Yan Ci and Bai Xiaoyue sat quietly, ignoring the aunts' scrutinizing gazes.
Aunt Li, who loves gossip, asked enthusiastically:
"Xiaoyue, are you buying all this stuff to prepare for the winter?"
Bai Xiaoyue replied with a smile:
"Aunt Li, I'm heavily pregnant, so it's really inconvenient for me to go into town. That's why I bought a little extra."
When the aunties heard this, they realized that it was true; with a baby in her belly, she would need more food and clothing, so no one said anything more.
When the oxcart arrived at the village entrance, Yan Ci carefully helped Bai Xiaoyue off the oxcart, and the aunties felt a pang of envy again.
Bai Xiaoyue ignored them and leisurely followed Yan Ci home.
She went directly to the Bai family and asked Bai's mother to make her a cotton-padded coat.
Yan Ci put down the cotton and cloth and went home to cook, while Bai Xiaoyue chatted with her mother.
Bai Xiaoyue pointed to the cotton bundle and said to her mother:
"Mother, here are ten catties of cotton."
I want to make a new cotton-padded coat for each of us: Dad, you, Yan Ci, Chang Le, and Wen An.
I need to make a longer cotton coat. Do you think we have enough cotton? If not, I'll go buy some more.
Mother Bai looked at the cotton and felt a pang of heartache:
"We can still wear our cotton-padded coats, why did you buy so many?"
“It’s not a waste to dress warmly in winter. Wen’an has been wearing his cotton-padded coat for several years and it’s time to replace it.” Bai Xiaoyue knew that the old lady felt sorry for her son.
Sure enough, as soon as Wen'an was mentioned, Bai's mother stopped talking about the waste.
After tidying up the cotton and cloth, Bai's mother said to Bai Xiaoyue:
“Your Aunt Yan came over a few days ago with a basket of eggs, saying that her eldest daughter-in-law had wronged Chang Le.”
Bai Xiaoyue said in great surprise:
"What does Ding Cuihua's desire to sell Chang Le have to do with Aunt Yan? Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor."
I won't blame her, let her take it back!
Mother Bai sighed:
“She delivered to both Wang Sanbao’s and Li Qiusheng’s homes, so why would she take it back?”
Bai Xiaoyue also sighed:
"This Aunt Yan is a good person, but she's unlucky; her daughter-in-law is a bad person."
Bai's mother sighed, "That's right, what a good person he was."
...
That evening, Bai Xiaoyue gave the watch to Yan Ci, who insisted on showing his gratitude to his wife in person.
...
Soon, Bai's mother finished making cotton-padded clothes for the family of three.
Bai Xiaoyue was surprised: "Mom, this is too fast! It's only been a few days!"
Bai's mother said, "I can't manage by myself. It was your Aunt Yan who came to help, and we did it together."
Bai Xiaoyue looked closely and saw that there were small flowers embroidered on the collar of her cotton coat, which was indeed Aunt Yan's handiwork.
He casually asked, "Mom, how should I thank her?"
Bai's mother shook her head helplessly: "We can only wait and see. There's still a long way to go."
As the weather gets colder day by day, everyone is starting to wear scarves.
Yan Ci produced a scarf as if by magic, and no one knew when he had bought it.
Bai Xiaoyue noticed that the scarf was red, similar to the one she used.
She asked Yan Ci, puzzled:
"Aci, I already have a scarf, why buy another one? It's such a waste of money."
Yan Ci picked up the scarf and wrapped it around her neck before saying to his wife:
"Wife, this one is beautiful. You can use this one from now on. We'll leave the old one for Chang Le."
Bai Xiaoyue was about to say something when Yan Ci interrupted her.
Yan Ci held her, his voice muffled:
"Honey, I like buying you things. I want you to use the ones I buy, and not use the old ones anymore, okay?"
Bai Xiaoyue suddenly realized that Yan Ci was jealous because the old scarf was bought by Ye Jianhua.
