Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"I'm fine."

"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."

Gao Hongmei stroked her full breasts, her face still showing lingering fear.

Just as dawn was breaking, she and Su Lihua carried a load of dried wild mushrooms to the commune market, and didn't return until almost evening.

As soon as they returned to the village entrance, they heard villagers talking about how Li Yunshan, who was always idle, had actually gotten incredibly lucky and hunted a wild boar in the mountains. He was now selling the wild boar meat at the village entrance, which shocked both her and Su Lihua.

I thought Li Yunshan was just making empty threats yesterday, but I never expected him to actually kill a wild boar.

Moreover, according to the villagers' descriptions, Li Yunshan sold at his stall at least 200 jin of wild boar meat.

What does 200 jin (100 kg) of wild boar meat mean?

This means that before the wild boar's internal organs were removed, it was at least a large, lively wild boar weighing around 300 pounds.

The village elders said that such a large wild boar has an astonishing attack power. If you are hit by it, you will at least break your bones and tendons. If you are stabbed by its tusks, the consequences will be even more unimaginable.

Even the most experienced hunters in the village were terrified when they encountered such a large wild boar. How could Li Yunshan, who was always idle, have such great courage?

What's even more shocking is that when Lin Xiulan was selling wild boar meat at the village entrance, she got into a fight with Yu Ergou, a street urchin in the village, and Li Yunshan actually beat Yu Ergou up.

Who is Yu Ergou?

He was a notorious gangster boss in the surrounding area, and he had several street thugs who followed him. They were all idle guys who did nothing all day, and some of them were also brave and violent.

Li Yunshan always followed Yu Ergou's lead. If Yu Ergou told him to go east, he wouldn't go west; if he told him to catch a dog, he wouldn't chase a chicken. He was such a spineless coward. Yet, he dared to defy the heavens and beat Yu Ergou.

Worried about Lin Xiulan's safety, Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua rushed over to Lin Xiulan's place without even going home.

"Auntie, Second Auntie, bad people were bullying my mother and Dou Dou. It was Father who bravely beat up the bad people and drove them away."

Little Bean came out of the house and saw Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua. She ran into Gao Hongmei's arms and said in a childish voice.

"Really? Is DouDou brave?"

Looking at the adorable Dou Dou, Gao Hongmei's face showed a loving expression. She took out a rattle drum from her bosom, but couldn't help but think to herself, "When did Li Yunshan become associated with the word 'brave'?"

In the past, he bullied the weak and feared the strong. Yu Ergou only needed to give him a look, and he would obey his every word. When they advised him not to fool around with Yu Ergou and his gang, he beat them up, kicked them out of the house, and divorced them.

Is this man, who only dares to bully his own family, brave?

"Of course DouDou is brave! Even when the bad guys caught her, she didn't cry," DouDou said earnestly, leaning against Gao Hongmei's chest.

This remark amused everyone.

"Father also said that the money from selling wild boar meat will be used to buy floral fabric for Mother and Dou Dou to make new clothes."

Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua couldn't help but look at each other in disbelief. Not only did Li Yunshan have the audacity to beat Yu Ergou, but he was also so kind as to buy flower cloth for Xiulan and Doudou to make new clothes.

This made Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua recall the day they married Li Yunshan, when they wore new clothes on their wedding day.

Later, he couldn't keep that new outfit either; Li Yunshan secretly took it and sold it, then gambled away all the money.

So when Dou Dou said that Li Yunshan was going to buy more floral fabric to make new clothes for Xiu Lan and her daughter, Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua could hardly believe it.

Has Li Yunshan, that bastard, really changed his ways?

"By the way, where's Li Yunshan? Where did he go? Did he gamble away all the money he made?"

Su Lihua looked around the room but didn't see Li Yunshan, so she couldn't help but become suspicious.

After all, when Li Yunshan was broke, he would try every means to get money from them to gamble. Now that he has made money selling wild boar meat, can he suppress his gambling heart?

Although Dou Dou said that Li Yunshan wanted to buy floral fabric to make new clothes for her and Xiu Lan, just like Gao Hongmei said, a dog can change its nature, but a person can't change their nature. If Li Yunshan could quit gambling, Su Lihua would change her name.

"He's in the kitchen butchering a pig's head, planning to make a white radish soup from the pork bones. Oh, by the way, eldest sister, second sister, there's still a dozen or so pounds of wild boar meat left at home. Why don't you stay and have a meal before you go back?"

Recalling her journey here after fleeing famine, and how Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua treated her like a younger sister after she married Li Yunshan, she remembered how they had always given her things, even though they were just small items like needles and thread. It was all a token of their affection for her.

But over the years, she hadn't had anything to offer in return for their kindness. Now that she had a dozen or so kilograms of wild boar meat at home, Lin Xiulan thought she should invite them to stay for a meal so she could repay them.

"OK."

Gao Hongmei didn't hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement: "Lihua, Xiulan, you two chat first. I want to see if Li Yunshan can cook."

