The whole mountain is my hunting ground

At Li Baoyu's house, there was only a plate of fried dried tofu with sharp peppers and a pot of radish and potato soup on the dinner table.

As the head of the family, Li Dayong sat in the back, holding chopsticks in one hand to pick up food and a wine glass in the other to drink.

Li Ruhai and Li Xiaoqiao sat next to Li Dayong. The brother and sister ate their food carefully, but from time to time they peeked at Li Dayong and Li Baoyu.

Li Baoyu was sitting on the wooden stool under the kang, holding a bowl of sea in one hand and using chopsticks in the other to scoop up the large sticky porridge in his mouth.

When he put down the bowl and stretched out his chopsticks to pick up the vegetables, without the obstruction of the big bowl, you could clearly see the slap marks on his face and the redness and swelling at the corners of his mouth.

At this time, Jin Xiaomei walked in from the outer room and sat next to Li Xiaoqiao with a bowl of rice porridge.

Mom, I want to eat meat. Li Xiaoqiao put down her chopsticks and said timidly. The little girl didn't understand that it didn't matter if there was no meat at home on weekdays.

But today, her eldest brother brought back a sack of meat. Before eating, Jin Xiaomei laid out the pieces of wild boar meat in the outhouse.

Why don't you feed it to yourself?

Jin Xiaomei fished out a piece of potato from the basin and put it in Li Xiaoqiao's bowl. With her free hand, she moved Li Xiaoqiao's braid from the front of her shoulder to the back of her shoulder, My dear, mom will braise meat for you tomorrow.

Well, our family will have to eat a good meal of meat tomorrow. Li Dayong suddenly answered, That's what your brother paid for with the dog's life.

As soon as Li Dayong said this, Li Ruhai burst into laughter. He looked at Li Baoyu and wanted to make a joke, but when he turned around, he met his elder brother's unkind gaze.

Ahem... Li Ruhai coughed lightly, turned around and picked up vegetables to eat as if nothing had happened.

At this time, a scent of aroma came in from outside the house. Li Xiaoqiao sniffed, then turned his eyes to Li Dayong and said, Dad, I want to eat meat.

Eat tomorrow, eat tomorrow. Compared to his treatment of his son, Li Dayong was much gentler to his youngest daughter. He touched Li Xiaoqiao's head and said, Your brother Zhao will definitely get a beating tonight, just Let him eat more.”

…

Gudu... Gudu...

In the large iron pot, the boiling water was foaming with blood, and the strong aroma of meat filled the whole house and spread to the yard outside.

Wang Meilan picked up a pair of chopsticks, picked up a large piece of wild boar tenderloin from the pot, put it into the basin next to it, took off the chopsticks and placed it on the stove.

Then he opened the lid of the vat next to him, used the gourd to scoop out a ladle of water from the vat, poured it into the basin and washed the piece of wild boar tenderloin.

The cooked pork is washed with cold water. While the blood foam on the surface is washed away, the temperature of the meat also drops.

Wang Meilan tore the meat into small pieces with her hands and put them on a plate with the chopped green peppers.

The next step is to heat the pan with oil and sauté the chopped green onions until fragrant...

Sautéed wild boar tenderloin with chili, braised wild boar ribs, braised wild boar neck meat with radish, and a dry tofu roll with scallion dipping sauce.

Wang Meilan prepared four dishes in one go and had a wonderful meal with Zhao Jun and his two daughters.

After dinner, Zhao Jun helped Wang Meilan pick up the dishes and chopsticks, and then watched Zhao Hong and Zhao Na do their homework before returning to the west room and lying on the kang.

As soon as he lay down on the kang, he heard a sound coming from outside, and then he heard someone asking: Why are you braised meat? It's so delicious!

As soon as Zhao Jun turned over, he got up from the kang, his eyes full of vigilance.

He put on his shoes, opened the door and walked out.

Finished?

As soon as Zhao Jun went out, a familiar voice in his memory came to his ears.

For many years, this person and this voice only appeared in his dreams. However, compared to Wang Meilan, Zhao Jun had more complicated feelings about this person.

There is a closeness stemming from blood, but there is also a hint of resentment.

Take it. Zhao Youcai handed a slightly oily yellow paper bag to Zhao Jun, then he took off his coat and walked to the east room.

