Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 48: Mountain Leopard Bones

The culprit who harmed the chickens and sheep had been beaten to death, and Qu Shaoyang and the other two no longer had any intention of pursuing the matter, so they took the raccoon and a half chicken and went down the mountain back to the Zhao family.

"Mom, we are back. Shaoyang shot and killed the raccoon that was harming our chickens.

Look, this is it." Zhao Erkui shouted loudly as he entered the yard.

"Oh, you guys are finally back. I was so worried at home. As long as you're okay, that's enough."

Wang heard the noise and came out of the house. When she saw the three people returning safely, she finally felt relieved.

"Come on, go inside and take a rest. I'm going to stew the chicken. We'll eat later. Chicken stewed with mushrooms for lunch is so delicious."

"Mom, these are the chickens we found. We've eaten half of one, but the other one didn't do much harm. Let's clean it up later."

Zhao Erkui handed the half chicken in his hand to Wang.

Wang looked at the chicken and felt very distressed.

But the chicken is already dead, so there's no point feeling sad about it. Just clean it up quickly and eat it if you can. At least it's not a waste.

"Okay, I'll clean up and you guys go and take a rest." Wang took the chicken and waved her hand, asking Erkui to lead Shui Laowu and the others into the house for tea.

"Sister-in-law, don't rush. Let's skin this catfish and shave its bones first."

The skin of the civet cat is quite complete and should be able to sell for some money. The most important thing is the bones, which can be used as a substitute for tiger bones and have high medicinal value.

So the master and his disciple skinned the raccoon in the yard and carefully shaved its bones.

"Sister-in-law, it's already noon and the way back is quite long, so we shouldn't linger here any longer.

When Erkui is free in the future, he can come to Maoer Mountain to find us."

Shui Laowu gave Qu Shaoyang a wink, then turned and spoke to the Zhao mother and son.

They went out to chase the raccoon at 11:00 a.m. and now it was already the beginning of 11:00 p.m.

The way back is long and will take several days. Now that the matter here has been resolved, it is more important to hurry on.

"Oh, that won't do, I can't let you leave now no matter what.

So, I won't keep you here tonight, but you must eat lunch here, and if you want to leave after lunch, I won't stop you."

When Wang heard this, she was shocked. How could this be possible?

They came from far away to give them money and helped them kill the raccoon that had bitten the chicken to death.

If you leave without inviting people to have a meal during the lunch break, won’t your neighbors laugh at you?

"Yes, yes, uncle, Shaoyang, no matter what, you can't leave now. You have to eat lunch first."

As Zhao Erkui spoke, he pulled the water crow and insisted that he go into the house to sit down and have a rest.

The Zhao mother and son were so welcoming that Shui Laowu and Qu Shaoyang couldn't leave anymore. They could only go into the house, sit down, drink tea and chat.

In the outer room, Wang opened the pot and looked at the chicken in it.

When you feel the stew is about done, put the soaked and cleaned mushrooms in, and then put a circle of two-ounce flour pancakes on the edge of the pot.

Wang worked efficiently and all the food was ready before noon.

Golden pancakes and fragrant chicken stewed with mushrooms were served directly on the table. The Zhao family's mother and son warmly invited Shui Laowu and the others to eat.

The host treated them warmly, and Shui Laowu and Qu Shaoyang did not act shy or pretentious, they ate as they were told.

The chicken was stewed to perfect perfection, the freshly picked autumn mushrooms were extremely delicious, and the steamed buns were steamed until tender. This meal was so delicious.

Shui Laowu and Qu Shaoyang each ate two pancakes and a lot of chicken and mushrooms. After lunch, the two insisted on leaving. Zhao's mother and son saw that they really couldn't keep them, so they hurriedly arranged to take some food for them.

Half of the steamed buns made at noon were eaten, and the rest were packed up and given to the master and disciple.

Wang also cooked a few salted eggs, made some pancakes, and took some pickles, green onions, soybean paste, etc. to save for the journey.

Zhao Erkui rolled up the beaver skin and the bones and insisted that Qu Shaoyang and the others take it away.

"Sister-in-law, Erkui, let's put it this way. We'll take the food away, and you can keep the skin and bones of the beaver.

It was winter and the weather was cold, so the old sister-in-law wore a hat and sold the bones. They were at least more expensive than the seven chickens.

We won't take it with us. We are in a hurry and don't have time to pick it up. If we keep it for too long, it will stink, right?" The water crow said hurriedly after seeing it.

The mountain raccoon was brought back by three people together, so Zhao Erkui should have had a share of it.

Besides, the Zhao family was not very wealthy, and it was enough for them to prepare so much food. It would be too stingy to take a beaver away.

No matter what Wang and Zhao Erkui said, Shui Laowu and his apprentice refused to take the skin and bones of the raccoon. Zhao Erkui had no choice but to keep them.

"Uncle, Shaoyang, if you have nothing to do in the future, please come to my house for a visit.

Whenever you pass by here, come and stay at my house."

Zhao Erkui followed the two men and accompanied them for two miles. Before they parted, he gave them repeated instructions.

"Be careful on the road, and try to find a village to stay at night. It's cold now, and it's hard to stay in the wild."

"Okay, don't worry, we will definitely come over when we have time later.

If you get married someday, please send a message to us so that we can come to the wedding."

Shui Laowu patted Zhao Erkui on the shoulder, then waved his hand and walked away with big strides.

The master and his disciple traveled arduously, traveling day and night, and finally returned to the foot of Maoer Mountain in the evening of September 6th.

"Oh, you're finally back. Xiaozhi and I have been worried about you these past few days. How was your journey? Did anything go wrong?"

Lin Ruolan said happily when she saw Shui Laowu and Qu Shaoyang come in.

"Hurry, go back to the room, change clothes, wash your face, and eat later.

I didn't expect you to come back so soon. I'm short on food, so I'll quickly cook another dish."

"No need to cook anything, just eat whatever is at home and take a rest after eating. Oh, these past few days have been really tiring."

After traveling for several days in a row, not to mention Shui Laowu, even Qu Shaoyang could not bear it anymore. When he got home, he wanted to fall asleep immediately.

Lin Ruolan agreed verbally, but her hands did not stop. She quickly took out two more steamed pancakes from lunch and put them in the pot to steam.

I found a few more potatoes, peeled them, washed them, cut them into shreds, put them in the pan and stir-fried them, then added some shredded chili peppers and vinegar, and a plate of spicy and sour shredded potatoes was ready.

At present, they are still staying in other people’s houses, and they buy vegetables, so their meals are very simple.

A plate of shredded potatoes, a plate of steamed pickled vegetables, a few green onions, a dish of soybean paste, and a few pancakes, and that's dinner.

The master and the apprentice said nothing, they sat down and took the time to eat.
After dinner, I prepared some hot water to soak my feet, tidied up, and quickly got into bed.

We were in a hurry on the way back and missed the village, so we had to stay in the wilderness at night.

The temperature is already quite low at this time, and it is still cold even if you huddle around a fire at night.

Now I'm back home, lying in the warm bed, and fall asleep quickly.

(End of this chapter)