pjbooks Chapter 9 The Lively Production Team
Chapter 9 The Lively Production Team
It wasn't just the Shan and Lin families who came to the village entrance; their neighbors from the production team—most of whom were on good terms with them—also came.
After hearing that Shan Yaowen and Lin Hao had not returned from the mountain, many people spontaneously came out to help search for them.
Of course, some people genuinely wanted to help, some were just there for the spectacle, and some were even there to get inside information so they could brag about it later.
Regardless of their motives, the Shan and Lin families were grateful for the help of so many neighbors who came out to search for the person.
After all, there's strength in numbers, and maybe one person can find it.
However, just as they arrived at the village entrance and were discussing which way to look, they saw two people carrying prey.
"Are those Yaowen and Ahao?"
"Oh, it really is them. They actually managed to catch their prey?"
"Are they those two boys from the Shan and Lin families?"
"Yes, that's them. What's this thing?"
"A roe deer, it looks like a roe deer."
"Four roe deer, each weighing over a hundred pounds."
Dan Yaowen and Lin Hao stood dumbfounded at the village entrance, watching the flashlight beams shining back and forth, so bright they could barely open their eyes.
What happened?
"Second brother, are you alright?" Upon hearing the voice of someone who had found his younger brother, Shan Yaowu quickly pushed through the crowd and came out.
Dog Egg's father, Lin Anbang, also looked at his son with concern, but because there were so many people around, he quietly lowered his fist, which was about to punch someone.
This little rascal, he's itching for a beating after just two days, daring to go hunting in the mountains with two of them.
Don't you know how terrifying the big guys in the mountains are?
Now that they had found the people, the group stopped heading up the mountain and started walking home in twos and threes, but all they talked about was how the two kids had killed four roe deer.
The guns that Shan Yaowen had originally wanted to hide were ignored by everyone; almost everyone's eyes were on the four roe deer.
The noise continued as the crowd moved, and even when they reached the courtyards of the two houses, many people were still following behind.
"What happened outside? Is the second brother back?" Shan Dashan asked anxiously from his bed.
He was helpless. He was bedridden and anxious because his second son had been gone for so long and hadn't come back yet. But he needed someone to take care of his every need, let alone go looking for someone.
Hearing the commotion outside, his instinct was that his second son had been found, but he didn't know how he was doing.
"It's Erguo!" The younger sister excitedly came to tell her father the good news. "Dad, Erguo brought back such a big piece of meat!"
The little guy was gesturing with his hands as he talked, and when he felt that his gestures weren't big enough, he even stood on tiptoe and hopped around to make them bigger.
The father lay on the bed and waited for his younger sister to finish gesturing before he finally understood.
His son was fine; in fact, he even brought back two game animals.
He was somewhat moved, realizing that he himself didn't know how to hunt in the mountains, but this kid had learned it.
But how did this kid find his prey when there aren't even any hunting dogs at home?
The answer came quickly. When Shan Yaowu came in to get the knife, he told him that it was two roe deer.
If you run into this thing, there's nothing to say; it's stupid, cheap, and easy to beat.
Shan Yaowu came out with a knife and quickly dealt with the two roe deer.
"Well, thank you all so much for today, helping to find someone so late at night." Shan Yaowen looked at the crowd around him. "Each family can take a pound of meat home to eat later."
"Wow, Ah Wen is so generous!"
"One pound per family? There are about ten households here."
"Yes, almost everyone from our production team came. They just gave away over ten kilograms of meat like that?"
Shan Yaowen looked at his neighbors with a smile, "If my dad hadn't been injured and I hadn't been sick a couple of days ago and needed money urgently, I could have easily given each family two kilograms."
He originally planned to sneak back under the cover of night, hoping to make a fortune quietly, keep some for his family to eat, and sell the rest.
But so many people went to help look for me tonight, and they all saw me at the village entrance. It wouldn't be right not to say something.
Besides, he hunted a wild boar yesterday and a roe deer today, and he didn't share any with his neighbors. It's better if they don't know, because if they did, they would definitely gossip about him behind his back.
