Just then, Bai's mother came over and saw it. She saw her daughter using new fine cotton cloth to make diapers for the baby and gave her a good scolding.
Bai Xiaoyue was very troubled:
"Mother, these are all flawed fabrics that Mingyue left for me. They don't cost much."
The mother persisted relentlessly:
"Go and see, which family uses new fine cotton cloth to make diapers for their child?"
Everyone else uses old sheets and clothes; you really don't know how to manage money.
Seeing that his wife had a headache, Yan Ci quickly said to Bai's mother:
"Mom, Xiaoyue wants to eat chicken stew with mushrooms, but I don't know how to make it. Can you teach me?"
When Yan Ci interrupted her, Bai's mother forgot to scold her daughter and clapped her hands to teach her son-in-law how to stew chicken.
Bai Xiaoyue sighed, feeling overwhelmed by the profound maternal love.
After Yan Ci finished taking care of everything at home, he told Bai Xiaoyue that he had to go out for a while and asked her to stay home and behave herself.
Bai Xiaoyue asked Yan Ci, "Where are you going?"
Looking into his wife's clear eyes, Yan Ci dared not lie:
"Everything's fine at home, I'm going to try out the gun."
Bai Xiaoyue said worriedly:
"It's dangerous for you to go alone, especially in this cold weather!"
Yan Ci immediately said, "I'll call Wenyi and Xiaosong together, don't worry."
Seeing that he was determined to go, Bai Xiaoyue couldn't stop him, so she could only tell him to wear warm clothes and bring some food.
Once Yan Ci entered the mountains, it was like a fish entering the sea, free and carefree.
He had served in the army for many years, was skilled in martial arts, and also had a handy weapon.
His wife couldn't eat rabbit, so he hunted a few pheasants and then went looking for larger animals.
Yan Ci, alone, cautiously traversed the jungle, searching for his desired prey.
I only encountered two wild boars, three roe deer, and a dozen or so pheasants all day.
Yan Ci looked at the several hundred pounds of prey, which he couldn't carry himself, so he had to ask Bai Wenyi and Yan Xiaosong to help carry it.
When he set off, he told Bai Wenyi and Yan Xiaosong to wait for him in the cave halfway up the mountain after dark.
That is, the cave that Bai Xiaoyue went to.
When Bai Wenyi and Yan Xiaosong saw the pile of prey, they were filled with admiration for Yan Ci.
Hearing that roe deer meat was delicious, Yan Ci kept two for his wife to nourish her body, and gave the other one to Bai Wenyi and Yan Xiaosong to share.
Bai Wenyi asked someone to take the wild boars to the city to sell them for money. The two wild boars weighed nearly 600 jin and were sold for 240 yuan.
Yan Ci only took two hundred, and gave forty to Bai Wenyi and Yan Xiaosong.
Bai Wenyi waved his hand and said to Yan Ci:
"Yan Ci, I don't want money, take me hunting instead."
Yan Xiaosong chimed in from the side:
"Brother, take me with you, I want to go too."
Seeing the eager looks in their eyes, Yan Ci remained silent for a long time before speaking:
"Okay, but you can't tell anyone else that Xiaoyue doesn't like me going hunting."
The two nodded vigorously and said in unison, "We definitely won't tell anyone else."
Yan Ci said, "I'll go again in a couple of days. I'll still take the money." Then he went home.
Bai Xiaoyue hadn't slept well. She vaguely heard a noise and called out, "Aci?"
Yan Ci hurriedly entered the house: "Wife, it's me."
Bai Xiaoyue got ready, but Yan Ci quickly stopped her:
"Honey, you lie down and rest. I'll be right there to keep you company."
After saying that, he went to the kitchen and brought in the food, which was cabbage buns and millet porridge that Bai Xiaoyue had left for him that evening.
Yan Ci asked Bai Xiaoyue, "Wife, would you like something to eat?"
"How about I eat something? I'm a little hungry!" Bai Xiaoyue felt her stomach getting hungry very quickly.
As Yan Ci helped his wife sit up, he scooped rice and said to her:
"It's almost dawn, time for breakfast. It's normal to be hungry."
After they finished eating, it was already dawn. Yan Ci stubbornly refused to let his wife get up and insisted that she stay with him to sleep.
