing ran out to watch the excitement. When she saw that the wild boar carried by the Song family's guards was smaller than the one in her own yard, she was immediately satisfied.
"Second brother is amazing! He caught the biggest wild boar. Now our family can make lots of jerky, hehe."
Soon, the second wild boar also returned with Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu. Xingxing confirmed that this one was even fatter and happier than the three from the Song family.
They fawned over Zhou Erfu, saying, "Second Brother, you're the best! You snatched the two fattest wild boars. Even the guards at the Song residence aren't as good as you."
Zhou Erfu threw the wild boar on the ground, shrugged his shoulders, and grinned, "We'll pick the fattest one to go after. We're strong, we're not afraid."
Zhou Sifu was a little tired, so he sat down to rest in a chair and waved to Xingxing, "Xingxing, why do you only praise Second Brother and not Fourth Brother? Fourth Brother also contributed."
Xingxing ran into the main room, took out a bamboo tube and handed it to Zhou Sifu. "Fourth Brother, you've worked hard. Have some water. Fourth Brother is amazing. If it weren't for your help, Second Brother wouldn't have been able to hunt two wild boars so easily."
Zhou Sifu smiled good-naturedly, "But you're right, it was indeed Second Brother who did a lot of work. If it weren't for Second Brother, I, Fourth Brother, wouldn't have been able to kill a wild boar."
"It's okay if you can't kill it. Even our eldest, third, and fifth brothers don't dare to hunt wild boars. Fourth brother, you're already very good," Xingxing comforted him.
"Hey, little girl, you can't be so mean. If you want to praise Fourth Brother, just praise him. Why are you mocking the three of us?" Zhou Wufu was helping Zhou Erfu slaughter a pig when he heard Xingxing and Sifu's conversation and couldn't help but protest.
"Oh, I wasn't mocking you or your eldest and third brothers. What I meant was that you each have your own strengths. Fifth brother is good at identifying herbs, eldest and third brothers are good at studying, and second and fourth brothers are good at hunting wild boars. You are all very capable!" Xingxing rambled on and on, her mouth dry from talking.
Oh dear, my older brothers are getting harder and harder to manage.
After resting for a while, Zhou Sifu took a knife and called Dafu and Sanfu to help him butcher another wild boar. This wild boar had many cuts on its body, and most of the blood had flowed out. Even if it hadn't bled out completely, the blood had congealed, so it couldn't be bled out and had to be butchered directly.
In the evening, Zhao Guihua, Zhao Guizhi, and Mo Tianzhu's family returned from clearing the land. They were all stunned to see a lot of wild boar meat cut into strips in the yard.
"Erfu and Sifu caught another wild boar?" Zhao Guizhi was very impressed with her nephews; they were really amazing.
"Wasn't he studying at the Chen residence? Why did he go hunting wild boars in the mountains again?" Zhao Guihua shared the same question as Chen Shunping.
Xingxing ran over and hugged her, her voice crisp and clear, "Mom, it's not us who want to go up the mountain, it's Young Master Tie who wants to go..."
"So you went with him? You're incredibly lucky to have run into a herd of wild boars as soon as you got up the mountain." Zhao Guihua was happy to know that her sons had brought back two wild boars.
"Is the salt stored in the cellar? Have the meat strips been cured?"
"Mom, it's pickled, you can rest assured about how we handle things." Zhou Erfu chuckled loudly.
Mo Tianzhu took his two sons to the kitchen to help smoke meat. Mo Zhongshi and Mo Baolu took the earthworms they dug up during the land reclamation to feed the chickens and ducks. The rabbit grass and pig grass were also cut and brought back during the land reclamation.
After feeding the poultry and livestock, the mother and daughter went to the vegetable garden in the backyard. This year there was no drought, and there was always water in the ditch next to the vegetable garden. The water was spring water drawn down from the mountain. The mother and daughter took watering tools and watered the vegetables.
There's a wooden bucket in the corner, used to hold fertilizer. The vegetables in the field need to be watered with diluted fertilizer every three or five days; only with fertilizer can the vegetables grow better.
Zhao Guihua and Zhao Guizhi went to fetch water to bathe first, and then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Xingxing and Ruru saw the dirty clothes in the bucket and busied themselves with the task.
Xingxing has learned to draw water from the well, but she can only fill a small wooden bucket halfway at a time. Drawing water is quite strenuous, but Xingxing finds it fun to watch her brothers and parents draw water like this every day, and she doesn't find it tiring at all.
When Zhou Dafu came out, he saw the little girl had brought up half a bucket of water. He immediately stepped forward and took the bucket from her. "I wasn't watching you for a moment and you're playing with the water again. What are you trying to do?"
"Big brother, Ruru and I are going to help Mom and Auntie wash clothes. Of course we need to fetch water to wash clothes," Xingxing replied matter-of-factly.
"Stop playing with clothes and go check the kitchen. Auntie is going to use the bayberries we picked today to make bayberry chicken soup. Didn't you say it was delicious?" Zhao Guizhi had tried making bayberry chicken soup before, but it wasn't very successful. She had been experimenting with it.
Actually, everyone thought it tasted good and delicious, but Zhao Guizhi herself was not satisfied because the deliciousness of the bayberry stewed chicken described on the bamboo slip was amazing, and she always felt that it did not reach the highest level.
Sanfu also said that it could be done better, so Zhao Guizhi would kill a chicken from time to time to try making it. Fresh bayberries had to be picked from the mountain, and the taste of the dried bayberries was a little different, but each had its own special features, and they were all delicious.
"Delicious! The bayberries cut through the grease." Xingxing immediately put down her dirty clothes and ran to the kitchen.
Ruru pouted and watched Xingxing disappear into the kitchen, speechless. They had agreed to do laundry together, but she ran away as soon as she heard about food. It wasn't fun at all.
Zhao Guizhi not only made bayberry chicken soup, but also saw so much wild boar meat, so she took a few pounds of wild boar meat and made it using the same method as bayberry chicken soup to try it out. As a result, hey, the taste was actually quite good.
Just like Xingxing said, this way of cooking wild boar meat makes it neither dry nor greasy, and the taste and texture are absolutely amazing. Everyone says it's delicious.
"Auntie has succeeded this time, she can graduate now." Zhou Sanfu gave a thumbs up after tasting it.
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