He glanced at Sanyuan, who was barely taller than his waist, and thought for a moment before saying:
"You saved my life today, and I will remember your kindness. If you ever need me in the future, you can come to the highest peak in the north to find me. I will do my best to help you."
Ye Wenxue then put down the knife, glanced at him, and said, "Alright, goodbye."
This person is completely impervious to reason!
Su Jiu stormed off in a huff.
The wild boar meat arrived, but it brought another problem.
This wild boar must weigh around 100 pounds. If I carry the wild boar on my back, I won't be able to carry the mud from the stream in my basket.
Sanyuan's face was all smiles, but he was secretly worried.
Ye Wenxue couldn't just abandon the pork, but she also couldn't just throw away the only two baskets the family owned.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll carry the pork back first, and we'll talk about the mud tomorrow."
Sanyuan hesitated.
He knew that his mother had been out these past two days looking for soil to build a house, and now that she had finally found some, she... had to go out again tomorrow.
If only my older brother had come out with Mom. He wasn't as weak as him; he was strong enough to carry two baskets on his back without any problem.
"Alright, two baskets of stream mud aren't enough to begin with. Even if we carry them all back today, Mother will still have to make a few more trips," Ye Wenxue comforted her. "Don't you want to eat meat?"
Sanyuan thought about it carefully and still wanted to eat meat.
He nodded vigorously: "I won't come tomorrow. I'll stay in the valley and let my older brother come out. He's strong and can carry me several times."
Ye Wenxue chuckled.
Your older brother is truly blessed to have a younger brother like you who has already secured work for him so early on.
After leaving the valley today, I went straight to the stream, taking a shortcut, and didn't spend much time on the way.
So Ye Wenxue and Sanyuan half-carried and half-dragged the wild boar back before it got dark and before the family had even cooked dinner.
In the remote valley, Siwang's feet hurt as soon as they touched the ground, so he could only stay by the side, tugging at the goose and coaxing Xiaoyuan.
He was also the first to notice Sanyuan's small voice calling from the path leading in and out of the valley.
"Big brother! Mother and third brother are back! I'll go lend a hand!" Siwang suddenly jumped up.
Dazhuang was focused on tending the land, imitating his father from his memories, occasionally bending down to pick up pebbles from the ground and then using a hoe to break up large clods of earth.
Hearing what Siwang said, he put down his hoe, wiped his sweat, and listened intently:
"It sounds like I heard Sanyuan's voice."
His face lit up with joy. He released the hoe and ran quickly to the path. As he passed the staggering Siwang, he forcibly pressed him down.
"You can't carry much, so just wait here. Keep an eye on Yuanyuan and don't let the goose and the rabbit bully her."
Siwang was not convinced and was about to jump up again, but was stopped by Shuangshuang, who had run out after hearing the noise.
"Wait, we'll go to the path to meet Mother and come right back."
Siwang completely abandoned the idea of lending a hand, puffing out his cheeks and playing with his round little hands.
The pent-up anger didn't last long; it dissipated as soon as he saw the wild boar being lifted up.
"Mother, eat meat!"
Siwang dragged his round basket full of food over there, his eyes shining.
Ye Wenxue patted the children's heads wearily.
Considering the hot weather, and fearing the pork would spoil if it wasn't processed soon, she rallied her spirits:
"Dazhuang and Shuangshuang, help with the pork. Sanyuan, gather some wild grass to line the ground. Siwang, go boil some water and take care of Yuanyuan. Let's get the meat ready as soon as possible, so it doesn't spoil and become inedible."
With the immediate motivation right under their noses—the pork—the children moved swiftly and efficiently.
Siwang quickly boiled water, then dragged Xiaoyuan to the cave entrance, watching his mother deal with the wild boar from a distance.
His mouth watered just thinking about the fried pork cracklings, eggplant with minced meat, and rice mixed with lard that he used to eat.
Sanyuan quickly brought over the weeds he had pulled out a few days ago and, following Ye Wenxue's instructions, spread them thickly on the ground next to the makeshift stove.
After laying down one layer, he looked at the size of the wild boar and then at the pile of grass on the ground, and wisely laid down several more layers.
This wild boar has a very strong, unpleasant odor.
The valley is not very well ventilated, so laying down several layers of grass to burn later is better than just leaving it on the ground.
Ye Wenxue carried the wild boar over and placed it on the grass. She took the cleaver from Dazhuang, circled the boar twice, and deftly cut it to let it urinate.
"...Mother, what are you doing?"
Dazhuang, standing to the side, couldn't help but tuck his legs together.
Ye Wenxue blinked: "If this kind of wild boar isn't castrated and allowed to urinate, the meat will have a fishy smell and won't taste as good as the one we ate last time."
She didn't have time to deal with Dazhuang's complicated thoughts: "Go get a wooden basin, so we can fill it with pig's blood later."
Pig's blood is a good thing, so we can't waste it.
Dazhuang responded and ran to the cave to fetch a wooden basin.
Sanyuan and Siwang obediently squatted at the entrance of the cave, occasionally adding firewood to boil water.
The two watched helplessly as their mother deftly slit the wild boar's carotid artery to bleed it, instinctively covering Xiao Yuanyuan's big, watery eyes.
The two children, who were close in age, looked at each other, their desire for meat ultimately prevailing, and neither of them turned away.
The goose seemed startled, squawking as it hid away.
Siwang quickly grabbed the goose to stop it from causing trouble.
The two people and the goose tried their best to remain calm, their eyes wide as they watched their mother, along with their eldest brother and second sister, divide the pig's blood and set it aside, pour hot water on the pig's skin to remove the coarse hair, wash it clean, scrape the skin again with a knife, remove the head and tail, and split it in half...
With insufficient manpower and no skilled workers, the entire process took until dark.
The fire illuminated the entire valley and also lit up the faces of several hungry children.
The five kids were used to enduring hunger and never complained when they were hungry.
Ye Wenxue wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up at the sky:
"Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, cook first, and we'll continue after we eat. Tonight, let's try to smoke all the meat in the cave. We can store it in a well-ventilated place later, and it will last us for a long time."
Shanqing Village is not far from Tanzhou, and there is a custom of smoking cured meat near the New Year. Dazhuang and his three companions accepted it quickly.
Ye Wenxue had to rush to finish her work that evening, so she simply made a pig's blood stew with rice.
After quickly finishing her meal, she wiped her mouth and said, "You guys keep eating, Mom will go rub some salt into the pork."
Da Zhuang, who was engrossed in his meal, glanced at his mother. He had only ever heard of scrubbing feet and bathing, never of scrubbing flesh.
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