Chapter 57: Pork Jerky. Wolf Hunt.
Four days passed in the blink of an eye, and snow began to fall in the mountains again.
Qiu Xuan took a stroll around the village entrance early in the morning, hoping that Zong Xiao would come back soon.
The mountains are different from the villages. It is cold at night and there is no place to stay. Moreover, the five of them went deep into the mountains, which was even more dangerous.
As soon as she closed her eyes at night, all kinds of wild beasts appeared in the mountains, and those bloody scenes woke her up in the middle of the night again and again.
She thought that after Zong Xiao came back, she would not let him go up the mountain. Even if Zong Mu agreed next time, she would not agree.
Qiu Xuan returned home alone, and looking at the empty yard, her heart felt empty too.
This made her very uncomfortable, and she felt she had to find something to do.
But she also fed the chickens and mules in the backyard, and even didn't forget the little rabbits.
What else can be done?
"Sister-in-law, I'm coming in." Outside the door, Liu Yueyang was holding a lunch box in one hand and Huaixue in the other.
She went back to her parents' home yesterday and brought back a lot of food, which her second brother brought back when he went to trade with the villagers.
He said that city people like to eat this because it is chewy, so his second brother packed two boxes for her to take back and share.
Liu Yueyang also packed some, and after he was done, he brought Huaixue over.
The door to Qiu Xuan's courtyard is not locked, so you can just push it open and get in.
Huaixue ran in first. She looked around and when she saw someone, she threw herself into Qiuxuan's arms.
"Second Aunt, can I sleep with you tonight?" Huaixue was used to calling her aunt, but when Liu Yueyang was around, she would make a distinction in the way she addressed her.
Qiu Xuan rubbed her little round face and said yes.
She hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past few nights, always waking up in the middle of the night. Now that there was someone at home to accompany her, it helped to relieve her boredom.
"So this is what you were talking about with your grandma just now." Liu Yueyang walked up to them and said to Qiu Xuan with a smile, "This girl is coming to your place tonight. Mother can finally rest assured for a night."
Huaixue hummed twice. She had grown up now and was no longer the person who could only fall asleep with her grandma.
Besides, grandma said that since Second Uncle is not at home these days, Second Aunt will definitely be worried and can't sleep well at night. As the happy pill of the family, she naturally has to stand up at this time to accompany Second Aunt.
Huaixue raised her little face and said proudly, "I'll sleep here for the next few days. I'll go back when my second uncle comes back."
"Okay, okay, you can sleep however you want." The wind blew in the yard, and Qiu Xuan was afraid that they would get sick, so she quickly took them into the house.
Liu Yueyang brought a lot of food from home, and the one she most wanted Qiu Yu to taste was this meat jerky.
This thing is thin but chewy and tastes better than jerky.
Her second brother said that this meat jerky is not cheap, and a box costs a hundred coins.
Liu Yueyang pushed the food box in front of Qiu Xuan and said, "Sister-in-law, try it. Do you like it?"
"Butcher shop?" Qiu Xuan had always enjoyed eating pork jerky from watching dramas, but after coming here, she had never even seen it, let alone tried it. She probably thought it was because it was expensive; it wasn't affordable for the townspeople.
Liu Yueyang was a little surprised when she heard this. She hurriedly asked, "Sister-in-law, have you seen this? This food is indeed called meat jerky. It's made of pork and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It tastes very delicious."
The price of sesame is about the same as that of rice and flour, so ordinary people will not buy it.
Qiu Xuan had seen it once in a shop, but she didn't buy it because she thought it was useless for her family. But now, when she saw the meat jerky, she wanted to cook it again.
Qiu Xuan nodded, "I've heard others talk about it before, but it doesn't seem difficult to make."
"It's not difficult to do?" Liu Yueyang's eyes lit up. She clasped her delicate hands together and said happily, "Sister-in-law, can you do it?"
The method is not difficult, but Qiu Xuan has never practiced it, she only knows the theoretical knowledge.
But I'm free right now anyway, so I might as well give it a try and kill some time.
