Chapter 48 Roasted Snake Meat

“Sanbao! Random cattle dung drop!” After Yan Yu shouted the command, the family of three did nothing but wait.

They were simply too curious.

Similar yet distinct dried fodder dropped to the ground with a crackling sound.

Truly—an eye-opener.

Yan Lao’er gathered up the grass cakes. None of it could go to waste. Mixed with some green feed, it could still be used…

This time, they got about two jin each of chicken, fish, and pork, along with rice, flour, and seasonings. Probably because they had cleared the shelves last time, the Platform figured they lacked these and increased the quantity.

As usual, they turned it all into jerky.

Yan Lao’er gave Sanbao a little water, told it to clean itself thoroughly, then poured all the water from their bottles and jars into Sanbao’s mouth.

“Next time if we trade for water, let’s just have Sanbao stand there with its mouth open. See if we can get it straight into its belly. All this back and forth wastes so much.” Yan Lao’er looked heartbroken.

“And yet you’re letting it drink and wash itself with it—nearly half a bottle gone.” Li Xuemei was mixing dandelions, elm shoots, and wild lettuce together—these were at least things they had foraged themselves.

Yan Yu said, “It’s really just psychological. Sanbao can sterilize the fodder at high temperatures. Its stomach is way cleaner than outside.”

She used just a little water herself to rinse two sausage links that had fallen on the ground.

She broke one into three pieces, took a bite herself, shoved one to her dad, and one to her mom.

More starch than meat, but who cared—they were craving this flavor.

“Nothing’s got packaging, it’s a headache. Better eat it quick before it spoils.” Yan Lao’er said as he snatched the remaining sausage from his daughter’s hand and wolfed it down in two bites.

Honestly, every time the Platform opened and closed, their nerves were stretched tight.

Beforehand, it was anticipation. Afterwards, joy at the harvest.

Li Xuemei finished sorting the wild greens and started on the beans.

“Perfect for making three-bean soup. Great for summer, clears heat and cools you down. The Platform’s actually pretty considerate.”

Yan Yu thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. “Rain-Sister finally got the inflatable boat she wanted listed. Once she gets better, she can head to an inland city. Things should get a lot better there, right?”

“Hard to say. You think it doesn’t rain in inland cities?” Yan Lao’er didn’t buy it. “I think she won’t be truly safe until the Platform gives her a proper boat. Oh, right—she’s getting wind over there again, isn’t she? If it’s strong, the boat needs to be bigger for stability. Best if it’s aircraft carrier-sized, one-and-done!”

“Dad, you’ve got a better imagination than most novelists.” Yan Yu was genuinely impressed.

“Let’s pack up and head back. Get these things stashed while it’s still dark.” Li Xuemei patted the neatly stacked bundles beside her.

“Hehe, finally get to swap out those empty bundles. All stuffed with straw…”

Thinking of the village’s mules and donkeys, Yan Lao’er said, “I’ll sneak off and feed the livestock in a bit. No night grass, no fat horses. Mules and donkeys are no different. Who doesn’t love a midnight snack?”

And while he was at it, he’d deal with Sanbao’s… you know what.

……

The family returned to the group. Yan Lao’er waved at the night guards, shook his torch to show his face.

The person across nodded and raised their torch in return.

Yan Yu whispered, “Dad, it’s only been a few days and you’ve already come up with secret signals?”

Yan Lao’er lowered his voice too. “Pitch dark, gotta have some kind of sign. Otherwise yelling might wake the whole village.”

Yan Lao’er deliberately led the Ox past the village’s livestock area.

Quietly, he set down a few bags.

At their own cart frame, the three of them moved even more carefully.

Yan Lao’er and his wife worked together to swap out the empty bundles. Yan Yu stood with wide serious eyes, keeping watch.

Luckily, everyone was sound asleep.

Yan Lao’er carried several bundles of straw, grabbed a knife, ran off to chop-chop-chop, then came back for a rake and headed to the mules and donkeys.

