"Kah."
"Kah."
"Kah."
Under a massive tree, a strong human circled around.
Qin Luoxia stood on a mountain not far from home.
It really wasn't far; at her current pace, she hadn't even reached the neighboring county.
The last time she passed by here.
She discovered there was a towering tree.
In a hurry, she didn't linger long.
But after returning home, she carefully recalled that it seemed there were eagles resting on that tree.
She came to this giant tree early in the morning.
Upon arrival, she circled around the big tree.
In the eyes of humans, it was just a beautiful woman circling around the tree, gazing upward, even with a touch of artistry.
In the eyes of animals, it was a bear-like creature circling the tree, seemingly intending to devour some animal on the tree.
The birds in the forest sounded quite alarmed.
She patiently waited.
When noon arrived with the scorching sun overhead, sure enough, a large eagle soared and descended from the sky.
Qin Luoxia held a self-made slingshot, crafted from the tendons of a python she had caught, tied onto a Y-shaped tree branch. She loaded stones into it, pulled back, and could shoot the stones out.
She had practiced for a long time.
As the eagle descended, she pulled back the snake tendons and released with force.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
She rapidly fired three stones.
A piercing shriek echoed from the sky, and then a massive eagle fell down, blood splattering.
This time, Qin Luoxia did not linger; she stuffed the eagle's head between its wings and rushed back home with the basket.
Stewing the old eagle in tianma could treat head ailments.
She had heard her husband mention it.
Fenr's injury was on his head, he had sustained a head wound. These past few days, when she saw the child, he seemed a bit different, with a gaze as if he had been startled, looking quite terrified. At night when she went to see him, he no longer stretched out his legs as before, but curled up into a ball. She worried there might be some aftereffects, so she thought of this remedy.
Her husband had brought back some tianma.
Old eagles were not easy to come by.
Today, she finally caught one.
Qin Luoxia rushed home with her basket covered in wild grass.
By hurrying, she managed to return before dusk.
Her mother-in-law had not entered the house yet.
Jiang Mianmian could smell her mother from afar.
She cooed and called out to her.
Jiang Yu, hearing her sister's voice, instinctively looked up and outside, indeed seeing her mother had returned.
She excitedly stood up.
And He Chen and Meng Shaoxia, upon hearing that it was Jiang's mother who had come back, also stood up.
For they were sworn brothers with Jiang Feng, and thus were juniors to Qin's wife.
They stood waiting for a while before seeing a robust, rosy-cheeked woman carrying a basket.
Her whole being exuded a vibrant warmth.
They had actually encountered her once before on the road outside the city.
But at that time, they had encountered thugs and didn't get a good look at her.
Qin Luoxia found guests at home and saw two well-dressed young men at the entrance, the same young masters who had rescued her family that day. She warmly greeted them: "Perfect timing, please stay for dinner tonight, you must stay. Yu'er!"
Jiang Yu had learned to respond quickly: "Mother, I have already borrowed some grain."
Qin Luoxia flushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed by this dead girl's remark.
Jiang Mianmian: "Coo coo coo, coo coo." (Mother, look at me, look at me.)
"You all sit and have tea. I'll go cook dinner; it'll be ready soon. When my husband returns, let him keep you company."
Last time, she had barged in while searching for her daughter, without even looking at anyone, acting fiercely.
In the village, since everyone was familiar, Qin Luoxia felt very at ease and unrestrained.
But when facing these young masters from the capital, Qin Luoxia still felt somewhat nervous, not daring to look at them much, feeling unworthy to speak. It would be better if her husband were here; he could converse with them.
Qin Luoxia tidied herself up and came to hold Mianmian.
She also dragged away her eldest daughter, who was still eyeing the desserts.
Jiang Yu: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jiang Mianmian contentedly nursed while cradled in her mother's arms until she saw her sister pull out a massive eagle from the basket her mother had used to carry wild vegetables.
"Pfft!" She choked on her milk!
So the saying about eagles snatching children wasn't just to scare people? This eagle was certainly large enough to snatch up a child.
Her mother's vegetable basket truly seemed like the Doraemon's pocket, containing not just vegetables but all sorts of things.
"Mother, the wings of such a large bird must be delicious," Jiang Yu said, swallowing her saliva.
He Chen and Meng Shaoxia, sitting under the large tree by the courtyard entrance, followed Jiang Yu's gaze inward.
Since the door was open, they could see everything at a glance.
The young lady was carrying a massive old eagle?? It looked to weigh several dozen pounds?? Such large eagles were rarely seen even in the sky. How did she catch it??
Their bows and arrows couldn't even reach that height, unless there was a world-renowned master archer.
Or they found the nest of such an eagle, but the nests of eagles this large were generally extremely high and treacherous, difficult to locate.
"This is for medicinal soup, to stew with tianma, it can treat illnesses. You all should drink more of it later," Qin Luoxia said happily.
As long as she did something good for her family, no matter how difficult, she felt it was worthwhile.
"Cough cough cough." Jiang Mianmian really did choke on her milk.
She had previously heard a diabetic patient say that stewing an old eagle with tianma could treat headaches. The patient had bought an old eagle and was sentenced to a year in prison. In prison, he ate on schedule, got sunlight on schedule, worked on schedule, and slept on schedule. After a year of release, his headaches were cured.
But after being released, he overate and drank excessively, developing diabetes.
Jiang Mianmian curiously looked at the massive old eagle; a single pot couldn't fit it all. It resembled the one that had flown out from the mountains that day, so enormous.
"Mother, how did you catch it? I can't even catch the little birds in the trees," Jiang Yu asked inquisitively.
Qin Luoxia held her daughter upright, her head resting on her shoulder, and gently patted her back.
After a few pats, she said, "I don't know how it was injured, but I saw it on the road and brought it back."
Jiang Yu: ......
Jiang Mianmian: ......