Zhao Jun followed Zhao Youcai into the east room, and the two sisters gathered around. Zhao Jun gave the paper package to Zhao Hong. Zhao Hong untied the rope and opened the yellow paper, only to see pieces of stove fruits neatly packed inside.

Zhao Hong and Zhao Na each grabbed a piece and bit it. Zhao Youcai, who had just finished hanging his clothes, came over, stretched out his left hand, dipped his index finger into the pomace that his little daughter had eaten, and put it into his mouth.

Dad, you can have a piece too. Zhao Jun moved the scattered paper bag away and said to Zhao Youcai.

I'm such an adult, why should I eat it? You three brothers can eat it. Zhao Youcai said, got on the kang, and moved his buttocks inside.

At this time, Wang Meilan came in with a plate in one hand. Zhao Jun hurried out and came back with a wine bottle and glass from the outhouse.

Dad, we guys are eating hard today, please take a few sips.

Ha! Looking at the dog-legged Zhao Jun, Zhao Youcai chuckled and said, Have you caused me any trouble again?

Hahaha... Dad, what are you talking about? Zhao Jun laughed, sat sideways on the kang, picked up the bottle and poured wine for Zhao Youcai.

Wang Meilan came back with another plate and a bowl, and placed them on the table one by one. As she placed them, she said, Your eldest son has become successful and has gone up the mountain to hunt wild boars.

Oops? You're awesome, boy. Zhao Youcai's hand holding the green onions for dipping into the sauce paused, and he glanced at Zhao Jun seemingly casually, but his face had already darkened.

Now that you have grown up, you dare to steal a wild boar condom?

Wang Meilan pushed away Zhao Jun's hand that handed her the stove fruit, ignored her son's overtures, and said quietly: Who are you looking down on? Your eldest son brought the dog to the mountain knife by himself.

As soon as Wang Meilan said these words, Zhao Jun felt a chill on his head, and he looked at his father cautiously.

Zhao Youcai's face was as dark as water, and there was no trace of anger, but he was sitting there cross-legged, motionless like a statue.

Dad, I was wrong. Zhao Jun quickly admitted his defeat.

Zhao Youcai didn't speak, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly solidified. Even the two little girls noticed that something was wrong, and they didn't even dare to chew the stove fruit in their mouths.

The air was stagnant for about ten seconds. Zhao Youcai suddenly smiled. He picked up the wine glass on the table and took a big sip.

Northeastern braised rice wine, 56-degree pure sorghum wine, so spicy that Zhao Youcai tightened his nose. He put down the wine glass casually and said with a smile: My eldest son has become successful and can hunt wild boars. His father is lucky, so I can eat more.

Zhao Youcai smiled, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. The invisible pressure disappeared out of thin air. Xiao Zhao Hong's face lit up with joy as he chewed the stove fruit, Dad, the wild boar my brother shot was delicious.

Eat yours quickly. Zhao Jun angrily stuffed the fruit that Wang Meilan didn't take into Zhao Hong's mouth.

Yeah, it smells good. Zhao Youcai chewed a big mouthful of wild boar meat, responded vaguely, and then took another sip of wine.

After the wine and meat in his mouth were eaten together, he smiled and said to Zhao Hong, Second girl, someday let your brother go to the mountains and give you a black blind head. That thing is more fragrant, even more fragrant than wild boars.

Okay, okay. Zhao Hong became even more happy upon hearing this. Today, we had a delicious stew first, and then we had oven-fried fruits after the meal. In the eyes of the little girl, this kind of life is simply wonderful.

Zhao Youcai smiled and stopped mentioning the incident. While eating and drinking, he also talked about some interesting things that happened among the workers and colleagues in the forest farm today.

Wang Meilan stood by and sometimes listened, sometimes asked questions, and sometimes agreed.

Moreover, Zhao Hong and Zhao Na would occasionally interrupt and tell their parents interesting stories about their children.

For a time, the parents in the house were kind, the daughter was filial, they were talking and laughing, and they were having a great time. The atmosphere of family affection was at its peak, and it was like a scene of a happy family.

But even so, Zhao Jun on the side became increasingly restless.

The two sisters are still young, so they don't know that Zhao Jun knows that his father has two nicknames in these ten miles and eight villages.

Secretly, Zhao Youcai's elders and his peers who grew up with him all call him Zhao Erbi, or simply Erbi for short.

But if he mentioned it behind his back, most people would call him Zhao Ergu (gù) Dong (dòng).