“Second Uncle Lin!”
“Second Uncle Lin!”
Several boys from the village ran over joyfully, their voices overlapping as they delivered the news.
“Second Uncle Lin, Zhou Ye brought back a ton of game from the mountains! A wild rabbit, two pheasants, and a huge wild boar!”
“That wild boar is sleek and fat; it must weigh at least three hundred catties!”
“More than three hundred! My father said that boar looks like four hundred catties at first glance!”
Tianshui Village was poor, and they only slaughtered pigs for meat during festivals. Only a few households in the village raised pigs; some had large families and didn’t even have enough for themselves, while others who had surplus would distribute it to other villagers—not necessarily for money, but in exchange for grain or other goods.
Zhou Ye had carried back such a massive wild boar. The beast was already taking more breaths out than in and would last a day or two at most; it was certain to be divided up for the village to eat. These meat-starved boys were all beside themselves with excitement.
Lin Dashan and He Guixiang were dumbfounded by the news. They had thought something had happened to Zhou Ye in the mountains, but not only was he fine, he had returned lugging a wild boar?
“Sister, we have pork to eat!” Lin Xiaopu wailed with joy.
Lin Shu’s eyes also lit up upon hearing this.
Pork! Her stomach was currently severely lacking in oil and fat!
Zhou Ye carried a massive, robust, dark-brown wild boar on his shoulders. A sack of fragrant mushrooms was slung over his arm, and a wild rabbit and two pheasants were tied around his waist. As soon as he reached the edge of the village, he was surrounded by enthusiastic villagers wanting to help him carry the boar.
Zhou Ye found carrying the four-hundred-catty boar quite easy. Moreover, he had eaten a plump roasted rabbit in the mountains at noon; being about thirty percent full, he had plenty of strength. However, he did not refuse the villagers’ enthusiasm. He set the boar down and let several men help carry it back to Second Uncle Lin’s house at the end of the village.
On the way, someone couldn’t wait and asked, “Young A-Ye, can you spare two catties of that boar meat for your uncle? I’ll trade you grain for it!”
Others who were interested in meat also followed suit with their own inquiries.
Zhou Ye replied calmly, “Uncles, aunts, I’ll be slaughtering this boar tomorrow morning. It’s a big one. Our family will keep half, and as for the rest, you all can divide it up as you see fit. Rice, grain, coarse flour, or beans—anything is fine for trade. Oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, pots, bowls, or pans work too.”
“How about firewood?” one man asked.
Zhou Ye politely declined, “Uncle, please excuse me. We have plenty of wood at home, so we won’t be taking firewood for now.”
A villager mocked the man, “With Zhou Ye here, a man with enough strength to hunt a wild boar, why would he need anyone else for chores like chopping wood or carrying water?”
Another woman chimed in, “Whichever girl marries Zhou Ye in the future will be moving into a nest of blessings; she’ll enjoy a lifetime of good fortune.”
The aunt who said this was immediately nudged by the man next to her. “What nonsense are you talking, woman? Hasn’t Second Lin’s daughter come back? Zhou Ye is definitely going to marry her.”
Being contradicted by her husband, the aunt immediately spat at him and muttered under her breath, “What do you know? Look at that girl’s fine skin—her face is whiter than snow and smoother than an egg, and she speaks so softly. How could she look at a rural farmer like us? We think Zhou Ye is great, but that girl grew up in the capital; what kind of finery hasn’t she seen? Just you watch, that girl is definitely going to marry someone in town or even the county seat…”
As Zhou Ye walked further away, the words behind him became indistinct.
His expression remained normal, appearing entirely unaffected.
He also felt that he was a rough man and that a delicate lady like her would certainly not look upon a coarse country fellow like himself. Therefore, he hadn’t given it a single thought from the beginning. Besides, he had no intention of starting a family; Lin Yao’s departure two years ago had suited him perfectly. However, Second Uncle Lin and Aunt He had shown him great kindness, which he kept firmly in mind, and he was willing to serve them for the rest of his life. As for the delicate lady from the capital, he would treat her like a younger sister to dote on, just like Xiaopu. As long as she didn’t cause trouble, he would try his best to fulfill her requests.
