Chapter 46: New Skill: Cook Ding's Butchery IV 1+

Sure enough, as soon as they heard it was the village belle Huang Su'e's fiancé, all the young men cast their gazes over. Huang Su'e had a slender figure; though she wasn't much for farm work, she was certainly a feast for the eyes.

When it came to finding a wife, many young men fancied her, but their families objected, saying Huang Su'e looked too seductive, like a vixen, and besides her slender build meant she wouldn't be good for childbearing and she couldn't handle heavy labor.

Whenever a village lad stubbornly pursued her, it invariably stirred up a family storm, which only made the rumors of her being a femme fatale even more widespread. After all, if she caused domestic discord, what was she if not a vixen?

Yet, undeniable as it was, she truly was the prettiest girl in Huang Village. But prettiness was of little use when she couldn't manage heavy labor.

Still, this did nothing to stop the village youths from feeling jealous as they all looked over. By the time they descended the mountain, Su Yu finally figured out why Old Man Mountain had "Mountain" in his name.

It wasn't because it was part of his given name; rather, it was because he was a mountain cannon—straightforward to a fault, speaking his mind without any filter, completely incapable of keeping a secret. Otherwise, Huang Hai wouldn't have told him not to go around blabbering, which only earned him a glaring warning from Old Man Mountain.

So that was the kind of "mountain" he meant! True to form, Old Man Mountain didn't disappoint. Before they had even reached the foot of the mountain, Old Man Mountain introduced Su Yu to literally everyone they met.

Before they even reached the bottom, everyone in the village already knew all about Su Yu. Huang Shan and Huang Hai had long since given up trying. Once Old Man Mountain knew something, keeping it a secret was mission impossible. Their great-grandfather used to say that their family was fiercely loyal and patriotic, and even when the Japanese invaders came, not a single one of them became a traitor. Uncle Jianjun deserved immense credit for that—they were all terrified that if any of them turned traitor, Old Man Mountain would have the whole town gossiping about it before their foot even hit the ground.

Old Man Mountain was truly a terrifying force of nature.

"Alright, everyone quiet down. Tally the hunting yields, and team leaders report to me."

"Alright, Su Yu, you and Huang Hai go on to my house. No need to wait around here; Uncle and I can wait in line."

"Well... alright then."

Eight magpies, five jays, and eight sparrows were taken away by Su Yu alone. As for the pheasants and wild hares, he left all of them behind. Huang Shan would help him sell them at a good price, and he didn't need to babysit the process; the man wouldn't cheat him.

As for the jays, magpies, and sparrows, those were dog food, so he planned to take them back.

"Wait, take this rabbit secretly under your coat. Bring it back, and we'll stew it for dinner tonight."

Since Su Yu had made the trip all the way here, he naturally deserved a good meal. There was no telling when the tallying would finish, and even if they slaughtered a pig, it would probably have to wait until tomorrow—there simply wasn't time today.

This rabbit was hunted by Huang Shan himself. Huang Shan refused to take the rabbits Su Yu had caught, as taking advantage of others was strictly against the code of conduct for the Huang family.

Su Yu didn't refuse. He took the rabbit, tucked it inside his jacket, wrapped it securely, slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, and headed toward Huang Hai's home.

"Let's go, let's go back and I'll stew rabbit meat for you."

Huang Hai was remarkably hospitable, pulling Su Yu along as they marched straight to his house.

"Second brother, you're back? Huh? Su Yu? You went into the mountains during the day too?"

Su Yu hadn't visited the Huang household during the day, but it wasn't as if nobody knew about it; even Huang Hongsheng was aware. However, the Huang family's younger sister hadn't seen Su Yu drop by at all, assuming he hadn't come.

"Yeah, just got back from the mountains. Long time no see."

Su Yu waved and offered a bright smile.

Huang Su'e rolled her eyes at him and nodded, letting him through the door. After all, he was her savior, and though she still considered him a bit of a scoundrel, there was no reason to bar him from entering.

"Cough, cough... Is that Su Yu? Come in quickly."

Huang Hongsheng was propped up in bed, supported by a quilted comforter behind him. He was covered by a blanket and looked somewhat frail.

His wife was tending to him at his side.

