Wang Tieniu inserted a wooden stick horizontally into the gap between the bear's legs and pried it open forcefully: "Stretch it! Don't let it slip!"
“I’m fine here.” Chen Jianshan pressed down on the edge of the bear skin with one hand and stuffed a bundle of grass between the muscle and the skin with the other. “Jianshan, be careful of that tendon. If you cut it, it will wrinkle when you take it back to dry.”
"I know." Du Jianshan lowered his head, the blade tracing the leather surface, his voice neither too loud nor too soft. "Zhao Sanbao, ask again. What's missing from the food warehouse isn't just money. There's also candy, canned goods, and half a bag of flour. You're a cotton farmer, how do you know where all that stuff is?"
Zhao Sanbao huddled up, his eyes darting around: "I... I went in and saw it, it was on the shelf, I just grabbed it—"
"Just grabbing it?" Wang Tieniu scoffed. "It's a three-tiered shelf, with an iron lock on the top. You shorty, what makes you think you can just grab it?"
"I...I moved a stool..." His voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz.
"The bench is usually against the inner wall, covered with a burlap sack." Chen Jianshan stared at the whites of his eyes. "Who told you where it was?"
Zhao Sanbao swallowed and shut his mouth.
“Okay.” Du Jianshan peeled off a layer of skin and slapped the bear’s belly. “Tie Niu, smear some bear blood on his face.”
"Hey, I get it." Wang Tieniu smeared his finger into the pool of warm blood and then onto Zhao Sanbao's face. "Don't pretend to be tough. With that kind of guts, you'd wet your pants crossing the suspension bridge at night."
"No, no, don't wipe it! I'll talk, I'll talk!" Zhao Sanbao trembled violently, his throat dry. "It was Zheng Kui... Zheng Kui gave me the key mold, saying he'd cover my shift that day, and that I'd go in that night to get some money, give him half, and have the rest exchanged for oil and salt in town. He... he made it sound so easy, and I... I just..."
"Where did the key mold come from?" Chen Jianshan pressed.
"Yes, it was when the door was repaired last time... He stamped the key on a bar of soap and had a blacksmith make it... I didn't dare to ask."
"You bastard," Wang Tieniu spat, "you're actually quite clever."
"We've reached the gallbladder," Du Jianshan warned, moving the knife tip to below the liver lobe. "Get out of the way, don't kick my hand."
All three held their breath. With a slight flick of the blade, the bluish-black gallbladder was revealed, its skin so thin it gleamed.
"Did you see clearly?" Du Jianshan said in a low voice, "This thing is extremely delicate. If you puncture it even a little, it's all ruined. Tie Niu, hand over the clean bamboo tube and the thin hemp rope."
Wang Tieniu hurriedly handed it over: "Here you go."
"Chen Zi, straighten the gallbladder." Du Jianshan cut off the gallbladder along with its ligaments, gently placed it in a bamboo tube, and stuffed it with a clump of dry grass. "Go back and hang it in a well-ventilated place to air dry first, then put it in a jar. Don't let it get too exposed to the sun, or it will crack."
"Okay." Chen Jianshan held the bamboo tube as if it were a baby. "This is a treasure."
“It’s a treasure, but the rules still need to be followed.” Du Jianshan raised his eyes. “Half of this courage must be handed over to the company, and the rest will be distributed as profit. No one is allowed to sell it outside the company.”
"I understand." Wang Tieniu grinned. "I'm only after that bear skin. I'll get my work points recorded for the company later. I'm willing to take fewer work points."
"Stop talking nonsense, turn over." Du Jianshan used a wooden wedge to pry open the skin, then deftly cut the tendons of the limbs. "Take out the intestines."
"Ugh—this smell." Wang Tieniu wrinkled his nose, but still did as he was told. "I'll copy it, hurry up."
A flurry of activity, steaming hot. The bear's belly was hot, white mist billowed out, and blood trickled down the cracks in the rocks, staining the wet mud by the riverbank red. A mountain breeze blew, carrying the scent of pine resin mixed with the aroma of meat, making one's tongue itch.
"Don't throw away all the intestines," Du Jianshan instructed. "Take the clean ones back, wash them thoroughly, stuff them with minced meat, and make soup. Keep the heart and liver; we'll blanch them in a hanging pot tonight."
"Good!" Wang Tieniu separated the intestines and stomach he had taken out. "This heart of the body looks solid."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
