[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-the-ming":3,"chapter-overthrowing-the-ming-overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-29":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing the Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2289256,4476,"Chapter 29: Eating Meat","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-29",29,"\u003Cp>Li You generally does not hit children, unless he cannot help it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was most hateful was that while Hei Liuzi was being beaten, he still stiffened his neck and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't the thing you wanted a bucket?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't the thing I'm holding a bucket?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What I'm holding is exactly a bucket!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Orange, you look and see if what I'm holding is a bucket? Why is Master still hitting me? Ah ya ya, stop quickly, you've beaten my backside swollen... wuu wuu...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Orange stared blankly at the bucket for a long time, and also said to Li You: \"Master Brother, Brother Hei Liuzi is right. What you wanted was a bucket, and what he is holding is a bucket. Why are you still hitting him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You, who had been about to stop, stiffened his body, took a deep breath, and with another surge of his tiger-like vigor, unleashed a storm of blows before finally stopping. He thought to himself, no wonder Yu Zhengchun told him this Hei Liuzi’s brain was unusual; Li You had thought he meant clever and sharp at the time, but who could have known it was this kind of unusual?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no help for it; the hunt had to continue. Li You found a large rock to seal the cave entrance first, then went to gather some dry grass and firewood. Only then did he remember he had no fire-striker or mugwort tinder... Hei Liuzi wiped his tears, rubbed his buttocks, and ran off to find Liu Longjin again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking advantage of this gap, Li You prepared to climb the persimmon tree to pick the remaining few persimmons first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He first had Little Orange sit in front of the persimmon tree, because there were not many persimmons and they were all at the tips of the branches; he needed someone to direct his picking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once up the tree, Li You picked the persimmons very roughly. Relying on his immense strength, and because the persimmon branches were brittle, he basically snapped them off right at the trunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time only two were left, Hei Liuzi had already come running over happily, as if it wasn't him who had just been beaten, without a shred of sadness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You climbed down the tree, struck the fire-striker, ignited the mugwort tinder, and then used dry grass to build up the fire. He moved the stone aside, shoved it into the badger hole, and billowing yellow smoke began to rage. To be safe, Li You still blocked most of the hole, leaving only a three-finger-wide gap to stuff dry grass in and smoke it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first there was still some movement inside, but in the end, there was absolutely no sound left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You smoked it for a while longer, then moved the stone away, cleared out the remaining burnt grass and ash, and stuffed Hei Liuzi into the hole like an inverted green onion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had him drag out the smoked-to-death badger, and finally, he grabbed Hei Liuzi’s feet and pulled him out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This badger was not small in size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The autumn badger was thick with fat, estimated to be about twenty catties. Between the smoking and the burning, the fur on its body was quite curled, and several large handfuls of hairy chestnuts, walnuts, hawthorns, and other wild fruits were also scraped out from inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You was extremely happy in his heart and had Hei Liuzi run to pick up the arrows; the furry rats were skewered in the middle like mutton kebabs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had also finished packing the picked persimmons, sixteen in total, and had the two of them hold them. There were still plenty of hairy chestnuts, walnuts, and hawthorns in the badger hole for Hei Liuzi to wrap up in his clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a full harvest, Li You shouldered the badger, and the three of them headed back. Because the two little ones were happy, their chatter increased significantly...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Brother, why don't you want the persimmon leaves?\" Little Orange said, looking happily at the persimmons in her arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do I need tree leaves for?\" Li You said, carrying the chubby badger on his shoulder. \"The leaves on the tree have no roots; they all fall off with a shake.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If there were leaves, the persimmons would think they were still growing on the tree, and then they could be kept for a long time. We could wait until winter to eat them... Last winter, Sister Xiaolan was starved to death. If we had these persimmons then, it would have been great! Once we survived the winter, we would have had licorice roots, thorn berry stems, and wild vegetables to eat!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Orange hugged the persimmons in her arms tightly, speaking with a serious face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You felt an inexplicable soreness in his eyes and sniffed hard, saying, \"Little glutton, if you want to eat, then eat. This winter, with Brother here, none of you will starve to death!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hehe, that's good. Then when we get back, we'll divide a few to eat first!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A radiant smile instantly rippled across her small round face. Her cute appearance made Li You really want to take a bite of her little cheek. But there was also a promise weighing on his heart, making him feel somewhat heavy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Brother...\" Hei Liuzi spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't call me brother!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then... Master Li, why didn't you crawl into the badger hole just now?