Back home, the whole family was bustling with activity!
Two large boars, one sow, and three yellow-furred boars—the haul this time was truly massive!
Even when the village organized autumn or winter hunts, the total share for a single hunter wouldn't amount to this much!
However, Wang An didn't feel much joy. The hunt had been far too intense; this couldn't even be called hunting—it was a gamble with his life!
But seeing the smiles on his family's faces, Wang An finally felt a sense of comfort.
After watching for a while, he noticed his father was handling the innards. They had run out of basins, so they were using baskets to hold them now.
Seeing Mu Xueqing busy butchering the meat, he suddenly thought of his father-in-law’s family. With so many pigs, he had to share some.
Thinking of this, Wang An said to Liu Guilan, "Mom, keep one of the large yellow-furred boars after gutting it—don't skin it. And that smaller large boar, just gut it and leave it as is."
Liu Guilan stood up and asked suspiciously, "What for? You’ve been cleaning them so neatly; are you going to do it yourself?"
Wang An rolled his eyes and said, "I'm hosting guests tomorrow, so I'll send them to my father-in-law’s place the day after. I see my brother-in-law idling around every day; let him tinker with it himself!"
Liu Guilan glanced at Mu Xueqing upon hearing this. Her original plan had been to just send some meat over to the in-laws.
Wang An’s idea was actually better, but with Mu Xueqing present, she scolded him, "When you send gifts to your father-in-law, you should have them cleaned up properly. Who sends things for others to clean themselves?"
Wang An said nonchalantly, "It’s fine. If you don't believe me, ask Xueqing. Besides, sending them whole shows more sincerity from me, the son-in-law! Hehehe..."
Mu Xueqing didn't speak, but she nodded, clearly agreeing with Wang An.
While a whole carcass still required cleaning, it provided a much greater visual impact.
Liu Guilan looked at Mu Xueqing again, and seeing her nod, she went along with it, saying, "Alright then, we'll listen to you two. It saves me the trouble of skinning them!"
Working together, they placed the large boar—which hadn't been moved into the house yet—onto the large wooden rack outside used for drying wild vegetables.
Wang An then brought out the large yellow-furred boar that had already been moved inside and set it down as well.
He covered them with reed mats to keep the rats away. Rats in the countryside were notoriously brazen; if they chewed the pigs to pieces, it would be embarrassing to give as a gift!
Wang An went back inside, thought for a moment, and took out a hare and a pheasant, hanging them in the shed outside to send to his father-in-law as well.
After working with his family for a long time, they finally finished processing all four pigs, the hare, and the pheasant.
Dinner was served very late, and the meal was quite simple: cornmeal porridge and cornmeal cakes, with a stew of cabbage, potatoes, and pork, plus some pickled radish strips.
After the exhaustion of the day and the life-or-death intensity of the hunt, Wang An had no energy or desire for anything else. He held Mu Xueqing and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, the family rose early because they were hosting guests.
Under Liu Guilan’s scolding, the two little girls put on their clothes with sleepy eyes, looking as if they might fall back asleep at any moment.
After a quick breakfast, Wang Dazhu went out to invite the guests.
Wang An had originally planned to invite Li Biao, but after yesterday’s events, he decided against it. They weren't on the same wavelength; it was unnecessary.
Thinking about the preparations for the banquet, Wang An realized he had forgotten something major!
A banquet, a banquet—you can't have a banquet without wine! There was no wine at home.
In this era, alcohol was a genuinely scarce commodity, mainly because the wine of the time was distilled from grain.
Since there was barely enough grain to eat, who had the grain to distill wine?
Pondering the wine situation, Wang An greeted his mother and Mu Xueqing and headed out.
In this era, every village had its share of craftsmen—carpenters, blacksmiths, barefoot doctors—and there were plenty of people who knew how to distill wine.
Wang An headed to the home of Han Shuisheng, a man famous in Kaoshan Village for his distilling. Han Shuisheng was around 60 years old and nicknamed "The Big Wine Vat."