The wild boar was carried back to the end of the village by the helpful villagers, where Lin Dashan and He Guixiang were already waiting at the door.
It was truly a massive wild boar!
Lin Dashan was shocked and delighted as he looked at the beast that required five or six strong men to lift together.
Wild boars in the mountains could gore a person to death. Usually, villagers would steer clear of them when spotted. Who would have thought A-Ye would go into the mountains and hunt such a huge one!
The villagers carried the boar into the courtyard, agreed to come back early tomorrow morning to help with the slaughter, and then headed back.
Once the outsiders had left, Lin Dashan and He Guixiang hurriedly asked Zhou Ye about what had happened in the mountains, while Lin Xiaopu and Lin Shu circled the wild boar to admire the rarity.
This wild boar was vastly different from a domestic pig. It had a large head, a thick neck, and a thin tail, with a row of stiff bristles along its spine that made it look ferocious. Not to mention the boar’s open mouth, which revealed thick, curved tusks.
The massive beast lay on the ground like a small hill. It no longer had the strength to struggle, but its abdomen was still rising and falling, showing it was still alive.
Lin Shu looked for a long time but couldn’t find any wounds, only marks on its side where it had been struck by something heavy. She couldn’t help but steal a glance at Zhou Ye.
Could it be that this guy’s strength was so great that he had directly shattered the boar’s internal organs?
Lin Xiaopu said, “Sister, it’s so big!”
Lin Shu replied, “Isn’t it? It’s my first time seeing such a fat wild boar. How did it manage to eat itself so fat? It’s not much different from a domestic pig.”
Aside from this one wild boar, Zhou Ye had also brought back a wild rabbit and two pheasants. They would keep one pheasant to raise, and the remaining pheasant and rabbit, along with the fresh boar meat slaughtered tomorrow, would be taken to town to be sold.
The empty sack he had taken was now full. Zhou Ye quickly opened the mouth of the bag to prevent the contents from spoiling in the heat.
Lin Shu leaned in to look. Good heavens, they really were fragrant mushrooms—a whole sack full of fresh wild mushrooms!
“Uncle, Aunt, these mushrooms need to be taken out quickly. While the weather is good these few days, I’ll dry them so I can sell them in town.”
“Alright, alright!” While responding, He Guixiang hurriedly fetched the bamboo mats from the house.
Fresh mushrooms didn’t keep well and had to be dried for storage immediately; otherwise, they would go bad.
While the others were busy spreading the mushrooms on the bamboo mats, Lin Shu’s eyes darted around. She asked Zhou Ye, “Brother A-Ye, you’ve been busy for so long; you haven’t had dinner yet, have you? There’s food left in the pot. I’ll warm it up for you. Xiaopu and I caught a lot of fish today, and we shouldn’t leave them overnight, so I’ll kill them all to serve with your meal! I cook fish quickly; it won’t take long.”
When Zhou Ye looked up, he met Lin Shu’s smiling face. Her curved eyes were like crescent moons, dark and bright, reflecting his silhouette.
His eyelashes flickered slightly as he replied, “You go rest. I’ll start the fire and heat the food myself.”
How could a well-bred lady from a Marquis’s manor know how to do rough work like starting a fire and cooking?
“It’s settled that I’m the chef. Brother A-Ye can help me as an assistant.”
He Guixiang laughed and said, “Let her be. A-Shu caught many fish today and said she wanted to cook them personally for you.”
Lin Shu had already very perceptively gone to the kitchen to fetch a ladle full of water. “Brother A-Ye, come. I’ll pour the water for you; wash your hands.”
Zhou Ye looked at her, walked straight over, and held out a pair of large, calloused hands. There was still dark mud under his fingernails that hadn’t been cleaned.
