Qin Sang felt a burning gaze scanning her, and her heart skipped a beat. Had Hunter Xu noticed her abnormality tonight?
Good grief, she hadn't even gone off alone with a chainsaw to hack at the Giant Snake; how could he have noticed anything?
Qin Sang wasn't flustered:
"I thought you were going to say I was bold.
If I were truly steady, a woman like me wouldn't have gone off to sell medicinal herbs."
Hunter Xu also felt his own thoughts were a bit far-fetched:
"I just felt like you knew where the Giant Snake was today and deliberately led us there."
Hearing this, Da Zhuang and San Gui thought about it and realized it seemed true. They turned to look at their Mother with surprised faces.
Qin Sang laughed:
"You actually noticed? Well, I'm getting older and had to get up in the middle of the night. I saw a White-Haired Pig coming down from the mountain, and thinking of killing it for meat, I quietly followed it.
Who knew that before I'd gone far, I saw the White-Haired Pig get dragged into a deep pool by a Giant Snake? The two big guys started fighting, so I hurried back."
Hunter Xu was about to say more, but Qin Sang hurriedly interrupted:
"If I hadn't seen so many villagers here when I got back, I certainly wouldn't have dared to suggest going to look.
But Steward Huang once said that wealth is sought amidst danger. I just thought, what if... and so, everyone seized the opportunity.
Sigh, after being busy for most of the night, my old bones really can't take it anymore. Da Zhuang, San Gui, you two stay here to help the Village Head. Mother is going back to sleep."
Qin Sang yawned and returned to the tent looking exhausted.
Hunter Xu watched Qin Sang's retreating back as she entered the tent and couldn't ask any further.
After all, she was a widow and he was a widower; if they spoke too much, he feared others would start getting ideas.
Furthermore, Qin Sang's reasoning was sound. If he continued to doubt or question her, it would make him seem paranoid.
Perhaps it really was just such a coincidence.
She was a doctor; if she could use medicine to save people, she could naturally use it to kill them.
Thinking about how her medicine had knocked out over a hundred Rebel Soldiers, everything seemed to make sense.
Regardless, he would give Hu Zi a good talking-to when he got back; they must show respect to Da Zhuangs Mother.
Qin Sang naturally didn't know the twists and turns in others' minds. To resolve this major concern, she had been secretly staying up late for the past few days.
Now that the threat was gone, she could finally get a good night's sleep.
However, the girls in the family couldn't sleep and had all run outside. The tent was very close to the mountain pass, so the noise of people coming and going was clearly audible, including Eldest Girl and Si Jin pestering Eldest Son and Third Son to tell the story of how the Giant Snake was killed.
Da Zhuang was clearly not a master storyteller, simply saying:
"The snake ate something and couldn't move, so we hacked it to death."
End of story.
Eldest Girl and Si Jin were greatly disappointed:
"Huh? That's it? Nothing else?"
"Dad, cough cough... Daddy's story is too simple."
Tian Dazhuang nodded righteously. "Yeah, what else could it be?"
Tian Wenmo said anxiously:
"What about the process? The details? The reactions?
Eldest Brother, with your description, I'd think you didn't kill a Giant Snake at all."
Tian Dazhuang was puzzled:
"If it wasn't a Giant Snake, what was it?"
"An ant," Tian Wenmo said crossly.
Tian Sangui cleared his throat and spoke up:
"Since Eldest Brother can't explain it clearly, let me tell everyone.
You have no idea. At that time, our group was exploring with torches.
It was pitch black all around, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
It felt as if a pair of cold eyes were staring at us from the air. A ghostly wind brushed against our backs, making our spines tingle.
We all felt that the Giant Snake was watching us from the shadows, thinking about how to eat us..."
Qin Sang wanted to laugh as she listened to San Gui's intentionally exaggerated horror story outside. This fellow always had the glibbest tongue, and now, telling a scary story with all that embellishment, he actually made it sound quite convincing.