She smiled and said to Yan Ci:
“Aci, I really like the scarf you bought. I’ll wear this one from now on.”
Yan Ci smiled broadly: "As long as my wife likes it."
Bai Xiaoyue thought to herself that she would have to be more careful in the future. This man was jealous, and none of the things Ye Jianhua bought were usable anymore.
We had no choice but to gradually replace them all with new ones, which didn't quite fit the spirit of thrift and frugality of this era.
Thinking of her mother's nagging, she wanted to facepalm.
After finishing all the work, the village organized everyone to go hunting in the mountains.
Because Yan Ci showed off his skills last year, the old hunter Uncle Li asked him to go up the mountain with him this year.
Bai Xiaoyue knew this would happen, so she pinched Yan Ci's waist hard while complaining incessantly:
"See? See? This is what happens when you disobey. You'll be on the hunting trip every year from now on."
Yan Ci held Bai Xiaoyue's little hand and coaxed her:
"Honey, I was wrong. I'll hunt a pheasant for you and cook chicken stew with mushrooms, okay?"
Bai Xiaoyue pouted and hummed a few times, making Yan Ci laugh.
Bai Xiaoyue rolled her eyes at Yan Ci a few times, but still prepared some cakes for him to eat on the mountain.
Before leaving, he was made to wear the new cotton-padded coat that his mother had just made.
Yan Ci heeded his wife's instructions and followed everyone's lead, intending to pass himself off as a novice, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Everything went smoothly at first, and we caught quite a few pheasants and rabbits. We were thinking that it was time to go home today, as it was getting late.
Just then, there was a commotion in the woods. At first glance, it was a wild boar. Everyone was excited; they knew they would have meat to eat again.
When everyone gathered around, they discovered it was a family of wild boars—grandparents, parents, son, and daughter—the whole family was there.
Looking at the group of plump and strong wild boars, and then at the group of people, Yan Ci thought that the meat would not taste good.
Wild boars have thick skin and meat, are exceptionally fierce, and are numerous.
The animals were all carrying old-fashioned hunting rifles. If they missed their target, the wild boar would go berserk and attack people.
Yan Ci quietly moved to Li Shu's side and whispered:
"Uncle Li, there are too many wild boars, this is troublesome!"
Old hunter Li frowned, wanting to give up but reluctant to do so. After discussing it with several other old hunters in the village for a long time, they finally decided to take a gamble.
Everyone mainly wanted to eat meat; it was rare to encounter so many wild boars. Thinking of their children's craving eyes, they suddenly felt emboldened.
Yan Ci wanted to offer some advice, but seeing everyone rubbing their hands together, eager to try, he hesitated.
He had no choice but to swallow his words; as an outsider, his voice carried little weight, and he couldn't say much.
After some research by several veteran hunters, several hunting rifles were given to those with good marksmanship, and Yan Ci was also given an old-fashioned hunting rifle.
At the old hunter's command, each hunter found their target and began to attack.
The gunshot startled the wild boar family, and they scattered frantically in all directions. Yan Ci shot and killed his own wild boar.
Suddenly, he heard a noise beside him. He turned around and saw an injured wild boar charging straight at Li the hunter.
Li the hunter was also using an old-fashioned hunting rifle, and hadn't had time to load a second bullet yet.
In the blink of an eye, Yan Ci threw the gun in his hand, which hit the wild boar.
Yan Ci hurriedly shouted, "Uncle Li, quickly hide!"
The wild boar, hurt by the blow, changed direction and charged at Yan Ci, who then ran laps around the tree.
After Uncle Li finished loading the bullets, he leaped up the tree.
Li the hunter shot the wild boar in the head, and the boar fell to the ground.
This time, they hunted eight large wild boars, each weighing 300 jin (150 kg), and more than a dozen people happily carried the wild boars home.
Wild boars were handed over to the village collective, while pheasants and rabbits were distributed to those who went hunting.
Yan Ci also received five pheasants and three rabbits.
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