“You! You’re being completely unreasonable! Someone kindly gave us food, and somehow they were still in the wrong?”
“Who cares about her fish! Would we starve to death without it?”
Eldest Brother Ye could not understand his wife’s logic at all. Angry, he turned and walked away.
Watching his cold retreating figure, Madam Ye Qian’s nose stung, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ye Jian’an sighed softly and went over to wipe away her tears.
That only made Madam Ye Qian cry harder.
“Mother, stop crying. Father just doesn’t want things between you and Second Aunt to become too strained.”
Madam Ye Qian looked up at him with a wronged expression. “Son, do you also think I was wrong just now?”
Ye Jian’an looked troubled and hesitated before answering, “I can’t exactly say you were wrong… but in that situation, it did sound a bit forceful. If it were me, I’d feel uncomfortable too.”
Choking back sobs, Madam Ye Qian said, “But was I doing it for myself? I was doing it for your grandmother! I wouldn’t have eaten any of that flour myself.”
“I know,” Ye Jian’an replied, “but we could’ve spoken to Second Aunt privately. Why bring it up in front of everyone? Besides, flour is so precious now. We can’t just ask for it directly. Even if we don’t use money, we should at least trade something for it.”
Under Ye Jian’an’s gentle persuasion, Madam Ye Qian slowly calmed down. Still, she didn’t feel she had done anything wrong. Since nobody supported her, however, she stopped arguing.
Anyway, someone else would worry about feeding the old lady. It didn’t need to be her concern.
After scolding his wife, Eldest Brother Ye went directly to He Wanqing.
“Second Sister-in-law, please don’t take what your sister-in-law said to heart. She’s just too worried about Mother and didn’t mean any harm.”
“Big Brother, whether there was ill intent or not, both she and I know perfectly well what’s going on. You don’t need to speak for her.”
From the very beginning, He Wanqing knew she and Madam Ye Qian were not the same kind of people. She had no interest in dealing with her, so explanations were unnecessary.
Eldest Brother Ye had no response to that and simply changed the subject.
“Second Sister-in-law, how much flour do you still have? Could I buy some from you?”
Seeing his sincere attitude, He Wanqing felt slightly better. “No need for money. Big Brother, see if you can catch any game nearby. We can trade directly.”
After speaking, He Wanqing turned around, brought out the flour sack, then found an empty bag and poured half into it.
“Take this first. You can give me the game after you catch it.”
Eldest Brother Ye accepted it joyfully. “Thank you, Second Sister-in-law. I’ll get you some game as soon as possible.”
After he left, He Wanqing looked at the little flour remaining in the sack and sighed softly.
A Ming heard her and affectionately leaned against her. “Mother, when I grow up, I’ll earn lots and lots of money to buy steamed buns for you.”
He Wanqing burst into laughter. “Steamed buns alone won’t satisfy me.”
“Then… then we’ll eat braised pork and braised fish every meal!”
“What a good son!” He Wanqing rubbed A Ming’s shaved head vigorously, only to feel a slight prickling against her palm.
Only then did she realize short stubble had begun growing on his head. It was no longer completely bald.
Seeing his mother staring at his head, A Ming asked in confusion, “Mother, is something growing on my head?”
“Yes, a very strange thing.”
“Huh?” A Ming immediately grew nervous and touched his head, but felt nothing. “There’s nothing there!”
“Hahaha, silly child, I was teasing you.”
“…Mother is so mean!”
The next evening, Eldest Brother Ye fulfilled his promise and brought over a plump white rabbit.
A Ming happily played with it.
“Mother, why are rabbits’ eyes red?”
“Actually, rabbits’ eyes don’t really have a color. They just look red because blood is flowing inside them.”
“So that’s why.”
“Woof woof.”
At that moment, A Lan barked twice at the rabbit, frightening it into shrinking back.
A Ming quickly hugged it in his arms. “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. A Lan just wants to play with you.”
“A Ming, don’t hold it. Give it to your eldest brother to handle,” He Wanqing said quickly.
She was genuinely afraid A Ming would grow attached to the rabbit and suddenly say something like: The rabbit is so cute, let’s not eat it.
If that happened, she would lose her mind.
Such a fat rabbit would definitely taste amazing braised, so she absolutely had to prevent that situation from happening!
Though reluctant, A Ming still handed it over to his eldest brother and blinked his big eyes. “Big Brother, when you kill it, do it quickly. Don’t let it suffer too much.”
“…Alright.”
Tonight they were eating noodles.
The noodles were cooked and drained, then topped with a generous spoonful of braised rabbit meat sauce. After mixing it all together and sprinkling some wild scallions on top, it looked irresistibly delicious.
