บท 11: Chapter 9: 3 Years_1
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Years flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
In Little Yellow Village, at the Lu Family's large estate, within the kitchen courtyard.
A heavy stench of blood and foulness permeated the air, accompanied by the shrill screams that echoed.
"Quick, hold it down!"
"This beast is so strong!"
"We've got it pinned, where's the bucket, bring it over."
"Qinshan, come quickly..."
Several bare-chested, brawny men pressed a fat black pig onto the stone slab, but given the pig's heft and strength, they all struggled to restrain it. Amidst the chaos, the place was filled with the sounds of a pig's desperate wails.
Just then, a muscular youth, also bare-chested, strode into the scene with a pointed knife in hand.
With one hand, he pressed the pig's head down, and with the other, he thrust the pointed knife into the pig's throat with impeccable accuracy. The stinking pig blood spurted out, falling into the bucket below without splashing a drop on anyone.
The youth pulled out the knife and turned to leave, and the men also let go of the black pig, waiting for the blood to drain before hoisting it up.
The youth came back, knife in hand, and skillfully slit open the pig's belly, expertly removed the internal organs, carving out the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, then cleaved the spine in two, smoothly splitting the whole pig into two halves.
He lifted one half, tossed it onto the cutting board, then took the knife to dissect it further, removing the spine, tenderloin, ribs, fatty layers, forelegs and hindlegs, pig's knuckles, and trotters... One half of the pig was swiftly sectioned off.
Like flowing clouds and streaming water, a feast for the eyes!
Having finished with one half, he took up the other, and within the time it took to drink a cup of tea under the youth's skilled knife work, the hefty pig transformed into neatly separated chunks of meat.
"Send these prime cuts to the kitchen, take these leg meats to the butcher's shop, this small tenderloin should go to Steward Zhang..."
Xu Yang meticulously sorted the pieces of pork. Then he pulled out a piece of spine with a decent amount of meat on it, took up his knife, and started chopping. After he was done, he grabbed a piece of pig liver and threw them both into the bamboo basket at his feet.
Only then did he put down his cleaver and told the others, "You all can divide the rest."
Without waiting for the people's reactions, he picked up the basket filled with pork bones and liver and walked away.
The butchers watched and did not dare to stop him; only after he left did someone comment in a hushed voice.
"Qinshan is getting bolder and bolder."
"Isn't that the truth? That spine had at least a pound of meat on it!"
"If Steward Zhang finds out, won't he flay a layer of skin from him?"
"Steward Zhang, come on, you can't take much from a man whose hand you've fed, Steward Zhang won't bother with it!"
"Exactly, I heard Qinshan gives most of his pocket money to Steward Zhang every month; why would Zhang make it difficult for him?"
"Not to mention how formidable Qinshan is, not only his skills in slaughtering pigs and butchering cows are brilliant, but his ability to fight and compete is also not bad. A while ago, when he was fighting over water with the Li Family, those from the Li Laojiu ended up bedridden, I've heard."
"With Qinshan's fierce spirit, what's a few extra pieces of meat? Not to mention Steward Zhang, even if the master knew, he'd probably turn a blind eye."
"I've heard the master values Qinshan a lot and is even preparing to transfer him to serve as a guard in the household..."
"Cut it out, don't spread rumors. Li Qing Shan is nothing but a conscienceless butcher. Being a member of the Li Family and yet so ruthless towards his own kin, how could the master ever favor him? He's lucky enough to be mixing with us!"
"Exactly, he takes so much meat for himself and leaves us with some stinking offal, treating us like beggars?"
The crowd's attitudes varied; some respected him, some feared him, and some detested him but were helpless to change anything.
But none of this mattered much to Xu Yang.
Carrying his basket, he returned home.
"Brother!"
Li Hongyu, who had grown into a young lady, came out to meet him, cheerfully taking the basket from Xu Yang's hands. Upon opening it, she exclaimed in delight, "So much, and with meat, too! How many pigs did you kill today?"
"One, a big one!"
Xu Yang smiled and walked into the courtyard.
Li Qinghe, who had also grown quite a bit, came up to him holding a fuzzy rabbit, "Brother, when I went to chop bamboo today, I ran into this critter. Look, isn't it fat?"
"Not bad."
Xu Yang nodded with approval, "We'll have the bones for lunch; save the rabbit for dinner."
"Okay!"
Li Hongyu nodded, took the pig bones and liver out of the basket, and soaked them in clean water to rinse away the foul smell and any blood.
Such a thing would have been unthinkable a few years ago—the blood water was a vital source of nutrition for the three siblings, too precious to waste.
Li Hongyu began busying herself, preparing for the day's lunch as Xu Yang shifted his attention back to Li Qinghe, "How's the bow holding up?"
"More than holding up—it's a divine bow!"
Li Qinghe was excited, taking off the bamboo bow slung on his back, "That rabbit was at least twenty steps away, and I hit it with one arrow."
"That's good."
Xu Yang nodded, "After we eat, let's go into the mountain again. One rabbit won't be enough for tonight."
"Great!"
...
In ancient times, commoners typically ate two meals a day, while only the nobility and wealthy families would have three meals.
But with Xu Yang, that standard was out of the question. Three years ago, they had already moved to three meals a day, and more recently, every meal included meat and was rich in fats and oils. Xu Yang's robust physique and the stature of Li Qinghe and Li Hongyu were a testament to that.
"Dinner's ready!"
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Wisps of cooking smoke lingered in the air, and the meals were served. Li Hongyu, as usual, heaped a full bowl of coarse rice for Xu Yang, then placed a large pot of bone soup in front of him, "Brother, here's yours!"
"Hmm!"