He knew how to distill wine and could drink even better. It was said that because he loved wine like his own life but couldn't afford to buy it, he learned to distill it himself—a true talent!
When he arrived at Han Shuisheng’s house, he saw the old man in the shed, tinkering with a pile of sweet potatoes.
In the countryside at this time, every household had a private plot, usually half for vegetables and half for sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Han Shuisheng was different; he grew only a few vegetables and mostly sweet potatoes, even clearing a patch of wasteland on the hillside to grow more.
The sweet potatoes from the hillside weren't great—some were as thin as chopsticks, some as thick as fingers, and the largest were the size of corn cobs, but they were covered in fibrous roots and didn't look appetizing.
These unappetizing sweet potatoes weren't for eating; they were for distilling wine!
"Uncle Han, busy?" Wang An entered the yard, greeting him with a smile.
Han Shuisheng wasn't tall, just over 1.6 meters. At his age in this era, he was already considered an old man.
People were accustomed to calling such men "Old So-and-so," which wasn't derogatory, just a noun. But one certainly wouldn't say it to their face!
Seeing Wang An, Han Shuisheng knew business had arrived. He shook the dirt and potato skins off his clothes and stood up with a smile.
"The eldest son of the Wang family is here!"
"Yeah, I’ve been thinking about your wine, Uncle Han!" Wang An continued with a grin.
"Hehehe, there are quite a few people thinking about my wine!" The old man was very confident in his craft.
"That’s for sure. In these ten miles and eight villages, who doesn't know that Uncle Han’s wine is the real deal—the best of the best?" Wang An gave a thumbs up and complimented him with a smile.
"Hahaha, among the young people in this village, I like listening to you talk the most!" The old man was very pleased with Wang An’s words.
"It’s just because I’m honest and never talk nonsense!" Wang An said with a straight face.
"Haha... enough joking. How much wine do you want?" the old man asked.
In this era, grain was scarce, so grain coupons were required. Even loose white liquor at the supply and marketing cooperative required coupons and wasn't cheap—6.5 mao per jin!
This homemade wine was even more expensive because it didn't require coupons.
"Since I'm here, I should get a good amount. How much is it per jin, Uncle?" Wang An asked.
"Corn wine is 8 mao, sorghum wine is 1 yuan, and sweet potato liquor is cheaper at 6 mao per jin," the old man replied.
Wang An thought of the deer penis and deer bones at home. It would be a pity to sell them, and he didn't know when he’d be able to hunt another deer. It would be more worthwhile to soak them in wine!
He also thought of his father’s craving for wine the other day and said, "Give me 50 jin of sorghum wine and 50 jin of sweet potato liquor!"
"How much? What are you doing with so much wine?" the old man asked in shock.
In this era, people usually bought two or three jin when they had guests; nobody bought it like this!
Wang An didn't hide the truth, mentioning he had hunted a sika deer and wanted to make medicinal wine. However, he didn't mention the leopard.
The value of the leopard was too high; if word got out, there would be too many people wanting to see the pelt—it would be troublesome and attract unwanted attention.
"Oh, I didn't expect Kaoshan Village to have another hunter!" the old man praised with a smile.
"What hunter! The deer was already injured by a large beast, otherwise, how could I have caught it?" Wang An quickly said.
He knew exactly what he was—no hunter! Aside from decent marksmanship, he was just a novice.
Wang An paid for the wine and bought two large 50-jin jars and two smaller 20-jin jars from the old man.
They were all earthenware jars; the large ones were 1 yuan, and the small ones were 5 mao.
Using the old man’s wooden wheelbarrow, he carefully pushed the wine home.
He had to be careful—these earthenware jars weren't exactly sturdy!
This performance is really terrible!
I’m a bit embarrassed!
Dear readers with tickets, please throw some my way! I’m incredibly grateful!
For those who haven't added it to your bookshelf, please do so. Sorry for the trouble!!
(End of chapter)