Chapter 202

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Chai Mi right now had quite the feeling of dancing on a grave.

After all, she had also seen that pair of eyes inside the grave looking at her……

If it were anyone else, they would probably be scared into praying to gods and Buddhas by now. But Chai Mi wasn't very afraid; after all, the oxen, horses, snakes, and gods had long since been beaten down.

What strange powers and chaotic spirits — none are as frightening as the human heart.

Chai Mi doesn't even fear those scheming against her behind her back, so why would she fear the thing before her eyes?

Whatever it is, there's no problem in this world that can't be solved with one stick; if there is……

Then just use a few more sticks.

Perhaps seeing that murderous aura in Chai Mi's eyes, the thing inside the grave seemed to get scared and rushed straight out.

Its speed was very fast.

But the speed of Chai Mi's stick was even faster.

One stick, squarely on the forehead……

Only a miserable howl was heard — a pitch-black, furry thing, looking a bit like a giant rat, was knocked to the ground by Chai Mi's stick.

"What the hell is this?" Song Qiushui was still quite scared of this situation; she hid behind Chai Mi, carefully peeking at the "monster" before her.

That "monster" was about half a meter long, with a flat head, a pointed snout, small ears and a small tail, but its claws were quite large…… a bit like an oversized rat.

Its fur was black in patches, white in patches, gray in patches — in short, indescribably ugly……

"A badger, I think……" Chai Mi wasn't too sure either; after all, badgers are things you can only stumble upon by chance.

In her previous life, Chai Mi heard people say someone had caught a badger inside a graveyard; who knows why this thing always likes living in graves……

Based on Chai Mi's observation just now, this thing wasn't stealing things from the coffin in the grave mound; after all, in this era many corpses were cremated, so there's no rotting flesh.

For older graves, the people have long since rotted away, leaving only bone fragments.

Besides, the deep mountains might lack food for humans, but for these things, there's too much they can eat.

Animals can eat grass, humans can't……

So these omnivorous animals don't have the situation of being so hungry they dig up graves and gnaw on dead people's feet……

So Chai Mi reckoned this badger was probably using this grave mound as its home.

How to put it……

The dove occupying the magpie's nest.

Of course, the grave owner didn't say no either……

(Grave Owner: Sorry everyone, this old man has been dead for over a hundred years, my whole body is gone except my teeth, I fucking oppose anyone stealing my house after I die……)

"What the hell is a badger?" Song Qiushui knew absolutely nothing about these things; she just thought this thing was damn ugly, and too fucking disgusting.

Living in a human grave — is that disgusting or not?

Whose ancestral grave would be happy to be dug up? Even if it's just a badger……

And looking at this grave mound's location, and the crooked 'Su' character written on top, it should be Chai Mi's maternal grandfather's family ancestral grave…… maybe even Chai Mi's great-great-grandfather.

So this badger is truly hateful.

"Chai Mi, give it two more sticks, this thing is gonna bite me……" Song Qiushui watched the badger, which seemed like it could still move, actually lunging to bite her.

But the next second.

The badger was once again struck on the head by Chai Mi!

Crunch.

The stick broke.

The badger also lay on the ground motionless, "fell asleep head-down," passing away extremely peacefully.

But Chai Mi feared it wasn't dead through, so she beat it two more sticks.

Afterwards Chai Mi used the stick to pry at the badger; the badger's body had no reaction at all.

"Dead."

"Serves it right. This thing playing ghost in broad daylight, too damn right it's dead. Just now it didn't scare me to death, I thought your great-great-grandfather had come back to life……" Song Qiushui said fearfully, clutching her chest.

"Not to that extent; my great-great-grandfather's been gone decades, even if he revived he'd just be a skeleton frame." Chai Mi comforted Song Qiushui: "Nothing to fear, the mountains are full of animals, this isn't a laidai, what are you scared of?"

Laidai means wolf.

The mountains near Chai Mi's maternal grandmother's home definitely have wolves roaming.

But wolves generally come out in packs; with no special circumstances, they're also afraid of people. After all, humans, this kind of two-legged beast, are especially terrifying to laidai; especially over a dozen years ago during the Four Pests Campaign, sparrows, mosquitoes, flies, and rats were eliminated in huge numbers, especially rats nearly wiped out completely. Animals that damage crops were all wiped out by people? Let alone laidai that specialize in harming people? Back then laidai were basically shot to extinction.

(Won't elaborate here; refer to the book Wolf Totem. Liaoxi also belongs to Eastern Mongolia, so it's the same; wolves were also hunted and killed there.)

"So what do we do now?" Song Qiushui was still a bit dazed for the moment. "Carry it back, go home and eat the meat?"

