Chapter 56: Pork floss. Rabbit fur scarf.
It was just something he said in anger. Qiu Xuan thought that the clan mother would definitely not agree to let him go into the mountains.
It was dangerous in the mountains, and it happened to be the New Year soon. I don't know what Zong Xiao said to his mother, but she agreed for the first time.
He also told him to go early and come back early, and not to stay in the mountains for too long. It didn't matter if he didn't hunt any prey, as long as he was safe.
Qiu Xuan had thousands of words to say, but they were all stuck in her throat. Now that her mother-in-law had agreed, how could she stop it?
Qiu Xuan turned and went into the kitchen. She squatted on a small stool and added firewood to the stove as if to vent her anger.
The fire burned more and more vigorously, and even the rice soup in the pot began to gurgle.
Qiu Xuan really couldn't understand why he wanted to go into the mountains at this time. Although his family was not very wealthy, at least after the New Year when the weather was better, they could go down the mountain to set up a stall and continue to make money.
Although the money is not as fast as hunting, at least there is no risk to life.
"Sister-in-law." Liu Yueyang came into the yard with a plate of snacks. She heard some movement in the kitchen and walked in directly.
"Why are you here, sister-in-law?" Liu Yueyang put the snacks on the table and picked up a bamboo stool to sit next to her.
Qiu Xuan was angry but couldn't show it to others. She turned her head and forced a smile. "Why are you here? Have you had breakfast?"
Liu Yueyang had just overheard their conversation in the courtyard. She thought that if the same thing happened to her, she would not want Zong Anji to go into the mountains.
So, she quickly took a plate of food and came over to talk to Qiu Yun and keep her company.
Liu Yueyang's eyes curved as he smiled and said, "I'll come and check on the three little rabbits. My second brother said they're still alive and well."
Qiu Xuan got up and took her to the backpack in the corner, where she saw three rabbits lying on the hay.
Maybe because they are wild, their vitality is stronger than that of domesticated ones. It has been two or three days and all three are still alive.
Qiu Xuan bent down and fished out the fattest one. "If you like them, take them to the yard over there and raise them. They can eat and drink, just make sure they don't get cold."
Liu Yueyang waved her hand. She didn't really come here to see the rabbits.
"Sister-in-law, I won't raise them anymore. Look how nice the three of them are together." After saying that, she raised her eyes to peek at Qiu Xuan's expression. Seeing that she was not as sad as before, she continued, "Sister-in-law doesn't want Second Brother to go into the mountains."
Guessing she was here to talk about this, but this wasn't a good place to talk, Qiu Xuan stood up, took her hand, and said, "Let's go back inside and talk."
There was a kang burning in the room, which was much warmer than outside.
As soon as Liu Yueyang came in, he saw the fine cloth and rabbit fur on the table, but it didn't look like they were meant to be used to make hand warmers.
Qiu Xuan poured her some hot tea and spoke first, "I won't stop him."
"I'm not here to persuade him, sister-in-law." Liu Yueyang held the hot tea in both hands and took a sip. "If you don't want him to go, talk to my second brother. I think the same as you. The weather is bad now, so why bother going into the mountains?"
The doors and windows were closed, but the wind could still be heard outside, which showed how bad the weather was.
But no matter what, he still had to go into the mountains.
Qiu Xuan smiled helplessly. Just when she was about to continue speaking, she heard a rustling sound outside the yard, as if someone was there.
If they were family, they would definitely not be so cautious. Qiu Xuan picked up a wooden stick from the corner and whispered to Yue Yang, "I'll go take a look. Don't come out yet."
She thought he was a bad guy, but she also felt that it shouldn't happen in broad daylight.
She came to the door and opened it unexpectedly.
I saw a man squatting in front of the steps, piling up stones.
"Duan San'er?" Qiu Xuan put the stick behind her and asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Qiu Xuan had gone to Zong Xiao's house with him last time and recognized him at a glance.
But why was he piling up stones in front of his yard in broad daylight?
Duan Saner didn't expect that his movement would alarm the people in the room. He scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Sister-in-law of the Zong family, I came to tell my second brother from the same clan that we have decided to follow him into the mountains this time."
