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

"Xiulan, is the chicken soup delicious?"

Watching Xiulan take a sip of chicken soup, Li Yunshan looked at her expectantly.

He owed Xiulan too much in his past life, and now he just wants to be good to her. As long as Xiulan thinks it tastes good, that is the greatest affirmation for him.

"good."

Although the chicken soup was delicious, Lin Xiulan did not give it a high rating.

"Doesn't it taste good?"

Li Yunshan scratched the back of his head: "That shouldn't be the case."

He served himself a bowl, took a sip, and found the flavor rich and the broth sweet and delicious—perfect!

"It's probably because Xiulan has never had such delicious chicken soup before, and her taste buds haven't gotten used to it yet, which is why she thinks it tastes just average."

Li Yunshan thought to himself, seeing there was still a chicken leg in the pot, he picked it up and gave it to Dou Dou: "Dou Dou, eat a chicken leg, grow up quickly."

"I won't eat it."

But to everyone's surprise, Dou Dou shook her head like a rattle-drum, reached out her little hand, and put the chicken leg from her bowl into Lin Xiulan's bowl: "Dou Dou doesn't like chicken legs, Mom eats them, Mom works the hardest at home."

Seeing Dou Dou speaking so earnestly, Li Yunshan was momentarily stunned.

It turns out that even a three-year-old child like Dou Dou knows that Xiu Lan works hard, while he was idle in his previous life. Even after the divorce, whenever he was short of money, he would go to Xiu Lan to ask for money.

Xiulan wouldn't give him the money, so he bullied her.

Thinking of this, Li Yunshan's eyes reddened, and he felt even more guilty for having wronged Xiulan in his previous life.

He must treat Xiulan even better in this lifetime.

"DouDou, Mommy can't eat two chicken drumsticks by herself, so how about we each have one?"

Seeing how well-behaved and sensible Dou Dou was at such a young age, Lin Xiulan felt a warmth in her heart and spoke softly to Dou Dou to discuss the matter.

"Mom, are you sure you can't finish two chicken drumsticks?"

"Mother really can't finish it all."

Lin Xiulan stroked Dou Dou's thin little face, her eyes full of love.

Although DouDou's father is unreliable, DouDou is well-behaved and sensible, which is a kind of comfort to her.

"Okay, DouDou and Mom will each get a chicken leg."

After saying that, Dou Dou grabbed a chicken leg from Lin Xiulan's bowl and wolfed it down.

Moreover, not only Dou Dou was wolfing down the meat, but Li Yunshi's family of four, as well as Huang Zhifang, were also eating meat in large bites.

In an era when even pork cracklings are a rarity, being able to eat meat even on holidays or special occasions already puts you ahead of the vast majority of people.

Lin Xiulan picked up the chicken leg and took a bite. She felt the rich aroma of oil burst in her mouth. She wolfed down the chicken leg meat and then bit into the bone, sucking out the meager amount of marrow inside.

After finishing the chicken leg, she picked up a piece of stewed pork and wolfed it down.

Lin Xiulan couldn't even remember the last time she ate meat.

It seems like it was four months ago? Or maybe six months ago?

But she didn't dare to think too much; instead, she quickly picked up a piece of meat and started eating.

This was a completely subconscious action.

Not only Lin Xiulan, but also Li Yunshi and others are doing the same. Everyone is making the most of every minute to eat more meat so that they can store up some fat to get through the current cold winter.

"Xiulan, eat slowly."

"Mom, DouDou, eat slowly."

"Be careful not to choke!"

Seeing Xiulan and the others wolfing down their food, Li Yunshan hurriedly reminded them, but no one listened to him.

……

It was late at night, and everyone had left the house.

Li Yunshan cleaned up the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash.

As soon as he pushed open the kitchen door, he saw Lin Xiulan licking firewood into the stove.

"Put the bowls and chopsticks there."

Lin Xiulan pointed to a wooden basin.

"I'll take a shower; you've had a long day."

Li Yunshan put the bowls and chopsticks down, scooped two spoonfuls of hot water into the wooden basin, and then picked up a brush to wash them.

