Chapter 114: Preparing to Leave - Part One

ust had a baby girl and adopted a son, two big happy events, the perfect excuse to go congratulate them. Are you afraid of taking advantage of them You're just too stingy to spend money..."Hsu De-shou...When Xu Huaiyi woke up, the sky was already bright. The smell of blood from last night had dissipated, and the air was filled with the aroma of firewood simmering wolf bones.

There were several large pots set up in the yard. The wolf meat was divided according to each family's contribution, and the remaining bones were boiled together by Village Head Xu. Everyone had a bowl of soup to replenish themselves.

Of course, the Gu family was divided, but she didn't drink it because the soup didn't have any seasoning. It smelled pretty fishy, and the wolf meat had a strange sour taste in her mouth. Anyway, she couldn't swallow it, so she gave it all to Wei Liang.

Wei Liang took a big gulp, not even furrowing his brow, as if he were eating some delicious delicacy.

"Why didn't you sleep a little longer Are you rested"

"Well, I won't sleep. I still have some things to do today..."

The couple chatted, Gu Huanxi brought out the hot breakfast from the pot and arranged it on the table. "Eat quickly, we've already finished ours. This is for you. Try this hot bun, even without yeast, it's soft. The taste isn't much different. The filling is also good. It has chopped meat and lotus root, as well as rehydrated mushrooms, quite refreshing..."

Xu Huaiyi picked up a large bite, constantly nodding in praise, "Delicious, fragrant, my wife's craftsmanship is unparalleled..."

Gu Huanxi offered him another bowl of porridge, "I cooked some millet and mung beans, drink more to clear the heat."

Huaiyi nodded and said, "Well, well, the rice oil has come out, and it's even formed a layer of rice skin. The heat is just right. My wife is really good at this..."

"Wei Ci has persisted."

"Uh..."

Gu Huanxi urged, “Why don't you keep praising”

Xu Huaiyi grinned, his face unflustered. “She’s able to withstand this heat because of her own perseverance and the wise leadership and skillful direction of my daughter-in-law…”

"Come on, eat this," she said impatiently, shoving a steamed bun into his mouth.

Xu Huaiyi chewed with gusto, eating with such relish.

After finishing the chit-chat, Gu Huanxi got down to business, "Just now, Xu, the village head, came looking for you to discuss the distribution of meat. I turned him down and told them to figure it out themselves. Just now, he brought us about fifty catties of meat, which is the heaviest portion. I had Wei Ci handle it, salting and preserving it first. We'll keep it for later."

Huaiyi nodded in agreement, "Well, Village Head Xu is fair and kind to us. Fifty kilograms is quite a lot. But wolf meat needs to be seasoned well; otherwise, it's too gamey to swallow. Plus, the meat is tough, even people with good teeth can't chew it easily. It's best to mince it up and add some other ingredients to make meatballs or big buns. However, given the current circumstances, the villagers probably won't be picky; as long as they can eat well enough..."

Gu Huanxi said again, "We also divided a wolf pelt from our family. I asked Wei Liang to process it. The meat on top needs to be scraped clean and cured with nitrate, otherwise it won't work..."

Xu Huaiyi heard this, raised his eyes, and excitedly asked, "Was it the alpha wolf I shot"

Gu Huanxi nodded. "Village Head Xu said, and I saw it myself, that the pelt was over two meters long when spread out, with a smooth, glossy coat. The quality was good. They all said it could sell for over twenty taels of silver in the capital. I thought it would be better to keep it for myself. A wolfskin quilt would be warm..."

Xu Huaiyi didn't wait for her to finish before triumphantly saying, "Yes, we won't sell it. We'll keep it for you to use. I ran after that wolf with this in mind. How could I let someone else get a bargain Don't even mention over twenty taels, even if it were over two hundred taels, I wouldn't part with it. Before, I wanted to buy fur for you, but I didn't have enough money. Hehe, now I made one myself and gave it to my daughter-in-law to use. It's genuine…"

Gu Huanxi glared at him, and after glaring, she couldn't hold back her smile.

