Chapter 29: Inviting Liu Er

  Waiting for Liu Jian to approach noon, selling wild vegetables from the city back to the mountain, good guy, a whole family, all bloody sitting outside the house, scared him so much that his legs immediately softened, his heart racing non-stop, standing in place with his mouth open several times, finally still biting his tongue tip, before trembling and opening his mouth:

  "What's wrong, Lan Niang? Don't tell me something has happened to you..."

  He was so excited at this moment that he didn't care about anything else, dropped the basket in his hand and rushed forward to grab Lan Niang's hand.

  She knew that this cheap father was more concerned about her mother than she was, looking at the obvious pig blood stains on her body compared to her mother's. She is now completely a bloody person, but he still didn't seem to notice, and now she doesn't care at all.

  De Si's toes curled up, his eyes slanted to glance at Liu Jian, who was clearly not in the mood, and pointed to the spoils of war he had obtained after leaving home today.

  "Dad, it's okay, we just caught all those wild boars, right there, see?!" Xiaozhi excitedly pointed at the boar lying on the ground, bleeding profusely and completely still.

  "Is that pig's blood all over your body?" Liu Jian was still a bit skeptical, and he circled around Lan Niang, sniffing at the blood on her clothes. He pinched some of the blood from her garment and put it to his nose, looking uncertain as he gazed at Lan Niang, waiting for her to speak.

  "Is there anyone like you? Pulling and dragging in front of the child?"

  Lan Niang pushed him away with one hand, her face slightly flushed, and turned her head to avoid looking at him.

  Liu Jian looked up and down, carefully sizing up Lan Niang for a while, seeing that her movements were agile and her energy was full, not like what he had thought, only then did he put down the heart that had been hanging in suspense.

  These years, this family has been safe and sound, except for that year when they escaped, covered in blood. Liu Jian's letting them stay on this mountain isn't without its aftereffects. The events of that year, the sudden change overnight, even he himself didn't anticipate it. Originally not good at managing things, he handed over most of the family property accumulated by his ancestors to Ouyang Fu to take care of, with only one thought in mind - accompanying Lian Niang, occasionally practicing a few punches and kicks, without many worries. Now, however, he's been beaten back to his original form, but he doesn't feel anything as long as Lian Niang is by his side.

  Suddenly seeing this family like this, he was really a little scared.

  After calming down, he came to the side of these four wild boars, stroking his chin and lifting his head, grinning from ear to ear, somewhat disbelievingly staring at this big guy, with his eyes moving back and forth between several children and the two parties lying motionless.

  Jian Zhi Xiao still excitedly gathered the three struggling little wild boars, occasionally giving them a kick. Only then did his heart completely calm down, and he smiled foolishly, "Is it this big wild boar's blood that dyed all of you like this?" Liu Jian wanted to ask again.

  Until everyone gave him a satisfactory answer, he finally put his heart at ease. Laughing with narrowed eyes, this big guy was really real, looking at the fatness, it had to be said that he was also as greedy as Zhi Xiao.

  Having gone around in circles, some have become melancholy.

  Liu Jian looked at the wild boar lying on the ground and thought it was not a good idea, what to do, had to take care of it, otherwise although the weather would not spoil immediately, after a long time, there would be a difference in taste.

  "Unless I go down the mountain now and invite that Liu Er?" Liu Jian asked, seeking Lan Niang's opinion.

  Lingnu thought for a moment and nodded.

  This Liu Erbie is not like those in the village who have a bad impression of their own family, and is also the husband of Zao Hua who lives next door. After coming down from the battlefield, he has been quite unapproachable in the village, who dares to provoke someone who came back from the battlefield?

  To say that the villagers have a deep-seated fear of that place is no exaggeration. In recent years, many people from neighboring villages who went there never returned, and those who managed to come back were all seasoned veterans with nerves of steel.

  You say that this kind of person, a villager who was born and raised in this remote mountain village, is revered with some fear?

  The villagers are absolutely aware of the current situation and are very clever, they will never provoke such people.