"Su Yu's here? Come on inside."

Huang Hongsheng's wife hurriedly welcomed Su Yu in and offered him a seat and some water.

"Uncle Huang, Aunt Huang, I'm here to intrude and bother you again."

"Haha, what nonsense are you talking about? You're the savior of our Huang family! Who dares say you're bothering us by coming to our house? Watch me tear them a new one."

Aunt Huang cast a fiercely pretend glare at her daughter, and Huang Su'e offered an awkward smile, scurrying off to grab the thermos and pour Su Yu a cup of water.

Huang Hai followed close behind into the house.

"Dad, Mom, I brought back a rabbit. We'll stew it tonight for brother Su Yu to go with his drinks. I'll go buy some liquor in a bit, and we can all keep him company."

Under normal circumstances, if these two brothers dared to touch alcohol, their mother would nag them endlessly. But today, with Su Yu here, Aunt Huang didn't say another word and immediately went out to buy the wine.

"Sister, keep Brother Su company. I'm going to go butcher the wild rabbit and get it stewed."

With no other choice, even though Huang Su'e didn't want to stay in the room, she had no option but to keep him company. In truth, she didn't harbor much resentment toward Su Yu; if anything, she felt profoundly grateful to him for saving her father. However, the last time he had brazenly stared at her chest had left a rather poor first impression. No matter what anyone said, she was always on guard against him looking at her. Being gazed at by Su Yu felt like having ants crawling all over her skin—an utterly agonizing sensation.

Naturally, Su Yu was oblivious to all of this. He didn't fight to do the chores or insist on helping Huang Hai skin the rabbit, choosing instead to sit down and chat with Huang Hongsheng.

As soon as Huang Hai finished skining the rabbit, Su Yu excused himself to Huang Hongsheng and stepped outside.

"Brother Hai, let me borrow your skining knife to skin these jays. If we leave them too long, the pelts will be harder to remove."

"Ah, sure. Or you can leave them be, I'll do it for you."

"Uh... no need, you go cook, leave this to me."

Taking the skining knife and preparing to get to work, Huang Jianmin arrived.

"Hehe, planning to skin the jays? Perfect, I'll teach you. Just watch."

Earlier in the day on the mountain, Huang Jianmin had mentioned wanting to teach him how to skin game. As it happened, Aunt Huang had run into her younger brother-in-law on her way back, and knowing they had to host Su Yu properly tonight, it all fell into place.

Huang Shan and Huang Hai lacked a bit of seniority in handling things, Huang Hongsheng was bedridden, and since Huang Jianmin had hunted with them that day, his presence as a host was simply ideal.

Sure enough, Huang Jianmin pulled a three-pound pheasant from his jacket and stepped through the door. It seemed he had no intention of freeloading; he had hunted a pheasant of his own specifically to bring along for the drinks, handing it over to Huang Hai.

Then, he squatted down to teach Su Yu how to skin the animals.

The five jays were like mere toys in Huang Jianmin's hands. In no time at all, they were skinned, their pelts completely intact—demonstrating a technique even more refined than Su Yu's eldest brother, Su Sheng.

Host: Su Yu
Age: 19
Physique: 10
Strength: 15
Speed: 10
Skills: Fishing Lv3+, Basic Archery Lv9, Tracking Lv7+, Dog Training Lv1+, Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv1+, Butchery Lv1+
Skill Points: 83

Well, would you look at that? A brand new skill unlocked: Butchery. He never expected that simply trying his hand at skining a jay under Huang Jianmin's guidance would trigger a new skill!

As it turned out, skills didn't just unlock simply because you performed an action. Su Yu had walked for miles upon miles without ever unlocking a Running skill, after all.

Su Yu figured there were two conditions: first, you had to try it yourself with hands-on practice, and second, you had to have the conscious intent to master a specific skill. Otherwise, his wiping-his-own-ass skill would have maxed out ages ago.

Not long after, Aunt Huang returned, accompanied by another woman—none other than Huang Jianmin's wife.

Since Huang Jianmin was eating here tonight, it wouldn't be proper to leave his wife all alone to cook at home. It made much more sense to invite her over to join the meal, help out in the kitchen, and make the family gathering all the more lively.