Summer days were long and nights were short, and dusk came late.
After dinner, Lin Yu rode his bicycle, carrying a piece of pork belly, towards the cylindrical apartment building of the Steel Mill.
The Steel Mill family compound had a total of four cylindrical apartment buildings, with only 80 or so households. The worst ones were all leaders at the department level living there.
In Lin Yu's eyes, it was nothing but a joke.
What was so good about living in a chicken coop? If a couple wanted to do something, they had to be careful, otherwise the whole Steel Mill would know that their time was short.
Lin Yu carried a cloth bag and held a 10-jin wine jar, walking into the building.
It has to be said, Second Master Lin was indeed generous this time. Ten jin of wild boar meat, a rack of venison, a leg of lamb, two wild chickens, a jar of deer blood wine, and two wolf skins.
It was definitely worth the effort of Old Li helping out.
“Knock, knock, knock...”
Lin Yu knocked on the door of unit 202.
Old Li's door number was quite a thing.
“Hey, I knew you'd be here tonight, come in and have a drink with me. Your aunt made fish tonight.” Li Huai De welcomed Lin Yu with a smile.
As soon as Lin Yu entered, he saw a woman in her thirties, gentle and elegant.
“Aunt, good evening.” Lin Yu greeted her directly without waiting for Old Li's introduction.
After all, he had lived two lifetimes. How could he not understand these social skills?
The woman in her thirties, like summer fruit, had shed the youthful greenness and ripened, radiating a unique charm.
It has to be said, Old Li's wife was indeed beautiful. She didn't look like the sow that everyone said she was at all.
In any case, Lin Yu thought she was much prettier than Liu Lan.
I don't know what's wrong with Old Li. Why wouldn't he keep such a graceful and beautiful peach, instead going to eat Liu Lan's big sweet potato?
What is it, does the sweet potato fill you up, or is Old Li a mountain pig who can't eat fine grains?
“Uncle Li, you're so lucky to have a wife like your aunt who is elegant, dignified, beautiful, and graceful.” Lin Yu teased Old Li who was closing the door behind him.
“You little rascal, you're still teasing your Uncle Li! You believe me, I'll let your aunt find you a wife to manage you, to stop you from being so unkempt all day long.” Li Huai De laughed and said.
“You already know to call her 'aunt', so I won't bother. This is your aunt, Wang Mei Lan.”
Then Li Huai De turned to Wang Mei Lan and said, “Wife, this is that rascal kid Lin Yu. He's my nephew, and he works in our logistics procurement department.”
“But this kid refuses to work honestly, and he's always running to the mountains. If you have any good girls, hurry and introduce them to him. He's too wild to manage.”
Lin Yu placed all the things on the floor, opened the bag, and took out the contents one by one.
“Uncle, you're wrong this time. I'm not old enough. I still have two years before I can get married.”
“Aunt, if you have any good girls, save them for your big nephew. I'll come and get them after two years.”
“Pfft...” Wang Mei Lan burst out laughing after Lin Yu's words.
“No wonder Old Li said he needs someone to manage you. With that smooth talk, you'll probably ruin a lot of good girls in the future.”
Lin Yu shook his head quickly and said, “That's impossible. Aunt, don't worry. I'm not the kind of person who can't resist a beautiful girl. I just like hunting.”
“Uncle, stop staring. Give me a hand.” Lin Yu said to Old Li, who was staring wide-eyed.
“Alright, alright, I'm coming.” Li Huai De quickly took the two wolf skins.
“Good kid. You saw those skinned wolves and didn't feel anything. But now you see the wolf skin, you realize these wolves are not small.”
“Your marksmanship is amazing. You hit them all in the head, without even a single scratch on the fur.”
Lin Yu took out the two wild chickens and the meat, then turned back and said, “It's not the right time now. The fur is best in winter. When it snows, I'll have a chance to hunt a couple of bears. Bear skin coats are warm.”
Li Huai De couldn't help but take another look at Lin Yu. “You're a tough kid. If you were in the army, you'd be a combat hero at least.”
“Heh, our family has already produced several combat heroes, I'm not missing one.” Lin Yu said with a smile.
“My dad, my third uncle, my fourth uncle, my big cousin, my brother, they all fought in the icy battlefield.”
Lin Yu said these things to reveal a little more of his background to Li Huai De.
Otherwise, with Old Li's personality, he really might treat you like a dumb kid who just does chores.
Sure enough, hearing Lin Yu's words, Li Huai De's pupils shrank subconsciously, and then he said, “Little Yu, this is quite a feast. What are all these?”
Lin Yu pointed to the wine jar and said, “Uncle, this is deer blood wine, but it was just brewed today, so you have to wait a few days before drinking it.”
“This is a rack of venison, this is a wild goat leg, and this is the wild boar belly. It’s a wild boar that's about half-grown, the meat is still tender, unlike the big ones sold in the factory.”
“These two are male wild chickens. Their feathers are beautiful, perfect for gifts.”
“Those two wolf skins have just been tanned, it’s best to air them for a few more days. You can use them to make quilts or knee pads, they're good stuff.”
After listening to Lin Yu's introduction, Wang Mei Lan quickly said, “Little Yu, this is too precious. It wouldn't be good if people found out. You should take some back. We can’t eat this much.”
Lin Yu waved his hand and said, “Aunt, I hunted all of these myself. I'm not asking my uncle to do me any favors, and I'm not breaking any rules.”
“You and my uncle can divide it up for your families. If my uncle needs to give gifts, he can use it. But you have to do it quickly. The weather is too hot and it won’t last long. It’s best to handle it all tomorrow.”
Li Huai De patted Wang Mei Lan's shoulder and said, “Little Yu is right. It just so happens that we're going to my dad's place for a family gathering tomorrow, and my brother-in-law's family will be there too. We can just bring the meat and wild chickens over tomorrow.”
Wang Mei Lan nodded and said to Lin Yu, “Then thank you, Little Yu.”
“Aunt, don’t be so polite. It's too hot to store the meat now. If it's winter, I'll bring you a whole wild goat. That's the kind of meat that's really fresh for making soup or hot pot.”
Li Huai De glared at Lin Yu and said, “You’re really making me lose my appetite now.”
“But you really know how to enjoy yourself. You eat better than me. Sit down and have a drink with me.”
Wang Mei Lan quickly went to the cabinet and got Lin Yu a set of chopsticks.
“Little Yu, sit down and have a drink with your uncle. Try your aunt’s cooking.”
Lin Yu rubbed his hands and said, “Alright, I’ll have some. As soon as I walked in, I smelled the fish your aunt made.”