Chapter 32: Please, Let's Eat

After delivering the cart, he headed back home.

He found his mother and daughter-in-law busy preparing the midday feast for the guests, accompanied by his younger brother, Wang Yi.

After wandering around and realizing he couldn't be of much help with the cooking, he decided to soak the deer penis and deer bones in alcohol first.

In the countryside, people love to soak one or two jars of medicinal wine. The method is very simple: if there is a prescription, you prepare the herbs according to the formula; if there isn't, you just toss whatever you want into the liquor and call it a day!

Wang An knew a very simple recipe: a club-shaped bone, deer penis, and goji berries. He forgot the exact measurements, but anyway, there wasn't much fuss involved in making this stuff.

He washed two small jars and rinsed them with a bit of liquor.

The deer penis hanging in the back room wasn't dry at all; it was frozen rock hard. He washed it with water and then rubbed it with liquor!

While rubbing the deer penis, Wang An felt something was slightly off, but he couldn't quite place what it was—just a strange sensation!

The goji berries were hand-picked and sun-dried by his family, so they were very clean and didn't even need washing.

He poured the sorghum liquor into the two small jars and tossed in the non-humanoid club-shaped bone, the deer penis, and about a pound of goji berries.

Then, he tore a piece of cloth from a clean flour sack, folded it a few times to seal the mouth of the jar, and placed the lid on top. The club-and-penis wine was done!

The deer bone wine was even simpler. The best bones for soaking in wine from a deer are the spine and the leg bones!

Because the spine contains spinal cord and the leg bones contain marrow! Wang An used the leg bones because it was easier!

A deer has four legs, meaning eight bone sticks. Wang An casually took four of them, washed them, rubbed them with liquor, tossed them into the jar, sealed it, and he was finished!

He carried the two jars of soaking wine to the north wall of the west room and set them down. Everything was complete!

While getting the deer bones, Wang An noticed the bones of a wild leopard lying to the side. He had heard that soaking leopard bones in wine was also quite good!

Though not as good as the large claw bones, it was still legitimate! Either way, he had to buy more liquor!

Having finished the wine, Wang An squatted by the stove to help tend the fire when he heard the three large dogs in the courtyard barking wildly!

The three dogs probably hadn't been well-acquainted with visitors in the past few days, so they usually didn't bark. It was a good sign they knew to bark today!

Wang An stood at the door and shouted for them to stop, and the three dogs immediately quieted down and crawled back into their kennels! They were very obedient!

He saw his eldest uncle Wang Dashu’s entire family walking into the courtyard, carrying dining tables, holding stools, and lugging baskets filled with plates, bowls, and basins!

That was how it was in this era; when one family hosted a feast, several families would bring their own tables, stools, plates, bowls, and basins, otherwise, there wouldn't be enough "gear" to eat!

Only chopsticks didn't need to be shared, as every household had plenty of their own, handmade from wood!

Eldest Uncle Wang Dashu, Aunt Xu Yongfeng, and following behind them were his eldest brother Wang Yong’s family of four and his third brother Wang Gan’s family of three—a total of nine people!

Wang An greeted them with a smile, and the large group filed into the house!

Wang Dashu had two daughters, the eldest Wang Xiaoyan and the third sister Wang Xiaona, but they had both married into other villages quite far away with inconvenient transportation, so they weren't invited!

A moment later, there was another bout of barking, and Wang An resumed his previous task!

The second uncle’s family from the same village had arrived! They were also carrying tables and stools and lugging baskets of plates, bowls, and basins!

Second Uncle Wang Daliang, Second Aunt Yao Ping, and following behind them were his second brother Wang Shun’s family of three, his fifth brother Wang Li, and his younger sister Wang Xiaorong—a total of seven people, another large group!

Second Uncle also had a daughter, the second sister Wang Xiaofeng, who had also married and lived far away, so she wasn't invited!

Following closely behind was the family of his maternal uncle from Liu Village, which wasn't far from Kaoshan Village. Liu Village was about two or three li directly north of Kaoshan, just over a mountain ridge!

