Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"Stop watching the commotion outside the gate, all of you! Go do what you're supposed to do!" Qin Xueru said to the young people watching the commotion outside the gate, standing in the courtyard.

"Auntie, we're waiting for our wedding candy!"

"You just wait, your uncle will be back soon!"

Upon hearing that Niu Dazhuang would be back soon, the children scattered in a flurry. Turning to Qin Huairu, he said, "Sister, let's go to the river to wash the lamb offal. We'll have lamb offal stew with white radish for lunch."

As she spoke, Qin Xueru picked up a bamboo basket and walked out, with Qin Huairu following behind.

Once they left the village and reached the riverbank, Qin Huairu asked, "Xueru, we ate the mutton offal. You won't complain, will you?"

"No way! My family doesn't need that." He looked around and, seeing no one was around, whispered, "My husband gave two wild goats from the village when he went into the mountains this time, but he secretly kept the whole one for himself. We had stewed goat meat last night."

Sister, I've discovered that when you eat stewed mutton with cornbread, the cornbread doesn't taste so bad anymore.

My husband wasn't satisfied yet, saying it tastes best with rice. He also said that if we run out of meat at home, he'll go back into the mountains again!

"Look at how excited you are, your man is really capable," Qin Huairu said enviously.

"It's alright, he doesn't seem to care about the cost of food at all."

"You seem to be walking much more nimbly now. Have you adapted?" Qin Huairu was still hung up on what happened that night, so she steered the conversation towards that topic.

"If it's not adaptation, then..." Qin Xueru blushed and told Qin Huairu about the results of her observations and measurements over the past few days.

Qin Huairu was absolutely certain after hearing this; that night was definitely not a dream—the feeling was too real. The distinctive pain the next morning couldn't be faked.

After confirming this, Qin Huairu felt conflicted, looking at her cousin's happy smile.

She wanted to tell her about the bad thing Niu Dazhuang did that night, but then she thought that she didn't have any evidence. Besides, if she exposed this matter, her reputation would be ruined.

Qin Huairu felt her heart flutter that night, and her cheeks burned. Her legs went weak, and she unconsciously brought them together as she quickly squatted down to help wash the mutton offal.

Qin Huairu felt a little unwilling that Niu Dazhuang, that bad boy, had gotten away with it so easily...

After hearing Xue Ru's description, I am even more certain, but I still find it a little unbelievable that a person could be so strong and majestic!

The two sisters were washing lamb offal when snowflakes began to fall from the sky. The snow they had been waiting for all winter had finally arrived.

Although snow brings many inconveniences to life, it's good for crops; a timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest!

As for Niu Dazhuang, after arriving in the county town, he easily found the farmers' market based on the original owner's memories. He found an inconspicuous spot, placed the basket in front of him, and lifted the burlap sack covering it to reveal the meat inside.

This time, we hunted nine wild goats. We gave two to the village, kept one for ourselves, and still have five left in our storage space, including one adult male black goat.

Each sheep weighs approximately 60-70 kilograms. Assuming a meat yield of 50%, each sheep would yield about 30 kilograms of meat. Five sheep would yield 150 kilograms of pure mutton, or 300 jin (150 catties). This does not include the mutton, limbs, hooves, or sheepskin.

As for the serows and roe deer in the area, serows are rare and can fetch a high price, so Niu Dazhuang is reluctant to sell them. His wife hasn't even had a bite yet, how could he sell them?

Roe deer don't fetch a good price, firstly because there's too much of them, and secondly because they're not as fatty and flavorful as mutton, and wild boar meat is even less desirable.

Although a unified purchase and distribution system has been implemented, it is not yet strictly enforced. By the end of next year, after all markets and fairs are abolished, you will not be able to get by without grain coupons.

Niu Dazhuang looked around and realized that he wasn't the only one selling wild game; there were at least seven or eight other vendors carrying baskets to sell meat at the market.

Just as I mentioned having a smoke, a middle-aged man with a red armband on his right arm came over. Without saying a word, he lowered his head and started writing the receipt, casually tearing off a slip: "Management fee: one cent."

Niu Dazhuang didn't argue with him, obediently took out a dime and handed it to him. He casually asked, "What's the price of mutton today?"

The middle-aged man glanced at Niu Dazhuang and said, "State-run stores require meat coupons, 71 cents per pound. Pork is more expensive, 78 cents per pound with coupons."

As he spoke, he glanced at the meat in Niu Dazhuang's basket.

"Your meat looks pretty fresh. It's 80 cents a pound, no coupons needed, you won't have trouble selling it." Then he pointed to the biggest piece: "That's wild boar meat, right? How much?"

"Uncle, I'm new here and don't know the going rate. Name your price!"

"Okay, I won't shortchange you, fifty-five cents!"

"Okay, I'll do it your way. How much do you want?" He then took out the piece of wild boar meat and placed it on the edge of the basket.

"You're pretty accurate; just cut me a pound."

"Hehe, don't worry, I'll cover the extra cuts." With that, Niu Dazhuang took out a meat cutter, cut off a strip weighing a little over a pound, and hung it on a steelyard balance, the steelyard balance reaching his eyebrows.

"He's a whole pound, here you go."

"You're a straightforward young man, here's your 55 cents." The middle-aged man collecting management fees was naturally pleased to receive more than he should have. His stern expression softened.

Although wild boar meat isn't very tasty, people still earn less money these days, so wild boar meat sells out first.

Niu Dazhuang didn't consider wild boar meat a good thing, so he always gave large portions. He sold 15 jin of wild boar meat for less than eight yuan.

Niu Dazhuang was worried about not selling enough mutton when the middle-aged man who collected management fees came over with his men: "Young man, let me introduce you to some business. This is a purchasing agent from a state-run restaurant. I saw that your mutton is fresh enough, so I introduced him to you. You two can talk!"

After the middle-aged man who collected the management fee left, the purchasing agent picked up a piece of mutton, examined it, and said, "This wild goat meat is too tough. It can only be used to make something like braised mutton. It's definitely not suitable for washing pots."

"You're an expert. It's not easy for us to come up the mountain, so we only go for the biggest ones. If we can't sell them, we can eat them ourselves."

"What you say makes sense. What's the price?"

"No ticket needed, just 80 cents!"

The purchasing agent looked at Niu Dazhuang and said, "Your mutton looks fresh, but the price is a bit high. I'll take it all. Can you give me a discount?"

"Brother, you can't drive down prices so low when you're buying for the government!" he said, handing him a cigarette. He lit it for him and then smoked one for himself.

"Wow! They've even started smoking cigarettes."

"Isn't this the God of Wealth coming? I'm just at home smoking my pipe!"

"You're quite the smooth talker. Fine, I won't try to lower the price. Pack your things and come with me. I'll settle the payment when we get there."

Once outside the market, Niu Dazhuang asked, "Brother, does your restaurant buy wild game like rabbits and pheasants?"

"We do accept those, but not in very large quantities. If you need a large quantity, I suggest you deliver it to Beijing."

"Brother, there's no such thing as a large quantity of wild game."

"Oh, right, I just remembered something. Is it possible to get wolf pelts?"

"Of course! Do you want the nitrated kind, or the unnitrated kind?"

"You know about tanned leather? I didn't know that. You'll need the untanned kind, right? When can you deliver it? How much per sheet?"

"We'll talk about money after you see the goods. We'll discuss payment once you're satisfied with the goods."