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

The family stared at each other blankly.

Ye Cuicui scrambled onto the kang (a heated brick bed) using both hands and feet, and with a creak, pushed open the window. "Second Sister, look!"

Ye Dazhuang took off his old-fashioned jacket, which had half of its cotton padding showing, and wrapped it around his waist, revealing a section of his firm and smooth collarbone.

He held down the wolf's head with one hand and gripped the dagger he had thrust in with the other, slashing it all the way down. His arm tensed up with the force of the movement.

The colorful internal organs were exposed. He flipped the sharp knife in his hand and inserted it into the cavity, picking out the internal organs along the bone.

The scraping sound of bones being removed was like a knife scraping against glass, sending chills down one's spine.

"Clang..."

He pulled out a large clump of entrails and casually tossed it on the ground. His dark, inky eyes scrutinized the wolf, his sharply defined jawline taut, as if pondering where to make the first cut.

"Um... Dazhuang, cut down the throat, find the membrane between the skin and flesh, keep the knife flat against the flesh and slowly cut down little by little."

Ye Youliang laboriously moved to the windowsill and taught him step by step, "You can't rush peeling. You have to find the feeling with the knife. Once you find the feeling, it will be easy."

"Um."

Ye Dazhuang nodded in a muffled voice, held the dagger in his palm, and, feeling a loose patch of flesh on the wolf's neck, stabbed the tip of the knife in.

The knife tip slid down the wolf's body, peeling back the gray fur inch by inch to reveal the dark red muscle underneath.

Ye Youliang would occasionally offer a word of guidance. Not only was he quick and skillful, but he also learned very fast. In less than an hour, a whole wolf skin was peeled off from the dark red wolf meat.

"Brother Dazhuang, have some water and rest."

Ye Qingqing brought over a bowl of hot water and casually spread the wolf skin on the stone table.

Ye Cuicui also leaned closer, and after taking a closer look, her face lit up with surprise.

"It's peeled so cleanly! Second sister, I checked it, there isn't even a hole the size of a fingernail."

"You're quite something, you've really inherited my dad's skills."

Ye Qingqing sincerely praised it, rolled up the wolf skin and said, "I'll show it to my father and see how much silver it can sell for."

Ye Dazhuang pulled his tattered coat over his shoulders, sat with his legs spread wide in front of the stone table, finished his water, and continued to remain silent.

What a silent, enigmatic person!

Ye Qingqing muttered to herself, then wrapped the wolf skin inside. "Dad, look at that, isn't it great!"

"Hmm, this kid has some talent, and he's quick and agile."

Ye Youliang stroked the wolf pelt and said meaningfully, "If he goes hunting in the mountains with you, I'll be at ease."

Ye Qingqing said smugly, "I told you he was useful!"

Li Chunyan lifted the curtain and glanced at the wolf pelt. Feeling incredibly reassured, she quickly said...

"Second daughter, the food is almost ready. Invite them in to eat."

The roe deer meat is stewed and simmered in the pot for almost an hour until it is tender and falls off the bone. The aroma of the meat wafts into your nose as soon as it is served.

A ring of multigrain flour pancakes was stuck to the edge of the pan. They were lifted out with a spatula, and the bottoms of the pancakes were baked until they were crispy and crunchy.

Golden millet rice simmered in a small earthenware pot, its unique aroma filling the entire house.

Next to it was a large bowl of washed and chopped pickled cabbage. It wasn't salted enough, so the sourness was a bit weak, and it even had a slightly pungent smell.

Even so, it was only with a hundred coins that Li Chunyan had painstakingly saved up before winter, which she secretly asked Ye Dali to take to town to buy coarse salt, that she managed to pickle this vat of sauerkraut.

Ye Dazhuang watched quietly as the family took off their shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), sat cross-legged around the table, and his throat bobbed imperceptibly.

Ye Qingqing heard his stomach rumbling and quickly got up to pull him.

"Big Zhuang, sit on the kang (heated brick bed) and sit with my dad."

