ryethenovel Chapter 90 The Landlady
Chapter 90 The Landlady
Everyone was stunned by Li Xiangyang's words.
They had been circling the ranch the whole time and naturally didn't know anything about hunting, but they were still very curious, especially Li Zhenshan and Li Xiangdong.
It's freezing cold outside right now, and there's not much to do on the ranch. All I do every day is feed the sheep and shovel snow, which is pretty boring.
But if they can go hunting after they finish their work, they can not only pass the time, but also improve their family's meals and generate income, achieving three benefits in one go.
So everyone leaned towards Li Xiangyang, wanting to hear what he had to say.
"In winter, the snow is thick, and the footprints of wild animals cannot be hidden. Whether it is a roe deer, a half-pound roe deer, or a wild wolf or a wild boar, they will leave clear hoof and claw marks when they walk in the snow. If you follow the footprints, you can find them every time, which saves a lot of effort compared to usual."
He paused, picked up the enamel mug, took a sip of hot tea, and continued, "Moreover, in heavy snow, wild animals lack food and are hungry, so their vigilance decreases, and they are not as alert as usual."
in addition,
With the heavy snow blocking the mountains, wild animals stay close by and won't go too far. We don't need to trek over mountains and valleys; we can get something just by staying in the nearby bushes and along the mountainside.
The only downside is that going out at this time is more uncomfortable.
"Hehe, what suffering? I'm not afraid, little brother! I'll go with you! As long as we can improve the family's meals and make some money, that's all that matters," Li Xiangdong said, patting his chest.
He had witnessed and was delighted by the changes in the Li family these days.
Going to the lake in the dead of winter to fish by breaking the ice—isn't that suffering? You have to travel for more than an hour to town to sell your fish at 5 a.m., and you have to worry about getting caught all the time. Isn't that suffering?
They've all suffered so much, which is why they discouraged many people in the team who wanted to follow suit but couldn't handle the hardship.
But the Li family's living conditions were improving rapidly, and that was a real improvement. Compared to the hardships they had endured, Li Xiangdong felt it was nothing.
Li Zhenshan listened and nodded repeatedly, his face full of approval: "Xiangyang's tips for hunting in the snow are very accurate, and Xiangdong... is also excellent."
Li Zhenshan felt very gratified that his two sons, one clever and the other hardworking, were able to work together so well.
As they were speaking,
A rich aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen, mixed with the smell of firewood smoke, making one's mouth water.
The stewed half-pound of silli is ready.
"It smells so good, is it chicken soup again today...?" Zhao Lijuan's throat bobbed as she smelled the aroma.
After feeding the sheep at the ranch with Li Xiangdong this morning, we went straight to Zhahar to catch fish. We did this for several hours, and now I'm starving.
Before anyone else could answer, Liu Xiulan came in carrying a large, steaming enamel basin:
"Xiangyang caught six sand chickens when he came back. I killed three of them to make soup. Hurry up and serve, eat it while it's hot!"
"A half-grown pheasant? Xiangyang caught a half-grown pheasant?" Zhao Lijuan exclaimed in surprise.
In this snowy weather, sand chickens are relatively easy to catch, but not so easy to encounter.
"Luckily, on the way back, there was a heavy snowstorm, and when I got off to lead my horse, I encountered a flock of sand chickens."
Li Xiangyang gave a brief reply and then eagerly picked up a spoon to scoop up the chicken soup.
"You're lucky? You're incredibly lucky!"
Even Zhao Lijuan was envious.
This time, Liu Xiulan added the secret seasoning that Tu Weimin had given to Li Xiangyang a few days ago to the soup, making the chicken soup taste noticeably sweeter and fresher than usual.
Once you take a sip, you can't stop.
Outside, snow was falling heavily, but inside, the family sat around the kang (a heated brick bed), drinking hot soup and eating half-cooked chicken, feeling warm and cozy.
Li Zhenshan drank several bowls of soup, his complexion became much rosier, and feeling that he had eaten enough, he put down the enamel bowl, took out his pipe, and prepared to take a couple of puffs.
As he puffed on his cigarette, he glanced at Li Xiangyang and casually asked, "By the way, Xiangyang, how are the wolf pelts and meat selling today?"
Although Li Zhenshan has handed over the reins of the household to Li Xiangyang, he is still not entirely at ease and wants to ask more questions and keep an eye on things.
"The four wolf pelts sold for 195 yuan, and the wolf meat for 63 yuan, for a total of 258 yuan. After deducting 5.6 yuan for the New Year's goods, there was 252.94 yuan left."
Li Xiangyang casually remarked while munching on a chicken leg.
As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Li Zhenshan stood there, stunned, almost dropping his pipe, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Sold for 258 yuan...?"
Li Xiangdong knew that wolf fur was expensive, but he didn't expect it to be this expensive!
Wang Guiying also stopped eating, her face filled with surprise. Yesterday, when she handed over all her savings to Li Xiangyang, she only had a little over two hundred yuan. And in just one day, it had doubled...?
"Good, good, good!" Li Zhenshan recovered and nodded repeatedly, his face full of satisfaction.
The others were all grinning from ear to ear, their eyes filled with anticipation for the future.
............
After finishing his meal, Li Xiangyang went to the storeroom and picked out a crucian carp weighing over a pound to feed Wangcai. He noticed that ever since the night he hunted the wolf king, Wangcai had stopped baring its teeth at him.
Not only did its eyes become submissive, but whenever Li Xiangyang approached, Wangcai would always lower its body, tuck its ears back, and droop its tail.
"Alright, I'll take you out for some practice tomorrow!" Li Xiangyang threw the whole fish into the cage and got up to go back inside.
into the night,
Her daughter, Li Doudou, was already fast asleep, deep in her dreams, but Liu Xiulan was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), too excited to sleep.
She smiled and took out the money that Li Xiangyang had earned during the day from selling wolf skins and wolf meat.
She counted each bill carefully, some brand new, some crumpled, folding them neatly and unfolding them again, counting them over and over, her smile never fading.
"Xiangyang, look how much money we have now! I never imagined it would be over 500 today, just over 200 yesterday!"
Li Xiangyang was adding coal to the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) and did not reply.
Liu Xiulan counted for a while, then sighed and said:
"Alas, it's a pity this money belongs to the public. If it were our own, wouldn't I become a landlord?"
"Oh, right! I almost forgot."
Li Xiangyang smiled and pulled a faded blue cloth bag from his pocket, tossing it over: "This morning, when I was helping Old Zhang chase after a horse thief, the thief ran so fast that I left it behind."
They hunted and fished together. The money earned from the ranch would definitely be confiscated, while the money they found would naturally belong to the couple.
Liu Xiulan took the cloth bag with a puzzled look. It felt light in her hand, so she didn't pay much attention. She casually opened it and found a stack of brand-new ten-yuan bills inside, ten in total, which was exactly one hundred yuan.
She froze instantly, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked at Li Xiangyang: "Xiangyang, this...this has so much money."
"Keep the money, it's a lot of money," Li Xiangyang said with a smile.
Liu Xiulan clutched the cloth bag tightly, her face filled with surprise and a little apprehensive: "Really? This money... can we keep it for ourselves?"
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Just keep it, you landlady!"
Liu Xiulan immediately smiled.