Chapter 118 – Making a Sacrifice
Ms. Zhong, leading Yan Shuqin and her two sisters, tidied up the cave inside and out, but Yan Xiaosi hadn’t returned yet. Ms. Zhong was somewhat worried and was about to send Yan Shuqin to look for her.
“Qin’er, it’s getting late. Please go and find Xiaosi. Even if she hasn’t caught any game, it’s alright. Our family is not in need of food at the moment. Tell her not to wander around in the deep forest.”
“Mom, I’m on it.”
Yan Shuqin put down the broom she had just made from tree branches, intending to look for Yan Xiaosi. Just then, she saw Yan Xiaosi returning with a basket on her back.
“Mom, Xiaosi is back.”
After notifying Ms. Zhong, Yan Shuqin went to greet Yan Xiaosi.
Seeing the wild rabbit in Yan Xiaosi’s basket, she was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, “Xiaosi, you really caught a rabbit.”
Without a bow and arrow, catching a rabbit was almost unbelievable.
“Xiaosi, did this rabbit go blind and accidentally run into a tree trunk, killing itself, and you just picked up the bargain?”
The story her eldest sister referred to was about waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree.
The corner of Yan Xiaosi’s mouth twitched, almost wanting to commend her older sister’s rich imagination.
“Big sister, tomorrow, you go and pick up one for me to see.”
“Could this wild rabbit really have been caught by you?”
“What do you think, where in this mountain would there be so many dead rabbits for me to pick up?”
Yan Shuqin reached into the basket and pulled out the wild rabbit. Feeling that the rabbit was still soft, not like it had been dead for a long time, she believed Yan Xiaosi’s words.
“Alright, big sister believes you.”
Yan Xiaosi sighed, saying, “I could have caught two, but someone who suddenly appeared scared away the fat wild rabbit.”
From the sounds of it, she had encountered someone else in the mountain.
Yan Shuqin’s heart tightened for a moment, her eyebrows immediately furrowing as she asked, “Xiaosi, who did you meet in the mountain just now?”
“I don’t know him, he was wearing a short brown robe and carrying a bow and arrow on his back. He should be a hunter from the village at the foot of the mountain.”
Yan Shuqin asked anxiously, “Did that man recognize you?”
Yan Xiaosi recalled the expression and tone of Chunyu Hanfeng at the time.
“I don’t think so. That man scared away my prey, and I asked him to compensate me with a hundred wen, but he refused. I gave him a piece of my mind.”
Yan Shuqin sighed with relief.
“It’s good if he didn’t recognize you, otherwise it would be a big trouble.”
While speaking, she pushed Yan Xiaosi into the cave, “Xiaosi, you should quickly change back into men’s clothes. Don’t tell mom about what just happened. She worries a lot and is timid, I’m afraid she would be restless once she knows.”
Yan Xiaosi also wanted to change back into her men’s clothes as soon as possible.
It was inconvenient and awkward moving around dressed in the women’s attire of the Great Chu Dynasty.
She put the basket at the entrance of the cave and quickly went into the cave to change her clothes.
It was already afternoon. Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuxue were washing vegetables and rice, preparing to cook dinner.
Yan Shuyun was sitting on a stone bench, holding a piece of fur in her hand, sewing.
In the dark cave, the light emitted by the luminous stone was very strong, which was enough for sewing.
After changing back into men’s clothes, Yan Xiaosi walked over to Yan Shuyun and said, “Third sister, let me borrow the scissors.”
“Xiaosi, what do you need the scissors for?”
While asking, Yan Shuyun handed over the scissors.
Yan Xiaosi took the scissors, holding them in her right hand and grasping a lock of hair in front of her right temple with her left hand. She snipped off half of the hair.
In the Great Chu Dynasty, it was a common belief that one’s body, hair, and skin were all given by parents. People seldom cut their hair, and Yan Xiaosi, a girl, was no exception.
Her action scared Yan Shuyun, as well as Ms. Zhong and Yan Shuxue who were washing vegetables and rice.
Ms. Zhong dropped the vegetables and was about to snatch the scissors from her hand.
“Xiaosi, what are you doing? Why are you taking it out on your own hair?”
Seeing her mother and sisters’ anxious expressions, Yan Xiaosi realized that in this era, women considered their hair extremely important.
“Mom, second sister, third sister, why are you all so nervous? I’m not shaving my head to become a nun. I just want to cut bangs to cover the red mole near my right eye.”
Although the red mole near her right eye was very distinctive and attractive, it was too conspicuous. If she did something bad, people could easily recognize her, so it was better to cover it up.
Ms. Zhong’s tensed nerves eased, and she muttered, “You child, why didn’t you explain beforehand?”
Yan Xiaosi put down the scissors, pulled at Ms. Zhong’s arm, and gave a rogue smile.
“Mom, sorry for startling you. I hunted a wild rabbit today. Big sister is preparing it outside. We’ll have stir-fried rabbit for dinner tonight to calm your nerves.”
Without a bow and arrow, she could still hunt a wild rabbit. That was the real surprise for Ms. Zhong.
“How did you catch a wild rabbit?”
Yan Shuxue and Yan Shuyun were also staring at her.
This little sister is amazing.
This was what both sisters thought at the moment.
Yan Xiaosi shrugged and replied, “I guess that rabbit was particularly stupid. It was squatting in the grass eating when I hit it with a rock and killed it.”
Yan Shuxue twitched her mouth at the corner.
“I’m not sure if the rabbit is stupid, or if you’re just lucky. Anyway, we’ll have a feast tonight.”
Yan Shuqin went to the brook, skinned the rabbit, removed the innards, and prepared it. She then carried the tender white rabbit meat into the cave.
As Yan Shuxue and Yan Shuyun laid eyes on the rabbit meat, their mouths couldn’t help but water, and their stomachs growled in anticipation. Yan Xiaosi, in particular, found herself salivating profusely. It seemed that her tendency to drool at the sight of meat had not diminished, likely due to her growing body and increased appetite.
Licking her lips, she asked Ms. Zhong, “Mom, are we going to have stir-fried rabbit or rabbit stew for dinner tonight?”
Yan Shuqin said, “This rabbit isn’t too big, but after skinning it, it seems to have a good amount of meat.”
Saying this, she handed the rabbit meat, which weighed about three pounds, to Ms. Zhong.
Ms. Zhong took it, put it on the cutting board, then turned to Yan Xiaosi and asked, “Xiaosi, would you rather have it stir-fried or stewed?”
Yan Xiaosi would eat either as long as it was meat.
“Mom, I want both. Stir-fried meat is fragrant, stewed meat is tender and the soup is savory.”
Ms. Zhong thought for a moment and said, “Considering the size of this rabbit, I’ll cut it in half. One half will be stir-fried and the other half, along with some vegetables, will be made into a stew. Xiaosi, what do you think?”
“That’s good, but it would be a hassle for you to cook half stir-fried and half stewed.”
With their limited resources, the family relied on a modest cast-iron pot and a simple stove for their cooking. Even preparing a simple meal was already quite a feat. Splitting the rabbit meat into two portions, one for stir-frying and the other for stewing, would necessitate the use of two separate pots. This would undoubtedly keep Ms. Zhong occupied for over half an hour.
“You child, you want to eat and yet complain about the hassle.”
As Ms. Zhong said this, she lifted the kitchen knife and cut the rabbit meat on the cutting board into two halves. “I don’t mind the trouble. You’ve been wandering in the deep woods for so long, lie down and rest for a while. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