Qiu Xuan replied, "You can give it a try, but I can't guarantee it will work the first time, and the taste...it may not be good either."
Liu Yueyang and Huaixue came over to accompany her. Seeing that she wanted to cook, they smiled at each other and expressed their willingness to accompany her.
The three of them got to work immediately. Liu Yueyang prepared the seasonings at home, while Qiu Xuan took some money and took Huai Xue to Li the butcher to buy some hind leg meat and tenderloin.
Nowadays people like to eat fatty meat, which is oily and fragrant, so the land with more lean meat will be relatively cheaper.
Qiu Xuan bought two pounds of pork tenderloin for only fifty copper coins, which is much cheaper than the other ones.
"Oh, tsk tsk tsk, why buy this meat? What's the point of eating it?"
The voice came from behind them. Qiu Xuan turned her head and saw the eldest son of the second branch of the Zong family looking at them as if he was watching a show.
Qiu Xuan had never spoken to him since she got married, but she had seen him and knew that he was Zong Dazhuang's father, and the biological son of Zong Laoer.
Qiu Xuan was too lazy to pay attention and turned around to leave.
Zong Feng did not do as she wished. He quickly stepped forward and blocked their way.
"Sister-in-law, why are you doing this? I thought your family had it easy. That day, my father showed up with some pork, but you chased him away." Zong Feng looked at the fatless tenderloin and laughed, "I heard your second brother went into the mountains? Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, life is so bad these days, and he's going back into the mountains even before the New Year."
Without waiting for Qiu Xuan to speak, Huai Xue was the first to become unhappy.
She huffed, "Bad guy."
Zong Feng looked at the little girl who was cherished by the Zong family, raised his eyebrows, and said deliberately: "You child, you really have no parents to teach you. How can you speak so rudely? In terms of seniority, I am also your uncle, and my Dazhuang is also your brother."
Qiu Xuan sneered. She didn't want to say anything more to someone like him.
With the second branch of the main family being in such a bad state, I’m sure the child won’t be much better off.
When I saw it today, it was indeed true. It was all very bad.
Qiu Xuan protected Huai Xue behind her and looked up at the arrogant Zong Feng. She said calmly, "Talk about seniority? Didn't your parents tell you that the two families had severed ties a long time ago? And who do you think you are to come to me and talk about seniority with me?"
"You." Zong Feng raised his fist high, as if he was going to hit Qiu Xuan in the face in the next moment.
Qiu Xuan wasn't panicking at all. Since their families were no longer related, she naturally didn't need to save face for him. She took a step forward and looked at him with disdain. "Instead of venting your frustration here, why not go home and work hard? Don't end up relying on your parents and being unable to support yourself. Even if you rely on them, I don't think that family wealth is enough for your Dazhuang to eat."
After saying this, Qiu Xuan took Huai Xue's hand and walked straight out of Li the Butcher's house, completely ignoring the jaw-dropping looks of the people behind them.
Her words were too bold and too touching.
Zong Feng was so angry that he stamped his feet and didn't even have the mood to buy meat.
On the way home, Qiu Xuan hummed a little tune.
She had been in a bad mood these days, and it was Zong Feng who had to rush into danger.
Huaixue raised her little face and looked at Qiu Yun, saying, "Aunt, don't be angry."
"I'm not angry." Qiu Xuan smiled and rubbed her head. She said, "Let's go home and make meat jerky."
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In the deep mountains, the cold wind is blowing.
Zong Xiao and his companions walked for four days but didn't see what they wanted. Finally, they discussed and came to the place where Zong Xiao had hunted last time.
A few people stopped in the cave to rest, thinking of going deeper into the cave after daybreak.
On the way into the mountains, they saw nothing but pheasants and rabbits. They were all eager to hunt big game.
Zong Xiao took out the dry buns that Qiu Xuan had prepared for him and roasted them on the fire.
His dry bun with something in it looks better than others.
