The Sweetness of the Seventies-Chapter 33 - Gluttonous Mouth_1

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Gluttonous Mouth_1

Chapter 33 -33 Gluttonous Mouth_1

He Tiantian didn’t know how much time had passed when she awoke to find herself resting atop a large rock.

This smug Snake King at least had some conscience, not letting her lie in the muddy ground.

He Tiantian stood up, stretched lazily, and discovered not only did she not feel weak and dizzy, but she felt light and brisk, full of energy.

Having lost blood, shouldn’t she be feeling dizzy and disoriented?

Feeling so energetic and vibrant was simply unscientific, wasn’t it?

With that thought, He Tiantian chuckled, astonished.

The appearance of the Snake King was the most unscientific part, so it would be absurd to try to make sense of it with conventional reasoning.

Turning her gaze to the side, she saw the Snake King had also awakened.

Originally only as long as a chopstick, it had grown to the length of one and a half chopsticks.

It seemed her blood really was quite nourishing.

She wondered if she would turn into a monster if this kept up.

“You’ve had your fill, are we going to catch rabbits now?” He Tiantian looked up at the sunlight filtering through, noticing it was no longer scorching.

It must be the afternoon; time to head back.

The Snake King displayed its haughty streak again, barely lifting its head to glance not far from He Tiantian without saying a word.

He Tiantian followed the Snake King’s gaze and was instantly overjoyed.

Three large rabbits were in her sight, all fat and big, with two pheasants nearby.

“My goodness, Snake King, you are truly incredible.” He Tiantian moved forward, stuffing the rabbits and pheasants into her basket, lavishing praise on the Snake King’s prowess unabatedly.

The Snake King didn’t look at He Tiantian’s superficially grateful expression, turning its head away.

Considering she possessed Sacred Blood, it would tolerate her for now.

“Let’s go, it’s getting late.” He Tiantian saw that the Snake King was reluctant to leave the puddle and insincerely added, “If you don’t want to go, I can come pick you up tomorrow.”

“Hmph!” Little Silver Snake haughtily retorted, “You think it’s that easy to get rid of me!”

With a whoosh, it flew onto He Tiantian, settling back at her ankle.

He Tiantian used to be a bit scared, but now she wasn’t the least bit afraid; instead, she felt grateful that Little Silver Snake had allowed her to be reborn, capturing so much game for her, enough to offset the worry and fear of blood loss.

With so much in the basket, He Tiantian didn’t even bother to pick any sour dates.

After exiting the cave, He Tiantian, with a big basket of freshly cut grass on her back and carrying the basket, reached the foot of the mountain.

Just then, she happened to meet Old Man Qi returning from herding cattle.

Old Man Qi sniffed and looked toward the grass-covered basket He Tiantian was carrying, asking, “Why is there a bloody smell coming from inside this?”

“Oh, no, Grandpa Qi, it’s the three rabbits and two pheasants I caught in my traps,” He Tiantian admitted bashfully, “I haven’t had meat in a long time, and I was a bit craving it…”

“Ha ha!” Old Man Qi chuckled in amazement, “Who doesn’t want to eat meat?

But you’re quite lucky, catching so much.”

Not wanting to take it lightly, He Tiantian asked, “I am indeed lucky, but since I caught them in the mountains, should I turn them over to the village?”

“No need.” Old Man Qi said, “These few animals are a lot for you but nothing much for the village; giving them up won’t yield any shares.

What others hunt on the mountain is also kept for their own families.

There’s no reason your caught rabbits should have to be turned in.”

He Tiantian thought for a moment and said, “Grandpa Qi, there’s so much here that Third Grandma Qi and I can’t finish it all ourselves.

How about this, after I clean them up, I’ll leave one for you and give one to Aunt Liu.

Once the rabbit skins are cleaned, three torn skins can make a fur coat.”

Old Man Qi’s beard curled up as he laughed, “You girl, you even know how to bribe us.

Fine, I won’t take your things for nothing.

You give me a rabbit, and I have some cloth coupons you can use to get some fabric to make clothes.”

“Grandpa Qi, that really won’t do, you’ve already given me brown sugar before, and those cloth coupons are precious, I really can’t accept them,” He Tiantian declined, “If Grandpa Qi is feeling uneasy, just let me dry the rabbit skins here, so no one sees them if I take them back home.”

“Alright!” said Old Man Qi, “Nobody dares say anything about those things being here with me.

As for your Aunt Liu, I’ll tell her too, to keep her from talking about it outside.”

“Aunt Liu isn’t foolish.

With a gain like that, she naturally wouldn’t talk about it elsewhere,” He Tiantian said, having figured out Aunt Liu’s character.

Indeed, Aunt Liu was very envious when she saw He Tiantian bring so many rabbits and pheasants.

She was even happier when she heard He Tiantian was going to give her a rabbit, and her gaze towards He Tiantian became even more affectionate!

Aunt Liu volunteered to help He Tiantian clean the wild rabbits and pheasants.

“Uncle Qi just told me not to talk about it outside.

Girl Tian,” Aunt Liu said, “I’m already grateful for the rabbit you’re giving me; I wouldn’t talk about it and cause you trouble.”

“Aunt Liu doesn’t want others to know about rabbit meat at her house and get envious,” she added.

“That’s good,” said He Tiantian, “Now everyone is short of meat.

If others knew that we could catch rabbits while cutting grass up the hill, they would think it’s a favorable job and would be sour about it.

Then our work here wouldn’t be as easy.”

“You’re right,” Aunt Liu agreed, and after thinking, said, “Girl Tian, how about this: for the rabbit you’re giving me, let’s stir-fry half here at Uncle Qi’s and salt the other half.

When the dish cools down, I’ll take it back, and it’ll be ready to eat after reheating it.

Otherwise, if I stir-fry it at home, the scent will spread far and wide.

Without me even talking about it, others will smell the meat.”

He Tiantian felt reassured.

Aunt Liu was even more cautious than she was.

How could she talk about it outside?

“Aunt Liu, you’ve thought it through.

Let’s do that,” He Tiantian said, “There’s an empty house over there where we can store the salted meat, and no one will know.”

He Tiantian split the three rabbits in half, hanging the larger half with the head up to be cured and frying the smaller headless halves together.

The two pheasants were also cured by He Tiantian and hung up to dry.

Aunt Liu then found two small porcelain basins at Old Man Qi’s place, each taking a small half-basin of rabbit meat back home.

Old Man Qi was also delighted, taking out half a bottle of wine left over from New Year’s, enjoying the braised rabbit meat with a drink in hand, savoring each bite and sip.

Ah, if he could live like this every day, that would be wonderful.

Aunt Liu went back and said it was Old Man Qi who had caught two rabbits and shared some with her; she didn’t mention He Tiantian.

Since Third Grandma Qi had bad teeth, He Tiantian deboned the meat for her, shredding it into strips and mixing it into her cornmeal mush.

“Oh my, ever since you came here, I’ve had meat twice in a row,” Third Grandma Qi said, “It’s all thanks to your blessing!”

In fact, Third Grandma Qi couldn’t eat much; most of it went into He Tiantian’s stomach.

“Hehe, Grandma Qi, you only ate a few pieces, I’ve eaten most of it,” He Tiantian said, “Since it’s from the mountains and we were lucky to catch it.

Without your advice, I wouldn’t have lived as comfortably in Qijia Village.”

The other young people from the city, despite being able to work for a few days and rest for two, ended up more exhausted than He Tiantian’s work.

Now, not only was He Tiantian’s work easier, but her work points were not low, and she could even go hunting in the mountains from time to time.

Her life was very good, and she was very content.