Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

The three of them didn't chase after the sheep, but tied it to a tree and continued cutting sugarcane, planning to each carry a load of sugarcane and each lead a sheep home.

Unexpectedly, the flock of sheep returned shortly afterward and lingered around the area, unwilling to leave.

Several smaller sheep stayed obediently beside the three captured sheep and refused to leave.

The father and his two sons then tied up five more animals, but finally noticed that a few were still lingering around and refusing to leave.

Mu Xiao lost his composure. He took the snare made of rattan and walked over. As soon as he got close, the sheep ran a few steps away.

On the other side, Mu Nan was also tricked by the sheep several times. She lost her patience and threw a machete at the sheep when it started running. The machete hit the sheep in the stomach and the sheep died shortly after struggling.

Mu Nan then killed two more, but one of them escaped after he only managed to cut its foot.

Seeing his brother's prowess, Mu Xiao couldn't suppress his impulse and threw his cleaver at the sheep's belly in the same way, and surprisingly, he also managed to kill one.

Seeing that his two sons had made some gains, Old Man Mu was naturally unwilling to be outdone, so he resolutely joined the army of sheep hunters and eventually managed to take down one as well.

The group worked together to load the sheep into baskets, quickly cleaned up the bloodstains on the ground, and seeing that it was getting dark, they hurriedly tied up the sugarcane and drove the goats on their way home.

The others couldn't help but marvel upon hearing this. Wang Qing'er thought to herself, "This is unbelievable! What a mysterious flock of sheep! Could these sheep be the legendary lambs that are at the mercy of others?"

Seeing everyone's blank expressions, Old Man Mu explained in detail, "Of the three sheep caught first, two were pregnant ewes, and the other was a majestic ram. The rest of the lambs must be their children, which is why they turned back and couldn't bear to leave."

"So that's how it is. You've run into a family, uh, a family of sheep," Wang Qing'er said, unable to suppress a laugh.

Mu Xiao smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is absolutely right, we're all sheep."

"A family of sheep! Hehehe!" Mu Yao said with a smile, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Zhou said, "This mutton has a strong gamey smell, and not many people want to try it. I wonder if the restaurant accepts it?"

Old Man Mu said, "Whether we accept them or not, the three of us must properly prepare those four sheep after the meal and hang them in the well, otherwise they will spoil."

Zhou nodded in agreement, "Alright, take it to the restaurant tomorrow and ask. As for the other eight live ones, we'll keep them for now. If we can't sell them, we'll keep them for ourselves. Anyway, we just need to cut some grass to feed them, so it won't be a big deal."

"Take three big ones to sell, and keep the small one for home to eat." Mu Nan thought to himself that he would keep one for his family to eat, maybe his wife would like it, but he was too embarrassed to say so.

At the same time, he made up his mind that no matter what kind of wild game he caught in the future, he would keep some at home.

The young wife is really too thin. When I held her in the mountains today, I felt that she was all bones and it was very rough to touch.

In fact, Wang Qing'er also wanted to keep one at home to eat, but she didn't expect that her husband would have the same idea.

"Brother Mu Nan, how much do you think this mutton will sell for per pound?" Wang Qing'er asked softly.

Mu Nan pondered for a moment and replied, "I estimate the price will be similar to that of wild boar meat. The large one weighs about fifty catties, and it would be worth at most one tael of silver."

Wang Qing'er stopped talking and started calculating in her mind, "One pound of raw meat can be cooked into about seven ounces of cooked meat. If the cooked meat can be sold for fifty coins a pound, I can earn an extra six or seven hundred coins."

"Forget it, it's just three sheep. I'm too lazy to go through all that trouble. Let's just sell the offal first! Anyway, we still have seven or eight sheep at home, and there will be even more after they have lambs. We'll make plans later." Wang Qing'er finally gave up the idea of ​​cooking the offal before selling it.

After the family finished their meal, Wang Qing'er patiently taught Wang Cuiying how to braise offal in the kitchen, while Zhou Shi peeled bamboo shoots with the young children for a while before leading them to rest.

Old Man Mu and his two sons were processing the sheep. Wang Qing'er had already told Mu Nan that the sheep offal should be kept and not thrown away.

Wang Qing'er asked Mu Nan to help move the toon sprouts to the backyard. After blanching them all, she soaked them in clean water so they could be dried tomorrow. She also left 20 jin (10 kg) to sell at the restaurant tomorrow.

Once everything was arranged, night had fallen, as if a huge black curtain had enveloped the earth.

Wang Qing'er, like a weary flower, quietly soaked in the bathtub, drowsy.

After Mu Nan finished showering in another bathroom, he returned to his room but did not see his wife.

Suspicious, he went to the back of the house to look. He found the bathroom door tightly closed, with a faint light shining from inside, like a lonely star twinkling in the darkness.

Mu Nan scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Why did it take so long to wash today?"

He sat quietly by the stove under the eaves, waiting patiently. Time passed by, but there was still no movement from the bathroom.

A sense of worry welled up in Mu Nan's heart. He stood up, walked gently to the door, knocked on the door knocker, and called softly, "Qing'er, are you done washing?"

However, there was no response from within, as if it were a silent, deep sea.

Mu Nan frowned and knocked harder on the door. "Qing'er? Qing'er?..." His calls echoed in the air, but received no response, as if a stone had sunk into the sea.

Mu Nan had a bad feeling. He didn't care about anything else and tried to push the door open. Unexpectedly, the door was not locked and was easily pushed open.

His gaze was instantly drawn to Wang Qing'er in the bathtub. She looked like a sleeping angel, quietly leaning against the tub with her eyes closed, lost in a sweet dream.

"Qing'er? Qing'er, wake up." Mu Nan called softly, her voice full of concern.

"Don't shout, I'm so sleepy." Wang Qing'er's voice was as weak as a mosquito's buzz.

Mu Nan patted Wang Qing'er's little face helplessly, and tried calling out a few more times, "Qing'er,..."

"Brother Mu Nan, I'm sleepy..." Wang Qing'er's voice carried a hint of coquetry, which melted Mu Nan's heart.

Mu Nan had no choice but to carefully lift Wang Qing'er out of the bathtub.

He took a soft, large bath towel from the shelf and wrapped it tightly around Wang Qing'er's petite body. Then, he gently carried Wang Qing'er back to the room, helped her put on her undergarments, placed her on the bed, and pulled the covers up.

These movements flowed naturally and smoothly. Mu Nan looked at his sleeping wife on the bed and then let out a deep breath, as if he had completed a difficult task.

He turned and went to the backyard to empty the bathwater, then took a cold shower before returning to bed. He gently lay down and held his wife tightly in his arms.