Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 9: Dividing the Meat and the Sophistication of the World
  The old sow in front of me is estimated to weigh around two hundred pounds.

Xu Ning held a hunting knife and quickly bled out the blood, disemboweled the body and took out the lantern hanger. Li Fuqiang stood beside him and threw the lantern hanger onto the branch.

Then he watched Xu Ning's knife move very quickly, unloading the entire pig in a short time.

While Li Fuqiang was holding the bag, Xu Ning was loading the unloaded meat into the bag.

Xu Chunlin ran over and shouted, "Put the hindquarters, elbows, ribs, and fat into this bag."

Xu Ning tilted his head and asked, "Is this Gaha?"

"Give it to your eldest brother! Why do you want your eldest brother to accompany you to the mountains for nothing?"

Xu Chunlin raised his eyes sideways and said in a bad tone.

The ‘big brother’ he calls is Li Fuqiang.

Xu Ning also reacted and said: "Don't we have to go home and separate them? Why don't we just put them on the mountain and separate them?"

"Why don't you go home and let the villagers watch you divide the meat? This time it's a siege organized by the forest farm. Otherwise, can your second uncle and I have time to go up the mountain? Then we will give the eggs to the forest farm. Let's take back the two old sows. You have to eat at home. You don’t know anything but this worldly thing, you have to learn it!”

Xu Ning suddenly realized that Xu Chunlin had thought very carefully.

Although it may seem a bit tricking to others, this approach can ease a lot of relationships.

Just say that a few people were hunting prey in the mountains, and when they were carrying it home, they were watched by the villagers. Do they have to help unload the pigs?
  After unloading the pig, can you ask someone to help me for free? Why don't we cut off some meat to express our gratitude? Otherwise, how can we get along with each other in the future?
  Therefore, everyone unloaded the pigs on the mountain and packed them in bags. Even if people in the village saw them, they would not ask too much.

Otherwise, in normal times, if a wild boar is shot, it will only be bled and disemboweled on the mountain.

Because dragging a whole pig down the mountain is much easier than carrying pork down the mountain.

After Li Fuqiang heard this from the side, he felt a little embarrassed and said: "Uncle, I didn't do much..."

"What do you call me?"

"Uncle." Li Fuqiang was stunned.

"Then you take whatever I tell you to take, why are you talking so much? Let me see what's going on with your hands?"

Li Fuqiang's hand holding the bag was trembling a little. Xu Chunlin noticed it carefully and asked.

"It's okay. I got burned when I took the gun."

When Xu Ning heard this, he spread his hands and saw two blisters as big as soybeans.

"Brother, why don't you say anything?"

"No big deal."

Xu Chunlin said: "I will go home later. There is badger seed oil at home. After dinner, you can take it home and apply it for two days."

Li Fuqiang smiled and said: "No, my family..."

Xu Ning scolded him and said, "Brother, my dad wants you to go home for dinner."

"Ah? Ah! Okay, then I'll bother my uncle and aunt."

"What's the trouble? You two hurry up and load the meat."

"Eh."

Li Fuqiang nodded heavily with a smile.

This was the first time in these years that he accepted an invitation to eat at someone else's house.

With his reputation, others wanted to avoid him, but why did Xu Chunlin extend his warm invitation today?

Didn't you spot Li Fuqiang's move to help Xu Ning?
  People, you help me, I help you, and the affection slowly accumulates.

Xu Chunlin picked up the gun and old foreign cannon from the snow shell, looked at the badly damaged old foreign cannon, and said nothing.

He also knew the reputation of this old foreign cannon. When he and Li Fuqiang's father played together, he heard his father say that this old foreign cannon was of great significance to Lao Li's family.

Now in order to help Xu Ning, I made a mess...

Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang loaded up the meat, each carried a bag and gathered towards Xu Chunlin.

"Qiangzi, the handle of this gun is broken. One day I'll ask Meng Laizi to make another handle for you. Once it's done, hang this gun at home and don't take it out. If you want to go hunting, go get this gun from home. .”

Xu Chunlin patted the shotgun on his back and said.

This was also a father's way of returning love to his son. Xu Ning could only stand aside and smile secretly.

With his relationship with Li Fuqiang, there was no need to be so quarrelsome.

But Li Fuqiang was overwhelmed by Xu Chunlin's enthusiasm.

