Jiang Yuwei ran to the front yard and saw Ning Huaizhi sitting safely by the stone table waiting for her to eat, so she patted her chest in relief.
Seeing her nervous expression, Ning Huaizhi smiled and said:
"Yuwei, don't be afraid. Take the fork and go take a look. There should be some prey that has fallen into the pit."
When Jiang Yuwei heard that there was prey, her eyes lit up. Since the last time she killed the wolf in that big pit, no other prey had come down the mountain. Now that spring was in full bloom, there was plenty of food on the mountain, so fewer prey came down.
When Jiang Yuwei ran to the edge of the pit with a fork, she discovered an injured deer inside. Suddenly, she remembered Ning Huaizhi's slingshot and realized she could use deer spine tendons to replace the bowstring she had made from hair.
While thinking that Jiang Yuwei would kill the deer and bleed it by the pit, he would go back to the house to eat first, and then come out to butcher the venison later.
Seeing Jiang Yuwei enter the courtyard with a happy expression, Ning Huaizhi smiled and said:
"Honey, what got into the pit?"
Jiang Yuwei put down her fork and washed her hands by the basin:
"It's a deer. After we finish eating, we'll go out and share the venison. Wan'er, would you like to hold a torch for your mother?"
Ning Wan nodded emphatically, and the family of three sat down on the stone bench to start eating.
Jiang Yuwei selected the stones at the foot of the mountain and had the villagers help polish them before moving them into the courtyard. She thought that she would often eat in the courtyard in the future, and it would not be suitable to put a bamboo table or a wooden table there, as they would definitely get damaged by the rain every day. Now, it would be much more convenient to just get a set of stone tables and chairs.
"Wife, let's plant a tree in the yard. When the tree grows up, we can eat in its shade and not be afraid of the sun."
Ning Huaizhi picked up a piece of pork crackling and placed it in Jiang Yuwei's bowl, looking at her expectantly.
Jiang Yuwei met Ning Huaizhi's beautiful eyes and smiled:
"Okay, I'll go out and look around in the next few days. If I find a suitable tree, I'll transplant it into the yard. Summer is almost here, and the yard really needs some shade."
After the family of three finished eating, Jiang Yuwei handed Ning Wan a torch and asked her to help light the pit. She then pushed Ning Huaizhi to the edge of the pit and asked him to help catch the meat. Jiang Yuwei then took a ladder and went down into the pit.
Looking at the dead deer in front of him, he took out a knife from his waist, carefully peeled off the deer skin, then cut open the deer's belly, took out the internal organs to keep for Xiao Jiu to eat, carefully separated the deer spine, cut off the deer tendons, and then cut the deer meat into several pieces.
Ning Huaizhi, who was above, was busy receiving the meat. The whole family worked for half an hour to finish processing the venison.
After climbing out of the pit, Jiang Yuwei first carried the basket on her back and pushed Ning Huaizhi back into the yard before returning to get tools and a ladder. Xiao Jiu in the backyard had already smelled the meaty smell. When Jiang Yuwei saw it eagerly running to the front yard, she quickly handed the entrails she had dug out earlier to Ning Wan and asked Ning Wan to take Xiao Jiu to the backyard to eat.
Jiang Yuwei thought that venison was a good food for nourishing the body, so she decided to make all the venison into jerky to eat as a teething snack.
Jiang Yuwei first processed the deer spine tendons to make the bowstring of a slingshot. Looking at the remaining tendons, she suddenly thought of making a small bow and arrow for Wan'er to use for self-defense, so she asked Ning Huaizhi:
"Huaizhi, do you know how to shoot arrows?"
Ning Huaizhi was a little puzzled as to why his wife would suddenly ask him this, so he nodded and said:
"Yes, these are all basic skills in the military."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and took Ning Huaizhi's hand, saying:
"Huaizhi, that's great. From now on, when you're at home with nothing to do, you can teach Wan'er how to shoot arrows. I'll use the remaining deer spine tendons to make a small bow and arrow for Wan'er."
Ning Huaizhi frowned and said:
"Why should Wan'er, a girl, learn these things?"
As Jiang Yuwei picked up a bamboo stalk from the yard and began shaping it into a bow arm, she said:
"It is precisely because Wan'er is a girl that she needs a skill to protect her life. In this society, girls are in greater danger."
Ning Huaizhi stared intently at Jiang Yuwei, who was bent over making a bow and arrow. Was it because she had experienced such a thing that she didn't want Wan'er to be in danger again? Thinking of this, Ning Huaizhi said in a deep voice:
"Okay, I'll teach you."
Jiang Yuwei made the slingshot and bow and arrow, and sliced and marinated the venison, waiting to hang it up to dry tomorrow. After finishing these tasks, Jiang Yuwei washed the locust flowers that Ning Huaizhi had picked and put them in the kitchen to drain, saving them to make locust flower buns tomorrow.
By the time she finished all these tasks, it was already past midnight, and Jiang Yuwei was so exhausted that she immediately fell asleep.
next day
As soon as Jiang Yuwei got up, she prepared the dough and put it in the kitchen to rise. She then went to the pond to catch crayfish to use when cooking at the Xu residence the next day. Although the Xu residence certainly had no shortage of ingredients, they definitely didn't have crayfish there.
Jiang Yuwei caught a full ten pounds of crayfish before going home to make locust flower buns. She thought that the pork cracklings she had rendered yesterday could be put into the buns to enhance the meaty aroma and texture. After preparing the filling, the buns already smelled delicious.
After feeding the cows, Ning Wan came into the house and insisted on helping Jiang Yuwei make steamed buns. Jiang Yuwei thought it would be good to teach Ning Wan some life skills, so she asked her to wash her hands and help her roll out the dough.
The mother and daughter worked together and quickly filled two large pots with buns, with Ning Wan in charge of tending the fire and steaming the buns.
Jiang Yuwei took out the venison that had been marinated the day before, strung it up with rope, and hung it on the stove in the kitchen to dry. This way, it could be ventilated, and the smoke from cooking would help it dry faster and prevent it from spoiling. In addition, the dried meat would have a delicious smoky flavor.
Jiang Yuwei left some fresh venison in the yard and made a pot of venison and potato stew. It stewed for a full hour. When Jiang Yuwei opened the pot, the whole yard was filled with the aroma of meat.
Aunt Zhou, who was on her way to work in the fields, sniffed the air as she passed by and called out into the yard:
"Eldest daughter-in-law, you've stewed meat again! It smells delicious!"
Seeing that it was Aunt Zhou, Jiang Yuwei quickly grabbed a bowl, ladled a full bowl of venison from the pot, ran out, and handed it to Aunt Zhou, saying:
"It's freshly cooked, Aunt Zhou, hurry up and take it back to try it."
Seeing this, Aunt Zhou quickly waved her hand and said:
"Oh, that won't do! There's no way I'll always take advantage of your family!"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"How can you call it taking advantage? Last time, thanks to Tiezhu, I was saved from Zhang Laizi's matter. I originally wanted to go and thank Tiezhu, but I was always busy at home and didn't have time. Today, Aunt Zhou, you are passing by and eating a bowl of meat from my house is taking advantage. Tiezhu saved my life, so Aunt Zhou, tell me, how much of an advantage did I take from your family?"
Aunt Zhou was speechless after Jiang Yuwei's words, and could only laugh helplessly:
"You're such a smooth talker. Well then, I'll take this meat back for Tiezhu to try. It was just a small favor, but you've remembered it so well."
Jiang Yuwei smiled as she saw Aunt Zhou off before returning to the courtyard for her meal.
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