Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Pig’s Head Meat

The next morning, He Lang borrowed a bicycle from the brigade and took Xue Yue to Yangjia Gou.

Xue Yue had always been curious why He Lang was always able to borrow a bicycle whenever he went to the brigade.

Only now did she understand that it wasn’t free. It cost ten cents each time. The brigade’s bicycles would just sit there otherwise, so it was better to earn a little money from them. Besides, not many people borrowed them anyway—aside from He Lang, it was mainly the educated youth.

As soon as Xue Yue saw Xue Xingzhou, she circled him, looking him up and down.

“Brother, you’re not hurt, are you?”

Xue Xingzhou chuckled at her antics. “No, I shot it with a bow and arrow. I just finished it off with my knife at the end.”

Xue Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then her expression turned fierce. “Did you go into the deep mountains?” she demanded of Xue Xingzhou. “How else could you have hunted a wild boar?”

Xue Xingzhou cleared his throat and glanced guiltily at He Lang.

“He Lang, thank you for yesterday.”

He Lang chuckled. “What’s there to be polite about between us?”

Xue Yue didn’t press her brother further about the deep mountains. But when she went inside and saw the boar’s head on the floor, she jumped in fright.

“It’s dead!” He Lang said, a teasing look on his face.

Xue Yue shot him a glare and patted her chest. ’Good heavens, even though I know it’s dead, it’s still terrifying to look at.’

Xue Xingzhou came into the house too.

“You two should stay for lunch. We can braise this boar’s head. I’ve already divided the rest of the meat, so you can take half back with you.”

Xue Yue tilted her head, giving Xue Xingzhou a sidelong glance. “Of course,” she said with a pout. “I’ll take all of it and won’t leave you a single scrap. That’s what you get for not listening to me.”

Xue Xingzhou said with a smile, “Alright, it’s all yours.”

“Hmph.”

Xue Yue took out the cotton-padded jacket she had made for Xue Xingzhou. “Brother, look! It’s a new padded jacket I made for you.”

Xue Xingzhou glanced at it and nodded. “Not bad. It looks nice and thick.”

“Of course it is! And look, my mother-in-law even sewed two pockets on it. Aren’t they nice?”

Xue Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say *you* made it for me? How did your mother-in-law get involved?”

Xue Yue glared at him. “We made it together, so what? Do you want it or not? If you don’t, I’ll just give it to He Lang.”

He Lang nodded. “If Brother doesn’t want it, you can give it to me. Then I’ll have two to rotate.”

Xue Xingzhou quickly snatched it away, not forgetting to shoot He Lang a sidelong glance.

“In your dreams. My sister made this for me.”

His antics made both He Lang and Xue Yue burst out laughing.

He Lang and Xue Xingzhou went to deal with the boar’s head.

Xue Yue also pickled some vegetables. Since it was just for her brother, she didn’t make a large batch.

Once they finished preparing the boar’s head, Xue Yue added the spices and set it to braise.

The aroma of the braised meat was intoxicating.

The Xue family’s house was a little distance from the main village. She vaguely recalled hearing as a child that their family had moved to Yang Shugou later than everyone else. Most of the families in Yang Shugou had the surname Yang; they were the only Xues.

In fact, Xue Yue and her brother had never met their grandparents on either side, nor a single other relative.

’I wonder if the other villagers can smell it.’

But next door, the couple Xue Changlin and Liu Hongxing could smell it loud and clear.

Xue Xingjun sniffed the air and asked Liu Hongxing, “Ma, is Big Brother eating meat? I can smell it.” He swallowed hard as he spoke.

Liu Hongxing shot a look at Xue Changlin. “See your precious son? Eating meat all by himself, and not even thinking to bring some over for his own father.”

“I heard Yue’er’s voice earlier,” Xue Changlin said. “She must have brought it over. There can’t be much, so don’t expect him to bring us any.” With that, he went back inside the house.

Liu Hongxing’s eyes darted about. She whispered a few words to Xue Xingjun and pushed him out the door.