He observed Lin Shu covertly, only to see her calmly pouring the water without the slightest hint of disgust in her eyes.
“Brother A-Ye, just give them a quick wash for now. You can wash more thoroughly before you eat.”
Afterward, Zhou Ye was ordered around by Lin Shu to kill the fish, scrape off the scales, and remove the entrails.
Of the seventeen fish, excluding the one given to Lin Yushu and the three the family had eaten, thirteen remained. They were all cleaned.
Zhou Ye couldn’t hide his surprise. “You caught all these fish?”
“You bet.” Lin Shu leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. “I won’t let Brother A-Ye go hungry anymore. I’ll definitely find a way to keep you fed until you’re stuffed every day!”
The sudden proximity brought a faint, delicate fragrance of a woman, making Zhou Ye feel slightly uncomfortable. He instinctively turned his head away.
Reflecting on the meaning of her words, he quickly looked at Lin Xiaopu, only to catch her looking guilty. But soon, the little girl stuck her tongue out at him defiantly.
She had secretly told her sister for Brother A-Ye’s own good. Why should she feel guilty? She didn’t feel guilty at all.
Zhou Ye looked helpless. Xiaopu had kept his secret for so long, so why did she spill everything to this person as soon as she arrived?
After all the fish were cleaned, the meat was sliced, the bones were chopped, and the heads were split in half.
Lin Shu let Zhou Ye finish the heavy labor and took over the rest herself.
The fish meat was marinated in salt for a while. She poured a little oil into the pot and fried the heads and tails until fragrant. She scooped two handfuls of pickled cabbage from her mother’s jar, sliced them, and tossed them into the pot to stir-fry. She added water and the fish bones. Once the fish soup was boiled to a milky white, she scooped everything out onto a platter. Because there was so much, it filled three large plates.
Once only the soup remained, she added the previously sliced fish fillets. After they were poached, she scooped them up and spread them in a large ceramic pot, poured in the rich, fragrant broth, and sprinkled a handful of wild green onions on top. Garlic and wild onion bulbs were minced and stir-fried with spotted knotweed, and the seasoned oil was drizzled over the top.
The large ceramic pot of pickled cabbage fish was carried directly to the dining table.
Lin Shu’s meticulously prepared pickled cabbage fish was much more delicious than the version He Guixiang had made for breakfast. When Lin Dashan and He Guixiang smelled the aroma, even though they had just finished dinner, their cravings were piqued once more.
When the two of them looked at the table full of fish, they were startled.
A-Shu really killed all the fish?
However, thinking that these fish were caught by their daughter, they didn’t say anything. Whatever couldn’t be finished would be kept cool with mountain spring water; it wouldn’t go bad overnight and could be eaten for breakfast tomorrow.
Just as they were thinking this, they heard their daughter shout to Zhou Ye, “Brother A-Ye, come quickly! All this fish is for you!”
Tonight, they had specifically made dry rice. Lin Shu served two large bowls of warm brown rice and prepared the chopsticks. In addition to the table of fish, there were many wild mushrooms mixed in with those Zhou Ye had brought back. Lin Shu picked some out and stir-fried a plate as an extra dish.
Zhou Ye looked at the table full of fish meat, feeling quite flattered.
Lin Shu sat opposite him, cupping her face and watching him, urging him with a smile, “Eat up, quickly.” Eat your fill so you can work.
Zhou Ye, who had only been thirty percent full from the wild rabbit at noon, was already hungry. Regardless of what this person was planning, he picked up his bowl and chopsticks and began to eat voraciously.
“Brother A-Ye, you’re not allowed to leave leftovers; you have to finish it all.”
Since he knew she already found out anyway, and being stared at like that, Zhou Ye actually managed to finish the entire ceramic pot of pickled cabbage fish along with the several plates of fish heads and bones in a daze. Not a single drop of fish soup remained in the pot; it all went into his stomach.