Chen Zi'an was a skilled individual, and he also carried a gun.
Upon arriving at the Hongxin Brigade, he immediately clamored to go up the mountain to hunt.
In the past two years, he had eaten plenty of wild game sent from his in-laws' home, and his taste buds had become quite accustomed to it.
As a result, Chen Zi'an had a misconception that perhaps the mountains of Hongxin Brigade were teeming with game.
Chen Zi'an forgot at this moment that the reality might not be so.
Otherwise, relying solely on the game in the mountains, the people of Hongxin Brigade wouldn't have such a difficult life.
Since he would be staying at Hongxin Brigade for many days this time, he felt it was his moment to shine.
Upon hearing him say this, Grandma Su hurried to stop him.
“Why go up the mountain? It’s so cold. We have plenty of meat this year; it’s enough to eat.”
Chen Zi'an, full of pride, was naturally unwilling to give up.
It had been so many years since he last had a chance to go hunting.
“Aunt, I’ve just been busy all year and plan to take a stroll up the mountain. I might as well bring back a sheep; at this weather, lamb soup is the best.”
The family indeed had a lot of meat this year, but no lamb.
Never mind, Chen Zi'an was an adult; if he wanted to go, let him go. It wasn't a big deal!
Grandma Su immediately let the matter go!
Su Xiaojiu looked at his uncle and suddenly asked, “Uncle, are you taking Little Sweet up the mountain?”
Chen Zi'an had no idea why Su Xiaojiu was asking this and replied as a matter of course, “Little Sweet is too young, and she’s a girl.”
He saw Su Xiaojiu’s strange expression and assumed the child simply wanted to go up the mountain.
However, in his understanding, the mountain was too dangerous, and it wouldn't be good if something happened to such a young child.
“Does Xiao Jiu want to go up the mountain? You’re too young. I’ll take you up in a couple of years.”
Su Xiaojiu didn't feel regretful about this, but instead, a hint of an unreadable smile appeared on his face.
The other children in the Su family were also surprised that Chen Zi'an wasn't taking Su Xiaotian up the mountain to hunt.
Weren't they taking Little Sweet up the mountain to play?
They probably wouldn't find anything but a few dry branches, right?
But thinking that Chen Zi'an was a capable person, they didn't say anything.
After dinner, everyone sat together and chatted for a while before retiring for the night.
The next day, Chen Zi'an, full of spirit, led Su Shouwen and a few other older children up the mountain to hunt.
As he left, he confidently said they would have lamb soup that evening.
Su Xiaojiu looked at him strangely, but Chen Zi'an paid it no mind.
He even casually patted Su Xiaojiu’s forehead and said, “Kid, I’ll take you up the mountain in a few years!”
Su Xiaotian heard this and thought that in a couple more years, they might not be able to go up the mountain to hunt anymore.
By then, the Wildlife Protection Law would be enacted, and hunting would be a crime.
However, there was no need to say these things now and make people unhappy.
Su Xiaotian excitedly planned to show off her skills today when frying oil cakes.
Meanwhile, Grandma Su, who was tending the fire as they left, suddenly said, “They’ll probably come back empty-handed today.”
Su Manxiu didn’t grasp the key point and assumed her mother was worried that Chen Zi'an was unfamiliar with the mountain, thus thinking they might not catch any game.
“It’s fine, they’ll just go for a stroll; consider it playing.”
Su Manxiu said this while chopping meat filling without any hesitation.
“Xi’er, I fried quite a bit of minced meat this year. I’ve packed a small jar for you separately. Take it home when you return after the New Year.”
“Mom, why are you still giving me extra? If my sisters-in-law find out, they’ll have opinions!”
Wang Xianghua, who had just entered, heard this and said cheerfully, “No opinions, no opinions.”
If Wang Xianghua had no opinions, the other two sisters-in-law were not from this brigade, so anything distributed by the brigade had nothing to do with them, and naturally, they wouldn’t have any opinions either.
Of course, the main reason was that Su Manxiu was not a person who dwelled on such matters. When she received benefits from her maiden family, she would always find ways to reciprocate in other ways.
The three daughters-in-law of the old Su family could even tolerate the former Su Manxiang, let alone the current Su Manxiu, who was so good.
“Big sister, I don’t like hearing you say that. You’ve taken care of our children all year. Let alone a small jar of minced meat, even a large jar is deserved!”
Qi Liangying said this with great sincerity. Although she was a bit stingy and had her own little schemes, she was also sensible and knew that some things couldn’t be too nitpicky.
After all, the atmosphere in the old Su family was very good, and everyone was not the type to be calculating.
As for Liang Xiu, she was always virtuous and wouldn't fuss over such things.
“Mom, meatball, meatball!” Chen Xiuyuan, who had somehow wandered into the kitchen, said, hugging Su Manxiu’s leg.