"My dear aunt, this thing's so ugly, can it even be eaten?" Chai Mi said with a headache: "Besides, this thing is damn valuable. Why else would they say it's a chance encounter? And……"

And the badger itself isn't an animal on the Wildlife Protection List, so there's no legal issue. Besides, the Wildlife Protection List was issued in 1992; right now it's only 1990……

"Take it home; the meat isn't worth money, but the oil is especially valuable. How to put it……" Chai Mi gestured with her hands: "Other things sell by the catty, this thing's oil sells by the gram……"

"Ah…… by the gram? Then it's a done deal." Song Qiushui's eyes instantly lit up.

Badger oil has especially good curative effects for scalds and burns. Similar to the High-molecular Regeneration Hydrogel of later generations.

And the badger's habits are very special; it specifically seeks out dark, damp places to hide, stays in its burrow during the day, only comes out to forage at night, making it extremely hard to catch.

Plus, badgers are relatively rare in Chai Mi's hometown area, not like Changbai Mountain where this thing has become rampant.

So badger oil itself is priceless — available in name only.

In this era when medical technology isn't particularly advanced, once someone suffers burns or scalds, they can only rely on their own recovery, a process that is incomparably slow.

If badger oil is applied, the skin regeneration speed can increase by more than ten times.

Chai Mi remembers that in her previous life, someone in the village once caught a badger and later sold several catties of oil, instantly becoming the village's famous "Old Three Ten-Thousand."

Old Three Ten-Thousand means the family has thirty thousand yuan.

Local customs differ; elsewhere people say a ten-thousand-yuan household in this era is an especially impressive existence.

But in Chai Mi's hometown area, what matters is "Old Three Ten-Thousand" — only Old Three Ten-Thousand counts as a wealthy family.

There's a huge regional difference here, mainly because thirty thousand yuan in this era can build a big four-room house on flat ground.

With this house, it's equivalent to having a large flat in Tangchen Yipin in later generations...

Whether it's a son marrying a wife or a wife going out for a stroll, both bring immense face.

Although many people in the village have built new houses, the standard is mostly average; most of the time they still use local materials. For instance, walls aren't all brick — most are stone; purlins are mostly local willow and elm; even windows are willow wood.

These look like new houses and the exterior isn't bad either. But their actual service life is very short.

They can be called the paradigm of tofu-dreg projects...

For example, the house Chai Mi's Third Uncle Chai Youde built — not a single steel bar, so after some years it leaks and walls collapse.

Of course that's all digression; anyway, having money naturally means a good life. And the only overnight-rich case Chai Mi ever heard of was that person who sold badger oil back then.

As for exactly how much badger oil is worth, Chai Mi doesn't know.

Anyway it should be quite expensive.

Chai Mi looked at the already-dead badger, glanced around, and finally found a few elm trees, then braided a few elm yaozi.

That is, using thin elm branches to braid into rope; locally it's called yaozi. It can tie things.

Chai Mi used elm yaozi to tie up this badger, then hoisted it onto her back and prepared to go down the mountain.

"Ah, leaving already... we just got here." Song Qiushui seemed a bit listless; she had come to play.

But Chai Mi feared complications from delay; this badger is valuable, and she's afraid everyone in the village knows it. This thing is worth far more than rabbits or wild chickens. Better to get it home early for peace of mind.

Can't have two people carrying a forty-to-fifty-catty badger up a mountain...

That wouldn't be sightseeing, that would be idiotic...

After all, Song Qiushui can't carry it either; if Chai Mi carries it alone she'd be exhausted to death!

"Send 【us】 home." Chai Mi said: "In a while, you stay at my maternal grandmother's for a bit; I'll go home first."

"Ah..." Song Qiushui's voice even changed: "Back to our village?"

Song Qiushui had thought Chai Mi meant sending her to her maternal grandmother's house...

"You came to pick up your mom, turning back halfway isn't very good..."

"This is the best choice. Can't have me parading through the streets carrying a badger to my maternal grandmother's; then the thing would be useless to my maternal grandparents anyway, and afterward it'd become public knowledge." Chai Mi wasn't worried about the money: "Once people inquire and find out it was caught near my maternal grandmother's ancestral grave, won't a crowd come dig up the grave afterward..."

Hearing Chai Mi put it this way, Song Qiushui understood.

Not afraid of no good things, just afraid of no good people.

After all, Chai Mi finding this badger relied on luck, or "ancestral blessing" — she just happened to encounter it from within the grave circle.

This matter really mustn't be known, especially by people in Chai Mi's maternal grandmother's village. If they found out, harbored ill intentions, and dug up graves everywhere, there'd be no peace.

"What next?"

