Chapter 9
Reciprocation
Not everyone came empty-handed. When they learned that they had a share of the meat, they more or less brought some things as well.
Those with slightly better conditions brought a few spoonfuls of food, while those with ordinary conditions took out a bundle of firewood.
Most of the people who came were men. Later on, when they brought the meat back, their capable wives chased them back to their beds and put on their outer robes before returning to Old man Wang’s house.
All of them carried brooms and dustpans in their hands and tidied up his courtyard in a few moves.
When everyone was cleaning up, Old man Wang’s family was already having dinner.
Seeing that everyone was busy in the courtyard, Madam Feng felt a little apologetic. She hurriedly drank the snake meat soup in her bowl and turned around to assist the women in cleaning the courtyard.
When the wives in the courtyard saw that she was coming, they hurriedly said, “You’ve been tired all day. Rest first. Don’t move. It’s just a little work. We’ll be done in a few moves. The weather is cold. Go back to sleep after eating.”
Madam Feng felt that this was not good. She turned to look at her mother-in-law. Old Madam Wang scolded her, “You haven’t weaned yet? Do you need my permission for everything? Get back here yourself!”
She had lost more than a thousand kilograms of meat in an instant. Her heart ached very much!
There were many people in the village. Even if she didn’t do anything, she would be tired after a day. She didn’t have the energy to scold anyone now.
“Sister-in-law, there’s enough snake soup today. Come, have two more bowls. You’ll sleep warmer at night.” Madam Zhang walked out with a smile and pulled Madam Feng back. She then called out to the wives in the courtyard, “It’s been hard on you!”
She had no intention of helping at all.
The other wives also did not think much of it. What was this bit of hard work worth?
It was not worth mentioning at all.
“Go to bed early. Burn two bamboo baskets tonight. I’m afraid it’s going to snow again!” The wives quickly cleaned up and arranged the things in the courtyard before leaving.
The villagers had brought more than 20 bundles of firewood, enough for them to burn until the new year.
Old man Wang’s family was also tired. After eating and drinking their fill, they tidied up the place and went to sleep.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, Liu Shi was helping Little Ah Yu put on her clothes. Little Ah Yu shook her head, indicating that she could do it herself.
“Mother wants to help you wear your clothes.” Liu Shi looked at Little Ah Yu’s self-reliant appearance and couldn’t help but say gently, “I didn’t take care of Ah Yu in the past. I’ll make up for it in the future.”
Little Ah Yu had just put on a sleeve for herself. When she heard this, she glanced at Liu Shi.
She took off her shirt and placed it in Liu Shi’s palm. A girly soft-as-cotton voice landed in Liu Shi’s ears. “Mother, help Ah Yu wear it.”
A big smile immediately appeared on Liu Shi’s face. “Sure, alright!”
After putting on her clothes, Liu Shi saw that Ah Yu’s hair had already grown halfway her waist and the ends were like withered grass. She simply took a pair of scissors and cut off all the split parts.
She wrapped the cut hair with a cloth. Then she parted her hair and tied them into two little buns.
After Little Ah Yu walked out of the house, she had two cute hair buns on her head. Around the hair buns were two light red cloth ribbons.
Coupled with her small face, she really looked like the image of a lucky doll that people stuck on the door.
“Aiyo, this must be our Little Blessing Girl!” A bright voice sounded. Little Ah Yu turned her head to look and saw a slightly fat auntie hugging something in her arms and looking at her with a smile.
Old Madam Wang waved at Ah Yu. “Ah Yu, come over.”
Little Ah Yu walked over and stuck to Old Madam Wang’s leg. She hid behind and revealed her little head to look.
“This is your Aunt. She’s Uncle Village Chief’s wife,” Old Madam Wang said.
Little Ah Yu shouted timidly, “Auntie.”
The village chief’s wife was a straightforward person. She had two girls at home, but they were not as good-looking as the girl in front of her.
She could not help but sigh with emotion in her heart. As expected, this kid looked very lovable. No wonder the two brothers of the Wang Family picked her up and raised her.
If her husband saw this child outside, he might bring her back too.
“Auntie Wang, it was too late last night. I was afraid that I would disturb your good sleep, so I came this morning. Last night, our goat gave birth and we only managed to squeeze out this much goat milk. Give it to the child to drink.” The village chief’s wife explained her intentions.
She first handed over an oiled paper bag that contained the frozen fresh goat milk.
Then, she took out the things she was carrying. “Our goat gave birth to a few lambs. But in this situation, not to mention the lambs, we can hardly support the mother sheep. However, there are still a few children in the village who aren’t weaned of milk. I can’t possibly slaughter the sheep now. I’ll give this lamb to your family. Although it’s not big, it should still be sufficient to cook two to three days’ worth of soup for the children.”
The village chief’s family was not particularly large, and they had stored enough food. The sheep, chickens, ducks, and pigs they had raised previously had long been killed and eaten. Some of them were sold or given to the villagers.
As the remaining sheep was pregnant, they wanted to wait for it to give birth so that they could milk it.
There were a few wives in the village who had just given birth not long ago. Their family did not have enough food and milk for the newborn babies. They were all relying on this lone sheep for milk.
Of the lambs that were born, they were only planning to keep the healthiest one to give the mother sheep some comfort. They were prepared to eat the rest.
The lamb that the village chief’s wife had brought over was not big either. It was trembling. It looked like it was breathing out more than it was breathing in. Who knew how much longer it could live?
Little Ah Yu’s eyes lit up when she saw the milky white sheep.
When the village chief’s wife saw this, she walked over and squatted in front of her. Seeing that Little Ah Yu did not completely dodge, she smiled and said, “Your name is Ah Yu, right? Thank you. You’re our little lucky star!”
Little Ah Yu knew that she was praising her and she blushed shyly.
The village chief’s wife left after leaving the things and did not stay long.
Old Madam Wang gave the frozen goat milk to Madam Feng and asked her to cut off a piece. She placed it in a hot pot and melted it with water to warm it before giving it to Ah Yu to drink.
As for the little lamb, it was thin and could not even stand steadily. It weighed only three to five catties and looked like it would not survive.
“Give it to Ah Yu first. At least it’s not dead. It can be considered as a warm bolster for her to hug. When it’s dead, I’ll take it to make soup for Ah Yu.” The Wang family had no objections to the old lady’s decision.
Even when she was placed on a chair and a little lamb was stuffed into her arms, Little Ah Yu still did not react. Why did she suddenly have a companion?
Meatball laughed loudly in the spatial pocket.
That lamb didn’t look like it would survive. It was most likely only going to live until tonight.
When it turned around, it saw that the Myriad Spirit Water that did not usually rise was slowly rising again. It hurriedly ran over and squatted down to take a look.
In the future, it would have to rely on this to extend its lifespan.
Little Ah Yu did not know if the lamb could live or not. She saw the little lamb trembling and thought of how she had always trembled like this when she had very little clothes.
She thought for a moment, then quietly pulled open a corner of her clothes and put the little lamb’s tail in.
She held one of the little lamb’s claws and gently blew at it.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
I’ll give you a breath of warm air, and neither of us will be cold.
Old man Wang’s house was really full of food now. 200 kilograms of snake meat filled the small storeroom, as well as endless firewood and more than 50 kilograms of various grains.
The haze that had weighed on everyone’s hearts since the snow sealed the mountain finally dissipated.
Taking advantage of the warmth at noon, Old Madam Wang pulled everyone out and talked to them.
“You all know that Doctor Hu gave us 20 taels of silver. I’m sure you’ve all thought about this last night. Here’s what I plan to do—”