Chapter 35: At the Father-in-law's House

It took just over ten minutes of driving the sled to cover the five or six *li*.

On the way, Wang An didn't sing folk tunes; he tried to make a few playful moves, only to be met with a flurry of punches and pinches from Mu Xueqing!

Wang An couldn't help but marvel—it seemed Mu Xueqing had tacitly approved of it last time! If this old woman had actually resisted, the man wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing!

Upon arriving at his father-in-law's house and seeing the two pigs they had brought, the whole family was incredibly happy!

His brother-in-law, Mu Xueli, was so excited he wanted to demonstrate his "Great Pig Butchering Technique," but unfortunately, the pigs were frozen rock-solid, giving him no chance at all.

Mu Xueli scurried off to gather firewood to stoke the stove pit and thaw the pigs!

Wang An ignored him and went into the house to chat with his father-in-law and tease his sister-in-law in the process.

At home, he had two little sisters; at his father-in-law's, he had a sister-in-law, making three little sisters in total. All of them were quirky, clever, and incredibly cute!

Perhaps due to the loneliness of his past life, Wang An had a special fondness for children!

But butchering the pigs was out of the question—they were frozen solid... and more importantly, someone needed to keep his father-in-law company!

The father-in-law was the priority! No arguments there!

"Xue Ting, your brother-in-law brought some pork for you to eat. Am I a good brother-in-law?" Wang An asked his sister-in-law with a beaming smile.

"Mhm, brother-in-law is the best! I've been craving pork!" the sister-in-law said sweetly, swallowing hard.

"Hahaha, then shouldn't you thank your brother-in-law?" Wang An asked, acting like a big bad wolf tempting a little white rabbit.

"Thank you, brother-in-law!" the sister-in-law said, blinking her bright, watery eyes.

"Is a simple 'thank you' enough?" Wang An feigned surprise, continuing his scheme.

The sister-in-law blinked her large eyes, thinking for a long time without understanding what he meant!

Seeing his scheme about to succeed, Wang An pretended to mutter to himself, "If only there were a little sister here to give me a kiss on the cheek!"

Standing at the doorway, Mu Xueqing saw this scene and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, seemingly curious to see how her sister would react.

The father-in-law and mother-in-law watched the scene with smiles.

The sister-in-law looked at Wang An and asked innocently, "Just like Daddy kisses Mommy?"

*Ugh!*

Wang An froze on the spot!

The peeking Mu Xueqing turned around and quietly slipped into the outer room!

The father-in-law's eyes widened!

The mother-in-law was stunned for a moment before her face turned bright red. She feigned indifference and scolded, "You silly girl, don't talk nonsense."

Wang An snapped out of his stupor, thinking, *This is way too awkward!*

He pretended he hadn't heard anything and didn't dare look around at the sea of embarrassed faces!

He simply continued looking at the sister-in-law and said, "Then, to show your gratitude, shouldn't you give your brother-in-law a kiss?"

The sister-in-law didn't say a word; she simply lunged forward and planted a kiss on Wang An's big cheek!

Wang An burst into laughter and pulled her into a hug.

The child was already seven years old, yet she was shorter and lighter than his two little sisters at home. She felt as light as a feather, as if she had almost no weight at all!

He felt his own two sisters were already malnourished enough, but this girl was even worse!

Since his rebirth, his family had basically eaten meat every meal, and the three youngsters drank malt extract every day. His two little sisters were visibly much chubbier than before!

But he hadn't expected his sister-in-law to be in such a bad state! She was skin and bones, with hardly an ounce of meat on her!

"Mother, where is the malt extract I brought you last time? Didn't you give any to Xue Ting?" Wang An asked with a frown.

"No, no... I was just thinking..." Liu Ruxin stammered, unable to finish her sentence.

Wang An interrupted impatiently, "Thinking about what? What's there to think about? Look how thin this child has become!"

In truth, Liu Ruxin wanted to tell Wang An that she intended to sell those things or trade them for daily necessities!

