Walking along like this, Wang An pulled Huang Li along, but he didn't go to the dugout where Wang Li was currently located; instead, he went straight home.
As soon as the sidecar stopped, Huang Li jumped off the vehicle, looking around Wang An's courtyard with a face full of curiosity.
Truth be told, Wang An's courtyard and the buildings within it could absolutely be called top-tier for this era.
Furthermore, parked in Wang An's yard were crawler tractors, walk-behind tractors, and four-wheel vehicles—sights uncommon in this day and age.
Because Wang An's house was situated on a hillside, the deer shed, pigpen, and sheepfold were built at the bottom of the slope.
Thus, standing in the open space in front of the main house, one could clearly see herds of sika deer in the deer shed, herds of wild boars in the pigpen, herds of sheep in the sheepfold, and a few silly roe deer in the roe deer pen.
Looking west from here, one could also see a herd of horses grazing in the fence in front of the stables; of course, a mule and two donkeys were mixed in among them.
Although the old saying goes, "Wealth in the house is ten thousand strings of coins, but those with fur don't count," the visual impact of these herds of livestock was absolutely massive.
A considerably large courtyard, houses made entirely of brick and tile, brick courtyard walls, those three agricultural motor vehicles, the sidecar Wang An rode, and these herds of livestock.
All these things were enough to demonstrate just how formidable the economic strength of Wang An's family was.
Hearing the sound of the sidecar, Mu Xueqing walked out of the house slowly, her left hand on her hip.
Seeing Wang An return while pulling a girl, Mu Xueqing was momentarily stunned. The main reason was that not long ago, Wang An had brought Li Xiuyu back in exactly the same manner.
However, unlike Li Xiuyu, Huang Li's clothing, her withered yellow hair, and her malnourished appearance gave the impression that she was a beggar.
Subconsciously, Mu Xueqing frowned and asked Wang An
"Xiao An, whose daughter is this?"
Upon seeing the "little aunt" Wang An had mentioned, Huang Li suddenly became very nervous and stopped looking around. She stood there obediently, appearing even more constrained.
Hearing this, Wang An said with a chuckle
"Her name is Huang Li. She is now our eldest niece, specifically brought here to take care of you, hahahaha..."
As he spoke, Wang An couldn't help but laugh. The sudden jump in seniority was truly laughable to him.
However, Wang An's words left Mu Xueqing completely bewildered. She said with a face full of disbelief
"A niece surnamed Huang? Which relative's child is this?"
Hearing Mu Xueqing's words, Wang An laughed even harder.
Once Wang An had laughed his fill, he explained
"Just before I returned to the mountains, Lao Wu caught two people..."
Even though Huang Li was right there, Wang An had no inhibitions and began to recount the whole story in meticulous detail.
When Mu Xueqing heard that Huang Li was to be married off to an old man by her parents for 300 yuan, she likely empathized and took the initiative to step forward and take Huang Li's hand.
She comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, your little uncle and I won't let you marry an old man."
Truth be told, Mu Xueqing had quite a chivalrous heart. Of course, it might not have been chivalry, but rather that she could personally relate to the despair and helplessness Huang Li felt toward her future at that moment.
After all, that was a path Mu Xueqing had once walked herself.
Regarding Mu Xueqing's actions, Wang An simply smiled and continued talking cheerfully.
Once Wang An finished, Mu Xueqing realized that the matter had already been resolved by him.
Although Wang An had spent 400 yuan, Mu Xueqing seemed very happy. She gave Wang An an encouraging smile and said
"Alright, leave Xiao Li to me. Hurry and go find Lao Wu."
Wang An agreed
"Mm-hmm, I have to head over now. By the way, are there any leftover steamed buns or anything at home? The two of us haven't had dinner yet."
Mu Xueqing replied
"At noon, Mother made pancakes with black bear oil; they're still warm. Why don't you take some pancakes into the mountains?"
Hearing this, Wang An smiled
"Oil pancakes? That sounds great. Oil pancakes rolled with chili sauce and some green onions—oh my god, just thinking about it makes me dizzy."
Unexpectedly, just as Wang An finished speaking, a loud rumbling sound came from a stomach.
Wang An and Mu Xueqing subconsciously looked for the source of the sound, and almost simultaneously, their gazes locked onto Huang Li.
Clearly, Huang Li was hungry!
Because of the sudden sound from her stomach, Huang Li was so ashamed that she nearly pressed her head against her chest.
In truth, anyone who has been hungry knows that when the stomach growls, it is completely beyond one's control; the stomach calls out on its own.
It wasn't that Wang An had never been hungry, nor had Mu Xueqing, so although they discovered it was Huang Li's stomach growling, neither of them said it aloud to avoid embarrassing her.
Mu Xueqing said to Wang An
"Hearing you talk about it makes me crave them too. There were plenty of pancakes left from lunch. Leave a few for me; I'll have some with Xiao Li in a bit."
Wang An nodded
"Mm-hmm. It's just one meal tonight; I couldn't eat them all even if I took more."
As he spoke, Wang An turned and went into the house.
After packing the pancakes and filling a flask of liquor, Wang An heard Mu Xueqing saying to Huang Li as he came out
"I feel like I've become quite the eater lately. Even with Xiao An's big frame, he can't eat more than me. It's strange; I eat so much yet I'm always hungry, needing several meals a day."
Wang An, holding the bag of pancakes, didn't interject. He rode the sidecar back toward the mountains.
When Wang An arrived at the dugout, he found Wang Li plucking feathers from a wild pheasant. He never expected that Wang Li could actually shoot a pheasant while wandering around.
It was a male pheasant; its head had been shattered by a bullet, leaving only half a neck and an intact body.
That said, this male pheasant was quite large, weighing nearly five catties.
Wang An laughed
"Your marksmanship is actually pretty good, you smashed the chicken's head right open."
Wang Li gave a嘿嘿 (hehe) laugh and said
"That's for sure. It's all thanks to Fourth Brother's good teaching, hehehehe..."
Wang An took the pancakes and liquor off the sidecar and said to Wang Li with a smile
"Perfect timing. I stopped by home to grab a few oil pancakes and a flask of liquor. We two brothers can have a good drink tonight, hahahaha..."
He chatted with Wang Li for a while about Huang Li, and Wang Li was filled with sighs upon hearing the story.
Arranged marriages were common in this era, but people who married off their daughters to old men for money were still not that common.
As night fell, the entire mountain range became pitch black, and the pheasant Wang Li had killed was now cooked.
And so, Wang An and Wang Li ate oil pancakes rolled with chili sauce, taking sips of liquor from time to time. This kind of life was beyond carefree.
(End of Chapter)