Chapter 681 - 588: Protecting the Pangolin
Chapter 681: Chapter 588: Protecting the Pangolin
Xiao Man had overestimated her cousins’ enthusiasm. The moment they heard the rabbits needed skinning, the girls quickly scattered. Even the young men took a few steps back, claiming they didn’t know how. Xiao Man smiled and said, "What a shame. We don’t know how either. I guess we’ll just have to find a cage for them for now. Later, we can have my brother-in-law take them to the mine’s cafeteria to sell. It’d be more satisfying to use the money to buy some pork to eat!"
At these words, two young men immediately stepped forward. One of them rolled up his sleeves and said, "Xiao Man, you just don’t get it. Who hasn’t had pork before? But this rabbit meat is wild game, something you don’t see often. Braise it in a dry pot with ginger, scallions, garlic, chili peppers, and all sorts of spices... oh, the aroma! It’s enough to make the gods themselves descend from heaven! And this pangolin, its meat is so fresh and tender, *tsk tsk*, absolutely delicious... If you all don’t know how to prepare it, leave it to Brother Ah Liu!"
"Leave the pangolin. Don’t touch it!" Xiao Man bent down to get a closer look at the creature, which was curled into a ball, and gently poked its tough scales.
Brother Ah Liu was bewildered. "Why? We already caught it. If we’re not going to eat it, what are we doing? Raising it for the New Year?"
Another cousin said, "Xiao Man, you can’t keep a pangolin alive in captivity. It’ll just starve or freeze to death. We might as well eat it while it’s fresh. Besides, if we only have rabbit meat on the table later, Grandma and the others have weak teeth and might not be able to chew it. Pangolin meat would be perfect for them!"
The others also gathered around, chattering and trying to persuade her. Now, all of a sudden, they all seemed to know the best ways to cook pangolin, and they all did their best to prove that a pangolin couldn’t be kept alive.
Xiao Man moved the pangolin to a corner against the wall and covered it with a bamboo basket. "Whether it can be kept alive or not, we are not eating it!"
’In this era, the country hadn’t yet enacted any animal protection laws. Seeing the drooling, covetous looks her cousins were giving the pangolin, Xiao Man knew she couldn’t possibly raise their consciousness with just a few words. They weren’t about to give up their culinary desires and spare small animals like the pangolin. So, she didn’t waste her breath trying to lecture them.’
The cousins were all very disappointed, feeling that a few wild rabbits wouldn’t be enough to eat. Just then, Jiang Junlin returned from the backyard, carrying two chickens and two ducks. The poultry raised by Grandma and Yu Wumei were more than twice the size of anyone else’s. The rooster weighed at least eight or nine pounds, and the ducks were just as heavy. They made a loud THUD when set on the ground, and you could estimate their weight without even using a scale. The onlookers grew excited again: now there would be more than enough meat on the table!
Everyone finally gave up on the pangolin and gathered around the chickens and ducks, clicking their tongues in admiration. They all remarked how well their great-uncle’s family was doing—even their chickens and ducks were as fat as piglets.
Yu Wumei came back with a large basket of fresh vegetables she had just cut. When she saw that Da Zhi and the others had caught four fat wild rabbits from the mountain, she told Jiang Junlin to take the two chickens and two ducks back to the coop in the backyard—if they cooked too much meat, they wouldn’t be able to finish it, and the leftovers wouldn’t be fresh!
The changing expressions on the cousins’ faces were quite a sight to behold. They were one step away from blurting out, ’Aunt, we can finish it all! If not, we can just stay the night and have another meal in the evening, right?’
Perhaps constrained by the age-old rule that aunts are harder to reason with than uncles, the group didn’t dare to negotiate with Yu Wumei about slaughtering another chicken or duck, despite their obvious displeasure. After a moment of awkward silence, they all dispersed, lest they be roped into doing chores.
Xiao Man pulled over a small stool and sat beside the pangolin, watching it. A mischievous, private smile touched her lips.
