Lu Zhenping closed the door, took the mutton, and was about to head towards the old yard when Zhou Jiaojiao just poked her head out to look inside the courtyard. She only saw a puddle of water on the ground and didn’t catch sight of anything else. Seeing that Lu Zhenping was leaving, she quickly turned around to stop him.
"Big brother, how much did you give to Dad and Mom? Are the rest of the at going to the production team? How many sheep did you catch?"
Lu Jiaxuan also followed up, and he did not seem to disagree with what Lu Zhenping said; but when Zhou Jiaojiao asked, he didn’t say anything.
"Can’t you see? Just this much. Apart from giving it to the production team, should I keep it for myself? If there’s nothing else, you’d better hurry back ho!"
"No, big brother, I just feel that a single goat doesn’t have that much at. It’s not easy to divide among the production team; we might as well keep it ourselves. Our two families can share it, and we can even sell the rest. There are so many people in the village, and even if we do divide it, each family won’t get much at. It’s better not to distribute it at all. Nowadays, the ga hunted from the mountains is kept by the hunters, everybody understands this unspoken rule; big brother, why are you still so stubborn about it!"
According to Zhou Jiaojiao, they should take it out and divide it between their two families, preferably giving more to the Lu family since they have more people. With a few people in the big brother’s family, and considering the weather, the mutton won’t last long before it spoils. What a waste that would be!
This wasn’t really a big deal, as everyone in Lu Family Village did the sa; it was an unwritten rule. With not much food at ho, everyone would think about hunting so ga from the mountains or gathering wild vegetables to fill their stomachs. If they caught ga, they would be loath to share it—unlike Lu Zhenping, who was eager to give it away.
To be a good person, don’t you first have to look after your own family?
Lu Zhenping turned around and gave Zhou Jiaojiao an indifferent once-over. What she said was not wrong; almost everyone in the village did the sa. But this is the countryside; if your family is in trouble, my family helps.
As neighbors for so many years, it’s impossible to clearly account for how much help one’s own family has received from others, and how much others have contributed.
"What you said makes sense. There’s not much at on one goat; it wouldn’t be enough for one person even if it was distributed. It’s better not to divide it at all. I understand your point. You guys go ahead with your work. I’ll go ho now, and later I’ll get Xiao ng to cook so at and send it over to you."
Having said his piece, Lu Zhenping, carrying the at, turned and went ho. With a "slam," he closed the door.
"Big brother, big brother, what do you an by that? Where is Jiaojiao wrong? Everyone does the sa; our hos are so poor we can barely scrape by. What kind of temper is this?"
Lu Jiaxuan, fuming, slamd the courtyard door forcefully, and Zhou Jiaojiao behind him was pale, not understanding what was wrong with what she said that could make the big brother so petty to take the at back.
To let Shen ng cook it and send it over to them—could Shen ng be so kind as to let them eat the ready-made at? Even if she had the good intention, how much at could there be? And that piece of lamb fat, such a good thing; one can use the rendered oil for cooking or making soup, it adds richness as if one could eat at every day, and just like that, it’s gone, just like that...
Zhou Jiaojiao stiffened her neck, quickened her pace, and caught up to Lu Jiaxuan, tugging at him.
"Jiaxuan, let’s go. I really didn’t expect the big brother to be so petty-minded. You’ve endured so much suffering at ho before, and as the eldest brother, he only takes care of his wife and children, not caring at all about the brotherly bond. Since he doesn’t care, we don’t need to keep trying to please him either. It’s just so lamb at; we won’t eat it. Once you get promoted, we’ll split the family, and live our own good lives."
"Hmph, Jiaojiao is right, the big brother is really becoming more and more disappointing. Let’s go back. Wife, don’t worry, I will work hard to advance and give you and our child a good life."
After saying that, both begrudgingly glanced at the firmly closed door of Da Fei’s house, then turned and went back to their own ho.
Shen ng watched as Zhenping carried the at and the suet away, and then brought it back again, looking at him puzzled.
"There isn’t much at, it might as well not be divided. We’ll make more later, just bring them a bowl then. Let’s keep this for ourselves to eat. You rest first, I’ll take the unpeeled sheep to the village chief’s house."
"Okay."
Shen ng watched him for a while, thinking he must have run into soone, otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought it back directly. But it was good that he brought it back. At the Lu Family side, she only wanted Jinghao and the child to eat the at; she didn’t want the rest of them to have any.
Zhenping neatly arranged the mutton with a kitchen knife, keeping half for himself, and removing one of the forelegs for the other half. The rest he packed into a sack, planning to ride his bicycle to his mother-in-law’s house later.
After a while, Zhenping walked out carrying a foreleg and a whole sheep. The foreleg he gave to Lu Changhong, and the entire sheep to the village chief’s house. Since the at was not plentiful, he suggested that the village’s master cook should make mutton soup the next day so that everyone could share a large pot of hot at soup.
Lu Bangde was so delighted he almost forgot his own na. During the day, he had spoken with Secretary Zhang Hongfa about inviting Zhenping for a drink soti, to probe if there was a way to get his family mbers into the army. He didn’t expect that Zhenping would co by that evening, bringing such a big sheep, allowing the villagers to enjoy at and soup. What a great person!
After finishing his tasks and freshening up, Zhenping returned to his room past ten o’clock, thinking Shen ng and the children would already be asleep. However, as soon as he pushed open the door, he was pulled inside by soone who then promptly blew out the kerosene lamp.
The room darkened instantly, and by the moonlight, he could only make out the woman in front of him who had pushed him against the door and held him down. She wore a thin layer of clothing, her hair cascading like a waterfall over his fingertips, her fragrance wafting in bursts to his nose, causing a strange tension in Zhenping’s heart.
"What are you doing?"
"Pretending, huh? I don’t believe you don’t know what I want to do. Isn’t this what you wanted?"
Shen ng leaned closer to him, blowing a breath in his ear. The man tensed up from her teasing, slightly turning his head away. She let out a sowhat triumphant laugh, her hand pressing down on the man’s and slowly exploring downwards, eventually coming to rest on the abs she had always wanted to touch.
Zhenping put up no resistance, appearing completely at her rcy. But when Shen ng repetitively touched only that little spot, he finally couldn’t bear it any longer, turned around, and pressed her against the door, taking control.
"How does it feel?"
Shen ng raised her hand and wrapped it around his neck, swallowing and saying, "Very nice."
"The person is even nicer, want to give it a try?"
Shen ng’s anxious fingers began to curl, she wanted to ’eat the at’, but she hadn’t expected that once aroused, this man’s assertiveness would be so intimidating. She involuntarily started to retreat backward.
"I, uh..."
She had barely uttered a word when Zhenping fiercely bit her lips.
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