Duan Saner laughed and joked, "We still have to get married. When we get married, we'll have someone to love us. Look at the food we brought, it's nowhere near as good as what Brother Zong has."
Zong Jiabao responded, "That's right. Among us, only Second Brother Zong is married. Look at what he prepared. I think that rabbit fur scarf was made by Second Sister-in-law."
Zong Xiao put on this scarf on his neck the day he left home. Despite the cold wind in the mountains these past few days, he never felt his neck was cold.
Now that someone else said this, he couldn't help but stroke her twice.
"Speaking of which, Second Brother Zong, why did you decide to come to the mountains? I heard from the villagers that you set up a stall in the town. You should be making a lot of money from that." Although Zong Jiabao also has the surname Zong, he has no relationship with Zong Xiao.
Everyone was curious and pricked up their ears to listen.
Zong Xiao looked at the fire and spoke slowly, "I want to make more money. Setting up a stall is not a long-term solution. We live in the mountains and can only go down when the weather is good. It's raining, snowing and windy now, so how can we go down?"
Everyone thought about it and agreed. Setting up a stall in town was just so-so, not as good as they had imagined.
"I'm thinking of learning from Second Brother Zong and setting up a stall with my brother." Duan San'er wasn't one to hide things. He smiled and said, "I'm thinking of making more money so I can get married next year."
Zong Xiao hummed, "Then go set up a stall. Every penny you earn is a penny you earn."
"Okay, then we brothers will give it a try after the New Year."
As he was speaking, a wolf howl pierced the darkness of the mountain night.
The people who were originally talking and laughing picked up things at hand, some holding knives and some holding arrows.
They were fully armed and ready.
"It's just as Brother Zong said, there are wolves in this place."
The last time Zong Xiao went into the mountains to hunt foxes, he encountered a pack of wolves, and he was lucky enough to escape.
This time when he went into the mountains, he told everyone about this. Everyone thought that the purpose of going into the mountains was to hunt, and the purpose of hunting was to make money.
Since there are wolves here, we might as well give it a try. Every wolf we catch counts. They have torches and machetes in their hands. How can we be afraid of these beasts?
Zong Xiao warned everyone, "We shouldn't be greedy, our priority is to save our lives. If we get separated, we should all come here. Then we can go down the mountain together and sell them directly. We won't return to the village."
"Wolves are smart, so be careful."
After saying that, they put out the fire, took their belongings and left the cave.
The cold wind made people's hands and feet cold, but everyone's heart was hot. They were destined to have a battle with the wolves tonight.
They walked in the mountains, listening carefully to the howling of wolves.
The howls of each wolf were different. Zong Xiao guessed that this was a small wolf pack, probably no more than ten wolves.
After this calculation, several people's confidence increased greatly.
They followed the howling of the wolves until they came to a hillock.
The wolves seemed to have smelled something, and several of them were pacing back and forth, obviously feeling a little restless.
"Have you seen the wolf?"
"There are none down there, probably not here." Duan Saner looked around and whispered, "There are only five or six down there, should we go up or not?"
The five of them were confident that they could handle five or six wolves. They had things tied up on their hands, legs, and necks, so if the wolves scratched or bit them, it wouldn't hurt them for a while.
This is also the reason why several people are not afraid.
"Shoot arrows first, shoot the big ones on the side." Zong Xiao raised his bow and aimed at the black wolf at the bottom of the slope that was staring at them with its back bent.
Several people held their breath and let go together when the wolves were about to pounce on them.
Five arrows were shot at once, two of them hitting the wolf's body.
The wolf pack was in chaos, and the howling of wolves could be heard one after another.
They attacked again before the wolves that had gone out returned.
Wolves are agile, and if you miss an opportunity to shoot an arrow, you won't get a second one.
The few surviving wolves below pounced on them one after another, and since they were so close, everyone could only fight with knives.
"Brother, be careful." A female wolf came around the slope and rushed up from under them. When they realized it, it was too late.
Duan Saner was thrown to the ground fiercely. Just as the wolf was biting his neck, a sharp arrow grazed the mother wolf's abdomen and pierced through.