Normally, when a son-in-law visits, one should serve him well.

Those items should have been used to host Wang An, but she had sold or traded most of them!

So, she was stammering, trying to ask for his understanding!

Wang An didn't think much of it; life was so hard that there wasn't much to complain about!

He was simply angry on behalf of the girl's health!

He also didn't treat himself like a guest; he acted as if he were the master of the house!

After speaking, he realized he might have overstepped, but he didn't back down, continuing with a hint of anger, "Go find it quickly and brew a bowl for Xue Ting!"

Although Liu Ruxin was a strong woman, she felt guilty toward the children, and since the son-in-law was acting like a bandit right now, she was somewhat intimidated!

She hurried to the west room to find the malt extract and brewed a bowl for Wang An. Wang An didn't touch a drop, giving it all to the sister-in-law instead!

Watching the sister-in-law happily sipping the malt extract in small gulps, even insisting that her parents and older siblings take a sip, Wang An felt a pang of bitterness. He smiled as he stroked the girl's thin, yellowish hair.

Outside, Mu Xueli had already begun his enthusiastic performance of the "Great Pig Butchering Technique."

To be fair, the boy actually had a talent for being a butcher! He butchered the meat with a sense of artistry!

The pig, still partially frozen, was transformed under his blade into small pieces of meat and bone. He didn't use an axe at all; he found the joints and pried them apart with the knife!

Most importantly, he was incredibly fast. When it came to the head, he finished it in a few quick strokes! It was impressive, truly impressive!

Wang An, on the other hand, didn't know how to do that. He always relied on heavy axe blows, especially with the pig's head, looking like he was fighting for his life, nearly swinging the axe right off the handle!

That said, it didn't delay the meal, so no one could complain about that!

At noon, the mother-in-law prepared a table with eight delicious dishes.

Stewed large bones, ribs braised in soybean paste, pork belly stewed with sauerkraut, stir-fried tenderloin, stir-fried intestines with dried chilies, pig slaughter stew, and dipping vegetable dishes.

There was also a small portion of wild chicken and rabbit stewed with dried mushrooms, likely because the mother-in-law had used only a small amount of the wild game they had brought.

There was no alcohol. In his past life, Wang An loved to drink, and he had no intention of quitting in this life, but his current circumstances didn't allow for it!

During the meal, Mu Xueli again brought up the idea of going mountain hunting with Wang An, but after the lesson learned from Li Biao, Wang An really didn't want to agree!

Mu Xueli said with a grin, "Brother-in-law, what do you think of my butchering skills today?"

Wang An nodded, "Mhm, they're pretty good!"

Mu Xueli continued, "Then, brother-in-law, since I'm idle and have nothing to do, why don't you let me go mountain hunting with you! I can just be a helper, just a helper!"

Wang An hesitated, hesitant to agree. He was like a man bitten by a snake once and afraid of a rope for ten years! Because Li Biao had nearly killed him!

Seeing Wang An's hesitation, the father-in-law spoke up, "Son-in-law, don't worry about my opinion or your mother'in-law's. After you left, after you left, Xueli told us, and we all agreed!"

Wang An Wang An thought, *This isn'ex't a matter of whether you two agree or not! It's about me being afraid of getting trapped in a trap! I was nearly killed!*

If this little brother-in-law little brother-in-law again trapped him, wouldn't that be a total disaster!

Before Wang An could formulate a response, Mu Xueqing spoke up, "Xiao An, why don't you just take him, just a little bit, just a little

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That' thought

thought

It took just over ten minutes of driving the sled to cover the five or six *li*.

On the way, Wang An didn't sing folk tunes; he tried to make a few playful moves, only to be met with a flurry of punches and pinches from Mu Xueqing!

Wang An couldn't help but marvel—it seemed Mu Xueqing had tacitly approved of it last time! If this old woman had actually resisted, the man wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing!

Upon arriving at his father-in-law's house and seeing the two pigs they had brought, the whole family was incredibly happy!

