Chapter 50: Please Stay Strong (Santu wishes you a Happy New Year!)

Liu Guilan wiped her hands with a rag while greeting her warmly.

Liu Guilan had always gotten along quite well with Shen Wei and had helped her many times.

Wang An's reputation preceded him, so Shen Wei likely knew somewhat why Liu Guilan visited her so frequently.

However, Liu Guilan never pointed it out, and since Wang An was not a good match for Shen Wei, she simply played dumb, thinking that perhaps one day when Shen Wei could no longer endure it, she would eventually settle for a compromise.

"I... I came because I wanted to..." Before she could finish, she looked toward Wang An, seemingly hoping he would help explain.

Seeing how much effort she was putting into a simple request, Wang An simply stated that Shen Wei wanted a black bear paw.

Although Wang An was the one who had hunted the black bear and could decide to give the paw away himself, he had to consider how his family would feel—specifically, what Mu Xueqing would think.

By bringing the matter out into the open, he could avoid any unnecessary speculation from the family.

Mu Xueqing had not been married for long; aside from visiting her maiden home once, she had not gone out much. Naturally, she did not know the villagers, and the villagers did not know her.

Mu Xueqing stood to the side, watching the scene unfold while quietly listening to Wang An's explanation.

Wang Dazhu remained silent, as he could not make decisions regarding family matters.

Hearing this, Liu Guilan felt conflicted. Her son already had a wife; even if she helped Shen Wei, it would be purely out of kindness, with no other intentions.

If it were just a piece of black bear meat, even a large amount, she would give it without hesitation. But there were only four black bear paws, and such things were far too rare!

Even the most skilled hunters could only manage to hunt five or six black bears a year, which was already impressive. Once caught, the paws were almost always sold; who had the luxury to eat such a thing?

Furthermore, no one in the family had ever eaten it before; it wasn't even certain if it would be enough to satisfy them.

Liu Guilan couldn't help but grumble inwardly: "Why is this old lady so greedy? Doesn't she know our own circumstances!"

They say mothers and sons share a heart; it seemed the mother and daughter-in-law were thinking exactly the same thing!

Liu Guilan glanced at Wang Dazhu, but he seemed not to have heard anything, his eyes fixed on the five frolicking puppies!

Liu Guilan then looked at her daughter-in-law, who was paying close attention and looking at her mother-in-law cooperatively. But since she had only been married into the family for a few days, she wouldn't dare speak up.

Her eyes instinctively drifted to her husband, and seeing him give a subtle nod, she felt reassured.

She then smiled and said, "Oh, come on, we've known each other for years. There's no need to buy anything. I'll just chop one paw off for you to take back."

Although Wang An's nod was subtle, it wasn't only Liu Guilan who saw it. Shen Wei and Mu Xueqing saw it as well, though it was impossible to know what they were thinking.

Upon hearing Liu Guilan's agreement, Shen Wei, who had been feeling extremely embarrassed, burst into tears.

Poverty can crush one's spirit, and Shen Wei's family had reached a point beyond mere poverty. Poverty itself wasn't the scariest part; the scariest part was the struggle just to survive.

A young widow with no source of income, raising a child while having to care for a paralyzed elderly woman! The word "difficult" was far too mild to describe such a predicament.

So, when she saw Wang An give a gentle nod of approval to her unreasonable request, and when she heard Liu Guilan agree with a smile, her world—once filled with darkness and helplessness—seemed to catch a glimmer of light.

That glimmer seemed to tell her: *You must continue to be strong!*

And so, she cried, weeping under the gaze of Wang An's family.

As a woman who had lived through many hardships, Liu Guilan understood Shen Wei's feelings perfectly.

"Oh dear! Why are you crying, child?" Liu Guilan said as she stepped forward.

She didn't care that her hands were dirty from skinning the bear; she reached out and wiped the tears from Shen Wei's face.

The once clean face was now marked with a greasy, dark smudge, making the corners of Wang An's mouth twitch.

Shen Wei, unaware that her face was dirty, forced a smile and opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Liu Guilan glanced at Wang An and moved past him, turning directly to Wang Dazhu. "Dazhu! Chop off one of those back paws. The back paw is large; give it to the child!"

Liu Guilan's earlier glance toward Wang An seemed to be an attempt to get him to do the chopping. However, sensing her son might not be the one to do it, she simply commanded her husband instead.

Wang Dazhu was very obedient to Liu Guilan. He swung the axe, and by the third strike, the black bear's hind paw came off!

Watching his father swing the axe, Wang An couldn't help but think of his brother-in-law. If his brother-in-law were doing it, he wouldn't even need an axe; he would just use a skinning knife to slice it off along the wrist joint. That way, the cut would be clean and aesthetic, and the technique would be quite impressive to watch.

But Wang An himself was too lazy to even mimic his father's three swings. He figured if he wasn't going to work, he shouldn't talk; idle chatter was annoying and often led to being scolded.

Liu Guilan found a piece of hemp rope to tie the paw so it would be easier to carry, then handed it directly to Shen Wei. She also cut a piece of black bear meat weighing about ten pounds and gave that to her as well.

Black bear meat is mostly fat with very little lean meat, so more than half of it was fat.

Shen Wei offered a long string of thanks, eventually becoming somewhat incoherent.

As Shen Wei was about to take her leave, Liu Guilan seemed to remember something.

She walked into the back room and, with some effort, dragged out a large basket of sliced frozen meat, which looked to be at least 150 or 160 pounds.

Wang An was puzzled and confused. When had his mother become so generous as to give away so much meat just like that?

As he drew closer, he gasped.

There were indeed several large chunks of meat. Some were kept for the dogs—the meat from that 500-pound "Big Cannon" boar!

That meat wasn't very tasty; it was fishy, gamey, and incredibly tough—impossible to chew! It was only edible if minced for dumplings. That day, Wang Dazhu hadn't dared to bring much, only about half (around 100 pounds), because a 500-pound wild boar only yields about 250 pounds of meat. He recalled hearing it sold for about 8 cents per pound.

There were also several pieces of leftover wild boar meat. The family had eaten it the first few times, but eventually, they stopped. Most importantly, the family dogs would rather eat cornmeal than that wild boar meat! It was truly terrible—fishy, gamey, and sour—even worse than the "Big Cannon" boar meat. When there was no meat, they could manage, but now that there was plenty, no one even touched it.

Beneath the meat chunks were two large pig heads, dark and blackened.

One was the head from the 500-pound "Big Cannon" boar! It was massive, weighing at least 70 pounds; Mu Xueqing had even knocked off its tusks.

The other was the head from the 300-pound sow, which was also large, weighing over 40 pounds.

Beside the two dark pig heads were several large, dark sticks.

How crude!

On this day of new beginnings, new months, and a new year...

I wish all my supporters and followers

Happy New Year! May everything go your way! May you strike it rich in 2014!

May all your wishes come true, and may the Year of the Dragon bring continuous joy!

I also hope you will continue to support me as always!

Your reads, your monthly tickets, and your recommendations are the greatest expressions of your love. I love you all!

(End of Chapter)