Hard work

Chapter 3 Squirrel Soup

The news that Lan Hua'er went to the deep mountains behind the village really caught people's attention.

It is said that a nest of bandits lived in that hill.The villagers were originally simple farmers, and there had never been any hunters. Since someone in the town heard that there were bandits in the hills, fewer people went there.

When Lan Huaer came back, many people stretched their necks curiously and looked over there.

Most people feel sympathy.

The village is nothing more than such a big place, and the situation of any family can't be hidden from others.Gaihua's family was really cut off from food, and that's why they were forced to go to the mountains.

Naturally, there are also those who snoop around and try to take advantage of it.

"Lan Huaer, are you going to the mountain? Did you find something good? Come here and let your uncle see it?"

Lan Hua'er didn't even recognize any of those people.

But she had already thought about what to do, so she shook her head at those people:
"No... I didn't find anything..."

A woman with a long face laughed out loud with a "huh", her voice full of sarcasm:

"Lan Hua'er, you are coaxing your aunt. What are you doing with the hem of your skirt if you haven't found anything?"

"No...I fell down, blood...I'm afraid it will get on the hem of my skirt."

Everyone in the village knows that Lan Huaer is honest.

And now she lifted her skirt up again, revealing her red and swollen ankles.The long-faced woman had a somewhat embarrassed look on her face, and said falteringly:

"Little girl, why are you so careless? What is there to do in the back mountain? Just take a look..."

There was a kind and strong man next to him and asked:
"Does it matter if you are injured? Do you want to go to the village to find Li Langzhong?"

Lan Hua'er lowered her head shyly and shook again, saying:
"I have to go back to see the dog eggs."

Then he dragged his legs and walked over in a hurry.

Later, the burly man who spoke didn't turn his head to stare at the long-faced woman until Lan Hua'er had gone far away, and said:
"You rascal, you even want to bully a little girl. If it's easy to go to the back mountain, why don't you let the handsome brother in your family go, wait until now? Seeing him go, your eyes won't turn, bah. You see what happened to the family."

The long-faced woman moved her lips embarrassingly, wanting to justify a few words, but she was really afraid of the man's staring gaze, so she quickly hid in her room.

Lan Hua'er didn't know that there was someone behind her to help her speak.

She is very excited now.

After walking through the main road of the village, he couldn't help but started to trot.

The shoes under her feet were a little too big and worn out, and she couldn't even care about the bumpy running.All she wanted was to take the things home quickly, and send them to Goudan and her own stomach as soon as possible.

When she pushed the door open, Goudan sat obediently on the kang, sucking his fingers and looking at her with a dull expression on his face.His eyes lit up when he saw her sister, and slowly came alive.

"sister!"

"Be good...my sister will get you something to eat."

When saying this, Lan Hua'er was also taken aback.

Goudan couldn't be more obedient.In the past, every boy she had seen at this age didn't run around like a machine that couldn't stop, wreaking havoc, and couldn't even stop for a minute.It makes people feel abnormal to sit like Goudan all the time.

She asked Goudan:

"Aren't you going out to play?"

Goudan shook his head obediently:
"……hungry."

Maybe it’s because you’re more likely to get hungry if you move a lot.

Lan Hua'er felt sour in her heart, she almost couldn't cry.

There are no extra utensils or knives in the house.She wiped off the small ladle used to spoon water, and temporarily put the fruit in it.

Goudan stared curiously at the side.She crushed two pine cones with her hands, and stuffed the nuts into Goudan's mouth.

When she was still a modern person, her elders and doctors taught her not to feed children with fine grains.

But now they are about to starve to death, who cares about this.

Poor children, their lives are naturally less valuable.

Goudan sucked what was in his mouth, and bit it again. He felt that the taste was really good, and his face suddenly became happy.

He looked helplessly at the fruit in the ladle, but didn't ask for it.

What a good boy - thought Lan Huaer.

The next problem was that she searched all over the house, not to mention knives, but she couldn't even find a needle.

The family is also really poor.

She wanted to go to the next door to borrow a knife, but she dismissed the idea as soon as it surfaced.They have always only had porridge made of brown rice mixed with some wild vegetables at home, and they don't need a knife at all, so there is no preparation in the house.If she wanted to go to the side to borrow a knife, she would naturally have to think of a perfect excuse.

Now all she could think about was the squirrel that was about to be boiled, and she couldn't think of any excuse.

Fortunately, Lan Hua'er has good hands-on ability.

She scalded the squirrel's fur over the fire, then slit its stomach with a piece of stone she'd picked up from the door—the thinnest, sharpest piece she could find.She boiled the stone in boiling water for a long time.

Goudan sucked his saliva on the side, stammering and asking:
"Sister...sister...flesh?"

Lan Hua'er wanted to reach out and touch Goudan's little head, but found that her hands were covered in blood, so she could only smile over there:

"Well. Let's eat meat tonight."

Goudan's shining eyes made Lan Hua'er feel distressed again.

Alas, she was always concerned about this little brother who was so skinny that he only had brains left.

After Lan Hua'er finished dealing with the squirrel in her hands, many bloodstains appeared on her hands.She was in high spirits.

The squirrel was cut open and washed clean, and all the fur was scalded off.She was reluctant to use salt as a squirrel blood clot, so she didn't bleed the squirrel at all.

There are no other seasonings in the house except a little salt.She didn't know the situation in the village, and she didn't dare to go out and ask others to borrow things.Then imitating the method of making stewed chicken in the previous life, I stuffed the peeled pine nuts into the squirrel's stomach, hoping that the fruit would absorb a little fishy smell.

The squirrel is not fat at all, and the meat is not tender.

Originally, she still wanted to be a roast squirrel, but she was reluctant to let the rare little fat of the squirrel drip into the fire.

In the end, she made a pot of squirrel and pine nut soup, broke out a small piece of salt and threw it in.

The soup was not good at all, mixed with the unwashed fishy smell and blood smell of the squirrel.There were sporadic oily spots floating on the soup seasoned only with coarse salt, and she felt no appetite when she smelled it.

Although she was not considered pampered in her previous life, she has always lived a good life.

Where have I eaten such a bad meal.

Goudan drank so much that he almost swallowed his tongue.

"Sister... sister eat."

Xiaowazi stammered and brought half a bowl of soup to Lan Huaer.

Such a good boy.

Lan Hua'er bit her lower lip, nodded and said yes.

She told herself, I want to protect this child.

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(End of this chapter)