Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

After sealing the deer penis wine, Li Ju'an sealed the deer bone wine as well. Deer bone wine is made from the bones of a deer, the most suitable for making wine. He touched the deer spine; the spine contains spinal cord, which can be used to make wine. He then selected the deer leg bones. A deer has four legs and eight bone segments; the deer leg bones contain marrow.

He picked out four bone fragments, washed and scrubbed them, threw them into the jar, and sealed it with the lid. Satisfied, he looked at the two jars of wine and called out to Li Xiao, who was watching with curiosity, "Sister, let me show you when it's done. This medicinal wine is really good."

Li Xiao laughed and said, "Brother, it smells spicy and pungent, children can't drink it." She helped Li Ju'an carry the two jars of wine to the west room and placed them against the north wall. Her small body was surprisingly strong, and her sensible nature was heartbreaking.

Just then, the dog started barking outside the yard.

Li Ju'an hadn't had a chance to return Iron Hammer and the three skewers to Old Tao yet. He planned to pick out some good meat and send it to Old Tao along with them. It wasn't Big Tiger barking; it was Iron Hammer. Iron Hammer was quite an interesting dog—a slippery dog, always sneaking into the mountains to do nothing, and not very familiar with him. Normally, unfamiliar dogs wouldn't bark, but Iron Hammer knew to bark when someone came, which was quite remarkable.

He shouted, "Stop yelling!" Iron Hammer immediately quieted down and obeyed.

It turned out to be an elderly couple and their family.

In the Xingan Mountains, uncles are called "Daye" (大爷), which means "elder brother" (大伯), and "Daniang" (大娘) means "aunt" (伯母). Li Ju'an has two uncles, both of whom are registered at the Li family's old house. After the old man passed away, Li's father also became seriously ill and bedridden. Both uncles lived with their children in the county town and had little contact with each other.

Now that the village is implementing the household responsibility system, the two uncles discussed it and asked the eldest son to come over first to sound out the situation and see what the orphan and widow were like.

The old man and woman entered the yard carrying baskets containing a bag of white sugar and 10 eggs, their faces beaming with smiles.

When visiting relatives in the village, it's customary to bring a small gift. After the meal, the host family can't let you leave empty-handed; they have to leave something for you to take with you. Steamed buns with fillings tend to spoil in a couple of days, while large white steamed buns, about the size of your face, seem substantial and are also easy to keep.

The old man didn't mention the household responsibility system when he came in. He glanced at the Li family's yard and said, "This dog is pretty good. The thicker its waist, the more resilient it is. It can withstand being hit a few times without any problems. Its anus is also big. The bigger the anus, the bolder it is. Even if it can't beat you, it will still try."

He wondered why there were so many dogs in the old house after his third brother passed away. Stewed dog meat would be delicious.

Big Tiger and Iron Hammer stared blankly at him. Iron Hammer barked at him, scaring the old man and woman half to death.

The old lady was dressed fashionably, wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket, a long woolen skirt with a huge hem, and small leather boots. As soon as she entered the door, she raised her voice and called to her sister-in-law: "Song Lanhua, I brought you some clothes that you haven't worn much. Try them on and see."

Mother Song Lanhua was an honest and frugal woman. She saved every penny of her cloth ration coupons for her children, and she wore the same old clothes for years. She quickly thanked the old lady and invited the old man and woman into the house.

The old man and woman were quite smug. They glanced at the old house, seemingly wanting to offer some opinion, then casually mentioned the land division, and that was it. What opinions could an orphan and widow have? Song Lanhua was short-sighted; the land division was ultimately decided by them.

They wanted to see what Li Ju'an had for lunch, guessing it would be cornbread and steamed buns. The eggs and sugar they brought would be a nice treat for the family. As they entered, they were surprised to see the neatly arranged dishes on the Li family's kang table—all hearty dishes. Braised venison, stewed venison, cucumber salad with venison ears, scrambled eggs with scallions…

The meal was packed with hearty dishes, lots of meat, and plenty of vegetables too.

Vegetables are expensive in winter, so they can only eat cabbage, potatoes, radishes, and pickled vegetables stored in the cellar. But Li Ju'an's family can eat cucumbers and scallions?

The old man's son, Li Changqing, was Li Ju'an's cousin, only a month or so older than him. When Li Changqing saw so much meat and oil, his eyes widened, and he couldn't help but drool in his mouth. He wished he could grab the table, plop down on the stool, and start eating right away.

"Li Ju'an, where did you get all this meat?"

Li Ju'an pointed his chin at the mountain: "Where else can we get it? We live off the land."

Li Changqing's eyes widened when he saw the deer penis and deer bone wine jar in the corner. He remembered that when Li Ju'an was a kid, he used to mess around in the streets and get into fights everywhere, while Li Ju'an was the only one who learned skills and was praised by the elders. Now, those who were doing poorly back then were eating meat and having feasts every day, while Li Ju'an was still stuck as an apprentice, complaining and getting criticized by his master every day.

The mother, Song Lanhua, was very hospitable. She pulled the old lady to sit down and brought out some mountain wine to serve the guest.

"These wines come in barrels, they have no alcohol content, they're like sweet water, they taste really good, we gave them to Changqing to drink as a beverage."

"These cucumbers were brought back by Ju'an from the county market. They're crisp and delicious, and they're really crunchy when you mix them with other dishes."

That's how my mother is; she's warm and caring towards everyone. But to my uncle and aunt, those words didn't sound right.

The elderly couple had looked down on their third brother, who was seriously ill and bedridden, in their younger years. After several years of fruitless attempts to help him, they were unwilling to put any more money into his pocket. After they moved to the county town, they often reminded Li Ju'an to their son, Li Changqing: "It's fortunate that our Changqing isn't like that troublemaker from our third brother's family. His reputation is too bad; how will he expect girls to go on blind dates with him if he likes her? He needs to slow down and build a good reputation, otherwise, what good girl will he get?"

These words often made the relatives laugh out loud, using Li Ju'an as a negative example. Then, hearing the relatives praise Li Changqing for being sensible made them feel very comfortable.

The old woman asked tentatively, "Song Lanhua, has Ju'an gone into the mountains with his master to learn hunting?"

Mother Song Lanhua nodded with a smile: "Tao Pao really likes Ju An. He gave him dogs and puppies, and even taught Ju An how to shoot."

Old Tao, the eccentric gangster in the village, had a notorious reputation in the old days. In recent years, he had become close to the widow Chen, and the neighbors gossiped about him relentlessly. Although the elderly folks lived in the county town, they still kept in touch with their relatives from their hometown and often talked about Old Tao.

Upon hearing this, the two women's eyes flickered. They learned that Li Ju'an had learned hunting skills from Lao Tao. Then, the old woman smiled and praised him with a lot of nonsense: "Ju'an is a good boy. He looks like a responsible family man. He learns skills and techniques from Tao Pao every day. He will definitely be just like Tao Pao in the future. He will never wander around the streets and will never lack girls who want to marry him."

Upon hearing this, Li Ju'an sneered inwardly, feeling like his stomach was about to explode. Is this supposed to be a compliment? Does compliment have to be so stiff and sarcastic?

He watched the elderly couple devour the braised venison with their chopsticks and said, "Grandpa and Grandma, you've already eaten the meat I caught, and you're still gossiping about me behind my back. That's just not fair."

The old man and woman put down their chopsticks, their faces hardening and their eyes becoming serious: "This child, how can you talk to adults like that?"