After sending the children to rest, Tang Sumei felt no longer restrained around the two men.
"You guys, leading a young girl into the deep mountains and forests in the middle of the night, is that appropriate?"
What if you scare the child again? You guys are really something, letting the child go whenever she wants. But there's no one around to teach her these things. She doesn't understand, but you don't?
Cheng Chao isn't married, so it's normal that he doesn't know. Don't you know either, Lao Cheng?
What a big heart! "
The two men were scolded so badly they didn't dare to look up or argue back. Cheng Zhuo opened his mouth, wanting to say that it was his son who was afraid, but seeing Tang Sumei's expression, he swallowed his words back. Forget it, let's not cause any more trouble.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Chao immediately realized his mistake; going up the mountain had indeed been reckless. He promptly and sincerely admitted his error.
"Second Aunt, it's my fault. I didn't think of that. I was just thinking that if I finished today, I wouldn't let her go up the mountain tomorrow."
Second Aunt, there are some things I don't understand. My younger sister takes care of me more now, and all I can do is buy some things and send them over.
Tell me what else I need to be careful about, so I can be more mindful when we get back.
Cheng Zhuo watched as the scene that was just a moment ago being scolded instantly turned into a loving exchange between mother and son. He accidentally met Cheng Chao's eyes and was speechless. You're really something!
The two men skinned and bled the meat, while Tang Sumei helped out by boiling water and handing things over. The group worked until dawn before they finally finished cleaning up. Looking at the meat scattered on the ground, Tang Sumei was both happy and worried.
"It's still so hot outside, the meat won't keep for long, what are you planning to do?"
A cow weighs over 300 jin (150 kg), and even after removing its skin, fur, and internal organs, it still weighs over 200 jin (100 kg).
That deer was also an adult, and its meat weighed nearly 300 jin (150 kg).
The donkey hasn't even been slaughtered yet, so let's not even talk about that. But five or six hundred catties of meat is no small amount. At least Cheng Zhuo's family can't consume it all, especially in this season.
Tang Sumei understood him, which is why she asked that question.
but,
"This is the child's prey. Why don't we go and ask the child first?"
"Second Aunt, my sister said last night that Second Uncle can make the decision."
Cheng Zhuomei couldn't stop smiling.
"Look, it has to be one of our Cheng family's children."
When Jian Dan woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Her two children weren't home, and Tang Sumei was busy in the kitchen, sweating profusely. Jian Dan went over and helped her wipe her brow.
"Second Aunt, what are you doing? Where are they?"
Tang Sumei straightened up and rubbed her back.
"The two of them took some meat to the cafeteria, and those two lads went with them."
He then turned to face Jian Dan.
"Your brother said you handed everything over to your second uncle? You should know that your second uncle is someone who treats the army as his home. If you give him something, he'll have to give it up."
Although she trusted Cheng Chao, she wanted to confirm it again. After all, at this time, buying even a pound of meat was a big deal, let alone several hundred pounds. She didn't want the child to be clueless or just agree to something because he was trying to save face.
Jian Dan could roughly see through her thoughts and couldn't help but smile.
"Second Aunt, I know, do you think I can take all that meat with me? It's so hot, and there are only a few of us in our family, so we can't eat it all. It's better to let Second Uncle take it and make use of it. Anyway, you won't let me go without meat."
"You, you, you weigh several hundred pounds, don't you feel bad about it?"
He leaned against her in a simple, exaggerated way.
"Oh dear, Auntie, if I had hunted it myself, I would definitely be heartbroken. But this was an unexpected harvest, and so much of it at that. It's normal for Uncle to be thinking about his brothers. Doesn't that just show that Uncle is a good leader?"
"cut,"
Hearing her praise Cheng Zhuo in various ways, Tang Sumei couldn't help but smile.
"Just side with him, take your things and go out pretending to be a good person."
Try this. It's a type of dried meat that I learned to make from the locals, but I adjusted the seasoning to your taste. If you like it, I'll make more so you can take some back with you.
This stuff keeps well, and it's convenient to eat whenever I'm hungry.
He simply ate it directly from Tang Sumei's hand.
"Mmm, Second Aunt, this is delicious!"
It wasn't an exaggeration; the taste was indeed quite good, perfectly seasoned, chewy, and seemed to have a hint of pine fragrance. She wasn't an expert cook and didn't understand why.
"Second Aunt, what kind of meat is this? Is it venison?"
"No, this is the beef. We also kept some venison; we'll make some of that later too."
But don't overindulge. Beef is fine, but venison is very nutritious, so don't eat too much at once. Even the best things should be eaten in moderation.
I'm afraid the child will lose control and eat his fill of whatever he likes. Unlike other foods, which might just be filling, too much venison can really cause internal heat.
It's simple and understandable. She only has this one female elder by her side, so she has to listen carefully to what she's saying, because it's all useful.
"Yes, I know, Auntie. I'll remember."
The rest of the days passed without any major incidents. The only thing I overheard briefly was that Yu Hongyan, who relied on her brother-in-law being the regimental commander, was found to have not only bullied others but also tried to lure the children from the family compound out of the compound. This was a clue that came from interrogating the two human traffickers. She was quite proud of it, saying, "Didn't the children from your family compound almost fall into my hands?"
When the police heard that the matter was serious, they immediately contacted the military, and what was originally a private inquiry turned into an investigation.
Following the clues, the investigation revealed something that shocked many people. The woman, who seemed at most a bit unreasonable and shrewish, had actually done so many despicable things in secret.
Bullying military families and oppressing children are minor matters. The real intention was to trick the children into going out and selling them. They had also obtained information about the troops' upcoming missions from Commander Han on more than one occasion and then leaked it out. Two of these missions were narrowly won, resulting in the innocent deaths of five soldiers and injuries to many others, including Brother Chen, who was still lying in the hospital bed, as mentioned by Cheng Rui and the others.
These things have come to light, which is no small matter. Just the act of sending messages out is already a breach of secrecy. If the other party is a spy or someone with ulterior motives, it can be considered a heinous crime of treason, enough to warrant a military court hearing.
Although Commander Han did not intentionally leak the information, he made a mistake, and it was indeed due to his negligence that he provided convenience and clues for Yu Hongyan's crime. It was inevitable that he would be removed from the military. It is said that when he heard that everything was caused by his sister-in-law, he remained silent for a long time.
If he hadn't felt sorry for his wife having no relatives here, and hadn't given in to her persistent pleas, he wouldn't have frequently brought his sister-in-law over to keep her company; perhaps none of this would have happened.
Putting aside his future prospects, he genuinely loved this uniform and was truly reluctant to leave once his term was up. He had worked hard and struggled for so many years to finally earn the right to stay, but now it had all come to nothing.
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