They'll still be living in the village, seeing each other all the time, so there's no need to make things too awkward. Their neighbors aren't like Zhao Laosan, who usually shares things with them when others have them.
"Wow, Ah Wen is so generous."
Upon hearing Shan Yaowen's words, everyone around him beamed with joy.
These days, not everyone is well-off, so a pound of meat is a real treat.
"Come on, everyone, lend a hand. Yaowen has been working hard all day on the mountain, and Dashan is bedridden. Yaowu can't manage all this by himself."
"Okay, I'll go home and get the kitchen knife and basin."
"I'll go help clean up the internal organs. That stuff stinks; most of you probably couldn't stand it."
"..."
With a pound of meat hanging in front, the neighbors were incredibly welcoming.
Shan Yaowen didn't even have to lift a finger; he even got several cigarettes while resting on the side.
The two brothers originally thought it would take them until late at night to clean up the two roe deer, but they finished cleaning them all before 10 p.m., and the neighbors all went home satisfied with their meat.
"It's still the best when it's big." Shan Yaowu sighed as he looked at the bowls of meat displayed in the yard.
Many of the basins were even lent to them by their neighbors to hold meat, who said it was fine to return them the next day after they finished using them.
"If it weren't for that pound of meat, would you have gotten such a good meal?" Mother Shan is still heartbroken about the dozen or so pounds of meat she gave away.
There was so much meat, enough for a family to eat for several days. Those people didn't stand on ceremony and even picked out the fatty parts.
All that was left in his house was lean meat.
Sister-in-law Shi Fang nodded, "Awen is so generous, giving me a whole jin (500g). If it were me, half a jin would have been enough."
Shan Yaowen yawned. "We hunted two roe deer, weighing over 200 jin in total. If we don't give them some, people might talk about us behind our backs, and we'll see if they'll help us in the future."
It's not that he's concerned about saving face; it's mainly because if he doesn't maintain good relationships with his neighbors, they might do something disgusting to him later.
And it will be easier to ask for help if there are any problems at home in the future.
"Then you don't need to give us a pound, there's so much meat already."
Shan Yaowu glared at his wife, "You've already given it all, why are you still saying so much?"
"I was just saying."
"Alright, brother, sister-in-law is still pregnant, don't tire yourself out. Mom, is there anything else to eat? I'm starving."
"So you do feel hungry? I thought you were made of iron and never needed to eat." Mother Shan looked at her second son with amusement. "There's no rice left, how about I make you a bowl of noodles?"
"Okay."
The noodles were made with lard, cooked in pork fat, with just a little salt and soy sauce, and some chopped green onions.
It was very simple, but Shan Yaowen ate with great relish.
Shan Yaowen did not put down the bowl until he had drunk the last bit of soup.
How long?
In his past life, what he longed for most was his mother's homemade lard noodles.
"Is the Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) good?"
Looking into his little sister's big eyes, Shan Yaowen picked her up and placed her on his lap. "Are you hungry? It's all your fault for eating too fast. If you want some, I'll cook you a bowl too."
"Don't spoil her. She ate all the food I left for you after dinner, including the fruit candies I bought this morning." Mother Shan glared at her younger sister, annoyed.
This little girl, relying on the second son's doting affection, is becoming more and more unscrupulous.
"I'm not hungry, do you still want some Erguotou?" The little sister snuggled closer to Shan Yaowen and pulled out a fruit candy from somewhere, handing it to him.
"I'm full, you can eat now." Shan Yaowen leaned back in his chair, holding his little sister, not wanting to move at all.
He wished time could stand still, so he could live a comfortable life like this forever.
However, with so many things going on at home, and my dad injured and lying in bed, there's nothing he can skip doing.
The next morning, Shan Yaowen got up very early, which was unusual for him.
This time, instead of going to town to sell meat, he took some roe deer meat to the village secretary's house.
The neighbors all gave it to him, so there's no reason why the village secretary shouldn't do something about it. Besides, if he wants to contract the ranch later, he'll inevitably have to deal with the village secretary.