They didn't leave in a hurry, but it seemed like the two of them had completely forgotten about it.
What's even more absurd is that the two of them hadn't thought about it once during the two days they were away. Now that they were at their doorstep, they suddenly remembered it and simply assumed they would see a few starving dogs.
What did she see when she opened the door?
Two dogs were barking wildly in the yard. There was a small pool of blood on the ground near the doghouse. Judging from the bloodstains, it seemed to have been dripping from the other side of the wall. Oh, and there was a small, dark figure at the base of the wall, its fate unknown.
A moment of simple surprise, what's going on?
Cheng Jin, who was carrying the things behind, immediately turned pale.
"What's going on?"
After a quick sweep of the yard, only Jixiang and Xile were there; the other two were nowhere to be seen. Looking at the bloodstains and bone fragments near the doghouse, I had a rough guess...
"You guys went off to find food yourselves again?"
Her only response was a warm shout, but soon, two black shadows came rushing from the foot of the mountain, getting closer and closer, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Several adults squinted as they watched, while Jian Xin happily came out to greet them.
"Ruyi, Ping'an, have you gone up the mountain?"
One dog was carrying a dying pheasant in its mouth, while the other was biting a small roe deer. The prey was quite large, so the dog was practically half-biting and half-dragging it, yet it didn't slow down at all.
With a few leaps, he arrived in front of everyone, put down his prey, and then mingled with the two dogs that came out of the yard, frolicking around Jian Dan and Jian Xin.
"Woof woof woof..."
"Woof woof woof..."
The sharp canine teeth were still covered with bits of meat and blood, a bloody mess that must have been quite unsettling. Yet, the dogs were jumping around excitedly like children, vying for attention, without a trace of ferocity, just adorably silly.
With their most familiar Cheng Chao absent, Cheng Jin and Lin Zhengde were still not quite used to the situation, especially when they saw the half-grown, silly roe deer. Even if it was silly, its size was still impressive; it was still a wild animal from the mountains.
"This was killed by a dog?"
Lin Zhengde was also somewhat bewildered.
"Judging from this, it should be..."
"Seems stronger than people?"
That's for sure. Take pheasants, for example. There aren't many people in the whole village who can catch them.
Raising a roe deer is all about luck; although they're silly, they're really hard to catch.
After sending Jian Dan home and Mingzhu's family home, Cheng Jin and Lin Zhengde's task was completed. They immediately planned to go back, since they weren't as free as Cheng Chao. Even with this anti-inflammatory medicine, there was still a lot of arguing to be had.
Lin Zhengde also had a bunch of things bought. After all, Lin Dongfang was his junior, and this child was his grand-nephew. Since the elders in the family couldn't come, he had to take extra care of him.
However, it's the height of summer now, so I can only buy some dry food and pastries that can be stored for a while. The hens I was planning to clean up are all still alive.
"Let's keep it for now, and kill it when we're making chicken soup, otherwise it won't survive this long."
Lin Dongfang didn't stand on ceremony. His wife and children were his top priority. This village was different from the capital. Not only would people notice what he ate or did, but there were also some things he wanted to buy but couldn't find anywhere to buy them.
Like this old hen, every household in the village raised a few this year, but so far they are still chicks that haven't even opened for business in less than a year. If you want to buy them to make soup, you really can't.
Other new mothers should eat things like millet and red dates, but even Lin Zhengde couldn't buy them in unlimited quantities. In the village, millet is a fine grain, and red dates are even rarer. People in the village can forget about getting them.
Lin Zhengde was on this side, while Cheng Jin was on Jian Dan's side, inspecting the yard.
"Don't go into the mountains all the time if you don't have to. If you need anything, have Cheng Chao bring it to you. Take it easy when you're earning work points. You're a young lady, and you have adults at home. You don't need to work so hard, understand?"
Simply and obediently agreed.
"I know, Uncle. I definitely won't push myself if I can't do it."
The things Cheng Chao bought at the county supply and marketing cooperative were enough for the two of them to eat for a while. Just now, Cheng Jin insisted on stuffing a bunch of money and coupons into her hands, as if he was afraid she would mistreat him.
Fearing he might say something else, Jian quickly assigned him tasks.
"Uncle, that roe deer is still there."
When Lin Zhengde arrived, he saw Cheng Jin with his sleeves rolled up, squatting in the yard dissecting a roe deer, while a little girl watched the spectacle with wide eyes, helping out by carrying a small basin of water.
The door was open, and steam rose from the kitchen, clearly indicating that cooking had already begun.
Lin Zhengde pushed the door open and came in, but didn't reach out. He figured it was all over soon, so he simply picked up the bucket and went to fetch water. He watched as Cheng Jin carried a basin of meat into the room and poured the whole bucket of water on the ground. The bloodstains spread out, and the color seemed to fade a little.
"Dandan, are you going to marinate it now? It's quite hot today. If you don't prepare it today, it will spoil tomorrow."
It was midday, and these two probably couldn't stay here for long. Jian Dan was simple and didn't cause any trouble. When he came back in the morning, Cheng Chao had gotten up early to buy him a piece of pork belly. Jian Dan also secretly took out a few ribs, cut two large pieces of roe deer meat, added a few potatoes, put in his private seasonings, and stewed it all in one pot. He also put a ring of flatbread on top.
Cheng Jin, Lin Zhengde, Lin Dongfang, and the two sisters—we were afraid that simple wouldn't be enough, so we specially used the large pot from the west side.
Cover the pot and let the fire start burning. A pot of pig's trotter soup was simmering on the east side. Even if Lin Dongfang cooks, she still needs to eat several meals a day during her postpartum period. It can be sent over later so she can eat it.
Knowing I was in a hurry, I quickly picked a few cucumbers and persimmons and made a simple salad.
It looked like a meat dish, which would take time, but after the table was cleared and Cheng Jin and Jian Xin went out for a short walk, the aroma from the pot wafted out. Without saying anything else, Jian Xin had already eagerly gathered around the pot to wait.
Lifting the pot lid, the two large men who had just entered both sniffed and quickened their pace as they thought of the shop coming into view.
The room was steaming hot. Cheng Jin paused for a moment, then took the shovel from the child's hand.
"Go to the side, don't get burned."
Someone else did the work for them; it was simple, they didn't pretend, and they even gave directions.
"Uncle, put some flatbread and vegetables in these two small basins. There's also soup in the pot. Take it over to Sister Zhuzhu and the others later."
"Just put the rest into this big bowl."
Even excluding the portion that was set aside separately, there was still a large bowl of vegetables and a basket of flatbread.
The stew, rich and flavorful, and the golden flatbread were laid out on the table. Xiao Jianxin kept drooling, and Cheng Jin and the other man couldn't take their eyes off it either. Why didn't their cafeteria food taste like this?
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