Shui Jianguo looked at his wife and asked her, "Lulu, what do you think?"
"I also think it's better to stay at home, so that you can go to work without any distractions from taking care of me."
It gets cold early in the Northeast, and it might snow one day. It's really not safe for Bai Lu to stay alone in the family's courtyard.
The farm work at home has been finished, and it is indeed much better for the daughter-in-law to stay at home when the mother is here.
Seeing that his wife was happy, Shui Jianguo nodded in agreement.
After the family finished dinner, Liu Xuemei took out a newly made sheepskin coat and gave it to her eldest daughter-in-law.
Bai Lu looked at the thick leather jacket on the kang table and expressed her gratitude to her mother-in-law sitting beside her: "Thank you, mother, for giving me the jacket. It's really thick."
"You're welcome. It's cold here. I remember it was still summer when you came here. You definitely didn't bring any thick clothes.
Even if there were, it wouldn't be very useful here. It only works if it's a big leather jacket. This is sheepskin. When your father saves enough skins, I will make mink skin for you. "
"Thank you, mother. I'm not running around now. A leather jacket is enough." Bai Lu was a little flattered.
After all, a mink coat requires a large amount of skin, which cannot be assembled in a short time.
"Then you and Jianguo have a good rest. I won't disturb you anymore." After Liu Xuemei finished speaking, she left her eldest son's room.
Shui Jianguo took his daughter-in-law, who was wearing a plain cotton-padded coat, into his arms and said softly, "How is my mother?"
"Yes, sheepskin coats are not cheap. If you don't go out of the house, you don't need to wear them so thickly. How do you think the people in the Educated Youth Institute will survive the winter?"
"Those dads will definitely make arrangements, so don't worry. I feel a little sad when I think that I will only be able to see you once a month."
Bai Lu looked at the disappointed expression on her husband's face and felt a little funny: "I'm not in your arms now, so there's nothing to be sad about. Everything is for the baby."
"Hey, if I had known earlier, I wouldn't have followed you. Then I could have stayed with you every day."
Xiaoqi and Shui Bingyue were lying on the bed together, discussing issues about their sister-in-law.
"Bingyue, do you think the baby in my sister-in-law's belly is a boy or a girl?"
"I don't know, it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, I like them both."
"That's right, I just want to know earlier. When it snows, don't go to school with me. The classroom will be like an ice cellar, and you won't be able to stand it."
"That's fine, my mother is at home now, and I will keep her company."
The two little ones muttered a lot, and finally fell asleep when they couldn't hold it any longer.
The next day, Shui Jianguo went hunting in the mountains with his father early in the morning. After all, winter is coming. Before it snows, hunt more prey to prepare for the winter.
It was cold in the mountains, so the two of them wore very warm clothes. Entering the mountain with a homemade crossbow and shotgun.
Shui Shangqing said with emotion: "Because I was busy with things in the fields, I haven't gone up the mountain for a long time. Your brothers have been hunting a lot."
"Isn't that what raising a son is for? I wonder if Lulu will give birth to a boy or a girl?"
"Why are you thinking so much? You will find out when the child is born. Do you think we can meet the big guy today?"
The two of them kept walking towards the mountains, catching some small prey along the way and putting them all in animal skin bags.
Shui Jianguo looked at his father and said firmly: "I think we can meet him. After all, we have always been lucky. I just don't know if it will be a wild boar or a deer this time."
"Let's hope so."
The two of them walked into a dense forest. The trees here were tens of meters high, blocking the sluggish sunlight in winter.
When they were about to walk out of the woods, the two discovered fresh feces. Judging from the shape and size, the other party is a big guy.
Following the trail, I found a black bear drinking water by the stream. It was huge, with shiny fur, and seemed to weigh two to three hundred kilograms.
Shui Jianguo and his father looked at each other and decided to round up the black bears. After all, I haven't seen such a big guy for many years.
The two men saw the big black bear drinking water and catching fish in the river. They approached it quietly from behind. One used a gun and the other used a crossbow to shoot it in the head at the same time.
The black bear did not die immediately after being shot. The severe pain caused it to keep rolling in the water.
Holding back the severe pain, he wanted to seek revenge on the person who hurt him. When it climbed ashore, Shui Shangqing shot it twice. This time the big bear fell to the ground and died completely.
The two were not sure whether the bear was completely dead, so they waited for a while and saw that it showed no reaction. Shui Shangqing handed the shotgun to his son and walked over to check the black bear's eyes and breath. It was indeed dead.
The two men chopped down a relatively small tree with sharp hunting knives, tied the bear to it, and carried the big black bear down the mountain.
The two of them walked and stopped until dusk fell before they returned home. Liu Xuemei and Bai Lu heard a thud and walked out of the house to see a big black bear thrown in the yard.
Liu Xuemei said to her husband and eldest son: "The rice is warming on the fire. You two should eat quickly."
Bai Lu was quite courageous, and she even got closer and said, "This is the first time I've seen a real bear. I didn't expect it to look like this. It's a bit ugly."
Shui Bingyue also ran out of the house and saw blood stains on his clothes. She hugged her father's leg: "Dad, are you injured?"
"No, I accidentally got these on when I was tying up the black bear. Don't worry. Let your mother make stewed bear paws for you tomorrow."
"It's so ugly, big and strong, can its meat be delicious?" Shui Bingyue was deeply doubtful.
Shui Shangqing chuckled: "Girl, you will know tomorrow. You can't always look at appearances like this."
After saying that, he led his daughter into the kitchen and ate directly in the stove room. Shui Jianguo served the meal and went back to the house to accompany his wife.
Shui Bingyue sat next to her father and asked, "Why do you want to hunt a black bear? Is its meat as delicious as chicken and wild boar?"
"Because the skin, bile, and bones of black bears are all good things and can be sold for a lot of money. We still have meat at home, and this bear has a lot of meat."
After Shui Shangqing finished eating, he hugged his little girl and made love with her, then used a knife to skin and remove the black bear's bones. Shui Jianguo also came to help.
Shui Shangqing decided to tan the black bear skin and give it to his daughter as a dowry. After all, he and his eldest son hunted the bear together, so the money from selling the bear bile and bones should be shared with him.
After the whole bear is decomposed, the bear meat is hung on the hemp rope in the yard, and the two of them clean the yard.
Shui Shangqing discussed with his eldest son: "I plan to leave this bear skin to Bingyue, and you can choose the rest as you wish."
"I want a pair of bear paws. When Bai Lu and I go to Beijing, I can give them to my father-in-law."
"Okay, I'll ask you to sell the bear bile and bones. We'll split the money 30-70, you 70-70 and I'll have 30-30."
