ABPUBALC - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Roasted Rabbit Meat

Before dawn broke, the kitchen was already bustling with activity.

In the main hall, Da Huang and Er Huang were still curled up together, occasionally letting out soft pup-chirps in their sleep.

“Ouch!” Gu Qiming winced as he reached for a steamed sweet potato from the pot. The heat stung his hand before he could even touch it, forcing him to quickly retract his arm.

Lin Xing carefully dabbed the sweet potato with a damp cloth to check if it was fully cooked. Satisfied, he gently placed it in a bowl without even glancing at Gu Qiming. After all this time, Gu-ge still rushed to eat at every meal, either burning his hands or scalding his mouth time after time.

Lin Xing carefully peeled the sweet potato and held it to Gu Qiming’s lips. “Try it. Is it sweet?”

“Sweet!” Gu Qiming declared.

Lin Xing shot him a playful glare. “You haven’t even tasted it yet!”

Gu Qiming grinned cheekily. “Anything peeled by Xingxing’s hands is bound to be sweet.”

Though small in size, the sweet potato was indeed deliciously sweet, as if dipped in honey. Gu Qiming, not particularly fond of overly sweet things, only ate one before switching to a couple of oil-fried buns Lin Xing had prepared.

The oil-fried buns were made with eggs and flour, seasoned with salt and sauce. They were savory enough to eat on their own without any side dishes. This wasn’t just their breakfast but also their lunch for the day.

They estimated it would take about a day to sell the cartload of sweet potatoes, leaving little time for a proper lunch break. The oil-fried buns were perfect for a quick bite during busy times, and unlike steamed buns, they remained tasty even when cold.

“Let’s go. The sun will be up soon,” Gu Qiming said.

Without a horse-drawn cart, they had to pull the cart of sweet potatoes to town themselves. Lin Xing had planned for them to take turns pulling, but Gu Qiming wouldn’t hear of it. With him around, there was no need for Lin Xing to strain himself. He secured the rope and began pulling the cart.

The village was shrouded in a grayish haze, with occasional figures carrying lanterns passing by, also heading to town. The couple chatted as they walked, barely noticing as the sun began to rise.

Gu Qiming pulled the cart in front while Lin Xing pushed from behind to lighten the load. He knew Ge Gu’s shoulders would be sore after hauling such a heavy load all the way.

The flatbed cart was something Lin Xing had made during his free time after they got married. He didn’t do much carpentry work for money anymore, mostly taking on simple jobs that didn’t pay much but were enough to cover their daily expenses. Most of the things he made now were for their own use.

He would help villagers repair benches and chairs without charging, just as a favor. Since their marriage, the village gossip about him had lessened considerably. After all, Gu Qiming had hosted their wedding feast without accepting any money from the guests. Everyone understood the principle of not biting the hand that feeds, so they were less inclined to speak ill of him.

“Are you taking that game to the restaurant?” Lin Xing asked as they reached the western market in town and found a decent spot to set up. He discreetly glanced at Gu Qiming’s shoulder, noticing it was already bruised from the rope.

Gu Qiming rubbed his shoulder. “No need. We’ll leave it here and see if anyone wants to buy it. If not, we’ll take it home and eat it ourselves.” He paused before asking, “Did you use to pull a cart like this to sell goods?”

Lin Xing shook his head. “No, I used to carry a basket on my back. I could come every day and sell everything I had within a few days.”

Besides, he didn’t have the strength to pull such a heavy cart.

That must have been tough too, Gu Qiming thought to himself. He said nothing, only gently squeezed his husband’s hand.

The two of them stood to one side chatting idly. They hadn’t been talking for long when someone came to ask about the price of the sweet potatoes.

Lin Xing hurriedly introduced with a beaming smile, “Three copper coins per jin. Our sweet potatoes are clean and ready to cook. They may not be big, but they’re very sweet when you eat them.”

“I must say, your sweet potatoes really are dirt-free!”

The person inquiring about the price was also a husband. He picked up the sweet potatoes from the cart and carefully selected quite a few, choosing only the big ones.

“It’s a total of nine jin and four liang. How about I add two more to make it an even ten jin for you?”

“Alright, give me another big one.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely pick a good one for you.”

