Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 381 - 222 Licking the Calf (2)

While Qu Jing was busy gnawing on a corn cob, Qin Huai took a stroll around the village.

Qin Huai’s current range of activity was within a 20-meter radius centered around Qu Jing, which was a decent amount of space. Qu Jing’s physical condition was good, but her teeth were that of an average human. Gnawing on a corn cob was quite challenging; even if a tooth chipped, she might not manage to get a few pieces off.

The 20-meter range was enough for Qin Huai to thoroughly visit the village chief’s house and the neighbor’s house next door.

Overall, the conditions at the village chief’s house were quite decent. The house was made of red brick, and inside there was large furniture that immediately revealed the carpenter’s usual craftsmanship, a firewood room, a pigsty, and a yard.

In the pigsty were two little piglets, and in the yard, there were seven or eight chickens and two geese, economically far ahead of the neighboring houses.

The neighboring houses were all made of adobe.

Qin Huai couldn’t quite tell what era it was, but it was most likely before the 1960s. Even in the affluent village chief’s house, there was no sign of modern technology.

No electricity, running water, or bicycles, not even an enamel bowl. What reflected the village chief’s relatively better condition was having furniture, fewer patches on clothing, everyone in the family wearing pants, and cured meat in the kitchen.

When Qin Huai visited next door, he discovered three or four kids nestled on the kang, without pants to wear, they could only stay at home during the day.

"Oh my, you can’t eat corn cobs like that; it’ll break your teeth if you eat them raw. You have to grind them into powder to eat," the village head’s wife exclaimed in surprise, rushing into the room to snatch the corn cob from Qu Jing, meeting her longing gaze for food.

Ten minutes later, Qu Jing was sitting in the kitchen eating boiled sweet potatoes.

A circle of onlookers gathered around.

The village chief, his wife, the whole family of the eldest son, the whole family of the second son, the whole family of the youngest son, the whole extended family, young and old, were gathered around to watch intently, just because they watched Qu Jing eat eight large sweet potatoes, two corn cobs, and three bowls of wild vegetable paste right before their eyes.

"Burp." Qu Jing made a satisfied sound after swallowing the last bite of sweet potato.

"Full, full!" The village head’s wife was overjoyed, fearing Qu Jing might eat another sweet potato. She immediately rushed to her side to take away the rest of the food in her bowl. "Oh dear, eating like this, I’m afraid this girl might eat herself to death right here and I won’t have an explanation for Old Qu."

The village chief was also full of doubts, seemingly pondering whether suggesting that the hunter adopt Qu Jing was the right decision. He wondered if he was pushing an old friend into trouble, as an appetite like hers would be too much for a normal family to sustain and might explain why others wanted to abandon her.

Qu Jing had changed into a clean set of old clothes, faded and patched seven or eight times, her whole body was now clean, looking much better than before.

The village head’s wife didn’t throw away her previous clothes, saying they were good material and could still be worn if mended.

Qu Jing, after eating her fill, remained quietly in the kitchen, not moving, simply watching everyone in silence.

The village chief’s eldest son, a sturdy man, seeing that Qu Jing was full and unresponsive, couldn’t help but ask, "Could she be dim-witted?"

Qu Jing gave no response.

The village chief took a couple of puffs from his pipe, showing a troubled face: "This is tough, she can eat, she’s mute, and perhaps a bit slow. Am I really pushing Old Qu into the fire pit?"

The second son spoke up: "Dad, you don’t have to worry about anyone else wanting to adopt her now, rest assured, no one will."

The village chief was even more troubled.

The youngest son curiously asked, "Even if she’s a bit slow, Uncle Qu can afford to raise her, right? Didn’t he hunt a tiger seven or eight years ago that the county magistrate bought from him? He made a lot of Da yang, surely he can afford it."

"What county magistrate, he was a county head."

"But wasn’t the county head killed by bandits?"

"That was the previous one; the current one fled three years ago."

"Huh? Then why are we still paying taxes?"

"It’s not the same group collecting taxes; two years ago, it was that Wang Laohu guy who took off that was collecting them."

"What about now?"

"Seems like it’s under New China now."

"Is there a county head?"

"Probably, didn’t dad go to a meeting somewhere last year, which scared the third son so much he thought they were coming to draft him, and he packed up and ran to the mountains, couldn’t find his way until Uncle Qu brought him back."

Qu Jing just sat there wide-eyed, listening to the village chief’s family endlessly discussing things without a focal point, her face full of confusion but eager to learn. Finally, the village chief tapped his pipe, and the discussion ceased.

"Old Qu will be here to deliver food tonight; I’ll tell him about the girl’s situation then, and it’s up to him to decide whether to raise her or not." The village chief concluded firmly, and left.

After the village chief left, the family continued to chatter back and forth.

Perhaps believing Qu Jing was too young and a mute little fool, they didn’t avoid discussing things in front of her. She could sit by and listen as long as she didn’t try to eat more sweet potatoes.

Eating more, they really feared she might eat herself to death.

From their discussions, Qin Huai gleaned some key information.

Firstly, this village was Guo Family Village, where most people were surnamed Guo. Qu the Hunter was actually a native of Guo Family Village but carried the surname Qu because he was adopted by the previous hunter’s family in the village.

In terms of familial relations, Qu the Hunter was actually a cousin to some degree with the village chief.

Qu the Hunter didn’t live in the village but at the foot of the mountain. That place was closer to the mountains and hence more dangerous; when food in the mountains was scarce, wolves and wild boars often came down to forage, and occasionally bears or tigers would descend.

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