Chapter 19

The Dragon Boat Festival arrived quickly. Uncle Liu had told Chen Jue early on to come over for lunch.

Chen Jue agreed. He had been eating at their place often these days anyway, and had already hauled a bag of coarse grains over to their house.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Chen Jue got to eat meat—he had killed a snake.

He had no idea how such a huge snake had appeared. Early in the morning, Chen Jue got up to hang mugwort.

He had just hung it on the woodshed when he heard the rooster outside screeching.

Turning around, he came face to face with a patterned snake as thick as a teacup, its head raised, revealing a patch of pale white belly.

Chen Jue was momentarily stunned.

He had never considered hunting snakes when he craved meat before.

Because he wasn't sure if they were venomous.

And now a snake had come to eat the rooster.

The rooster was going berserk, flying and jumping all over the place. It even fearlessly swooped down to peck at the snake, then flapped its wings and flew off when the snake lunged at it.

The snake and the rooster had an epic battle in the yard, the chicken flapping and the snake darting, until a rack of medicinal herbs was knocked over by the two animals that seemed possessed. Chen Jue snapped back to reality. He dropped the mugwort, grabbed the cleaver, and hacked at the snake that was coiled around the rooster, about to swallow it, like he was mincing meat.

There was no rhyme or reason to it—just pure, chaotic chopping, hitting wherever he could.

He chopped the snake into several chunks. The tail tip, even though severed, tried to wrap around his leg, but Chen Jue kicked it over the fence, scaring Zhou Qingzhu, who was just about to come in to see what was going on. Zhou Qingzhu screamed and kicked the snake tail back in, and it kept wriggling on the ground like a big worm.

Zhou Qingzhu gave a violent shudder. Looking at the seven or eight chunks of teacup-thick snake in the yard, he got goosebumps all over.

He stood frozen in place, mouth hanging open, staring at Chen Jue, who had driven the cleaver straight into the snake's head. After a long moment, he gave a thumbs up. That was badass.

Zhou Qingshan and Uncle Liu, who arrived right after, were also shocked by the scene in the yard.

Even using the newest, lightest crutches, Zhou Qingshan was drenched in sweat from the climb.

Looking at the bloodstains all over the yard and the chunks of white flesh, he felt his legs go weak. He swayed, and Uncle Liu quickly caught him.

Uncle Liu supported his son, who looked about to faint, then looked at Chen Jue, standing there with the cleaver and specks of blood on his face. He was at a loss for words. He felt like he had raised a son, but Chen Jue was the real head of the household.

It was badass. The killing aura was intense.

His strapping son Zhou Qingshan, whom he was supporting, could barely stand. Uncle Liu had to help him sit down on a wooden stump in the yard. Zhou Qingshan leaned against the wall, his face pale.

Chen Jue looked at the snake pieces all over the ground and the blood dripping from the gleaming blade he had sharpened. He knew Zhou Qingshan was triggered, reminded of the severed limbs on the battlefield, and maybe even his own severed leg.

Chen Jue said to Uncle Liu, "Uncle Liu, help Qingshan inside. Don't let him see this."

Although Zhou Qingshan wanted a quicker, more drastic solution, Chen Jue wasn't sure he could handle it.

He hadn't expected a snake to show up today and get chopped into pieces right in front of Zhou Qingshan.

"No need!" Zhou Qingshan leaned against the wall, forcing his eyes open. Before his eyes was still the endless yellow sand, severed hands and legs scattered here and there, fingers still twitching... blood trailing down his legs... a head rolling on the ground, eyes still open, as if begging for help...

Zhou Qingshan squeezed his eyes shut, sweat as big as beans rolling down his cheeks. Just as Chen Jue was thinking of finding some ginseng slices for him to suck on, he opened his eyes again, this time his eyes looked a bit clearer.

"How are you feeling? You okay?"

Chen Jue asked.

Zhou Qingshan gave a bitter smile. "I'm fine. Sorry for making a scene. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Chen Jue said it was fine—getting through it is what counts.

Uncle Liu finally got a word in: "Jue Geer, put the cleaver down. Don't hurt yourself."

Chen Jue looked at the blade in his hand, still dripping with blood. He really did look like an executioner.

Zhou Qingzhu took the cleaver from him, walked around the yard surveying the snake meat, and said to Chen Jue bluntly, "Brother Chen, big bro, from today on, you're my second brother! That was awesome! Let's eat snake meat today! This is a rat snake—it's not venomous."

