Chapter 119: Eating Meat
Editor:Â 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. âFei Bai, ride back and get Uncle Mu to pick us up. Weâll barbecue deer meat at the Mu residence tonight.â
Mu Yangling picked up from the raft the roe deer that was killed first and placed it on the horseâs back. âBring it back to my father. Otherwise, we wonât be able to take it later.â
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. âSince 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?â
Mu Yangling thought for a moment before shaking her head. âThere are many of you and you contributed a lot. Itâs better for you to take three while Iâll take two. If you hadnât come to look for me, my father definitely wouldnât have allowed me to enter the mountain.â Seeing Qi Haoran frown in disapproval, she said, âIf you think Iâm at a disadvantage, give me a pair of deer whips and deer antlers. How about that?â
Qi Haoran widened his eyes. âYou like to eat such things?â
Fan Zijin wished he could close his eyes. Bursting out laughing, Mu Yangling said, âItâs not for me. The deer antlers are for my father and mother. As for the deer whip, Iâm going to sell it to the pharmacy.â As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes and said, âYou can save your remaining two pairs for your Big Brother. Heâll definitely like them.â
Qi Haoran reacted by blushing.
Mu Yangling laughed out loud. Seeing that Qi Haoran was being bullied, Fan Zijin retorted, âYouâre really a concerned daughter, huh. You even prepared deer antlers for your parents.â
Mu Yangling snorted. âWell, Iâm filial to my parents. Iâm happy to!â
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, âLittle General, letâs go back quickly. My wife has already prepared food.â
Qi Haoran waved his hand and said, âIâm not eating with you guys. Iâll just roast venison with Mu Yangling and the others.â
When the group returned to the Mu Residence, Mu Yangling placed Qi Haoranâs three deer aside and chose a fat and strong deer from her share to cut. Mu Shi hurriedly stopped her and said, âLet me do it. Go change your clothes quickly and come back to entertain the Little General.â
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. âHere, this is what your sister wants. Give it to her later.â
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. âXiuhong, youâre so thoughtful. Weâll roast potatoes to eat later. Itâs a pity that there arenât any vegetables. Otherwise, itâd be even more delicious.â
Xiuhong pursed her lips and smiled. âI knew you would like it. Cousin, shall we roast venison tonight?â
âOf course not. Thereâs also roe deer meat. Itâs delicious even if itâs roasted. My fatherâs knife skills are especially good, so I asked him to cut it into thin slices.â Mu Yangling smacked her lips. âItâs a pity that thereâs no chili or ketchup. Otherwise, the roasted venison would definitely taste even more awesome.â
However, because Shu Wanniang was worried about the childrenâs 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 couldnât 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, âIâm almost full. I wonât be able to eat much later.â
Mu Yangling looked at the charcoal absent-mindedly and said, âItâs okay. Iâll help you eat it later.â
Little Bowen felt even more aggrieved.
The Mu family didnât 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, âCan you actually roast something using this?â
âDonât worry, Iâm sure this will work. After brushing it with oil, Iâll be able to put the meat in later,â 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 couldnât 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 Zijinâs 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, âWhat is this?â
Xiuhong glanced at it and said nonchalantly, âOh, thatâs the mark left behind from the forging.â
âForging iron? Why havenât I seen it before on other grills?â
âUncle Liuâs forging skills are not good enough so the pieces of iron arenât even. If not for that, we wouldnât have been willing to use these iron pieces to make a grill. Perhaps with an additional piece of iron added, thatâs enough iron to make a scythe.â
âScythe?â Fan Zijin had a bad feeling. His intuition told him not to ask further, but he could not help but ask, âIsnât this piece of iron a whole piece of iron? What else was this used as before?â
Mu Yangling glanced at him strangely. Even Qi Haoran couldnât help but say, âTheyâre farmers. How can they get iron?â The country had strict control over iron.
Xiuhong said, âWho knows what it was used for? Since it was found in our village, itâs either a scythe or a shovel. When Cousin found it, the iron had already been melted. This cooled later, so we couldnât tell what it was before.â
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, âDelicious!â
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 didnât know what he was conflicted about. Seeing that he didnât 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, âHurry up and eat. Mu Yanglingâs culinary skills are not bad. Itâs delicious! Look, itâs all snatched up by them.â
Fan Zijin: ââŠâ
Mu Yangling didnât notice Fan Zijinâs 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 couldnât help but knock his chopsticks with her chopsticks. âEat slower. My cousins havenât eaten much yet.â
Qi Haoran said, âThe venison here is better than the ones in the capital. Donât you think so, Zijin?â
Fan Zijin glared at him fiercely before snatching the meat from Qi Haoranâs 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. âWhat are you doing? Must you snatch food from my mouth?â
Fan Zijin sneered and stared at him. The first to weaken his aura, Qi Haoran muttered, âIf you want to snatch it, so be it. But I want to eat too. Iâll give you half, alright?â 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!
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