Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside
Chapter 72 - 072 He Family Lu Family

Chapter 72: Chapter 072 He Family Lu Family

Qin San Lang felt it was a pity that today they had only wandered around the shallow mountain area of Dafeng Mountain and did not venture into the deep mountains. His original intention was to explore the deep mountains, but knowing that the adults would worry, he nodded and said, "Okay."

The others agreed as well, and each carried their belongings down the mountain.

That sack of snakes was a bit dangerous, so Qin San Lang didn’t let Gu Jinli carry it. Instead, he used a hoe as a carrying pole, with one end holding the sack of snakes and the other end carrying about twenty wild sweet potatoes.

Luo Wu was holding several large mountain rats, each weighing about half a pound.

The three wild chickens were carried by Luo Huiniang, Gu Jinli, and Tian Xiaohua.

Tian Xiaohua cherished the wild chicken greatly, holding the wingless, foot-tied bird in her arms, a smile covering her thin, dark face. Tian Erqiang followed closely beside her, occasionally reaching out his hand to protect the chicken.

Gu Jinli found it amusing yet also felt somewhat sad; the Tian siblings were like this because of their poverty, reminding her of the urgency to make money.

Gu Jinli withdrew her gaze from the Tian siblings and turned to look around. She looked at the especially tall trees, the small slope they had passed, and the distinctly shaped distant peaks.

She was memorizing the terrain of Dafeng Mountain, planning to return to the mountains in the future. Only by remembering the terrain could she avoid getting lost in the mountains.

Qin San Lang also had the habit of remembering the terrain. He looked at the characteristic scenery along the way and listened to the surrounding sounds. If he heard the sound of water, he would stop, memorize the surrounding scenery, and then continue walking.

They walked briskly for about two hours, and just as they were about to leave the mountain, Luo Wu couldn’t help but ask Gu Jinli, "Xiao Yu, is your family doing well?"

Gu Jinli smiled and said, "They are all doing fine."

Luo Wu, not quite satisfied with the response, frowned.

Gu Jinli ignored him and continued walking out of the mountain.

As they were about to exit the mountain, Luo Wu hurriedly caught up to Gu Jinli and asked softly, "Your sister, is she doing well?"

Gu Jinli turned back, flashed him a grin, and said, "She’s pretty good. My older sister has always been practicing those few defensive moves; you don’t need to worry."

With that, she said no more and turned to continue on her way.

Luo Wu would turn eighteen after the New Year, and his feelings for Gu Jinxiu were known not only to her but also to the adults of both families.

However, until the Luo Family formally proposed a marriage, she couldn’t talk much about Gu Jinxiu with Luo Wu. This was ancient times, where a single rumor could ruin a girl’s life.

Luo Huiniang, who didn’t think much of it, thought her big brother was just inquiring about Sister Xiu’s martial arts training. She said, "Big brother, don’t be too demanding of Sister Xiu. She’s not suited for martial arts; it’s already good enough that she can manage those few moves."

Sister Xiu was gentle and frail; when she was at her old home, she only used to do needlework and embroidery, practicing martial arts was too hard for her.

Luo Wu, embarrassed by Luo Huiniang’s words, uttered something to brush it off and then hurried along with the others.

After they got down the mountain, they took a big detour and finally returned to the path leading back to the Qin family house.

Third Grandma was standing on the path, anxiously looking towards the end of it. When she saw their figures, she breathed a sigh of relief, waved her hands at them, and called out, "Hurry up and come home, it’s getting dark."

They had left the mountain in the afternoon and had walked for two hours. It was already evening by the time they reached this point.

Several people saw Third Grandma and hurriedly ran to her.

Luo Huiniang held up a pheasant in her hand and said to Third Grandma, "Third Grandma, look, we caught a wild pheasant."

Third Grandma was astonished to see both pheasants and large rats in their hands: "How did you find so many good things?" All of this is meat.