"You go call Liu San out, don't let him stay at my maternal grandmother's bragging. Have him drive the car to the village entrance; I'll wait there for him." Chai Mi instructed.

Then the two went down the mountain; Chai Mi headed straight for the village entrance.

Song Qiushui went to Chai Mi's maternal grandmother's house.

Chai Mi carried the badger on her back, careful all the way; when she reached that Wuling Hongguang vehicle and set it down to rest a while, Liu San came over.

"What's up Chai Mi, going home?"

"Mm, going home for a trip." Chai Mi didn't say what for, and Liu San didn't ask.

The car started quickly; in under half an hour Chai Mi arrived home. Chai Xiu was at home secretly reading comic books. Chai Mi put the badger in the house, then told Chai Xiu to watch the house well, then went back with Liu San.

Lunch was eaten lively and bustling.

Especially Song Qiushui, who ate with great relish.

Although the house is small, the table is quite big. Mainly there were many things Song Qiushui had never eaten before.

Carrot stewed rabbit meat, red mushroom stewed wild chicken, scrambled eggs with wild fungus, stir-fried cabbage with dried mushrooms.

All are home-style mountain dishes.

After eating and drinking their fill, when it was past three in the afternoon, Chai Mi arranged for her mother Su Wan to return home.

Although Uncle kept saying: stay a few more days, stay a few more days.

But actually there's no place to stay.

Su Wan stayed this half month; her maternal family's eldest brother and sister-in-law had to go live in the cowshed — there really was no way to keep staying.

Fortunately Chai Mi brought quite a lot of things; whether rice, white flour, over a dozen big fish, or over twenty catties of vermicelli — all solid good stuff. These things also made the originally not-too-pleased eldest aunt beam with joy.

Moreover, besides openly giving each of the three uncles one hundred yuan, Chai Mi also secretly slipped eldest aunt two hundred yuan.

Although they're all real relatives, absolutely cannot let it be a barber's pole — one end hot.

Otherwise it wouldn't be good.

A group of people saw Chai Mi and Su Wan and the others off out of the village in a grand procession; result: Liu San had drunk... carelessly he went thud and fell flat, smashing several front teeth.

Then everyone got in the car and returned.

Chai Mi originally worried about Liu San driving after drinking, but because Liu San knocked out his front teeth, the pain made him hiss continuously...

The drunkenness passed.

Even if it hadn't, his mental alertness was heightened.

After all, he was busy hurting, so he had no time to care about the alcohol's kick.

Moreover, because Su Wan was still holding a child in her arms, Liu San drove not too fast, and with Chai Mi's aunt nagging endlessly — drive slowly, don't space out — Liu San paid even more attention.

Liu San became even more careful.

The whole way was silent, except Su Wan had some worries about going home...

Su Wan had not returned home for half a month already, stayed at her mother's family for half a month, her body had recovered, her complexion had improved a lot, and she had even gained some weight.

However, before leaving home, Chai Mi still had a fight with Che Lianyun, and Su Wan also did not know how that problem with the money lent out back then was to be handled, so she was worried all along the way.

The car arrived at Sanjiacun very quickly.

Liu San first sent Chai Mi and Su Wan to the doorway, Song Qiushui also got off along the way, and only then did Liu San drive home.

After all, from Chai Mi's home to Liu San's home, there was still a short stretch of time.

After Liu San left, Song Qiushui also went straight home.

The reason was she was sleepy to death...

She had not napped at noon, got up early in the morning, and climbed a stretch of mountain road midway, Song Qiushui's body could not take it anymore, then Song Qiushui did not say much more, said goodbye to Chai Mi and was about to go home.

"Leaving just like that? What's the rush? I'll get you some things." As Chai Mi spoke, from a huge pile of mountain goods that Da Jiu and his wife had given when at maternal grandmother's home, she took out four rabbits, two wild chickens, and a pocketful of wild red mushrooms.

Especially this red mushroom, it's a good thing. Priceless, it's the true imperial-grade mushroom for authentic chicken stewed with mushrooms.

To put it plainly, the Northeast has a famous dish called chicken stewed with mushrooms. However, only the red mushrooms from around Ke County and its surroundings are the mushrooms that were in that chicken stewed with mushrooms back then. But in later generations, because vegetation was destroyed, red mushroom output became extremely low, plus their special growth habit — only on pine trees growing on purple sand red soil as a foundation is there a little — leading to red mushrooms being impossible to cultivate artificially, so no one has eaten authentic chicken stewed with mushrooms since.

And even in this era, red mushrooms are also priceless. One or two hundred yuan a catty is very normal...

Of course, Chai Mi's Da Jiu only gave Chai Mi three to five catties total, still dried mushrooms saved over two years, and Chai Mi split half to give to Song Qiushui.