The road down the mountain was much more difficult than the way up.
Moreover,
Chen Xuan was carrying a 60-pound roe deer.
Under the thick snow, a momentary carelessness could result in a tumble.
As a result, by the time he almost reached the foot of the mountain, it was completely dark.
"Well, it's good that it's dark."
After all,
his catch today was not small.
These days were getting tougher and tougher.
Even getting enough to eat was a problem,
yet the Chen Family not only had enough to eat, but they had meat.
While most villagers in Shuanggang Village were honest, there were always a few with bad intentions,
and who knew what they might do if they got jealous.
Moreover,
he had to hunt in the mountains during the day,
leaving only two women at home,
if something really happened, it would be terrible.
"Crunch, crunch..."
Chen Xuan panted, listening to the sound of his footsteps on the snow, heading towards home.
...
"Why isn't Brother Xuan back yet, sister?"
Su Yun,
kept pacing back and forth in the main room.
After a few steps,
she reached the window and looked outside.
Each time she looked,
her disappointment deepened.
"Chen Family's ancestors, protect us, please keep Brother Xuan safe... I would even give up years of my life!"
Su Wanqiu clasped her hands, repeatedly praying for Chen Xuan's safety.
"What should we do, sister..."
As time passed, Su Yun's heart sank to the bottom.
She started imagining the worst.
She seemed so anxious she was about to cry.
"Don't worry, good people will be rewarded, Brother Xuan will be fine."
Su Wanqiu came to her side, holding her in her arms.
Gently patting her back, comforting her.
But,
her head instinctively turned towards the window.
Her brows furrowed with worry.
If something were really to happen, not only would her sister become a widow, the family would collapse, and the Chen Family line would end,
she would have no face to meet the Chen Family ancestors even after death.
"Crunch, crunch....."
Suddenly,
a faint sound came from outside into the room.
Su Yun instantly broke free from her sister's embrace, without caring whether it was Chen Xuan, she immediately opened the door and dashed out.
Su Wanqiu hadn't had a chance to leave,
when she heard Su Yun's voice filled with joy, "Sister, sister, Brother Xuan is back."
Hearing this, Su Wanqiu took two steps forward outside the door.
At this moment,
Su Yun, holding onto Chen Xuan's arm, was already coming over.
The little girl's face was filled with excitement,
pointing at the roe deer behind Chen Xuan, she was nearly incoherent,
"Sister... look, it's so big, so big..."
Since the two were side-by-side, Su Wanqiu had not seen the roe deer behind Chen Xuan,
she was puzzled,
what's so big, so big about it!
Until Chen Xuan entered the house and dropped the roe deer onto the ground with a muffled thud,
she finally saw it clearly.
Instantly,
she covered her mouth with her hand, her wide eyes growing even larger.
"It's... so big!"
Chen Xuan was now completely exhausted, with Su Yun's help, he sat in a chair.
"Huff, huff....."
He gasped for breath.
He was both tired and hungry.
But seeing the expressions on the two women's faces, his mouth curled slightly upwards, feeling secretly pleased.
At this time,
Su Wan was circling the big silly roe deer on the ground.
Her eyes lit up.
She touched it here and there.
Chen Xuan could clearly see her gulping.
"Haha, looks like this little girl is truly craving it!"
"But, this is great, enough for a while."
However,
after Su Wanqiu's initial shock, she quickly composed herself.
First, she poured a cup of hot water into his hands, saying with compassion, "Are you cold? It's freezing outside, have some water to warm up, I'll go heat up some food for you right away!"
"Not too bad, not too bad!"
Chen Xuan took a sip of the hot water.
He wasn't cold at all, carrying such a heavy deer, he had walked such a long way, his back was soaked with sweat.
He was just hungry!
The kind of hunger that clings to his front and back.
Not long after,
Su Wanqiu brought over a large basin, as big as two heads.
Steam was rising from it.
"Hurry and eat, you must be starving, I bought quite a bit of sorghum flour this time, next time you go into the mountains, I'll pack you some sorghum pancakes, you can eat something if you're hungry, otherwise spending all day in the mountains without food, your body won't handle it."
As she spoke,
Su Wanqiu showed a look of guilt.
Today, Chen Xuan went into the mountains and she hadn't thought of this, but there really was no sorghum flour left at home.
It's hard to cook without rice.
She wanted to help but couldn't!
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
Indeed, going into the mountains requires food, the exertion is overwhelming, it's really unmanageable without it.
Chen Xuan,
holding the big basin, munched on a pancake and some sorghum porridge.
Although simple,
it tasted so good.
In no time, he finished the big basin of sorghum porridge and pancakes.
"Burp!"
Chen Xuan burped, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and was done with it.
The feeling of fatigue gradually disappeared.
His gaze fell on the two women.
Crouching down, they were discussing the uses of every part of the roe deer.
Of course,
mostly it was Su Wanqiu talking,
while the little girl Su Yun chimed in, nodding along.
"This hide needs to be properly treated, it could make a coat for Brother Xuan."
"Mm!"
"We can cure some of this leg, makes it last longer."
"Mm-hmm!"
"Tomorrow, we can make soup with these bones, to nourish you both."
"Yes, yes, yes! Nourish!"
...
Listening to Su Wanqiu, every sentence containing something about him,
a smile appeared on Chen Xuan's face, warmth filling his heart.
Having such a sister-in-law, and this family,
he was satisfied!
....
After that, Chen Xuan didn't need to worry about anything at all.
Even when he offered to drag the roe deer to the kitchen, Su Wanqiu refused.
Instead, she directed Su Yun to fetch hot water,
told him to wash up and get to bed early to rest.
He had worked hard all day.
The roe deer was left to her.
.....
In the room,
there was only Chen Xuan in bed.
The little girl Su Yun was helping in the kitchen.
After all,
if it was left to Su Wanqiu alone to handle it, it would take all night to sort out the roe deer.
"Chop, chop, chop..."
Even though he was in the kitchen, after upgrading his Tracking Technique to an intermediate level, he could hear the sound of knives cutting through meat clearly.
"Wow, sister, this roe deer is quite fatty, what did it eat."
"Sister, this meat is so firm, it must taste great stewed."
"Sister, these bones are so thick, the broth must be delicious."
....
Lying in bed, Chen Xuan shook his head, smiling a little helplessly.
This little girl was really a foodie.
"Alright, stop messing around here, go back to your room, Brother Xuan's had a hard day, give him a massage to ease his fatigue."
Su Wanqiu sighed deeply in her heart.
She was already married, yet she was still like a child.
"Oh!"
Su Yun stuck out her tongue, then got up to go back to her room, but her eyes lingered on the roe deer, her steps slow as a thief.
"Hurry and go back, what are you looking at, if you keep staring, you won't get any meat tomorrow!"
Su Wanqiu scolded her half-jokingly.
Sure enough,
as soon as she finished speaking, the little girl ran off like a rabbit.
Watching her sister, Su Wanqiu first sighed, then smiled.