Chapter 22
The kids ran to hug their mother while their friends looked dumbfounded. Xiao Ming and Xiao Yu looked nervously at their mother afraid she would scold them for bringing their friends to their house without informing her. She had always warned them not to ever bring any of their friends to their house. Su Ying noticed there nervousness and sighed at the original host actions.
"They're your friends right? Won't you introduce them to me?".
The original host was a trouble maker so no body associated with her or allowed their kids close to her which made her unfamiliar with kids in the village.Hearing her question they kids brightened up in happiness knowing that their mother was not angry with them. Happily they began introducing their friends simultaneously to her.
"This is Shi Duo and this is Shi Wu. They're both brothers and live at the next house once you go outside to the village. They're both our friends and share food with us".
Watching the relationship between the kids and their mother, both brothers were confused. After they were introduced they could only awkwardly step forward to identify themselves. Surprisingly the bad woman didn't hit or scold them instead she smiled and thanked them.
" So you both are my sons friends. Thank you for being with them after how I treated you before and sharing your food with them. As you visited I will cook something delicious for you all to eat and celebrate you both being my sons friends".
After that Su Ying entered the kitchen and prepared to start cooking the hare. She removed it from her space and kept it on the table in the kitchen before preparing to skin the hare. Before she could start she heard the kids cheering and knew immediately that her cheap husband was back. Well it saved her time as she would just hand over the skinning work to him while she prepared the other things to cook.
Xiao Shan came back to meet the kids playing in the courtyard with their friends and on seeing him they ran to hug me. He chatted with them for a while before going to drop the things requested by his wife for cooking. He just bought all in little quantities to last for the mountains. He was curious what delicious meal she was about to prepare for dinner.
Unknowingly to him he was already anticipating the dish she would prepare today which was one of the reasons he came home earlier than normal. Entering the kitchen where he knew she would be he saw her bending over doing something. His throat bobbed up and down on the sight before he averted his gaze and cleared his throat to make his presence known. Su Ying had already noticed since he entered but she was focused on lighting a fire to boil water for bathing the kids. Hearing him clear his throat she turned to look at him.
"This are the things you asked for so check if they're all here and let me know if I missed anything".
Su Ying collected the bag and started taking out all the items in the bag and placing them at the right spot in the kitchen. The salt could last for the month, and then the oil which if used thrifty could also last a month. He even bought a cup of grain which must have cost a lot. Arranging them at a place in the kitchen she turned to look at him satisfied with his work.
"Thank you. They're all complete and with this I could make a better healthy meal for the kids and you too. Could you please help me with something?".
Xiao Shan who was stunned by her thanks recollected himself and asked what it was.
"Sure. What do you need me to do for you?".
"The hare over there needs to be skinned so we can use the fur to make winter coat for the kids at least one. Unfortunately I don't have the tools for it and I also want to bathe the kids. I figured out it would be more faster if you do it yourself".
Xiao Shan realizing her point looked at her before wordlessly picking up the hare and went outside to start skinning it. Su Ying smiled and continued with her task, she carried the pot and placed it on the fire before going out to watch how he was going to skin it. Xiao Shan had already gotten his skinning knives and skinning boards ready to start skinning. The hare was still fresh and dead so he started work immediately. Skinning was a delicate work that required skill and patience to avoid damaging it.
He first made an incision near the anus and carefully cut the skin around the genitals and anus. Next the skin was gently pulled away from the hind legs, working from the feet upwards. The process was repeated for the front legs, working from the paws upward. The skin was then removed from the body working from the belly upwards. The head and feet was cut off carefully not to damage the meat. Carefully extracting the hare he handed over to her and left to proceed with tanning the fur.
Su Ying looked at his work and felt satisfied. He was indeed a meticulous and skilled man looking at the way he handled the hares fur and meat leaving it undamaged. Taking it to the kitchen she took the pot of the water and prepared to bathe the kids before cooking. Su Ying carried the water outside poured it into the bucket and mixed it with cold water before calling the kids to come bathe. They were all watching their father handle the fur in awe including the two other boys making it four kids.
Hearing her voice the kids ran to her to bathe. Shi Duo looked enviously at the kids at how their mother bathed them and how they were going to eat meat. Fortunately he was allowed to stay and eat so he would have a share of the meat with his brother before going home. It was already dark so Su Ying lit the lantern and placed it outside so the could use it to see. The kids stripped and she bathed them both quickly before asking them to go get dressed while she washed their dirty clothes. After washing their clothes she rinsed it and spread it outside before going in to the kitchen to start cooking.