vstars Chapter 26 The village is bustling again; the Li family is having a feast once more.
Chapter 26 The village is bustling again; the Li family is having a feast once more.
Many villagers gathered around the Li family's earthen house.
After Li's father passed away, the land distribution system had not yet been implemented in Northeast China, leaving only the widow Song Lanhua in the Li family. Song Lanhua was not a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans), and she had no relatives with government jobs. She raised her 8-year-old daughter alone, and also had an 18-year-old troublemaker son, Li Ju'an.
It could be said that the Li family was a family that the villagers avoided like the plague.
Song Lanhua was from the next village. When she was young, she had a neighbor sister named Qian Dingxiang, who also married into Lijiatun and married a man named Ding Guaizi.
Ding Guaizi wasn't originally a cripple. His father was an outsider who came to Northeast China at eighteen and married a local girl. He was a handsome and dashing young man. Ding Guaizi, born to Ding's father, had the same thick eyebrows, big eyes, and upright appearance. He was hardworking, capable, and as sturdy as a wooden pillar. The village head always praised him and called him Ding Zhuzi (Pillar Ding).
Ding Zhuzi was capable and soon married Qian Dingxiang from the next village. But his good fortune didn't last long. While learning to make ginseng, Ding Zhuzi went into the mountains and was chased by a pack of wolves, who bit off his leg. In addition, the clinic was remote at the time, so he developed a chronic illness and became a cripple.
Song Lanhua was beautiful when she was young, and Qian Dingxiang was no less so. The two had grown up together since childhood, and people often compared them. They both married into Lijiatun, and after their marriages, people would point fingers at who would give birth to a healthy baby boy first, and then at whose husband was more capable.
Qian Dingxiang didn't give birth for five years, determined to outdo Song Lanhua. Later, her husband, Ding Zhuzi, became a kidnapper in the mountains, making her feel ashamed. It wasn't until after Li's father passed away that Qian Dingxiang finally became like a hen that had mustered all her energy, clucking all day long and lingering in front of Li's mud house, specifically looking for Song Lanhua to chat with.
On the surface, she's just chatting, but actually, it's driven by a competitive spirit; she's determined to outdo Song Lanhua. Now that she finally has this opportunity, she's willing to accompany Song Lanhua as a good friend, but secretly, she's showing off her superiority and trying to be better than her friend.
Now, Qian Dingxiang, smelling the aroma, curiously peeked out, wanting to see which family in the village had cooked a hearty dish.
Several families came looking towards the Li family's mud house, their faces filled with satisfaction and curiosity at the aroma of meat.
Why is the Li family eating meat again?
We haven't finished eating that big, solitary male from last time yet.
Just then, Li Ju'an pushed open the door and called in Qingchuan Dog Da Hu. He opened the door and yelled at Da Hu.
"Go inside and lie down on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed).
Qingchuan Dog Dahu glanced at him, then sniffed around every corner of the Li family's earthen house. After that, it found a corner by the kang (a heated brick bed), circled around twice, and then plopped down and let out a long sigh.
Li Xiao, the younger sister, found it amazing and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, this dog seems to dislike our house."
Qingchuan Dog Dahu rolled the whites of its eyes, glanced at the bare walls of the Li family's mud house, then sighed with a human-like look, turned its head to the other side, and dozed off with its chin resting on its forelegs.
Da Hu's expression clearly showed: How come your family is so poor?
Li Ju'an was both amused and exasperated, and tapped the dog's head with his finger.
"Just wait until the stew is ready, and you'll see if you're tempted. Our family may not be well-off now, but we'll have plenty of opportunities to make others envious in the future."
During the golden age of hunting in the 80s, as long as you had a skill, you could make a living off the mountains. There were many treasures in the mountains. Not to mention hunting, just taking a tripod to tie sticks could lead to a chance to find a high-quality, valuable old ginseng, which would be snapped up by merchants from the south.
Qingchuan Dog Dahu whimpered twice, sounding somewhat unconvinced. He turned his head, his eyes drooping, and continued to nap with his front paws as a pillow.
Suddenly, Big Tiger pricked up its ears, stood up alertly, and darted to the door with lightning speed.
Someone is coming.
Qian Dingxiang's competitive spirit towards Song Lanhua remained undiminished.