  ……

  Now Zhao knows that the big mountain pig is circling around, Mu Tian is squatting on the ground, estimating today's hard work, and in exchange for being able to eat pork every day in the future, even if he doesn't ask for it. This circling mountain pig doesn't stop, and Zhao's eyes are shining brightly, unable to bear it. In the future, there will definitely be delicious and fragrant big fat meat, thinking about it makes him cover his mouth and laugh secretly.

  Occasionally glancing at the side, busy taking out a kitchen knife from the house, squatting on the ground to compare, not knowing where to start, with a serious expression and furrowed eyebrows.

  "Look at this wild boar, how big it is!"

  "Approaching with humble steps and a sincere attitude, hoping to draw sufficient attention from those who know."

  Although he is only over 7 years old, but today he made a great effort, thinking of his little arms and legs still sore.

  These months, Zhi Xiao has been treating him like a little errand boy, making him run around and do chores. Sometimes he gets angry and scolds her, but she just goes up to him wanting to fight. It's a very tiring job, but it's much better than snatching candy from his hand in the past. Because of what happened last time when they secretly played a trick on that brother and sister together, he is more willing to get close to Zhi Xiao.

  "When Dad Liu brings the lame man down from the mountain, after we finish killing the pig, I'll show you my skills. You can tell me where you want to eat this pig." Zhi Xiao said with a broad mind.

  "This leg is delicious, I saw Li Dazhuang and his wife secretly gnawing on it in their own room." Mu Tian said with drool, emphasizing as he spoke.

  Zhī xiǎo zhí zǒu méi, zhàn qǐ shēn lì hè yī shēng, "nǐ zhè ge jiù zhè diǎn chū xī, jiù kěn zhū jiǎo de fèn!"

  Translation:

  Zhao Xiao frowned and stood up, shouting loudly, "You only have this much ability, you're only worthy of gnawing on pig's trotters!"

  Lan Niang shouted at her, glaring at her, and immediately changed her tone with a sly smile: "You little scoundrel, you're quite good at eating. This pork trotter is best braised in red sauce, simmered over low heat for several hours, with plenty of seasonings added, until it's tender and falls apart, skin and meat together."

  Zhi Xiao glanced at Lan Niang and Er Ni, shaking her head with a helpless smile as she entered the house. Did they think she couldn't do it? In fact, she could also cook, but the taste was slightly different from that of a master chef. However, when it came to eating, there was no difference at all.

  Knowing how to cook, used to be a single person's life, somehow had to get something for themselves, so searched online for a lot of information. Since arriving here, there are Ling and Erni in charge, and she doesn't have much to do with her hands either, just watching them work, anyway the taste is fine. She generally won't have too high expectations, especially when living materials are scarce.

  Now she knew that when she said it, she also got carried away with her own words, and as she thought about it, her whole body started to feel a bit itchy and swollen.

  "Uh, I love eating anything, as long as it's made by Sister Zhi Xiao." Mu Tianyan said with a flushed face, looking up at Zhi Xiao.

  "You little scamp, you're so sly!" Zhi Xiao patted him on the head, "You're already good at flattering people and sucking up to them at such a young age?"

  Lan Niang and Er Nian came out of the house, both of whom had already changed their clothes. The two couldn't stand the smell of pig blood on their bodies. Zhi Xiao and Mu Tian didn't want to wash now, but wanted to wait here for Liu Er Cui to come and kill the pigs. If they accidentally splashed again later, wouldn't it be a waste of washing?

  ……

  Liu Erbie has been the village's sole pig butcher since he was injured in battle and retired. Every household, whenever they have a red or white event, would invite him to slaughter pigs, which he is happy to do. After each slaughter, he can bring some meat back home. However, this happens only a few times a year. The village is poor, and no one kills pigs for food unless necessary, instead raising them to sell to the pork merchants in town for some cash.

  Liu Jian ran to tell Liu Erbie, and as soon as he said it, he was delighted. His two eyes shone brightly as he patted Liu Jian's shoulder, and he had been craving this good dish to go with his wine for some time.

  He went back to the house with a smile, and after exchanging a few words with his wife, Zao Hua, he changed into a tattered and blood-stained coarse cloth garment and followed him out.

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