Hearing it was non-venomous, Chen Jue smiled too. At least his effort wasn't wasted—he'd gotten a free meal of meat.

This was meat that came right to his door.

Chen Jue watched the rooster, still circling the snake tail tip, and finally thought it was good for something.

Seeing Zhou Qingzhu picking up the snake meat into a basin, Chen Jue told him, "Just give the tail to the rooster."

Zhou Qingzhu laughed. "Sure. It was pretty brave, I gotta say. Did it spot the snake? Was the rat snake trying to eat it, or what? This rooster can fly, so it's not easy to catch."

Uncle Liu said suddenly, "It wasn't coming for the hens, was it? Quick, go find where the hens and chicks are!"

The hens and chicks had survived, hiding in the haystack with their necks tucked in.

No harm done. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they started discussing how to eat the snake.

Uncle Liu said, "This snake has to weigh at least ten jin. If we keep it, we could get half a month's worth of meals out of it. Too bad it won't keep in the summer heat. Why don't we salt some and save it for Jue Geer?"

Chen Jue craved meat, but he didn't want salted snake meat. Snake meat is high in protein—it's all about eating it fresh. Salting it for too long not only loses nutrients but also produces substances that are bad for a pregnant man.

So Chen Jue said, "Keep the gall bladder for me to use as medicine. Split the rest among everyone. Give Zhang Yan's family two jin. We'll cook up the rest and eat it. Qingshan needs to eat more of this."

Chen Jue looked at Zhou Qingshan again. "Can you stomach it? If you can eat it, this meat is packed with nutrients and good for you."

Zhou Qingshan smiled. "I can eat. How could I not eat it?"

He had to get past this. In fact, he'd been doing a lot better lately.

Every day, while sitting, he wove straw shoes and rain hats, and when he got up to stretch his legs, he'd go rake the manure pile. Being busy had kept him from having nightmares as often.

He hadn't had any episodes, no more gruesome flashbacks—until today. But he'd managed to push those images down just now.

He felt like he was doing much better.

Since everyone agreed to eat the meat, they got to it.

With meat on the table, everyone perked up.

"This rat snake is pretty plump. Look at that white meat." Zhou Qingzhu said cheerfully as he rinsed it with clean water.

He had helped Zhou Qingshan handle rabbit skins and chicken feathers before, so once he got used to the idea that a snake was just another animal—just one without fur—he had no problem with it at all.

As he washed, he watched Chen Jue, thinking Chen Jue was the impressive one. He was carefully slicing open the gall bladder with a small knife. He was being very careful, pressing down on the belly area and cutting it open bit by bit, probably afraid of ruining the gall bladder.

That little knife was also very sharp, and the places it cut were as neat as the opening of a cut cloth bag. Zhou Qingzhu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Hey, Brother Chen, you use this little knife really well. It's so nice-looking—what kind of knife is this?"

Chen Jue said in a low voice, "A #14 blade."

It was one of the four surgical knives he had custom-made, which he'd picked up at the market the last time he went.

This was the first time he had used it in front of these people, mainly because there hadn't been any animals for him to dissect before.

He couldn't catch any of the prey all over the mountains, and could only sigh, gazing at the hills.

Now this rat snake had come right to his doorstep.

Chen Jue was even a little excited holding the long-unused surgical knife. When the blade cut through the cold, smooth snake skin, he felt the sensation of dissecting a living organism again.

He poured in ten times the focus and skill to dissect out the snake's gallbladder and heart.

Zhou Qingzhu watched beside him, clicking his tongue in awe. He had often skinned and chopped meat before, which was also delicate work, but he felt it was nothing compared to how meticulous Chen Jue was.

It felt like Chen Jue wasn't just digging out the snake's heart and gallbladder, but more like performing a... a...

Zhou Qingzhu couldn't find the right word for a moment, but he just felt that Chen Jue was being very gentle with the snake's body.

Chen Jue placed the egg-sized green gallbladder and heart on a white plate, then washed the knife in clean water, swished it in alcohol, and finally wiped it gently with the neatly folded white linen cloth beside him.

This was his prized possession.

His whole process made Zhou Qingzhu treat the knife with such reverence that he didn't dare ask to examine it more closely.

Chen Jue picked two pieces of meat from near the "seven-inch" spot, the area near the heart, and gave them to Zhang Yan. Snake meat is high in protein and won't add fat, so he could eat it to boost his immune system.

