About ten minutes later, Lin Xue returned carrying a goat.
"Wife, how are you so amazing? You actually caught a goat!"
"Come on, have some water and rest for a bit!"
Seeing Lin Xue carrying the goat with such ease, as if it were nothing, Huang Dehai immediately grabbed a teapot and went to greet her.
"Oh my, Mrs. Lin, you're so capable! We'll have meat for lunch!"
Old Ma immediately ran over and helped Lin Xue remove the goat from her shoulders.
When he was in Donglin County, he couldn't even afford to buy meat twice a year! He never expected that by following Lin Xue and her group, he would not only earn a lot of money but also be able to eat goat meat.
Judging from the size of the goat, he's going to eat his fill of meat this time!
"Thank you, my husband. After I finish this cup of tea, I'll process the goat. You two find the clay pot we brought, and we'll stew a pot of mutton later so we can have some soup too!"
Lin Xue didn't know if Lao Ma would deal with the prey, but relying on Huang Dehai was out of the question.
She rested for a while, then carried the goat toward the river.
He hung the goat on a crooked tree, then took a bone knife made from the three-pronged bone of an eagle beast from his satchel and began skinning the goat with swift, rapid movements.
When she had peeled the goatskin halfway through, the constable sitting in the last carriage walked towards her.
"Madam, I see you hunted a goat today, and since there are only three of you in your group, you probably can't finish it all. I wonder if you could share some with me?"
It has to be said that this guy is quite honest; he hasn't revealed his identity as a constable even now.
If he reveals his identity, he won't have to spend any money at all, and Lin Xue and the others will have to obediently hand over half of the mutton.
"Oh, it's you, sir! Are you also going to Linzhou Prefecture?"
Lin Xue's familiar tone startled the burly man.
"Does Madam recognize me?"
The big man thought about it carefully, but couldn't recall anyone named Lin Xue.
"Have you forgotten, guest? You once ate at Huang's Restaurant in Huangjia Town, and I even cooked for you myself!"
Seeing that the other person still couldn't remember, Lin Xue then named two more dishes.
"Shrimp and egg drop soup, stir-fried pork slices with vinegar, and scrambled eggs with pumpkin!"
After the three dishes were announced, the big man seemed to suddenly realize something and came to his senses.
"Oh~"
"I remember now, you're the young lady who entertained me that day!"
Perhaps because we had met before, the conversation became much more relaxed afterward.
"Madam, what brings you to Linzhou Prefecture?"
The big man stopped asking about buying mutton and instead started chatting with Lin Xue about everyday things.
"My husband is going to take the imperial examination, and I'm accompanying him!"
Lin Xue didn't hide anything. This man was upright and honest; even if he wasn't a constable, he was still a member of the government, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
"So you're the scholar's wife! My apologies for not recognizing you!"
The big man was surprised that Lin Xue's husband was actually a scholar. He immediately took two steps back and cupped his hands to Lin Xue to express his apology.
"Don't stand on ceremony, guest. It's fate that we've met. We only have one fire here. How about we cut some mutton and put it over there to stew? Then we can eat together later."
Lin Xue noticed that this person's group only consisted of two people, and the other companion was a young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Okay, then I'll help you cut the mutton!"
The two burly men weren't very good at cooking, and they only started the campfire to heat up the flatbreads they brought before eating them, and then boil some water to drink on the way.
He's naturally happy to get a free meal now.
The burly man drew his long sword from his waist, ran to the stream to wipe it clean, and then returned to Lin Xue's side.
The two men placed the skinned goat on a bed of leaves and began to cut it.
Seeing that the other party's large knife was easy to use, Lin Xue cleaned the bone knife and put it away.
"Guest, could you please prepare the lamb spine for me? We'll make soup with it later. I'll go tell my husband!"
When Lin Xue saw that another of this person's companions had come to help, she greeted him and returned to Huang Dehai's side.
Huang Dehai was rummaging through the carriage for seasonings when he was looking inside, and he didn't see Lin Xue talking to the other men.
"My husband!"
As Lin Xue approached, she saw Huang Dehai rummaging through something, so she called out to him.
"Wife, please wait a moment! I'll find all the seasonings right away!"
Upon hearing Lin Xue's voice, Huang Dehai moved even faster.
"Let me do it. I packed everything; I know the place better than you do!"
Lin Xue pulled Huang Dehai aside, then pulled out a yellow package from the pile of parcels. Inside were packets of pre-packaged spices.
These were all powdered from spices that Lin Xue personally gathered.
I brought a little bit of everything with me on this trip, and it just so happens that I came in handy today.
"My dear husband, I ran into some customers who had eaten at my elder brother and sister-in-law's shop before. They want to pay us to have some mutton with them, and I agreed!"
"Husband, do you think this is feasible? If you're not willing, I'll go and talk to them!"
A scholar still needs to consider his reputation, so Lin Xue speaks very skillfully.
"What's the big deal? We're all acquaintances!"
"We can eat together then, anyway, we won't be able to finish it all!"
Lin Xue and Huang Dehai had just finished arranging the spices and carried them to the campfire when they saw the burly man walking over.
"Scholar, Scholar's Wife!"
"That merchant over there wants to buy some mutton from you. Do you need me to send him away?"
The burly man felt that even with the two of them, they couldn't eat a whole sheep, so he took it upon himself to ask Lin Xue and the others for their opinions.
"One tael of silver for half a sheep. Ask them if they want it. If they do, pay and take the meat!"
Lin Xue could tell from the group of merchants that they were wealthy, so she didn't stand on ceremony and directly asked for a high price.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"This is one tael of silver for us. Thank you for your generosity, madam!"
The fat old man who came with the burly man immediately took out a tael of silver and handed it over when he heard Lin Xue's words.
As if afraid that Lin Xue might change her mind, his movements were incredibly swift.
"Then could you please cut half a sheep for them, sir?"
"Give them the sheep's head too, I don't want to deal with that stuff!"
There's half a sheep; that should be enough for the five of them.
If there's a need later, she can just go up the mountain to fight again.
"You're too kind, Miss Scholar. My surname is Dong, and I'm the fifth son. You can just call me Dong Wu!"
Seeing that Lin Xue's way of addressing him kept changing, Dong Wu then gave his own name.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Dong Wu!"
Huang Dehai clasped his hands in greeting to Dong Wu, which was considered a way of saying hello.
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