\" Hei Liuzi began to talk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am an adult; I can't fit in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You could have made the hole bigger!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too much trouble... Besides, I didn't want to. I just wanted you to crawl in, so what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing, it's just that the dry grass ash inside was still red, it burned me to death! In the future, you can beat my butt until it's broken, and I still won't crawl in!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hei Liuzi’s face and arms were red, and a few small blisters had even formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I'll let you eat a trotter later!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh, okay, then... then... then in the future, I'll still be the one to crawl in... I'll just use tree leaves to protect my arms and face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then can we wait until the fire ash is cool? Wait until it's cool before we crawl in?\" Li You said expressionlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, right... Hey, hey, hey, that's it! Then... then Master, why... why didn't you wait for the fire ash to cool before urging me to crawl in?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up, your voice is really grating; you're annoying me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You bickered with the two little ones all the way until they reached the small flat slope where Liu Longjin was. From afar, they all smelled the aroma of meat, making the mouths of Hei Liuzi and the others water like waterfalls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoa... a badger!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Longjin, who was turning the meat, looked at Li You’s shoulder, jumped up in surprise, and took the badger down, laughing loudly: \"Heavy, really heavy!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While they were talking, Wa Qingyun also returned, though he could be said to have returned empty-handed. He certainly hadn't found any rabbits, and hadn't even caught a single furry rat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Zhengchun held a handful of bamboo weevils and grasshoppers in his hands, black, red, and yellow; the bamboo weevils, in particular, looked a bit ghastly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wa Qingyun had a handful of silkworm pupae in one hand, and in the other, some red hawthorn fruits and walnuts, all withered and shriveled, as if they had been dug out of a rat hole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My dear mother, in this day and age, even the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards have nothing to eat, and they all run down the mountain to catch people to eat. Master, you were actually able to catch such a fat badger? You are even more formidable than tigers and wolves!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wa Qingyun looked at the fat badger and then at Li You, as if he were a god.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he couldn't recognize enough characters to fill a cow cart, he knew that \"fortune,\" that invisible and intangible thing, always existed, and Li You was undoubtedly someone who possessed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You must know that last year, around the fourth or fifth month, Nanzhai also ran out of food. Which part of the deep gullies and hollows nearby hadn't they searched and hunted in? But when had they ever managed to catch a badger?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, let alone a badger, even catching a furry rat was very difficult, because the animals were also suffering from the famine and were completely impossible to encounter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha, just good luck. Eat quickly, eat quickly. If you don't eat soon, the drool from these few will put out the campfire.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You looked at Yu Zhengchun, Little Niang, and the other children, who were already sitting in a circle around the campfire, the sounds of them swallowing saliva rising one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, not even the smallest, Little Orange, reached out; they were all waiting for Li You to eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You had no choice but to sit down, tear off a small piece, and stuff it into his mouth first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he used a knife to cut the already roasted rabbit meat, divided it up, and handed it into their hands. Only then did they begin to wolf it down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Niang, in particular, held a piece of belly meat with a bit of fat. With a gentle pull, the white and red meat inside was revealed, and the oil and juice immediately flowed out and spread. The heat hit her little dirty face and went into her nose, instantly making her saliva gush out like a spring, and she hurriedly stuffed it into her mouth...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it was too hot; she chewed vigorously with puffed cheeks, sometimes opened her mouth to pant, sometimes swung her mouth left and right, her eyes half-closed the whole time, her body shivering non-stop... As the children's shoulders kept heaving, Li You suddenly discovered that the wilderness was filled with the overwhelming sound of swallowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eat!\" Li You greeted Liu Longjin and Wa Qingyun, and they also began to eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Longjin gave him the best hind leg meat and rubbed it a few more times on the salt brick. Li You did not act coy; he was so hungry that the tendons on his stomach were almost worn flat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what, he had to ensure he had a robust body; this was his greatest reliance for protecting himself and those around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to the swallowing sounds of the children around him, since he had transmigrated, the anxiety in his heart finally vanished, replaced by a trace of a sense of accomplishment permeating his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This feeling lasted for a moment, and Li You couldn't help but smile after noticing it: eating and drinking—this is life.\u003C\u002Fp>",1807,"2026-06-20T03:32:06.992Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","a0dc680001a200ad1859beff8770807761fc2f347716dfbaff537efe4e61ca95","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-30","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-28",71,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-the-ming-cover.jpg"]