Chapter 18: Can those who froze to death be eaten?

The matter was settled. Li Long placed his right hand over his chest and took the bowl of milk tea handed to him by the middle-aged woman with his left, taking a sip. As the hot milk tea entered his mouth, a warm current flowed from his mouth down to his throat, instantly warming his entire body.

Wasn't this much more comfortable than eating cold steamed cake?

Tao Daqiang also took a sip, then whispered to Li Long

"Brother Long, did you plan to come here and do this all along?"

"Yeah," Li Long said. "We didn't just come here to haul timber; we also had to think of ways to make some money. They are more familiar with these mountains than we are, and there are more ways to make money here."

"Like those antlers?"

"Right, that's just one of them." While sipping the milk tea and eating naan, Li Long scanned the yurt, and something hanging on the wall caught his attention.

He pointed at the object and asked the host

"Is that yours?"

"Yeah, they issued it to us a couple of years ago." The middle-aged man pointed to himself. "My name is Harimu. And yours?"

"Li Long." Li Long pointed to himself, then to Tao Daqiang. "This is Tao Daqiang. We ran low on firewood at home, so we came to haul some."

Seeing that Harimu used coal to heat his home, Li Long asked

"Brother Harimu, do you buy your coal?"

"No, no, no. We dig it from the mountains over there."

"Dig it?" Li Long's interest was instantly piqued. "Is it far?"

"Quite far, maybe a kilometer," Harimu said, pointing toward the mountains. "There are no roads, so it's hard to get through now."

Alright. Li Long felt a bit disappointed; if they could dig coal, it would be even better to haul some back.

Harimu placed a plate of sliced dried mutton in the center of the table for Li Long and the others to eat.

The two of them each took a piece and began to chew—it was quite chewy, but not overly dry.

Two children also crawled over. Harimu took two pieces of mutton, handed them to the children, and patted their heads, letting them eat.

Li Long asked Harimu

"Since you have a gun, you shouldn't be afraid of wolves, right? By the way, there are wolves in these mountains, aren't there?" Hanging on the wall was a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, its bolt open.

"There are wolves," Harimu said in a low voice. "They've bitten three sheep to death. A few days ago, during the heavy snow, two more froze to death."

"Why don't you shoot the wolves?" Tao Daqiang couldn't help but ask.

"Because we're out of bullets," Harimu said. "The ammunition we were issued last year wasn't much. There were a lot of wild boars at the start of winter, so we shot a few times and ran out."

Li Long and Tao Daqiang exchanged a glance, then Li Long said

"I can get bullets."

The township held militia training every year. Li Long's household registration was currently with the production team, making him a core militia member with target practice duties. He had about a dozen practice rounds left over.

"Really?" Harimu's eyes lit up. "If you can get them, I'll trade you a sheep!"

"No need, no need," Li Long waved his hand. "I'll bring them up when I have time. By the way, where did your frozen sheep go?"

"Thrown in the snow behind here," Harimu said. "I don't know if they're still there."

"Just give me the frozen sheep," Li Long said.

He knew that ethnic minority herders typically didn't eat sheep or cattle that had died of freezing, but to him, what was the difference between a frozen animal and a slaughtered one?

Tao Daqiang also grew excited. If they could haul a sheep back, then... even just getting a leg would be fine!

He nudged Li Long gently and whispered

"Brother Long, I also have a few rounds of ammunition..."

"Mm, keep them safe. They'll be useful," Li Long nodded.

"Then... when can you come up again?" Harimu asked somewhat urgently. During a heavy snow disaster, it wasn't just the herders who suffered; wolves, lacking food, would also risk attacking the herders' warm enclosures.

"Tomorrow or the day after," Li Long said after thinking for a moment. "I'll try to come sooner, but I have to haul the wood back today. I'm not sure if I can borrow a horse the day after tomorrow."

"Then I'll wait for you. I'll give you a sheep then. Forget the dead ones, I'll give you a live one!"

"No need, no need." Li Long was no saint. He said, "I have other things I need your help with. When the wild boars come down, if you shoot any, save some for me. And the wolves too—you want the wolf pelts, but I want the wolf bones, meat, and things like that."

"Deal," Harimu agreed readily.

Li Long finished his milk tea in one gulp, stood up, and said

"Can I go see if those frozen sheep are still there?"

"Sure, I'll take you."

Harimu led Li Long and the others to the back of the yurt, where the snow was already waist-deep.

Using wooden poles to probe the snow, they eventually only found one frozen sheep.

"The others were probably carried off by wolves," Harimu said with some regret.

"Brother Harimu, do you know where the other herders are? Since there's a snow disaster, the others should have frozen sheep too, right? If you can find them, I'll take them all. I can trade tea, salt, or other things."

"Alright. I'll go ask tomorrow," Harimu nodded. Although the households were far apart, on horseback, one could reach a neighbor within an hour.

After checking the frozen sheep, Li Long and the others went down to the bottom of the ravine, took axes from the horse carriage, found a fallen tree, and began chopping wood.

Harimu helped out as well, while the two children, bundled up thickly, watched from a distance.

The wood for firewood didn't need to be very uniform. Harimu was a regular here and knew where the most wood could be found. He led Li Long and the others to a spot in the ravine and pointed under the snow

"There was a flood in the autumn. A lot of wood washed down there; you can take a look."

Tao Daqiang immediately went over and brushed away the snow. Sure enough, a pile of branches of various sizes lay there.

Soon, a large pile of wood had accumulated by the carriage. Li Long then hauled the frozen sheep over and placed it on the carriage, then led the horse over, hitched the carriage, and loaded it up.

Finally, after securing the wood with ropes, Harimu led Li Long and the others back into the yurt for more milk tea. After taking the antlers, he saw them off.

By then, the sun was already beginning to set.

"Brother Long, this trip was a huge haul!" Tao Daqiang said excitedly. "Just this wood alone will last a long time!"

"Yeah, it's a pity the coal is so far away, otherwise getting some coal would have been even better." Li Long was still somewhat unsatisfied.

Both were walking on foot, and though they left deep and shallow tracks in the snow, both were in high spirits.

Li Long calculated silently in his head: the two sets of antlers together weighed about six or seven kilograms; selling them for ten yuan shouldn't be a problem.

A frozen sheep weighed about fifteen or sixteen kilograms; after removing the skin and organs, there would be about ten kilograms left. With mutton at 1.2 yuan, that was another dozen yuan or so.

The firewood was extra. If they could get more frozen sheep tomorrow, their income over these few days would be higher than a city worker's monthly salary!

The key was that this was sustainable work!

As long as they worked diligently throughout the winter, by spring, they would have enough saved to buy a bicycle!

Though surrounded by white snow, Li Long saw hope in his eyes.

The hope of a better life!

(End of Chapter)