11
The chestnuts were freshly picked from the mountains that day.
The pheasant was an authentic wild one from the mountains, slaughtered and stewed on the spot. Even with just salt, flavor was already delicious enough.
The firelight from the stove flickered across He Tian’s face and eyes, as bright as stars and moon.
Dahuang, tired from chasing the little gray rabbit, was now lying by He Tian’s feet, warming himself by the fire.
The little gray rabbit, on the other hand, was sprawled on the other side, nibbling on some unknown grass to regain its strength.
He Tian didn’t spare them a glance, her eyes fixed solely on the flames in the stove. When the last fire died down, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she stood straight up.
It was ready to eat!
The aroma of chestnut stewed chicken had long filled the entire kitchen, even seeping into the yard outside. But the moment she lifted the lid of the pot, He Tian was still momentarily dazed by the wave of hot, fragrant steam.
She first scooped up a chestnut that had soaked up all the broth to taste it.
As soon as it entered her mouth, her eyes brightened even more.
It was fresh, fragrant, soft, and sticky with a delicate sweetness mingling with the meat’s flavor, both fresh and aromatic. Having never tasted anything so delicious, He Tian didn’t know how to describe it. Only one word kept running through her mind: delicious!
Liu Erniang was weak, so He Tian picked out the best pieces of meat and filled a bowl for her.
“So fragrant, so tasty.” Liu Erniang took a bite and sincerely praised it.
Satisfied, He Tian returned to the kitchen and filled a large bowl for herself.
The two of them, along with one tiger cub and one little rabbit, ate in the yard.
Oh, correction—it was the two humans and the little rabbit eating. The tiger cub, ignored by everyone, could only entertain itself by bothering the little gray rabbit, which was trying to eat.
The chestnuts, soaked in broth, were soft, sticky and sweet, while the pheasant, stewed to perfection was tender yet firm. He Tian ate without lifting her head, paying no attention to the little gray rabbit, which occasionally looked to her for help.
Although Liu Erniang’s spirits had lifted somewhat, her body was still very weak, she couldn’t eat much. Today, she had eaten a bit more due to her improved mood and appetite, but she still couldn’t manage more. As usual, He Tian finished off the rest of the pot.
At first, Liu Erniang didn’t notice. She set down her bowl and watched her daughter, who was eating with such relish with a smile. But as she watched, something seemed off. “Tiantian, why aren’t you spitting out the bones?”
He Tian lifted her face from the bowl. “I ate them.”
Liu Erniang frowned. “You might choke. Besides, the bones are so hard, they’ll hurt your teeth and stomach.”
He Tian bared her teeth. “My teeth are great. Don’t worry, I chew them thoroughly before swallowing.”
The stew had been cooked long enough that even the bones could be chewed and swallowed. The main reason, though, was that it was so delicious He Tian couldn’t bear to spit them out.
But Liu Erniang felt a pang of heartache.
It was all because the family was so poor. Otherwise, why would her daughter have to chew and swallow the bones?
She was a burden to her daughter.
Clenching her fists lightly on her knees, Liu Erniang silently vowed to get better soon. She couldn’t let her daughter endure such hardship any longer.
Although no staple food had been specifically prepared, the chestnuts were starchy enough to serve as one. After the meal, He Tian felt full and content.
When she finished washing the pots and bowls and began organizing the firewood she had brought back that day, Liu Erniang learned that there had been nine wolves, not three!
Only the pelts of the other six had been brought back.
Then she also saw a complete skeleton and a tiger skin.
“Winter will be here soon. I’ll cure this pelt so Mother can use it as a mattress,” He Tian said, washing a bowl of jabuticaba for Liu Erniang and gesturing with the tiger skin in her hand. Then she pulled out three wolf pelts. “These three are for Mother to make a warm fur coat. And these three… are for me, so we won’t be cold in winter.”
“As for the rest, I plan to sell them to hire a doctor and buy medicine for Mother,” He Tian added.
Seeing how methodically her daughter had arranged everything, Liu Erniang’s eyes reddened again. Her daughter had truly grown up and could stand on her own. She was deeply moved.
