Starting from iron smelting

Chapter 8 Barbecue Dinner

At this moment, Lu Xiuyuan felt the deer's struggle becoming more intense, and the deer seemed to have foreseen its own death, but he was determined not to waver. As the dagger penetrated deeper, the deer let out a low whine from its throat and slowly stopped struggling.

Lu Xiuyuan also stopped struggling at the same time. After such a fierce "battle", Lu Xiuyuan felt as if his body was falling apart, his entire arm was aching, and his mouth was full of blood. He rested his hands on his knees, half bent his body, and gasped heavily.

Although he was very tired, Lu Xiuyuan was still very happy. "Fortunately, I was smart. The deer I hunted was really big. It was almost twice as big as me. It was enough for Grandpa and I to eat for half a month. It's a pity that I don't know how to skin the deer, otherwise it could sell for a good price."

Lu Xiuyuan then lay down on the lawn. Although the body of a deer was next to him, he no longer cared about that. The result of his high concentration and sudden relaxation was that he wanted to have a good rest.

"How strong this deer is, what beautiful its antlers are, and how delicious the venison meat must be. Remove the deer legs, roast them over the fire, and sprinkle some barbecue seasoning on them. It will surely taste amazing!"

Lu Xiuyuan lay on the lawn, thinking to himself, his salivary glands working frantically to secrete a large amount of saliva. Lu Xiuyuan rested enough, slowly got up, walked to the creek, saw his reflection in the creek, and saw that he had become a "Guan Gong", with blood all over his body, face, and head, and his hands were also stained with deer blood. This sticky feeling became even worse after the blood dried, and he felt that he could hardly hold his hands.

Lu Xiuyuan bent down and washed his face in the stream. The water flowed through his palms, cold and clear. He felt the water dripping down his cheeks, washing away the fatigue from the previous hunt bit by bit. The clear stream flowed through his fingertips, gently washing his hands stained with deer blood. The bright red bloodstains rippled with the water and gradually disappeared in the ripples.

Lu Xiuyuan stared at his hands, and a sense of tranquility washed away the traces of war came over him. As the water drops slid down his face, a glimmer of light flashed in Lu Xiuyuan's eyes. He seemed to be washing away not only the deer blood, but also the tense emotions deep in his heart. The stream water was clear to the bottom, like a mirror, reflecting his tired but determined eyes.

After washing his face, Lu Xiuyuan turned around and faced the huge deer. The deer was too big to drag back intact, so he planned to cut up the prey and move it back to the cabin like an ant moving house.

Lu Xiuyuan picked up the dagger from the ground, the blade gleaming in the sun. He stood beside the deer, looking at this majestic and solemn life, and carefully used the dagger to dismember the deer. Lu Xiuyuan thought to himself: "I haven't eaten pork, but haven't I seen a pig walk? I always thought I was a pretty good chef, so dealing with a deer shouldn't be a piece of cake, but this deer is really big, and the internal organs can't be kept, and there is no refrigerator to keep it fresh. Half of the venison we bring back will be roasted into jerky, and the other half will be air-dried, and can also be smoked into bacon." Before he even started, the deer had already been arranged clearly.

At this time, the deer was half lying on the ground, which made it difficult to cut it apart. Lu Xiuyuan used all his strength to push the deer over, so that it was upside down with its four legs and belly facing up. Then he found its ribs and inserted a knife under its neck. He kept cutting with the dagger to the bottom of the deer's abdomen, and first cut the deer skin a little bit. Then he used his hands to open the deer skin, put the dagger inside the skin, and separated the skin and flesh a little bit. When the whole deer's abdomen was exposed to the field of vision, he used a dagger to cut the white diaphragm of the body, opened the whole deer's abdominal cavity, and then he could see the deer's internal organs.

Lu Xiuyuan didn't bother to take off his clothes or roll up his sleeves. He just put his hands deep into the abdominal cavity and pushed out the deer's innards. Because the deer was so big, the deer's body alone could fit Lu Xiuyuan in its entirety. Lu Xiuyuan had to half-kneel and clean the deer bit by bit. Finally, he found the deer's lungs, cut the trachea with a dagger, and removed the entire huge lung. At this time, the deer's entire innards had been cleaned out.

Among the pile of offal, Lu Xiuyuan found the heart of a deer and inserted the dagger into it. This was a tradition of slaughtering pigs in his hometown. Although he had never slaughtered a pig, he had seen the scene of slaughtering pigs many times during the Chinese New Year when he was a child.

Then he spread the deer's two hind legs apart and cut along the skin lines on the inner thigh all the way to the deer's hip. He made a circular cut at the deer's leg and hip joint, and the entire deer's hind leg was completely cut off. The same method was used for the other leg.

At this time, Lu Xiuyuan was so tired that he put the two deer legs on the ground and dragged them towards the cabin.