“BANG BANG BANG! Big Brother! Big Brother, open the door!” Xue Xingjun pounded on the door, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Xue Yue glanced toward the neighboring house and said to Xue Xingzhou, “They must have smelled the food. They’ve sent Little Jun over to get a share.”

Xue Xingzhou had already figured as much. “I’ll go hide the rest of the meat. We’ll just say you two brought this.”

“Big Brother, open up! It’s me!”

Xue Xingzhou came out of the house and opened the courtyard gate.

The moment Xue Xingzhou opened the gate, Xue Xingjun barreled in as if he owned the place, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw Xue Yue and He Lang.

He looked timidly at He Lang and Xue Yue.

Xue Yue had secretly disciplined the little troublemaker more than a few times in the past, so Xue Xingjun had been afraid of her since he was a child. And since he knew Xue Yue and He Lang were together, he was afraid of He Lang, too.

“What are you staring at, kiddo?” He Lang asked Xue Xingjun with a grin.

Seeing his brother approach, Xue Xingjun scurried over, grabbed the hem of Xue Xingzhou’s shirt, and peered fearfully at He Lang.

Xue Xingzhou asked him, “Why are you here?”

Only then did Xue Xingjun answer. “Big Brother, I smelled the meat from our house, so Ma told me to come over. She said I should see what you’re eating, and if you don’t give me any, I should start crying. I won’t cry, Big Brother. You’ll give me some to eat, right? Because we’re brothers.”

Liu Hongxing would never have imagined that her darling son would sell her out the moment he walked through the gate.

Xue Xingzhou looked at Xue Xingjun’s simple, guileless face and said with a sigh, “Your sister and brother-in-law brought this meat. I’ll let you have some, but you can’t tell anyone.”

Xue Xingjun nodded vigorously. “I won’t tell, Big Brother, I promise! If Ma asks, I’ll just say I didn’t eat any meat.”

Xue Xingzhou pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and patted Xue Xingjun’s head. ’He truly couldn’t fathom how someone as scheming as Liu Hongxing ended up with such a simple-minded son.’

Xue Xingzhou led Xue Xingjun into the house. Xue Yue had already prepared a dipping sauce. After taking the braised boar’s head meat out of the pot, she sliced it, arranged it on two plates, and brought them into the room.

“This is delicious! This meat is so, so good, Big Brother,” Xue Xingjun exclaimed between mouthfuls.

Xue Yue smacked the back of his head. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

He was spraying food everywhere.

Once Xue Xingjun had eaten his fill, Xue Xingzhou sent him on his way. The boy was still burping as he left, promising one last time that he absolutely would not tell his ma.

There was still plenty of the braised head meat left, so Xue Yue cut off half to take back with them that afternoon.

When they got back that evening, Xue Yue cut off a piece of the raw wild boar meat and also sliced a plate of the braised head meat.

“Take this meat to your parents. And bring them this plate of head meat, too. Mother has worked so hard helping me make clothes these past few days.”

He Lang looked at Xue Yue, his expression filled with a doting fondness he wasn’t even aware of. “My mother is unbelievably lucky to have a daughter-in-law like you.”

“Well, Mother is very good to me, too,” Xue Yue said, and she meant it.

He Lang smiled, picked up the meat, and went out the door.

When Mrs. He saw He Lang walk in with more meat, she exclaimed, “He Lang, why are you bringing us meat again? Son, let me tell you, this is no way to manage a household! If you get a craving, eating meat once in a while is fine, but you can’t eat it this often!”

He Lang set the meat down on the kang table. “Oh, Mother, I didn’t buy this. It’s wild boar meat! I couldn’t buy this even if I wanted to!”

“What? Wild boar meat?”

He Lang nodded. “That’s right. My brother-in-law killed a wild boar. He sold some of it and gave us half of what was left. The cooked part is the braised head meat. We brought it back for Dad to have with his alcohol.”

Mr. He laughed. “Well now, that Xue boy is really capable. I haven’t eaten braised pig’s head in years, and I’ve really been missing it. Dear, go get that bottle of liquor I’ve been saving. The boy and I will have a little tonight.”

Mrs. He smiled and nodded. “Alright. It looks like you have our son to thank for this treat.”

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