Inside the room, Mrs. Wang lowered her voice unhappily and said to the village chief, "What are you thinking? How could you agree with the second lady's idea? You know how troublesome that old woman from her family is. If she finds out, neither the second lady nor her mother will have a good time!"
The village chief took the tobacco pipe hanging from his waist, filled it with tobacco, lit it with a flint, and took a deep puff, exhaling two streams of white smoke from his nose.
"I know about it, but this isn't as simple as you say. Even if the second lady and her mother comply with everything Old Chen wants, they still don't have a good life. They suffer hardships and exhaustion day after day, and that old woman looks down on them. This isn't something the second lady and her mother can change by putting up with and complying with Old Chen."
Taking another puff of smoke, the village chief tapped the tobacco pipe and continued, "The few families in the village who occasionally help the second lady and her mother are kind-hearted, but no matter how kind, if they always give without return, it's fine for a short period. However, over time, anyone would feel uneasy.
The second lady and her mother want a better life, and they need the support of the villagers! Relying on Old Qin's family is not enough. If it weren't for people like Aunt Hao watching over them and helping, who knows how Old Chen would have tormented the second lady and Mrs. Bai!
It's rare for a young girl like the second lady to be more understanding than anyone else, not stingy with food, and knows how to repay kindness. She handles things more openly than any of the adults in that family.
Now that she's shared this meat, it's entirely her own gesture of kindness. Those who receive her things will naturally be pleased, at least feeling they didn't help a thankless person, and will be more willing to lend a helping hand in the future.
Although the second lady will inevitably get scolded when she goes back, this wild boar was her own catch. Even if Old Chen is unhappy, she can't do anything to her. In the long run, it's only beneficial for the second lady!"
After hearing the village chief's words, Mrs. Wang understood, pondering her husband's words carefully, and said, "It's indeed true. Not to mention others, just take me as an example. Although I used to give her things, not expecting a child's return, it was because I felt sorry for her. She could work as hard as an adult, yet couldn't even get a full meal; it wasn't easy on me.
But today, hearing her little self offering to give me some stuff, I genuinely felt overjoyed! Not that I craved what a child could offer, but it showed she had a conscience, remembering those who treated her well, warming my heart and making me feel closer to her."
"See, if you feel that way, others will too! Now, go out quickly and help the second lady finish butchering and cleaning up the wild boar. She, as a child, won't know how to manage it."
"Alright, I'm on it!"
Outside, Qin Shuangshuang was still pestering Qin Sheng to help her slaughter the pig, but Qin Sheng was firm, refusing to relent. It wasn't until the village chief and Mrs. Wang finished their conversation and came out to speak that Qin Sheng agreed to help Qin Shuangshuang butcher the pig.
Mrs. Wang, Qin Sheng, the village chief, and Qin Shuangshuang worked for more than an hour to completely clean the wild boar.
Then it was time to divide the meat. Qin Shuangshuang gave the pig's head and blood to the village chief's family because the village chief loved pig head meat and blood tofu.
Qin Sheng got all the pig offal, as he loved it most and had a special talent for cooking it. Whether it was the pig's heart, lungs, liver, stomach, or intestines, the dishes he prepared were so delicious they could make people's jaws drop.
The remaining meat was divided by Qin Sheng into large chunks of about four pounds each, and Qin Shuangshuang took them to the homes of those who had been kind to her and her mother, leaving them without giving anyone a chance to refuse.
The entire morning, Qin Shuangshuang was busy butchering, cleaning, and delivering meat. By the time she finished, the two hundred plus pounds of wild boar meat had turned into a pile of bones and less than a hundred pounds of meat.
Qin Shuangshuang wasn't distressed about the remaining meat; it was still a lot, a large bundle big enough to be impressive. Lifting the remaining meat onto her shoulder, she bid farewell to the village chief and Mrs. Wang and happily headed home.
As she walked, Qin Shuangshuang pondered what meat dish to make for lunch. It was early spring, a time of scarcity without any vegetables, so meat stewed with cabbage would be ideal. However, she shouldn't put too much meat, as her mother was weak and a sudden heavy intake could upset her stomach.
Instead, she should simmer a pot of bone broth on the stove until evening, so that all the nutrition would be extracted, perfect for nourishing her mother!
In her past life, Qin Shuangshuang moved between wealthy families and saw many of their health maintenance practices, which mostly consisted of soups and porridge.
Lost in thought, as Qin Shuangshuang approached her home from afar, she was spotted by the Eldest Lady playing at the doorstep with Si Lang and Wu Lang. The wild boar meat on Qin Shuangshuang's small shoulder was red and white, standing out vividly.
The Eldest Lady and Si Lang, Wu Lang's eyes lit up at the sight of this massive chunk of meat, and they ran to Qin Shuangshuang. Si Lang and Wu Lang were a bit afraid of their usually cold little sister, so they hesitated to approach.
But the Eldest Lady wasn't afraid of Qin Shuangshuang. Looking at the large piece of meat on Qin Shuangshuang's shoulder, almost covering her completely, her face was full of astonishment, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Second lady, where did you get so much meat?!"
Maybe because they're both girls, the Eldest Lady always had a good impression of her cousin Qin Shuangshuang. Although she has a formidable mother, unfortunately, Little Chen, like her Aunt Old Chen, favors boys over girls. So at home, the Eldest Lady was only ensured not to starve or die of hunger.
In the past life, the Eldest Lady's fate wasn't great either. Not even fifteen, she was married off by Little Chen to a widower over forty as a second wife, just because he paid a sky-high bride price of forty taels of silver!
Qin Shuangshuang had no ill feelings towards the Eldest Lady. In this life, she was too busy clinging to her mother, Mrs. Bai, to interact much with the Eldest Lady.
But she always remembered that after Mrs. Bai passed away in her past life, whenever she was too hungry to bear, only the Eldest Lady, who also hardly had enough to eat, was willing to occasionally share her food secretly!
Seeing the Eldest Lady looking at the meat on her shoulder with sparkling eyes, Qin Shuangshuang felt a moment of softness in her heart, and said with a smile, "I got lucky today, ran into a wild boar on the mountain, and asked Uncle Qiu Sheng to help slaughter and process it. I gave some away, and these are for us to eat at home!"
As Qin Shuangshuang mentioned that the meat was for them to eat at home, not only the Eldest Lady but even Si Lang and Wu Lang's eyes brightened, and they subtly swallowed their saliva.
Among them, the Eldest Lady was the happiest. She knew her cousin was quite formidable, and if she said it was for their family to eat, it surely wouldn't be sold off by their grandmother.
Although eating at home meant she might not get more than a few bites, even drinking some broth or smelling the aroma of meat would be enough. Usually, outside of holidays, their family wouldn't even see the shadow of meat!
As the children chatted happily with Qin Shuangshuang, a cold snort suddenly came from behind her!