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

"Second sister, don't take what happened earlier to heart. So what if you're divorced? Does being divorced mean you have to suffer?"

Seeing that Li Yunmei looked unwell, Li Yunshan quickly comforted her.

"Third brother, I'm fine, don't worry."

Li Yunmei took a deep breath and managed a weak smile.

From Li Yunshan's perspective, that smile was uglier than a grimace.

"Ugh."

Li Yunshan couldn't help but sigh. Although men and women were supposed to be equal after the founding of the People's Republic of China, this so-called equality was mostly reflected in the law, and in reality, there were many inequalities.

Just like Li Yunmei, there are many people who are considered inferior simply because they have been divorced once.

However, being considered inferior was not the problem; the real blow to Li Yunmei was that the matchmaker brought her a fool.

In the afternoon, back in the village, Huang Zhifang was preparing dinner in the kitchen when she heard Li Yunshan and Li Yunmei opening the courtyard gate. Huang Zhifang came out of the kitchen and asked, "Yunmei, how did it go? Is the man alright? Is he good-looking and has a good character? Did you like him?"

"Mother, I'm going inside to rest for a bit."

Li Yunmei sullenly grunted and went inside by herself.

"Third brother, what's going on? What's wrong with your second sister?"

Huang Zhifang turned his gaze to Li Yunshan.

Li Yunshan had no choice but to recount the entire blind date process to Huang Zhifang.

There wasn't much to say, since the meeting only lasted less than ten minutes.

When Huang Zhifang heard Li Yunshan say that the other party was an idiot, with crooked eyes, a crooked mouth, and drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, and that the idiot's mother kept belittling her daughter, saying that it was her good fortune that her daughter could marry an idiot, Huang Zhifang's face gradually darkened.

"Matchmaker Qin has gone too far! She actually introduced my daughter to a complete idiot. I'm going to find her right now."

As he spoke, he took off his apron.

"Mother, I don't think it's Qin the matchmaker's fault. She also said that she hadn't met the man. She only thought of introducing him to Second Sister because the matchmaker from Huangjia Village praised him to the skies. She just meant well but did something wrong."

"If anyone's to blame, it's the man's side for being too cunning."

Li Yunshan quickly stopped Huang Zhifang.

"Ugh."

After being persuaded by Li Yunshan, Huang Zhifang calmed down.

Although the logic was sound, Huang Zhifang still felt very distressed at the thought that her wonderful daughter was being treated as inferior and introduced to a mentally challenged man.

Inside the house, Li Yunmei huddled under the covers, listening to the sounds of Li Yunshan and her mother talking outside.

To be honest, she didn't blame the matchmaker, Qin.

Just like the third brother, Li Yunshan, said, Qin the matchmaker had never met the man either.

However, being looked down upon like this, especially when your blind date turns out to be an idiot, is something no normal person could bear.

As for today's blind date, to put it bluntly, it's just that a big idiot can't find a wife, so he's thinking of finding a divorced woman to see if they can make it work, and then marry her so that the idiot's parents can take care of him.

Ideally, this woman would also give birth to a son or daughter for the big idiot.

As for how this woman fared after marrying the idiot, the idiot's side of the family wouldn't even consider it.

"Mother, let's just forget about it. I won't go on blind dates or get married anymore. I'll stay by your side and take care of you until the end."

Li Yunmei, huddled under the covers, said something.

"You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhifang went into the house and saw Li Yunmei with her head covered by a quilt. She felt sorry for her, but she held back her tears, went over and sat on the edge of the pit, and lifted the quilt covering Li Yunmei's head.

"Yunmei, don't overthink it. With your diligence, virtue, intelligence, and competence, you're good at everything, inside and out. I don't believe you can't find a good family."

"Your mother won't force you to get married, and your older brother won't mind if you stay at your parents' house for too long. In the end, your older brother is still the head of this family."

Huang Zhifang said this not only to Li Yunmei, but also to Wang Xiaolian.

Li Yunmei remained silent for a while.

"Okay, Mother."

She turned her head, her reddened eyes already wet with tears.

……

The matchmaker, Qin, arrived at noon the next day.

As soon as she entered the door, Qin the matchmaker kept apologizing to Li Yunmei.

"Yunmei, it's my fault for being careless. I haven't even met the man yet, and I was already thinking of playing matchmaker for you. Please don't blame me!"

Yesterday afternoon, Huang, the matchmaker, went to Qin's house and complained to her for a long time. She said that Li Yunmei had very high standards and looked down on the men she introduced. She also said that Li Yunmei's younger brother said some unpleasant things about the man and even cursed at him, which made the man's mother so angry that she almost had a heart attack.

It sounded exaggerated, but Qin the matchmaker didn't really believe it.

After all, she and Huang Zhifang were from the same village. She knew, if not intimately familiar, that Huang Zhifang's children weren't bad people.

So, after Huang the matchmaker complained and left, Qin the matchmaker went to the next village to inquire about it.

This inquiry revealed to Matchmaker Qin the true nature of the man that Matchmaker Huang had praised to the skies.

