Hu Minglang led the way, thanking Zhao Liangcai, "General Zhao, thanks to the batch of sheep you requested, otherwise I wouldn't even have the money for wages this year."
"You mentioned the Imperial City also bought a lot of sheep last year, and this year..."
Zhao Liangcai did not directly answer Hu Minglang's unfinished sentence, "Uncle Hu, you are indeed humorous. I heard that the Northwest Camp bought quite a few sheep from you, and the price was much lower than mine."
Hu Minglang chuckled sheepishly, "General Zhao, oh my, you are all important figures, and I dare not offend any of you."
"In that case, I'll give the extra fifty sheep to General Zhao."
Zhao Liangcai glanced sideways and saw Qin Junyao following him, smiling and waving his hand at Hu Minglang, "Business is business, but I do want to ask Uncle Hu for a favor."
"The village chief of my Yangshu Village died in an accident, and there has been no one to manage the village affairs. You know I just got married a month ago."
"Understood," Hu Minglang nodded. "Your in-laws are not very helpful, but they shouldn't be too much of a burden. Is it your father-in-law or brother-in-law?"
"Father-in-law."
"Done. The county yamen is sealed now. After the New Year, once the yamen opens, a clerk will be dispatched."
This was not Zhao Liangcai's first time here, and Hu Minglang noticed the route he was taking led to the slaughterhouse.
Opening the door to the slaughterhouse and inviting Zhao Liangcai in, Hu Minglang seemed to finally notice Qin Junyao following behind.
Hu Minglang's brows furrowed, and he looked up at Qin Junyao with his chin raised, "General Zhao, this..."
"It's nothing."
Zhao Liangcai offered no further explanation.
Hu Minglang scrutinized Qin Junyao from head to toe with disdain, but said no more and let them in.
The room was hot without a stove, and over a dozen people were slaughtering sheep.
Qin Junyao watched as the slaughterer made a small incision on the sheep's body, only cutting through the skin without damaging the meat.
The slaughterer inserted their hand into the opening, and within seconds, the sheep breathed its last, without a sound.
Qin Junyao, distracted by Zhao Liangcai and Hu Minglang's conversation, kept her eyes on the slaughterer's technique, unable to grasp its secret.
The slaughterers not only killed the sheep but also skinned them, collected the blood, and removed the entrails.
The slaughterer made small cuts on the sheep's four hooves, sliced around them, separating the skin from the legs, and then continued upwards along the legs...
Qin Junyao watched as the slaughterer skinned the sheep without a drop of blood, drained the blood cleanly, and removed the entrails efficiently.
It took less than fifteen minutes to slaughter and completely butcher one sheep.
Feeling he had seen enough, Zhao Liangcai proposed to leave. Ten butchered sheep were loaded into the back of the carriage, and the couple got in to head home.
"I thought Uncle Hu seemed eager to share a meal with you. Why didn't you stay?" Qin Junyao took a water pouch from a box inside the carriage and handed it to Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai uncorked the water pouch and offered it back to Qin Junyao to drink first.
"What Uncle Hu? He's just a despicable man who wants information for free. He utterly looks down on women. If you ate with him, you wouldn't even have a place to sit. He has no manners."
Qin Junyao thought to herself, no wonder. But that Mr. Hu probably hadn't met any formidable women. If he met Sister Manshuang, he would only be fit to kneel and kowtow.
Seeing Zhao Liangcai's strong dislike for this Mr. Hu, she wondered why he still bought sheep from him.
Soon, Zhao Liangcai provided Qin Junyao with the answer, "Hu Minglang's third uncle is a renowned gentry in this area. It's also for this reason that he was selected through layers of screening to be one of the households raising tribute sheep."
"The commander of the Northwest Camp, Shao Yong, often uses the tactic of giving benefits. The sheep eaten by the higher-ups are used to send as gifts, which is both impressive and cost-saving."