Xu Yang nodded, without any pretense, he picked up a piece of bone laden with meat and put it in his mouth.
Li Qinghe and Li Hongyu spooned the meat soup, pouring it over their rice before they began to eat.
The pork spine bones, which originally came with ample meat, had only had some removed for herself and Li Qinghe by Li Hongyu. The rest, with all its meat, was left on the bones for Xu Yang.
But Xu Yang didn't distinguish between meat and bone; he chewed the whole bone as soon as he put it into his mouth, crunching the meat, bone, and marrow together before swallowing.
Soon, the lunch was over. Li Hongyu cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, while Xu Yang stood up and said to Li Qinghe, "Come, let's digest the meal with our usual routine. If you can find me, I'll make you an even better bow."
"Ah?"
Hearing his words, Li Qinghe's face turned bitter, "Do we have to, brother? We're too old for children's games. Besides, when have we ever found you? Aren't you tired of always hiding like this?"
"I'm not tired, come on!"
Xu Yang dismissed his complaints and stubbornly left the house.
Helplessly, Li Qinghe could only turn his pleading eyes towards his sister, Li Hongyu.
Li Hongyu laughed, "Why are you looking at me? I still have cleaning up to do. You take your time searching."
"Oh Lord!"
Li Qinghe looked like he wanted to cry but found no tears, and with no other choice, he had to get up and walk outside.
He was about to play a game with Xu Yang, a game they had played daily for three years—a game of hide and seek!
One day three years ago, for reasons unknown, his older brother suddenly grabbed the two of them and started playing this game. After that, he became addicted to it, insisting on playing several times each day after meals, and now it had been three full years.
Li Qinghe didn't know whether his older brother retained a childlike heart or had simply lost his mind, but he and Li Hongyu were seriously tormented by this.
Every day Xu Yang insisted on playing hide and seek. In the beginning, it was still fun, with a hint of childhood playfulness between siblings. But as time went on, Xu Yang became increasingly difficult to find, and the game grew more and more boring.
By now, it had turned into torture. They never managed to find him; each search was a futile effort until the game ended and Xu Yang appeared on his own, which was utterly uninteresting to the extreme.
Yet Xu Yang never seemed to tire of it, dragging them into playing every day and even offering various rewards to tempt them. But those were always just empty promises, unreachable rewards that left them with a psychological shadow over the game of hide and seek.
Today was no different. Li Qinghe, mustering all his energy, searched inside and outside the house for a long time and still couldn't find Xu Yang. It wasn't until noon, the predetermined time to head to the mountains, that Xu Yang, hiding who knows where, finally drifted into view, ending this exceedingly boring game.
"Brother, where on earth were you hiding just now? You didn't go off somewhere else, did you?"
"No, I didn't leave the yard."
"Then how come I searched everywhere and still couldn't find you?"
"You weren't thorough enough. Pay more attention next time, and you'll definitely be able to find me."
"Really?"
"Really!"
"...."
After ending the tedious game of hide and seek, Xu Yang entered the house and took down a bamboo bow from the wall.
This bamboo bow was light yellow in color, the result of being roasted by flames. Its curved limbs were wrapped with cow horn and sinew, enhancing its elasticity and toughness. Combined with the tightly strung cow sinew string, it exuded a powerful sense of strength.
This bow, a proud creation of Xu Yang's recent days, exceeded the range of a hunting bow and stepped into the realm of military weaponry. It was valuable, and its power was formidable.
Such a bow was admittedly overkill for hunting.
So, Xu Yang hung it back up and took down another bamboo bow that was slightly inferior.
At that moment, Li Qinghe, with his bamboo basket on his back and a bamboo bow in hand, walked in, full of excitement, and said to Xu Yang, "Everything's ready, shall we go?"
"Hmm!"
Xu Yang nodded, carried his bamboo bow along with his brother, and they left for Little Yellow Mountain.
....
That evening, under the envious eyes of the neighbors, the two brothers brought back a sizeable haul of game.
"The Li brothers have gone to the mountains again."
"Gosh, they caught so much stuff again, could that be a roe deer in the basket?"
"How come whenever they go to the mountain, it's like they're stocking up? My old man can't even hit a wild chicken!"
"Nonsense, can your man compare to Li Qingshan?"
"Exactly, you haven't seen his archery. That bear that came out of the mountain last time was taken down by his team. He shot three arrows, directly piercing the bear's eyeballs and skull!"
"Comparisons really do kill people, and stuff should just be thrown out!"
"Those heartless brats, their lives are going well now, while we're suffering!"
"Exactly, remember the last dispute over water rights? He didn't consider any kinship at all and beat our Li Family people to such a state. I heard Li Laojiu and the others can't even get out of bed and walk around till now!"
"That heartless thing, abandoning his ancestors to work as a domestic servant for the Lu Family, being their lapdog. How will he face their parents and the ancestors of the Li Family after he dies?"
"Whose fault is that? You were the ones who did wrong first, bullying others. You provoked this, so you can't complain about the consequences."
"Exactly, so what if he's a domestic servant? His life is good. He not only gets pocket money from the master every month but also brings home meat regularly. The rent isn't too high, and even the hunting tax is less and easier to handle compared to other hunters. Look how much those three siblings have grown in the past few days."
"Having a patron is great. If I knew, I would have sold myself to the Lu Family too."
"Humph, what are you daydreaming about? Li Qingshan is doing well because he's skilled. Not only is he excellent at butchering pigs and cattle, but his hunting skills are unparalleled, which is why he's so highly regarded by the Lu Family and receives so much care. Do you have those skills?"
"I heard Officer Lu is even planning to accept him as a son-in-law..."
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