He dumped the green and dry feed mixed together. The mules and donkeys eagerly came over, heads down and munching away.

Daya, half-asleep, saw her aunt and cousin climbing up, shifted over, leaving them a big space.

Li Xuemei pounded her waist, barely touched the pillow before falling asleep.

Yan Yu yawned, shamelessly hugged Daya-jie, and soon started softly snoring.

When Yan Lao’er came back, he was the only one still awake.

He grabbed a handful of dirt, slapped his face, rubbed his already messy hair, gathered his energy, and led Sanbao off to find the Qi Family Brothers.

“Qi Da brother, Qi Si brother, Qi Wu brother, wake up!”

Yan Lao’er’s voice was trembling. If the Qi Family Brothers weren’t so thick-skinned, getting woken like this in the middle of the night would scare someone to death.

“Yan Lao’er? What’s wrong?” Qi Da was the first to wake. Qi Si and Qi Wu quickly opened their eyes too.

“Keep it down, come with me.” Yan Lao’er hunched low and climbed onto the Ox, not saying what was going on, just urging nonstop, “Hurry, hurry…”

The three brothers were all straightforward types. They trusted him and hurried after.

Yan Lao’er rode the Ox, the three brothers followed behind, soon reaching their charcoal burning site.

Yan Lao’er scrambled off the Ox in a flurry, pointed at a spot with a shrill voice: “Look, look what that is… My god, scared me to death!”

The three Qi brothers raised their torches and looked where he pointed…

Good grief!

Such a huge snake!

They immediately tensed up, backing away fast.

Then they realized the snake was dead.

The three of them moved closer under the torchlight to get a good look.

“So close! I nearly died here!” Yan Lao’er looked thoroughly shaken.

“No idea where it came from, such a giant thing, it chased me…

My shoe flew off, the charcoal scattered…

Thank god for our Ox…

Thank goodness my wife and kid went back earlier. If they’d run into this snake… I don’t even dare think about it. Too scary!”

Qi Wu reached out and measured it with his hands. At its thickest, two hands couldn’t wrap around it.

“Lucky escape, Yan Lao’er. This snake’s huge—almost a spirit beast!”

“I’d heard vaguely that Oxs can eat snakes, but it’s actually true!” Qi Si’s gaze at Sanbao was now filled with awe. This was a protective Ox, full of spirit.

He worked at a coffin shop and had heard all sorts of strange tales. The more he thought, the more he felt this Ox from the Yan Family was like some cultivated being come to repay kindness.

Qi Da patted Yan Lao’er hard, repeating, “Glad you’re okay! Glad you’re okay…”

Yan Lao’er: I’d be better if you didn’t slap me so hard.

After the fright wore off, the Qi brothers’ eyes lit up.

This was meat!

So much meat!

Once their mindset shifted from “ferocious beast” to “food,” they couldn’t stop drooling.

……

Carrying the snake—Sanbao didn’t even get the chance to compete with the Qi brothers for that.

By the time they returned to the group, dawn was breaking.

Yan Lao’er said he didn’t want to scare the women and children, so better process it first. The Qi brothers agreed.

They roughly and quickly skinned the snake, chopped the meat into big chunks.

They found a few basins and piled the fresh snake meat together. The early-rising kids didn’t even want breakfast, crowding around the meat, unwilling to leave.

Staring at it, drooling, sucking on their fingers.

Yan Lao’er was generous, loudly calling for people to build a fire.

“Talk about a blessing in disguise! Let’s all share the luck—no one needs to cook their own breakfast today! Let’s each have a taste of this little dragon meat, see what it’s like!”

Everyone thought about it—yeah, why not? Such a big snake, rare sight!

Calling it a little dragon wasn’t an exaggeration.

Even those who originally didn’t want to take advantage of Yan Lao’er were now eyeing a piece for themselves.

(End of Chapter)