It turns out that the man was actually an idiot, supposedly born that way. No wonder the matchmaker Huang praised Huang Dazhu for being honest and kind.

Honesty equals foolishness; old age equals being over thirty; truthfulness means never telling the truth.

Damn it, that matchmaker Huang is just making fun of me, surnamed Qin. She actually kept the truth from me and made me matchmake a fool. Isn't she making me ruin my own reputation?

Qin, the matchmaker, immediately stormed into Huang's house and had a huge argument with the old woman, almost coming to blows.

After arguing in the next village, Qin the matchmaker returned home and, after much thought, decided to go to Huang Zhifang's house to clear things up.

"Aunt Qin, this isn't your fault. You can only blame the other party for not telling the truth."

Li Yunmei responded listlessly.

"Oh dear, what kind of mess have I made?"

The matchmaker, Qin, couldn't help but slap her thigh in regret. If she had known it would turn out this way, she wouldn't have acted as a matchmaker. She had caused such a good girl to suffer a blow, and she didn't know when she would be able to get over it.

After lingering for a while, Matchmaker Qin finally left.

Seeing Li Yunmei's furrowed brows and melancholy expression, Huang Zhifang couldn't help but shed tears.

She wiped her eyes and reached out to stroke Li Yunmei's hair: "Yunmei, don't take anything to heart, and don't think too much. We need to look forward. It's hard to find a three-legged toad in this world, but there are plenty of good men with two legs. If you want to find a partner, take your time. I won't rush you."

"Okay, Mother."

……

"Pork for sale! Pork for sale!"

That day, when the sun was high in the sky, a hawker's cry rang out in Guapigou Village.

Judging from the noise, someone in the village is slaughtering a pig to sell again.

"Father, Father, someone in the village is slaughtering a pig! Someone in the village is slaughtering a pig!"

Dou Dou was playing in the yard when she heard the noise. She rushed into the main room like a whirlwind, ran to Li Yunshan, and shook his hand.

"Dou Dou wants braised pork again, doesn't she? Daddy will go buy some pork belly now, shall we make braised pork today?"

Seeing Dou Dou's eager look, Li Yunshan knew without much thought that the little girl was craving braised pork.

"Yay! Yay! We're having braised pork today!"

Upon hearing this, DouDou clapped her hands and jumped three feet high.

"Xiulan, I'll go to the village entrance and buy a piece of pork belly. We'll make braised pork tonight."

Li Yunshan said something to Lin Xiulan, who was sewing shoe soles nearby, and then went out.

Before long, when he reached the village entrance, he saw more than a dozen people gathered around a newly set-up temporary pork stall.

"Old Liu, cut me half a pound of pork belly."

"Uncle Liu, I'd like two pounds of pork ribs. I haven't had pork for days, and I'm really craving it."

"Old Liu, how much for this pig's hind leg?"

"..."

A dozen or so villagers asked questions one after another, creating quite a commotion.

"Don't rush, everyone take your time. I've been raising this big, fat pig for over a year. It weighs over 200 pounds, and I guarantee that everyone can get the meat they want."

Old Liu quickly shouted.

After hearing Lao Liu's words, the dozen or so villagers quieted down, but when they saw the two pieces of pork, which were so fatty they were dripping with oil, on the door panel, their eyes lit up.

This pork is so good, with lots of fat and little lean meat, how much lard can be rendered from it?

In those days, resources were scarce, and everyone was generally lacking in oil and fat. When they saw such good pork, they couldn't take their eyes off it.

As Lao Liu's knife moved, pieces of pork were cut off, weighed, and the villagers who had bought their desired pork left with smiles on their faces after paying.

"Uncle Liu, I want five catties of pork belly."

Finally, it was Li Yunshan's turn. He immediately ordered five catties of pork belly, which surprised the people waiting behind him to buy meat.

Even when buying meat, people only buy half a pound or a pound at a time; buying two pounds is considered too little.

But Li Yunshan immediately asked for five jin (2.5 kg).

However, despite everyone's surprise, since Li Yunshan had recently shot and killed the bear that was harassing the villagers and donated so much money to the village primary school, no one thought there was anything wrong with him buying five catties of pork belly at once. At most, a few envious people would just mutter something in their hearts.

"You bought so much!"

Old Liu, who slaughtered and sold pigs, was also surprised.

"Give half to my mother, and keep half for myself; it's not much."

"And my DouDou also loves braised pork."

Li Yunshan smiled.

"It's rare to see someone so filial."

Old Liu praised it, then cut off a piece of pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat. He weighed it on a scale, and it was almost six pounds.

"Oops, sorry, I cut too much."

Old Liu was quite embarrassed.

"It's alright, who can be that accurate? If they say five pounds, they can cut five pounds. If that were the case, the scale would be obsolete."

Li Yunshan didn't mind. He asked Lao Liu to cut the pork belly in half, paid for it, and left with the pork belly.

"Come on, DouDou, let's take the pork belly to Grandma."

He carried Dou Dou in one arm and held two pieces of pork belly in the other, walking towards Li Yunshi's house.