Lin Xiulan was quite surprised that Li Yunshan, who had always been idle, had actually taken the initiative to wash the dishes. This was the first time in four years.

As she added firewood to the stove, Li Yunshan's earlier words echoed in her mind: he had truly turned over a new leaf and was willing to make a good life with her.

Although Li Yunshan had gone to the mountains to hunt a wild boar for the first time ever, and showed her more care than usual, such as giving her chicken legs and serving her chicken soup, and saying things like "You've worked hard," Lin Xiulan still remained wary.

But seeing that Li Yunshan's clothes still had traces of wild boar blood, Lin Xiulan scooped up a bucket of hot water for him and brought it to him, saying, "Go wash up first, you're filthy."

"I'm not in a hurry to wash."

Li Yunshan waved his hand and continued, "Xiulan, there's something I need to discuss with you right now. I'm planning to sell..."

"What are you selling? I'm warning you, you're not allowed to lay a finger on DouDou."

Upon hearing the word "sell," Lin Xiulan immediately recalled Li Yunshan's earlier statement that he would take Dou Dou away and give her away.

They said it was a gift, but it was actually selling their daughter.

Lin Xiulan's eyes instantly reddened, and she looked at Li Yunshan with disappointment.

It turns out that everything he said during the day was a lie.

All that talk about turning over a new leaf, starting anew, and living a good life with her and DouDou is fake and a lie.

Lin Xiuyun took a deep breath, tears streaming down her face, and cried out, "Li Yunshan, are you even human? You want to sell Doudou, don't you? Then you'll have to step over my dead body first."

At this point, Lin Xiulan wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye: "I thought what you said during the day was true, and that we could live a good life together from now on, but you still haven't given up on your wicked intentions..."

Lin Xiulan grew increasingly indignant as she spoke, her face turning ashen: "Li Yunshan, I was blind to marry you, but could you please stop doing such beastly things? I'm begging you!"

Upon hearing Lin Xiulan's words, Li Yunshan felt as if his head had been hit with a club, and his head was buzzing.

Selling his daughter?

Did I say that?

He quickly explained to Lin Xiulan, "Xiulan, I meant selling pork. I wanted to discuss it with you. What are you thinking?"

"Since I said I would take good care of you and Dou Dou and live a good life with you, I will definitely do it. How could I do something as beastly as selling my daughter?"

"You really just want to sell pork?"

Lin Xiulan sobbed as she looked at Li Yunshan suspiciously.

Seeing that she didn't believe him, Li Yunshan became anxious and quickly pointed to the sky and swore: "Xiulan, I swear to the heavens that if I ever had any intention of selling my daughter, may I be struck by lightning and fall into hell after death, never to be reincarnated."

"Li Yunshan!"

Lin Xiulan suddenly cried out, rushing to Li Yunshan and pounding his chest with her fists: "Why didn't you say so sooner? Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Li Yunshan raised his hands, speechless. "I wanted to say something, but you didn't give me a chance to finish!"

Although he knew that Lin Xiulan was in the wrong for not listening to him finish, Li Yunshan also knew that this was the harm he had caused to Lin Xiulan.

As the saying goes, concern can cloud judgment, so it's normal for Lin Xiulan, as Dou Dou's mother, to misunderstand herself.

After all, he did have the wicked thought of selling his daughter in his previous life.

Lin Xiulan punched Li Yunshan more than a dozen times, venting all the anger that had been building up in her chest, before she pushed Li Yunshan away.

"Hey, Xiulan, let's talk about selling pork. Here's what I'm planning..." Li Yunshan pulled Lin Xiulan aside.

Seeing her tearful face, Li Yunshan felt a pang of heartache.

He reached out and gently wiped away the tears from Lin Xiulan's eyes before saying seriously, "Xiulan, the wild boar I hunted weighed at least 200 jin. We gave my elder brother a hind leg, and we ate some ourselves. There are still 180 or 190 jin of meat left."

"I plan to cut about ten catties to keep for the family to eat, and sell the rest to make money. Then I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy you and Dou Dou some floral fabric to make two new outfits."