“Oh my, why is Little Xiuyuan here? Xiao Jiu, how are you watching your brother? Hurry and take him out; it would be bad if he got burned!” Qi Liangying quickly called out towards the outside.
Su Xiaoqi quickly ran in and, through coaxing and tricking, led the little boy Chen Xiuyuan out.
Su Xiaotian, on the other hand, sat very obediently by the table, busy shaping the dough in her hands into various fruit shapes.
She was a skillful little girl and could make flowers, butterflies, and other small animals.
Each one was so lifelike that even Grandma Su marveled at how exquisitely the child made them.
This year was a prosperous one, and the Su family not only made fried crispy meat and fried meatballs but also fried quite a few dough fruits.
The adults mainly made twisted dough and oil cakes, while Su Xiaotian specifically shaped various dough fruits.
When Su Taohua came with Su Xiaomei to help, this was the scene they saw.
“This child, Little Sweet, has such skillful hands. Xiao Mei is also skillful, but compared to Little Sweet, it’s nothing!” Su Taohua couldn’t help but praise after taking a look.
“This child has always liked helping in the kitchen since she was young.”
Although Grandma Su spoke humbly, her pride was evident in every word.
Fortunately, Su Taohua was accustomed to Grandma Su’s undisguised affection for Su Xiaotian, so she washed her hands and also helped knead the dough.
Su Xiaomei, on the other hand, sat with Su Xiaotian, making dough fruits with great interest.
As the family busied themselves, they only ate an oil cake for lunch.
In the afternoon, just as the women had finished their work, they saw Chen Zi'an and the others return dejectedly.
Let alone having lamb, they hadn't even caught a pheasant.
Su Manxiu looked at Chen Zi'an, who had returned empty-handed, and smiled, “Mother did predict correctly!”
“What did Aunt say?” Chen Zi'an asked curiously while washing his hands.
“Mother said you would definitely come back empty-handed today!”
Chen Zi'an himself was also puzzled. How could the people of the old Su family get so much wild game, while he returned empty-handed after just one trip up the mountain?
Could it be that he, an old soldier who had been to the battlefield, was not as good as a few children?
“How did Aunt know I would come back empty-handed today?” Chen Zi'an couldn't help but ask curiously.
Su Manxiu shook her head, “I don’t know!”
Xiao Jiu, who happened to overhear, said solemnly, “That’s because Uncle didn’t bring Little Sweet.”
As he said this, he deliberately puffed out his little neck.
Uh…
Chen Zi'an was even more confused.
“Uncle, I’ll tell you secretly. When we go up the mountain to hunt, we always bring Little Sweet. As long as Little Sweet is on the mountain, pheasants and wild sheep will all come running. Wild rabbits even bump themselves to death on trees, waiting for us to pick them up.”
Would Chen Zi'an believe it?
Obviously not!
What kind of superstitious nonsense was this?
In his entire life, he had never heard of such a strange thing.
“I’m telling the truth, Uncle. We go up the mountain to pick mushrooms, and the mushrooms grow right at Little Sweet’s feet.”
Seeing that his uncle didn’t believe him, Su Xiaojiu emphasized again.
But a little child saying such strange and unbelievable things only increased Chen Zi'an’s disbelief.
Seeing that Chen Zi'an still didn’t believe him, Su Xiaojiu was very disappointed.
At dinner, Chen Zi'an asked Grandma Su why he hadn’t gotten any game when he went up the mountain.
Grandma Su smiled proudly, “That’s because you didn’t bring Little Sweet!”
While Chen Zi'an was surprised, he couldn't help but glance at Little Sweet, then at Xiao Jiu.
Little Sweet showed no reaction, while Xiao Jiu looked at Chen Zi'an with a smug expression, clearly conveying: “See? I told you!”
“Aunt, is that really true?”
“Of course, it is. Before Little Sweet and the others returned, when the older ones went up the mountain, they were lucky to bring back one pheasant in three days.”
Chen Zi'an now had to believe that this might be true.
But why?
Chen Zi'an thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he decided to stop thinking about it and simply go up the mountain with Su Xiaotian tomorrow to see.
Early the next morning, Chen Zi'an took all the children from the Su family up the mountain, of course, leaving the little boy Chen Xiuyuan behind.
When the little boy Chen Xiuyuan discovered that his brothers and sisters were all gone, he started to fuss.
Su Manxiu was trying to pacify him when Liu Xiuying arrived, followed by two half-grown boys. They were none other than her two grandsons, Jin Wa and Yin Wa.
These two boys hadn't changed much from several years ago, all appearing dirty and unkempt.
“Oh my, is this Manxiu’s child? Let Grandma the Second have a look!”
