The night breeze blew out a little meaty aroma.
It drifted far and wide before dissipating.
The people in the other mountain seemed to have smelled it too.
Faint yet discernible.
A child from one household even cried for meat until his parents beat him before he finally stopped making a fuss.
His wailing was so loud it reached Jiang Mianmian's home.
But it did not bother their happy mood one bit.
In their kitchen, a pot of wild boar meat stewed with muffled bubbling sounds.
And in a corner of their yard, a makeshift stove held up a weathered pottery vat, stewing Chinese medicine for Jiang Feng.
Yet the herbal smell could not overwhelm the meaty fragrance.
On the contrary, it made the wild boar meat smell even more mouthwatering,
As if it was medical cuisine pork.
Jiang Yu held her younger sister Jiang Mianmian, wandering between the kitchen and the medicine pot in the yard.
Strangely, not only did the elder sister drool at the sight of the meat pot, she also drooled when looking at the medicine pot, seemingly wanting to have a taste of both...
Their parents went back into the room to have a private conversation.
Occasionally, Jiang Mianmian could hear her mother saying: "Dear, trust me, I'm not making things up. That wild boar might have had an eye disease. I dug its eyes out and looked - one eye had a lot more white in it..."
Jiang Mianmian: ...
Her eldest brother Jiang Feng seemed extremely tired. He fell asleep on the bamboo chair with her urine-soaked cloth wrapped around his head. His eyes were shut tight and his hands occasionally twitched.
The cloth looked a little dirty as blood had seeped through from his wounds.
Jiang Mianmian was a bit worried. Could the wounds get infected?
The medicine finished stewing.
Jiang Yu carried her sister Jiang Mianmian to pour out the medicine.
She first emptied most of the liquid, then wrapped the remaining medicine dregs in a piece of cloth. She squeezed and twisted the package vigorously like one would do when making dumplings, until no more liquid could be extracted.
During this process, Jiang Mianmian secretly added a few drops of spiritual spring water into the medicine decoction when her sister wasn't looking.
Seeing steam rising from the pot after adding it, she worried that the treatment effects might be compromised since vitamins apparently shouldn't be boiled.
Just as she was thinking of adding a bit more, her brother's sudden bellow gave her a huge fright and she peed herself...
"Jiang Little Yu, that is my medicine. Are you trying to sneak a drink?"
Jiang Yu was also startled. Then she felt the back of her dress dampen.
She only wanted to try a sip, but panicked when seeing her brother wake up, feeling a little guilty.
"Oh no, Mianmian peed herself again. Mother, mother, Mianmian wet herself again!" Jiang Yu shouted loudly towards the room.
Jiang Mianmian: ...
After getting her diaper changed, little Mianmian with a dry bottom sat comfortably in her father's arms.
Of all the hugs, mother's felt the nicest - mother always carried a sweet milky scent.
Father's hug came second. Father often smelled lightly of Chinese medicine, which was also pleasant.
At dinnertime, the family sat together around the table.
And ate solemnly.
Mother dished out a big bowl of meat broth for each person, with pure meat and broth, just a few pieces of the herbs used for stewing, focused on the meat.
From their previous hunt, the family only ate a tiny portion of the bear meat. Father sold off the rest.
One night while eavesdropping from her bedside, Jiang Mianmian learned that father had used the money to buy a piece of fine fabric, which he gifted his top superior after getting promoted.
Father understood office politics.
Tonight's meat was quite substantial.
No one bothered giving up their share for another.
All focused on emptying the bowls before them.
They ate in silence - too busy chewing to talk.
Only little Mianmian, feeling bored, constantly glanced left and right.
Perhaps because her previous extreme diarrhea scared them, nobody tried slipping her titbits now.
She didn't even get a share of the meat broth, waiting to have milk instead.
After mother finished eating, it became Mianmian's turn to eat.
Mianmian nestled comfortably in mother's arms, hugging her food bowl while swallowing mouthfuls.
When done, sister Jiang Yu carried her on her back again.
She watched her brother drink his medicine.
Sister Jiang Yu went to gather the bowls.
To Jiang Mianmian's surprise, her sister actually rinsed the medicine bowl a little before drinking the wash water...
Just had to get a taste out of stubborn persistence.
Jiang Yu's face crumpled after drinking it. "Yup, very bitter. Bleh bleh bleh!"
Jiang Mianmian: ...
After taking the medicine, brother laid back down on the bamboo chair. Jiang Yu paced up to him a little nervously and asked softly: "Brother, did you sell those clothes and shoes? How much money did you get?"
Jiang Feng threw a look at Jiang Yu and grumbled irritably: "Still thinking about them? Those shoes were way too small for you, and the shoulder width of those clothes wouldn't have fit either with your scrawny build."
Jiang Yu huffed indignantly: "I'm not thinking about them! Just curious how much they could've sold for. Brother, how do you know so much about women's dresses and shoes anyway? Maybe I should let Mother and Father know about this..."
Jiang Feng broke out in fits of coughing. "Cough cough cough cough!"
Seeing that scared Jiang Mianmian, worrying his coughing spells might make the wounds start bleeding again.
"Ungrateful brat. Got 1 or 2 silvers for them, and spent 100 wen getting you those embroidered shoes." Jiang Feng said angrily.
Jiang Yu's eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she counted on her fingers. "Wow, so those clothes and shoes were worth that much? 1 or 2 taels of silver... Granny Liu said she'd buy me off for 1 or 2 taels too. Ahh...wish I had worn them longer!"
Jiang Feng rolled his eyes hard. With all that blood soaked into the shoes, she actually thinks about wearing them longer - his sister was obviously an idiot beyond salvation.
"Bring Mianmian over and let me give you a piggyback ride. In case your stupidity is contagious and she's incurable if infected too."
The bantering between the siblings flowed into Jiang Mianmian's ears as she lay in the yard, gazing at the twinkling stars in the night sky. They looked like giant-eyed aliens, curiously watching this juicy family drama unfold...
