1983, Northeast China

Chapter 65 The Art of Dividing Meat

No one dared to talk back to Old Wei. After all, this old man was not only short-tempered, but also someone who had survived in the forest, and the gun in his hand was definitely not just for show.

"Alright, that's enough for now!" Zhao Defa shouted, stopping the commotion. He glanced around the crowd, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The meat should go to the host family first. As for whether there are any wealthy families, and how to deal with them, we'll talk about that after we've finished cleaning up."

Someone in the crowd muttered, "Uncle Zhao, why don't we just split it now? It's snowing heavily, and it'll be a hassle to carry it home covered in blood. What if we get spotted by wolves on the way? That would be a huge loss."

The person next to him nudged him, "You can't even speak properly. Do you think you can afford to offend that old man? Can't you see he's unhappy?"

This time, not only the person who said he wanted to share the meat, but also several others who had initially had their eyes shining, shrank back after hearing this.

A group of young men, noisily carrying the wild boar, headed towards Chen Shi's house.

Zhao Defa, Chen Shi, and Lao Wei stayed behind.

"Uncle Zhao, I've been thinking about how to divide this pig."

Zhao Defa looked at him. "You speak."

"This pig was killed by Uncle Wei. My brother and I only helped out a little. He deserves his share. You've been working hard for our family all year round, so you should take some too."

Seeing that Zhao Defa was about to refuse, Chen Shi pressed his hand down, "Don't say it's no need. This is our junior's idea. Xiao Hai's family was not well-off to begin with, and now they've suffered this misfortune. Give some to his family, keep some for my family, and you can distribute the rest to the village. You can contribute whatever you like, or even exchange it for something."

Do you know how much a pig is worth at the end of the year?

"Know."

"Knowing that, why did you still distribute it?"

"If we don't separate, no one will follow us into the mountains. I can't go in alone many times."

Zhao Defa stared at him for a while, then exchanged a glance with Old Wei, and the two old men both laughed.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I taught him to say that." Old Wei looked up and laughed heartily.

Zhao Defa snorted, "Don't be so smug, it's all thanks to Man Cang's teaching."

Old Wei shook his head with a smile, "He's more adept at handling things than Mancang. They're about the same. Mancang's teaching style is about the same as mine."

"Mancang..." Zhao Defa sighed, "He's really capable, and he's also really stubborn. Whenever he goes into the mountains to hunt something, he always carries it back by himself without asking for help. It was only after he started following you that he toned it down a bit."

When Chen Mancang was mentioned, Lao Wei fell silent, walking with his head down, his face obscured by the brim of his hat, so Chen Shi couldn't see his expression.

"You've got some nerve, first you've built up a network of connections, then you get people to work for you. Fine, we'll do it your way. Think about how you want to split the profits, and I'll take care of it."

When they got home, there were several circles of people gathered in the yard.

Before even entering the door, I heard Aunt Wang say, "Stop making a scene! There are children inside, right by the door! If you want to see them, come in. Don't block the door and crowd around, making it seem like nobody's letting you in."

As soon as Chen Shi entered, Li Cheng dragged him to the side of the wild boar.

"Shizi, look at this! This pigskin is as thick as armor!" Li Cheng chattered excitedly, trying to tear off the layer of dark, stiff hair as he spoke. "We have to hurry. I'm already thinking about how the stew will taste. We need to add a lot of scallions and ginger, and plenty of salt..."

Chen Shi ignored Li Cheng's nagging and went straight to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and said, "Sister, Uncle, you go inside first. I'll butcher the pig."

Chen Xiulan was dragged out by Aunt Wang to look at the wild boars, and when she looked up, she saw Lao Wei walking in.

"Uncle Wei".

"Why are you out of the house? Stop fooling around, go back inside." Seeing Chen Xiulan running out during her postpartum period, Old Wei scolded her like he was his own daughter.

They ushered Lao Wei into the house, where the atmosphere was completely different from the lively scene outside.

After entering the house, Chen Xiulan quickly brought Old Wei a cup of hot water, "Uncle, warm yourself up."

Old Wei took the cup, his fingers trembling slightly. He looked at Chen Xiulan; there weren't many faces that resembled Chen Mancang. She had the same tenacity as him when she was young, but after getting married and meeting that beast, her personality changed completely.

"I heard from Shizi that your legs are not good. They've always been bad, and you always go to the mountains with my dad. You don't take care of your health at all. Now you're so old, and you're still taking Shizi out for a ride."

"Hmm..." Old Wei took a sip of water and cleared his throat. "He only has a vague understanding. He's learning on his own without anyone to guide him. It'll take him forever to learn, and your family can't wait that long."

Speaking of this, Chen Xiulan felt a little guilty. Lately, she felt more and more that she was the one who was dragging her younger brother down, and that she was just a useless person.

"He's doing very well now, better than your father was when he was young." Old Wei could tell from her expression that she was overthinking things again. Girls are sensitive, so he quickly tried to smooth things over, "You've had it tough too, running into such a jerk. It's also my fault..."

"What are you talking about? What's so strange about it? I wanted to get married myself. You and my father tried to stop me, so what's so strange about it? I still have two children, don't I?" Chen Xiulan turned her gaze to Ya Ya and Xiao Man on the bed.

Following her gaze, Lao Wei saw Ya Ya on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Ya Ya was holding the picture book and curiously looking at the old man.

She was a little bolder than before. She wasn't afraid of the old man in front of her; on the contrary, she felt a sense of closeness to him. She gently touched the scar on Old Wei's face with her small hand.

"Grandpa, does it still hurt here?"

Everyone in the room was stunned. Ya Ya wasn't usually very bold, and Lao Wei's appearance wasn't exactly kind either, but this girl knew how to take advantage of the situation.

"It doesn't hurt. It hasn't hurt for a long time." Old Wei said, awkwardly reaching out to pinch Ya Ya's little face, and finally patting the top of Ya Ya's head.

Ya Ya grabbed Old Wei's hand and placed it on her face. "Grandpa, it doesn't hurt when you pinch me. Did you get your scar from being pinched?"

"Grandpa's scar is a mark left by foreign devils, which means Grandpa was lucky to survive."

Ya Ya only half understood what Lao Wei was saying. She took Lao Wei's hand off her face and turned it over to look at it.

That hand was big and rough, with old scars on the knuckles and the base of the thumb worn shiny. Ya Ya pointed at each hand one by one with her little fingers.

"Grandpa's hands also hurt before."

His hands, which had held guns, gripped ice chisels, and skinned rabbits, were being examined so closely by a little girl that he didn't dare to move.

Chen Xiulan watched from the side; Ya Ya used to play with Chen Mancang in the same way.

Aunt Wang Er happened to lift the curtain and come in. Seeing this scene, she stood for a while before deliberately raising her voice: "Old Wei, you really know how to enjoy life. Outside, they're dismantling pigs and causing chaos, and you're here playing with the kids."

"My legs hurt," Old Wei said without batting an eye.

"Your legs hurt, but your hands don't? Don't let him fool you, Yaya, that old man is shrewd."

Ya Ya looked up and said very seriously, "Grandpa didn't lie to me. Grandpa's scar was left by the foreign devil. Grandpa is lucky to be alive."

"Alright, your Grandpa Wei has a helper now."