“What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll do it in the back room. We’ll keep the doors and windows shut tight today—the smell won’t get out.
By tomorrow, the scent will have faded, and we’ll go about our business as usual.”
Wu Xiang had already planned it out. “Alright, go get that little stove of ours—we’ll use that to render the lard.”
“Got it—I’ll get it ready.”
He agreed readily, and even his steps out the door were lighter. The whole family was grinning from ear to ear over that piece of meat.
Back at the ancestral hall, Lin Xiaohe started making lunch.
First, she steamed the rice, then cut a large chunk of meat.
She didn’t add anything but soy sauce and chilies—just stir-fried a whole big plateful.
“Eating that much in one meal!” Xiaogu felt her jaw drop in disbelief. “I’ve never seen this much meat in my whole life.”
“Then you’ll see it from now on. Eating meat will become everyday for us.” Lin Xiaohe pointed her chin at the remaining meat in the basin. “There’s still plenty left—we’ll eat our fill of meat these next couple days.”
“Hehe~ hehehe~ hehehehe~”
Xiaogu cupped her cheeks in her hands, grinning like a complete goof.
Lin Xiaohe: “?”
No way—had she actually laughed herself silly?
“Stop that goofy laughing before you turn into a real fool. Pick up your bowl and eat.”
They still didn’t have a table. They lifted the bedding, set the bowls on the bed frame to eat, and wiped it clean afterward.
Then they laid the bedding back down and went to sleep.
“Ahhh! Jie-jie! Eat!”
“Xiaoman, wait a moment—after we’re done eating, we’ll feed you.”
Xiaoman smelled the meat and was drooling like crazy.
She kept going “Ahhh,” clearly desperate for a taste.
Lin Xiaohe popped a piece of meat into the little one’s mouth. “Wait a bit, okay? We’ll finish eating soon.”
“Xiaoman, come here—don’t bother your sisters.” Liu Yuexiu called to her youngest.
Xiaoman looked longingly at the food, then at her mother, and obediently sat down at the foot of the bed.
But she couldn’t stop her drool—it just kept flowing.
The front of her shirt was already soaked.
Lin Xiaohe wiped her mouth between bites, trying not to let the bed get wet. “Should’ve fed this little one first—look at all that drool.”
Xiaogu chimed in, “Right? How do those educated types say it? Oh yeah—’A waterfall cascading three thousand feet!’”
As if knowing her sisters were teasing her, Xiaoman pouted in displeasure.
Her drool stretched into long strings.
Lin Xiaohe noticed her appetite had been growing lately—today she’d had two full bowls of rice and a good amount of meat.
She felt satisfied. Eating more meant more energy!
And energy meant getting work done!
“Xiaogu, I’ll feed Xiaoman. You feed Mom and Dad.”
“Got it!”
Xiaoman had a decent appetite—she ate a whole bowl of rice and half a bowl of vegetables.
Stuffed and content, she curled up at the foot of the bed and fell asleep.
Her thin little face made her big eyes stand out even more. Who knew when they’d manage to fatten this little one up?
“Mom, Dad, keep an eye on Xiaoman. We’re heading over to the other side.”
“Go ahead, go ahead—two adults watching one kid, what’s there to worry about?”
Liu Yuexiu waved her good hand. Maybe it was the better food these past couple days, but her wounds didn’t hurt as much.
Lying still, she could sometimes forget she was even injured.
Was it because their family had been so unlucky that good fortune finally came their way?
Speaking of which, the jade pendant she wore had quite a story behind it.
There were all sorts of legends—true and false—floating around.
All she knew was that it had come from some wealthy family. Xiaohe was the first child, so naturally it was given to her to wear.
Who would’ve thought that this small jade pendant would have such miraculous powers—taking people centuries into the past and decades into the future?
…
“Here they come! Finally!”
Yuya hastily wrapped up her unfinished coarse-grain flatbread and stuffed it into her basket.
“Dad, stop eating—they’re here.” She caught him still eating out of the corner of her eye and snatched the bread right out of his hand.
How could he still be eating at a time like this?
Afraid something might go wrong, they’d gone back home, brought the villagers’ trade goods over, and grabbed two coarse-grain flatbreads. They’d been squatting by the pool all morning.
“We couldn’t carry anything too heavy. Here’s 20 jin of salt—take a look. If it’s not enough, I’ll bring more tomorrow. I can only carry this much in one trip.”
The salt was all packed in large red plastic bags, layered two or three times to prevent tearing.
They didn’t even need to open it—through the bags, they could already see the fine white salt.
Shen Shan’s voice grew excited. “We’ll take it back and distribute it. We’ll tell you tomorrow how much more we need—sound good?”
There were quite a few people in the village—this salt definitely wouldn’t be enough.
With a rare chance to get salt without begging and pleading, everyone would want to stock up at least one or two years’ worth.
Their village wasn’t big—only about a dozen households.
Each family had ten or so people.
Maybe a hundred people total.
“Sure, of course.” Lin Xiaohe nodded. “This one’s for you.”
She handed them a separate bag of salt.
They also brought over their baskets and carefully introduced what was inside.
Mostly dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and small jars of honey—each about half a jin.
All together, there was a good amount.
“You don’t have anything to carry your things in—take the baskets as a gift. They’re not worth much anyway—we made them ourselves.”
Yuya smiled so wide her eyes disappeared. “Can we trade for some fatty pork or lard tomorrow?”
Even though they were hunters, they were short on oil and fat—proper fat, at least.
Most of their catches had to be traded for grain. They might not see a wild boar for a year or two—and even then, most days they only caught a wild rabbit or chicken every few days. It wasn’t even enough to trade for grain.
They hardly ever got to eat meat themselves.
And neither rabbit nor chicken had much fat. Yuya was craving lard something fierce—she felt like she could eat an entire pot of it with a spoon.
“I can try, but I’m not sure. I’ll see if I can get some tomorrow.”
Lin Xiaohe didn’t promise outright. There were too many uncertainties—better not commit too firmly, or it’d be hard to explain if things fell through.
“Yay! That’s wonderful!”
Yuya’s eyes curved into happy crescents. “Then we’ll head back—the villagers are probably getting anxious.”
“Okay. Oh, and bring more wild greens—an extra ten or twenty jin or so.”
Suddenly remembering, Lin Xiaohe added.
Father and daughter’s eyes lit up. Wild greens were the easiest—even the kids could handle it without the adults!
“You got it, Xiaohe Jie! Don’t worry—it’ll be perfect. We’ll have it all ready for you tomorrow morning.”
After watching them walk off, the sisters drew some water and hurried home.
Xiaogu suggested, “Sis, it’s still early—should we go back to the other side? We said we’d buy fabric today but never did.”
“Alright, let me get Xiaoman cleaned up first, then we’ll go.”
Xiaoman hadn’t had a proper wash in a while. The weather was nice today, so they had to get her cleaned up no matter what.
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