Chapter 36: Delicious

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"Skin it!"

Li Qinxiang, his expression unchanged, took up a dagger and strode toward the wolf carcass!

"Coward!"

Guan Hongxin muttered, then followed, stepping over the iron chain.

On this side, the Wangs, the Xings, the lame Liu, and others were busy setting up pots and boiling water. Yu Zhengchun, Hei Liuzi, and the other children, their faces flushed red, ran back and forth like it was New Year, fetching firewood and coal balls!

Several mine laborers, along with Qian Zhong and Qian Yong, tore down several planks from the wooden shed to use as cutting boards. Song Man hurried to the kitchen to fetch salt lumps and some simple seasonings.

Dang Xiongxin and Xiang Hu led several mine laborers to first bury Gu Laosan. Upon returning, they built several bonfires, instantly turning the cold, desolate night bright and warm.

Xiao Juzi and the little woman in the crowd, amused by someone, let out laughter like silver bells.

Li You sat on a high stone, chatting idly with Wang Qiong. Looking at the scene before him, he felt a strong urge to protect. If a person's life from birth to death is lived only for oneself, it must be a very boring existence!

"Time flies. The last time I skinned a wolf was when I fought with Commander Zhao!"

Li Qinxiang skillfully skinned the head wolf, which had been shot through the belly and had its head crushed. If that arrow had struck the eye socket, this wolf pelt would have been worth a fortune.

He was from Suidezhou, Shaanxi. His father was a street performer. Having attended a private school since childhood and learned to wield blades and spears, he became a Retainer in the Zhao Menglin household when the world fell into chaos to earn a meal.

In the second year of Tianqi, the Later Jin army attacked Guangning and simultaneously occupied over forty cities outside the pass.

Governor Wang Huazhen abandoned Guangning, withdrawing all towns outside the pass completely.

Zhao Menglin's son, Zhao Shijiao, applied to the Grand Coordinator Wang Zaijin, stating his willingness to retake the Qiantunwei city. He led thirty-eight Retainers, the youngest of whom was Li Qinxiang.

In the second year of Chongzhen, the Later Jin army advanced south from Da'an Pass. Zhao Shijiao, in a hurry, galloped his horse nonstop, reaching Santunying in just three days and three nights.

But strangely, General Zhu Guoyan refused to let him enter the gates. Zhao Shijiao was forced to turn his horse west.

On the fourth day of the eleventh month, when the battle began at Zunhua, Zhao Shijiao, having undergone no rest or repair, was suddenly ambushed and killed by a flying arrow. Almost the entire army was wiped out. Li Qinxiang managed to escape and, disheartened, returned to his hometown.

In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, he fled south during the famine. Later, he huddled for warmth with Guan, Wang, Gao, and others. Among the six, he was the most strategic and steady, so he usually led them. However, the recent surprise attack on Longmen Fortress was orchestrated primarily by Guan Hongxin and Zhou Yin.

Guan Hongxin naturally knew something of Li Qinxiang's background, but who exactly Commander Zhao was, he did not know. Still, he was too lazy to ask, muttering, "Donkey, a hero doesn't boast of past deeds. Who hasn't been a hero in their youth? My ancestors even crossed the border to fight in the bloody Battle of P'yoktong!"

Guan Hongxin is thirty years old, from Yan'an Prefecture. A military household for generations, he is burly and swarthy, tall as a tree. Because he is fat and strong, he walks like a crab.

In the twentieth year of Wanli, Japan's Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to divert domestic land conflicts, decided to first invade Korea by force, then conquer China, then seek India, and ultimately dominate Asia. (The root of the "three-month" slogan lies here.) On April 14 of that year, Japanese troops landed at Busan. Nineteen days later, they captured the capital, Seoul. Within just one month, they swept through, seizing Korea's three governorates and eight provinces.

The Wanli Emperor, overriding all opposition, resolved to aid Korea!

Guan Hongxin's father, Guan Zhengxiong, during the Imjin War of the twentieth year of Wanli, served under a Vice General, specifically under the Divisional General Yang Wudian. He subsequently participated in the bloody Battle of P'yoktong.

However, due to his misconduct, harassing Korean women, and exchanging all his military merits for silver to gamble on mahjong tiles, he gained no official rank. He later returned to Yulin Guard to muddle through his days.

In the second year of Chongzhen, a Squad Leader embezzled Guan Zhengxiong's burial silver. Nineteen-year-old Guan Hongxin, furious, stabbed his superior to death. Just then, bandits were rampant everywhere, so he followed "Ke Tian Fei" He Chongwei and became a bandit.

In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Bai Guang'en, captain of the second company under "Hun Tian Hou" Zhang Mengjin, defected to Hong Chengchou. Suddenly turning traitor, He Chongwei was betrayed. His subordinates either died or surrendered. Guan Hongxin, despising both bandits and the imperial army, thereafter began wandering south alone.

In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, he met the Gao Conglong brothers and came to Hanzhong Prefecture together.

"Ah... never mind!"

Li Qinxiang and Guan Hongxin chatted idly, their minds focused on the wolf pelts before them, and more so on inspecting the wounds on the wolves. After examining several, they exchanged a glance, seeing shock in each other's eyes.

