Chapter Fifty: Beggar’s Chicken

In the eyes of people from this era, weasels were not just simple chicken thieves; they were iconic creatures in folk legends, deeply associated with tales of revenge and gratitude. Legends about weasels were everywhere.

Popularly known as "Great Immortal Huang" among the common folk, they held a formidable reputation.

In any case, the villagers held a deep awe for these creatures and would not easily provoke them.

Even if their domestic chickens and ducks were bitten to death, people often dared not say much, nor did they have the courage to chase them away upon an encounter. At most, they would try to find a way to "politely invite them to leave."

Weasels held fierce grudges, and offending one could easily disrupt the peace of a household. The older generation was terrified of retribution.

However, Chen Ling did not believe in such superstitions at all, so he offered a reminder: "Second Aunt, don't rush to kowtow just yet. Take a look and see if your chickens have been harmed first. Not long ago, Chunyuan's family up front lost an entire yard full of chickens."

Upon hearing this, old Mrs. Wang immediately tightened her face and glared at Chen Ling. "What do you know, you child? This is Great Immortal Huang. When the Great Immortal graces us with its presence, even if it doesn't eat my chickens, I still have to offer chickens to the Immortal to avoid retribution."

"That shrew in the front yard lacks virtue in her speech, so bringing the Great Immortal upon herself is only what she deserves. I practice virtue and do good deeds in my daily life, so I am nothing like her."

Chen Ling was instantly left speechless, thinking to himself that if you, old lady, practice virtue and do good deeds, why are you always coveting other people's eggs?

With this thought, he noticed that the living weasel, taking advantage of the moment they were talking, picked up its dead companion by the mouth and sneaked it along the base of the wall toward the side.

It was trying to slip away while everyone was distracted.

Heidwa and Xiaojin, the two little pups, were the most alert. Their ears immediately perked up, and they began to bark loudly, reminding their master that the weasel was escaping.

"Look quickly, Second Aunt, this Great Immortal Huang is running away!" Wang Susu hurriedly called out.

Seeing this, old Mrs. Wang shushed the two little dogs and turned around to say to the young couple:

"If the Great Immortal is willing to leave, it means it sees my sincerity and won't argue with an old woman like me. This is a blessing in disguise. You two youngsters better keep a tight leash on your dogs and stop provoking the Immortal. Making the Immortal harbor a grudge is no laughing matter..."

Helpless, Chen Ling had to call the dogs over to his side, stopping them from barking further to prevent the superstitious old woman from making a fuss and starting a quarrel with him.

"Oh!"

At that moment, Wang Susu let out a sudden gasp of surprise and pointed in a certain direction. "Look, Second Aunt, Ah Ling, look over there."

Chen Ling turned his head to look and immediately caught sight of two weasels fleeing in panic.

This wasn't a case of one dead and one alive at all; clearly, both of them were alive. The weasel that had been lying motionless on the ground just moments before was simply playing dead.

As soon as people lowered their guard, they were completely fooled.

"This creature is truly cunning."

Chen Ling couldn't help but chuckle. In his past life, he hadn't interacted much with weasels either, and this was his first time encountering one up close.

"What do you mean by cunning? This is called having spiritual awareness. You young kids are fearless and have never witnessed the true power of Great Immortal Huang. From now on, you must show respect when you see the Great Immortal. These are words passed down by our ancestors, and they are never wrong."

Old Mrs. Wang let out a heavy snort and warned them.

Chen Ling couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself, *Fine, as long as you're happy, old lady.*

So he and Wang Susu called the two little pups and headed home.

Back home, Chen Ling grabbed each dog by one ear and began to lecture them: "You two run around the moment I take my eyes off you. You spend all day playing wildly with the village mutts. I washed the two of you clean this morning, and now you're covered in dirt and dust again."

The two little fellows immediately lowered their heads with dejected expressions, not daring to make a single sound.

Their originally clean fur was now covered in leaves and spiderwebs. Who knew where they had burrowed into while chasing those two weasels.