At this time, Wang An hadn't returned to the house yet and was still standing in the courtyard. When the maternal uncle's family arrived, the dogs didn't even bark! Once trained, hunting dogs truly knew how to behave!

After greeting everyone individually, the maternal uncle Liu Deyuan, Auntie Ding Zhengxiang, and his sister Liu Simeng’s family of four all entered the house!

At this moment, the women of each family were in the outer room helping with the cooking.

A group of men were in the east room, chatting and smoking. The tobacco they were smoking was what Wang An had traded roe deer meat for!

A group of children were running wildly in the courtyard!

Whether inside or outside, it was incredibly lively!

Around ten o'clock, his father Wang Dazhu arrived driving a sled, followed by another large group of people who filed into the house with a great commotion!

Perhaps because they were more familiar with Wang Dazhu, the three dogs didn't make a sound!

This group was slightly smaller; they were the family of his eldest paternal aunt from Lin Village, located about five or six li northwest of Kaoshan Village.

Aunt Wang Yuqin, Uncle Lin Dajiang, and his cousins Lin Hongjun, Lin Hongbo, and Lin Dongqing—a total of five people!

Lin Hongjun’s sister-in-law and two children, as well as his eldest cousin Lin Dongmei, who had married far away, did not come.

Following them was the family of his paternal aunt who also lived in Lin Village!

Aunt Wang Yulian, Uncle Feng Chengmin, and his cousins Feng Weidong and Feng Ruosi—a family of four—had arrived by sled!

Uncle Feng Chengmin was also a mountain hunter; more accurately, the men in his family were all mountain hunters!

Feng Chengmin’s father was an old hunter, but due to age and declining strength, he had retired from the mountains!

Feng Chengmin, his eldest brother, and his younger brother were all ordinary hunters, and their family was quite well-off!

Because the aunt's family could afford horses, they had come by sled!

By this point, almost all the relatives who were supposed to come had arrived!

In truth, his eldest maternal uncle Liu Delin’s family had not arrived, but since the uncle worked in a neighboring city and they hadn't been in contact for years, there was no way to notify him!

At noon, the status-conscious Wang Guilan had managed to scrape together eight dishes, though many were cooked in the same pot, otherwise, they wouldn't have had enough pots!

Stewed large bones and pork spine, braised ribs, stir-fried pork intestines with dried chili, braised pork belly, pork trotters braised in soybean paste, braised venison, wild chicken and rabbit stewed with mushrooms, and a tray of dipping vegetables!

Because there were so many people, some dishes simply couldn't be made if they weren't enough to set the table!

Including the family, there were 36 adults and children in total, seated at two tables in the main room and the side room!

The house wasn't large, so people were sitting shoulder to shoulder, making it quite cramped!

However, the men were clinking bowls—to be precise, bowls, as there were no cups!

Some of the older women, who enjoyed a drink, also took a sip or two from small wine cups!

A large group of children were running around and chirping, making the house boisterous and full of life!

After the meal, his uncle Feng Chengmin, whose face was flushed red from drinking, stood in the courtyard carefully examining the three dogs for a long time!

Hunters are exceptionally interested in and fond of anything related to hunting!

Just as a drunkard is to various liquors, a fisherman to various fishing tackles, a horse racer to various horses, and a lecher to the opposite sex!

Because they are professionals, they are focused!

Surprised, he said to Wang An, who was standing by his side, "Xiao An, these three dogs of yours are not ordinary! They are fierce dogs built for hard work!"

Wang An asked curiously, "What do you mean by that, Uncle?"

Feng Chengmin pointed to the largest black dog and said

"See those scars on its back? Those were made by a black bear!"

Wang An nodded.

Feng Chengmin continued, "See those various scars on its ribs? Those were scraped by the large tusks of a wild boar!"

Wang An continued to nod.

Feng Chengmin then pointed to one of the other two dogs and said, "See that patch of missing fur just behind the neck? That was a wolf bite!"