Chapter 119: Eating Meat
Editor: Atlas Studios
By the time the group walked out of the forest with difficulty, Fan Zijin collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. Mu Yangling was relaxed, and Qi Haoran was at ease. After he placed the deer on the ground, he waved his hand. “Fei Bai, ride back and get Uncle Mu to pick us up. We’ll barbecue deer meat at the Mu residence tonight.”
Mu Yangling picked up from the raft the roe deer that was killed first and placed it on the horse’s back. “Bring it back to my father. Otherwise, we won’t be able to take it later.”
Fei Bai agreed with a bitter expression.
Seeing that he had left, Qi Haoran then discussed with Mu Yangling about dividing the spoils. Or rather, the prey. “Since you put in a lot of effort and led the way, thus helping us to find the deer herd so quickly, you should take three while I take two. How does that sound?”
Mu Yangling thought for a moment before shaking her head. “There are many of you and you contributed a lot. It’s better for you to take three while I’ll take two. If you hadn’t come to look for me, my father definitely wouldn’t have allowed me to enter the mountain.” Seeing Qi Haoran frown in disapproval, she said, “If you think I’m at a disadvantage, give me a pair of deer whips and deer antlers. How about that?”
Qi Haoran widened his eyes. “You like to eat such things?”
Fan Zijin wished he could close his eyes. Bursting out laughing, Mu Yangling said, “It’s not for me. The deer antlers are for my father and mother. As for the deer whip, I’m going to sell it to the pharmacy.” As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes and said, “You can save your remaining two pairs for your Big Brother. He’ll definitely like them.”
Qi Haoran reacted by blushing.
Mu Yangling laughed out loud. Seeing that Qi Haoran was being bullied, Fan Zijin retorted, “You’re really a concerned daughter, huh. You even prepared deer antlers for your parents.”
Mu Yangling snorted. “Well, I’m filial to my parents. I’m happy to!”
Fan Zijin wanted to say something, but Mu Shi had already jogged over with the Hu brothers. When they saw the prey on the ground, the Hu brothers were stunned. Mu Shi, who was already used to it, went forward to greet Qi Haoran. As he picked up a deer, he said, “Little General, let’s go back quickly. My wife has already prepared food.”
Qi Haoran waved his hand and said, “I’m not eating with you guys. I’ll just roast venison with Mu Yangling and the others.”
When the group returned to the Mu Residence, Mu Yangling placed Qi Haoran’s three deer aside and chose a fat and strong deer from her share to cut. Mu Shi hurriedly stopped her and said, “Let me do it. Go change your clothes quickly and come back to entertain the Little General.”
Mu Yangling chuckled and ran to change.
Qi Haoran was circling his prey in satisfaction. He took out a dagger from his calf, cut off the deer antler and deer whip, and handed them to Little Bowen. “Here, this is what your sister wants. Give it to her later.”
He turned around and instructed Fei Bai to go back and get someone to bring the things back. He decided to leave one behind to eat with Zijin and have the rest brought back to the West Camp to give to Big Brother. Yes, he would also send some to Song Zhi.
Standing at the door, Xiuhong looked at them for a while, before pulling her sister and turning around to clean up the grill. She took out a few potatoes from the corner of the house, washed them, and cut them into slices. Mu Yangling, who had changed her clothes, came out and praised her loudly upon seeing this. “Xiuhong, you’re so thoughtful. We’ll roast potatoes to eat later. It’s a pity that there aren’t any vegetables. Otherwise, it’d be even more delicious.”
Xiuhong pursed her lips and smiled. “I knew you would like it. Cousin, shall we roast venison tonight?”
“Of course not. There’s also roe deer meat. It’s delicious even if it’s roasted. My father’s knife skills are especially good, so I asked him to cut it into thin slices.” Mu Yangling smacked her lips. “It’s a pity that there’s no chili or ketchup. Otherwise, the roasted venison would definitely taste even more awesome.”
However, because Shu Wanniang was worried about the children’s stomachs, she made some porridge for them using bones. This way, everyone could eat a bowl of porridge before the barbecue. Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin couldn’t escape this either.
As Mu Yangling and Qi Haoran had big appetites, that small bowl of porridge was not even enough to fill the bottom of their stomachs. They finished it readily.
Little Bowen wanted to skip it, but Shu Wanniang glared at him. He had no choice but to eat a small bowl of bone porridge obediently.
