Chapter 13 : Keeping You on suspense

When Mother Xiao found out the truth, she finally felt at ease and smiled with joy.

Xiao Lanlan had also specifically told her to not to tell her third sister-in-law’s, just let her itch with suspense. Mother Xiao recalled how unpleasant Liu’s words had been at noon, so she thought this was the perfect chance to play a trick on her.

Soon, the four Xiao family men packed up their things, grabbed their tools, and headed up the mountain, with Xiao Lanlan leading the way.

Liu was still sulking and not speaking to her husband. She wanted to go out and ask what was going on, but the hot weather made her hesitate. She waited until everyone left before coming out and rushing to ask Zhou.

But Zhou also wanted to tease Liu a bit, there was no way she was going to tell her so easily.

Liu was known for being the most gossipy one. Anytime something happened, she’d be the first to rush over and dig up every detail. It was annoying. If she didn’t find out what was going on, it would bother her endlessly.

So Zhou just insisted that nothing was going on and refused to say anything. Liu didn’t dare ask Mother Xiao directly, and she was left pacing around in circles in frustration. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that they were hiding something from her.

Meanwhile, on the mountain, the four Xiao family men led by Xiao Lanlan arrived at the ravine where the roe deer and wild boar had fallen.

Jiang Sui had been keeping an eye on the roe deer below, as well as monitoring the wild boar’s movements. Xiao Hechuan, on the other hand, had picked up a stick and was crouched down, digging.

When they heard footsteps approaching, the two of them stood up on guard, only they relaxed once they realized it was family.

“Where’s the wild boar?” Xiao Yi, glancing around. A thick hemp rope, about the width of a finger, was wrapped around his arm.

“Dad, Third Brother, it’s right down there, come take a look!” Xiao Hechuan pointed toward the ravine.

Father Xiao pushed aside some plants, and the father and sons leaned over and looked down. All of them broke into grins.

“Wow, it looks pretty fat. The deer is still alive. That wild boar must weigh at least 250 kilograms,” the eldest son estimated.

The roe deer was only about 100 pounds. Together with the boar, the two animals weighed over 300 pounds. The brothers were young and strong, so handling that weight wasn’t an issue.

Father Xiao nodded in agreement and began planning how to climb down. It was obvious the two animals had fallen during a fight. If he looked carefully, there had to be a way into the ravine.

“Let’s head down, tie them up, and bring them back when it gets dark. We’ll take the small path home and try not to be seen.”

These days, if a family came across something valuable especially meat, they had to keep it secret. If the villagers found out they’d stumbled upon a wild boar and a roe deer, every household would come by wanting a share. Everyone would walk off with a chunk, and there wouldn’t be much left for themselves.

With the meat, they could make smoked, salted, and air-dried pork, it’d be more than enough to feed the whole family for a long time. This wasn’t being selfish, it was just how things were done in every household.

Since Jiang Sui and Xiao Lanlan couldn’t help with the heavy lifting, they simply went back to picking mushrooms. Xiao Hechuan still had energy to spare, so he followed the others down. With his brothers by his side, there was nothing to worry about.

When they got down into the ravine, they confirmed that the two animals had indeed fallen during a fight. The roe deer was covered in bruises, and both of its hind legs were broken. The wild boar was in even worse condition, it was large and had fallen hard, landing on a sharp wooden stake that had pierced its belly. Though the wound wasn’t very deep, most of its blood had already drained out, and its stomach was still heaving weakly. It was barely clinging to life, breathing its last breaths, and completely unable to resist.

Fortunately, it was still alive otherwise the meat wouldn’t be fresh.

The father and his four sons happily tied up the wild boar, then secured the roe deer, fastening both animals tightly together with thick hemp rope.

They immediately cut down two sturdy wooden poles to carry the wild boar.

Meanwhile, the roe deer just stood there, looking at everyone with clear but dull eyes, totally unaware that it was about to become someone else’s meal.

They spent quite a while going back and forth that afternoon. By the time they hauled both the boar and the deer up the ravine, the sun was beginning to set. The father and sons took a break on the spot. The roe deer was completely worn out by then and didn’t even have the strength to cry out.

Jiang Sui and Xiao Lanlan had already filled their bamboo baskets and backpacks with mushrooms. Father Xiao told them to carry the mushrooms down the mountain first otherwise it would be difficult to walk after dark.

The remaining four carried the wild boar back along the small trail.

Naturally, Jiang Sui obeyed the arrangement. She couldn’t help with heavy lifting anyway, so she and Xiao Lanlan brought Xiao Hechuan home first.

Back at home, Mother Xiao and Zhou had already set up a large pot in the yard to boil water. The Xiao family’s home was located in a relatively remote spot right at the edge of the village, nestled at the foot of the mountain. Only a few families lived nearby. Most of the villagers lived in the central area, where the houses were built in neat rows.

The family had originally lived in that central area too, but later decided that the old house didn’t have enough rooms for all their sons. Since they were all boys and would eventually marry, each one would need his own room. So they sold their old house and land to another family for ten taels of silver, and built a new home in the vegetable fields they had reclaimed.

The new yard had three rooms on the east side, two rooms plus a small woodshed on the west, a main hall, and a kitchen. The whole project cost over ten taels of silver. They did most of the work themselves to save money, only hiring a few helpers when absolutely necessary.

Due to space constraints, the rooms were small but livable. In the future, when the sons got married and had children, they would have to earn money and figure things out on their own. If they ever decided to divide the family, they could go out and build their own homes.

The yard was surrounded by a high mud wall, originally built to prevent theft but now it came in handy. They could boil water and butcher pigs or deer right there at home, completely hidden from outside eyes.

Mother Xiao and Zhou were making such a big fuss that Liu couldn’t help but be curious about what they were doing. But no one told her anything, and it made her even more anxious.

Jiang Sui and the other two returned home first with their mushrooms. Just like in the morning, it was another bountiful harvest. Mother Xiao and Zhou had already sorted and laid out the morning’s mushrooms to dry in the sun.

No one had expected the mushrooms to grow so well this year. If they could preserve some and sell them later, it would be a good way to buy oil and noodles.

Dinner was ready, so they all sat down to eat. When Mother Xiao saw that they were back, she didn’t ask where their father and brothers were, she knew they’d be taking the narrow mountain path back, which was overgrown and difficult to walk, so it would take time.

“You must all be tired. Go wash your hands and eat. We’ll eat first, and your father and brothers can eat later,” Mother Xiao said, seeing how hungry everyone was.

There were still leftovers from the banquet duck earlier that day, as well as cornmeal porridge, steamed buns made from mixed grains, and pickled radish. Liu couldn’t wait to dig in, she had been thinking about that duck meat all day.