Su Yaoguang dragged a wild boar down the mountain, quickly capturing the attention of the villagers.
The villagers gathered around, inquiring about how she got the wild boar.
Su Yaoguang pointed to the pig's blood on her face and said with a bitter expression, "Bad luck, I encountered this creature while digging for wild vegetables on the mountain. Luckily, the environment at the time made it easy to hide, and after much effort, I finally managed to exhaust it to death. But it was really a brush with death. I thought I was going to die under the boar's hooves today."
"This girl has such good luck, doesn't she? Did your little husband have a hand in it? I see he has an injury on his arm."
"Luckily, he helped me drag it down, or else how could I have survived? Unlike some men who just stood by watching us fight the boar with hard hearts."
As Su Yaoguang spoke, Jiang Yihui and Xiao Yanci came down from the mountain. Both of them had bloodstains on them, so without needing Su Yaoguang to name names, everyone knew who she was referring to.
Su Yaoguang's act of dragging the boar was too conspicuous. The villagers quickly learned that the two encountered a wild boar while digging for wild vegetables on the mountain, used their environmental advantage to fight the boar, survived, and even got a wild boar for free.
The boar probably weighed two hundred pounds. Many villagers asked Su Yaoguang if she intended to sell some boar meat, as they all wanted a share if she was selling.
Wild boar meat doesn't taste that good, so there's no need to keep it all, nor haul it to the city to sell. Su Yaoguang decided on a price of eight cents per pound and invited those interested to come to her house to buy meat.
Zhang Zhaodi was drying clothes in the yard and got so scared upon seeing Su Yaoguang covered in blood that her legs went weak.
"What's happened? Don't scare your mother!"
"It's not my blood, it's all from the boar." Su Yaoguang dragged the boar inside. "Wang Shu and I killed it on the mountain. Mother, get ready; the villagers will come to buy pork soon. I told them eight cents per pound. Such a big boar, we three can't eat much, so might as well exchange it for money."
Upon hearing that, Zhang Zhaodi muttered Amitabha.
It wasn't long before the villagers came knocking.
The boar was dead, most of its blood had drained, and all they needed to do was boil water to remove the hair and then cut the boar into small strips.
The villagers who came to buy increased in number. They saw Su Yaoguang alone chop the boar into chunks, and their gaze towards her changed.
"Aunt Wang, this five-pound strip sums up to forty cents."
"Yao Guang, girl, can't you make it cheaper? You know Auntie's family isn't doing well."
"Auntie, I almost lost my little life over this boar. Look at our Wang Shu, he's still injured; shouldn't I spend money on his medicine?"
"Alright, alright, but can't you at least give me this piece of liver?"
Other villagers also negotiated with Su Yaoguang. She insisted on not reducing the price, but was willing to throw in some extras. Of course, ribs and the pig's head had to be paid for.
Zhou Wangshu collected the money to the side. He counted briskly, quickly calculating the amount no matter the weight.
Just as they sold over half of the boar, a loud noise came from the entrance, and Zhong Lanhua angrily barged in, dragging Xiao Yanci with her.
"What are you doing at my house?" Zhang Zhaodi asked, waving a knife as she approached.
Zhong Lanhua saw Zhang Zhaodi covered in pig's blood and holding a blood-drenched butcher knife, and her arrogance diminished greatly.
"This pig has half of ours; I'm here to collect the pork," Zhong Lanhua said, hands on her hips.
"Tell me, why do you deserve half?" Su Yaoguang said, chopping down hard on a pig's head with a fierce look in her eyes.
Zhong Lanhua swallowed hard, looking at Su Yaoguang, who appeared menacing with bloody hands, and nudged Xiao Yanci beside her, saying, "You tell them."
Xiao Yanci frowned and reluctantly spoke under the watchful eyes of the crowd and the cold stare of the fierce village girl, "She used our knife to kill the pig."
"Did you hear that? There's the reason," Zhong Lanhua stated, hands on hips, "Without our knife, you couldn't have killed the pig. You'd likely have lost your life."
"If I hadn't killed this boar, their lives wouldn't have been saved. So, am I not their savior then? Shouldn't they be giving me a gift of gratitude?"
"Damn it, I heard them say, if it weren't for you two leading the boar to them, they wouldn't have been in such danger. My son is a scholar aiming for fame; he got so scared just now that he's started babbling nonsense. If anything happens to my son, your whole family couldn't afford to compensate."
"A scholar? Ha, what a scholar. That weakling of a scholar from your family was so scared he peed his pants when he saw the boar, and then pushed people towards it trying to use them as scapegoats. Uncles and aunties, you better keep an eye on your kids, don't let them hang around with this scholar, in case they become the next victims."
"You're lying, don't listen to her nonsense. No, why am I wasting words with you, today I'm taking this meat," Zhong Lanhua said, attempting to rush forward to grab it.
Bam! A stone flew over.
Zhong Lanhua cried out from the pain in her knee, collapsing and making a loud kowtow towards Zhang Zhaodi.
Su Yaoguang glanced over at Zhou Wangshu, who was quietly putting away a slingshot. Giving him a thumbs-up, she praised him, "Well done."
Zhou Wangshu looked innocently, "She's so annoying, trying to bully Yaoguang."
"Yes, those who bully us are indeed very annoying. It's important to fight back when necessary," Su Yaoguang agreed.
"Hey, it's not even New Year's yet and she's already bowing to the auntie. Isn't it a bit early?" Zhang Zhaodi laughed heartily.
The surrounding villagers joined in the laughter.
Zhong Lanhua was always meticulous and unlike most of the farm women in the village. Despite being in her thirties, she kept herself like a woman in her early twenties; naturally, many village women resented her. Seeing her suffer now brought them no small amount of secret satisfaction.
Zhong Lanhua yelled at Xiao Yanci, "Are you blind? Hurry up and help me up."
Xiao Yanci came over to lift her.
She turned to Zhang Zhaodi and cursed, "You people are such bullies."
Su Yaoguang, impatiently waving the knife, came over and said to Zhong Lanhua, "Get out now, or I'll throw you out."
Zhong Lanhua flinched at the sight of Su Yaoguang.
What's up with this nasty girl recently? Why are those eyes so scary?
"Miss, we won't discuss the rights and wrongs of what happened on the mountain. No matter what, you used our knife, shouldn't you give some compensation? Not half of it, but ten pounds at least," Xiao Yanci spoke as if courteously, thinking his words and manners were impeccable, but those around him looked at him with disdain.
"Is this guy stupid or what? Maybe Yaoguang did use their knife, but back then, if Yaoguang hadn't found a way to kill the boar, they wouldn't even be alive. Yaoguang didn't even ask them for a thank-you gift, and yet they have the nerve to come here demanding meat. How many lives have they not eaten meat in, itching for it like crazy."
Of course, the villagers sided with Su Yaoguang. If Zhong Lanhua took the pork, they wouldn't have any to buy. Plus, their kids were waiting for the meat for dinner!