1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

This green-skinned beast has been bled dry.

Old Chen squatted in the yard, his hands moving quickly. His skill in skinning wolves was several times better than that of his second son.

In no time at all, he had completely peeled off a wolf skin.

The moment the skinned animal hides were laid down, the work of processing the hides began.

Whether it's sheepskin or freshly skinned wolf skin, you have to carefully scrape off all the bits of meat and fat stuck to the skin with a scraper. There can't be any residue left, otherwise the skin will smell bad and rot in no time.

In the Chen family, this task has always been a woman's job; men don't need to help.

Old Chen wiped the blood off his hands, straightened up, and addressed his family members who were busy inside and outside the house.

"The wolf that Shanzi brought back isn't very big, so let's not even think about selling it for money. We'll keep it for the whole family. Xinghua and Lianhua are both trying to get pregnant, and they need some meat and other nutrients to nourish their bodies."

Shanzi works hard every day, so he needs to take good care of himself. Our family doesn't lack anything else, but look at the world these days. Money is all over the place, with all sorts of coupons and vouchers. The rules are a mess, and ordinary people don't respect them.

Only the silver dollars I have are still useful; the rest are useless—I can't spend them or exchange them for anything. In my opinion, it's better to save up animal hides and exchange them for real grain, cloth, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar at the market; that's much better than anything else.”

Chen Gaoshan, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement and agreed with his father.

These days, money, especially printed paper money, is practically the most worthless thing.

At first, small denomination notes of one or five yuan circulated in the market. But as the situation became more chaotic, the face value of the notes was printed to be larger and larger, such as ten thousand, fifty thousand, and one hundred thousand. The face value was so large that it was no different from the paper money of the underworld's bank.

All they can do now is wait for liberation. At that time, the circulating small daily coupons, old Russian coupons, and gold yuan notes will all become worthless paper. Keeping those things is so unpleasant that even wiping your butt is too uncomfortable because the paper is too hard.

Therefore, he agreed with his father's idea that the wolf meat should be kept for their own consumption, and that making the whole family healthy and strong was more important than anything else. As for selling the meat for money, that could be considered later when the world was completely stable.

"Then I'll do whatever Father decides."

"Dad, could you cut off one of Qiangzi's front legs while you're at it, and let him take it back?"

Without saying a word, Chen Laonian picked up a knife and sliced ​​along the wolf's joint, completely severing one of its front legs.

"Thank you, Brother Shanzi, Uncle Chen, let's eat meat, let's eat meat."

Big Fool Qiang hugged the wolf's leg, his face beaming with joy. He nodded repeatedly, muttering words of thanks, and then turned and dashed out of the Chen family's courtyard.

This kid isn't completely stupid; he knows to take the good stuff home so his mother can prepare it and eat it, instead of foolishly eating it raw outside.

This green-skinned catfish has no excess fat; it's all lean meat, with only a little bit of oil around its intestines.

The dogs we keep at home, Dahuang and Erhuang, ate until their bellies were round and they were too full to walk. They slowly moved to their doghouse in the corner and lay down for a nap.

Old Mrs. Chen took a scraper to process the animal hide, while her two daughters-in-law, Lianhua and Xinghua, stood around the chopping board, cutting the wolf meat with cleavers in their hands. Everyone in the family was busy with their own tasks.

Old Chen raised his hand and called to Chen Gaoshan. The father and son walked into the inner room one after the other.

Old Chen sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) and took two puffs of his pipe.

"These sly fellows have always been cunning. They dare to brazenly barge into the village in broad daylight, which clearly means they've run out of food in the mountains and are too hungry to do anything."

"The end of the year is fast approaching, and with the weather freezing, the wild animals in the mountains will only become more ferocious. From now on, when you go out into the mountains, please be extremely careful and don't be careless."

Chen Gaoshan grinned and patted his strong arms.

"I understand, Father. With my skills, dealing with a few wild beasts is a piece of cake. You can rest assured."

