Sharing The Spoils (Part 4)

"That's great. I can report back now," Qian Huihong said with a smile.

Liang Hongyu saw them out.

When she returned, Huo Tianzhou was washing rice.

She glanced at the rice in the sieve and then turned around to the kitchen to start cooking.

The fish basket was full of small fish, but since it was already noon and time was short, she decided to make fish soup in the evening.

After washing the rice and adding enough water, Huo Tianzhou lit a fire and added firewood.

With nothing else to do for the moment, she left the kitchen.

Liang Hongyu went outside and saw Huo Tianzhou sitting by the courtyard entrance, with a quiver of arrows by his feet, leaning against the wall.

He was carefully wiping his wooden bow.

Sitting in the shade of the eaves, the wind lifted the strands of hair on his forehead, and his gaze was fixed on the bow, looking somewhat downcast.

Lost in thought, Huo Tianzhou only returned to reality when Liang Hongyu approached him.

Now, at mealtime, it was always Liang Hongyu who cooked.

Although she didn't mind preparing food, Huo Tianzhou could tell she didn't enjoy tending the fire.

Huo Tianzhou got up, hung the wooden bow on the wall, and prepared to go to the kitchen.

He decided to deal with the bamboo arrows after the meal was ready.

When retrieving the bamboo arrows at Butcher Ma's house, they hadn't deformed.

Liang Hongyu had cleaned and dried them before putting them back into the quiver.

Now, the quiver stood on the ground, and the bamboo arrows inside had been wiped, still slightly damp.

Liang Hongyu stood in front, blocking the way.

Huo Tianzhou looked up to see her staring at the wooden bow on the wall for a long time without reacting.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, Liang Hongyu turned her head and said, "Starting tomorrow, you will go hunting in the mountains with me."

Huo Tianzhou had damaged his vocal cords due to a high fever.

The first few years after that, his health was very poor, and he spent a lot of time bedridden.

Even when his health improved and he no longer had to stay in bed, there were still many things he couldn't do.

He couldn't go to distant places, let alone undertake strenuous activities like hunting in the mountains.

During those difficult years, no matter how hard things were, his mother never seemed to feel tired.

She always managed to smile and tell him stories about his father.

Only when she found out he had neglected his health and sneaked out did her expression turn stern.

Liang Hongyu, though quiet, she resembled his mother in many ways.

She wasn't afraid of hard work and didn't care about the gossip outside.

After his mother fell seriously ill and passed away, Huo Tianzhou, not wanting to be a burden, asked someone to help him write a divorce letter.

Liang Hongyu put away the divorce letter, saying only that the family still had debts to repay, and that had to be dealt with first.

When they borrowed money back then, Huo Tianzhou had heard all sorts of harsh words.

He didn't want to trouble Liang Hongyu with even the small task of repaying the debts, so he took on all the odd jobs he could manage.

One time, during the off-season for farming, he couldn't sell his bamboo crafts and couldn't find any odd jobs in town.

With the end of the month approaching and debts to repay, he decided to try his luck in the mountains to hunt some wild animals.

After returning, he was so exhausted that he had to take medicine for half a month.

That was the time Liang Hongyu talked to him the most.

Liang Hongyu didn't want him to go into the mountains; if he really fell ill, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

When Liang Hongyu caught a cold in the mountains and started acting strangely after waking up, Huo Tianzhou initially just found it odd.

Later, he realized something but didn't want to delve into it.

Even now, when that thought surfaced again, he immediately stopped himself from thinking further.

Liang Hongyu was still standing there, waiting for his response without urging him.

Huo Tianzhou tightly pressed his lips together, looked at her for a long time, then lowered his eyes and nodded his head in agreement before walking past her to the kitchen.

Huo Tianzhou cherished his bow and arrows, always wiping them down after use.

Naturally, he wanted to be able to use them himself.

Earlier, he had seemed merely low-spirited.

Now, it seemed he wasn't just low-spirited but actually quite downcast.

Liang Hongyu watched his retreating figure, her brow furrowing slightly before quickly relaxing again.

After lunch, Liang Hongyu stood in the kitchen, looking at the few pounds of pork left and wondering how to deal with it.

The villagers liked fatty meat, which provided oil and could be rendered into lard.

Most of the meat she brought back was lean.

In the hot summer, pork wouldn't keep for long.

She thought for a moment and cut a small portion to cook for dinner.

Liang Hongyu removed the sinew from the remaining lean meat, washed it clean, let it dry, and then cut it into thick slices before further cutting it into evenly sized strips.

The vegetables in the field were wilting under the sun, so Huo Tianzhou took the rice water he had saved for a few days to water them.

After cutting the pork, Liang Hongyu came out of the kitchen and saw Huo Tianzhou finishing watering the garden.

She walked over and said, "Pull up some green onions and a few garlic shoots."

The small patch of garlic in the corner of the garden was planted in early spring and was ready to be harvested.

Huo Tianzhou pulled up the green onions and garlic.

Seeing that his hands were sticky with sap, he turned to wash them while Liang Hongyu returned to the kitchen.