Doshihui handed over two slingshots at the right moment: "Count me in. The loser has to treat everyone to a meal. Mutton soup and braised mutton from Mutton Liu's place are the best."
“Okay.” Hong Yan readily agreed.
Hongzhao and Hutu also came over to join in the fun.
Hong Yan had never used a slingshot before, but Chen Zhihuai went first. He turned slightly to the side, holding the slingshot in one hand with his arm outstretched, and pulled the rubber band back with the other hand. His gaze was calm as he aimed at a sparrow perched on a bare branch.
Everyone else held their breath, waiting to see him fire the projectile, afraid that they might startle the little bird and send it flying away.
"call out!"
Chen Zhihuai decisively released his grip, and the bullet flew out along the trajectory he had set, hitting the little sparrow that was looking around.
"Wow! You got it!" Dorsey exclaimed. "Well done!"
Hongzhao, not to be outdone, cheered for his brother: "Brother, you can do it! You're the best!"
Hong Yan first nodded to Chen Zhihuai, agreeing with his decision, before taking action himself.
Although he hadn't played with slingshots much, he had been practicing archery, so it wasn't difficult for him.
Sure enough, I aimed and waited for the flock to stand still again before quickly hitting one of them.
Hutuli was intrigued and excitedly picked up his slingshot as well. The birds seemed to have been enjoying themselves for too long; no one had come for quite some time. When the slingshot went off, they frantically flapped their wings and fled, only to return a moment later. They never learn their lesson.
The three of them went back and forth, and gained quite a lot.
Doshihui and Hongzhao were not to be outdone.
Later, some people simply stopped waiting for the flock of birds to stand still and started shooting at them as they flew away, to practice their accuracy.
Finally, we picked up our spoils from the ground. There were about twenty sparrows in total, which was quite a haul.
The group of people looked at each other.
In the end, Dorsey resigned himself to his fate and disposed of the birds by bleeding them and plucking their feathers.
Chen Zhihuai was responsible for collecting tree branches and firewood.
The group took shelter under a rock slab that formed a triangle, providing some protection from the wind and snow.
Hongyan took off his cloak, brushed off the snowflakes, and joined Chen Zhihuai in starting a fire.
Hutuli laughed: "We can now be considered as subordinates of Babaili."
Hongzhao watched as Duoxihui finished processing the birds, then went over and strung them all together with branches, roasting them over the fire. Each person took a skewer, and soon the aroma filled the air.
A campfire was burning in front of them, and snowflakes were falling outside. Several children huddled together, roasting meat, and they all found it very novel.
"Ah, these days are so good, so carefree." Hongzhao sniffed, feeling that the bird smelled a lot like roasted quail.
He liked the smell of meat, and he also liked the smell of the crisp, cold air, especially the air in winter, which was both cold and had a sweet smell.
Hutuli's face glowed red in the firelight, as radiant as the sunset, and she smiled, "No one cares, I'm carefree."
Hongyan's heavy thoughts, which had been weighing on him since he was in the palace, gradually melted away beside the warm campfire. He gazed at the vast expanse of white in the distance and let out a long sigh.
Dorsey is still very easygoing.
"Of course you're good! I killed all these birds, and it took me quite a while to pluck their feathers!"
Chen Zhihuai flipped the grilled meat over and praised him, "Doxihui, you're a master at handling this; none of us can compare to you."
Hutu looked at Chen Zhihuai, who was grilling meat with great skill, and asked in surprise, "You know how to grill meat?"
"I know a little. Before, when I spent the night in the wild, there wasn't much food, so I had to hunt for myself."
Hong Yan was also surprised: "Do you often go to the countryside?"
Chen Zhihuai nodded, his fair and handsome face also turning orange-red in the firelight.
His voice carried far.
“My uncle went to war, and he taught me to never forget where I came from and to never forget the people of this land. We cannot indulge in pleasure, nor can we forget our responsibilities.”
Hongzhao asked curiously, "What about your uncle?"
"He stayed on the battlefield and never came back. I've always wanted to bring him home..."
The others gradually fell silent, with only the crackling sound of the fire audible.
Seeing the somber atmosphere, Duoxihui quickly comforted him: "Zhihuai's uncle is a Baturu, a hero of our Great Qing. We will also guard the frontier in the future! Just like my grandfather! My grandfather is also a Baturu!"
Hongzhao immediately perked up: "I, Guo Luomafa, am the most powerful! I want to learn the most powerful martial arts from him! And become the most powerful general!"
Hutu gave Hongzhao a thumbs up: "Great! You have ambition! I want to be a female general too! Just like Princess Pingyang!"
Chen Zhihuai glanced at her with slight surprise, seemingly not expecting a princess from the capital to have such ambitions, and couldn't help but admire her. "Your Highness is truly a heroine!"
"Of course! My sister is a heroine!" Hongzhao immediately followed up with flattery.
Amidst the laughter and chatter, the barbecue was ready, and the group enjoyed it immensely. Although Dorsey had cleaned it very well, it lacked seasoning, and the kids didn't know how to grill properly, resulting in some parts being burnt and others still having traces of blood. Nevertheless, everyone ate with great pleasure.
After spending most of the day at the old drill ground, the group finally said goodbye and headed home.
That evening, Changning and Yinzhen also ate the meat that the children had grilled themselves. To be honest, it was really awful...
Fortunately, Eunuch Ma reheated it and added some seasonings, cooking the meat until it was still flavorful; otherwise, I would have gotten diarrhea from eating it.
Changning couldn't help but admire the children's digestive systems; they could eat so well, it was truly impressive.
Changning listened to the children chattering about what they had seen and heard that day, and how they had competed in a slingshot contest and were all very accurate.
Hongzhao also vividly described how big and dilapidated the stone pillars were, how much messy weeds there were, and the arena, haystacks, stone tools, and the like that they later saw.
"Later it got so cold that we went back inside to warm ourselves by the fire, and we didn't come back until the snow stopped."
Changning quickly ordered someone to boil two pots of red date and ginger soup, which were piping hot, and each of them drank two bowls.
"Hurry up and drink. You guys are really resistant to the cold. You went out to play in this heavy snow. What if you get frostbite? This is no joke."
Hongzhao held the large white porcelain bowl and pouted, "Mother, this bowl is too big, I can't finish it."
"If you don't drink this, you have to take medicine. Which do you choose?" Changning wasn't going to put up with him.
Hongchen clapped his hands beside him, shouting, "Medicine! Brother, drink your medicine!"
"I'm not drinking medicine!" Hongzhao pouted, held his breath, and finished the whole bowl in one gulp. After finishing, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve with great fanfare: "Finished!"
"Another bowl, please." Changning smiled and had someone pour him another bowl.
"Ah! No!"
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