Wang Tianxiao wasn't too excited about catching one, but Wang Tiancheng was overjoyed and became very enthusiastic. He carried the rabbit around and looked for its footprints.
He actually found a place and happily acquired a plump male rabbit, which made him extremely happy.
Before they knew it, the two brothers had caught seven or eight rabbits, filling a snakeskin bag. Luckily, Wang Tiancheng was tall and strong, otherwise he might not have been able to carry it.
Wang Tianxiao glanced at the time; it was already past 1 a.m.
"Let's take a break."
The two just happened to arrive at a sheltered spot, with a mountain ridge on the left and a row of tall Chinese toon trees on the right, where the cold wind couldn't reach them.
"Okay."
Wang Tiancheng was also a little tired.
The snow didn't reach the area below the ridge, so the soil was still dry. The two brothers sat down against the ridge. Wang Tiancheng carefully placed the bag close to his body, afraid it would run away.
Wang Tianxiao hadn't spent time like this with his younger brother in a long time.
In his previous life, his younger brother became a high-ranking person, while he was fifty years old and had accomplished nothing. Although his brother was still very good to him, he no longer had anything in common with his brother and could not talk to him.
To be honest, I only make a few phone calls a year.
Wang Tiancheng felt that he had only been away from his brother for half a year, but Wang Tianxiao felt that his younger brother had been gone for many years.
The two chatted for a long time when suddenly Wang Tiancheng's stomach growled.
He laughed awkwardly, "I had corn porridge for lunch, then I went to the toilet, and now I'm hungry again."
"Young people are still growing, it's normal for them to get hungry easily... Hey, we have food ready, how could we let you go hungry?"
Wang Tianxiao suddenly became interested.
Wang Tiancheng understood his brother's meaning and his eyes lit up with joy.
Let's get right to it.
For children in mountain villages, catching wild animals is a very simple thing; almost four- or five-year-olds can roast weasels and frogs with tiles and eat them.
"Go and break off some dry branches over there, make sure they're dry. I'll prepare the rabbit meat for us."
"good."
Wang Tiancheng placed the bag at his brother's feet, then darted up the ridge to find tree branches.
Wang Tianxiao opened the bag and observed it for a while. He found a wild rabbit with its eyes open, trying to bite through the hemp rope in its mouth.
"You look so energetic, I really admire you. It must be you."
Grab the rabbit, lift it out of the bag, raise its head, and stuff a handful of snow directly into its mouth. Watch as the rabbit's little feet twitched a few times, and then it quickly stopped moving.
Rabbits are easily choked to death because of the special structure of their organs. If you lift its head up and pour a little water down its throat, it will die right there in front of you.
Domestic rabbits and wild rabbits are the same.
There's actually a lot to know about killing rabbits. Many people don't know how to kill rabbits properly, resulting in rabbits that are hard to eat. This is because they accidentally break the bladder and gallbladder when processing the rabbit meat.
If these two ingredients are not handled properly, the rabbit meat will have a peculiar gamey smell, and it will be impossible to cook it well no matter what you do.
Wang Tianxiao pulled a short knife from his boot, an essential tool for his mountain patrols, serving both for self-defense and as a makeshift tool. He quickly dug a hole in the ground, filled it with some clean snow, and then began to deal with the rabbit.
The rabbit was choking and barely alive, with only one breath left. He gently tapped it on the head with the handle of his dagger, and the rabbit immediately rolled its eyes back and departed this world.
There are two common methods for slaughtering rabbits: one is to stun them with electricity, and the other is to hit their heads with a wooden stick. Metal is rarely used, to prevent damaging the rabbit's head and contaminating the skin, which would lower its price.
Therefore, Wang Tianxiao only tapped lightly, without using force.
He killed the rabbit, then deftly made a cut on its hind leg, all the way down to its rear end. He then peeled off the entire rabbit skin by gently pulling it out along the cut.
Then comes the disembowelment, being careful not to rupture the bladder and gallbladder, which goes without saying.
When Wang Tiancheng returned, Wang Tianxiao had already wrapped the rabbit in mud mixed with snow water, placed it in the pit, and filled the pit with soil, waiting for the firewood to return.
The two quickly lit a fire over the pit, warming themselves by the fire while waiting for the heat to cook the rabbit meat below.
The entrails that were disposed of were buried in a pit, as leaving them outside would easily attract wolves.
Although the wolves in the mountains are not a threat, they can barely handle one, but if two or three come at the same time, it will be a troublesome matter. The old-fashioned guns they have can have very limited deterrent and damaging power against wolves.
The main problem is that wolves are too cunning. They will circle around people and wait until they are exhausted before making their move. Almost every village near the mountains has experienced wolf attacks.
In Wangjia Village, there was a boy who, when he was a child, went to work in the fields with his parents. When they returned, they forgot to take him with them, and a wolf bit off half his face. Now he has no nose and hides at home, afraid to see anyone. Wang Tianxiao saw him once by chance and was so frightened that he had nightmares for many nights in a row.
The firelight flickered, and the moonlight was as clear as water.
The two brothers looked at the fire in front of them, filled with anticipation.
How long will it take before we can eat it?
Wang Tiancheng couldn't wait.
"About half an hour," Wang Tianxiao estimated the time.
"How long has it been baking?"
"It's only been less than five minutes."
"Oh." Wang Tiancheng was slightly disappointed.
Seeing his younger brother like this, Wang Tianxiao was filled with emotion.
Life was truly difficult in those times; a simple piece of meat could satisfy people's greatest desires. Unlike later generations when resources are abundant, people have become less inclined to eat meat and have started to eat vegetarian food. My little grandson always leaves the meat in his bowl, refusing to eat it no matter how much I try to persuade him.
"What's the rush? You can't eat hot tofu if you're impatient. Wait a little longer, it will taste even better later."
"Haha, that's true."
Wang Tianxiao lay on the ground, his hands under his head, gazing at the silent night sky, listening to the crackling of the flames beside him, and couldn't help but sigh, "If only I could always live like this, so carefree."
Wang Tiancheng didn't understand why his brother was sighing so much. He lay down next to his brother and suddenly remembered the things at home. He said with some worry, "Brother, there must be something going on about Third Sister-in-law going back to her parents' home."
"oh?"
"Think about it, what kind of people are the Yu family? They're all in jail. They've always been causing trouble everywhere. This time, they feel that Third Sister-in-law has been bullied, so how can they let it go?"
“If they won’t give up, then let them come. Keeping tolerating them won’t solve anything,” Wang Tianxiao sighed. “I just happened to run into them when I came back this time. If I hadn’t, your sister-in-law would be raising Fangwa all by herself, and her belly is so big. How are they supposed to live? That hanged man has no idea how anyone can live.”
“Third sister-in-law is indeed going too far,” Wang Tiancheng said. “Third brother is the same; he can’t control his wife at all and has turned this family into a mess. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
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