Qiu Yan had originally thought that with Uncle Li's physique and strength, he was a formidable fighter in the mountains.
Even if he usually only hunts pheasants and rabbits, his family should still live a very comfortable life.
Now I know the reason lies here.
"Qiu Yan, six hundred coins, is there something wrong with that?" Seeing Qiu Yan's stunned expression, Madam Ye couldn't help but ask.
Just two days ago, Ye said she didn't know how to manage money. Qiu Yan replied:
"At ten coins per pound of meat, a wild boar shouldn't cost six hundred coins."
“But we’re delivering live pigs…” Mrs. Ye thought for a moment, then slapped her forehead, “That’s right, we can slaughter and process them ourselves and sell the pork directly.”
Qiu Yan wanted to say that even a live pig wouldn't be priced like this.
After a moment's thought, Ye continued, "Qiu Yan, there are no butchers in our village. These wild boars have thick skin and tough flesh, so they won't be easy to handle."
"It shouldn't be too difficult." Qiu Yan had never handled wild boar before, but thinking about it, she figured she could do it herself.
Looking at the fat wild boar, Ye Shi honestly admitted she didn't know how.
In an instant, her gaze fell upon the roe deer in the basket on her back. "Did you hunt this roe deer too?"
“This was hunted by Uncle Li.”
After Qiu Yan finished speaking, she took out a wild roe deer and poured out the herbs she had just picked that day.
After that, she borrowed a large iron pot from Ye and boiled a full pot of water in preparation for removing the hair from the wild boar.
Ye pulled Li Zheng along to help.
Just then, Qiu Xu returned from school and was quite surprised to see the large wild boar in the yard.
He was even more surprised when he learned from his sister that the wild boar had been killed by his older sister.
He put the book back and quickly came out to help his sister clean the scraped wild boar.
Afterwards, Li Zheng went home, took a long knife, and skillfully removed the head of the wild boar. Then he chopped off its limbs, removed its tail, and gutted it, splitting the wild boar in two along the midline of its spine.
This movement was completed in one smooth motion!
Qiu Yan had seen others slaughter pigs before, but she had never seen anyone do it as easily as Li Zheng.
She thought to herself, "Uncle Li's long knife is truly a treasure." "Uncle Li, have you ever slaughtered pigs before?"
“I’ve killed them…” Li Zheng stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, “I used to deliver wild boars to meat stalls in Baiyang County, and I’ve seen them slaughter them.”
After killing the wild boar, Li Zheng, with Qiu Yan's help, also dealt with the roe deer.
We had lunch at Qiu Yan's house.
Qiu Yan, Ye Shi, and her younger sister first cleaned the pig offal. Then, Qiu Yan cooked a pot of pig offal soup and stir-fried some pork slices. Ye Shi stir-fried two meat dishes and went to her own home to get some cornbread.
Although Qiu Yan didn't cook often, she could still make simple home-cooked meals. After eating the pork offal soup that Qiu Yan made, Ye praised her cooking skills.
It was her first time eating offal, and she didn't expect it to be very tasty, but to her surprise, it was quite good.
To express her gratitude to the Li couple, Qiu Yan gave them a large amount of pork.
Ms. Ye said that it was just the two of them at home, and it would be a waste if they couldn't finish the food, so she refused to take any more.
However, she kept half of the pig offal; it suited her taste quite well.
"Qiu Yan, this is perfect! Your Uncle Li is also going to Baiyang to sell wild game tomorrow. Why don't you two travel together?" Ye Shi thought that Qiu Yan was, after all, a young lady, and with Li Zheng's help on the road, nothing unexpected would happen.
Qiu Yan wholeheartedly agreed; that's exactly what she thought too.
Li Zheng remained silent. In front of outsiders, he appeared aloof and unapproachable, but when it came to the Ye family, he was completely obedient.
The next morning, Qiu Yan left a large piece of pork for her family and went out with Li Zheng.
