As soon as Zhang Shuzhen heard the commotion outside, she threw down the kitchen knife in her hand, opened the door and went out.
Just at this time, Sheng Xiping and others were dragging a sledge into the yard.
"Where have you gone? Why didn't you come back last night? How far have you traveled?"
Zhang Shuzhen didn't notice what the children were dragging back, and she asked several questions when meeting people.
"Mom, we went a little far yesterday and couldn't make it back in the evening, so we stayed in the mountains.
You see, this is the prey we hunted, much older.
This time, put the meat away properly, it will be just in time for my wedding and celebration."
Sheng Xiping dragged the sledge into the yard and explained to his mother with a smile.
When Sheng Xiping said this, Zhang Shuzhen noticed that several children brought back many things.
"Oh, where have you been? You spend a day and a night with these old people?"
Zhang Shuzhen was dumbfounded. Ever since her son started learning to hunt, she had never seen him come back with so many things at once?
Where did this go? Where are the beasts so thick?
"Mom, don't ask, it's not stolen or robbed anyway."
On the way back, Sheng Xiping and others discussed that Nuanquanzi would keep it a secret and no one was allowed to tell anyone when they got home.
The prey on that end is quite thick and easy to hunt. Don't let others know about such a good place.
Otherwise, everyone will go to that end, and within a few years, the animals there will be killed.
Sheng Xiping and the others are not professional hunters, and they don't have many opportunities to hunt. They can go once or twice a year without affecting the reproduction of the population.
But if others also know about it and run in that direction, it won't necessarily be the case.
Regardless of the considerations, the location of Nuanquanzi must be kept secret.
The son refused to tell, and Zhang Shuzhen didn't bother to ask. As long as the children came back safely, it was enough, and the rest was not important.
"Okay, then you guys should be busy. I'm going back to the house to cook. Let's eat at home tonight. I'll cook a few more dishes."
After saying that, Zhang Shuzhen entered the room.
In the yard, Sheng Xiping and others quickly moved all the things off the sledge.
Along the way, the venison, roe deer and other meat were so frozen that they had to be chopped open with an axe, and each family would share a portion.
And the lassoed roe deer had to be put inside the house for a while before it could be disemboweled and skinned.
"Xiping, just give us a little of these meats and so on. We still have food at home, so we don't need so much.
We don’t want pheasants, hares, etc. You can keep them all for the wedding.”
Originally, Sheng Xiping wanted to go hunting in the mountains to prepare for the wedding banquet in advance. Everyone knew it.
They were originally following Sheng Xiping to gain glory. Without Sheng Xiping to lead them, what could they do?
So everyone agreed that just bring some meat back and leave the rest for Sheng Xiping's wedding.
"Oh, no, no, why don't we go up the mountain tomorrow?
Actually, that’s what I said: We’ll have a banquet when we get married, and we’ll have to go up the mountain to catch it when the time comes.”
Sheng Xiping never regarded these brothers as outsiders.
When he was in the most difficult time in his previous life, it was these friends who helped him, and he had a chance to get up. Now it's just some meat, so why wouldn't he want to part with it?
"No, Xiping, let me tell you, these days, whenever you say you want to go up to the mountain to fight, our brothers don't say anything and we all accompany you.
This is all left to you, we have no objection.
But next time we go down the mountain on vacation and you say you go hunting in the mountain, I'm sorry, but you guys will never let me."
Unexpectedly, Wang Jianshe turned down his face at this time and said to Sheng Xiping very seriously.
They will go up to the mountains to work in a few days, and they will have to work for about a month before they can come back down. By then, there won't be much time left for the divorce.
A wedding is about to take place, and the groom goes hunting in the mountains? What if something goes wrong? Who can bear the responsibility?
That’s why Wang Jianshe said this.
"Yes, yes, Xiping, we will go with you wherever you say these days, and we will fight whatever you say.
Let's hurry up and prepare all the things for your wedding." Chen Weiguo and others also reacted and said hurriedly.
The brothers showed their kindness, what else could Sheng Xiping say? "Okay, then I'd like to thank you brothers."
Sheng Xiping raised his fists towards Wang Jianshe to express his gratitude.
"My brothers, no matter what, saying thank you is meaningless.
Come on, hurry up, let’s chop these into pieces as needed, Xiping, you can pack them up and put them back in a while, don’t give them away this time.”
Wang Jianshe waved his hand and told everyone to work quickly and separate all the meat that should be divided, in case someone came to the house and asked for something again.
After everyone discussed, they all left a big deer and roe deer, as well as the pheasants and hares, for Sheng Xiping's wedding.
The remaining deer, roe deer, and mountain civets were divided among the six families, and each of them kept some to eat.
If you don't like it, you can take it back. If you don't like it, you can throw it away.
As for the deer fetuses, deer hearts, and deer whips, they should be placed at Sheng Xiping's house first. Sheng Xiping will handle and process them. They can be dried and kept.
These things have a lot of uses, but when something happens, there is nowhere to go.
Just like the bones of the leopard before, most of them have been left behind.
Leopard bones are no worse than tiger bones in some aspects, such as treating rheumatism and bone pain.
These are good things that you don't usually come across. The money you get from selling them is spent on nothing, but if you really need them, it will be difficult to find them.
Therefore, what should be kept should be kept, and it should not be easily destroyed.
While things were being tidied up here, those from the Sheng family who went out to play ran back from outside.
"Brother, what did you catch today? We were by the river just now, and I heard someone say, what did you do when you came back from fixing things of all ages?"
The three boys and two girls from the Sheng family are just trying to catch the Chinese New Year because they have nothing to do at home. They run around all day long and don't come home until it's time to eat.
"Hey, your brother is so powerful. He can even kill a leopard. What else can't he kill?"
When Wang Jianshe and several others saw that their brothers and sisters were back, they deliberately teased them and refused to say anything.
If you don't want to say it, then don't say it. Sheng Xi'an and the others don't really care. Anyway, as long as there is meat to eat, they don't choose what kind of meat it is.
"Mom, what are we going to eat later? Is there any meat?" Sheng Xitai chuckled and asked Zhang Shuzhen.
"You still want meat? Are you eating meat at home these days? You just don't have enough meat."
Zhang Shuzhen glared at her youngest son. This child has a keen eye for eating and thinks about eating all day long.
"Hurry inside and warm your hands. I see you are freezing outside. Why don't you feel cold? Can't you just stay at home?"
Zhang Shuzhen looked at her daughter's face, which was red from the cold, and couldn't help but sigh.
"It's not cold, we are all sweating."
Children are full of energy, and they are not standing still outside, but running and jumping in various ways.
So despite their red faces, that was caused by the cold wind. In fact, their hands and feet were hot, and their heads and backs were still sweating.