Chapter 8:
“Husband, you’ve been busy all day, are you tired? Are you hungry? I’ll go make you something to eat…”
Li Sanmao came in planning to change clothes and was stunned when he heard her say that; they actually hadn’t spoken for several days.
It was often like this, but he felt today was really strange—his wife even knew to care about him, whether he was hungry or not?
Speaking of making food, Miaomiao had just said her mom made her snake soup today!
She went to catch snakes?
She even knew how to make snake soup? How was her courage so great? Before, when she saw him kill prey, she would mock him a few times…
Before, when he came back from hunting, she ran the farthest to avoid him, afraid he would get close to her…
Not to mention taking the initiative to cook for him; usually, his mom leaving him some leftovers was already pretty good!
It was still his father who would assign his mom to make something; his mom would reluctantly whip up some casual meal to brush him off.
Ever since she married over, this casual meal duty had been handed to her, and actually it tasted even worse than what mom made.
One was that there was limited grain and vegetables at home.
Two was that deep down she didn’t care at all what he liked to eat; she just did it to complete the task.
“Good!”
“Wife, these are the wild eggs I found in the forest today, and some quail eggs, and some bird eggs from bird nests…”
“You put them away, and later find a chance to figure out how to cook them, to nourish yourself!”
Li Sanmao carefully pulled a hemp cloth bag from his bosom and secretly stuffed it into her hand.
He had given the other things to the family, but he hadn’t handed these eggs to his mom; his wife’s health wasn’t good, and if given to his mom, they probably wouldn’t reach her mouth.
Luo Zhi’er didn’t act pretentious and stepped forward to take them. “Thank you, husband.”
She didn’t disdain the smell on his body.
She had thought that to gain a foothold in this family, first she needed to be of one heart with her husband, to get him on her side.
Li Sanmao at least knew how to hunt; she couldn’t be at odds with him.
Secondly, find a chance for family division, or else she’d be a slave her whole life!
“Then wife, I’ll go out first to process the wild boar.”
“Mm.”
Li Sanmao changed into the clothes he usually wore for chopping meat and went out, lit a large torch and stuck it on the big wooden bucket.
He began cleaning the wild boar with dad, oldest brother, and second brother; Luo Zhi’er went to the kitchen and brought out the bowl of snake soup she had secretly saved for him.
Seeing that he had hidden so many eggs for her, she would return the favor…
She fried a few wild eggs in pork fat, and the kitchen immediately smelled fragrant…
Luo Zhi’er quickly put the eggs in a bowl at the bottom and covered them with corn grits.
She scooped some sour vegetable dish into the pot and stir-fried it, then neatly placed it on top…
Zhou Shi smelled the aroma and ran in; the family didn’t lack animal oil—Li Sanmao often hunted, and the extra scraps and fatback were used to render oil…
Zhou Shi inspected all around and sniffed; she just felt like she had stolen her things…
She looked at Luo Zhi’er’s bowl piled high with pickled mustard greens and directed: “Casual meal, why did you use so much oil?”
“Mom, eating pickled mustard greens every day, frying with a bit of oil is just to give it some taste!”
“Hmph! Next time watch it, don’t use oil on everything!”
Only then did she leave satisfied.
Luo Zhi’er had also saved a small bowl of snake soup for Li Sanmao and brought it out together, making everyone else green with envy.
This little hoof dared to hide food, making them all not eat their fill.
“Yo, third aunt, you dare to hide food?”
“Mom, quick look!”
Li Zhenzhu was so angry her eyes flashed with fire; she knew it—she hadn’t gotten more than a few bites before it was gone, turns out she had hidden it…
“Heh heh, Zhenzhu, didn’t you all big ones eat at noon? Your third brother hunted all day without eating a bite; I finally caught a snake and simmered some soup, so I wanted to let him taste something fresh!”
It made Old Man Li’s face flush red…
The other two branches—oldest brother and second brother—were helping slaughter the pig.
Ears didn’t miss it and didn’t make a sound! Those two sisters-in-law were sharp; they glanced at Li Sanmao.
With so many people from the village in the yard today watching the wild boar slaughter, if word got out, would third wife get scolded for saving a bowl of soup for her man?
Old Man Li cared most about face; he didn’t want dislike under his nose and could only endure it…
Li Gui stood by with hands behind his back, a flash of disdain in his eyes.
He didn’t help slaughter the pig or chop meat, especially pig stomach and those things—the smell alone made people nauseous…
Luo Zhi’er observed everyone’s every move.
She sighed; without family division and eating from the big pot, doing anything felt like being a thief!
After slaughtering the pig, besides the village folks buying some meat here and there to take back, there were still about one or two hundred pounds of meat left.
The village sold cheaply; Old Man Li was also reluctant to sell too much…
They planned to go to town tomorrow to sell; of course Old Man Li’s three sons would go along, except the youngest son.
One was for the manpower, and two, afraid someone would pocket the silver from selling.
The silver from selling the meat was to be turned over to Zhou Shi for safekeeping.
