The Dead Wild Boar

Zhou Fusheng was filled with panic, and his eyes darted evasively. Zhou Wanwan stepped forward and said, "Pockmarked Liu? What would Pockmarked Liu come to our house for? We hardly know him."

Pockmarked Liu's father roared, "How could you not know him? You're supposed to marry my son! He paid several sacks of grain to buy you!"

Liu Su'e shouted:

"Bullshit! Didn't he take those sacks of grain back home?

If you come to my house again, I'll beat you to death! Weren't you people from Zhou Family Village the ones who said it?

We're all harbingers of calamity, so what are you doing coming over here now?"

The Zhou Family Village chief gave a cold scoff and said:

"Don't fail to recognize what's good for you. Pockmarked Liu is missing, so naturally we came to ask you about him.

The spirit medium said Pockmarked Liu disappeared after coming to your house."

Zhou Wanwan understood now. Old Madam Zhou was behind this again.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said:

"Since the spirit medium is so capable, have her divine exactly where Pockmarked Liu went.

We haven't seen him, anyway. Coming to our house to make trouble won't do you any good."

Pockmarked Liu's father wanted to keep making trouble, but then he saw Lin Shouyi coming over with a group of people. Lin Shouyi said:

"Someone from your Zhou Family Village is missing, so what are you doing looking for him here?

Come here again, and don't blame our villagers for showing you no courtesy. From now on, Zhou Fusheng's family belongs to our Wild Field Village, and we won't let you run wild here."

The Zhou Family Village chief snorted coldly. "Let's go. Zhou Fusheng, just you wait. And you lot too-before long, every last one of you will be dead."

He left after saying that. Lin Shouyi frowned and said, "Call everyone in the village out today. Tell them I have something to say."

Before long, the villagers had all gathered at the village entrance. Lin Shouyi looked at them and said:

"I heard some of you have been buying farmland in Zhou Family Village lately. Stop buying it right away.

Would Zhou Family Village be so kind as to let us get a bargain?"

But a villager shouted, "They said top-quality farmland like that only costs two taels of silver. It's dirt cheap, and the rice is about to ripen!"

"Exactly! I bought two mu of farmland recently too, right next to my own fields. It was so cheap, and I'd had my eye on it for a while."

Lin Shouyi shouted:

"I've already told you there's a trick behind this. Why won't you listen to me?

Hurry up and get your money back for the land, and every family should stock up on grain. The more, the better."

Someone nodded and said, "Got it. We'll go to town tomorrow and buy some more grain."

But some still refused to listen. Old Madam Shen, who lived next door, sneered. "My family isn't buying any grain. The crops in the fields are about to give us a bumper harvest. Wouldn't we be fools to buy grain now?"

"That's right, I think she's quite right. What's the point of buying grain now? This village chief is so strange. My family doesn't want to buy any either," Old Madam Wang couldn't help saying mockingly.

The two happened to be Zhou Wanwan's next-door neighbors. Lin Shouyi shouted, "If you don't want to, that's your own business. If something really happens, you'll have to bear it yourselves. No one will help you."

"Pah! Who wants your help? My family has ten mu of land. Just think how much grain we'll harvest!

You're just green with envy. Let's go back to bed! Don't believe his nonsense."

More than a dozen other families didn't believe him either and turned around and left.

Lin Fugui sighed and said:

"The rest of you, listen to me. Keep some extra grain at home. Coarse grains will do too.

And store more water. It doesn't cost anything anyway, so the more you store, the better."

In fact, Lin Fugui didn't really believe there would be a drought either.

But he had gone hungry enough in the past to be afraid of it, and besides, the grain they bought was all from the new harvest. Even if they didn't eat it, it wouldn't spoil in the cellar.

After the meeting, Zhou Wanwan went home. She had to go up the mountain again tomorrow, so she went straight under the covers and fell asleep.

Early the next morning, she took the whole family up the mountain. The air up there was quite fresh.

She found a place where licorice grew. There was a crooked tree there, and she said with a beaming smile, "Father, let's dig here! It won't draw attention, and no one comes along this path either."

Zhou Fusheng looked around and said, "Isn't this a little too out of the way? Will we be able to find it?"

Zhou Wanwan smiled. "There are a few big trees over here, so of course we can find it. Besides, this spot is quite easy to find!"

Zhou Wanwan had a very precise sense of direction. This place might have been very remote to others, but to her it was distinctive. It was very dry here, and all the plants grew toward the sun.

Liu Su'e said, "Then shall we start digging now? As long as our girl can find it, that's all that matters."

Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng were full of enthusiasm and started digging. After Zhou Wanwan explained how to dig, she left with her three older brothers.

The four walked deeper into the mountains. Zhou Qinghe said softly, "Little sister, there are so many wild beasts in these mountains. How about we forget it?"

Zhou Wanwan went "Shh" and closed her eyes. She heard a few wild grasses nearby discussing, "I wonder which of those two wild boars won yesterday. How did they end up fighting?"

"Wasn't it over territory..."

"No, they were fighting over another sow.

Oh my! You have no idea. While the wild boar was away from home, that sow got together with another boar."

Zhou Wanwan almost burst out laughing. These plants were quite interesting, even bigger gossips than humans, because the plants deep in the mountains got bored too.

"If only we could walk. Follow this path to the right, and that should be where they fought."

Zhou Wanwan followed the path to the right and said, "Brothers, be careful. There might be wild boars around here."

Zhou Qingyan looked at the marks on the ground and said, "Some large prey may indeed have passed through. Look at these footprints. Wanwan, let's not take the risk."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled. "No, that won't do. Don't worry, just follow me. I'll ask around some more."

Zhou Wanwan began asking around again, and a few wildflowers beside her wailed, "It hurts so much! My petals have all been crushed..."

"Boo-hoo... Only your petals were crushed. I was trampled to pieces, and all that's left of me is a bit of stem."

"I wonder how their fight turned out. Could they have fought to the death?"

Zhou Wanwan slowly edged forward and, sure enough, saw two enormous wild boars lying there. Her eyes lit up in an instant.

The three Zhou brothers' eyes lit up too. The two wild boars had fought until they were exhausted. One was covered in blood and already dead.

The other boar was also panting heavily, but it was still alive. It staggered to its feet and slowly headed deeper into the forest.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the dead wild boar and said, "Hurry and call Father and Mother. Let's carry this boar down the mountain."