After saying that, he left the main room and walked to the kitchen next door.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I saw Li Yunshan holding a sharp knife, picking the meat off a pig's head. On the cutting board next to him were two white radishes.

"Wow, the young master of the Li family can actually cook! It's amazing how he's done this. It's an eye-opener for me."

Gao Hongmei crossed her arms and couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.

Back then, after she married Li Yunshan, that bastard never even stepped into the kitchen. But now he can go into the kitchen and even do the delicate work of deboning a pig's head. Gao Hongmei couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Hongmei, stop making sarcastic remarks about me. I said I would turn over a new leaf, and I didn't just say it casually. If you don't believe me, ask Xiulan. I beat up Yu Ergou today. I've cut ties with them and will never see them again."

Li Yunshan wore a wry smile.

"Hmph, you think hitting Yu Ergou will sever all ties? I suspect you conspired with Yu Ergou to stage a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress act to deceive Xiulan. Tell me, what are your true intentions? Are you still planning to give Doudou away?"

Gao Hongmei looked Li Yunshan up and down several times, then snorted coldly.

Before today, you, Li Yunshan, were a good-for-nothing who idled his time away. Now, just one night later, you, Li Yunshan, beat up Yu Ergou and suddenly you've reformed and become a good person?

Are you trying to fool me, Gao Hongmei, like a three-year-old?

"Sigh, Hongmei, I know I made a lot of mistakes in the past, and it's normal for you to doubt me. But now I sincerely want to live a good life with Xiulan. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Time will prove everything."

Li Yunshan couldn't help but sigh. He was also quite helpless about Gao Hongmei's doubts, but he couldn't blame Gao Hongmei. It was mainly because he had made too many mistakes. In Gao Hongmei's mind, he was the hopeless Liu Shan.

"Hmph, don't think I'll believe you just because you spout some nonsense. I'm warning you, if you dare to make another move on DouDou, I'll go to the police station and call them. They'll have you shot."

Gao Hongmei did not easily believe Li Yunshan's words, and she warned him seriously.

"Hongmei, it doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. I will make changes with my actions. I need to cook now, and the kitchen is smoky. Why don't you go out first, talk to Xiulan, or play with Doudou for a while?"

"What are you afraid of? The fumes are too much. I'll be watching you right here. I'm afraid you'll put drugs in the food so you can drug us all and then take DouDou away and give her away, right?" Gao Hongmei's mouth was relentless, each word like a knife stabbing into Li Yunshan's heart.

Li Yunshan was heartbroken by Gao Hongmei's rebuke. Why couldn't this matter be resolved?

But he also knew that Gao Hongmei was just like that—sharp-tongued and outspoken. The fact that she was so wary of him was because of the trouble he had caused in the past.

Thinking of this, Li Yunshan was too lazy to explain to Gao Hongmei. After cleaning all the meat off the pig's head, he chopped up the pig's head bones and put them in a pot to blanch.

To remove the fishy smell, he added a handful of ginger slices, then peeled two white radishes and cut them into pieces.

About five minutes later, after stir-frying the pork bones and rinsing them with cold water, Li Yunshan put the pork bones into a clay pot filled with water to make soup.

While the soup was simmering in the clay pot, he cut off another piece of wild boar meat, rinsed it clean, and then sliced ​​it into pieces.

Li Yunshan plans to make twice-cooked pork with this wild boar meat.

Twice-cooked pork is a dish with a rich and savory flavor, fatty yet not greasy, making it perfect for pairing with rice or alcohol.

After cutting the wild boar meat, Li Yunshan began to cut the side dishes, such as chili peppers, green onions, ginger shreds, and garlic leaves, and put them in a large bowl for later use.

Next, some lard was poured into the pot, followed by sliced ​​meat and shredded ginger. The wild boar meat was slowly fried over low heat until it turned golden brown. Then, fermented bean paste and soy sauce were added. Finally, chili peppers, scallions, and garlic leaves were added and stir-fried for a while. A fragrant twice-cooked pork dish was then ready to serve.

Gao Hongmei watched Li Yunshan cook twice-cooked pork the whole time. She felt like her eyes were blurry. She hadn't believed Li Yunshan could cook, but now a fragrant twice-cooked pork dish was being served in front of her.

"Hongmei, try it and see how my twice-cooked pork tastes. Do you want to test if I put any sleeping pills in it?"

Seeing her incredulous expression, Li Yunshan couldn't help but reply sarcastically.

Gao Hongmei glared at him irritably. She had been watching Li Yunshan cook the whole time, so how could she not know whether he had drugged her food?

That bastard is clearly holding a grudge against what she just said and is now deliberately trying to provoke her.

However, looking at the color of the twice-cooked pork in the bowl and smelling the aroma that kept wafting into her nose, Gao Hongmei couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

"Hmph, let's try it then. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Gao Hongmei snorted, picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of twice-cooked pork, and stuffed it into her rosy mouth.

After just a couple of chews, her eyes lit up. This twice-cooked pork really tasted good, making you want to eat more after just one bite.