"Why don't you come home and tell me instead of messing around with rocks?" Qiu Xuan was still puzzled. "Your second brother Zong is in the next yard. I'll call him for you."
Duan Saner waved his hand and said hurriedly, "No, no. My second brother Zong said that if we brothers follow him, we should place stones on the steps in front of his house. When he sees us, he will come looking for us."
After saying that, Duan Saner patted the dirt on his body and said with a smile: "Then I'll go first, sister-in-law."
The wooden stick in Qiu Xuan's hand fell to the ground. She stood in front of the door in a daze, thinking over and over again in her mind what Duan Saner had just said.
We have thought it through.
We also went into the mountains.
Brother Zong will come looking for us if he sees us.
Putting these words together, Qiu Xuan always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out where the problem lay.
"Sister-in-law." Seeing that she had not come back for a long time, Liu Yueyang also left the house.
Seeing that she was the only one in front of the courtyard gate, Liu Yueyang breathed a sigh of relief. She walked forward and asked, "Who's here?"
Qiu Xuan lowered her eyes to glance at the pile of stones, but didn't kick it down.
"He's also a hunter. He's going into the mountains with your second brother tomorrow." Qiu Xuan retracted her gaze and said calmly, "Since they've all agreed, let's go together. More people means more care."
At noon, Zong Xiao returned home with a bunch of things given by his mother.
Although the clan mother agreed readily at the time, she was still worried and gave him two sets of cotton-padded clothes and quilts.
This was originally what the grandmother was going to give him during the Chinese New Year, but unexpectedly it was given to him earlier.
Zong Xiao put the things on the kang, rubbed his hands and looked at Qiu Xuan somewhat at a loss.
I know I've made him angry, but I really don't know how to comfort him.
Zong Xiao walked back and forth in front of Qiu Yun several times, and when he saw that she ignored his thoughts, he couldn't stand it anymore.
"I will definitely tell you early next time." Zong Xiao sat on the stool opposite her and swore with his hand in front of her.
Qiu Xuan didn't raise her eyes and continued to do her needlework.
"I know you're doing this for my own good. I promise this will be the last time I go into the mountains before the New Year."
Qiu Xuan snorted softly, still not looking up at him, but this time she spoke, "It's only a few days until the New Year, it's too late for you to go up the mountain again."
Seeing that she paid attention to him, Zong Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, what Qiu Xuan said next made him feel extremely guilty.
Qiu Xuan: "Did you see the pile of stones at the door when you came in?"
The pile of stones...of course he saw it.
Qiu Xuan guessed that he must have seen it. She put down her needlework and stared at him with her dark eyes. Finally, she sighed slightly and said, "I know everything. You should go to Duan Saner's place. It will be much safer with two more people."
She paused, then continued, "But having said that, it's okay even if you come back empty-handed from this trip into the mountains. You have to be well."
Qiu Xuan has figured it out. If he wants to go into the mountains, then he can go into the mountains. For many years, he has made a living by hunting in the mountains.
Since he wants to do it, let him do it. But now that he is married, he has to keep his family in his heart and put his life first in everything after entering the mountains.
Zong Xiao reached out and held her fingertips, twisting them gently.
"Okay, I promise."
The matter of entering the mountains has been finalized. In the afternoon, Zong Xiao went to Duan Saner's house and told him the time to enter the mountains.
Duan Saner originally thought it would take at least two days, but he didn't expect it to be so urgent this time.
But then he changed his mind and realized that the New Year was coming soon so it would be better to go early and come back early. He agreed and promised to wait in front of the Zong family courtyard early the next morning.
The five of them went into the mountains together this time, each preparing delicious food.
After entering the mountains, they had no place to live and no pots and pans, so they had to make do with everything.
Zong Xiao wanted to bring some dry steamed buns with him. They were filling and didn't take up much space. He only needed to bring about twenty of them for the five days he went into the mountains.
Unexpectedly, before I even got home, I smelled a fragrance coming from my own yard.
He quickened his pace and hurried into the yard.
Qiu Xuan was steaming meat in the kitchen. She thought the sausages she made a few days ago were ready to eat.
Thinking that Zong Xiao would be going into the mountains tomorrow, she simply prepared all the food tonight.
