bookrebus Chapter 406 Qin Pao Helps Sun Quande
Chapter 406 Qin Pao Helps Sun Quande
The villagers of Xiaoling Village had just thought Li Ju'an had vanished without a trace, and now, in no time at all, he returned with a large group of hunters, each carrying a woven bag overflowing with contents. The bags on the backs of the mules and horses were still twitching and struggling, making everyone curious about what was inside.
Li Ju'an opened the urea woven bag and dragged out a fat sheep whose throat had just been cut not long ago.
The sheep had just died, but its hind legs could still kick twice, a subconscious nerve reflex.
He carried the heavy bag of urea and said with a smile, "Captain Wang, the area is all clean now, check it again."
Team Leader Wang stared in astonishment at the pile of woven bags covering the ground, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. He exclaimed, "You guys made all of these? Goodness, that's incredible!"
Sister-in-law Qian started counting the sheep in the woven bags on the ground. Each bag contained seven or eight sheep, which added up to quite a lot.
The villagers were furious when they mentioned the wild sheep. Team Leader Wang was in high spirits and shouted, "Let's have a welcome feast for Li Pao! Li Pao has to stay in our village tonight. We'll have a good drink and chat. No one can persuade you to go into the mountains."
Li Ju'an laughed heartily and said loudly, "Then we won't stand on ceremony."
Xiaoling Village has about fifty households and two hundred villagers. Each household brought out their best cured meat, homemade pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, and homemade sweet potato noodles to entertain the rat-catching team.
A large table was set up under the greenhouse in the village. Li Ju'an and the hunters sat at a large table, while Captain Wang offered them cigarettes and led them in playing cards and chatting. Sister-in-law Qian and Aunt Zhao led the village's women to work around the earthen stove. The village had jointly purchased a pig from farmer Chen and slaughtered it.
A large feast of stewed pork was served, steaming hot and bubbling, along with braised pork hock, stir-fried pork, cured pork with bamboo shoots, and precious free-range eggs brought out by the villagers. A large bowl of fragrant stir-fried eggs and scallions were simply added to the wok, and the aroma was irresistible, filling the air.
Li Ju'an led the hunters to pick up sweet potato noodles with chopsticks, the noodles soaking up the broth from the pork stew. The rich, savory aroma of the meat broth, along with the tender scent of blood sausage, filled their nostrils. Several people buried their heads and took a big gulp, the piping hot and delicious pork stew rolling around on their tongues, making them reluctant to swallow.
"Sister-in-law, another bowl of rice."
"okay!"
Sister-in-law Qian smiled and served another large bucket of white rice. The broth from the pork stew, mixed with the white rice, was so delicious that one could easily eat three large bowls of rice in one go; it was incredibly appetizing.
Not a single drop of broth was wasted. Li Ju'an took a cornbread, soaked it in the braised pork knuckle sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth. The cornbread, coated with the savory aroma of the braised pork knuckle, made the whole dish incredibly delicious and unforgettable.
Lu Zhiqiang was still eating the braised pork knuckle, stewed until it was incredibly tender. The knuckle bounced twice as soon as he put it in his chopsticks, and he popped a mouthful into his mouth. The melt-in-your-mouth texture of the oil was the deliciousness of the pork knuckle stewed until it was completely tender. He squinted his eyes, savoring the meat along with the knuckle itself—soft, tender, and fragrant. One bite wasn't enough. In these times of scarcity, being able to eat a bite of braised pork knuckle was something he could only dream of.
Lu Zhiqiang closed his eyes, and after enjoying a big bite, he suddenly realized that the braised pork knuckle was gone. The plate was empty, and even the broth and sauce at the bottom of the plate had been scraped clean and used to dip the steamed buns.
"Where's my braised pork knuckle? I only ate one bite, and you guys ate the rest?"
Lu Zhiqiang was still puzzled. He turned his head to the left and saw that Li Ju'an had already eaten a large bowl of pork stew and was now dipping his cornbread in the sauce from his braised pork knuckle. He turned his head to the right and saw that Song Desheng, Lu Jinyang, and Chen Xiangqian had already started fighting with their chopsticks over the last plate of stir-fried pork.
Lu Zhiqiang's eyes widened in disbelief as he exclaimed, "Damn! Who are you guys? You're all moving like you haven't eaten in ages! Leave me a little bit!"
Just as he was about to reach for the plate of stir-fried pork with his chopsticks, Li Ju'an's chopsticks reached out. With a push, he pushed Li Ju'an's chopsticks outwards, and with another force, Song Desheng's chopsticks, along with Chen Xiangqian's chopsticks, also reached out.
Lu Zhiqiang got impatient and shouted, "I'm going to eat stir-fried pork today, and even the Heavenly King himself can't stop me!"
He stood up and shouted, his eyes wide and bloodshot, truly displaying the imposing presence of General Lu. The four people's chopsticks were tightly stuck together. Finally, Lu Jinyang sat down easily, picked up the last piece of stir-fried pork, stuffed it into his steamed bun, and ate it.
Lu Zhiqiang stared blankly, his eyes almost losing their light.
Aunt Zhao chuckled and shouted, "Nephews, don't worry, there's plenty to eat! We asked Li Pao and he cooked extra meat, so there's plenty for everyone!"
Another large plate of stir-fried pork was served. There were various braised, spicy, and quick-fried dishes, as well as stir-fried with soy sauce, leaving Lu Zhiqiang stunned.
He asked in confusion, "Where did this meat come from?"
He looked at the ground where several of the wild sheep were missing, slapped his forehead, and burst into laughter: "We are hunters ourselves, how can we lack meat and oil? Wild sheep meat is still meat, let me see what it tastes like."
Plates of mutton were served. Aunt Zhao was an excellent cook, and she led her daughter-in-law and other women to show off their skills by the earthen stove. The braised mutton they made brought smiles to the faces of the villagers.
Old Qian stood up and, fueled by alcohol, shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, let's raise a glass to thank Li Pao for coming to our village to catch rats. If it weren't for Li Pao, we would still be worrying today. Hearing the rats croaking in the cornfield late at night, we would be so angry that we couldn't sleep for days."
The villagers of Xiaoling Village raised their glasses one after another. The banquet, which had more than 200 people, was a grand affair, even more lively than weddings or funerals.
Surrounded by the crowd, Li Ju'an was toasted by everyone. He laughed heartily as he listened to the flushed and excited villagers talk about the land sheep, feeling very satisfied.
He earns money from the forest farm and the local sheep by taking on rat-catching jobs, but more importantly, he benefits from the kindness and generosity of the villagers. Being able to help them fills him with a surge of accomplishment and excitement.
After drinking three bowls of deer blood wine, Qin Pao was walking unsteadily. He suddenly said, "I wonder how Old Sun is doing at the ranch. We can go there later, it's not far, and see him."
Li Ju'an shook his head and said, "We won't take the pasture road. Team Leader Chen from the forest farm instructed us to cover several nearby villages. We'll go to Wangxing Village first, then go back to our own village to catch the wild sheep, and then head towards the barley fields. There are three or four other villages around there that we'll have to take down as well. This whole trip will take at least a month."
Qin Pao felt a little regretful, but nodded in understanding.
He said, "Okay, then I'll go see Old Sun later and tell him about your method."