At the moment when the mother wolf panicked, Duan Saner swung his knife with all his strength and chopped off the wolf's head.
Blood gushed out instantly, wetting half of his face.
"There are only a few left. Let's finish this quickly. The leader wolf is coming back soon."
"Four. Two more dead down the slope. That should be about it."
Zong Xiao glanced down and saw that the two wolves were dead, so he jumped down from the slope.
These two were not small, and he threw them up with great effort.
Just as he was about to climb the hill, the leader wolf came back with the wolves that had gone out.
The five wolves stared at him fiercely, wishing they could swallow him up.
"Second brother, come up quickly." The people on the slope didn't expect the leader wolf to come back so quickly, and they didn't expect that there were still five wolves alive.
They raised their bows and aimed again, but unfortunately none of them hit the target.
The smell of blood spread, and the wolves, seeing that their companions were dead, all gave up the idea of living.
Three of them rushed up the slope together, and the remaining two pounced on Zong Xiao.
He couldn't hold off the wolf alone, so he could only swing his knife to drive it away. While the wolf was dodging, he turned and ran up the mountain.
The leader wolf chased him relentlessly and had no intention of letting him go.
Zong Xiao hid behind a rock. He had just taken two breaths when the wolf leader caught up with him.
The man and the wolf were only a few meters apart.
The bow and arrow were no longer useful at this moment, so he drew the scimitar from his waist, waiting for the wolf to pounce on him and deliver a fatal blow.
He stared straight ahead, not knowing when a gray wolf suddenly appeared behind him.
The wolf was very cunning. It pounced on him from behind when he wasn't paying attention and bit his right shoulder tightly.
The scimitar fell to the ground and he was knocked down by the gray wolf.
Fortunately, the sharp arrow was at hand. He changed to his left hand, gritted his teeth and stabbed it in hard.
The gray wolf opened its mouth in pain, howled twice, and rolled to the side.
At this moment, he and the wolf leader were the only ones left.
He moved his body and hid behind a big tree, picking up the bow and arrow and scimitar at the same time.
He knew that the alpha wolf would not let him go, and either he or the alpha wolf would die.
Perhaps noticing that he was injured, the leader wolf did not move forward. Instead, it squatted on the rock and stared at him, as if waiting for him to lose too much blood and no longer have the strength to resist.
Zong Xiao naturally couldn't let it do as it wished, so he turned sideways and let the whole tree cover his body. He gritted his teeth and ignored the pain, raising the bow again.
Victory or failure depends on this one move.
The leader wolf seemed to have not expected that he would still resist, and when he wanted to dodge it was already too late.
The sharp arrow pierced its right leg, freezing it in place.
Seeing that it had lost the ability to escape, Zong Xiao raised his knife and stepped forward to end its life.
His movements were so large that he repeatedly pulled on the wound.
Blood gushed out in streams, with no sign of stopping.
Zong Xiao leaned against the rock and raised his hand to press the wound. If he couldn't stop the bleeding, he was afraid he would die here.
The cold wind blew, clearing his dizzy head again.
He untied the scarf around his neck with one hand, trying to use it to stop the blood from flowing out.
The grayish-white rabbit fur scarf looked even paler in the moonlight, but there was a black spot on it.
Zong Xiao took a closer look and saw that it was not a black spot at all, but a drop of blood that had long since dried up.
Not the wolf's, not his.
That can only be people who make Weibo.
Zong Xiao gently stroked that place, stroking the drop of blood that had long since dried up.
Yes, he can't die, he can't die here, he has to live.
His family is still waiting for him to return home.
Zong Xiao bit one end of the scarf and let it wrap around his right shoulder.
After one circle, it can be tied into a knot.
He held on so tightly that he no longer cared about the pain. By the time the knot was tied, his rabbit fur scarf was already stained red with blood.
He had done what he could and now he no longer had the strength to stand up.
Just as he was unconscious, a few familiar voices came from the mountains not far away, "Second Brother Zong, Second Brother Zong."
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