"Whoa... what a beast! Old Li, the wolf pelt you skinned is truly oily and smooth... Hey, what's wrong? What are you looking at?"

Gao Conglong held up a blood-soaked pelt and looked closer. Incredible! It turned out two wolves had been pierced together by a single heavy arrow!

"My goodness... one arrow, two birds? Could it be Yang Youji descended to earth to shoot?"

Gao Conglong was truly stunned. His gaze shifted to another wolf whose head had been pierced; the arrow shaft was still not pulled out.

It is said that wolves are known as having "copper heads, iron bones, and tofu waists." For one arrow to pierce a wolf's skull, and another to pierce through two wolves' bellies, what a heavy bow would that require? What kind of strength?

They could not help but look at the bow case at Li You's feet. They only saw the bow tip was very large, but they could not see what the bow itself looked like.

"Donkey, it must be at least fifteen units of force. Does the army have such a powerful large-tip bow?" Guan Hongxin whispered.

The "large-tip bow" he referred to is the Dashaogong; the army habitually calls it the Dashaogong, while scholars prefer to call it the Kaiyuan Bow!

"Is he really a scholar?"

Gao Conglong stared at Li You, covered in blood, and murmured involuntarily. Li You's presence seemed increasingly mysterious to them.

"Those two over there were chopped in half, yet it was done with a single strike!"

Li Qinxiang's voice was not loud, but his tone still held an uncontrollable horror.

Gao Conglong swallowed hard and was about to speak when suddenly the sound of axes and blades rang out.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

Liu Longjin, carrying a wolf carcass with its head removed, chopped it with a Xuanhua axe. First, he hacked off the wolf's hooves and four limbs, then severed its head. The little woman and the Wangs assisted nearby, filling basins and jars with the removed wolf heart, lungs, stomach, and intestines. Even the wolf blood was collected from start to finish in coarse earthenware jars. For them, these offal were rare delicacies.

With these removed, not much flesh and bone remained from the wolf. Not just wolves; in this era, the meat yield of pigs, sheep, dogs, etc., was always low. Even the meat yield of pigs was only about fifty percent. As for the white pork on later markets, those were Danish pigs introduced in the 60s and 70s. Our native pork has always had a very low lean meat ratio and poor reproductive ability, and is not favored by the people. Pigs like the Jinhua pig of Zhejiang, the Rongchang pig of Sichuan, and the Taihu pig of Jiangsu are basically on the brink of extinction.

Therefore, the idea of eating meat and fish at every meal in ancient times, even in the so-called various "prosperous ages," applied only to the extremely wealthy meat-eating class. For the common folk, if they didn't eat bodhi earth, they should be grateful and quickly kowtow, shouting "Prosperous Age!" How could that compare to the prosperous age under the red flag?

Though the meat is scarce, fortunately, there are still wolf hooves, ribs, offal, and marrow bones to eat. The large bones can be boiled into soup with black roots, mountain pepper roots, and salt-fruit tree roots for great nourishment.

Most importantly, today Li You alone killed eight wolves, two of which were head wolves, each weighing nearly a hundred jin. Even with so many mine laborers and salt slaves, including meat and bones, plus the soup, each person could eat about eight jin, enough for two or three meals.

This is far more luxurious than celebrating New Year.

Everyone was eager to eat meat, moving with great speed. Li Qinxiang had already finished his work. Soon, the scent of meat wafted from two large iron pots. On the cutting boards before Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin, a large pile of chopped bones and meat was stacked.

Li Qinxiang and Guan Hongxin, each holding a roll of wolf pelt, walked toward Li You. Wolves are spiritual creatures.

Wolf pelts can prevent moisture and insulate against heat. Especially in this Little Ice Age of the late Ming, a good animal skin, without exaggeration, could save a life in the severe cold.

"Husband, wow, these two pelts are magnificent! This year will surely be another harsh winter. If we tan these wolf pelts to make a great cloak or a quilt, they will be very warm."

Guan Hongxin eagerly spread out the wolf pelt. From nose to tail, this wolf pelt was over two meters long. Black hair grew on its cheeks, its ears were burnt gray, and the fur over its entire body was thick and coarse. A black mane ran along its spine, and its tail was gray-white, thick, and long. The two ears remained in an upright state. Truly, a fine pelt.

Li Qinxiang also spread out the wolf pelt in his hands. His craftsmanship was exquisite, and the skinning was even more perfect. Only a rough arrow hole remained on the belly, shot by Li You; later, he merely kicked it, so this wolf pelt was far superior to Guan Hongxin's.

Wang Qiong, watching from the side, wore a face full of envy. He did have many silks and satins, and even good sable furs, but they were all too small, used for scarves, hats, and such. He truly did not have an animal skin this large. Not just him; even Wu Nai, this Squad Leader, did not have one.

"I heard wolf-pelt quilts are very comfortable. Moreover, wolves are cautious. If you lie on one, and others move nearby, you will feel it; the wolf hairs will immediately stand up."

Wang Qiong stepped forward, stroking the pelt while murmuring "wow," looking utterly captivated.