As Liu Xiuying spoke, she stepped forward to pick up Chen Xiuyuan.
However, the little boy Chen Xiuyuan immediately turned his head away, ignoring Liu Xiuying completely, thus giving her a snub.
Su Manxiu also didn’t want to deal with Liu Xiuying, but since she was an elder and Su Manxiu was an adult, she couldn’t act as rudely as the stinky child in her arms.
“Second Aunt, why are you here?”
“I brought Jin Wa and Yin Wa to see your aunt and the little child. We are all family relatives; it’s good to be close from childhood!”
Grandma Su snorted upon hearing Liu Xiuying’s shameless words and said, “There’s no need. We live in the same brigade, yet I haven’t seen your family be close to ours.”
It would be good enough if they weren’t enemies; closeness? Who do they think they are, fools?
Su Manxiu knew that the relationship between the two families had never been good, and it was only a matter of maintaining appearances.
Therefore, she didn’t say anything further.
Fortunately, Liu Xiuying was someone who wouldn’t give up until she achieved her goal. Even if no one paid attention to her, she didn’t care at all.
“Jin Wa, Yin Wa, what are you two doing? Didn’t I say you were coming to play with the little brother?”
As she spoke, Liu Xiuying also pushed her two grandsons.
However, these two boys were clearly not on Little Chen Xiuyuan’s radar.
Little Chen Xiuyuan not only didn’t want to play with these two boys but didn’t even want to look at them.
As soon as they got close to him, he would cry his heart out.
In the end, Liu Xiuying could only take her two grandsons away.
However, as they were leaving, she was still grumbling, saying things like the Chen family had high standards and looked down on them, country bumpkins, and so on.
But Grandma Su didn’t even bother with it, and Liu Xiuying was always a gossip. Even if others heard her, they paid no mind.
That evening, when Chen Zi'an came down the mountain, he indeed brought back a lot of game.
However, as he carried the game, he couldn't help but size up Su Xiaotian.
Xiao Jiu was right. The mountain where they couldn’t even see a pheasant feather yesterday now inexplicably had so much wild game today, and he even hunted two wild sheep that he had been longing for.
It was only then that Su Shouwen mentioned that they always took Su Xiaotian with them whenever they went hunting.
He also said that if they didn’t bring Su Xiaotian, they would return empty-handed nine out of ten times, and even if they had some harvest the remaining time, it wouldn’t be much.
Chen Zi'an finally understood why Xiao Jiu had looked at him with such a strange expression.
That brat was probably just waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
Chen Zi'an took the children up the mountain for three consecutive days and brought back a lot of wild game.
If it weren’t for the fact that the next day was New Year’s Eve, Chen Zi'an would have definitely gone up the mountain again.
The people of the old Su family had to guard against others in the brigade when hunting, but when Chen Zi'an openly carried a sheep down the mountain, not a single person in the brigade expressed any disapproval.
In fact, even when they saw the old Su family carrying a lot of game back home, no one even made a sour remark.
In the eyes of the people of Hongxin Brigade, Chen Zi'an was an official, and going up the mountain to hunt was expected. Moreover, was the game that easy to hunt? It was simply that he was capable.
Grandma Su’s eyes were almost unable to see as she looked at the string of pheasants and rabbits.
This New Year was the most prosperous one she had ever experienced.
With so much meat, not only could their family eat it, but even if they added Taohua's family and Chi Ge and a few others, they still wouldn't be able to finish it.
“Grandma, Grandma, we counted! There are twenty-nine pheasants, twenty-three rabbits, four wild sheep, and one wild boar,” Su Xiao Ba shouted excitedly, jumping.
Su Laosan and Chen Zi'an quickly cleaned all the game.
Grandma Su and Grandpa Su discussed it. With so much meat, they couldn’t just eat it themselves; they should also distribute some to the people in the brigade.
Under Grandma Su’s arrangement, Su Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu, the two brothers, delivered a lamb leg to the brigade leader's house and another lamb leg to Li Zhuzi's house.
For the remaining households, those with more people received a plump rabbit, and those with fewer people received a pheasant, or a piece of lamb, or a piece of wild boar meat.
In short, every household in Hongxin Brigade received some meat.
As for the rest, it was for their own family.
The brigade members, who unexpectedly received wild game and could add another dish to their New Year’s Eve dinner, were all happy. Some more particular families would also offer a bowl of peanuts or a handful of melon seeds as a return gift.
Only Liu Xiuying was very dissatisfied, believing that the old Su family should have given her more.
Starting from the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the old Su family began to live a life of eating meat every day.
It had to be said that days with meat were happy, and having meat during the New Year was even more blissful.
On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, an uninvited guest suddenly arrived at the brigade.
[Author’s Note]
Four thousand characters completed. Babies, half of your holiday is over!