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

"Yunlan is pitiful too."

Speaking of Li Yunlan, Gao Hongmei couldn't help but sigh.

Ultimately, before her divorce from Li Yunshan, she and Li Yunlan were indeed sisters-in-law.

"Indeed, it's quite pitiful."

Lin Xiulan couldn't help but recall seeing Li Yunlan at Li Yunshi's house yesterday, who had just returned from Xinghuo Commune.

At that time, the bruises on Li Yunlan's face had not completely faded, and you could still see which part of her body had been hit. Her head was also wrapped in bandages.

Second sister Li Yunmei said that fourth sister Li Yunlan had a total of eight stitches in her head.

It is said that the bruises on his body were mostly caused by Wang Yuanchao, and the wound on his head that required stitches was caused by Wang Yuanchao's mother, Feng Cuilan.

"Li Yunmei got divorced, Li Yunlan got divorced, and now that bastard Li Yunshan is divorced too. There's something wrong with the Li family's feng shui. Hey, Xiulan, you haven't gotten your marriage certificate with that bastard Li Yunshan yet, have you?"

Gao Hongmei counted on her fingers and talked to herself.

In this day and age, although propaganda advocates changing customs and freedom of love and marriage, divorce is still a rather shameful thing for an individual or a family.

Moreover, Li Yunshan had been divorced from her, Su Lihua, and Lin Xiulan. In addition, Li Yunshan's second sister, Li Yunmei, and fourth sister, Li Yunlan, had also been divorced. The total number of divorces in the entire Guapigou Village, which has hundreds of households, is probably less than the number of divorces in the Li family.

Because Li Yunshan got divorced three times on his own.

Now, of the four siblings in the Li family, only Li Yunshi has not yet been divorced. On the way to Li Yunshan's house, Gao Hongmei had already heard some people in the village talking about some gossip.

"not yet."

When Gao Hongmei asked about getting a marriage certificate, Lin Xiulan shook her head.

These days, there are plenty of people getting married, and plenty of people going to the civil affairs department to get marriage certificates.

However, there are also many people who get married but don't even get a marriage certificate.

In the eyes of people in rural areas, dating, getting engaged, holding a wedding banquet, and moving in together to have sex are all considered marriage.

When she fled famine and came to Guapigou Village, Li Yunshan gave her a full meal, and she followed Li Yunshan.

They didn't register their marriage; they just had a small banquet with two tables, cooked a nice meal, and ate with Li Yunshan's family. That was considered a wedding.

Over the years, she has never considered getting a marriage certificate.

Even when Li Yunshan talked about divorce in the past when he was being foolish, there was actually no marriage to divorce because she and Li Yunshan had never registered their marriage.

What Li Yunshan called divorce at the time was actually her leaving the family with Dou Dou.

However, because Huang Zhifang kept suppressing Li Yunshan, she continued to live there with Dou Dou.

Later, Li Yunshan reformed, became kinder to her and Dou Dou, and became more responsible, taking on the responsibility of supporting the family. She could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

At that time, Li Yunshan went to Gao Hongmei's house, picked her up, and the two families had a meal together. That was how the two got married.

This was extremely common in rural areas during the 1970s and 80s.

"Big sister, should I go wake him up?"

At this moment, Lin Xiulan suddenly remembered that Gao Hongmei had come to inform them that Su Lihua would be returning home after the eve of the Lunar New Year, so Lin Xiulan asked about it.

"Let's not yell anymore, let this brat take a nap."

After thinking for a moment, Gao Hongmei decided not to let Lin Xiulan wake Li Yunshan, and then chatted with Lin Xiulan in the main room.

Lin Xiulan took out a pair of deer hide boots made from red deer hide. These boots were made from the deer hides that Li Yunshan had kept when he went hunting, using the best parts of the red deer hide.

The deerskin boots are exquisitely made with tight stitching and a thick layer of cotton inside, keeping your feet warm even in freezing temperatures of minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius.

Lin Xiulan actually started making these deerskin boots not long after she learned that Su Lihua was leaving the village to return to the city.

She put in a lot of effort and suffered a lot to sew these deerskin boots; her fingers were covered in needle marks.

"These deerskin boots are really beautiful; Lihua will definitely love them."

Gao Hongmei picked up the deerskin boots, examined them carefully, and then became quite fond of them.

She can do simple sewing and mending, but she can't make such a well-made pair of deerskin boots.

"I also made you a pair."

As Lin Xiulan spoke, she took out a pair of deerskin boots that had already been sewn and handed them to Gao Hongmei.

The deer that Li Yunshan hunted before had a very large hide, enough to make four or five pairs of deerskin boots.

Before making deerskin boots for Su Lihua, Lin Xiulan had already sewed a pair of deerskin boots for Gao Hongmei.

Of course, besides Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua, Lin Xiulan herself, Li Yunshan, and Dou Dou all had a pair of deerskin boots.

She sewed these herself when she was at home during the winter and had nothing to do.

"I just don't know if they'll fit."

