"I mean, if you ask around the whole forest, how many young men can be more capable than you? You're really something," someone couldn't help but praise.
"Auntie, I have to go home now. Today is the baby's third birthday celebration, and my mom is probably very busy at home."
Sheng Xiping nodded to them and quickly dragged the two pigs back.
Sheng Xiping dragged the pig into the house and quickly called out to Sheng Xikang to come out and help. The two brothers carried the pig into the house.
This pig must have been frozen on the mountain for who knows how long; it's frozen solid, and you can't cut the meat off it without letting it thaw a bit.
"Oh dear, you dragged back two pigs? Did Hua Hua bite them to death?"
Zhang Shuzhen has become quite experienced in dealing with the prey that Hua Hua brings back these days. She can tell from the wounds that Hua Hua bit her to death.
"Where's Huahua? Didn't it come back with you?"
Zhang Shuzhen walked into the courtyard but didn't see Huahua. She then peeked out the gate but still couldn't find her. Curious, she asked...
"Yes, it took me to the edge of the woods and then turned back."
I think it shouldn't come back to our house anymore. After all, it's a wild animal. How can it stay here all the time, letting Lao Liu and Xiao Feng pet it?
Sheng Xiping sighed deeply, "I've raised them for so long, I really can't bear to part with them."
"Oh dear, it's still so small. Will it be able to manage all by itself in the forest? What if it encounters a wild beast or something? Won't it suffer?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen couldn't help but worry. What if she had raised it for so long and it got harmed by other wild animals?
"No, it can even kill this sow; ordinary animals are no match for it."
Right now, both the black bear and the brown bear are in their dens. By the time they come out next spring, Hua Hua will have grown quite a bit, so she shouldn't be at a disadvantage.
Tigers are at the top of the food chain in the mountains and forests, and there are not many things that can harm them.
"Sigh, I hope Huahua grows up safely and healthily in the mountains."
"After all, it's a wild animal. It's not good for it to just stay at our house. It needs to learn to live on its own in the wild." Zhang Shuzhen shook her head and sighed.
Hua Hua had been with the Sheng family for half a year and had developed a deep bond with them. Now that it was gone, Zhang Shuzhen felt a little uneasy and was even more worried about it.
But today is my grandson's third birthday celebration, and there might be guests coming later. I have a lot to do, so I don't have time to be sad. I need to hurry up and pack my things.
"There's rice in the pot, hurry up and take it out to eat. After you finish eating, clean up these two pigs."
"Didn't your teacher's wife and the others say they were coming today? We need to cook something nice for lunch."
After Zhang Shuzhen finished speaking, she went to the west room to see her daughter-in-law and grandson.
Sheng Xiping brought out the food and ate it quickly by the stove.
After eating, we sharpened our knives and boiled a pot of water. Then we skinned and butchered the roe deer that Hua Hua had brought back. The two wild boars had also thawed by then, so we continued with the wild boars.
Sheng Xiping was busy when he heard footsteps outside. Then, Qin Qiuyan led her two daughters-in-law into the room.
"Hey, when did you go hunt this wild boar?" Qin Qiuyan asked as soon as she entered the room.
"Master's wife and sister-in-law are here? Come in and warm up inside."
Sheng Xiping looked up and saw who it was. He quickly put down his knife and smiled as he invited them to sit in the east room.
"Our little tiger, Huahua, killed a pig in the mountains yesterday, and this morning he insisted on dragging me to bring it back."
"Master's wife, sister-in-law, please have a seat. I'll go call my mother."
Zhang Shuzhen heard the noise in the west room and came over. "Oh, my sister-in-law and niece-in-law are here."
Why didn't you invite my older brother, Yujiang, and Yuhe? They could have come and had some fun together.
"Why bring these men over to see the kids? They're big, burly men who talk and make a lot of noise. The kids are too young to handle them."
"Let them come and see after the baby is a month old and there's been some trouble." Qin Qiuyan waved her hand and smiled upon hearing this.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen smiled and said, "Then let's wait until the full moon. I'll definitely invite my elder brother, Yujiang, and Yuhe to come then."
The birth ritual of being bathed on the third day after birth and the death ritual of being received on the third day after death are the two most important events in a person's life.
In the past, a baby would have to go through a proper three-day celebration, with a midwife invited to preside over the ceremony, and an altar set up to worship more than ten deities, including Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth, and the Childbirth God.
The women from the child's maternal grandparents' family and relatives' families all receive gifts, and they also have to add a basin. The whole process of washing the child on the third day is very complicated.
Nowadays, burning incense and paper money is forbidden, and offering sacrifices to gods is not even to be mentioned.
Those old customs have been omitted, and not many people pay attention to the third-day celebration anymore. Most people now hold a banquet to entertain relatives and friends when the baby is one month old.
The Sheng family didn't have many relatives in Northeast China, so Liu Changde and his wife, as Sheng Xiping's master and mistress, were practically like his own parents.
At this time, Qin Qiuyan would definitely bring the women in her family to help with the arrangements.
Water was boiling on the stove in the outer room. Zhang Shuzhen instructed her daughter to make a pot of tea so she could chat with Qin Qiuyan and her mother-in-law for a while.
Only after the guests have cooled down can they go to the west room to see the children.
At this moment, Qin Qiuyan took out a cloth bag from her bosom and opened it.
"Sister-in-law, today is the baby's third-day celebration, and I didn't bring anything else with me."
This is a bib and two small outfits that I embroidered for my child when I had some free time.
"My skills aren't very good; I use rough needles and thread. Please don't mind, sister-in-law." Qin Qiuyan took the contents of the cloth bag out and handed it to Zhang Shuzhen.
"Oh dear, sister-in-law, what can I say about this?"
Yesterday, when Xiping went over, you brought him eggs, millet, and corn. I scolded him when he came back, but look, you even prepared clothes for the child.
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