It would have been even more realistic if he hadn't described himself as so heroic, fearless, and divinely wise during the battle with the snake.
Of course, the kid didn't leave out his Eldest Brother, immediately labeling him a master archer. Da Zhuang was so anxious he kept trying to interrupt, only to be reminded by Eldest Girl:
"Dad, don't interrupt Third Uncle while he's telling the story."
Tian Dazhuang: "..."
In any case, until the end, Qin Sang never heard Third Son mention how his legs had turned to jelly and he couldn't walk at the time.
However, the story clearly stunned the little ones and the women and children of the village. After hearing it, they kept praising the two for their bravery and prowess.
When the main group appeared at the mountain pass carrying a section of the Giant Snake and that large white pig, a burst of cheering echoed through the entire valley.
Amidst the bustling noise, Qin Sang fell asleep.
When Qin Sang woke up again, the tent was still empty, but lively sounds were coming from outside.
Qin Sang got up, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. While no one was around, she used a pot to cook a pot of lean meat porridge. While the porridge was cooking, she fed Big Yellow, the rabbits, and the mules and horses, then found a way to add a little water to the few remaining water skins.
The oranges she kept had been counted by Si Jin and Er Fu, so she couldn't add more, but they had all shriveled up, so Qin Sang replaced them with fresh ones.
Once the porridge was nearly done, Qin Sang put out the fire and walked toward the crowd.
Seeing Qin Sang approach, the other villagers made way for her. Seeing his Mother, Tian Dazhuang scratched his head nervously and said:
"Mother, the Village Head said there wasn't enough salt, so I... I brought all of our family's salt..."
Qin Sang looked at the scene. Sure enough, the Village Head had already directed the village women to cut the meat into small pieces and marinate them. Once a basin was ready, someone would string them up and hang them on the Drying Rack, intending to air-dry them a bit before smoking them all.
With the Giant Snake and the White-Haired Pig combined weighing five or six hundred catties, they would certainly need a lot of salt. Moreover, since the weather was hot, the meat would spoil in a day if it wasn't heavily salted, so naturally, a lot of salt was used.
Da Zhuang was afraid she would scold him.
Tian Sangui hurriedly explained from the side:
"Mother, don't blame Eldest Brother. The Village Head said that however much salt was used, he would exchange it for that many catties of meat for our family. This meat is marinated and has salt.
Eldest Brother originally wanted to consult you, but seeing that you stayed up late last night, I didn't let him wake you."
Qin Sang thought as much; for such a big matter, Da Zhuang usually wouldn't dare make the decision himself.
And Third Son, he also knew how to share responsibility. Although she didn't know if his preventing the consultation was to get more meat, being able to stand together with Eldest Brother was progress.
Qin Sang smiled:
"I'm not blaming your brother, so what's the rush?"
Tian Dazhuang finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his face showed a bit more confidence.
Qin Sang encouraged him:
"In the future, just learn to make decisions on small matters like this. It's okay if you're wrong; as long as the family doesn't lose out, it's fine."
Tian Dazhuang gave a heavy nod:
"I weighed the salt I brought; there were thirty-three catties."
Qin Sang nodded. She didn't intend to give it to the villagers for nothing. A sheng of rice breeds gratitude, but a dan of rice breeds enmity. She couldn't let the villagers develop a habit of asking her family for whatever they wanted. Exchanges were fine, as long as it was a normal transaction:
"Village Head, can I have all my meat from the White-Haired Pig? I don't dare eat this snake meat."
After all, that Giant Snake was a wild animal, and there was no telling if it had parasites. The White-Haired Pig, however, was bought from the Mall, so its health and safety were guaranteed. Besides, she was truly one of those people who were afraid of snakes; eating it would leave her with a psychological shadow.
Seeing that Qin Sang wasn't angry, the Village Head cheerfully made the decision:
"Sure. By the way, Hunter Xu said you wanted the Snake Gall as medicine, so we've saved it for you."