Lin Xiulan said.

Although she knew Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua's shoe sizes, she was still worried that the green leather boots she made would not fit properly.

"I'll give it a try."

Gao Hongmei smiled and took off her cotton shoes, then put on the deerskin boots that Lin Xiulan had sewn.

After getting dressed, Gao Hongmei stood up and stomped her feet on the ground.

"It fits well and is quite comfortable. The boots are lined with cotton, so they're warm to wear. Even if I walk around in the snow for half a day, I won't get my feet frostbite."

Gao Hongmei nodded in satisfaction, her joy evident in her expression.

"Auntie, I also have a pair of deerskin boots. Look, my mother made them for me, and they're very warm to wear."

Dou Dou lifted her little feet and showed Gao Hongmei the pair of deerskin boots she was wearing.

"Oh, that's true. It's a pity that your aunt isn't as good at needlework as your mother, otherwise I would have sewed you a pair of deerskin boots too."

Gao Hongmei squatted down and pinched Dou Dou's rosy cheeks.

She also had a deer skin at home, which she obtained when she went hunting in the mountains with Li Yunshan. After it was tanned, it was kept at home.

Her needlework skills were poor; she could only mend torn clothes. If asked to make deerskin boots, Gao Hongmei wouldn't be confident she could do it well.

"DouDou's feet are smaller than ours, so making these deerskin boots was much more difficult than making the deerskin boots we adults wear. It took me a lot of effort."

Lin Xiulan said with a smile.

"I haven't used that deerskin at home yet. How about I bring it over for you, and you can make another pair of deerskin boots for Dou Dou?" Gao Hongmei looked at Dou Dou with affection and smiled as she spoke.

"DouDou is still too young; she won't be able to wear all those shoes."

Lin Xiulan politely declined.

Dou Dou is only three years old and still growing. Her height and weight change every now and then. Even when buying clothes, Lin Xiulan always tells Li Yunshan to buy a larger size.

"What kind of shoes?"

As Lin Xiulan was talking to Gao Hongmei, the door opened, and Li Yunshan, rubbing his eyes, came out of the room, chuckled, and asked.

"Speaking of DouDou's shoes, I made her a pair of deerskin boots, and my older sister said she wanted me to bring over her deer skin so I could make DouDou another pair of deerskin boots. I said DouDou is still small and growing, and she won't be able to wear so many deerskin boots in a short time."

Seeing Li Yunshan come out of the house, Lin Xiulan smiled and then said, "Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"

"I woke up when I heard you talking."

Li Yunshan pulled up a stool and sat down, looking at Gao Hongmei: "Hongmei, when is Lihua leaving?"

Before he went to Xinghuo Commune, Gao Hongmei had told him that Su Lihua's parents had been exonerated and had returned to the provincial capital, and were just waiting for their job assignments. Su Lihua was also about to return to the city.

However, Su Lihua's parents have not yet sent a reply, so the timing of Su Lihua's return to the city remains uncertain.

Moreover, given Su Lihua's personality, even if she returned to the city, she wouldn't tell him.

However, Gao Hongmei and she had a good relationship. After the educated youth in the village returned to the city one after another, Su Lihua was the only one who had not yet returned.

After the educated youth settlement collapsed in a heavy rain, Su Lihua moved to Gao Hongmei's house and stayed with Gao Hongmei for more than three years.

Li Yunshan was sound asleep in his room when he heard Lin Xiulan and Gao Hongmei talking in the main room. He could guess that she had come to his house because of Su Lihua's return to the city.

That's why he casually asked about the dowry.

"Lihua's parents' letter arrived the day before yesterday. They said they had settled down in the provincial capital and had arranged a job for her. They wanted Lihua to return to the city as soon as possible to spend a reunion year with them."

Lihua plans to stay with us until the eve of the Lunar New Year before leaving. The journey from Qinghe County back to the provincial capital by bus will take about a day. I was thinking of having you and me take her to the county town to catch the bus.”

Gao Hongmei said.

"No problem. But, should we prepare something for her, like some local specialties?"

Li Yunshan nodded.

"What local specialties do we have here? We're poor, and poor again. The only thing we can offer is wild game from the mountains, but I don't have any left at home. Do you have any? Like wild boar, tiger meat, bear meat, or venison?"

Gao Hongmei rolled her eyes at Li Yunshan and said.

"We don't have wild boar meat, but we do have some tiger and bear meat. A while ago, the hunters from our village went into the mountains in a group and hunted a red deer, and we got about 20 catties of venison."

As Li Yunshan spoke, he asked Lin Xiulan, "How much venison do you have at home?"

"They haven't been touched much; they're all frozen in the big vat by the entrance to the main room."

Lin Xiulan said.

Venison is a very nutritious food, but she's pregnant and can't eat much of it, as she's afraid it will cause her to get too much internal heat.

Moreover, Li Yunshan has not been home these past few days, so she hasn't cooked any venison.

The venison we got from hunting in the mountains was all stored in a large vat by the entrance of the main room.