The children all ate with great enjoyment.
As usual, A Ming licked his bowl clean. “I never thought braised rabbit could taste this good.”
Ye Jianwu gently patted his stomach with a satisfied expression. “Mother, tomorrow when we rest, I’m going to catch rabbits.”
He Wanqing suddenly remembered a good rabbit-catching method.
“Jianwu, when the time comes, look for rabbit burrows.
Rabbit burrows usually have three entrances. Burn some wild grass at two of the openings to smoke them out, then wait with a sack at the third entrance.
As long as there’s a rabbit inside, you’ll definitely catch it.”
Ye Jianwu quickly understood and grinned foolishly. “Mother’s method is great. I’ll do that tomorrow.”
Ye Jianshan also looked eager to try. “Third Brother, I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
A Ming looked from side to side, wanting to speak but hesitating.
He Wanqing smiled. “Anyone who wants to go tomorrow can go. Mother will stay behind and guard the belongings.”
Ye Jianwen wasn’t interested in rabbit hunting. “Mother, you should go too. I’ll stay and watch things tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
After chatting a bit longer, He Wanqing went to bathe.
Nothing happened during the night.
At dawn, the refugee group set out again amid the morning dew.
However, after going many days without staple food, most people in the group looked exhausted, and their pace was far slower than on their first day entering the mountains.
The village chief was deeply worried and occasionally shouted encouraging slogans, but the effect was limited.
Still, the slower pace made it easier for He Wanqing to occasionally slip away from the group to gather medicinal herbs.
By the end of the day, she had gained quite a harvest.
As the sun began to set, the village chief signaled for everyone to stop.
“Alright, we’ll stop here for today. Everyone find a place to rest.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Jianwen swiftly claimed a good spot while holding their bundle.
“Mother, over here!”
He Wanqing praised him, “Not bad. Fast reaction.”
Ye Jianwu was eager to catch rabbits. After setting down the luggage, he grabbed a fire starter.
“Mother, let’s go smoke out rabbits now.”
“Alright. Jianwen, stay here and set up the stove. We’ll be back within half an hour at most.”
He Wanqing left with the children, while A Lan trotted along on his little wolf legs behind them.
Flowers, grass, and trees stretched everywhere. Ye Jianwu had no idea where to start.
“Mother, how do we find rabbit holes?”
He Wanqing had only heard of this method before and never tried it herself. After thinking for a while, she said, “I guess it depends on the size of the hole. If it’s just big enough for a rabbit to pass through and there’s more than one opening nearby, it’s probably one.”
The group carefully searched around.
He Wanqing deliberately picked up a stick and carried it in her hand, striking nearby bushes every few steps to avoid some slithering creature suddenly darting out and scaring her.
A Ming searched nearby with A Lan, but A Lan was too hyperactive—running in one direction one moment and another direction the next—making A Ming dizzy.
“A Lan, stop wandering around. Stay by my side. If we find rabbits, you’ll get rabbit bones to eat.”
Yesterday, A Lan had finally eaten meat again after a long time and happily howled twice, causing everyone to think the wolf pack had returned.
Only after He Wanqing had A Lan howl again in front of everyone did they relax.
Knowing they might get meat again today, A Lan whimpered excitedly.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, good news came from Ye Jianshan.
“Mother, I found a hole over here!”
He Wanqing reminded him, “See if there are any others nearby.”
Soon Ye Jianshan cried out excitedly, “There are three holes!”
He Wanqing and the others immediately hurried over.
“Jianwu, light fires at these two openings. Be careful not to burn anything else.”
Very quickly, two small fires were burning. A Ming and Ye Jianshan each stood at one entrance, fanning smoke into the burrow.
Meanwhile, Ye Jianwu held a sack over the third entrance, waiting for rabbits to rush inside.
After quite a while, there was still no movement in the sack.
Ye Jianwu became nervous. “Mother, what if there aren’t any rabbits inside?”
“Shh, don’t talk yet. Rabbits are very cautious. Let’s wait a little longer.”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Finally, panicked rabbit cries came from inside the burrow, and everyone outside grew excited.
Thump! Thump!
Rabbits began falling into the sack one after another.
Once the commotion stopped, Ye Jianwu quickly tightened the sack opening and lifted it up. Carefully peeking inside to count them, his face flushed red with excitement.
“Mother, we caught four rabbits!”
“Not bad. Are any too small? If they are, let them go.”
Ye Jianwu checked carefully. “Mother, the smallest one is about two jin.”
“Alright then, we’ll keep them all.”
Ye Jianwu handed the sack to Ye Jianshan. “Mother, you all head back first. There’s plenty of dry firewood here, so I’ll gather some.”