Chen Jue lived at the foot of the mountain, far from the others, so Zhang Yan had no idea that Chen Jue had killed a snake. Seeing these two large pieces of meat, skin and bones removed, he asked in surprise, "Jue Geer, did you buy fish? That's a big fish! What kind is it?"

Chen Jue coughed lightly. "Just happened to come across it. Cook it up and eat it—it's good for you."

Zhang Yan smiled. "Good for the baby as well, right?"

Chen Jue said nothing. Zhang Yan always put the child first, and Chen Jue couldn't change that.

Chen Jue put down the two pieces of meat and was about to head out, but Zhang Yan's goat, which was about to give birth, came up and nibbled at his clothes.

Goats are the pickiest and most mischievous animals around, wanting to taste everything in sight.

Just now, it had scattered the wood shavings from Zhang Yan's husband's planing all over the ground, and now, with wood shavings on its head, it came to nibble at Chen Jue again.

The hemp clothes on Chen Jue had been nibbled by it several times. Chen Jue grabbed its horns with his fingers. "Bite me again, and I'll kill you for meat."

The little goat, relying on its pregnancy and knowing no one would dare mess with it, wasn't afraid of him at all and twisted its head, trying to nibble his pants.

Zhang Yan laughed and scolded from the sidelines, "Xiaohua, come here. Jue Geer can't play with you right now. Wait until he has the baby, then he can play with you!"

Zhang Yan then smiled and said to Chen Jue, "Xiaohua is really smart. She's just playing with you. She knows you're pregnant, so she won't butt you. The other day, Dajiang grabbed her horns like that, and she held a grudge. When Dajiang squatted down, she butted him right to the ground."

Chen Jue patted the goat's head and continued, "Well, I'll wait until she has her kid, then I'll kill her for meat."

Zhang Yan laughed. "Don't do that. After she's done nursing our kid, I'll lend her to nurse yours."

Chen Jue grabbed the goat's horns and said, "I don't want this unruly one. I'll buy a well-behaved one."

Zhang Yan's husband, Zhou Dajiang, laughed while planing wood. "Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you. An older nanny goat might be more tame."

Chen Jue grunted in acknowledgment and thanked him. "I appreciate it."

Chen Jue was about to leave when Zhang Yan called out from behind, "I'll bring you some zongzi later! We've got cured meat ones today! Don't eat too much at lunch—save room for the zongzi."

He had soaked the last of the cured meat he had at home because Chen Jue had said he wanted to eat meat zongzi.

Chen Jue paused slightly in his steps. With his back to Zhang Yan, he waved his hand and said okay.

That Dragon Boat Festival turned out to be especially eventful because of this snake.

Chen Jue didn't go up the mountain to gather herbs. Instead, he sat at home, skinning and deboning every piece of snake meat. Zhou Qingzhu watched from the side, not daring to ask—was he afraid of getting stuck by bones? That level of care was a bit unsettling.

Fortunately, Huo Lin's house was at the foot of the mountain, far from the villagers, so no one passed by, or they would have been startled.

Now that Zhou Qingzhu's cooking skills were getting better and better, Uncle Liu basically didn't need to handle the meals at Chen Jue's house. He just sprinkled lime powder all around the house, inside and out.

It was powder ground from a soft white stone found in the mountains. This kind of stone wasn't very common, and the villagers rarely used it.

He waved mugwort as he sprinkled and chanted some words.

"This is home, no bugs, no ants... ward off pests and evil, keep the five poisons away..."

That was indeed a Dragon Boat Festival custom.

Uncle Liu also explained to Chen Jue, "Jue Geer, don't be afraid. Around the Dragon Boat Festival, snakes are active. This big rat snake is non-venomous, and where it is, there won't be any venomous snakes nearby... When I go to the county in a few days, I'll buy some realgar. Mainly, I didn't expect such a big snake to come down the mountain... It never happened before..."

Chen Jue hummed in response. He lived at the foot of the mountain, but it was the foot of a mountain in North China, where the climate wasn't that humid. Even with the rain a few days ago, the sun dried it up quickly. He had thought it was quite cool living by the mountain.

But now, even snakes were coming down the mountain.

It seemed he still needed to get some sulfur.

Zhou Qingzhu chimed in, "Before, when Brother Huolin was home, he could probably handle it without us needing to act."

Chen Jue shot him a glance. He had done it all by himself today, hadn't he? Did he have to bring up that Huolin every time?