"Thank you..."

Ye Dazhuang was clearly not used to sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), and hesitated to move his feet.

"Dazhuang, come and eat on the kang!"

Ye Youliang smiled and patted the warm kang bed next to him. "We're all family, no need to be so polite. Come and sit here with your uncle."

"Thank you... Uncle."

Ye Dazhuang seemed unaccustomed to sitting cross-legged on the kang (heated brick bed), so he sat halfway down on the edge. Li Chunyan then stuffed a bowl full of millet rice into his phone, smiling as she said...

"Brother Dazhuang, eat up! You can have more when you're done. Don't be shy at our house."

The whole family gathered around the kang table and started eating in a lively atmosphere.

Little Huanhuan had a large piece of roe deer meat stuffed in her mouth, and before she could swallow it, several more pieces of meat appeared in her bowl.

She couldn't finish eating, so she mixed the meat broth with the millet rice and shoveled it into her little mouth.

Her little face was flushed pink from the warm kang (heated brick bed), and her eyes curved into two crescent moons.

"The meat is so delicious! The rice is so delicious too..."

As he spoke, he grabbed another multigrain pancake, dipped it in the meat broth, opened his mouth wide, and took a big bite.

Not just her, the entire Ye family felt a sense of happiness from the meal.

Although roe deer meat is all lean meat and was stewed without being fried, Li Chunyan stewed and simmered it over a wood fire for more than an hour until even the distinct muscle fibers were tenderized and melted in the mouth.

It was Ye Qingqing's first time eating roe deer meat. It didn't have a special taste and wasn't as fragrant as lard, but she still ate four or five pieces before she felt satisfied.

Just like Xiao Tuantuan, she soaked multigrain pancakes in meat broth and ate them with grease dripping from her mouth.

Then, pop a piece of crisp pickled cabbage into your mouth. The sourness balances out the greasiness, and the crunchy texture is incredibly satisfying.

Ye Cuicui ate a bite of flatbread followed by a bite of meat, then used pickled cabbage to cut through the richness.

These past two days, she's been eating meat, and her previously dry face has regained its luster.

Ye Dali and his wife kept eating with their chopsticks, one after the other, and couldn't stop.

"Eat! Eat all the meat!"

Li Chunyan gestured triumphantly, "I cut such a big piece of roe deer leg, there's no way I can finish it all, so I'll have to leave some."

Even she stopped being stingy, and life started to get better.

Ye Dazhuang, on the other hand, kept his head down and ate his meal. He quickly ate a bowl of rice mixed with meat broth from the roe deer meat, and then ate some flatbread with pickled cabbage.

The family ate a few bites and, feeling a bit full, started chatting about what they had to eat.

"Dad, I want to go to town tomorrow and sell the wolf pelt and roe deer pelt."

With a hint of anticipation in her heart, Ye Qingqing said, "After selling the silver, I'll pay my brother's purchase fee first. I'm thinking of buying some rice and flour to save up and eat slowly."

Li Chunyan winced with heartache.

"Second daughter, we have meat to eat every day now, that's good enough!"

You're still thinking about buying rice and flour? They're so expensive... Wouldn't it be better to save the money from selling the hides?

"Money is earned, not saved, sister-in-law!"

Why did I take over Dad's job and go hunting in the mountains every day? Wasn't it so that our family could eat well every day?

Ye Qingqing glanced at her and teased, "Sister-in-law, if you don't like it, then don't eat it even if I buy it."

Li Chunyan's eyes widened immediately.

"Who says I don't like to eat? I may be stingy, but I'm not stupid! Everyone knows that rice and wheat flour are much better than these throat-scratching grains."

I just wanted to save some money at home so I'd have something to deal with if something happened in the future.

Ye Qingqing looked up at Ye Dazhuang, who was silently eating, and said confidently,

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. From now on, when I go up the mountain with Brother Dazhuang, we'll have someone to help us hunt the game."

Let's make sure we have enough food and meat at home first, then we can think about saving money.