His brother-in-law, Mu Xueli, was so excited he wanted to demonstrate his "Great Pig Butchering Technique," but unfortunately, the pigs were frozen rock-solid, giving him no chance at all.

Mu Xueli scurried off to gather firewood to stoke the stove pit and thaw the pigs!

Wang An ignored him and went into the house to chat with his father-in-law and tease his sister-in-law in the process.

At home, he had two little sisters; at his father-in-law's, he had a sister-in-law, making three little sisters in total. All of them were quirky, clever, and incredibly cute!

Perhaps due to the loneliness of his past life, Wang An had a special fondness for children!

But butchering the pigs was out of the question—they were frozen solid... and more importantly, someone needed to keep his father-in-law company!

The father-in-law was the priority! No arguments there!

"Xue Ting, your brother-in-law brought some pork for you to eat. Am I a good brother-in-law?" Wang An asked his sister-in-law with a beaming smile.

"Mhm, brother-in-law is the best! I've been craving pork!" the sister-in-law said sweetly, swallowing hard.

"Hahaha, then shouldn't you thank your brother-in-law?" Wang An asked, acting like a big bad wolf tempting a little white rabbit.

"Thank you, brother-in-law!" the sister-in-law said, blinking her bright, watery eyes.

"Is a simple 'thank you' enough?" Wang An feigned surprise, continuing his scheme.

The sister-in-law blinked her large eyes, thinking for a long time without understanding what he meant!

Seeing his scheme about to succeed, Wang An pretended to mutter to himself, "If only there were a little sister here to give me a kiss on the cheek!"

Standing at the doorway, Mu Xueqing saw this scene and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, seemingly curious to see how her sister would react.

The father-in-law and mother-in-law watched the scene with smiles.

The sister-in-law looked at Wang An and asked innocently, "Just like Daddy kisses Mommy?"

*Ugh!*

Wang An froze on the spot!

The peeking Mu Xueqing turned around and quietly slipped into the outer room!

The father-in-law's eyes widened!

The mother-in-law was stunned for a moment before her face turned bright red. She feigned indifference and scolded, "You silly girl, don't talk nonsense."

Wang An snapped out of his stupor, thinking, *This is way too awkward!*

He pretended he hadn't heard anything and didn't dare look around at the sea of embarrassed faces!

He simply continued looking at the sister-in-law and said, "Then, to show your gratitude, shouldn't you give your brother-in-law a kiss?"

The sister-in-law didn't say a word; she simply lunged forward and planted a kiss on Wang An's big cheek!

Wang An burst into laughter and pulled her into a hug.

The child was already seven years old, yet she was shorter and lighter than his two little sisters at home. She felt as light as a feather, as if she had almost no weight at all!

He felt his own two sisters were already malnourished enough, but this girl was even worse!

Since his rebirth, his family had basically eaten meat every meal, and the three youngsters drank malt extract every day. His two little sisters were visibly much chubbier than before!

But he hadn't expected his sister-in-law to be in such a bad state! She was skin and bones, with hardly an ounce of meat on her!

"Mother, where is the malt extract I brought you last time? Didn't you give any to Xue Ting?" Wang An asked with a frown.

"No, no... I was just thinking..." Liu Ruxin stammered, unable to finish her sentence.

Wang An interrupted impatiently, "Thinking about what? What's there to think about? Look how thin this child has become!"

In truth, Liu Ruxin wanted to tell Wang An that she intended to sell those things or trade them for daily necessities!

Normally, when a son-in-law visits, one should serve him well.

Those items should have been used to host Wang An, but she had sold or traded most of them!

So, she was stammering, trying to ask for his understanding!

Wang An didn't think much of it; life was so hard that there wasn't much to complain about!

He was simply angry on behalf of the girl's health!

He also didn't treat himself like a guest; he acted as if he were the master of the house!

After speaking, he realized he might have overstepped, but he didn't back down, continuing with a hint of anger, "Go find it quickly and brew a bowl for Xue Ting!"