As Heidwa and Xiaojin grew older day by day, their range of activity gradually expanded. Chen Ling had originally thought the two little creatures would clash with the village mongrels.

To his surprise, they got along splendidly. Every time a dog barked outside the gate, the two of them couldn't stay indoors and would desperately want to run outside to play.

When Chen Ling was home, it was fine—they would stick close to him. But whenever Chen Ling was away, Wang Susu simply couldn't control them.

When it came down to it, it was all because Liuniu and that gang of little kids had taken them out to play a couple of times initially, allowing them to mingle and get familiar with the other dogs in the village.

Sitting to the side, Wang Susu continued weaving her medicine basket while smilingly watching the scene. After a moment, she asked with considerable perplexity:

"Logically speaking, weasels usually appear at night. How come they dare to show their faces in broad daylight now?"

Many families in the mountain village kept dogs, so weasels generally didn't dare to come out during the day.

They usually waited until nighttime, after most of the dogs had fallen asleep, before daring to sneak into people's yards to steal a couple of chickens or ducks.

"I reckon it's because everyone from our side went over to work for Erhu today. The weasel must have seen that there was hardly anyone at home, which is why it dared to come out and move around," Chen Ling guessed.

Wang Susu nodded, finding it quite reasonable.

Then she said, "Speaking of weasels, we haven't eaten that chicken Fifth Uncle left behind yesterday, the one bitten to death by a weasel. Let's clean and cook it today. The weather is getting warmer, so we shouldn't let it spoil."

"Alright, you go ahead and steam the steamed buns first," Chen Ling replied, checking the time—it was right at eleven o'clock.

He took out the chicken, poured boiling water over it to pluck the feathers, removed the internal organs and the chicken tail to feed to the two little pups, and then stuffed scallions, ginger, mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, as well as red dates and lotus seeds from the grotto into the hollowed-out chicken belly.

Finally, he went to the grotto and pulled out two lotus leaves, brushed oil all over the chicken body, wrapped it up tightly, and then sealed the outside evenly with a layer of clay.

Once the firewood fire burned brightly and steadily, Chen Ling placed the chicken inside, making a lotus leaf beggar's chicken.

When ordinary families made this dish, it required air-drying and marinating, which involved a lot of steps and took up quite a bit of time.

Relying on the convenience of his grotto, Chen Ling kept the process very simple.

Yet the resulting flavor was still exceptionally wonderful. Not only was it aromatic, but it also looked golden, crispy, and immensely appetizing.

Chen Ling couldn't resist tasting a piece. Sure enough, the chicken meat was tender, fragrant, and delicious, filled with the subtle sweetness of red dates and the rich fragrance of lotus leaves that burst forth simultaneously on the taste buds, making one wish they could swallow their own tongue.

"Susu, dinner is ready. Come on out to eat."

Wang Susu had been steaming buns in the room just a moment ago. Now that they had just finished steaming and were freshly removed from the steamer, she was currently picking them up and placing them in a container.

Hearing Chen Ling call her, she hurriedly answered and walked out carrying a basket of steamed buns.

"Wow, it smells so good! Today's aroma is a bit different from before..."

"Ah Ling, what kind of chicken did you make this time?"

As soon as Wang Susu walked out, she caught the chicken aroma infused with that special fragrance, instantly making her swallow hard in temptation.

She walked over to the table, put down the basket of buns, and couldn't help pinching a chicken foot to taste it.

"Baked beggar's chicken," Chen Ling said. "I added some special seasonings. Hurry up and eat some meat instead of always gnawing on chicken feet."

With this reminder, Chen Ling handed her a chicken thigh.

Wang Susu loved eating chicken feet, wings, necks, and heads. Every time the family ate chicken, she would skip the parts with substantial meat and target these specific areas first.

"You eat first, let me finish eating the chicken feet," Wang Susu mumbled indistinctly while gnawing on a chicken foot.

Watching her hold the chicken foot with both hands and nibble on it like a little hamster, Chen Ling genuinely couldn't understand what was so delicious about those parts.

How could they ever compare to the sheer satisfaction of eating large chunks of meat?