After dinner, Village Chief Xu came over and discussed matters with Xu Huaiyi. Gu Huanxi held her daughter in her arms, called Wei Ci, and went to the car to make shoes. If she wasn't mistaken, they should be leaving soon.

As expected, Village Head Xu spoke first, "Huaiyi, when do you think we should leave"

Xu Huaiyi poured him a cup of tea and casually asked, "Are the others still scared by what happened last night Are they all in a hurry to leave"

The village head shook his head. "Not at all, I see there are still a few who are reluctant to leave. There's still plenty in the mountains. Just now, quite a few people were planning to go into the mountains together, but I stopped them..."

Xu Huaiyi nodded. "You're right, things are unclear. It's best not to go into the mountains yet. It's too risky, not worth it. Besides, we have enough food for now."

“That’s exactly what I meant, and that’s how I see it too. But we can’t keep them tied up all the time, there has to be a set of rules, otherwise, if this continues for too long, things could easily get out of hand. Last night it was wolves, who knows what will come next time” Village Head Xu frowned, his face etched with worry. “I just don’t feel right about this, the sudden appearance of the wolf pack feels off, it's not right. They shouldn't be coming down the mountain to bother us…”

Xu Huaiyi said meaningfully, "So, this is man-made."

When the village head heard this, his eyelids twitched. "You mean... those refugees did it"

Xu Huaiyi hummed, "About eight or nine out of ten."

“What are they trying to do” Village Head Xu was furious, but in order not to scare everyone, he lowered his voice. “Their intentions are too cruel! We just refused them once, didn't we stop them from following us, or stop them from going into the mountains to find food Why would they come up with such a vicious plan to retaliate against us They want wolves to wipe out our entire village so they can have the land for themselves, right”

"They want to take our land and our food. They lured the wolves here, so they could achieve their goals without lifting a finger. That Wang Zuo is quite capable."

"What are we going to do then We can't just let them take advantage of us, right Shouldn't we fight back We have more people, we could easily handle a hundred or so of them."

Xu Huaiyi flatly refused, “No.”

"Why" Village Chief Xu was puzzled. When it came to fighting, nobody in the village was less afraid than Xu Huaiyi. Yet, here he was, being cautious and hesitant. Who would have thought that he'd be the one with second thoughts

Xu Huaiyi patiently explained, "Since he dared to set such a poisonous plan, there must be a follow-up strategy. If we go now to get back our face, we might fall into their trap. Besides, they only have a hundred or so people. Don't forget about the refugees at the gates of Fucheng! What if a mantis stalks a cicada while a yellow sparrow watches from behind We can't afford to gamble!"

Xu Chuang listened, a cold sweat breaking out on him. His face paled as he stammered, “You’re right, you’re so thoughtful. I almost fell for it…”

When he saw this, Xu Huaiyi soothed him again, "It's not that serious. Maybe I overthought it. But it's always better to be cautious, don't you think"

Xu Cunzhang nodded in agreement, "Listen to you. So what should we do now"

Xu Huaiyi had already made plans, and now was the perfect time to say them out loud: "I'm going to run to Fucheng to take a look. If things are looking good there, we'll leave as soon as possible. We can leave this place to those refugees."

Xú (The village head) was stunned. "Isn't this too cheap for them"

Xu Huaiyi said meaningfully, "Cheap No way! When we leave, I will definitely give them a big gift. At that time, let them taste what it's like to have their territory taken."

Xu Chuang, after a moment's hesitation, reacted, "Alright, that's how it is. If there's no poison, there's no husband. Who asked them to have ill intentions towards us first Everything is self-inflicted."

All along the way, the people of Xujia Village hadn't treated them badly; they had sheltered them for so many days. But what was the result Hmph, a white-eyed wolf brought in a real wolf, and they almost became food for the wolf's mouth.ne out for many years. Otherwise, he would have been startled just now when he heard it suddenly.Xu Huaiyi knew what he was curious about and continued, “As for the past affairs of Hutou Village, it's...