“Yes!” Liu Erniang nodded with a smile. “Once I’m better, I’ll use the leftover fur to make you a windproof hat and insoles with my own hands.”
Hearing the renewed hope in her mother’s words, He Tian smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Oww~ oww~” Dahuang tugged at He Tian’s pant leg, circling her feet.
“Hey, don’t bite, you’ll tear my pants!” He Tian quickly put down the wolf pelts to stop him.
These pants of hers were already old and tattered; if he tore them, what would she wear?
Dahuang ignored her and kept tugging, though not with too much force.
He Tian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. At first, she thought he wanted to play and was about to indulge him for a bit when something suddenly occurred to her. She grabbed one of his paws and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Dahuang lifted his head. “Oww—”
“I’ll get you something to eat right now.” He Tian got up and headed to the kitchen.
In her fullness, she had completely forgotten about the chicken leg.
Dahuang stuck close to her feet, following her step by step into the kitchen.
In a corner no one paid attention to, the little gray rabbit let out a soft sigh of relief.
The chicken leg was plump and tender. He Tian removed the skin—to stir-fry later in the evening and pulled out the bones, which could be used to make a simple broth.
She chopped the remaining leg meat into small pieces, found a chipped bowl, filled it with the meat, and took it to the yard to feed Dahuang.
Dahuang was indeed hungry. The moment he caught the aroma of the meat, he buried his entire face in the bowl, making satisfied nom nom sounds as he ate.
The whole big chicken leg was gone in no time, and Dahuang even licked the bowl clean. After finishing, he trotted over and rubbed against He Tian’s leg.
“Are you full or not?” He Tian couldn’t quite tell.
Dahuang, as if he hadn’t heard, kept rubbing against her.
He Tian thought for a moment, then took one of the whole wolves she had planned to sell, skinned it, cut a piece of leg meat, chopped it up again, and fed it to Dahuang.
Dahuang finished that too.
After eating, he rubbed against He Tian’s leg again, just like before.
“Still not full?” This time, He Tian was a bit skeptical.
Liu Erniang said, “Tiger cubs are too young to know when they’re full or hungry. Don’t feed him anymore, or you’ll make him sick from overeating.”
He Tian thought that made sense.
Liu Erniang added, “Bring him here and let me feel his belly.”
She put down the jabuticaba she was holding and gestured for He Tian to come over.
He Tian carried Dahuang over for her to feel.
His belly was already rounded. Liu Erniang confirmed, “He’s full. No more feeding, or he’ll definitely overeat.”
He Tian had no experience in this matter and trusted Liu Erniang’s judgment more.
She nudged Dahuang, who was still rubbing against her leg begging for food, a little further away and moved to help Liu Erniang back inside. “The wind’s picking up. Go lie down in the house for a while. You’ve been sitting outside for so long.”
Liu Erniang was weak, and although jabuticaba was delicious, she couldn’t eat too much. She told her daughter to finish them all. He Tian didn’t stand on ceremony and started eating them from the bowl.
“Where are you planning to sell those wolves?”
He Tian paused while eating the jabuticaba. “I’ll go to the ghost market. The prices are higher there, and it’s easier to sell.”
Liu Erniang stopped and looked at her. “You’re going alone?”
He Tian smiled. “I can manage on my own, but I’ll have Dahuang with me. I’ll take him along.”
Although Liu Erniang was worried, there was really nothing she could do, so she fell silent. Unexpectedly, He Tian added, “I plan to go into town tonight and come back tomorrow morning.”
Liu Erniang was startled. “Tonight?”
He Tian nodded.
“You want to go alone into town at night to sell things at the ghost market?” Liu Erniang’s voice rose involuntarily. She disapproved; it was too unsafe.
He Tian nodded again. Knowing her mother was worried, she tried to reassure her. “I’ve been there a few times before with Father, so I know the way. It’s fine. Besides, traveling at night means the roads are quieter. I’ll bring my axe and hatchet. I can hunt wolves, so what’s there to fear? And Dahuang will be with me.”
Liu Erniang started to say something more, but He Tian interrupted, “Whole wolves and untanned wolf pelts can’t be kept for too long. If they start to smell, they’ll be hard to sell. I heard some villagers say it might rain in a few days, so it’s better to sell them sooner. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be back by dawn.”
