Chapter 24

Although the path down the mountain was easy to navigate, walking at night was still different from during the day.

With the help of moonlight, the group returned to Xiangyang Village around four or five in the early morning.

The sky had not yet brightened, and the villagers were still deep in sleep. Aside from the occasional dog barking, the chirping of cicadas in the trees, and the croaking of frogs in the fields, the surroundings were quiet.

“This wild boar was hunted by He Ting and me. The money from selling it on the black market will be split. He Ting and I will take half, and the rest will be evenly divided among everyone who came up the mountain. No objections, right?”

Back at the health station where Lu Baiwei and He Ting were staying, Tang Yuanliang addressed the distribution of the wild boar.

Since the others had not contributed to the hunting of the boar, it was fair enough that they would get their share of the money, in line with the usual rules.

Everyone agreed.

Tang Yuanliang continued with the arrangements: “Since it’s still dark, He Ting and I will leave now for the county’s black market. The rest of you head home, and Lingling will stay with Weiwei. That’s the plan.”

At this hour, Zhou Yanfeng couldn’t go back to the youth dormitory. After thinking for a moment, Tang Yuanliang gave instructions to his younger brother, Tang Yuanyang.

“Since Weiwei can’t stay here, Zhou Yanfeng, you can go home with him.”

After sending everyone off, Tang Yuanliang went home briefly, then took his father’s bicycle, packed the processed wild boar meat, and headed to the county with He Ting.

By the time Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling caught up on sleep until noon, He Ting and Tang Yuanliang had already returned from the county.

“The pork sold on the black market for sixty cents per pound, a total of ninety yuan. He Ting and I will take half, forty-five. Each of us gets twenty-two yuan fifty.”

“The remaining forty-five will be split among you six, seven yuan fifty each.”

“He Ting’s twenty-two fifty, plus your seven fifty, Weiwei, comes to thirty for your family.”

He Ting handed the thirty yuan to Lu Baiwei, saying she was in charge of the money. Tang Yuanliang felt even more satisfied with his brother-in-law.

If his impression of He Ting was 80 points before, it was now 90.

The remaining 10 points were held back just in case he got too proud.

After all, he had to keep his sister’s husband in check.

During this trip up the mountain to gather herbs, the cousins had all helped.

Lu Baiwei, having received the thirty yuan from selling the wild boar, discussed the distribution of money for the medicinal herbs with Tang Yuanliang.

“Liang Ge, when I finish processing and selling the herbs, will we split the money like this?”

“Not necessarily. We went up the mountain for food, just to have a treat. Helping you gather herbs was secondary.”

Tang Yuanliang waved his hand dismissively, suggesting, “If you feel guilty, just treat us to a good meal to thank us for helping you dig up the fritillaria.”

Tang Yuanliang felt that getting the wild boar was an unexpected gain, so he refused to take any share of the money from gathering the herbs for Lu Baiwei.

However, Lu Baiwei believed that since they had all gone up the mountain to help gather the herbs, they should still be compensated.

—

However, Lu Baiwei believed that since they had all gone up the mountain to help gather herbs, they should be compensated.

She had already decided in her heart that in this lifetime, she would repay those who had been good to her. She would help her cousins from her uncles’ side to make a fortune.

Anyway, the process of preparing the herbs would take some time. Before selling the herbs in the county, she still had to go up the mountain again.

Once she had sold the herbs, it wouldn’t be too late to figure out how to divide the money.

As for making something to eat, the pig offal from last night’s wild boar had been brought down the mountain, but she hadn’t had time to process it yet.

Lu Baiwei simply turned to Tang Yuanliang and said, “Liang Ge, you go home and rest. When you wake up later, come to my house for dinner.”

“I’ll clean up the pig offal from yesterday and make a few dishes for you all.”

Honestly, it was pretty rare to get meat in these times. With the lack of oil and fat in their diet, once someone tasted Lu Baiwei’s cooking, they couldn’t forget it.

That meal at Lu Baiwei and He Ting’s wedding was something Tang Yuanliang had fond memories of.

When he heard that he could eat Lu Baiwei’s cooking again, Tang Yuanliang immediately nodded and agreed, “Alright, I’ll go home to rest, and I’ll be waiting for the meal you’re making tonight, Weiwei.”