Da Zhi, Dapeng, and Gu Shaoqin each had a bowl of hot porridge to tide them over. When they came out, they saw Xiao Man still guarding the pangolin and gathered around her. Xiao Man didn’t know much about pangolins herself and couldn’t explain all the reasons why they were a protected species, so she could only tell the three youths in plain, direct terms:
"Pangolins are a rare species; there aren’t many of them left in the world. They’re harmless to humans and they eat termites—you know, those awful pests that chew up furniture and destroy crops. Foreigners are already starting to protect pangolins, and I’m sure Huaxia will pass laws to protect these little animals soon too. So, if you ever see a pangolin again, don’t dig it up or catch it. You should tell your friends, too. Once the law is passed, if you catch or harm these protected animals and the police find out, you’ll be fined. In serious cases, you could even go to jail!"
Da Zhi and Dapeng blinked in surprise and nodded obediently. They didn’t lack for meat, so even if they craved the taste of pangolin, they wouldn’t catch one now that Sister Xiao Man had explained the reasoning. But they knew others might not be the same; after all, pangolin meat really was delicious.
Gu Shaoqin looked at Xiao Man, a little embarrassed. "I... I’ve eaten pangolin meat a few times. It was served at family banquets. I had no idea they were a rare species. When I get back, I’ll tell my grandmother and the others so we won’t eat it anymore!"
Xiao Man: "..."
’Why did this guy have to bring up family banquets? Was he trying to remind me that I’ve eaten it too? But no one told me it was pangolin when I ate it!’
’Sigh. What’s done is done; I can’t exactly throw it up now. I guess I’ll just have to do as Gu Shaoqin suggested and say something when I get back. I’ll come up with some explanation and do my small part to protect rare animals.’
Just then, Jiang Junlin returned from the backyard. Xiao Man quickly waved him over to see the pangolin. ’He’s a teacher. If he spreads the word to his students in class, the effect would be even better.’
Coincidentally, Yu Wumei sent Da Zhi up the mountain to tell Grandpa and Xiao Man’s father that their great-aunt had arrived and to call them home for the meal. Xiao Man had Da Zhi take the pangolin with him to release it back on the mountain.
Da Zhi hesitated. "We dug it up in the woods on a different mountain ridge. If we release it on White Hat Mountain, will it be okay? What if it dies?"
Xiao Man didn’t know either. "Go ask Grandpa, maybe he’ll know what to do. If this pangolin can make its home in our herb garden, we won’t have to worry about termites damaging the herbs."
Hearing this, Da Zhi happily picked up the pangolin and ran off.
Qiuyan came out of the kitchen and squatted beside Xiao Man, cupping her cheeks and pouting as if she’d been wronged. "What’s wrong?" Xiao Man asked. Qiuyan whined, "I can’t stand Mom and Sister Xinghua! They didn’t lock my bedroom door, and now there are two people lying on my bed. How am I supposed to sleep tonight?"
"So many of them came, but Shangling Village isn’t far. They won’t be staying the night," Xiao Man said with certainty.
"But those two girls didn’t even take off their coats! They crawled into my bed with their socks still on, without even washing their feet. My sheets were just washed and put on two days ago... I just went to complain to Mom, and she called me petty!"
"It’s okay. I brought back a whole box of sheet and duvet cover sets this time. They’re all new styles, you know? The kind you can just slip on without any sewing. They’re in Grandma’s room. Grandma said she’ll let Sister Xinghua pick two sets first, and then she’ll give one to you. Get it from Grandma tonight and you can change everything on your bed!"
Qiuyan was overjoyed. "Really? I’ll go talk to Grandma right now!"
"Not so fast. Don’t you see Great-Aunt and Aunt Ahua are here? Great-Aunt is the worst when it comes to asking for things. She has several granddaughters who are about to get married. If she finds out Grandma has a stash of new sheets and duvet covers, she’ll definitely want some. Even if Grandma says no, Grandpa can’t stand up to her pestering."
Qiuyan remembered the two pairs of beautiful leather shoes Sister Xiao Man had sent her from Beijing. Great-Aunt had wheedled one pair away from Grandpa for her own granddaughter. The memory made Qiuyan instantly sober up and stay put. "Okay, I’ll wait until no one’s around to talk to Grandma!"