Chapter 111: The Gentle Mother Departs

Zhang Guoqing returned to the well with a bamboo basket full of wild pheasants and rabbits. He used hot water to pluck their feathers and cleaned out the innards, leaving four chickens aside and quickly stringing up the rest with rope to hang under the eaves of the west wing. The wild eggs he placed in the small sitting room.

He planned to cook one pheasant a day for Zhou Jiao, stewing it directly on the stove for her. The rabbits were just for a change of flavor for Jiaojiao.

He took the four chickens outside and brought back four large balls of clay, which he casually placed in the two stove holes. It just so happened that tonight the family needed two pots to braise pig’s head, tail, trotters, and knuckles. By the time the pig’s head was done, the Beggar’s Chicken would be ready too.

Luckily, his mother wasn’t around, or she’d scold him for being wasteful again. Xizi had been following him, watching his uncle roast the chickens in the fire, waiting in the kitchen.

After grabbing some clothes and taking a bath, Zhang Guoqing returned to his bedroom. Seeing Zhou Jiao and his mother-in-law, he smiled and said, “Mom, tonight I’ll sleep with my son in the outer room, and you can sleep here with your daughter and have a good chat.”

Zhou Jiao laughed, “Sure, Mom can keep me company. Besides, Ping’an needs his formula in the middle of the night. Let him secretly spoil his own son.”

“Jiaojiao, once you finish your confinement, I’ll take you to the forest. There are so many medicinal herbs there I don’t even recognize, and you can still find lots of mushrooms. You have no idea how easy it is to get those wild pheasants and rabbits—I just toss a stone and hit them. There are plenty of wild eggs too; I brought some back for you, but not too many in case they break. The deeper you go, the more rabbits there are, and even some silly mushrooms. You can even see deer tracks by the creek. And that’s not even deep in the mountains yet.”

Zhang Guoqing excitedly shared his stories from the mountains, including his wild boar hunt. The mother and daughter listened with great interest, occasionally exclaiming in wonder, their faces full of longing.

Zhou Jiao said regretfully, “If only I weren’t in confinement, I’d go with you.”

After sighing, she remembered the packages he brought back. “Brother, where did you get those packages and bags you brought home? They’re all such good furs and fine liquor.”

Zhang Guoqing slapped his forehead, chuckling as he found the largest parcel and began unpacking it piece by piece.

“I forgot all about it when I saw you. On my way back from the county, I took a detour to track down these things. Took a lot of talking. These two wolf pelts are specially for Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa’s always rubbing his knees these days, and in winter, sleeping on wolf fur keeps the cold away. I went out of my way to find them. Only Grandpa Wang in the neighboring village had pelts this big, so I wrangled them from him.

I’ve had my eye on them ever since he killed the wolf king. When I was a kid, I often went to his house with Grandpa, so I know how skilled he is and how much he’s stashed away. This time, I went straight to his door. First, I told him my son was born, and he gave me two wolf teeth for good luck. Then I shamelessly pestered him until he finally, bit by bit, handed over the two biggest wolf pelts. That liquor is tiger bone wine, packed in this jug so it won’t break.

Mom, he also has a tiger pelt at home, but no matter what, he wouldn’t give it up. Looks like he’s saving it as a family heirloom. What a pity.” Zhang Guoqing sighed, clearly disappointed—he really liked that tiger pelt, and knew Jiaojiao would have cried and begged for it if she saw it.

“The rest I bought from others. These furs are for you, Mom. And these two ginseng roots are the biggest I could find. Mom, you take one and decide how to split it. We’ll keep one as a backup. Before New Year, there was a big hunt in the village, and we went deep into the mountains. If we’re lucky next time, we might find more.” Seeing his mother-in-law hesitate, Zhang Guoqing quickly tried to persuade her.

Lin Lishan looked at the two ginseng roots, each at least a hundred years old, and knew they must have cost a fortune. “If you already have some, then I’ll accept these. But Xiao Wu, if it’s dangerous in the mountains, you mustn’t go. A wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. You have a son now, and our family isn’t short of money—there’s no need to risk your life. Understand? If you nod, I’ll take it as a promise. But, Xiao Wu, how much did these two cost? They must be expensive. These are century-old ginseng roots, you can hardly find them on the market.”

Zhang Guoqing grinned and held up two fingers. “Six hundred yuan for both. One family asked for three hundred, and I just gave three hundred to the other. In the city, one would cost at least five hundred. Pretty cheap, right? If it were more, I wouldn’t have bought them. We hunters often go together, so we all know each other. If they have too much, they can’t sell it all anyway.”

Lin Lishan nodded. “Without connections, you’d never get that price. You must be running low on money after all this. Since I’m leaving tomorrow, I’ll give you all the tickets and cash I have left. Use it without worry. When I come back, I’ll bring more money and we’ll buy a house in the county. We’ll go look at houses together. Use what you have for now, we’re not short of money, so don’t worry.”

She took out her loose bills, remittance certificates, and cash from her bag. Counting it, she had over three hundred yuan. She took out three hundred, plus the remittance slips and tickets, and put them all in the drawer, keeping only a little pocket money for herself.

Zhang Guoqing quickly took the money and tickets out again. “Mom, we still have money. No need to rush. Why keep pushing it back and forth? You only have me and Jiaojiao, we’re not going to be polite with you. Listen, keep the tickets with you—they’re good for the train and in Beijing. You can’t just arrive and ask Grandma for money, right? Take them back this time, and leave the provincial tickets with me. As for money, we really don’t need it.” He looked to Zhou Jiao for help.

Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but laugh. “Mom, take the money with you. Didn’t you say you’d buy me a cashmere coat? I have enough for now, and when you come back, you can help me buy a house in the county.”

Lin Lishan thought for a moment, then nodded, separating enough tickets for her train trip and putting the rest in the drawer. She only had one daughter and son-in-law, so there was no need to stand on ceremony.

“These tickets will last me three days. Back home, I won’t need them anyway—meals and lodging are covered at the canteen and at home. You two use what you have, and when your dad comes back, there’ll be more.”

“I know, don’t worry. If I really run out of money, I won’t ask you for it. You’ll be back in a few days anyway, and if you can’t get leave, I’ll come to Beijing to find you. I have your address and phone number, so don’t do anything rash—if you don’t get approval, don’t just follow Dad there.” Zhou Jiao looked helplessly at her mother’s worried face.

Lin Lishan patted her daughter’s head, delighted. “I’ll definitely get leave. Even if I go abroad, I’ll find a way—your aunt can write me a sick note. Besides, you’re about to give birth, and my leave is officially approved. If it weren’t for worrying that your grandpa would brag in the compound, I could have said you hadn’t given birth yet, so I’d still be on maternity watch.”

Seeing he wasn’t needed, Zhang Guoqing left the women in the room and took the parcel skins outside to find his mother. These furs were all valuable—he still needed them to wrap up the wild boar meat."