These two deer legs are already the limit of Lu Xiuyuan's ability, but he has to quicken his pace, as most of the deer is still there and has not moved. If he goes back too late, it will be ruined. All kinds of wild animals will come to share the food, and the deer he hunted at such a risk of his life will be used by others. Thinking of this, Lu Xiuyuan's pace quickened.

As his pace quickened, the cabin gradually came into his sight. For Lu Xiuyuan, this was already his safe haven in this strange land. He pushed open the door of the cabin steadily and entered the dim and warm space.

When the old hunter saw Lu Xiuyuan coming back with two deer legs, he was so excited that he almost jumped out of the bed and said happily: "Good boy, I didn't expect you to succeed. I thought I would starve for the next two days. Did you catch such big deer by yourself?" Lu Xiuyuan nodded proudly after hearing this.

The old hunter said, "That's great. You can catch such a big deer on your first hunt. There's no limit to what young people can do." Lu Xiuyuan said anxiously, "I can't carry it back by myself. I still have more than half of the deer to carry back. You wait for me at home. I'll go and carry the deer back."

"Okay, do what you can. If you can't bring it back, just leave it there. We can't eat so much." The old hunter said with concern. Lu Xiuyuan nodded after hearing it, hung the two deer legs high, took a big backpack, and ran to the place where he had hunted deer just now.

Fortunately, they returned not long ago and the venison had not been taken away by other animals. Lu Xiuyuan also knew that he could not delay any longer. If he delayed any further, the smell of the deer's blood would attract creatures in the mountains, and it would be difficult for him to walk.

In this situation, we should take as much meat as possible and discard the bones if possible. Lu Xiuyuan picked up the dagger and removed the two front legs with less meat, discarding them aside. Lu Xiuyuan then took the back seat and belly of the deer.

Since the two hind legs had been taken away, the huge back of the deer was exposed. Lu Xiuyuan didn't have time to skin it, so he directly inserted a dagger into the meat and cut the whole back into small pieces. He put them into the backpack, and soon half of the backpack was full. Then he set his sights on the belly of the deer, which is the essence of the deer and where the fat is. He cut off a large piece of belly and put it into the backpack, and didn't forget to put the heart of the deer into the backpack. No need to ask why, just ask because Lu Xiuyuan likes to eat it.

The backpack at this time was almost as heavy as a person's. Lu Xiuyuan had a hard time carrying it. The weight on his back made him unable to straighten his back. He had to bend down and bent over to carry the backpack.

The distance back to the cabin seemed extremely long. After walking and stopping many times, we finally arrived. After putting the meat away, we set out again despite our physical fatigue and brought back the remaining venison. The other bad parts, bones, and internal organs were left there to feed other animals.

After resting for a while, it was getting dark, so Lu Xiuyuan started to prepare for the barbecue. He first grilled the deer leg for dinner. He found a wooden stick and tied the deer leg to it as a simple grill. Then he learned from the old hunter's method, lit a bonfire, put the deer leg on the bonfire, and started grilling.

The roasted venison legs were hung on a simple barbecue rack, the meat was firm and plump. The flames kissed the venison legs passionately, and from time to time there was a slight crackling sound accompanied by the fragrance, which was like a poem and a picture.

The golden flames reflected the bright red meat surface, illuminating the surrounding cabins. The crispy and fragrant skin was like a layer of golden sweet temptation, as if telling people about the generous gift of nature.

As the fire gently turned, the aroma gradually rose and spread. The seasonings on the venison leg melted into the meat, exuding a light gamey flavor with a hint of grassy fragrance, filling the entire air with an alluring aroma.

The deer leg smelled so good that Lu Xiuyuan's neck grew longer, and the greedy hunter was drooling. After a long wait, the deer leg was finally ready. Lu Xiuyuan cut it into two parts with a dagger, and each of them took half a leg. They held the deer leg and started to chew on it.

Lu Xiuyuan picked up the roasted deer leg, the golden exterior exuding an alluring aroma. Biting it gently with his teeth, the meat was tender and full of wild flavor. The skin was crispy, and the meat inside was juicy, mixed with the smoky flavor of the flames, as if it was a journey of taste buds in nature.

As he chewed, the unique flavor of venison filled his mouth, with a hint of wild saltiness in the sweetness. The meat was cooked at the right temperature, maintaining a delicate texture while exuding a primitive sense of roughness. The aroma spread in his mouth, awakening every sense in Lu Xiuyuan's taste buds. He ate so hard that he shook his head and praised it repeatedly, and the old hunter also applauded.

Lu Xiuyuan stroked the venison with his tongue, savoring the unique art of roasting. In the quiet of the night, the firelight illuminated him, bathing in an atmosphere of satisfaction and happiness. Every bite was a luxurious enjoyment, thanking the gift of nature. This meal was so delicious that after the food was finished, the cups and plates were scattered, and they lay together in the room, not noticing that the east was already bright.