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The husband and wife are the only ones who know about Wei Dong’s injury.
In Wei Dong’s opinion, it was a matter of the past, but his husband was angry with him because of it, so he had to pay attention to it now, and reminded himself to be careful in the future, and estimated that if he got injured again, his husband would really make a fuss
As for Tang Xu, he had other worries. After all, in a week, Tang Li and Liu Yao would get married, and he didn’t want to tell them about it.
The big stone slab was there, and Liu Yao was holding a knife, trying to sever the neck of the deer Wei Dong had twisted. He couldn’t figure out how to cut it.
“What are you stalling for?” Tang Erhu looked at him, glancing left and right. He couldn’t help but urge, “Hurry up! What time is it?”
Liu Yao held the knife in his right hand and scratched his head with his left, looking awkwardly at Tang Erhu. “Dad, I don’t know how.”
Tang Erhu furrowed his brows and said in disgust, “What’s so hard about it? Just make a cut on the belly, peel off the skin, and that’s it.” He raised his hand to demonstrate.
Liu Yao shook his head. “No, I’m afraid I’ll ruin the skin. It’s better to wait for my brother-in-law to come. I can help with the skinning process, but I’ve never peeled the skin myself.”
Wang Cuicui had already boiled the hot water. Seeing the two of them talking, she walked over and asked, “Why aren’t you starting?”
“The coward won’t use the knife,” Tang Erhu glared at Liu Yao, reaching out to grab the knife from his hand. “Give it to me.”
Liu Yao dodged and moved the knife out of his father’s reach. “Dad, don’t make trouble. If the skin is intact we can sell it as a whole, we can get a lot of silver for it.”
“What’s worth a lot of silver?” Tang Xu walked over and overheard the conversation.
Liu Yao turned around and saw him and Wei Dong behind him. He quickly said, “Brother Xu, Brother-in-law, you two finally made it. Dad said to cut the belly, but I’m afraid to do it. The skin can’t have any damage. If we sell it as a whole, we can get quite a bit of silver.”
He handed the knife to Wei Dong. “Brother-in-law, you do it. I’m afraid I’ll ruin it.”
Wei Dong nodded lightly, took the knife, and walked over. Without hesitation, he made the cut.
It was also a cut across the abdomen, but his hand was very steady. He sliced the male deer cleanly in half and then began to peel the skin.
The scene was too bloody. Tang Xu glanced at it for a moment and then looked away. “I’ll go cook. You can put the meat in the cold storage to freeze.”
The backyard was bustling with activity. Wei Dong and Liu Yao were cutting the meat and chopping the bones, while Tang Erhu stood by, flipping the deer antlers and inspecting them. “These things are so hard. Can we still sell them?”
“Herbal shop will take them.” Wei Dong had sold deer antlers before. He had picked them up from the mountain after they had fallen off the deer. He could sell them to the herbal shop for a good price.
Tang Erhu nodded. “As long as they can be sold, that’s fine.”
He placed the deer antlers to the side and then glanced at the internal organs in the basin. He clicked his tongue and said, “These are all good stuff, very nourishing.”
Wei Dong replied, “You can soak them in wine.”
Tang Erhu asked, “How did you catch two male deer? Aren’t they in herds?”
Wei Dong then explained the process of his hunting, “The deer herds go deeper into the mountains, but I don’t follow them. That area has a lot of wild beasts, and it’s dangerous to go in.”
Tang Erhu nodded seriously, patting Wei Dong’s shoulder and saying with concern, “Now that you have a family and a business, you don’t need to risk it for just a few small things. If you get injured by a wild beast, what would your whole family do?”
Wei Dong responded, “I know.”
Tang Erhu sighed. He looked at Wei Dong and didn’t notice any injuries. He realized that the blood he saw on the deer antlers earlier was probably just a mistake on his part.
Tang Xu was busy in the kitchen with Tang Li and Tang Mei, while everyone else went to the backyard to watch the excitement.