The sweet potatoes on this cart were of decent quality and sold quite well. By the end of the morning, they had sold more than half, though it seemed they wouldn’t sell out completely. No one wanted the smallest ones, so they’d probably have to take those back.

At noon, when there weren’t many people around, the two of them ate a couple of oil-fried buns with some water from their flasks and considered themselves full. Gu Qiming tucked away their earnings and went to the ironmonger’s shop again.

It was time to add some new tools for hunting, he planned to buy some animal traps to set up more snares throughout the mountain. He estimated he wouldn’t go up the mountain for a month or two in winter, so he needed to earn more money now.

Animal traps weren’t necessarily sold in ordinary ironmonger’s shops. Gu Qiming had to search several shops before he could buy any.

Just these few iron traps cost him nearly half a tael of silver.

When Gu Qiming returned, Lin Xing was calculating their earnings. They had sold more than half a cart in the morning, bringing in a total of eight hundred copper coins.

Someone had also bought a rabbit. The rabbit was small, so they sold it cheaply for only sixty copper coins.

“Someone bought a rabbit, huh?” Gu Qiming noticed one rabbit was missing when he returned.

“Yes, we only sold it for sixty copper coins. It’s a bit less than usual.”

“It’s fine. These two rabbits didn’t have much meat. It’s good we could sell it at all.” Gu Qiming sat down beside Lin Xing and opened his bundle to show him the animal traps he’d bought.

These traps were also called “tiger tooth traps,” used specifically for catching larger prey.

The iron contraption looked dangerous and sinister. Lin Xing felt a bit scared just glancing at it.

“Are you going to put these directly in the mountains?”

What if they caught a person?

“I’ll have Lin Zheng help set them up. He lives deep in the mountains. The area where I usually hunt isn’t that far, but where he roams, you wouldn’t normally see a single soul. No need to worry about someone getting caught.”

Lin Xing nodded. Indeed, they should be placed somewhere most people wouldn’t roam casually.

These things looked so frightening; if they injured someone, it would surely be unbearable.

In the afternoon, fewer people came to buy vegetables than in the morning. Those who needed to buy had already done so earlier, and in the end, they couldn’t sell all the sweet potatoes on the cart.

The remaining ones were all small. When they got back, they’d pick out some good ones to send to Aunt Zhang’s family and take some up the mountain for Lin Yun and the others.

They were living on the mountain now and rarely got to eat things like this.

*

By the time they finished packing up and headed home, it was already late. The evening sky was dyed a golden hue, with clouds spread across it like fish scales.

The wind scattered Lin Xing’s hair, and Gu Qiming couldn’t help but keep turning back to look at him.

When they got home, Lin Xing didn’t even wash his hands before pulling Gu Qiming into the room to check the rope burns on his shoulder.

On the way back, there were only a few sweet potatoes left on the cart. The animal traps and rabbits were in the basket on their backs, and Lin Xing had been helping push the cart from behind.

But what had started out as bruises had still worsened, leaving his shoulders a colorful painting of bruises with even some inflamed areas.

Seeing Lin Xing’s downturned lips, Gu Qiming knew he was unhappy. He reached out to smooth the fine wrinkles between his brows and said softly, “Didn’t I say it’s fine? Your husband is in good health. It’ll go down in a couple of days.”

“Aren’t you hungry after being busy all day? I’ll go butcher the rabbit first. We’ll have roast rabbit tonight.”

Gu Qiming put on his clothes and went out to fetch water and butcher the rabbit. Lin Xing first picked out the good sweet potatoes from the cart to give away, leaving the rest for them to eat.

While Gu Qiming was processing the rabbit, Da Huang and Er Huang kept circling around him, trying to stretch their necks to sniff the rabbit. He pushed them away mercilessly with his large hand.

Unable to get any meat, the puppies started whining anxiously.

Of course, they still didn’t get any in the end and were temporarily locked in the kitchen by Lin Xing. The dogs were too young; they couldn’t be indulged.

Lin Xing set up a table in the courtyard and helped marinate the rabbit before watching Gu Qiming busy himself.

