After a busy half-day, the entire roe deer was finally dissected. The meat was chopped into pieces and placed in a ceramic basin on the side. As for the hide, it was hardly presentable. The whole hide was relatively intact, but the incisions were crooked and there were many damages. Even if it were sold, it wouldn't fetch a good price.
"What a pity, if Butcher Zhang had handled it, he wouldn't have wasted the hide."
Lower River Village's only butcher was surnamed Zhang. He had just been here for the feast, and Zhong Lin was too lazy to call him for help.
"Go, light the fire."
Although he was very tired and wanted to sleep, Little Stone obediently went to light the fire.
He also knew that the purpose of lighting the fire was to smoke the roe deer meat a bit, so that it could be preserved for a longer time.
While Little Stone was lighting the fire, Zhong Lin ran outside to a nearby hill to chop some pine and cypress branches to bring back.
The sun had completely set, and there was no afterglow left, only a few stars in the sky. However, the moon was very bright, its silvery-white light coldly spreading over the earth, enabling Zhong Lin to barely make out his path in the night.
Due to a lack of nutrition, this body obviously suffered from night blindness, becoming nearly blind at night. This was why the villagers of Lower River Village believed Zhong Lin had died in the Black Mountain.
Being unable to see at night, surviving a night in Black Mountain was considered lucky, let alone surviving three nights.
If it weren't for the bright moonlight tonight, coupled with the short distance, Zhong Lin wouldn't have come out.
He pulled a machete from his waist and chopped down the pine and cypress branches. Soon, he was carrying a large bundle of branches back.
Little Stone had already lit the fire, sitting on a small stool yawning, waiting for Zhong Lin. His big head nodded like a pecking insect, making one feel a strange sense of amusement upon seeing it.
"You go to sleep first, leave the rest to me."
Insufficient sleep is not good for a child's development, especially since Little Stone was already severely malnourished. Zhong Lin didn't want to leave him with any long-term effects.
"Okay, second brother, you should rest early too."
Zhong Shi stood up, yawning, and went to the main room to sleep. Zhong Lin then closed the door and tossed the pine and cypress branches onto the fire. A moment later, thick white smoke rose up, enveloping the pieces of meat hanging above the beams.
Smoking meat was an ancient method of preserving it. If they could have added a bit of salt to the meat and some grapefruit peels to the fire, it would have been even better, but unfortunately, conditions did not allow for it.
After about an hour, Zhong Lin, yawning continuously, turned and went back to the main room to sleep, not caring whether the smoking was done.
Previously, it was mentioned that the original person's mother died early, leaving three men to live together barely concerned with comfort. As long as they survived, it was enough.
So, upon entering the main room, one immediately saw the adobe bed built in the southwest corner with straw and clay. A layer of "soft padding" made of straw stretched across the bed. Little Stone was fast asleep, wrapped in a blanket made from hemp cloth of unknown age, body curled up, muttering something in his sleep, lost in some dream.
It was fortunate it was just the beginning of autumn and the weather was just starting to cool. Otherwise, this environment would likely not withstand the winter.
Zhong Lin yawned and lay down on the straw-padded "soft padding," quickly falling asleep amid the rustling sound in his ears.
The day had been too eventful – crossing over, hunting, killing...
In the past life, one could live twenty or thirty years and never experience even one of these things.
Zhong Lin woke up in the morning because of a pressing need to urinate, and for some reason, he spent the whole night dreaming of rowing a boat in the sea, unable to row out.
"Damn, still wetting the bed at this age?"
Little Stone's face turned red as he loudly defended himself, "It wasn't me."
"If it wasn't you, was it me? I mean, why was I dreaming of rowing a boat all night? Turns out it was because of you, you little rascal. At this age, you still wet the bed. How will you propose to a wife in the future? Don't let a puddle scare off your bride-to-be." Zhong Lin mocked.
Little Stone turned his head away in anger, ignoring Zhong Lin. Yet his ears, almost transparent with redness, amused Zhong Lin greatly.
After a bit of playing around, the two got up, fetched a basin of clean water to wash their faces and rinse their mouths, then reheated and continued eating the leftover "Golden Chicken Crowing at the Moon" from yesterday.
Despite eating such greasy food early in the morning, the two weren't put off in the slightest. Their bodies were starved of fat, with every cell crying out for meat.
"Stone, later go chop some more pine and cypress branches to keep smoking the meat. I've got something to take care of outside." Zhong Lin put down his bowl and gave instructions.
There were pine and cypress trees behind the house, and smoking meat wasn't a complicated task. It was something he could do himself as a child.
"Okay, second brother, come back early." Little Stone wasn't mad at Zhong Lin anymore. Brothers fighting and making up was quite normal.
Zhong Lin stood up, hung the machete at his waist, and stepped out the door.
"The knife, second brother, the knife."
"Oh! You can use the kitchen knife to chop, I still need the machete."
Need it indeed. With his thin arms and legs, a couple of meals weren't going to recover his strength. He had offended most of the Lower River Village yesterday, and not carrying a blade outside was simply unsafe. He even strapped the ox-horn bow on his back. Compared to the machete, Zhong Lin trusted his Full-Level Bow Technique more.
"Uncle Cauliflower, heading out?"
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Uncle Cauliflower, who lived not far from his own house. He was one of the villagers who came to feast yesterday.
Uncle Cauliflower also saw Zhong Lin. His footsteps, initially moving forward, suddenly froze, unsure whether to continue or retreat. But it was too late, so he forced a smile and greeted Zhong Lin.
"Th-that... oh it's you, Big Lin! Yes, heading... heading out to the fields. Are you going hunting?"
The expression on his face could not be more awkward, uncertain whether to smile or cry. Yesterday, Zhong Lin's unhesitating knife strike had frightened him, not to mention the heartache from the large coin given as funeral money when leaving.
"Not going hunting, I'm going to Zhang Kun's house for a look," Zhong Lin replied with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Cauliflower's face turned pale, feeling even more uncomfortable and increasingly fearful of Zhong Lin.
Yesterday he had made a big cut on the person's chest, and today he's heading to their house — is he planning to leave them no way out?
As Zhong Lin talked, he continued striding towards the western end of the village, greeting the villagers he encountered along the way.
But all their gazes toward Zhong Lin had changed from what they were previously as "Big Lin," now becoming tinged with a bit of fear, just like towards Zhang Kun before.