Just as the wild boar was about to pounce, Li Xiaoxiao picked up the axe and swung it around, the cold axe embedding itself deeply into the boar's neck.
The wild boar screamed, struggled, and charged forward for another twenty or thirty steps before collapsing to the ground. Immediately afterward, Li Dazhuang emerged from the bushes.
"Hey, my wild boar! Madam Li, what are you doing here? Did you see my wild boar run off to?" Li Dazhuang ran over breathlessly with his bow and arrows.
Li Xiaoxiao pointed at the wild boar, calmly pulled the axe off its body, and blood splattered out. "Is this the one?"
Holding the axe and lifting her skirt, she looked somewhat unhappy. "How could it get splashed on my dress? It's so hard to wash off."
The hunter was shocked; the wild boar had actually been hacked to death.
Although he shot several arrows at the wild boar, those arrows only pierced the flesh and did not cause serious injury, so he was still able to escape. He was just trying his luck.
Who knew this woman could hunt wild boars with that axe? Li Dazhuang suddenly understood why Qi Yu was so obedient. If he were Li Xiaoxiao's husband, he would have to do the laundry and cooking too.
"Is this your wild boar?" Li Xiaoxiao glanced at the arrow, then swung her axe and chopped hard in the middle of the wild boar. Her technique was very skilled, and she quickly cut the wild boar in half.
"Yes...yes..." Li Dazhuang stammered, somewhat hesitant to answer.
"I also contributed, so it's half for each of us. I killed it, so I get the first half." The hunter had been thinking he'd worked for nothing, but he hadn't expected Li Xiaoxiao to be willing to share half with him.
She doesn't seem so bad.
"Okay, thank you." Li Dazhuang slowly approached, his muscles trembling. He hadn't expected to be so polite.
Li Xiaoxiao's hands were covered in blood, but she didn't care at all. She put half a wild boar into her basket, packed it up, and then trudged down the mountain with the half-wild boar on her back.
The hunter looked at the latter half of the wild boar on the ground and fell into deep thought, realizing he must never spread bad rumors about Li Xiaoxiao again.
Li Xiaoxiao quickly carried the prey to the riverbank and had to drag the tree down with her, only to find that the tree had already been dragged away when she got to the riverbank.
Did Qi Yu drag it back?
The door clicked open, and Li Xiaoxiao entered the house to find firewood burning on the stove. She put down her basket and saw Qi Yu sitting beside her, cooking rice porridge. His back was covered in sweat and some bloodstains.
"Wife, you're back. The chickens laid six eggs today, so we can still have steamed eggs. We'll just have to save some eggs for tomorrow to sell at the market." Qi Yu was in a good mood. Turning her head, she saw a wild boar in Li Xiaoxiao's basket...?
"Wife?" Qi Yu ignored the pain in his wound and suddenly got up from the small wooden stool. He rubbed his eyes and realized that it really was a wild boar. He had never hunted one before, and his initial surprise turned into bewilderment.
During this time, he went up the mountain quite often. He was lucky if he could catch a pheasant. He would drag six trees back in three hours and clear the road along the way. He even thought he had made progress. But his wife returned without saying a word, carrying half a wild boar on her back.
“Husband, I wasn’t going up the mountain. Just then, Li Dazhuang was chasing a wild boar. I took half of it with one swing of my axe. Pretty impressive, right?”
Li Xiaoxiao's hands hung limply at her sides, covered in red blood. Qi Yu suddenly panicked, "Wife, I will go hunting in the future too."
Li Dazhuang, that hunter was very strong, and Qi Yu's hands trembled incessantly behind his back.
"Husband, get some hot water. I need to wash the blood off my hands and clothes. But this half-wild boar is enough for us for the next month. I have to go again tomorrow. We need to prepare some food for the workers who come to repair the house."
The woman muttered to herself as Qi Yu prepared warm water and brought it out, carefully pouring it over her hands. The gentle stream washed away the bloodstains.
After washing up, the two sat by the stove. Li Xiaoxiao found the marinated pig offal, put the prepared braising sauce into the pot, washed and cut two pounds of freshly hunted wild boar meat into several pieces, and put them into the pot as well.
Qi Yu was sorting through the game in his basket: two rabbits and three pheasants. He was plucking their feathers. If he sold these five items, he estimated they could fetch one or two taels of silver.
But Li Xiaoxiao insisted on eating it herself.
An hour later, the aroma of the braised meat in the pot wafted out, and Qi Yu couldn't help but look into the pot when he smelled it.
"Wife." Qi Yu stared intently at the pot. Li Xiaoxiao picked up a piece with her chopsticks, placed it on the cutting board, and cut it into pieces.
The braised pork was cut and placed on a plate, along with the offal, which was also sliced and drizzled with chili oil. "Husband, this was cooked with the offal. Would you like some?" Qi Yu was stunned. Although he couldn't eat it rationally, the aroma was too tempting.
Li Xiaoxiao picked up a piece with her chopsticks, ate it, and puffed out her left cheek, deliberately making a sound.
She swallowed it, picked up another piece, and deliberately glanced at the man. Qi Yu, who had just finished preparing the pheasant and rabbit and was sitting on the edge of the bed, turned his face away and held a bowl in his hand.
"Husband, you're acting like a lady from a respectable family. What are you afraid of? You won't be poisoned."
Qi Yu was furious and embarrassed. He wasn't a lady from a respectable family. Li Xiaoxiao picked up the braised meat and put it in the man's bowl. "Qi Yu, do you dare to eat it?"
The provocation worked; since Li Xiaoxiao could eat it, what was he afraid of? He picked up his chopsticks and ate a piece.
The aroma of the braised pork spread as soon as it entered my mouth. The fat melted in my mouth, while the lean meat was chewy, tender yet firm. The meaty fragrance lingered on my lips, and the broth of the braised pork permeated my taste buds. One bite of braised pork wasn't enough, so I picked up a piece of pig intestine. The pig intestine was also smooth and crisp. I never thought that offal could be so delicious. The moment I ate it, it felt like I was ascending to the clouds, with its soft and fluffy texture.
"Husband, it must be delicious, right?" Li Xiaoxiao ate while observing the man's expression, her face beaming with a happy smile.
This arrogant man is actually quite cute.
Qi Yu ate the meat and looked at the pot again. "Mmm, it tastes excellent." She got up and picked up the braised meat from the plate without any further complaints.
After finishing their meal, the two of them worked until 9 PM, finally managing to handle all the tedious matters. Only then did they take off their outer clothes and roll into bed together, with Li Xiaoxiao snuggling into the man's arms as usual.
Qi Yu remained still, and the two slept through the night.
The next day, before Li Xiaoxiao woke up, she heard the sound of the small, broken door shaking. She didn't pay much attention to it and didn't get up until she was comfortable. Outside, she could hear the sounds of carpenters and workers carrying wood and stone.
Seeing Li Xiaoxiao come out, Old Wu smiled happily, "Madam Li, you're awake. We were moving materials, sorry to bother you."
"Thank you all for your help. I'll prepare the food now." Li Xiaoxiao greeted everyone and went to the kitchen to prepare to make flatbread. The flour at home might not last more than seven days, so she would have to buy some more.
At noon, Li Xiaoxiao prepared flatbread for each of the workers. The construction of the new house was based on the existing house. The stones had not been transported all morning. By sunset, the workers happily left with their wages for the day.
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