Transmigrated as a Peasant Baby Who is Pampered by All

Chapter 432: Chapter 266: Processing

This dried meat lasts a long time, so if you want to eat it on the road, you can not only eat it directly but also use it to make soup.

Team Leader Chen: ”That’s true, by the way, Brother Jiang, how much is your deer heart?”

He originally wanted to buy some deer meat, but as he was contemplating how to ask, a few servants came over. Since he couldn’t buy the deer meat, the innards would do as well.

They’re not scholars with many dining rules, like with this deer heart, which is very nourishing!

It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit expensive; they’ll pool together with the brothers to buy it, have the inn’s chef brew a pot of soup in the evening, and replenish the losses from the trip.

Fortunately, they’re outside; he’s gotten familiar with Jiang Hu these days. If they were in the city, wealthy gentlemen would’ve taken it away already, leaving none for them.

The two of them were currently bleeding the mountain deer; deer blood is also valuable, so they found a clay pot to store it.

Upon hearing Team Leader Chen’s question, Jiang Hu barely lifted his head: ”Why sell?”

Team Leader Chen immediately felt Jiang Hu wasn’t being forthcoming; he just mentioned they could sell it, and now...

Then he heard Jiang Hu continue speaking.

”My family, Xiaomi and Ziang said that you’ve been a big help today, so they specifically asked me to set aside a pound of deer meat for you. But if you want the deer heart, you can have that instead. For someone practicing martial arts, it’s beneficial.”

Team Leader Chen was overjoyed: ”Then I won’t be polite; I’ll skip the deer meat and take the deer heart. Thank Xiaomi and Ziang for me.”

Even his motions became more agile.

All he did was lend a hand; Jiang Hu could’ve handled the deer and rabbits alone, yet he still got a free deer heart, so why not be happy?

As for being courteous?

There’s no helping it; he really wanted it. Being too polite would be pretentious, better to accept it directly and look after the Jiang family’s convoy on the road later.

The two quickly processed the meat, even washing the innards clean in the river, attracting a large school of fish.

The cleaned deer and rabbit meat were stored in several wooden buckets; one naturally needs to bring these on a long journey. Jiang Hu brought two, while Team Leader Chen had a few; they used three now.

One bucket for deer meat, one for innards, and another for rabbit meat.

When the processing was done, and Team Leader Chen was about to take it back, Jiang Hu stopped him.

”Wait, Team Leader Chen, don’t rush; it’ll spoil easily. We brought saltpeter to chill the meat.”

Team Leader Chen was surprised: ”You even brought that!”

Borrowing saltpeter required returning it to the yamen; after use, the water-formed ice must be dried, and the saltpeter recollected.

It’s fine at home, but it’s not convenient on the road, so it can’t be used.

Jiang Hu smiled: ”I thought about this possibility at home, so I brought some.”

They had been rushing before, so sun-drying the water wasn’t feasible, and they hadn’t used it.

When Jiang Hu brought the saltpeter back, Team Leader Chen had already placed the meat on a stone nearby and prepared three and a half buckets of water, washing straw.

Jiang Hu sprinkled some saltpeter in each wooden bucket, and shortly, it started to solidify.

Once the water solidified into ice, a few wooden sticks were placed across; the bucket was wider on top than the bottom, allowing the sticks, cut to suitable lengths, to fit across the opening, followed by a layer of washed straw before adding the meat.

This way, even if the bottom water melted, the meat wouldn’t fall into the ice water.

A layer of straw covered the meat again; after bringing it back, they put it in the Jiang family’s two carriages.

Oilcloth and a blanket covered the bucket, maximizing the ice’s longevity.

After all this busywork, it was getting late; time to continue the journey.

The Jiang family’s carriage had an ice bucket, making it much cooler.

Before dark, they arrived at a small county town similar to Cheng County, entering the city with their carriage just in time.

The government officials escorting the scholars had their post station, provided by the officials annually, though it lacked the comforts but was inexpensive.

The Jiang family and the impoverished scholars renting carriages together followed the officials, while the wealthy young masters arranged to leave with the officials’ agreed timing the next day before finding lodgings themselves.

The public post was indeed rudimentary, mostly communal beds, with aged furnishings and limited food options.

Of course, staying here wasn’t for the wealthy, who didn’t have high demands.

”Old Zhang, get over here and welcome guests; today, you get to showcase your skills with something good!”

As soon as he arrived at the entrance, Team Leader Chen shouted, promptly bringing out a robust man from inside.

”I figured you’d be arriving these days; what good stuff do you have?”

The two were apparently well-acquainted, just as Jiang Hu was taking the wooden bucket out, Team Leader Chen lifted the straw covering.

”Mountain deer, hunted by my brother’s children. My brother is generous, giving me a deer heart. Cook it up well, and I’ll share a bowl of soup with you.”

Opening the bucket cover revealed a deer head, and Old Zhang’s eyes lit up.

”Good stuff, this is really good stuff!”

Jiang Hu opened the other two buckets, pulling two rabbits out with one hand: ”Master Zhang, please handle these too; two for stew, and two braised.”

Team Leader Chen was surprised: ”You’re preparing so much? Can we finish it?”

Jiang Hu chuckled: ”We certainly can’t finish it. Isn’t this just four? We’ll stew two for those kids to nourish them a bit. The two braised will accompany the government officials’ drinks, and the other one will be for us.” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

He was referring to the kids renting carriages to reach Fuzhou and the scholars escorted by government officials, boarding the post station together.

They’re all children from poor families; wealthier ones had found better inns and wouldn’t care for a single rabbit, especially when shared among many.

Then he pointed to the remaining one in the bucket: ”This one’s for Master Zhang; we’ll only stew half a pound of deer meat, and we’d like to use Master Zhang’s place to make the rest into dried meat.”

Team Leader Chen had told them on the way that the post station didn’t have a shopkeeper, only Master Zhang and a helper, so for any issues, talk to Master Zhang.

The wild rabbit’s arrangement was also agreed upon during the journey.

Master Zhang laughed heartily, accepting it directly: ”No problem at all, happy to help.”

Then he patted Team Leader Chen’s shoulder: ”Old Chen, your brother is great, straightforward, very good!”

The scholars also heard Jiang Hu’s words and came over to thank Jiang Hu, Wei Ziang, and Xiaomi.

They knew the prey was caught by the two kids.

Jiang Hu smiled, just a few rabbits, a way to gather some good deed merit for his family’s children. Those scholars came from poor families and, only a few days on the road, had already weakened considerably.

A single rabbit, though not worth much, can provide better nourishment than some greens and plain buns.