Qiu Ling'er stayed at the Li family, to keep Ye company, as Ye put it.
Ms. Ye has always loved children, and she even said that she would wait for Qiu Xu to come home from school at noon so they could have lunch at her house.
With Ye Shi looking after her, Qiu Yan could rest assured.
On the donkey cart, besides wild boar meat, there were also the animals Li Zheng had hunted recently: a roe deer from yesterday, and pheasants and rabbits from a few days ago, totaling eight, all still alive.
Qiu Yan clipped the wings of the pheasant and tied it together, and the limbs of the wild rabbit were also tied.
Qiu Yan covered the wild boar meat and roe deer with a white cloth, while Li Zheng threw the other live animals into the basket.
Of course, Qiu Yan didn't forget to bring along the herbs she had recently dug up.
Because the donkey cart was fully loaded, Qiu Yan and Li Zheng sat directly at the front of the cart.
Li Zheng remained silent and focused on driving the carriage.
Qiu Yan, who was aloof and unparalleled in the modern world, came to ancient times. Because of her two younger siblings, she not only became more down-to-earth, but her personality also changed a lot.
“Uncle Li…” Qiu Yan broke the silence between the two.
Li Zheng flicked the donkey whip, coughed lightly, and looked ahead at the road. "What is it?"
"I..." Qiu Yan hesitated for a long time, but swallowed her words back. "It's nothing. I was thinking, let's go to Xingyue Tower first. I sold wild game there last time."
"Um."
Qiu Yan's expression stiffened. Uncle Li, can't you say a few more words?
I wonder how Aunt Ye and Uncle Li get along at home.
Qiu Yan had something in mind, so she decided to try to get closer to Li Zheng.
“Uncle Li, I’ve noticed you’ve been coughing and wheezing lately. You should eat more foods that clear and moisturize your lungs and avoid overworking yourself.”
Li Zheng coughed lightly, "It's an old ailment that started many years ago."
Qiu Yan thought of Gu Qian and guessed Li Zheng's past identity. "Your body is your own, so you should take better care of it."
Li Zheng's stiff expression softened slightly. Qiu Yan's tone of voice was just like his daughter's, making him feel inexplicably close to her. "Mm."
Qiu Yan: "..."
Chatting with Uncle Li can easily kill the conversation.
Qiu Yan, this female soldier in the real world, is really not good at chatting.
"Uncle Li, where did Sister Wenshu go after she got married?" Even if she got married, it's impossible for her not to come home for three years.
Speaking of his daughter, Li Zheng's body trembled slightly, "She... won't be coming back."
Qiu Yan could clearly sense Li Zheng's expression of trying his best to suppress his emotions.
What could be causing him so much pain?
Although Qiu Yan did not know the details of the matter, she stopped the conversation when she saw Li Zheng's dejected expression.
She didn't mean to reopen old wounds, but made small talk, which unexpectedly brought up old memories for Li Zheng.
"Uncle Li, next time you sell wild animals, remember to give me a ride. I'll pay for your fare."
"No need. Just talk to Qiuyun more often in the future, and that will be considered as payment for my fare." Li Zheng's expression softened when he mentioned the Ye family.
"Okay." Qiu Yan readily accepted.
Soon, they arrived at Baiyang.
Upon entering Baiyang, at Qiu Yan's request, Li Zheng drove the donkey cart straight to Xingyue Tower.
The business at Xingyuelou has been the same as before these past few days, with only visiting merchants dining there, which is a major headache for Zhou Zifang.
He thought that after he changed the appearance of the restaurant, the business would gradually improve, but unexpectedly, it still stagnated.
Today, Zhou Zifang was not in the back room, and Lin Shu was neither sleeping nor daydreaming. Head chef Qin Wu, who should have been in the kitchen, was also standing next to Zhou Zifang.
The two guards were now both helpless and powerless!
The job of waiter is relatively simple, but who would have thought that Qin Wu, the cook, almost broke down?
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