By 8:30 p.m., there were hardly any people around in the village.
An Moxue carried a deer on her back and seven or eight pheasants and rabbits in her hands to Old Ma's house. She threw the prey into the yard through the gate and then jumped in herself.
When they got to the window, they knocked gently a few times and called softly, "Uncle Ma! Aunt Ma!"
Old Ma's voice came from inside the house: "Wait."
Scattered sounds came from inside the room, and after a short while, the room lit up.
Old Ma opened the door and asked, "When did you get back?"
"Uncle Ma, there are still rabbits and pheasants by the door this afternoon," said An Moxue.
An Moxue carried the deer into the kitchen, followed by Old Ma. Seeing so much stuff, he asked, "So much stuff, did you bring it all here?"
"No, I have more. Are you satisfied with this deer?"
"Okay, not bad," Uncle Ma said with satisfaction.
At this moment, Aunt Ma also came out dressed. Seeing so much stuff, she asked, "Are you hurt?"
"No. Auntie, why are you up?"
"There's so much, how long will it take you two to clean it all up?" As he spoke, he poured water into the pot and lit a fire under the stove.
Old Ma was skinning a deer, and An Moxue was skinning a rabbit. Both of them were quick and efficient. Aunt Ma was tending the fire while watching them work.
Old Ma asked, "Did you go to the village chief's house?"
"I went; I went as soon as I got back this afternoon."
“It’s good that you went. You came back on time this time. He’s been telling me twice already, worried that something might happen to you and you wouldn’t be able to make it back. You don’t need any awards, and you don’t need them anyway.”
"It seems they've all left a bad impression on Uncle Guo. We'll definitely be more careful next time."
Didn't you give him anything?
"He took a basket!"
"Okay, take it. He's put in a lot of effort for you, so we should repay him. We can't be ungrateful."
"Uncle Ma, I know."
“Once this is all packed up, take half of it back with you. We two old folks can’t eat that much.”
"Keep it! I have some, I can get more from the mountain whenever I want. Besides, didn't we say that my brothers are coming home for the New Year this year? If you two can't eat it all, there are still your children and grandchildren!"
"No, they didn't give me any! Why should I give them what you gave me? I kept it all for myself and your aunt."
"That's for the best. Let's eat first, then I'll go get more. Uncle, do you know anything about the dragon vein here?"
"I know a little. Legend has it that when the Manchus entered the pass, they were protected by a divine dragon. Later, when they established their capital in Kyoto, they sealed off the mountains and found a high priest to perform rituals to protect the dragon vein. Every year, a large amount of tribute was offered, and a grand annual sacrifice was held. But this is just a legend, and I have never heard of anyone actually seeing it! So this dragon vein is just a legend."
Where is that legendary dragon vein?
"It's the Buxian Mountains behind here! The Twelve Divine Mountains are the legendary location of the dragon vein. But no one knows exactly where it is."
"Uncle Ma, do you think there really is a dragon vein?"
"I don't know, it's up to you if you believe it, and it's up to you if you don't."
Aunt Ma said, "Now the government is promoting that feudal superstition is forbidden, but how do they explain many things? I think that since the legends are so mysterious, there must be a reason for them."
"Old woman, the water's boiling, hurry up and prepare the chicken."
Each person was doing their own thing, and An Moxue asked, "Did we have any sacrificial ceremonies in the past?"
"Yes, of course! It used to be quite a spectacle. But after the 'Destroy the Four Olds' movement, people stopped doing it. Now that we're against feudal superstition, even fewer people dare to do it. But you can't guarantee they won't secretly do it at home."
"Then why do you think our northern lands were so important when foreign enemies invaded?"
"Resources! What is the essence of war? Isn't it plunder? We have so many resources, who wouldn't like them?"
"Yes, that's right, as expected of Uncle Ma!"
"That's right. Back then, I was with my second maternal grandfather. Who was he? He was the smartest and most visionary person of that generation in the entire family. I learned some things from him through my daily life."
"Is she very smart?"
"Of course, you're just as quick to learn as him. You can learn some things without being taught them."
An Moxue thought to herself, "The legendary wise man—Grandpa?"
In my memory, my mother often talked about him, always praising his wisdom and bravery.
"Am I as good-looking as you?" An Moxue asked narcissistically.
"No, how could the Second Master be considered handsome? He's not a woman. He should be dashing and debonair."
Ah! Uncle Ma must really admire his second master.
After not hearing a reply from An Moxue, Uncle Ma said, "I have a photo, would you like to see it?"
"look."
"Hurry up and pack, I'll show you when you're done, but you have to keep it a secret."
"Why?"
"Just keep it a secret, why ask so many questions?"
"Alright!"
The two quickly finished cleaning up, cutting the meat into small pieces, taking it outside, putting it in a jar, covering it with snow, and then putting the lid on top. That was it.
Only Aunt Ma was left there picking chicken feathers.
Back inside, An Moxue helped Aunt Ma gut the plucked chicken, while Uncle Ma cleaned up the fur. The three of them quickly finished cleaning up.
Back inside, Uncle Ma took out the key, opened the cabinet, took out a wooden box, carefully opened it, took out something wrapped in silk, opened it, revealing a photograph, and An Moxue leaned close to Uncle Ma.
When An Moxue saw the photo, she couldn't help but be shocked—the resemblance was uncanny!
She looked exactly like her ancestor, even her open-mindedness and cheerfulness were evident in the photo. The only difference was that her ancestor had a red mole on his right eyebrow, while her grandfather did not. He looked to be in his twenties, while the ancestor she met was around forty years old. However, she knew that they were not the same person, and that her ancestor had lived for countless years.
An Moxue could understand Old Ma's admiration. Just by looking at the photo, she could tell that this person must be very outstanding, and would be the center of attention wherever he went.
Old Ma handed the photo to An Moxue and said, "Hold the edge carefully, don't get it dirty, it wouldn't be good if you got fingerprints on it."
An Moxue wanted to say, "How could this be? My hands are clean," but she didn't dare to say it. She just carefully took the photo, looked at it carefully, and then Old Ma took it back and carefully put it away.
An Moxue tentatively asked, "Uncle Ma, if you treasure these photos so much, why didn't you print more?"
“I’m afraid that if I take it and break it, I’ll have nothing left. This is the last thing I can keep as a memento.”
"How is it? Is it just as I said?"
"Yeah, same goes for everyone in their family. Are all of them this good-looking?"
"Yes, the men are handsome and the women are beautiful; there are no ugly ones. Even the people who work in their household are not ugly."
An Moxue thought to herself that perhaps there was a priest in her family who could read faces. Since faces reflect the heart, he must have excluded some people with bad character. Kind-hearted people, even if they are not good-looking, will still be very pleasing to the eye.
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