Their courtyard was large, and for safety reasons, Gu Qiming still piled the firewood by the well. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

The rabbit sizzled and dripped oil as it roasted over the fire, its unique meaty aroma wafting throughout the courtyard. He might not be able to cook meals, but his skill at roasting meat was quite good.

Although the rabbit had already been marinated, the flavor hadn’t fully penetrated. Lin Xing specially ground some salt to enhance the taste.

When the rabbit was cooked, Gu Qiming first cut off a leg for Lin Xing with a knife.

“How is it? Your Gu-ge’s skills are pretty good, right?”

The meat was hot. Lin Xing carefully tasted a bite. The skin was crispy and flavorful, and the rabbit meat wasn’t dry at all. Each bite oozed with juice.

With his mouth full of meat, Lin Xing gave Gu Qiming a thumbs up.

Besides the leg, the meat on the rabbit’s belly was also delicious. Gu Qiming used his knife to carve the meat into slices and arrange them on a plate, drizzling a spoonful of slightly sweet sauce over them. It was also very tasty when wrapped in a steamed bun.

In the end, the two of them shared the entire rabbit in the courtyard, occasionally feeding a bit of lean meat to the dogs. Da Huang and Er Huang immediately wagged their tails and fought over the meat.

Da Huang was more aggressive than Er Huang, snatching away the meat from Er Huang’s mouth several times. This made Er Huang droop his tail and whine.

Lin Xing couldn’t bear to watch and directly fed the meat into Er Huang’s mouth, finally allowing him to eat some.

“Silly pup.”

Gu Qiming found it amusing and gave Er Huang’s bottom a pat. He forgot his hand was still greasy, and this pat left Er Huang’s fur sticky with oil, matting it together.

Seeing Er Huang freeze in bewilderment, Lin Xing laughed, his eyes crinkling into crescents as he tapped Er Huang’s head with his chopsticks.

Gu Qiming watched his husband’s face, lit by the firelight as he laughed, and couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

Besides the roast rabbit, Lin Xing had also thrown a few sweet potatoes into the ash pile. He’d only thrown in two or three, considering that Gu Qiming didn’t like them much, so he didn’t dare add too many.

Roasted sweet potatoes tasted even better than steamed ones. They were fragrant, sweet, and juicy. Lin Xing ate two in one go before stopping.

The rest were fed to the dogs. The puppies couldn’t be full just eating that bit of meat, especially since the two of them were so chubby, with appetites much larger than average puppies.

After their meal, Lin Xing took some medicinal wine to apply to Gu Qiming’s shoulders.

With his clothes off, the marks on his shoulders were even more apparent – blue and purple bruises that were painful to look at.

Lin Xing knelt on the bed, first warming the medicinal wine in his hands before applying it to Gu Qiming’s shoulders, massaging as he went.

He was so focused on his task, eyes full of concern, that he failed to notice the man sitting on the edge of the bed breathing more and more heavily.

A lamp flickered in the room, its flame dancing, causing the space to alternate between dim and bright.

Gu Qiming felt his husband’s small hands continuously kneading his shoulders, and his heart grew increasingly tender.

The nights were much cooler than the days now. Gu Qiming’s clothes were half-removed, pooled around his waist. Though his skin should have felt cold upon contact with the cool air, he felt increasingly hot instead.

His voice slightly hoarse, he said, “That’s enough, you don’t need to massage anymore.”

Lin Xing also felt it was about done, but looking at the bruised flesh, he continued rubbing for a while longer to help the medicinal wine absorb faster.

Gu Qiming put on his inner robe. Ignoring the fact that Lin Xing was about to get off the bed to wash his hands, he grasped his chin, tilted his head up, and kissed him.

“Mmph...”

His movements were more urgent than usual. His tongue invaded Lin Xing’s mouth, conquering and plundering, leaving him no time to react.

Lin Xing couldn’t catch his breath and wanted to push him away, but then remembered his hands were covered in medicinal wine. What if he stained Gu Qiming’s clothes…

Gu Qiming kissed him relentlessly for nearly a quarter of an hour before releasing him. Seeing his husband’s dazed expression, as if his soul had left his body, he chuckled, “Go wash your hands.”

Lin Xing’s mind was still in a fog. It wasn’t until Gu Qiming urged him that he tiptoed to the washbasin to clean his hands.

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