This sausage can be kept for a few days after it is cooked, longer than ordinary stir-fried dishes.
Qiu Xuan also wanted to get some meat floss. The method of making meat floss is similar to that of stir-fried fish hair, that is, the pork is made into soft and shredded meat. After all, this food is still meat, so at least you won't be hungry after eating it.
Qiu Xuan was busy in the kitchen alone. She put the chopped meat into a bowl and put it into an iron pot to steam together with the sausages.
This meat floss is made with lean pork, cut into slices, and then steamed until it becomes like white meat.
Qiu Xuan is good at steaming meat and has found the seasoning. Pork does not have the fishy smell of fish, so there is no need to cover the taste, so all you need is some salt, powdered sugar, soy sauce and pepper powder.
In fact, pepper powder is better, but unfortunately pepper is expensive. One or two ounces of it costs a lot of silver, and she can't afford it with the money in her pocket.
Qiu Xuan stood by the stove, waiting for the meat to be cooked.
As soon as the smell came out, she picked up the steamed pork with bamboo chopsticks and watched it fall apart.
Qiu Xuan poured all the seasonings she had just prepared into a bowl, and after the meat had cooled, she mixed it evenly with her hands.
This is not the end. She poured the mixed meat back into another iron pot and kept stirring with chopsticks until the white meat became fluffy and stringy.
The meat floss is ready.
Qiu Xuan had made this kind of food before, but back then, conditions were better and she didn't have to put in so much effort, so the shredded meat was very soft and tender. Now that conditions are worse, she doesn't know how the meat floss tastes.
Qiu Xuan picked up a small piece with chopsticks and took a bite. The taste was just average, not as amazing as she had imagined.
She was just wondering whether or not to redo it when a deep, husky voice came from behind her.
"Ah's wife, I'm back."
Qiu Xuan's heart suddenly tightened. He rarely addressed her like that. But she pretended to be relaxed and said without even turning her head, "Then come and eat quickly. After that, go to bed early. We have to go back into the mountains early tomorrow morning."
It's not dark yet, it's still early.
Zong Xiao smiled, knowing that she was no longer angry.
He climbed down the pole and followed her instructions to bring the food to the table one by one.
The sausage was greasy after being steamed, and even the soup in the plate was glistening with oil.
Qiu Xuan cut half of it, and packed the rest of the slices together with the meat floss.
"No need to bring so much, I'll just bring a few dry buns." Zong Xiao stood beside her and said to her with his head down.
Qiu Xuan didn't care about him. She cut a slit in the dry steamed bun with a knife and stuffed some pickles into it.
She made more than twenty dry buns in this way, without missing a single one.
He was going into the mountains to hunt and earn money, and that was all she could do at home.
Qiu Xuan muttered softly, "I'll make it for you, just take it."
"Okay, okay, I'll take it."
At night, the candlelight flickers.
Qiu Xuan was still sewing rabbit skin carefully with the help of that ray of light.
Zong Xiao leaned closer to her and advised, "You'll hurt your eyes tonight. You can do it tomorrow after I'm gone."
"It's almost done." Qiu Xuan had almost finished sewing during the day. Now she just needed to stuff some cotton into it and close the needle.
She was not very skilled and the embroidery needle went straight into the flesh without her noticing, causing blood to instantly appear.
Qiu Xuan rubbed it on the back of her hand and didn't take it seriously.
After finishing the last stitch, she stretched out the finished rabbit fur scarf to take a look, and then put it on Zong Xiao.
"Try it on and see if it fits." Qiu Xuan compared it with his collar and found that the length was naturally suitable.
Zong Xiao was stunned. Looking at the furry rabbit fur scarf in his hand, his hands were shaking slightly.
It was actually for him, made for him.
"Try it quickly. If it doesn't suit you, I'll change it." Seeing that he was staring intently, Qiu Yu started to do it herself.
The white fur collar was wrapped around his neck and was the perfect size. It was a pity that there was no rabbit fur at home, otherwise she would have made a rabbit fur hat for him.
Zong Xiao felt the warmth on his neck. He raised his hand and gently grasped Qiu Xuan's wrist, saying solemnly, "I will definitely come back soon and safely."
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