10 10 Mom, did you slaughter our old hen ?!

With that, she led Li Xiuli to the kitchen.

He first removed the firewood one by one from atop the large basket, revealing a plump and hefty Dahua pheasant underneath.

"Granny, look, I wasn't lying!"

The kitchen at that time was a simple makeshift structure, built just good enough to shelter from wind and rain, without much regard for appearance.

The cheapest thing in the countryside was land, so the kitchen was not small, with a wooden door made by themselves.

A straw stove sat there, with a cracked iron pot resting on top.

A wooden bellows.

An elongated wooden bench about a meter long and half a meter wide was set up against the wall.

On top of it were placed items like a clay jar, wooden spoons, gourd ladles, and other utensils.

Upon hearing her oldest grandson's words, Li Xiuli's first reaction was to hurriedly close the kitchen door.

Her face, weathered with age, was full of joy, "Oh my, my dear, it really is a pheasant, where did this come from?"

After several years of famine, Small Blue Mountain had seen a decrease in its wildlife.

A pheasant so plump, she had not seen one in at least two years.

Goudan's gaunt face broke into a smug smile, his small head held high with pride.

"My youngest aunt found it."

He thought his youngest aunt was particularly impressive.

A look of realization appeared on his grandmother's face, "It's Tangtang, ah, my daughter is indeed capable."

She looked at Lin Tang with pride as she spoke.

Unexpectedly, she was not surprised at all.

In her eyes, Lin Tang was like a lucky doll.

Not just a pheasant, even if she had picked up a wild boar, she would not have been astonished.

At that moment, her face was full of pride and joy, completely lacking the hesitant and reproachful look she had when Goudan first mentioned there was meat.

"Tangtang, where did you find this? You didn't go up the mountain, did you? There are wild beasts up there," Li's mother asked with a worried expression.

She definitely did not want her daughter to get hurt over this piece of meat.

Lin Tang, touched by her mother's affectionate gaze, stepped forward and looped her arm around her.

She smiled softly, "No, I listened to you, Mom. I just looked around at the foot of the mountain."

She didn't dare mention going up the mountain at all, fearing that she would be restricted from going out in the future.

Goudan lifted his little face, gazing eagerly at Li Xiuli, his face full of longing.

"Granny, can we have meat tonight?"

He really wanted to eat meat!

His mom had said that the work in the fields was very tough.

Grandpa, dad, and the uncles were all exhausted and needed to eat something good to recover.

He wanted everyone in the family to eat together.

Li Xiuli was unaware of what her oldest grandson was thinking. After pondering for a moment, she said:

"Your youngest aunt told me to stir-fry a plate of eggs tonight. If we eat meat, we won't stir-fry the eggs.

If we eat the eggs tonight, we can save the meat for tomorrow. Do you still want to have meat today?"

Nowadays, every household was living tightly, with many even unable to afford Bean Cake.

Good things were saved to last a year; one couldn't just gobble it all up in one meal.

Goudan hardly hesitated, his eyes shining as if afire.

"We'll eat eggs today, meat tomorrow."

That way, they could have it all!

Li Xiuli ruffled her eldest grandson's hair, "You really are a clever one!"

Goudan scratched his head, let out a sheepish chuckle, and sweet-talked his way through.

"Granny is smart, and so is my youngest aunt, that's why I am smart too."

That single sentence brought smiles to Lin Tang and her daughter's faces.

Lin Tang looked at Goudan, thinking that she didn't remember him being so articulate.

Look at how well he flattered people; surely, if he were in the future, he would have been a talent.

After sending her grandson out of the kitchen, Li's mother quickly and deftly slaughtered the chicken.

Boiled a pot of water, scalded the chicken, and plucked its feathers.

"Mom, let me help you," Lin Tang said as she rolled up her sleeves and squatted down next to her mother.

Her young face was fair, with bright red lips and pearly white teeth.

Crouching down, she was but a small bundle, her eyes clear as lake water, impossibly beautiful.

Li's mother was softened by her daughter's gaze and smiled with affection.

"Such a small chore doesn't need your help, go back to your room and rest, and if you're really bored you can read a book."

She brushed her off, not allowing her to lend a hand.

Lin Tang's expression turned awkward at being rejected, "..."

She had forgotten that she seldom did any housework at home.

"Alright, I'll go back to my room then."

Li's mother smiled and waved her off, "Go on, go have a rest in your room."

A country girl of this era indeed couldn't afford to be good for nothing.

But who made it so that her family's Tangtang had three biological brothers and four male cousins?

At home, the men took care of the heavy labor, and she and her two daughters-in-law handled the household chores.

There was no need for the daughter to do anything!

The world was already harsh on women.

So what was wrong with spoiling one's own dear daughter while she was still young?!

Li Xiuli was efficient and quick in her tasks.

It wasn't long before she had plucked all the feathers from the chicken.

The exposed flesh was firm and plump, enticingly so.

Just then, other members of the Lin Family returned.

Lin Lu, who was restless by nature and a confirmed bachelor, always thought of Lin Tang whenever there was something to do.

Having not seen her for just an afternoon and learning from his nephew that his sister was in the kitchen,

he called out as if he hadn't seen her for years, "Sister, sister, your third brother is back."

He nearly collided with Li's mother who was just opening the kitchen door.

"You rascal, what's with the rush? How old are you? Can't you be a little more composed?"

Lin Qingmu, seeing he was about to bump into his mother, scratched his head guiltily.

Immediately, he stepped back several paces, his face still in shock.

Good thing he stopped in time.

Otherwise, if he had collided with her, he would have endured a tag-team scolding from both his parents.

He was just about to crack a joke to gloss over the situation,

when he caught sight of the white meat on the chopping board.

"...Mother, mother, is that... is that meat?! Did you slaughter our old hen?!"

As he spoke, saliva uncontrollably dripped from his mouth.

He was so eager it was unmistakable.

It wasn't that he was particularly gluttonous, but people at that time severely lacked fats in their diet.

It was bad enough that meals were bland and watery, but the key issue was that they never filled you up.

Every night he would wake up starving.

Under such circumstances, who wouldn't crave meat?

Lin Qingshan and Lin Qingshui, hearing their younger brother's voice, didn't even bother to wash their hands and hurried over.

Good heavens, it really was meat!!!

The two brothers stood alongside Lin Qingmu, similarly drooling, saliva overflowing.

Their eyes spelled out two words: Craving!

Lin's father also sauntered over, interrupting what was about to be a scold from Li's mother.

"Isn't our old hen in the backyard? Where did this meat come from?"

Though Lin's father was also long bereft of greasy food, he still had to keep up the pretense of the patriarch, enduring the hunger with difficulty.

The three Lin brothers struggled to look away.

Desperate gazes fixated on their mother.

Li's mother displayed a proud look, her chin held high as she said with pride, "Tangtang found it."

After her statement, she leisurely waited for everyone's reaction.

Lin Lu's face showed emotion as he smiled honestly, "My girl is really fortunate."

"As expected of Tangtang, such amazing luck!" said Lin Qingmu.

"...Both finding eggs and wild chickens, Tangtang's luck is just too good," Lin Qingshan also chimed in.

"Where did sister find it?" Lin Qingshui asked curiously.