Hu Weichao and Hu Weixin keenly watched the rabbit and the snake in the basket; Tian Xinhua took out a small knife, ready to slaughter the rabbit and skin the snake, planning to cook them for dinner, with He Chengsi helping by the side.
"Sisi, let’s cook braised rabbit tonight, the braised rabbit you cooked last time was so delicious." He Chengsi couldn’t forget about the braised rabbit.
"Ah Nan can cook too? Then tonight we’ll have a taste of Chef Tian’s cooking skills," laughed Hu Weichao and Hu Weixin.
"You guys are really too cruel, thinking of eating such a cute little bunny?"
When Qiqi stepped out into the yard and saw the bunny with its big black eyes, her heart melted. She squatted down to tease the bunny with a leaf, only to hear Tian Sisi and others discussing how to eat the rabbit, which immediately displeased her.
"Sister Qiqi, it’s not that small, this bunny weighs about seven to eight pounds," Tian Sisi corrected Qiqi’s mistake.
"A ’little bunny’ is a general term for rabbits, didn’t you know? Anyway, you guys are not allowed to eat the rabbit," Qiqi fumed.
"Daddy spent six yuan to buy it; not eating it would be a waste," Tian Sisi said kindly, though she certainly wouldn’t admit that she was teasing the little girl.
"Are you even a girl anymore? How can you bear to eat such a cute bunny?"
Finding that playing tough didn’t work, Qiqi tried a softer approach, coaxing Tian Sisi to change her mind. She could see that if Tian Sisi agreed not to eat the rabbit, the others probably wouldn’t eat it either.
"This rabbit isn’t cute at all, it’s filthy. Sister Qiqi, rabbit meat is really delicious, you’ll know once you try it."
The others were highly amused by Tian Sisi and Qiqi’s conversation. He Chengsi, losing his patience since he only had patience for Sisi but not for other girls, said,
"Go away, just because you don’t want to eat it, does that mean you can forbid us from eating it? Really, treating a rabbit like a precious gem, there are so many rabbits at our place, and plenty of pheasants too!"
Tian Xinhua couldn’t be bothered with Qiqi, calling her pretentious! However, he still politely looked at Hu Weichao for a signal, as they were in someone else’s house and still needed to respect the host.
"Xinhua, don’t mind her, she’s always , pretending all day long. Let’s butcher the rabbit together; I’ve never butchered one before!" Hu Weichao completely ignored Qiqi and urged Tian Xinhua to make the cut quickly, with Hu Weixin also pushing incessantly.
"Brother Xin Hua, we need to boil water first; we have to scald the rabbit, don’t skin it."
After saying this, Tian Sisi went to the kitchen to boil water. Rabbit fur is of no use in summer, so during this time rabbits are generally scalded for eating.
Qiqi stomped her foot in anger and ran into the house to find Zhou Meili, tearfully explaining the situation, hoping to have her grandma and great aunt intervene and save the rabbit.
"Raise a rabbit? People are starving, and you want to keep a rabbit? Are you muddle-headed?" Zhou Meili scolded her granddaughter.
Zhou Yali also agreed with her sister, mentioning that she used to love small animals too, but nowadays, who keeps cats and dogs anymore? They’ve all become dinner.
Not getting any support from the adults, Girl Qiqi could only sit in the corner with red eyes, mourning the poor rabbit. After a while, she couldn’t stay put any longer and ran out to the yard; the young girl’s sorrow came quickly and left quickly too.
Zhou Meili couldn’t be bothered with her granddaughter, turning to her sister and asking, "Yali, did you get anything sorted out about Wei Wen’s going to the countryside? You need to hurry and pull some strings, several from our alley have already confirmed their places, and it seems they all got sent to Yunnan or Sichuan. The adults in their families are crying their hearts out."
"Ah, what’s the point in pulling strings? That scoundrel Wei Wen registered himself early," Zhou Yali sighed, then somewhat proudly mentioned how Tian Manxing, their third brother in the army, held a high rank.
She concluded, "Wei Wen is now settled to go to Inner Mongolia, though it might be tough, having his third uncle there should make things a bit better."
"Oh dear, your Manxing really doesn’t show off at all, after all these years we didn’t know Manxing held such a high position in the army. If we had known, four years ago, we could have arranged for Ahua to go to Inner Mongolia too, ah, my poor granddaughter!"
Zhou Meili first expressed envy, then slightly blamed her sister for not pulling strings for her granddaughter when they had such a well-connected relative, calling it careless.