Little Bowen rubbed his stomach aggrievedly and said, “I’m almost full. I won’t be able to eat much later.”
Mu Yangling looked at the charcoal absent-mindedly and said, “It’s okay. I’ll help you eat it later.”
Little Bowen felt even more aggrieved.
The Mu family didn’t bring their grill with them when they fled their village previously, so they used a makeshift one this time by digging a pit on the ground. Rocks were placed around it and the charcoal was placed in to be heated. Then, a rectangular piece of iron was placed upon it to form the grill.
Fan Zijin looked at it with his mouth agape. He muttered, “Can you actually roast something using this?”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure this will work. After brushing it with oil, I’ll be able to put the meat in later,” Mu Yangling said confidently.
Qi Haoran also looked on with interest. He had never used such a simple grill before, but he still wanted to learn the skill of being able to construct a grill anywhere. Since it was certain that he would go out to war in the future, there were things he couldn’t bring with him. If he could construct a grill whenever he wanted, he was willing to do so even if it was a simple one.
Fan Zijin’s eyes widened as he looked at the piece of iron. As there was a fire in the courtyard, he could clearly see the black stuff on it. He tried enduring it, but he could not hold it in anymore. Pointing at the thing on it, he asked, “What is this?”
Xiuhong glanced at it and said nonchalantly, “Oh, that’s the mark left behind from the forging.”
“Forging iron? Why haven’t I seen it before on other grills?”
“Uncle Liu’s forging skills are not good enough so the pieces of iron aren’t even. If not for that, we wouldn’t have been willing to use these iron pieces to make a grill. Perhaps with an additional piece of iron added, that’s enough iron to make a scythe.”
“Scythe?” Fan Zijin had a bad feeling. His intuition told him not to ask further, but he could not help but ask, “Isn’t this piece of iron a whole piece of iron? What else was this used as before?”
Mu Yangling glanced at him strangely. Even Qi Haoran couldn’t help but say, “They’re farmers. How can they get iron?” The country had strict control over iron.
Xiuhong said, “Who knows what it was used for? Since it was found in our village, it’s either a scythe or a shovel. When Cousin found it, the iron had already been melted. This cooled later, so we couldn’t tell what it was before.”
Mu Yangling had already placed the meat slices neatly in and sprinkled some salt. Before it was cooked, Qi Haoran picked up a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, shouting, “Delicious!”
However, Fan Zijin could not pick up his chopsticks no matter what. The image of a scythe and shovel kept appearing in his mind.
Qi Haoran didn’t know what he was conflicted about. Seeing that he didn’t make a move, he picked up a piece of freshly cooked food and stuffed it into his mouth before it turned cold. Chuckling, he said, “Hurry up and eat. Mu Yangling’s culinary skills are not bad. It’s delicious! Look, it’s all snatched up by them.”
Fan Zijin: “…”
Mu Yangling didn’t notice Fan Zijin’s expression. She had to take care of Little Bowen, stuff food into her own mouth, and help Xiuhong and Xiulan snatch a few pieces of roasted meat from time to time. How could she notice others?
Qi Haoran ate aggressively, always picking up the food as soon as it was cooked or even before it was cooked. Seeing that Xiuhong was no match for him, Mu Yangling couldn’t help but knock his chopsticks with her chopsticks. “Eat slower. My cousins haven’t eaten much yet.”
Qi Haoran said, “The venison here is better than the ones in the capital. Don’t you think so, Zijin?”
Fan Zijin glared at him fiercely before snatching the meat from Qi Haoran’s chopsticks.
Qi Haoran was baffled. He did not know how he had offended him, but every time he picked up a piece of meat, Fan Zijin would snatch it away. It was fine if it happened once or twice, but after it happened too many times, Qi Haoran inevitably got angry. “What are you doing? Must you snatch food from my mouth?”
Fan Zijin sneered and stared at him. The first to weaken his aura, Qi Haoran muttered, “If you want to snatch it, so be it. But I want to eat too. I’ll give you half, alright?” As he spoke, he picked up a piece for Fan Zijin and another for himself. It was the same for the rest. Before he ate, he picked up a piece for Fan Zijin.
Fan Zijin tormented him for a long time before his anger dissipated. However, by then, he realized that he was already full. To think he was full from eating meat roasted using such a piece of iron!