Seeing that Yan Ci had returned safely, Bai Xiaoyue felt relieved. She told him to sit down and soak his feet in hot water while she went to the kitchen to get busy.
A short while later, Bai Xiaoyue brought over a bowl of steaming hot egg noodles for Yan Ci to eat.
Yan Ci looked at the snow-white noodles, the golden eggs, and the bright green scallions.
His heart was pounding, and his eyes were welling up. He finished the noodles in a few bites and drank all the soup.
Yan Ci thought that these noodles were the most delicious thing in the world, and no delicacy could compare to them.
The next day, Bai Xiaoyue was very surprised to learn that they had hunted eight wild boars. Wild boars are so ferocious!
It's truly a blessing from our ancestors that everyone was able to return unharmed.
Bai Xiaoyue had already gone to see the meat distribution last year, but this year, being heavily pregnant, she didn't go to join the fun.
Yan Ci led Chang Le to get the meat, and all eight wild boars were distributed to the villagers, with each person receiving three catties of meat.
The two brought back nine catties of wild boar meat, a pig's trotter, and a set of offal.
When Yan Ci returned home, he killed chickens, slaughtered rabbits, and cleaned pig offal.
Bai Xiaoyue was afraid he would be bored, so she moved a small stool over and sat down to chat with him.
Yan Ci was skinning a rabbit when he asked her, "Wife, how do we eat this rabbit?"
Bai Xiaoyue watched Yan Ci busy himself with a smile:
"Braised rabbit is delicious, and I really want to eat it."
However, I've heard from older people that pregnant women shouldn't eat rabbit, otherwise their babies might have cleft lips.
Yan Ci was startled and quickly said:
"Honey, let's not eat rabbit then, let's stew pheasant instead! I'll hunt rabbit for you next year."
Bai Xiaoyue nodded:
"Aci, once you're done, take the rabbit to your parents so they can eat it."
The wild boar meat was a bit tough, so we'll make it into braised meat and eat it slowly later.
How could Yan Ci refuse?
The young couple cut the meat into small strips and marinated it with white wine and soy sauce.
Bai Xiaoyue saw a small piece of pork tenderloin and, remembering that she had chili powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder at home, she wanted to eat boiled pork slices.
Even if there are no bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage will do.
She then asked Yan Ci to slice the pork tenderloin into thin slices, add ginger, scallions, cooking wine, a little pepper, a pinch of salt, a dash of oil, and some sweet potato starch.
Then heat oil in a pan and add ginger slices, garlic slices, soybean paste, and a few chili peppers in that order. Stir-fry until fragrant, then add water.
Bring water to a boil, season it, add cabbage leaves and cook until done, then remove and place in a bowl. Next, add slices of meat one by one to the pot and cook until done, then remove and place on top of the cabbage.
Sprinkle a little chili powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder on the sliced meat, pour hot oil over it, and sprinkle with chopped green onions.
Although the method of preparation is not authentic and the seasonings are not complete, it still tastes very delicious.
Bai Xiaoyue ate a whole bowl of rice, and Chang Le's little mouth was red as she kept saying how delicious it was.
Yan Ci ate all the rice and dishes clean.
Seeing the mother and daughter eating with great satisfaction, Yan Ci said with a smile:
"This boiled pork is delicious. I'll go to town next time and buy some pork tenderloin to cook for you."
After eating her fill, Bai Xiaoyue didn't want to move and just wanted to lie down.
After Yan Ci finished cleaning up the dishes, he insisted on taking her for a walk in the yard.
Yan Ci was still traumatized after witnessing his eldest sister-in-law's difficult childbirth. He faithfully accompanied Bai Xiaoyue every day.
After walking around the yard with Bai Xiaoyue for a few minutes, Yan Ci told his wife that he had to go out for a while.
Uncle Li asked him to come over during the day, but he didn't know what he wanted to see him about.
When Yan Ci arrived at the Li family's residence, everyone in the Li family was asleep.
Uncle Li waited for him at the gate of the courtyard.