Luo Huiniang tilted her chin up, somewhat proudly, "We are quite impressive, aren’t we?"

"Very impressive, you are all good children, let’s go, let’s go home," Third Grandma was very pleased and led them home.

The men from several families gathered at Gu Jinli’s house to discuss matters. Seeing them bring back so many items, Third Grandpa immediately decided, "Call everyone from the families, let’s have a good meal tonight, it’s been so long since we had meat."

Tian Erqiang immediately ran to inform the families.

Soon, the women from several families came with pots and pans, food supplies, and their families in tow.

Mrs. Chen was the most eager, grabbing two pheasants right away: "I’m great at slaughtering chickens, leave them to me, and I’ll make sure they are properly handled."

Because there were many people, amounting to about thirty mouths, and all craved meat intensely, two pheasants were not enough. Qin San Lang caught three more large rats to prepare, and soon had them beheaded, legged, skinned, and cut into evenly sized small pieces, taking them to Gu Family’s kitchen.

In Great Chu, mountainous rodents are referred to as mountain rats, but what they caught today were bamboo rats, which are actually quite plump.

Gu Jinli took bamboo rat meat chunks from Qin San Lang. He blanched them first, then washed them thoroughly. First, he rendered some fat from the bamboo rat itself, then he poured the bamboo rat meat chunks into the iron pot, slow-frying them over low heat until the meat pieces were shiny golden and aromatic.

Mrs. Chen watched the bamboo rat meat in the iron pot, swallowing her saliva: "Xiao Yu, this smells too delicious."

Unable to resist, Mrs. Chen actually reached into the pot and grabbed a piece of bamboo rat meat, stuffing it into her mouth.

Seeing this, Gu Jinli smiled and said, "Aunt Gui, the meat isn’t thoroughly cooked yet. Eating it now might lead to worms in your stomach, according to medical books."

Mrs. Chen’s face stiffened, and she hastily spit out the meat from her mouth.

Mrs. Cui, Ms. Chu, Ms. Yan, and Aunt Tian were all used to Mrs. Chen’s behavior and kept busy without commenting on her actions.

Third Grandma couldn’t stand it anymore, scolding Mrs. Chen: "Can’t you wait a bit longer? You’ve spoiled such a big piece of meat."

Mrs. Chen knew she shouldn’t have been greedy, but she couldn’t help herself. However, since Third Grandma ranked higher, she didn’t dare to retort and could only give an embarrassed smile and go back to stewing chicken soup.

As darkness fell, the women from several families brought forth a big pot of stir-fried bamboo rat, a large pot of chicken soup, a basket of steamed sweet potatoes, and a big pot of soybean and old rice porridge.

Each family had brought old rice and soybeans, making up a full pot.

In the main hall, a fire was burning with two torches standing. Thirty-some people from several families sat around the fire, enjoying this rare, sumptuous meal under the light of the fire.

The children from these families were even happier, they didn’t even use chopsticks, directly grabbing with hands, ending up with oil-smudged faces.

After a joy-filled dinner, Elder Qin began discussing issues about Da Feng Village with the families: "Da Feng Village has two prominent surnames: the He and Lu families. The He family has lived in Da Feng Village the longest and produced the most village chiefs. Most He family members are decent, but there are a few troublemakers and slackers, like He Sanlai, He Shanwa, and He Dacai. Keep your distance from them and if you come across them alone, it’s better to detour."

"Lu family moved to Da Feng Village over a hundred years ago, they are not as senior as the He family. But the Lu Family Patriarch, who is Old Master Lu, has money, owns several shops in the county, and his daughter is a concubine to the County Magistrate, having given birth to a son and daughter for him, and she holds some status at the County Governor Mansion. Hence, Old Master Lu is quite domineering in Da Feng Village, even Village Chief He is intimidated by him."

"The intimidating act towards us was demanded by Old Master Lu for Village Chief He to carry out."

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