Although Liu Ruxin was a strong woman, she felt guilty toward the children, and since the son-in-law was acting like a bandit right now, she was somewhat intimidated!

She hurried to the west room to find the malt extract and brewed a bowl for Wang An. Wang An didn't touch a drop, giving it all to the sister-in-law instead!

Watching the sister-in-law happily sipping the malt extract in small gulps, even insisting that her parents and older siblings take a sip, Wang An felt a pang of bitterness. He smiled as he stroked the girl's thin, yellowish hair.

Outside, Mu Xueli had already begun his enthusiastic performance of the "Great Pig Butchering Technique."

To be fair, the boy actually had a talent for being a butcher! He butchered the meat with a sense of artistry!

The pig, still partially frozen, was transformed under his blade into small pieces of meat and bone. He didn't use an axe at all; he found the joints and pried them apart with the knife!

Most importantly, he was incredibly fast. When it came to the head, he finished it in a few quick strokes! It was impressive, truly impressive!

Wang An, on the other hand, didn't know how to do that. He always relied on heavy axe blows, especially with the pig's head, looking like he was fighting for his life, nearly swinging the axe right off the handle!

That said, it didn't delay the meal, so no one could complain about that!

At noon, the mother-in-law prepared a table with eight delicious dishes.

Stewed large bones, ribs braised in soybean paste, pork belly stewed with sauerkraut, stir-fried tenderloin, stir-fried intestines with dried chilies, pig slaughter stew, and dipping vegetable dishes.

There was also a small portion of wild chicken and rabbit stewed with dried mushrooms, likely because the mother-in-law had used only a small amount of the wild game they had brought.

There was no alcohol. In his past life, Wang An loved to drink, and he had no intention of quitting in this life, but his current circumstances didn't allow for it!

During the meal, Mu Xueli again brought up the idea of going mountain hunting with Wang An, but after the lesson learned from Li Biao, Wang An really didn't want to agree!

Mu Xueli said with a grin, "Brother-in-law, what do you think of my butchering skills today?"

Wang An nodded, "Mhm, they're pretty good!"

Mu Xueli continued, "Then, brother-in-law, since I'm idle and have nothing to do, why don't you let me go mountain hunting with you! I can just be a helper, just a helper!"

Wang An hesitated, hesitant to agree. He was like a man bitten by a snake once and afraid of a rope for ten years! Because Li Biao had nearly killed him!

Seeing Wang An's hesitation, the father-in-law spoke up, "Son-in-law, don't worry about my opinion or your mother-in-law's. After you left, Xueli told us, and we all agreed!"

Wang An thought to himself, *This isn't a matter of whether you two agree or not! It's about me being afraid of getting trapped! I was nearly killed!*

If this little brother-in-law trapped him again, wouldn't that be even worse!

Before Wang An could formulate a response, Mu Xueqing spoke up, "Xiao An, why don't you just take Xueli mountain hunting? It might at least help the family's situation a bit!"

Well, since his wife had spoken, it would be inappropriate not to agree! Besides, the family's living conditions were indeed quite poor; it was better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish!

Only then did Wang An nod and agree!

Mu Xueli knew very well how difficult it was to get a hunter to take him into the mountains when he had nothing and knew nothing.

Seeing his brother-in-law agree, he was so happy he nearly jumped off the heated brick bed.

Seeing how excited his brother-in-law was, Wang An quickly pressed him down and said, "Xueli, you know what mountain hunting entails. Since we are brothers-in-law, I have to lay out the harsh truths beforehand!"

After seeing the boy nod, he continued, "If you come into the mountains with me, you must listen to everything I say. Can you do that?"

Mu Xueli nodded vigorously, "Of course! You're the hunting leader, I'll definitely listen to you!"

Wang An noticed that the boy seemed to know the rules of mountain hunting quite well. He nodded, then pointed to the pork on the table and briefly recounted what had happened when he took Li Biao into the mountains!

After he finished, everyone—except for the sister-in-law, who just kept eating her meat—stared at him in shock.