As soon as she entered and looked around, she saw Song Lanhua scooping out a large bowl of venison tenderloin by the wood-fired stove. On the kang table were also diced venison, braised venison, sauerkraut stewed with pork bones, deboned meat with minced garlic, and cold cabbage heart salad—a very lavish spread.
Qian Dingxiang had a bellyful of words stuck in her throat, her eyes wide with astonishment, unable to utter a single word.
She originally wanted to compete, but she was so tempted by the table full of delicious dishes that her eyes practically popped out of their sockets.
Is this still the Li family she remembers?
After the Li family man died, the Li family should have been starving, so how come they were eating so well?
Eight-year-old Li Xiao held a large floral bowl and scooped up large mouthfuls of rice with a blue-and-white porcelain spoon, paired with a big bite of braised venison. It was so delicious that it made one squint their eyes and their cheeks bulge with immense satisfaction.
Li Ju'an, beaming with affection, served meat to his younger sister and shared the crispy rice crust from the bottom of the large pot with his mother and sister. The three of them crunched on the crunchy rice crust, taking a bite of crispy rice crust and then a bite of braised venison; the deliciousness was so good it made them want to swallow their tongues. The family was filled with laughter and joy, the atmosphere was wonderful.
Qian Dingxiang stood at the door, her initial desire to compete vanishing instantly, replaced by a complex expression. All she could think about now was how the Li family could afford so much meat. It looked incredibly tempting.
When Song Lanhua saw her, she quickly put on a smile and called out, "Sister Song, I saw you've come. I brought you two eggs, just laid by the hen this morning, fresh and hot."
The basket in her hand contained eggs, which had originally come from her sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law had enthusiastically given them to her so she could take them home to make steamed eggs. She hadn't expected that the conversation would so easily escalate to the point where the eggs would be brought up, and her desire to trade the eggs for meat was written all over her face.
Before Song Lanhua could speak, Li Ju'an glanced at his sister, who was craving eggs, and waved, "Come in and sit down, Aunt Qian. Don't be so formal. As long as there are eggs, there's plenty of meat!"
Two eggs were traded for a small bowl of braised venison.
Li Ju'an shouted the most forthright words, and his straightforward nature earned him praise from everyone in the village, but the scales in his heart never faltered. Two eggs could only be exchanged for such a small bowl of meat, and the Qian family had to bring the bowl themselves.
Qian Dingxiang smiled broadly on the surface, but secretly thought Li Ju'an was stingy for exchanging such a small amount of meat; she could have made more eggs for him. However, when she thought about how chickens lay eggs and the Qian family had no shortage of them, and how she could exchange eggs for a little venison every day if Li Ju'an agreed, she immediately felt much more at ease.
With meat comes oil and fat, so it's not a bad deal.
Qian Dingxiang, who has a strong competitive spirit, could only smile and say on the surface, "Next time I get an egg, I'll come back and exchange for some more." Even if she was depressed inside, she could only say: "Next time I get an egg, I'll come back and exchange for some more."
……
Qian Dingxiang was a big mouth, and the news that the Qian family had traded eggs for braised venison with the Li family spread quickly. More and more villagers gathered at the door of the Li family's mud house to watch the spectacle. Many more villagers' sisters-in-law also tried to trade their homegrown cabbages, sweet potatoes, homemade pickled vegetables, and sweet potato noodles for meat with Li Ju'an.
When Uncle Lu saw the three wolf skins on the ground, along with a tuft of white fur on one of them, his expression, which had been one of amusement, immediately turned serious, and he stood up.
"Isn't this the one-eyed wolf? Nephew, did you hit it? What did you use?"
Even though the mountain dog Da Hu was squatting at Li Ju'an's feet, Uncle Lu still couldn't believe that Li Ju'an had actually gone into the mountains alone and gotten rid of a long-standing worry for the Lu family!
Lu's cousin died in the mountains years ago, dragged away and eaten by wolves. Later, when the Lu family organized a group to go into the mountains, they also fell victim to the one-eyed wolf. This grudge remained in the heart of Lu's uncle for ten years.
The thick wolf pelt with a tuft of white fur was put on Li Ju'an, and the attitude of Uncle Lu towards Li Ju'an changed quickly, with his expression becoming solemn and respectful.
Li Ju'an pointed to the nearly new Mosin-Nagant rifle placed next to the hanging basket.