Chapter 14: Rabbit Meat

After returning home, Lin Yue grabbed two more rabbits from the space and pulled out a small bunch of scallions.

This time, she covered the items tightly with cloth before carrying the two children out.

She had been craving these rabbits for a long time. When she went to Secretary Liu’s house to deliver the rabbit, she seemed generous, but her heart was actually bleeding.

She couldn’t bear the thought that everyone else could eat the rabbit she gave, but she couldn’t have a bite herself.

Lin Yue planned to go to the Captain’s house and ask Auntie Su to stew the rabbits for her.

Actually, Lin Yue should be most grateful to Auntie Su and her husband for the allowance matter.

However, Lin Yue had a good relationship with her family. If she went to thank them, it would seem awkward.

Auntie Su’s family had nine people, including young and old. Several children were at the age of eating meat. If there wasn’t enough meat, it wouldn’t be enough for everyone, and she wouldn’t be able to enjoy it herself.

Lin Yue wanted everyone to have a hearty meal, so she grabbed two rabbits.

Moreover, these two rabbits were fat and big, much bigger than the one she sent to the Secretary.

As soon as she entered, she explained her intentions, “Auntie, I brought my own food. I’m coming to your house for dinner tonight. You can’t kick me out.” She lifted the basket to show Auntie Su.

Auntie Su was shocked to see the rabbits and asked, “Where did you get these rabbits in this cold weather?” And they were so fat.

Lin Yue giggled and leaned closer to Auntie Su, whispering, “There’s a rabbit burrow in the small forest next to my house. I discovered it months ago and secretly put cabbage leaves nearby.

I was afraid they would run away, so I didn’t dare to catch them.

Now that it’s cold, I caught them all at once!” Auntie Su patted her and said, “You’re so smart, why didn’t you keep them until the New Year?” Lin Yue chuckled and made up a story, “I saw some kids going there these days, and I was afraid they would discover it, so I took action first.”

“That’s right, you can’t keep them.

I’ll go call your brother-in-law, Shoutian, to help you process the rabbits. You can take them home, salt them, or freeze them outside. You can eat them during the New Year!” Auntie Su said as she was about to go call him.

Lin Yue quickly grabbed Auntie Su and said coquettishly, “I want to eat meat today. I wanted to buy meat at the market, but there was none.

Auntie, please cook it for me. I cook terribly. I’ve been craving your cooking. Look, there’s so much meat. How long will it take me to eat it all by myself?” She leaned closer and whispered, “I have two more little ones at home. I hid them. Let them grow fatter and eat them during the New Year.”

After much persuasion, Auntie Su finally agreed.

She called her eldest son, Zhang Shoutian, to carefully process the two rabbits. She kept the fur to make hats for the two little ones later.

Auntie Su’s three sons heard that they were going to kill the rabbits and ran out to watch the fun.

Lin Yue stood at the door of the kitchen, watching the children in the yard surrounding the two rabbits, touching them and hugging them, and sighed. Children all loved small animals, and she was worried that the children wouldn’t let them be killed.

But when Lin Yue leaned closer, she heard the children discussing, “They’re so fat!” “Are we going to eat both of them tonight?” And “Uncle, Mother said we can only eat meat during the New Year. Are we celebrating the New Year tonight by eating rabbit meat?” It was Zhang Shoutian’s 5-year-old son who asked his 8-year-old uncle.

Lin Yue couldn’t help but laugh.

Auntie Su also heard it and hurried the children into the house, “Go, go, go, don’t yell in the yard. Your father got meat tickets, what month didn’t he buy you meat? Don’t tell anyone about eating rabbit meat tonight, got it?” The children mumbled in response, “We know.” It was obvious they didn’t take what she said to heart.

Auntie Su stood with her hips akimbo and yelled at the children, “Little brats, don’t be deaf! If any of you dare to mention a word outside, I’ll use the broom to beat you! I’ll beat all three of you together! Get up and go play with Wanli and Lingling in the main room!” The children quickly put down the rabbits, got up, and ran into the main room.

But how could little babies resist the fun of watching the rabbits being processed? The window was quickly pushed open, and three little heads peeked out, staring outside.

Auntie Su, in anger, took off her shoes and held them in her hand to scare them, “Close the window quickly. You’ll freeze your little brother and sister.” Zhang Shouliang, who was eight years old, shouted, “They’re my nephew and niece!” His voice was so loud that the two rabbits trembled.

Auntie Su was so angry that she almost threw the shoes in her hand.

Lin Yue burst out laughing.

But as she turned around, she saw Zhang Shoutian walking over with a basin and a sharp cleaver, and she ran quickly into the main room, then crawled to the window sill and joined the other little heads.

Wang Xiuxiang came in with the melon seeds she had just bought and joked, “Last time I saw you kill fish, you were quite skillful. I thought you were brave, but you’re even afraid of killing rabbits.”

Lin Yue smiled awkwardly, “I only dare to kill things in the water. I’m afraid of anything that runs on land or flies in the sky.”

In her previous life, many people around her were like this. They could calmly cook live seafood, but when it came to killing a chicken, they wouldn’t even dare to look.

Many people were even afraid of killing fish. Lin Yue felt that she was amazing.

Auntie Su sliced ​​a lot of potatoes and put them in, then added some chili peppers, making a rabbit stew with potatoes.