Zhou Qingzhu was quick to react and gave Chen Jue a thumbs up. "Today, I have Brother Chen to thank! Oh, by the way, Brother Chen, I forgot to give you a sachet. You definitely didn't make one, right?"

The Dragon Boat Festival had many customs in this ancient time—hanging mugwort and making five-colored sachets.

Zhou Qingzhu had made a sachet for Chen Jue, tied with five-colored strings.

It was quite pretty. Chen Jue smiled and said, "Thanks."

The food on the Dragon Boat Festival was also quite good. Apart from a small portion of the meat hung in the well to keep cool, to be cooked tomorrow, the rest was all boiled in the big pot.

Snake meat had a unique savory flavor that no other meat had, making Chen Jue's mouth water. The baby in his belly blew a bubble like a fish.

At over three months, there was a faint fetal movement. Chen Jue told himself to stay calm.

After these few months, Chen Jue's life had basically settled into a routine. Although he had solved the problem of food and clothing, it still didn't mean he could eat meat every day. He still craved meat daily.

Oh, he meant he wanted to dissect small animals—really.

Dissecting that snake hadn't satisfied his itch; it only made him more eager.

Unfortunately, he couldn't catch a single one.

One day, he spotted a rabbit with a limp leg in a grassy nest, caught in an animal trap.

This must be an old animal trap that Zhou Qingshan and the others had set, but they hadn't been here in a long time, so it had been abandoned. This rabbit was just unlucky enough to have stumbled into it.

Chen Jue's mouth started watering at the sight of the plump rabbit, but when he grabbed it by the ears and lifted it off the ground, he saw the round, bulging belly of the scraggly-furred rabbit.

Chen Jue sighed. Why did it have to be pregnant?

In the end, Chen Jue not only didn't get to eat rabbit meat, but he also had to bandage its hind leg and carry it down the mountain on his back.

With its leg injured, it probably wouldn't survive out here in the mountains.

Chen Jue figured he could eat the babies once they were born—raise them up and then eat them. That was his meat supply right there.

Chen Jue carried the rabbit down the mountain, and when he passed the big locust tree at the east end of the village, the crowd called him over to rest.

Zhou Hehua eyed his belly and scolded him: "Are you that short on money? You're still going up the mountain to gather herbs in your condition, and you're not afraid of falling!"

Her words weren't kind, but there was no malice behind them.

Zhou Hehua was a straightforward person—she envied others for having kids, but she genuinely loved children too, and she always spoke her mind.

That kind of personality was easy to handle.

Chen Jue replied flatly: "That's right, I really don't have money. Not everyone's like you, eating meat every day and noodles every meal, with no worries about food or clothes."

Zhou Hehua didn't know when Chen Jue had gotten so good at using fancy sayings, but it sounded impressive. Zhou Hehua really liked it—it suited her status perfectly. Her family was in the butcher business, so Chen Jue wasn't exaggerating.

Zhou Hehua even knew how to be modest, clearing her throat: "It's... just so-so, I guess."

"Jue Geer, come sit down! Oh my goodness, what are you carrying? It's so heavy! Why is it moving?"

Aunt Liu spotted the rabbit in the bag when she helped Chen Jue take off his pack basket.

Chen Jue explained what had happened.

When they heard it was a pregnant rabbit, Zhou Hehua's cheerful expression immediately fell, and she said sarcastically: "You're so lucky—got it on the first try, even caught a pregnant rabbit. Why can't I have that luck?"

That comment was a bit suggestive.

Everyone there exchanged knowing smiles.

Liu Cuier was the most eager to jump on this topic, giving a sly smile and saying: "Well, Huo Lin is one of the finest men in our village—how could he not get it on the first try?"

Zhou Hehua snorted coldly: "What good is that? His family still..."

Before she could finish, Aunt Liu gave her a hard nudge with her elbow. Zhou Hehua saw it was her elder, so she could only grit her teeth and say: "Auntie, why are you only nudging me? Isn't it true the Huo family isn't well off? Why can't I say that!"

Aunt Liu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zhou Hehua hadn't brought up Huo Lin's father's side of the family, and said: "You child, the Huo family just doesn't have many people. It's not that Huo Lin isn't capable. Once their family grows, they'll prosper."

Chen Jue glanced at Aunt Liu. It seemed like there was something about the Huo family that couldn't be mentioned, since they always changed the subject whenever it came up.

Chen Jue didn't know what it was, but since they all avoided it, he didn't ask either. Huo Lin had already passed away—it was all water under the bridge.