It was early in the morning, and the gloomy sky was now brightened by the happy expressions of everyone. Several children were excitedly gathering around the deer antlers placed on the ground, making loud exclamations.
Even though Yue Ge’er was a child himself, he still acted very maturely, standing nearby to keep an eye on the little ones, afraid they would trip and fall onto the deer antlers.
He was shocked at how capable Wei Dong was. He remembered hearing others talk about Wei Dong before—though he looked fierce and terrifying, he was actually a kind-hearted person.
That’s why he decided to take a gamble, betting that Wei Dong, despite his cold exterior, would have a warm heart and accept him.
He was lucky, and he had won the bet.
Now, his life was something he never even dared to dream about.
“Brother Yue!”
At the sound of the soft, sticky little voice, he was pushed on the arm. Yue Ge’er snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see it was Xiao Bao.
Yue Ge’er immediately smiled and asked, “What’s up?”
“We’ll go see what Dad’s cooking,” Er Bao pulled Xiao Bao’s hand, and both brothers looked at Yue Ge’er. “I’m hungry.”
Xiao Bao nodded as well, also hungry.
Since being scolded by his father, Xiao Bao had been eating much better than before. At least now, he could finish half a bowl of rice without leaving anything behind.
Yue Ge’er reached out, taking one brother in each hand. “Let’s go then.” After walking a couple of steps, he turned around and saw the chubby little one following. He asked, “Aren’t you coming?”
The chubby boy turned around and ran over, grinning. “I’m coming! I’m hungry too. I don’t know what Dad’s making.”
Tang Xu had finished boiling the dumplings, placing several bowls aside to cool, and ladled a spoonful of soup into each bowl.
“Dad! What’s for dinner?” Er Bao was the first to rush in through the door curtain and immediately jumped into Tang Xu’s lap.
“Can you be a little more careful?” Tang Xu set down the big ladle in his hand. Fortunately, when Er Bao jumped on him, the ladle with hot soup wasn’t in his hand, or it would have spilled all over him.
Er Bao tilted his head, smiling mischievously as he coquettishly said to Tang Xu, “Dad, Dad, it smells so good! What did you make? We’re so hungry!”
Because Wei Dong had suddenly returned, the breakfast originally made wasn’t enough. So, Tang Xu quickly made some dumplings in soup.
After serving a few bowls for the children to eat, he went to call the elders over, serving them porridge with small biscuits and pickled vegetables so they could eat too.
“Call your dad over to eat as well.” Old Wen, using his chopsticks to pick up a small biscuit, took a bite of the crispy outer layer and was immediately burned by the hot, fragrant meat juice.
He blew on it a couple of times and then added, “Wait until it cools down.”
Tang Xu responded with a “yes” and, after making sure the kids were eating well, went out through the door to the main hall and then to the backyard to call them for dinner.
Wei Dong and Liu Yao had already finished cutting up the two deer. The meat and bones were moved to the cold storage to be frozen, ready for the upcoming feast.
The deer heart, blood, and antlers were left to be taken to the town’s herbal shop after they finished eating since they would spoil if kept at home.
“Is everything done?” Tang Xu glanced at the clean cutting board and then at the two large jars next to it. “Is that deer blood?”
“Mm, the herbal shop will take it. Why?” Wei Dong pulled his hand over to take a look. “Be more careful next time.”
Tang Xu snorted lightly and nodded toward the jars. “Send it to Old Wu, ask him to make deer blood wine, and we’ll keep some for ourselves to drink.”
“In that case, we won’t sell any of it. Let’s keep it for the old man.” Wei Dong raised his hand and put it around Tang Xu’s shoulder, smiling as he leaned in. “What’s for dinner? I hadn’t had my fill in the mountains.”
Tang Xu shot him a sideways glance but ultimately changed the subject.
1 Comments
Thank you for your hard work 🙇
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