Meng Grandfather felt a hint of interest towards the boy who had just spoken. He asked with a smile, "Lad, whose family are you from? How old are you this year?"
The boy hadn't expected to gain the favor of Second Master Meng after just a few words. He immediately replied with a smile, "Replying to Second Master Meng, my surname is Shan, given name Xiaocong. I am twelve this year and am a bastard son of the Shan family."
After answering, Shan Xiaocong thought for a moment and added, "Although I am a bastard son, my father only has me as his son."
Shan Xiaocong's words made Meng Grandfather laugh heartily, "What a clever boy."
After hearing what the bastard son of the Shan family had said, Fu Xinci also cast a subtle glance at him.
Indeed, this boy should be treated well at home. At least his clothes had far fewer patches than his companions'.
A wild boar weighing over two hundred jin, after being butchered and its head, hooves, and entrails removed, still yielded more than a hundred and seventy jin.
Meng Grandfather was not stingy. He agreed to give meat to the young men from the garrison and had Qi Yuanshan cut out fifty jin himself.
Qi Yuanshan refused, "Uncle, fifty jin is too much. Just give us ten or eight jin."
"That won't do. Ten jin is barely anything; it'll be gone after a single mouthful for everyone. Uncle said fifty jin, so it's fifty jin. Not a single jin less."
Qi Yuanshan couldn't argue with Uncle Meng and had to comply. He cut out fifty jin and set it aside to take back with him.
Meng Grandfather then asked Qi Yuanshan to help and cut out one jin of meat for each family in Mengjia Village.
Everyone, overjoyed, came forward to express their thanks.
After everyone had returned to stew their meat, Meng Grandfather personally cut out about half a jin of meat and gave it to the bastard son of the Shan family.
Shan Xiaocong hadn't expected to receive half a jin of meat. After bowing to Second Master Meng in thanks, he took the half jin of meat and scurried home.
His family hadn't eaten meat in a long time. His father had recently fallen ill and was lying on the heated brick bed, groaning as he recovered. He wanted to hurry home so his concubine could make meat porridge for his father, hoping his father would recover quickly.
The other boys from Wujia Village, knowing there was nothing for them, dispersed.
Meng Grandfather glanced again at the person who had been standing behind him and cut another two jin of meat, handing it over.
"Second Brother, I'm not..."
"It's not for you. The children are all growing; this is for them to eat."
"Thank you, Second Brother." Meng Qinghuai took the meat his second brother had given him, truly not knowing what to say to his second brother.
Fortunately, Meng Grandfather understood his temperament and was not surprised.
Instead, he discussed with Qi Yuanshan, "Yuanshan, later, have Yu'er's wife stew the head, hooves, and entrails, and stuff the blood into sausage casings. You'll eat dinner here tonight."
"Alright, I'll eat dinner here and then go back."
After agreeing, Qi Yuanshan helped to debone the remaining wild boar meat, cutting it into portions of one or two jin.
"Uncle, I'll help you move this to the courtyard. By bedtime, it should be nearly frozen. Find an unobtrusive spot in the courtyard and place a large vat. Put all this meat into the vat, and it won't spoil until next spring."
"Ah, the winter in Liaodong does have its advantages. Nothing spoils when kept outside and frozen."
"Heh heh." Qi Yuanshan gave a wry smile, "These are the only advantages."
"It's good to have advantages; it's better than nothing," Meng Grandfather said. Then, pointing at Qi Yuanshan's army uniform stained with pig blood, he continued, "Yuanshan, take off your clothes and wash them immediately. The bloodstains can still be washed off. If you wait too long, they'll be hard to remove."
Qi Yuanshan didn't agree immediately; he felt a bit embarrassed to change clothes at Uncle Meng's house.
Qi He understood his father and, fearing his father's awkwardness, took his father's hand and led him to the room where he and Yu'er stayed.
Meng Grandfather also followed, fearing Qi Yuanshan wouldn't know how to wear the clothes.
The old man thought that he at least had experience.
Qi He led his father first to the washroom, where they cleaned the dirt and blood from their hands and faces. Then, he helped his father get the bundle containing the strange clothes.
Qi He opened the bundle and was a bit bewildered by the clothes inside.
"Dad?"
Qi Yuanshan looked at the clothes his son took out of the bundle and was also stunned.
"What are these clothes? We've never seen them before."
Father and son exchanged bewildered glances, not knowing what to do.
But they thought that these clothes were carefully selected by Xinci, and the fabric was indeed good. Even without wearing them, they knew they were wear-resistant, and inside, they felt warm.
Alas, as the father and son were worrying, they heard a knock on the door.
"Yuanshan, Xiao He."
Qi He quickly came out of the washroom to open the door for Meng Grandfather.
"Meng Grandfather."
"Uncle Meng."
"Yes."
Meng Grandfather came in and, seeing the appearance of the father and son, knew he had come at the right time.
The room was warm. Meng Grandfather first smiled and took off his down jacket.
Then, he took the clothes that the father and son were holding.
"Uncle."
"Come, Uncle will help you put them on."
"Uncle."
"Yuanshan, these clothes are different from the ones we're used to wearing. If Uncle doesn't teach you, you really won't be able to put them on."
Meng Grandfather, fearing Qi Yuanshan's embarrassment, lowered his voice and said, "Back then, I couldn't put them on myself either. It wasn't until a traveling merchant taught me twice that I learned."
"Oh." Hearing that Uncle Meng had also learned from a traveling merchant, Qi Yuanshan's expression finally improved a little.
After he finally dressed himself in the clothes and boots under Uncle Meng's guidance, he saw astonishment in the eyes of Uncle Meng and his son.
Meng Grandfather, being older, knew to ask first, "Yuanshan, how do these clothes feel? Are they comfortable?"
"Uncle, they are comfortable and warm," Qi Yuanshan didn't say that this set of clothes was much warmer than the winter uniforms issued by the higher authorities.
"And these boots, they won't be cold even in heavy snow," Qi Yuanshan said, deliberately lifting his leg to show Uncle Meng.
Meng Grandfather nodded with satisfaction, thinking: It's no wonder my granddaughter padded these boots with two pairs of insoles.
Meng Grandfather, being thoughtful, also mentioned the matter of the two pairs of insoles in the boots. "These insoles will make the boots warmer, and you can stand in the snow for a longer time. However, when you sleep at night, it's best to take them out and place them on the mat or dry them by the fire. That way, they will remain warm when you put them back in the boots the next day."
Qi Yuanshan understood Uncle Meng's words and had an idea. The military boots they were issued could also have insoles.
They just didn't have ready-made insoles. They could cut out insoles from old cotton clothes that were no longer wearable.
With this inspiration, he couldn't stay a moment longer. He had to return to the garrison immediately to inform all the soldiers.