Chapter 306
However, dealing with the skins of over twenty wolves was indeed a troublesome task. As it was getting late, Zhang Tiewa, worried that Jiang Yexun and Su Hongchen might oversleep the next day, whispered to him, “Brother Ye, you and Brother Chen should go home and rest first. Sister-in-law and Aunt Guo must be worried sick at home. I’ll personally take care of the skinning here and ensure that the pelts aren’t damaged.”
“Thank you,” Jiang Yexun said, nodding apologetically to Zhang Tiewa before preparing to leave. But just then, his father squeezed through the crowd, glaring at him with dissatisfaction. “Are you burning through money? What use is such ugly fur? If you don’t want the wolf meat, you should at least give it to me as a sign of filial piety.”
Jiang Yexun’s eyes darkened with a cold and sarcastic look as he stared at Jiang Guoli. “You have other sons, don’t you? If you want to eat meat, let them show you filial piety.”
“If your big brother had any, I would certainly make him give it to me. But since he doesn’t, and you do, are you really going to deny your father a little meat?” Jiang Guoli puffed out his chest, speaking with an air of entitlement.
Under normal circumstances, people would start chiming in, supporting Jiang Guoli’s stance. But Jiang Yexun was different. He had always been a notorious troublemaker in the village, and after marrying Su Xiaoxiao, he had become even more formidable. Those who had crossed Jiang Yexun and Su Xiaoxiao before never ended well. Only a fool would dare provoke these two.
But Jiang Guoli wasn’t thinking that far ahead. He had assumed most of the villagers would back him up. After waiting a while, he realized the silence was only broken by the sound of the wind. He turned around to see the crowd staring back at him with a mixture of fear and discomfort, each of them taking a step back as if avoiding a plague. His lips twitched in frustration, and then he heard his son’s mocking laughter behind him. Shame and anger made him wish he could bury himself in the ground.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Jiang Yexun put away his rifle and left with Su Hongchen. As they walked, Su Hongchen glanced at him and curiously asked, “Are you really planning to have your parents divorce?”
“Yes. In a few years, when the conditions improve, I plan to take my mother and Xiaoxiao to Shanghai. It’s a promise I made to her. But my father is troublesome. He has another son, a daughter-in-law, two grandsons, and they’re all demanding and shameless. I don’t want Xiaoxiao to get angry or my mother to suffer because of them.”
Jiang Yexun explained in detail, fearing that his brother-in-law might think he was being heartless. But after Su Hongchen had seen the sort of people Jiang Yexun’s family was, he was even more determined to keep his sister away from them. Now, hearing Jiang Yexun’s plan, he felt reassured.
As they reached home, they immediately began moving the water jar covering the cellar. The moment they exposed the lid, Jiang Yexun wasted no time, removing the wooden cover and jumping down into the cellar. Even before he landed, he saw his mother and fiancée staring at him with wide eyes.
As soon as Su Xiaoxiao saw him, she rushed over, “Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
Her small hands hurriedly patted his body, checking him over for any injuries. Even though there were thick layers of winter clothing between them, Jiang Yexun felt as if he were being burned by her touch, his breathing becoming slightly heavier.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Jiang Yexun said, pulling the anxious girl into his arms and planting a light kiss on her forehead.
When Su Hongchen landed in the cellar and saw them, he nearly exploded with anger, his eyes nearly shooting flames as he stared at the embracing couple.
He coughed loudly after landing. Su Xiaoxiao quickly snapped out of her daze, biting her tongue as she forced herself to step back from Jiang Yexun’s embrace. She didn’t even dare lift her head, worried that her brother might notice her flushed face and eyes.
“Brother, are you okay?” she asked in a small voice.
“Of course, I’m fine,” Su Hongchen straightened up, speaking with firm confidence. He was a soldier, after all. If he couldn’t even compare to Jiang Yexun, how could he carry out missions or protect ordinary people, especially his sister?
“By the way, a pack of wolves broke into the village. They’re all dead now. I didn’t take any wolf meat, but I did get the pelts. I’ll make two rugs for you, so you can walk around barefoot at home in the cold weather without worrying about catching a chill.”
Jiang Yexun saw the competitive look in Su Hongchen’s eyes and quickly started talking about what had happened earlier, pulling Su Xiaoxiao’s attention back to him.
As expected, Su Xiaoxiao looked up at him with wide, admiring eyes filled with joy. “Yexun, you’re the best!”
The pelts didn’t really matter; what mattered was that he didn’t bring back any wolf meat. She had no interest in eating wild carnivores. She remembered hearing before she was reborn that mountain beasts weren’t safe to eat, being full of bacteria or something like that. But Su Xiaoxiao could only think this to herself and couldn’t stop the villagers from eating it. After all, a whole pack of wolves meant a lot of meat, and no one would listen to her, even if she spoke until she was blue in the face.
“Alright, brother-in-law, you go up first. I’ll lift Xiaoxiao, and you pull her out,” Jiang Yexun said, turning to Su Hongchen.
Su Hongchen nodded, easily pulling himself out of the cellar. Jiang Yexun then bent down, lifted Su Xiaoxiao by her knees, and raised her up. Su Hongchen easily grabbed her and helped her out.
Jiang Yexun then turned to his mother. Aunt Guo shook her head and brought over a small ladder that reached her thighs. “I’ll climb out myself,” she said.
The ladder was just tall enough for her to reach her chest above the cellar. Though she would need to exert herself, Su Hongchen and Su Xiaoxiao quickly moved to support her, pulling her out safely.