Helpless, Bai Xiaoyue stayed with him until she fell asleep again.
When the two woke up at noon, they found that Chang Le had gone to her maternal grandmother's house by herself.
Yan Ci cooked lunch, and after the two finished eating, he gave Bai Xiaoyue 200 yuan.
Bai Xiaoyue asked in shock, "Aci, where did you come from?"
Yan Ci answered slowly and deliberately:
"We hunted two wild boars yesterday, and Wenyi took them to sell."
Bai Xiaoyue's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she covered her mouth in surprise, exclaiming, "Two wild boars!"
Yan Ci nodded and said, "It's perfect that both ends are together."
Bai Xiaoyue pinched Yan Ci's waist hard:
"Last time, with so many of you, Uncle Li almost got hurt. You three inexperienced people dared to fight two wild boars? You've got some nerve!"
Seeing his wife's worry, Yan Ci didn't dare tell her that he had gone alone, fearing that she would be even angrier.
He pulled his wife into his arms and coaxed her:
"Don't worry, honey, I'm always very careful. I caught a roe deer, do you want to see it?"
Bai Xiaoyue had never seen a roe deer before and really wanted to see one.
She put on her scarf and hat, covering herself completely, and Yan Ci led her into the courtyard.
As a pregnant woman, she has to be careful at all times. In this era of scarce resources, she can't afford to catch a cold or fall.
When she saw the two roe deer and more than a dozen pheasants, she was no longer shocked, but filled with admiration for Yan Ci.
She hugged Yan Ci and said, "A-Ci, how are you so amazing!"
Hearing his wife praise him, Yan Ci felt very pleased, and the corners of his mouth turned up:
"No problem, you have to be tough to support a wife and kids."
Then, he lightly pecked Bai Xiaoyue's lips before going to deal with the roe deer and pheasants.
One roe deer weighs about 40 to 50 jin (approximately 20-25 kg), so two would weigh 80 to 90 jin (approximately 40-45 kg). Bai Xiaoyue then asked Yan Ci:
"Aci, are we sure we can finish all this meat?"
As Yan Ci peeled the skin, he said to his wife:
"Roe deer meat is nutritious, so we'll save it to eat slowly. It's winter now, so no one can smell the meat we're cooking."
Bai Xiaoyue thought it made sense; it would be a good opportunity to nourish her family.
Yan Ci chopped the roe deer meat into pieces, waited for them to freeze solid, and then neatly arranged them in a vat.
More than a dozen pheasants were put into another vat, and the two vats were full of meat.
That evening, the couple braised two large pots of roe deer meat, and Yan Ci sent one pot to Bai's parents.
Bai Xiaoyue found the roe deer meat, which was rich in oil, spicy, and fragrant, delicious and couldn't help but eat a little more than usual.
The next day, a small blister appeared on Bai Xiaoyue's lip, and she immediately cried out:
"Aci, my mouth hurts so much."
Yan Ci cradled his wife's head, examined the small blister on her lips carefully, and gently blew on it twice.
"Honey, you're feeling a bit feverish. Let me peel a pear for you."
Seeing that neither Yan Ci nor Chang Le were both upset, Bai Xiaoyue felt resentful:
"This is not fair. You all ate it too, so why am I the only one who gets a sore throat?"
Yan Ci, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, cut the pear into small pieces and brought them to his wife:
"Honey, come and eat a pear. Eat more fruit to replenish your vitamins, and you'll get better soon."
Only after his wife stopped fussing did Yan Ci ask her what she wanted for lunch. Bai Xiaoyue said plaintively:
"What can I eat now? Cook whatever you like."
She thought for a moment, her eyes darting around, and then she had another idea. She said to Yan Ci:
"Soak some soybeans, grind them into soy milk, and go see if your mother has any white vinegar. I want to eat tofu pudding."
Bai Xiaoyue can't go out now; the ground is icy, and she's afraid of slipping and falling.
Whenever something happened, Yan Ci would go, or Bai's mother would come over.
When Yan Ci heard his wife say she wanted to eat tofu pudding, he immediately soaked some soybeans and went to the Bai family to get some white vinegar. He returned with a small bowl in no time.
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