Upon seeing Yan Ci arrive, they handed him a long box:
"Yan Ci, you saved your uncle, this is a gift of thanks."
Yan Ci quickly declined, saying, "Uncle Li, it was nothing, no need to be so polite."
Uncle Li gestured to Yan Ci: "Open it and take a look first."
Yan Ci was very curious about Li Shu's mysterious behavior.
He opened the box and his eyes lit up; inside was a double-barreled shotgun.
Uncle Li said, "I'm getting old, and my kids don't like this, so I'll give it to you."
Yan Ci took it out and looked at it. The hunting rifle was double-barreled and could fire in bursts. He liked it very much.
Out of curiosity, he asked, "Uncle Li, you have such a good thing, why didn't I see you use it last time?"
Uncle Li: "We can't bear to use it. Everyone takes old-fashioned hunting rifles when they go into the mountains. We've never encountered any danger before. The last time was an accident."
Although Yan Ci liked it very much, he couldn't accept a gift without having done anything for it. He looked at it again and again, touched it again and again, and finally handed it to Uncle Li.
Uncle Li refused to take it, his hands behind his back.
"Yan Ci, take it. My health is failing, so there's no use for it here."
Yan Ci asked in confusion, "Uncle Li, what do you mean? Is there something wrong with your health? You seem perfectly fine!"
Uncle Li looked sorrowful.
"I won't live much longer, so I'll leave the good stuff to the right person. You keep it!"
Yan Ci no longer declined, and holding the box, he said:
"Uncle Li, then I'll accept it, thank you."
Yan Ci carried the box and tiptoed back to the room, only to find that Bai Xiaoyue was still awake.
He leaned closer and asked, "Honey, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Bai Xiaoyue looked at him holding a box and asked curiously:
"Waiting for you, what are you carrying?"
Yan Ci smiled mysteriously: "Good stuff." Then he opened the box to show his wife.
Bai Xiaoyue was very surprised: "Where did you get this?"
Yan Ci then told his wife the whole story.
After Yan Ci finished speaking, Bai Xiaoyue asked him, "A-Ci, you really like this thing?"
Yan Ci nodded.
Bai Xiaoyue continued:
“We shouldn’t take Uncle Li’s things for nothing. How much do you think they’re worth? Give the money to Uncle Li so he can go see a doctor.”
In this era, many people are so reluctant to spend money that they drag themselves down to their deaths.
Yan Ci, holding Bai Xiaoyue, said:
"Honey, you're so sweet. I'd like to take sixty yuan, is that alright?"
I figured sixty was about two months' wages for a worker, and anything more wouldn't be good.
Bai Xiaoyue took out sixty yuan, which included ten-yuan notes, five-yuan notes, two-yuan notes, and one-yuan notes.
Yan Ci asked, puzzled, "Wife, why are you taking such small change?"
Bai Xiaoyue said with a smile:
“Aci, if we take it like this, he’ll feel that we worked hard to scrape together this money.”
Yan Ci hugged Bai Xiaoyue and kissed her:
"My wife is really smart."
Seeing that Yan Ci loved it so much, Bai Xiaoyue asked him, "Do you like it that much?"
Yan Ci carefully put the gun away and casually said:
"That man doesn't love guns."
Seeing his wife staring at him, he quickly added:
"Wife, I love you the most!"
As Yan Ci cuddled his wife while sleeping, he thought to himself that he needed to find an opportunity to go out and test his shooting skills, and perhaps hunt some prey.
I need to earn back those sixty dollars, otherwise I'll become a gigolo.
Yan Ci gave the money to Uncle Li and advised him to go to a big hospital for treatment.
After the doctor finished the examination, he said that Li Shu had arrived too late and told him to go home and rest. Not long after, Li Shu passed away.
With plenty of grain, meat, and firewood at home, the Yan family stayed home every day.
Bai Xiaoyue has made several sets of clothes for the baby, in various sizes.
She started messing with the baby's diapers again.
She took out all the cloths that Li Mingyue had left behind, compared them for a long time, and finally chose the softest piece of fine cotton cloth.
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