Chapter 79

Bian Ji had a small wooden house built next to Lin Bei's wooden house. It was a very small room with windows on three sides, cleaned very thoroughly. Inside, there was a bed and a table. He also moved the bamboo slips into the room, making it look ancient and full of charm.

As for Shopkeeper Zhen, Lin Bei didn't see his house, so he could imagine that these few days must have been quite tough for him. His body was no longer as shiny and well-groomed as it was a few days ago. However, when Lin Bei saw him, Zhen Ding was still smiling, showing remarkable psychological resilience. When asking for help, one must look the part. As for the junior manager Zhen Ba, he was no longer here, probably having returned to the trading house. Two of Zhen Ding's guards were also missing, and it was unknown where they had gone.

While the hunters were processing the mountain goods, Lin Bei first sent Didi and Qiqi to the grapevine. These two little guys could already fly very high. Bian Ji told Lin Bei that these two little guys often flew out of the Dragon Pool and returned at night. Lin Bei checked, and fortunately, the two little things were not injured.

Now they were considered adult birds, with their own sky. Lin Bei did not doubt that one day they would fly away and never return, perhaps finding a new home or being eaten. This was the trajectory of life. In other words, Lin Bei could only help them to this point; he was not their true mother.

When the two little guys returned to their nest and became quiet, Lin Bei climbed onto the roof of the wooden house to see the baby snakes. Good grief, Lin Bei immediately smiled bitterly. The first three hundred or so that hatched had all run away, and in these five days, another hundred or so had hatched, sleeping on the roof. The other snake eggs were probably already dead.

"Looks like these guys are also about to crawl away. It's not easy to raise them."

Because of this, Lin Bei naturally didn't put much effort into it. This was a natural law, and even though he came from the modern era, he had no way to change it. He then went down from the wooden house and went to the fire pit to watch the hunters process the mountain goods.

Cui Lan and the others called out to Lin Bei, but their hands did not stop. The hunters used their hunting knives to make a circle around the rabbits' necks, so the rabbit skins could be peeled off completely. Then they gutted the naked rabbits, washed them with water, and hung them on the wooden racks by the fire pit.

"This is to dry the rabbit meat," Cui Lan explained, then grabbed a handful of wood ash and sprinkled it on the rabbit skins, rubbing it hard. "These rabbit skins also need to be tanned to prevent them from smelling bad tomorrow."

Actually, tanning should use salt, but salt was too precious now, and there were many mountain goods, so they could only use this simple method. After the goods were distributed to the villagers of West Mountain the next day, they would tan the rabbit skins again, making them very clean. In winter, they could be made into boots or gloves. Even in the south, winter was quite cold.

The hunters worked in division of labor. Some processed the rabbits, while others processed the wild chickens. The wild chickens were more difficult. The hunters would first pull out the tail feathers, wing feathers, and the bright feathers on the head, which were placed together. Then the chest and back feathers were placed together. When they were almost bald, they were roasted over the fire, and then gutted, also roasted, and hung up to let the heat slowly dry them.

Zhen Ding, seeing that Lin Bei seemed very interested, came over and squatted next to him, explaining carefully: "Sir, these brightly colored feathers can be sold to the people of Nanyue. They are used in clothing."

Bian Ji added: "Every spring, the people of Nanyue have a Qing Festival, where they use brightly colored feathers to make feather crowns. The brighter the color, the more they like it."

"Then what?" Lin Bei asked with interest.

"Then, if a man and a woman fancy each other, they can consummate their relationship," a hunter laughed.

Lin Bei opened his mouth and made a big laugh, "These mountain people are quite straightforward."

Bian Ji didn't say anything that would offend public morals, but he said, "It's just a custom, but because of this, we Han people don't look up to these barbarians."

The people around showed no expression, clearly indicating that Bian Ji's words were normal. This represented the common mentality of Han people in this era. In this era, the Han were the orthodox, and anyone who was not Han was considered a barbarian. The Han people looked down on the barbarians.

However, the Han people of this era would not know that they would soon face the darkest period in Chinese history, which would last for several hundred years. The Wei-Jin and Six Dynasties era was a turning point in Chinese history.

Lin Bei looked at these ancient people whose faces showed a hint of pride and thought that perhaps this event would not happen within his scope. He seemed to do nothing, but he had done a lot, and in the future, he would influence even more people, which was undeniable.

Seeing Lin Bei's silence, Bian Ji cleverly changed the topic and talked about the school: "Sir, all the big trees around the school have been cut down."

"So fast?"

"These days, the laborers have meat every day, so they work harder."

Lin Bei remembered that he had killed two wild bulls when he left, but it probably wouldn't last until he returned, so he asked, "Is there still meat?"

"Every day, the villagers go out to hunt some meat, which is cooked by Feng Niang. Cui Lan has a good eye for people, and Feng Niang is now very skilled at cooking." Bian Ji looked at the sky, which was already darkening. "At this time, Feng Niang usually brings the meal, so it should be coming soon."

As he was speaking, faint footsteps were heard outside. It turned out to be Zhen Ding's two guards, each carrying a bamboo basket, walking quickly over. Seeing Lin Bei and the hunters, they were momentarily stunned and looked at Zhen Ding.

"Quickly call Sir," Zhen Ding shouted, secretly cursing the two guards for not having a good sense of the situation, what were they staring at?

Lin Bei wagged his tail, not fond of such formalities, "Is this the food cooked by Feng Niang?"

Bian Ji smiled, "Yes, unfortunately, we didn't know Sir had returned, otherwise we would have prepared more."

"Sir, use mine. I'm a bit bigger, so missing a meal is no problem," Zhen Ding smiled.

Bian Ji said to Lin Bei with a faint smile, "These past few days, we have been quite grateful to Shopkeeper Zhen, who sent some fine wine. I wonder if Sir drinks?"

Zhen Ding smiled, his flattery of Bian Ji these past few days had been somewhat effective.

PS: Yesterday, I suddenly felt dizzy, as if I was spinning in place. Then I broke out in a heavy sweat, as if I had been pulled out of water. I felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, and I even thought about dying. In the end, I don't know how I managed to crawl into bed. So yesterday, there was only one update. Today, I feel a bit better, but my body is still a bit weak. I apologize to all my readers.