Leaving Ye Jianwu behind to collect wood, the others excitedly carried the rabbits back.
On the way, A Ming looked troubled. “Mother, even if we eat two rabbits today, what about the other two? Are we bringing them along tomorrow?”
Hmm, that was a problem.
After thinking seriously, He Wanqing said, “If someone wants them, we can sell them.”
After all, now that they knew how to catch rabbits, they could always catch more. Maybe they could even make some money from selling rabbits!
The more she thought about it, the better the idea sounded.
After returning, He Wanqing took out the two skinnier rabbits, tied their legs together, and tossed them onto the ground.
“Jianwen, go call the village chief over.”
Even if she was selling rabbits, He Wanqing wouldn’t sell to just anyone. She preferred people she had a good impression of.
Naturally, the village chief was her first choice.
Soon, the village chief hurried over, thinking something serious had happened.
“Jianshan’s mother, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry, Village Chief, it’s not bad news. We caught several rabbits, but we can’t finish them all today, so I thought of selling two. Would your family like to buy them?”
The village chief first sighed in relief, then looked delighted. “Of course! I’ll take both. How much?”
“One hundred copper coins each.”
He Wanqing remembered that rabbits normally sold for twenty copper coins per jin. Each rabbit weighed at least four jin, so she rounded it up to one hundred coins.
The village chief found the price acceptable. “Alright, I’ll go get the money right now.” He hurried away immediately, afraid they’d be sold out if he was late.
Soon the transaction was completed.
Now that he had the rabbits, the village chief was no longer in a hurry.
“Jianshan’s mother, aren’t rabbits very hard to catch? How did you manage to catch so many at once?”
He Wanqing merely smiled without answering.
The village chief instantly understood this was not something she intended to reveal.
Before long, the sight of the village chief carrying two large rabbits through the crowd attracted plenty of attention.
“Village Chief, those rabbits are huge! Where did you catch them?”
“Village Chief, my family has nothing to eat. Trade one to me!”
“Village Chief, my grandson is craving meat. Can you sell me one?”
The constant shouting made the village chief walk faster and faster, leaving behind only one sentence:
“If you want meat, go hunt for it yourselves! Don’t even think about these two rabbits!”
Still, some people noticed the rabbits had come from He Wanqing’s family.
Soon, people began approaching her.
“Jianshan’s mother, do you still have rabbits? I’ll pay for one.”
“Auntie, not today. But if you really want one, you can reserve it. If we catch extras tomorrow, we’ll sell to you first.”
This auntie had always seemed like a decent person, so He Wanqing didn’t want to disappoint her entirely.
“Alright, alright, I want one. But what’s the price?”
“Twenty-five copper coins per jin. Auntie, you know the normal market price is twenty, but the circumstances are different now.”
The woman relaxed in relief. Thankfully, the price wasn’t too outrageous.
“Fine, save one for me.”
Besides her, two others also came to place orders.
Very quickly, word spread that He Wanqing was selling rabbits.
Some people were confused, some envious, some critical, and some jealous.
Madam Ye Qian was among the confused ones.
“Husband, didn’t you say rabbits are hard to catch?”
Eldest Brother Ye nodded. “Rabbits are very cautious. Any little noise can scare them away. Without good aim and skill, they really are difficult to catch.”
“Then how did Second Sister-in-law’s family catch them?”
“Well… they probably have their own method.”
Madam Ye Qian’s eyes darted around. “Why don’t you ask them what method they used?”
Eldest Brother Ye frowned. “What kind of thing is that to say? That’s their own secret. Besides, it’s not like I can’t catch rabbits myself.”
Madam Ye Qian muttered softly, “But if we knew the method, we could catch more.”
“No! Give up on that idea immediately. I won’t ask, and you’re not allowed to have Jian’an ask either.”
His firm attitude made Madam Ye Qian abandon the thought.
However, she wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
In the distance, Wu Dayou watched He Wanqing selling rabbits and quietly began plotting.
None of this reached He Wanqing’s ears. She was busy guiding the children in brushing seasoning onto the roasted rabbit.
Of the two rabbits, one was roasted over the fire while the other was braised. Their staple food tonight was steamed flatbread.
Soon the whole family wolfed down the meal. Even A Lan gnawed happily on a roasted rabbit leg.
Before long, the ground was littered with broken bones. The family of five and one wolf ate until their mouths glistened with grease.
Refreshing. It was simply too satisfying!
He Wanqing let out a contented breath toward the night sky.
Turning around, she saw the children still savoring the taste.
Even A Lan was so happy from eating that he rolled around on the ground.
That night, everyone slept soundly.