He waved his hands repeatedly: "Uncle, no need... I usually put a clip when I go up the mountain, and I don't need a gun when I put the holster on." Xu Chunlin said with a straight face: "Then what, you just stay at home from now on? This Erning Aren’t you going to go up the mountain for a siege? You can follow me then, I’ll rest assured.”

Xu Ning didn't say anything. His father was also a sharp-tongued man, so why didn't he find teammates for his son?

"Ah, then I understand, okay! Don't worry, uncle, I will definitely follow."

Xu Chunlin nodded, glanced at Xu Ning, and scolded: "What are you looking at? Let's go home!"

Xu Ning grinned, then picked up the bag containing the old sow's pork and walked down the mountain.

Li Fuqiang, Xu Chunlin, Wang Hu, and Liu Daming also followed behind carrying their own bags.

Not long after, several people saw Wang Erli and Xu Long pretending to be meat.

The old sow he shot was not big. After unloading it, it weighed less than 200 kilograms. After removing the bones, only 100 kilograms of clean meat remained.

After a few people gathered together, they headed towards Qing'an Village.

On the way, Xu Chunlin and Wang Erli joked a few words from time to time, and sometimes even chatted quietly.

Wang Hu leaned next to Xu Ning and kept asking him how he learned to unload pigs. Xu Ning had no choice but to use the excuse of "there are many people in the street" and dismissed him.

Xu Long stared at the back of his brother's head from behind, secretly cruel, if Xu Ning tried to make money again, he would work with Xu Laowen to kill him!
  With this method of unloading pigs, if you don't go to the slaughterhouse, you can still make ends meet by going to the slaughterhouse.

Why bother wandering around all day?
  As the saying goes, it is easier to go up the mountain than to go down, let alone this mountain road covered with snow.

The group rested several times, ate the pancakes and pickles in the aluminum lunch boxes, and walked for nearly two hours before reaching the edge of Qing'an Village.

Xu Chunlin and Wang Erli sent the shaved egg meat to the Tuenbu, and then the Tuenbu distributed the meat to the families of the Qing'an Forestry Farm in the village.

When they were saying goodbye, Xu Chunlin said to Li Fuqiang.

"Qiangzi, please send the meat back. When you're done, ask your partner and children to go home and help your aunt and the others with their work."

"Eh."

Li Fuqiang responded.

In fact, he was in a bit of a dilemma.

Because of his tendency to irritate others when he drinks, the relationship between his wife Yang Shuhua and him is almost on the verge of collapse!
  Normally, the two of them don't talk much at home, and all their communication depends on a pair of twins.

But there was nothing wrong with Yang Shuhua's behavior. Even if she didn't like Li Fuqiang anymore, she would prepare three meals a day and not let Li Fuqiang go hungry.

The third house you enter from Tunxitou is Li Fuqiang's house.

He stood at the door for a moment. Seeing this, Xu Ning took the initiative and said, "Brother, should I come into the house with you?"

His words relieved Li Fuqiang's urgent need, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Xu Ning handed the meat bag on his shoulder to Xu Long and asked the three uncles to go back first.

Immediately, the two walked into the courtyard, and Li Fuqiang shouted from a distance: "Daughter-in-law, brother is coming home."

Yang Shuhua was making cotton-padded jackets and trousers for the children in the west room. When she heard the sound, she put down her work and walked to the outhouse.

Just as Xu Ning and the two entered the house, she did not lose face. Instead, she smiled and nodded: "Brother is here. Let's eat at home tonight. My sister-in-law will make vinegar cabbage for you."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "I'm afraid not today, sister-in-law, you have to go home with me for dinner."

"Have a meal?"

Yang Shuhua was a little confused.

Since marrying Li Fuqiang, she has not been invited to anyone's home for dinner.

Because since the death of Li Fuqiang's father, the old Li family has no friendly relations with the people in the village.

"Ah, that's what happened..."

As soon as Xu Ning told what happened on the mountain, Yang Shuhua understood.

She waved her hand and declined politely: "Brother, how can I not know who he is? How can I help him? You're welcome."

"Sister-in-law, I'm not polite to you. It was my dad who told me to eat, not me."

Yang Shuhua was stunned for a moment and nodded: "Ah... but my two kids haven't finished school yet."

"Can't they come back with my Feng'er? I'll go to the village to welcome them. It just so happens that you can help my mother and the others with their work at home."

Feng'er, named Xu Feng, is Xu Ning's sister.

(End of this chapter)