It was dusk, snow was slowly falling from the sky, and the muddy walkway under the city gate was covered with a light layer of white snow.
When it was time to close the city gate, four officers and soldiers moved out the heavy heavy wood standing by the wall and prepared to close the city gate.
At this time, a figure walked over from the avenue in the wind and snow.
This man was thin, carrying a bow and arrow on his shoulder, and dragging a simple sled made of tree branches in his hand, which carried a mountain of prey, and walked steadily towards them in the wind and snow.
Under the cover of dead branches, a few pieces of fur as white as snow were vaguely exposed, as well as the beast's blood-red eyes of fear and anger before it died.
The wide bamboo hat covered most of the man's face, leaving only a pointed chin exposed, which showed a bit of sharpness.
She walked to the bottom of the city, raised her head slightly, revealing a pair of dark eyes. The officers and soldiers who were about to close the door suddenly felt like rabbits being stared at by a powerful beast, and they trembled in their hearts.
Perhaps they were so shocked that when the man handed over a prey as a city tax, they forgot to reach out to take it.
The man glanced at them suspiciously, gently placed the wild wolf that had been shot through the eye by an arrow and died suddenly at their feet, and continued to pull the small mountain of prey into the city.
The eyes of several officials subconsciously followed her leaving figure. Her hair was messy and tied behind her head. Her linen clothes were dirty and messy. The sleeves were obviously scratched by wild beasts' claws in several places. You can imagine just by looking at the marks.
This shows the ferocity of human beings in hand-to-hand combat with ferocious beasts.
For a moment, I couldn't tell whether this person was a man or a woman.
But with such a fierce and murderous spirit, it couldn't possibly be a woman, right? Several officers and soldiers guessed in their minds with uncertainty.
Liu Rong, who was patrolling by the city gate as usual, was shocked!
He opened his eyes wide, as if he had seen some terrible monster. He stared blankly at the hill made of prey walking past him. It took him a long time to recover.
"That, that person, that person..." He seemed to want to say something to the people around him, but he opened and closed his mouth, and for a long time, he still couldn't get out the words.
Because he was not sure whether he had just seen the wrong person and recognized the wrong person.
Is she really a woman from the Xu family in the north of the city?
Perhaps only Liu Rong, who had met Wang once, dared to suspect that it was a woman, not a man.
Wang was undoubtedly conspicuous as he dragged the mountain of prey behind him on the street.
Even though it was getting late now and 90% of the pedestrians had gone home, as long as they were still on the street, they all stopped involuntarily and paid attention.
She didn't care about these looks, she just wanted to hurry up and get rid of the prey before the store closed.
Fortunately, the shop closed relatively late and Wang was able to catch up.
Mrs. Wang had already made an agreement with the shop owner. When the two met, the boss was surprised at first, but soon arranged for Mrs. Wang to go to the backyard to isolate the curious eyes.
When the dead branches that covered the prey were removed, even though he was mentally prepared, the shop owner still gasped in shock.
They are all foxes and wolves. This small hill is full of people, and they have kicked up everyone's nest!
The two of them did not exchange a word. The shop owner put away the prey, and Wang left the shop with three pieces of children's furs, a set of adult fur coats, two pieces of silk and one piece of linen.
When I passed the Chengxi Pork Shop, I saw the butcher slaughtering the pork for sale tomorrow morning, and I remembered that my three children at home were talking about making dumplings to eat every day.
Then he threw down another piece of linen, took away five kilograms of fine fat meat and five kilograms of fat and thin pork belly, and hurried home.
Unexpectedly, not long after she left, a man dressed as a knight-errant came to the shop, handed the shop owner a handful of money, and asked for information about her.
It's just that Mrs. Wang came mysteriously before and left as promised. It was already three days later today when we met again. It was dark, Mrs. Wang was wearing a bamboo hat and she didn't speak. The shop owner didn't even know her gender.
So, the inquirer only heard the shop owner say, "People from the north of the city, men, can use arrows, that's all."
...
When there was a "dong dong dong" knock on the door, it was already dark. Xu Yue and his daughter had already had dinner and were preparing to go to bed to rest.
Wang left for three days and didn't come back for two nights in a row. Xu Da was vaguely worried, but he didn't dare to show it.
Hearing the knock on the door, he jumped down from the kang with half of his body already on the kang. Without even wearing any fur clothes, he rushed to the courtyard door and opened the bolt.
The night was dark, and Xu Da was immediately delighted when he saw only a familiar silhouette.
However, the words that came out of his mouth were hard, "Do you know that when you go home, I thought you died on the mountain and were fed to the wild wolves!"
Mrs. Wang glanced at him coldly, her hands were so full that she couldn't spare any time to deal with the shabby man in front of her.
The three Xu Yue brothers ran out excitedly, and the two sisters each shouted "Aniang, Aniang!" Their excited little faces made Wang's heart warm.
"I'm back." She said, her voice hoarse.
Only then did Xu Yue notice her grandma's bloodshot eyes. The three brothers and sisters quickly took the things from grandma's hands, followed Mrs. Wang into the main room, and checked her up and down to see if she was injured.
Wang waved her hand to say that she was fine and signaled everyone not to worry. Under the surprised looks of the Xu Yue brothers and sisters, she distributed the furs she brought back to the three of them.
The other two pieces of silk were also given to Xu Yue and asked to be put away.
Ever since Xu Yue inspired Golden Finger, all the valuables at home will be entrusted to her for safekeeping.
Unknowingly, Xu Yue became the keeper of valuables in the family. Sometimes Xu Erniang and Xu Da had to come to her first if they wanted to spend a lot of money.
Xu Yue, who holds the economic power of a family, said that she feels both pain and happiness.
Outside the house, Xu Da had already lit the oil lamp again and was standing in front of the stove, breathing in the air-conditioning and jumping around while skillfully lighting a fire and boiling water to make a bowl of pimple noodle soup.
Mrs. Wang changed her clothes and washed her face. She sat on the warm fire pit and ate a bowl of pimple noodle soup. She didn't close her eyes for three days and two nights. Her tense body suddenly relaxed and she leaned against the wall, feeling helpless.
Falling asleep defensively.
Sister Xu Yue, who kept asking questions, calmed down. Under Xu Da's low voice, they went back to their rooms. If they had anything to say, they would wait until Wang had rested before talking.
Early the next morning.
Mrs. Wang was woken up by the strong aroma of meat. She only smelled a little smell, and she immediately guessed that her family was refining lard.
Mrs. Wang got dressed and stepped off the kang, opened the door, and saw the three Xu Yue brothers and sisters busy in front of the stove.
Xu Dalang was tall and stood in front of the stove boiling oil, while Xu Yue and Xu Erniang squatted under the stove to light the fire and pick up the crispy fried oil residue in the bowl to eat.
