Lady Lu now witnessed Chen Mo's ruthlessness and was finally too scared to curse,
staring wide-eyed as Chen Mo left, not daring to let out even a fart.
Seeing this scene, Han Anniang, although worried for Chen Mo, felt inexplicably relieved.
...
At noon, Han Anniang cooked noodles made from cornmeal.
The taste wasn't great, but to Chen Mo, who was used to eating coarse grains every day, it was a delicacy.
Chen Mo's bowl was almost entirely filled with chunks of meat.
The pork noodles were mostly meat, with few noodles, and a few pieces of wild vegetables floating on top.
Chen Mo ate heartily, slurping the soup.
Seeing Chen Mo eat so enjoyably, Han Anniang told him to eat slowly and not to choke.
[Meat consumption +0.05, Blood Nourishing Technique experience +0.05.]
[Meat consumption +0.05, Blood Nourishing Technique experience +0.05.]
...
Chen Mo directly brought his Blood Nourishing Technique experience up to (Entry Level 75/100).
After eating, to aid digestion, Chen Mo walked back and forth in the courtyard. Once his stomach settled, he picked up meat and ate again, clearly wanting to reach 100 on his Blood Nourishing Technique as soon as possible.
Han Anniang was a bit worried seeing this scene. Chen Mo's appetite had increased greatly recently; not that she was stingy with the food, but she was afraid he might have some strange disease that made him eat so much.
However, seeing Chen Mo full of life, she could only keep her worry to herself.
As it neared dusk.
The cold wind howled outside. After dinner, the two huddled by the kitchen stove for warmth. Chen Mo brought a piece of bluestone inside and was sharpening the ax a bit more.
Han Anniang got a small bench, sat next to him, and sewed Chen Mo's clothes by the firelight, occasionally lifting her hand to scratch her scalp with the needle, presenting a very warm scene.
A solitary man and woman, in a room alone, as he sharpened, Chen Mo's heart ignited again as he glanced at Han Anniang.
Under the illumination of the firelight, Han Anniang's forehead was covered in fine sweat. She had a delicate face, but her skin wasn't pale and even had some freckles on it.
Understandably, a woman who manages household chores every day, no matter how pretty, would become coarse over time.
But her figure was great; barely twenty-something, her body like a ripe peach, exuding the charms of a mature woman.
In simple terms, she was like a slender branch bearing rich fruit.
Chen Mo felt as if a cat's paw was scratching at his heart until Han Anniang noticed him and called him Uncled, which made him calm down a bit.
Chen Mo found that this current body was even more vigorous than his previous one.
"Everyone, come out."
"Shi Tou's mother, come out quickly, something's happened to Shi Tou..."
At that moment, a clamor arose outside the house.
Han Anniang put down what she was holding, and Chen Mo picked up the ax to go out and see what was happening.
At the head of the village, they saw a group of men carrying their hunted prey into the village.
The entire village came out to watch.
"They really caught something."
"What a big deer, must be two to three hundred pounds; Xi really has skills."
"Er Gou has talent; this is a roe deer, right?"
"Mom, I'm back."
"My son also caught something..."
"It's all thanks to Wang Xi. Mom, from now on, I'll stick with Wang Xi..."
The scene was chaotic, but where there was joy, there was also sorrow.
An elderly woman trembled as she walked over, holding the body carried back by the villagers, shivering violently and crying in grief:
"Shi Tou, you... What's happened to you, Shi Tou, my Shi Tou, wake up, Shi Tou..."
This time, although they hunted prey, some had died.
A fellow villager, Zhang Lei, was bitten to death by a tiger on the mountain, and two were injured.
Seeing Aunt Zhang weeping bitterly, the crowd suddenly fell silent.
"Aunt Zhang, Shi Tou was a man; if he hadn't distracted the tiger, we wouldn't have been able to catch this spotted deer."
This time hunting on the mountain was fruitful; besides catching a spotted deer and a silly roe deer, there were several wild chickens and hares.
Wang Xi cut a hind leg of the spotted deer and gave it to Aunt Zhang, saying, "Although Shi Tou is gone, this leg is what he deserves."
As he spoke, Wang Xi waved to Liu Ergou, who brought over a hare and also gave it to Aunt Zhang, saying, "Shi Tou was like a brother to me. Now that he's gone, I am very saddened. I'm personally compensating with a hare for his family, hoping that Shi Tou can find peace wherever he is."
"Wang Xi is righteous," Liu Ergou shouted.
"Wang Xi, we'll stick with you from now on," someone echoed.
People's joys and sorrows are not the same.
Just a moment ago, they pitied Zhang Lei's death and Aunt Zhang.
But now, seeing Aunt Zhang share a leg of the spotted deer and a hare, they felt envy and even a bit of jealousy.
So much meat; it could last a long time.
At this moment, they'd forgotten that it cost Aunt Zhang her son's life to obtain this.
Once the meat was distributed, the atmosphere became lively.
The villagers ignored Aunt Zhang, who had lost her son, and instead asked Wang Xi if they had a share.
"Everyone, quiet down, quiet down."
Wang Xi coughed twice, then loudly said, "It's too late today; tomorrow morning, everyone who contributed will get five pounds of meat each, and the injured will get an extra pound. Their families can come eat meat at my house tomorrow morning, and it won't count toward the distributed meat; it'll be on me, whether it's adults or children.
Of course, those who didn't contribute, don't even think about it."
Saying this, his gaze swept directly onto Chen Mo in the crowd, and he added, "Except for Anniang."
"Oh, Wang Xi has taken a liking to Mrs. Han," Liu Ergou jeered from the side.
"Uncle, let's go," Han Anniang said coldly, pulling Chen Mo away, afraid that he would start a fight with them.
Chen Mo glanced at his cultivation panel. Blood Nourishing Technique (79.5/100), clenched his fist, almost there.
...
Early the next morning.
Wang Xi set up a large pot at his doorstep and put all the roe deer, deer, rabbit, and wild chicken meat into the pot to stew.
Before long, the fragrance from the pot spread throughout the village.
Many villagers who weren't qualified to share the meat or eat it were also drawn over.
As soon as enough people were around, Wang Xi distributed the meat as he had mentioned the previous night.
Fu Ze Village is a small village with less than a hundred households.
Of course, in these nearly hundred households, not every family had members who contributed, as previously, Wang Xi was considered a rascal and unreliable in the villagers' hearts, so many didn't follow him up the mountain.
Besides, there were families that didn't have any adult men.
About thirty people went hunting up the mountain yesterday.
Five pounds per person was entirely enough.
And those families that stayed behind yesterday watched this scene and couldn't help but swallow their saliva, all deeply regretting not agreeing to join Wang Xi earlier.
Wang Xi knew that his plan was already half completed.
He looked at the bystander villagers and said, "We're all neighbours; I don't want to be stingy. So, tomorrow I plan to go up the mountain again. If anyone wants to join me, they and their families can come eat meat now; it'll be on me."
"I'm willing."
"Wang Xi, I want to join you."
"Me too."
...