Chapter 224: Chapter 224: Xu Lao’er Steals a Pheasant, Spicy Cold Rabbit

Gu Qinghuan was feeling a bit down when suddenly, Xu Huaian nudged her arm, signaling for her to turn around.

When Gu Qinghuan looked back, she saw the little lamb following them step by step, not the least bit afraid, its clear eyes shining like glass.

Xu Huaian said softly, “Let’s take it with us. If we leave it here, it’s only a matter of time before it dies. If you like it, we can just keep it. It’s not like we can’t afford to feed one more mouth.”

Gu Qinghuan nodded. “Alright.”

She had felt sorry for the mother sheep’s pitiful gaze and couldn’t bear to take its baby away too. But thinking about it, wasn’t it actually safer in the space than outside? No predators, plenty of food and drink.

After this experience, she couldn’t bring herself to eat these two sheep anymore. She’d just keep them for now.

The little lamb was finally reunited with its mother in the space. The two snuggled together, curiously checking out their “new home.” There was no endless snow, just open space, and in the distance, they could even see others of their kind. They finally relaxed.

Gu Qinghuan and Xu Huaian found two more traps, but only caught a wild pheasant—not much, but better than nothing.

Once they collected the last trap, they could head down the mountain.

As they neared the first trap, they saw a figure from a distance.

Xu Huaian strode over quickly.

“Xu Lao’er? Put down that pheasant!”

The figure was none other than Xu Lao’er, the village rascal who used to bully Lin Xiaomeng—the same guy who’d lost his luck to her.

Ever since Lin Xiaomeng took his luck, his life had gone downhill. He used to get by on petty theft, but now, every time he tried to steal, he’d get caught red-handed or get a scolding, sometimes even a beating.

Trouble, big and small, kept piling up in his life.

After winter started, even the grain he was allotted got eaten by mice. He had to tighten his belt and borrow coarse grains from the village just to get by.

But for the past half month, he felt like his luck wasn’t as bad as before.

Today, craving some meat and seeing the weather was good, he’d come up the mountain to try his luck.

He hadn’t been up long when he found someone else’s trap—with a pheasant caught in it.

This was a real treat.

He quickly took it, thinking his luck had finally turned.

But just as he did, the owner of the trap showed up.

He wanted meat so badly, and being a rascal by nature, he just spread his hands and said, “What makes you think this pheasant is yours? I caught it myself!”

He was lying through his teeth—the trap still had the pheasant’s blood on it, and it was obvious he’d just pulled the bird out.

“Xu Lao’er, that’s our trap. If you want to eat, go set your own,” Gu Qinghuan said, catching up.

“How do you prove this trap is yours?” Xu Lao’er’s eyes fell on Gu Qinghuan, and he was stunned by her beauty. His gaze became more and more suggestive.

How had he never noticed before? This little educated youth was getting prettier by the day—even when angry, she looked amazing. She was even prettier than Lin Xiaomeng, but unfortunately, she was already taken.

Xu Huaian didn’t miss the lecherous glint in Xu Lao’er’s eyes. A fire burned in his chest, threatening to consume him.

This bastard!

He didn’t bother arguing. In three quick strides, he kicked Xu Lao’er hard, sending him sprawling face-first into the snow, clutching his stomach and howling.

The pheasant slipped from Xu Lao’er’s grasp, flapping on the ground, but its leg was hurt and it couldn’t fly.

Gu Qinghuan hurried over to catch it and collected the trap as well.

Her man was just too cool—this was exactly how to deal with people like Xu Lao’er. No point in talking, just beat him into submission!

Xu Huaian’s fists landed on Xu Lao’er like drumbeats. He held back a little, only giving him superficial injuries, nothing serious.

Otherwise, with Xu Lao’er’s scrawny frame, one punch might’ve broken his bones.

Xu Lao’er was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face.

“I already gave you the pheasant… Why are you still hitting me?!”

Xu Huaian was a madman!

If he’d known, he wouldn’t have messed with him.

But the lure of the pheasant was just too great, and for a moment, he’d forgotten how strong Xu Huaian was.

“Huaian, let’s go,” Gu Qinghuan called out when she saw Xu Lao’er had had enough.

“Alright, got it,” Xu Huaian replied loudly.

He bent down and whispered fiercely in Xu Lao’er’s ear, “Xu Lao’er, do you want to keep your eyes? You’d better not have any dirty thoughts about my wife, or you won’t live to see tomorrow. I mean it.”

Xu Lao’er was so frightened by his expression that he was speechless.

So he got beaten up just for looking at Gu Qinghuan? He really shouldn’t have stolen that glance.

Damn, it hurt so much—beauty truly brings disaster.

Xu Huaian returned to Gu Qinghuan’s side, calm as ever, as if nothing had happened. He naturally took the things from her hands.

Gu Qinghuan praised him without hesitation, “Nice job! That’s exactly how you deal with scoundrels like him.”

Xu Huaian nodded, pleased.

When they reached a secluded spot at the foot of the mountain, they took out the basket of rabbits from the space. Xu Huaian slung it on his back, along with the pheasant.

There were also a few wild pheasants, but Gu Qinghuan just left those in the space for now.

The basket was already quite full.

Gu Qinghuan covered the top with some firewood for disguise, and the two hurried home.

They had fourteen rabbits in total. Xu Huaian skinned them all, saving the pelts to make clothes for his wife—both warm and good-looking.

He and his future father-in-law really were two of a kind.

As for the skinned rabbit meat, Gu Qinghuan kept seven, freezing them outside for easy access.

The other seven she butchered and chopped into pieces, planning to make spicy cold rabbit overnight.

This dish keeps well and, best of all, tastes great even without reheating. It goes perfectly with steamed buns or rice.

Since there were so many rabbits, everyone helped out—some chopping, some prepping ingredients.

The rabbit pieces were washed several times to remove the blood and drained well, otherwise they’d splatter in the hot oil.

First, she marinated them with cooking wine, scallion segments, ginger slices, pepper, and salt.

She cut the dried chilies into pieces and soaked them in warm water.

Once everything was ready, it was time to fry.

She had to use a lot of oil for this dish. Gu Qinghuan did it in seven batches, one rabbit at a time—any more and it wouldn’t cook evenly and might burn.

She tossed the rabbit meat into the oil, stirring constantly. At first, the oil turned yellow, but she didn’t rush—she kept stirring until the oil turned clear again and the yellow color disappeared.

Once the oil was clear, she added the drained chili pieces, stir-fried them, then added Sichuan peppercorns, frying until fragrant, then chili powder.

When the color turned a bright, glossy red, she added sugar, tasted for seasoning, and added more salt, Chinese five-spice, and Sichuan pepper oil as needed.

Finally, she tossed in minced garlic, gave it a few quick stirs, and it was done.

As soon as the first batch was ready, everyone crowded around, eager to try it—the aroma was just too tempting.

The finished dish was bright and glossy, crisp and not mushy, spicy and numbing with a hint of sweetness, the meat firm and chewy, and the aftertaste lingering.

That was everyone’s verdict.

Actually, it wasn’t even at its best right out of the pan—it would taste even better after sitting overnight."