Old Chen took a puff of his cigarette, then changed the subject, bringing up the matter of carrying on the family line again.

"If you want me to be at ease, then hurry up and get Xinghua and Lianhua pregnant, so the Chen family can have a son! All you do all day is huff and puff and work your ass off, what good are you without an heir? The Chen family line can't end with your generation!"

The topic veered off course again. Having a child isn't something he can control. He can't just decide to get pregnant whenever he wants. He's not a goddess in a temple who grants children; he doesn't have that kind of power.

Before long, it was evening. Wolf meat was stewing in an iron pot in the kitchen, and golden, crispy flatbreads made from a mixture of wheat and vegetables were stuck around the pot.

Xinghua specially served Chen Gaoshan a large bowl of wolf meat.

The pot was filled with plenty of seasonings, which masked the gamey smell of the wolf meat.

The meat of these carnivorous wild animals has a foul odor and is far less palatable than the meat of domesticated pigs and sheep.

Chen Gaoshan initially held the bowl and ate the wolf meat in large mouthfuls.

As he was eating, he pushed his chopsticks down and suddenly bumped into two round objects with a long, hard bone connected in the middle. Something didn't seem right to him.

What on earth is this thing?

It looked like two round eggs with a long bone skewered on top. The more he looked at it, the more puzzled he became. He stretched out his chopsticks, picked up the strange thing, and brought it close to his eyes for a closer look.

"Wait a minute, Xinghua, what exactly is this thing you gave me? Why does it smell so pungent?"

He frowned and turned to look at the apricot blossoms beside him.

Xinghua's face flushed red instantly. She lowered her head, pursed her lips, and stammered, unable to speak.

Seeing this, Lotus quickly took over the conversation.

"Why ask so many questions? Just eat what I've served you. This is good stuff! Mother specifically told me to eat it, saying it's very nutritious and will give men lots of energy."

Hearing Lotus's words, and looking at the strange object in his hand.

Chen Gaoshan was only in a daze for a moment before he instantly understood what it was.

Guns, bullets, and cannons!

These two wives really know how to give themselves all sorts of nourishing foods.

Looking at the food in the bowl, he really couldn't bring himself to eat it, so he tentatively discussed it with Lianhua.

"Lotus, can I not eat this? I'm very healthy, I work every day, I really don't need this supplement."

Chen Liushi came over with a spoon and ladled another large spoonful of wolf meat into his bowl, her face stern.

"Just eat it! Stop arguing! This good stuff used to be saved for your dad to make medicinal wine, or at least to trade for something. I only saved it for you this time because you've been so busy lately. Don't be so ungrateful, just eat it!"

Chen Gaoshan was stared at by his mother, wife, and several other women. He couldn't hide or push them away, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth, close his eyes, and swallow the thing whole. After chewing it a few times, the strange taste almost made him vomit on the spot.

After finally swallowing it, he quickly shoveled the remaining wolf meat in the bowl, along with half a cornbread in his hand.

He ate everything in the bowl clean and wiped his mouth haphazardly.

"I'm so full, I'm going to take a walk in the yard to help digest my food."

He grabbed the clothes and hat hanging by the kang (a heated brick bed) and went outside.

As he walked out of the village, he wondered to himself, "Is that thing really as powerful as my mother said?"

As they walked, they didn't know if it was the food they had just eaten that really worked or if it was just a placebo effect, but they felt their body getting hotter and hotter, and their whole body was restless. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the door of Widow Liu's house again.

As he passed the doorway, he remembered that he still had the body of the wolf he had killed before in his space. He glanced left and right, then quickly walked to the old locust tree in front of him to warm up. After scanning his surroundings to make sure no one was passing by, he quickly slipped into his space.

After entering, he picked up the knife that was placed to the side, cut off the two hind legs of the wolf carcass, held them in his hand, and quickly retreated from the space.

It was already completely dark, and smoke was billowing from Widow Liu's chimney.

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