Tang Yuanliang never knew that his cousin could cook so well.

He was amazed the first time he tasted her food!

Looking forward to another meal of Lu Baiwei’s cooking, Tang Yuanliang went home with a satisfied expression.

If Lu Baiwei knew what her cousin was thinking, she would say, “How could it not be delicious? After all, in my previous life, I made a living cooking and built my career with Yin Zhihe.”

Her excellent cooking skills were in her bones.

In this life, she planned to use her culinary skills to give back to her family.

He Ting went to catch up on sleep, while Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling started to clean the pig offal.

Pig liver, heart, lungs, blood, and pancreas didn’t need much preparation. For the pig kidneys, they removed the white part that had a strong odor and soaked them in salt water to get rid of the smell.

The pig intestines and stomach were a bit more troublesome to clean.

Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling used wood ash to rub them, crouching by the stream to wash them.

“Sis, where did you get the pig stomach and intestines from?”

Tang Yunling, who had been imagining what Lu Baiwei’s pig offal would taste like, was startled when she suddenly heard a familiar voice from the bridge above.

Lu Baiwei looked up and saw that it was actually Lu Jiaojiao and Yin Zhihe standing there.

Both of them stared wide-eyed at the pig stomach and intestines Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling were washing, and Lu Jiaojiao even gulped audibly.

“Where it came from has nothing to do with you.”

“Aren’t you the one who reported Yin Zhihe for being a hooligan, Lu Jiaojiao?”

—

“Lu Jiaojiao, weren’t you the one who reported Yin Zhihe for being a hooligan?”

Tang Yunling stood up for Lu Baiwei: “Oh, so the hooligan got arrested and taken to the police station, and now Yin Zhihe has been released from the cage?”

Yin Zhihe’s face darkened.

Lu Jiaojiao denied reporting Yin Zhihe: “What are you talking about? I never reported Brother Zhihe! Someone was just jealous of me and Brother Zhihe, so they went behind my back and reported him to the commune.”

“Brother Zhihe’s sisters got someone to bail him out, and I even went to the police station to testify, making sure that me and Brother Zhihe were just courting, freely falling in love. The police officers knew they had wronged Brother Zhihe, so they let him come back home.”

“Oh, the police even wronged him?”

Tang Yunling was quite skilled in being sarcastic, and she was practically Lu Baiwei’s spokesperson.

“WeiWei , did you hear? Turns out free love is just about rolling in the hay and asking others to watch.”

Yin Zhihe’s face darkened even more.

Lu Jiaojiao insisted that she hadn’t reported Yin Zhihe, claiming it was all a misunderstanding.

At first, Yin Zhihe believed her.

But when Tang Yunling pointed it out with her sharp words, he suspiciously stared at Lu Jiaojiao.

Yin Zhihe had confirmed to the police that it was free love, and he promised to go to the commune tomorrow to get the marriage certificate. After all, Lu Jiaojiao had already achieved her goal of marrying him, and he had no chance of shaking her off.

Lu Jiaojiao wasn’t in a rush. Compared to Yin Zhihe’s dark face, she was more interested in the pig stomach and intestines Lu Baiwei was washing.

“Sis, tomorrow Brother Zhihe and I are going to the commune to get our marriage certificate. As your sister, don’t you think you should do something for us?”

“Why don’t you cook the pig intestines and stomach, and invite Brother Zhihe and me over to your house for dinner tonight?”

Being able to marry Yin Zhihe, Lu Jiaojiao’s tone was full of pride.

Lu Baiwei could already imagine what expression Lu Jiaojiao would have when she found out that the man she tried so hard to marry wasn’t capable in that way.

Tang Yunling was utterly disgusted by Lu Jiaojiao’s shamelessness.

She shot back for Lu Baiwei: “Fine, I’ll give you something to eat.”

“Really? You’re going to give me food?”

Lu Jiaojiao was excited at the thought of getting meat.

Tang Yunling responded, “Yes, I’ll give you a chunk of pig manure.”

Tang Yunling wasn’t bothered by the mess, and she scooped out a piece of pig dung from the pig stomach and intestines, throwing it at Yin Zhihe and Lu Jiaojiao, who were standing on the bridge above.