Chapter 14 : No shortage of meat

Xiao Lanlan was starving after a whole afternoon of hard work, and Xiao Hechuan was also very hungry. The brother and sister were eating heartily, while Jiang Sui ate a little more delicately. With her current condition, everything tasted delicious most likely due to prolonged malnutrition.

In the end, she had a bowl of cornmeal porridge, two steamed buns made from half a pound of flour, and a generous amount of meat and pickles.

Seeing her eat with such relish and in large portions, Mother Xiao was delighted. She believed that this was the best way to help Jiang Sui regain her health.

Looking at Jiang Sui now, she felt like she was raising a daughter. The child seemed so obedient and well-behaved. She really couldn’t understand what Widow Chen had been thinking, to treat her so cruelly.

Not long after they finished eating, Father Xiao and three two sons finally returned. They had taken a small path and hadn’t run into anyone along the way. It had been a tough job hauling over 300 kilograms of meat back home. The road was rugged, and their shoulders had been rubbed raw from the load.

But everyone was in high spirits and didn’t complain about being tired.

The truth that Liu had been dying to know was finally revealed. She looked at the wild boar and the roebuck (a type of deer) in the yard and almost thought she was hallucinating. She rubbed her eyes hard.

Just then, the third brother happened to walk past her, and she grabbed her husband’s sleeve

“Am I seeing things? Where did the wild boar and the roebuck come from?”

Seeing her astonished face, Xiao Yi explained with a smile

“Fourth brother and his wife found them in the mountains. The two animals fought and fell into a valley. We just got lucky, now our family doesn’t have to worry about meat for a while. Be happy!”

Upon hearing this, Liu slapped her thigh in joy, completely forgetting all the annoyances from earlier in the day.

They quickly ate, rested a bit, and then began processing the animals slaughtering, shaving, and gutting them.

The wild boar was badly injured and had lost nearly all its blood. It was a pity to waste it, otherwise it could’ve been used to make blood sausage or something similar.

The roebuck’s blood was also valuable. While not as nutritious as deer blood, it was still considered a tonic and worth keeping.

After draining the blood, the wild boar weighed about 240 kilograms, and the roebuck a little under 100 kilograms, around 90.

They divided up the meat and kept the wild boar’s offal as well, nothing was to be wasted.

Everyone worked until midnight, using torches for light. Apart from the family dog, no one else in the village had any idea that the Xiao family had got more meat.

Liu was so excited she couldn’t sleep. She was already thinking about how to ask her husband to let her take some meat to her parents’ home as a gift.

But Mother Xiao had already thought of everything. Each daughter-in-law would get something to take back. It just so happened that Jiang Sui needed to return home the morning after next. While Mother Xiao didn’t want to give anything to Widow Chen, she still wanted to give Jiang Sui face and avoid giving the villagers a reason to gossip.

So she prepared an extra portion of meat for Jiang Sui to bring home.

That night, Jiang Sui slept soundly. She had a strong ability to adapt and was no longer as reserved and tense as she had been the night before. Xiao Hechuan, as usual, pulled the covers over her feet.

He slept very quietly and didn’t toss and turn. Usually, whatever position he fell asleep in was the one he woke up in, and he never flailed his arms or legs, which made Jiang Sui feel very at ease.

Tomorrow morning, they would go up the mountain again to gather mushrooms. Xiao Lanlan said that in previous years, she usually went alone, though sometimes her mother or second sister-in-law would help. Every year, the dried mushrooms she collected could be exchanged for several hundred coins.

This year, with Jiang Sui and Xiao Hechuan helping out, they should be able to earn more money than in previous years.

When it comes to making money, it’s like something in Jiang Sui’s DNA gets switched on. In modern times, she was the type who was obsessed with earning, her goal was to save up a pile of money and then live a lazy, carefree life.

The next morning, everyone got up early as usual, except for a few of the men who were still exhausted from the day before and had to lie in a bit longer.

Liu also got up early, her mind set on figuring out how to bring more meat back to her parents’ home.

In the morning, Mother Xiao was in charge of the kitchen, and Zhou was tending the fire. The moment Liu stepped into the kitchen, with just a glance at the look in her eyes, Mother Xiao already knew what she was up to.

“Mom, let me talk to you about something!”

“Alright, no need to say it, I already know what you’re going to ask. You and your second sister-in-law will each get a piece of pork and a piece of roebuck meat to take home for your parents,” Mother Xiao cut her off.

“Mom, just two pieces of meat isn’t enough. I have two younger brothers at home. How about giving me some of the pig’s offal too? My father especially loves pig intestines,” Liu added, eyeing the intestines.

All the men love that stuff, and the Xiao family’s men were no exception. But why should she get a special share?

Mother Xiao gave her a look and replied

“You have two younger brothers, but we have five grown men in this family, four of them are working the fields. They all like pig intestines too. I treat everyone equally. Your second sister-in-law hasn’t said a word, so where is your complaint coming from? That’s that. No more discussion.”

Mother Xiao always had the final say when it came to family matters.

Liu knew she couldn’t win and pouted, clearly displeased again.

But then she remembered that Jiang Sui would be heading back to her own home tomorrow morning, and she got curious about what gifts Mother Xiao was preparing for her.

“Mom, what are you going to give my fourth brother’s wife to take back tomorrow morning? Is it the same as what we’re getting?”

Hearing this, Mother Xiao raised an eyebrow. Zhou was curious too. Though she didn’t speak, she perked up her ears to listen closely.

“I was just about to explain, so no one has any complaints. That wild boar and roebuck were found by the fourth brother’s family. When you went home before, each of you got a piece of pork, a bag of sugar, and ten eggs. Now that we’ve got this meat on hand, there’s no need to spend extra money. I plan to give the fourth family two pieces of pork, a bag of sugar, ten eggs, and half a pig’s liver.”

“The Jiang family lives in the same village as us, so we can’t let them know about the roebuck meat otherwise, word will get out. In the end, you’re still benefiting from this. If it weren’t for the fourth family’s good luck, would you have anything to take home at all?”

When she thought about it, it made sense. Zhou didn’t have any objections, her family was small, and two pieces of meat were more than enough.

Liu had wanted to push for more, but now she realized she’d already gotten her fair share. She kept quiet and went off to fetch some water to wash her face.

One by one, Xiao Lanlan and Jiang Sui got up. Mother Xiao handed Jiang Sui the two sets of clothes she had altered the day before. She was skilled at sewing, but didn’t tailor the clothes to Jiang Sui’s current size instead, she made them a bit larger, thinking the girl would grow into them once she put on more weight.

The colors were admittedly a bit old-fashioned, after all, they were Mother Xiao’s old clothes. At her age, she couldn’t wear bright, youthful colors anymore.

One was in a royal concubine shade (a soft purplish-red), and the other was indigo blue. Mother Xiao had selected them with care.