She cooked cornmeal cakes on the edge of the pot, and when they came out, she sprinkled them with the scallions Lin Yue brought. The color, aroma, and taste were all perfect, and the fragrance drifted with the wind, reaching half a street away.

The Captain’s family had good conditions and often cooked delicious food. Every time, they would attract the children from the neighboring houses.

This time was no exception. The north wind howled outside, but five or six little beans didn’t care about the cold. Wrapped in their parents’ thick cotton-padded jackets, they squatted neatly outside the Captain’s house wall, sniffing the delicious meaty aroma while stuffing their porridge into their mouths.

Zhang Xiaoxi squatted among these little boys, staring longingly at the tall chimney, wishing she could climb up the chimney and into the Captain’s pot.

Lin Yue didn’t know any of this. She helped Auntie Su make a cold dish with soaked kelp and a rabbit meat and cabbage stew with vermicelli, and a stir-fried potato with vinegar, all done.

The four dishes were divided into two tables, one on the kang and one off the kang.

Lin Yue looked at the basket of cornmeal cakes and felt annoyed.

The village didn’t distribute much cornmeal. Because she was eating at Auntie Su’s house, the cakes didn’t have any other coarse grains added. This would be considered luxurious in other families.

Auntie Su saw Lin Yue’s discomfort and stuffed a cake into her hand. She also piled a lot of rabbit meat and potatoes into her bowl, urging her, “Eat quickly, what are you spacing out for? Don’t be shy here at Auntie’s. This group of greedy cats at home, if I don’t make them something good every few days, they’ll tear the house down.

I’m just taking advantage of you today to give them a treat.

“She pretended to brag, “Besides, your brother-in-law works in the city, he can buy commercial grain and get meat coupons, eating a cornmeal cake is nothing.”

Lin Yue giggled and picked up her bowl to start eating.

Auntie Su’s cooking skills were indeed good. It was said that she was the head chef when the village had communal dining. This meal filled Lin Yue’s stomach and she had never been so satisfied.

After dinner, Auntie Su urged her old partner to quickly write a letter of introduction. The village’s supply and marketing cooperative didn’t have iron pots, and they had to wait a long time to get supplies. Zhang Zhiqiang told Lin Yue to go to the department store in the county to take a look when she had time.

It was getting late, so Lin Yue said goodbye to the Captain’s family, carrying her two children and the letter of introduction to buy a pot, she strolled home.

The little beans outside the yard had already been dragged home by their mothers, except for Zhang Xiaoxi, who was still wandering around the street, unwilling to go home.

Because they had lost their allowance, their family hadn’t had a good meal in several days.

Tonight, the Captain’s family was eating meat. She insisted on eating it and got a beating from her mother. Now, she didn’t want to go home even more.

Zhang Xiaoxi was kicking small stones on the roadside, bored, when she suddenly saw a figure coming out of the Captain’s house. When she saw who it was, she was immediately filled with grievance and cried out, “Wah!” She cried and ran home.

Lin Yue was startled. When she recognized that it was her cheap little sister-in-law, she was speechless. Was she that scary? She could actually scare someone into crying.

Two days later, Lin Yue calculated that the allowance should have arrived. She didn’t wait for the postman to deliver it to the village. She entrusted the children to Auntie Su and borrowed Wang Xiuxiang’s bicycle to ride to the county.

Wang Xiuxiang didn’t believe that Lin Yue could ride a bicycle at first. When she saw her wobbly getting on the 28-inch bicycle and wobbly getting on the road, she chased after her, shouting at her to slow down and be careful not to fall.

After getting the hang of it, Lin Yue quickly rode smoothly. Hearing Wang Xiuxiang shouting at her from behind, she waved her hand.

This scared Wang Xiuxiang. She was furious and shouted at her, “Hold the handlebars firmly, you’re such a big person, why are you still like a monkey!” Lin Yue rode her bicycle, stopping and going, and when she rested, she looked at the barren land on both sides of the road. She also had the time to secretly collect a lot of it into her space. The land area in her space suddenly increased by more than 20 mu, which was a considerable gain.

It took her an hour and a half to reach the county, and she was sweating profusely.

She asked around and went to the post office first to see if there was any mail for her. The person at the window was a middle-aged man. He searched through a stack of envelopes, then checked a notebook and said there was none. He told Lin Yue that the postman would deliver today’s mail at 9 o’clock, so she could wait and see.

Lin Yue looked up at the clock hanging in the hall. It was 8:30 now, and it would be 9 o’clock in half an hour. She borrowed a pen and paper from the man, found a corner, and wrote a letter to Zhang Yuandong.

Although the original owner had studied calligraphy with Xu’s father for a few years, she hadn’t been doing it for long. However, her handwriting was good enough for writing letters. It was Zhang Yuandong who was the problem. Lin Yue heard that he had argued with his parents about wanting to go to school, and Sun Hongmei had chased him down the street with a broom.

Later, it was said that he still went to school. The details were unclear, and the aunties couldn’t say for sure.

Lin Yue imitated the original owner’s handwriting, actually making it uglier, trying to use simple sentences to explain things clearly.

She wrote about the past year on the paper and mentioned the two children.

But she didn’t write down the names of the two children. After all, with the original owner’s experience of only studying with Xu’s father for three years, it didn’t seem like she could come up with names for her children.

She should have named them Tie Dan and Da Ya, how simple!