During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"I will naturally ask him about this clearly, Father, don't worry."

With the daily divination slips by her side, Ye Qingqing felt confident and spoke frankly.

"When I brought him back, I told him that if he really caused any trouble for our family, I would definitely kick him out and never get involved in any trouble."

"Just keep that in mind, Dad will listen to you."

Ye Youliang nodded, a strange feeling involuntarily welling up in his heart.

These past two days, Er Yatou has been like a different person; she's even started discussing things with him.

It wasn't like this before she jumped into the river. She had to get what she wanted, or she would cry and make a scene.

"By the way, Dad, how do we deal with that wolf?"

Ye Qingqing raised her chin and said, "I heard wolf skins are valuable. You skin the wolf and I'll sell it in town tomorrow to pay for my brother's marriage registration fee."

Ye Youliang nodded. "Mm."

He had seen the wolf long ago; although it was a bit old, it was large and had very thick fur.

This stuff sells well. Wealthy families like to use wolf skins as mattresses. Sleeping on a wolf skin mattress, you can sweat all over even without lighting a charcoal fire in the room.

If you take it to the leather shop in town, you can get at least seven or eight taels of silver.

"What about wolf meat? Is wolf meat valuable?"

Ye Qingqing pressed on, "If it's not worth much, we can keep it at home and eat meat. We won't be short of a few more."

"Then let's keep it at home to eat. Wolf meat is tough and hard to eat, and restaurants don't like to accept it."

I also saw a silly roe deer called "Wolf-gnawed Hollow"; its skin was torn and worthless, but its meat could still fetch a few coins.

Ye Youliang took a couple of puffs on his pipe, hesitated, and said, "Second daughter, I have something to tell you, is that alright?"

"Father, you say it."

Ye Qingqing felt a little helpless.

The old man was unaware that the body's core had been replaced, and he always spoke very cautiously.

"Just now, everyone in the village saw you bringing home roe deer and wolves. I was thinking of cutting off some wolf meat and sharing it with the families we're close to."

This year's harvest is bad; every household is eating meager rations. We urge everyone to have some meat.

Ye Youliang said earnestly, "It wouldn't be good if people were too envious."

Ye Qingqing said briskly,

"Alright! You can make the decision, Dad. I'll listen to you!"

As they spoke, the aroma of millet rice wafted into the main room.

"Dad, Second Sister, what kind of meat are we having today?"

Li Chunyan came in carrying a kitchen knife, beaming, and said, "That roe deer was eaten clean by wolves, so it's worthless now, right? How about we eat roe deer meat?"

She was worried about the cost of buying a dog, but when she saw that Er Yatou had killed a wolf and brought back a roe deer, her heart, which had been in her throat, immediately settled down.

A wolf pelt can fetch a good price, so Dali's expenses for buying dogs are finally covered.

Now that we have grain and meat at home, why wouldn't we think about eating them?

Ye Qingqing had never eaten roe deer meat before, so of course she wanted to try it.

Plus, since Dad said wolf meat was tough and dry, the decision was made before Ye Youliang could even speak.

"Then let's eat roe deer meat! We've added another person to the meal today, so sister-in-law, cut off a lot and stew it. Don't be stingy."

I won't be happy if there's not enough to eat!

"I know! Even if I were stingy, would I dare to be stingy with you, Er Ya?"

Li Chunyan gently touched Ye Qingqing's arm and whispered,

"Second Girl, go take a look. That person has been standing in the yard ever since he arrived, like a piece of wood stuck in the ground, not moving at all. It's quite frightening."

She knew that the man must have some interesting background, but since Er Yatou didn't mention it, she didn't dare to ask.

Ye Youliang tapped his tobacco pipe on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Huanhuan's mother, boil a pot of water and have Dali carry me to the yard so I can skin the wolf."

"Yes, Dad."

Li Chunyan agreed, but turned around and came back immediately. "By the way, Dad, can your legs hold up? Maybe we should hire a butcher to skin the animal..."

Ye Youliang waved his hand.

"The butchers in the nearby villages aren't necessarily as skilled as me."

As soon as Ye Qingqing stepped out of the main room, she saw the man standing motionless in the courtyard with his hands hanging down, like a soldier standing at attention, his broad back ramrod straight.

His profile, illuminated by the sunlight, revealed his delicate features: a high, straight nose that extended deep into his brow.

His face was somber, and his eyes appeared particularly dark and deep in the sunlight.

"Hey, um... Big Zhuang."

Ye Qingqing called out to him and quickly stepped forward, "Come sit down and rest for a while, dinner will be served soon."

The man glanced at her sideways, a look of frankness on his face, and said...

"Thank you. Young lady, I overheard what you and the old man said. Don't worry, if anything changes in the future, I will never implicate you all."

"Your family provides me with food, which makes you my benefactor. I am by no means an ungrateful person."

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow. She admired honest people and smiled generously.

"Brother, you don't need to be so polite. I'm just missing someone like you to be my top hunter. I'll be counting on you to go hunting with me in the future."

The man nodded heavily.

"Dad, slow down."

Ye Dali carried his father out, and Li Chunyan quickly moved a stool to help him sit down. She then went back into the house to fetch a bucket of hot water.

The wolf and roe deer were frozen stiff. Ye Youliang told the couple to pour hot water on the wolf two or three times.

He felt the fur was slightly soft before picking up the dagger, pressing down on the wolf's head with one hand, and with a "plop," stabbing the dagger into the wolf's chin.

He gripped the knife tightly and, with great effort, cut downwards along the wolf's belly.

"Gulp..."

Just as the knife was about to hit his stomach, Ye Youliang lost his balance and fell off the stool.

His injured leg hit the ground, and he screamed in pain, his face turning pale.

"father!"

"Oh, Dad, what's wrong?"

"Quick, quick, lend a hand..."

The children were terrified and rushed over to help him up.

Ye Qingqing and Ye Cuicui each carried one of Ye Youliang's arms, helping him onto their older brother's back.

"Big brother, carry Dad inside!"

"I told you we should hire a butcher, but you insisted on showing off, and now look what happened..."

Li Chunyan was both angry and resentful. She ran back and forth, lifting the curtain, "How are you, Dad? Does it hurt a lot?"

"It's nothing, I just touched it, it doesn't hurt."

Ye Youliang, panting heavily, took a long time to catch his breath before waving his hand and saying, "Take it easy... catch your breath before cleaning up the hides. The longer it takes, the harder it will be to peel them."

"No, you absolutely can't go!"

Ye Qingqing pressed him down, examining his leg injury while frowning and saying, "How about I do it? Dad, you can watch from the window and tell me how to make the incision, and ask my older brother to help me."

Ye Dali is clumsy and simple-minded; if you asked him to skin a wolf, he'd probably end up with pieces of burlap.

There was no other way but to do it myself.

Ye Youliang waved his hand, his face pale.

"Wolf pelts aren't that easy to skin. If you cut them badly, they'll be worthless."

"What should we do then?"

The wolf pelt mustn't be damaged; she's counting on it to pay for her husband's child purchase fee!

Li Chunyan said urgently, "I'll go to the neighboring village and ask a butcher for help... How much should I pay him?"

"Pfft..."

The room was in chaos when they heard a sharp, slicing sound outside, like a knife cutting through rags.