Seeing how insistent her daughter was, Liu Erniang had no choice but to stop trying to dissuade her. She only said, “Why not go into town now and find a place to stay there? Wait until—”
“No need,” He Tian cut her off before she could finish. “I’m not afraid.”
Liu Erniang looked at her daughter with mixed emotions, but in the end, she nodded slightly.
After watching her mother lie down, He Tian went out to prepare the items she would take to the ghost market that night.
There weren’t many things, just two whole wolves and a skeleton. He Tian thought for a moment, then added the three wolf pelts she had set aside for herself. She could sell them first for money to cover urgent needs. There were plenty of wolves in the mountains; she could just go hunting again. She wouldn’t miss these few pelts.
Once everything was ready, she split the firewood, laying some out to dry and stacking the rest.
As for the wolf she had skinned and fed some meat to Dahuang, He Tian also processed the remaining meat, hanging it in the yard to air-dry for their own consumption.
After all this, she was drenched in sweat, and the water vat was empty. She went out again to fetch water.
At this time of day, quite a few people were at the village stream fetching water. News that He Tian had hunted three wolves had already spread everywhere, and everyone couldn’t stop praising her. Some even asked about Liu Erniang’s condition. The warmth and enthusiasm made He Tian a bit uncomfortable, she wasn’t used to dealing with people much.
Fortunately, the original He Tian was naturally shy. Her quietness didn’t strike anyone as odd.
Once she had filled the water vat and brought back two extra buckets of water, she needed to bathe. Between the sweat and the lingering bloodstains, she didn’t smell very pleasant.
By the time she finished all this, it was already late afternoon.
Time to rest and build up her strength.
Liu Erniang’s emotions were complicated, mainly worry. She hadn’t fallen asleep at all, only lying there. When she heard her daughter enter the room, she quickly closed her eyes.
He Tian bolted the main door from the inside and carried both Dahuang and the little gray rabbit into the house.
She settled them in a corner and specifically patted Dahuang on the head. “Don’t bully your little friend, and don’t bite it.”
Dahuang whined softly and rubbed against her hand.
The little gray rabbit, either already used to being bullied or just hungry, was crouched in its nest, focused on eating grass.
He Tian couldn’t help but stare at the grass it was eating. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed.
She was certain she had seen this grass somewhere before. Once she was done with this busy period and could rest, she would have to think about it carefully.
If she couldn’t remember now, she wouldn’t force it. After a long day of work and a satisfying meal, He Tian fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
At the appointed hour of the night, He Tian woke up right on time from her deep sleep.
She glanced at the sky, now completely dark, and sat up without hesitation.
“Tiantian,” Liu Erniang, who hadn’t slept at all, finally spoke when she heard the movement. “You’re awake.”
He Tian hummed in acknowledgment. “Mother, you must be hungry. I’ll make dinner right away.”
Liu Erniang wanted to say she wasn’t hungry, but remembering what her daughter had said that afternoon, she simply replied, “Alright.”
The household had run out of lamp oil long ago, but that didn’t matter. He Tian could see clearly even at night.
For dinner, she made stewed meat with chestnuts again. There was no pheasant this time, but there was wolf meat.
Although wolf meat wasn’t as tender as pheasant, it was better than nothing, after all, it was still meat.
With the experience from lunch, cooking dinner was much quicker. Soon, the meal was ready.
After eating, washing up, and cleaning the dishes, He Tian packed the items she had prepared that afternoon for sale, along with jabuticaba for energy and Dahuang’s food. Everything was carefully arranged in her backpack, covered with dry grass to conceal it. With everything in order, He Tian came in to say goodbye to Liu Erniang.
Liu Erniang hesitated for a moment. “Be careful on the road.”
He Tian acknowledged and turned to leave.
As night deepened, Crescent Village had long fallen into slumber. In the profound silence, only a bright moon quietly spread its cool, clear light, illuminating the earth brightly.
He Tian carried her backpack, held Dahuang in her arms, and walked toward the county town under the moonlight.
**