In the remote Mushroom Village, in the dead of winter, when even a breath could freeze, everyone was hiding at home to hibernate. However, two boys, one big and one small, were shivering in the bushes at the foot of the mountain.
Just before the two were about to turn into popsicles, a pheasant cautiously poked its head out, and after confirming that no one was around, it began to stroll around looking for food.
There were some scattered grain chaff on the ground. The pheasant was probably starving, pecking at the chaff as it slowly walked towards the two boys.
The pheasant suddenly sensed danger and flapped its wings, preparing to fly away. The two men pounced on it, and the pheasant struggled fiercely, but it was clearly in vain.
"Brother, we're so lucky today! We finally caught a pheasant! We can make chicken soup for Nan Nan today!" a boy's voice rang out.
"Okay, you carry the pheasant on your back, and I'll carry the firewood back from the front," another boy's voice rang out.
The snow was thick, and the two of them struggled to walk home, their clothes and hats covered in snow, making them look like two walking polar bears from a distance.
A wisp of smoke rose in the distance, casting a faint shadow across the snow. Nan Nan, the little girl from the Yan family, turned one year old today; she herself had been in this era for a year.
On her 20th birthday in the 21st century, Yan Xiaonan went to a large supermarket near her home to buy a cake to celebrate.
Seeing that it was still early, the large screen was introducing the movies that would be shown today, so I thought I might as well take a look.
Who knew that halfway through the movie, the power went out, and in the darkness, she was hit by something and lost consciousness. When she woke up, she was the little granddaughter of this farming family.
My family is large, consisting of my parents, grandmother, three older brothers, and an unmarried sister-in-law.
Chen Xuemei, the unmarried eldest sister-in-law, was obtained by my grandmother in exchange for twenty catties of cornmeal. She was to become my eldest brother's wife. The youngest wife was six years old that year.
She was the youngest daughter in the family, her grandmother's favorite, and everyone spoiled and pampered her.
"Cuihua, could you use this flour to make some noodles for Nannan? It's the little girl's birthday today, so make sure to also make a poached egg."
"Mom, give me some more flour. It's your birthday today too. Make two bowls, and I'll poach two eggs."
"No need, the little girl can't eat a whole bowl, I'll eat the rest."
"Okay, Mom, I'm going right now."
Yan Xiaonan listened to her mother and grandmother talking in the inner room. This family was really poor. The little bit of fine grains and flour they had left had all gone into her stomach.
"Grandma, Mother, we're back." The voices of the eldest brother, Southeast, and the second brother, Southwest, came from the doorway, followed by the creaking sound of the door being opened.
The two rushed into the house. It was so cold outside that they warmed their frozen hands over the brazier, which eased their expressions considerably.
Grandma rummaged through the basket on the ground and found a pheasant hiding under a bundle of branches. It was quite big and called out "Cuihua, Cuihua!" with delight.
Cuihua ran out with a rolling pin in her hand, "Mom, what's wrong?"
Before she could finish speaking, she saw the pheasant in her mother-in-law's hand and happily took it. Wow, it must weigh about five or six pounds.
"Mom, let's make soup with half and braise the other half."
"This wasteful thing, use half of it to make soup, and bury the rest under the snow to eat on New Year's Eve."
Cuihua nodded, realizing how wasteful she had been; thankfully, her mother was there for her.
Yan Xiaonan was lying on the heated kang in the inner room. Hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh. His mother was just too adorable.
"Grandma, Grandma, the grain station has brought in grain, I'm going to line up!" came the voice of Chen Xuemei, the future sister-in-law, from the doorway.
Upon hearing this, Grandma quickly went back into the house, grabbed a handkerchief, and handed it to Southeast. Southeast took the handkerchief, carefully put it in his pocket, and together with Southwest, grabbed the rice bag and basket and rushed out.
Yan Xiaonan was a little sad. Every time the grain station released grain, it was only by being quick that you could get some. If you were even a step late, it would all be sold out.
Books say that time travelers have cheat codes, but unfortunately, it's been a year and I've been trying to figure it out but haven't found one yet, which makes me unhappy.
The image of a large mountain appeared in his mind again, with a large, striped tiger carrying a fat rabbit in its mouth walking towards its cave entrance. Perhaps sensing something, it glanced in Yan Xiaonan's direction.
A pack of wolves was attacking a wild boar, which was covered in blood and probably wouldn't last much longer.
Looking at the wild boar, Yan Xiaonan felt a urge to eat pork. He wished the wild boar would die right in front of his house.
The wild boar suddenly turned around, broke through the wolf pack, and ran wildly down the mountain, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Yan Xiaonan sighed; he'd been having these hallucinations lately.
With a loud bang, Cuihua, who was rolling out dough in the kitchen, was so startled that she almost dropped the rolling pin. Grandma also hurried to the door. The two of them stared in astonishment at their own front door.
A wild boar crashed through the front door of the house and collapsed in the yard, covered in blood.
Yan Xiaonan's father, Yan Xiaoqiang, who was piling firewood, also ran out. Upon seeing the wild boar, he immediately found a thick hemp rope and tied it up securely.
Grandma looked up at the sky. Today was Bao'er's birthday. Could it be that her dream was true, and that Bao'er was a fairy reincarnated from heaven?
The loud noise startled the neighbors, who all rushed over to see what was going on. When they saw the wild boar, which weighed at least two or three hundred pounds, in the yard, they were filled with envy and jealousy.
Meat, wild boar meat! It's been so many years since I've tasted meat! The old bachelor at the village entrance was drooling. He squeezed to the doorway and said with a grin, "Brother Qiang, you're so lucky! Can you lend me some of your luck?"
Before Yan Xiaoqiang could speak, Widow Zhang from next door chimed in, "Southeast's mother, such a big wild boar is too much for your family to finish. Let's share it."
More and more villagers followed, some agreeing with Widow Zhang that it would be good to get some minced meat, while others objected, saying that since the pig was in someone else's yard, it belonged to them, and why should she get any meat?
Seeing the chattering villagers, Cuihua and her grandmother woke up with a start, and the grandmother was unhappy.
These days, food is so precious, yet you, Widow Zhang, can just slap your lips on the ground and try to take away my family's wild boar meat? Keep dreaming.
Amidst the commotion, a villager invited the village chief over. Looking at the circle of villagers in front of the Yan family's house, the chief frowned.
When the village chief arrived, the timid villagers all went back on their own. If they tried to take a piece of someone else's meat for no reason, the village chief would beat them with his pipe.
The bolder ones looked at the village chief, hoping he would say a few polite words so they could gain some advantage on their way back.
The village chief, surnamed Ma, was fair and honest in his work and deeply respected by the villagers. Looking at these emaciated villagers, he couldn't bring himself to utter any curses.
When Grandma Yan saw the village chief arrive, she knew that it wouldn't be realistic to avoid some bloodshed today. She warmly invited the village chief in and thought that maybe they should kill the wild boar and share the entrails.
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