Zhao Liangcai took a few large gulps from the water pouch and continued, "By giving Hu Minglang some benefits, he can reveal how many sheep Shao Yong bought. Through the sheep, one can roughly estimate how many people Shao Yong gifted them to."
Qin Junyao, half-understanding, asked, "Then you bought sheep too?"
Zhao Liangcai pinched Qin Junyao's face, "Silly girl, it's all about feints and strategies. War isn't just about real swords and spears on the battlefield. Don't forget Shao Yong still wants to capture you to threaten me."
In reality, he only spent money on the ten sheep in the back of the carriage; the rest were bought on behalf of Prince Luo.
Zhao Liangcai took Qin Junyao's hand and warmed it in his, "Let's not talk about that. What did you feel when watching the sheep being slaughtered?"
Qin Junyao thought for a moment, "It was fast, clean, without seeing the sheep's pain, it felt as if their death wasn't felt."
"But how did they make the sheep die without pain?"
Zhao Liangcai raised a hand and placed it behind Qin Junyao's neck, his fingers caressing her hairline.
Qin Junyao shivered and didn't pull away. Both her hands were held by Zhao Liangcai's other hand, so she could only passively listen to him explain the sheep slaughter.
"There are two ways to slaughter sheep: the major slaughter and the minor slaughter."
"The major slaughter is slitting the sheep's throat. Blood gushes out, and the sheep writhes in pain. The advantage is that the blood is drained cleanly."
"The minor slaughter is also called the heart-extraction method. You insert your hand into the sheep's body, find the thickest blood vessel, and squeeze it tightly."
As Zhao Liangcai spoke of squeezing tightly, he pressed down slightly on Qin Junyao's neck. Qin Junyao immediately felt a bit dizzy, but quickly recovered.
"Yaoyao, if you encounter danger and can't bring yourself to kill, then strike here, and then make a few cuts here, and here. Whether they live or die is up to fate."
Qin Junyao felt Zhao Liangcai's fingers trace her neck from behind, to the side, her wrist, and other places. A chill ran from the soles of her feet upwards.
She closed her eyes, memorizing the spots where Zhao Liangcai's fingers, acting as knives, had moved across her body. She knew she wouldn't be able to forget it.
Upon reaching home, Qin Junyao hadn't fully recovered. Zhao Liangcai's explanation was too vivid.
The mutton, blood, and offal were taken to the kitchen. Zhao Liangcai went to the kitchen to arrange for mutton soup for the evening.
"Sister-in-law, should we go pick up Aunt Qin?" Fuzi accompanied Qin Junyao as she drank ginger date tea.
He didn't mind the spice, but Qin Junyao disliked ginger intensely.
"Why?" Qin Junyao watched Fuzi drink half a cup and had to force herself to drink half a cup like medicine.
"Let Aunt Qin scold my brother. He must have made you angry, and you're clearly in a bad mood."
Fuzi hopped off the stool, moved it closer to Qin Junyao, and sat back down. "Sister-in-law, I'll tell you a secret."
Qin Junyao leaned in, feigning interest, "What secret?"
"I'm so happy when someone scolds my brother. Watching my brother get scolded while eating steamed buns is the happiest."
Qin Junyao burst out laughing, her gloomy mood instantly vanishing.
"What are you two talking about that's so amusing?" Zhao Liangcai entered the room with a tray.
"Yaoyao, have a bowl of wontons. They're filled with venison."
"Brother, I want some too." Fuzi's eyes watered at the sight of the wontons floating with chopped scallions.
Zhao Liangcai moved Fuzi's stool further away and sat beside Qin Junyao. "You already ate at noon."
Fuzi ignored him, moved his stool to Qin Junyao's other side, and said, "Sister-in-law, I want some."
After successfully getting a wonton into his mouth, Fuzi ran to the door, wiggled his backside at Zhao Liangcai, and then dashed out to the kitchen to find more wontons.