One moment they had been haggling over petty disputes—who was trying to steal a job, who owed whom a few coins—and the next, the matter turned into a matter of life and death. Everyone in the Xiao courtyard froze in alarm.
To make matters worse, a tall figure came charging out of the darkness, his face obscured by the night. The crowd let out a collective gasp and stumbled back, nearly tripping over one another. Had he not called out, they would have sworn a wild boar had come crashing down from the mountains.
After a moment of stunned silence, the villagers exchanged glances and pulled their padded coats tighter around themselves.
“Who is this lad, running about like a madman?” an elderly man huffed, his mustache bristling with fright. “I thought for sure it was a boar rushing down the slope—scared the wits out of me!”
Another leaned in for a closer look. “That looks like Li Lao Er’s boy, Li Anping. I believe he’s with the militia. Why is he calling for Ye Qing at this hour? Could there be wild boars or bears coming down from the hills?”
At those words, fear rippled through the group. Someone hurried forward and clapped Li Anping on the shoulder. “Speak up, boy! What is going on?”
Li Anping had run all the way from the east end of the village to the west, and at such speed that he could barely catch his breath. He took several deep gulps of air before managing to wave them off. “No wild beasts have come down. Someone is trapped up there and can’t get back. He ran into a wild boar. I’ve come to ask Ye Qing to lead us up the mountain to rescue him.”
“Who is it? And what fool would be wandering the mountains so late?”
“And why would Ye Qing be the one to help?” another asked, puzzled.
Li Anping shook his head, still panting heavily. “I… I can’t explain it clearly. The others will be here soon, and they’ll tell you everything.”
Sure enough, a few more figures appeared on the dark path moments later, their faces etched with anxiety.
When they recognized the newcomers, the villagers whispered among themselves: “Isn’t that the brigade leader’s wife? And those young men behind her are from the militia.”
Someone called out to her. “Madam—what has happened?”
The woman, Qiu Xia, stamped her foot and began to sob in anger and distress. “It’s my youngest son, Xiao Wu! Earlier this evening, a boy named Yongzi came running to tell me that Xiao Wu had been attacked. He ran into a wild boar, and the beast kept charging at him—he couldn’t escape. That’s why I gathered the militia: we’re going up to bring him back.”
“But what does this have to do with our Ye Qing?” Shi Fengxia demanded.
Between sobs, Qiu Xia cried out, “Because my foolish boy spends all his time hanging around those good-for-nothing troublemakers from other villages! I’ve warned him a hundred times—those people are bad news and will only bring him grief. Now look: it has finally come to pass! Yongzi said that rascal Er Gouzi and his friends talked Xiao Wu into going up the mountain today. Their plan was to follow Ye Qing and steal whatever valuable things she found. But they got more than they bargained for—they ran into a wild boar with young, and it turned on them!”
“Er Gouzi and his gang ran for their lives and led the beast straight toward my son, leaving him to face it alone! If Yongzi hadn’t come back to warn me, I’d still know nothing!”
With that, she rushed straight over to Ye Qing, gritted her teeth, and dropped to her knees. “Ye Qing, I know my son is in the wrong. If we can rescue him, I’ll make him come here and kowtow to you to beg your forgiveness—this trouble is entirely of his own making.”
“But he’s still up there, and I don’t know how badly he’s hurt. Please, I beg you—go with the militia and lead them to him! I’ll do anything!” She bowed her head and knocked it hard against the ground twice.
Hearing this, and recalling the strange figures she had spotted behind her on the trail that afternoon, Ye Qing finally understood. So Xiao Wu and his companions had indeed been following her, intent on robbery.
Her expression turned cold and guarded. She took a step back and said nothing.
Her silence only made the others more anxious. Qiu Xia was a respected elder in the village; to see her kneeling and begging like this was unheard of. Several villagers hurried forward to pull her up and dust off her clothes.
“Qiu Xia, calm down first,” one woman said. “Where is Xingfa? Why didn’t he come with you?”
Wiping her tears, Qiu Xia replied, “He left the village yesterday to report to the commune. He won’t be back for three or four days. If he were home, I’d have sent him to search the mountain myself and never had the nerve to come ask you for help.”
“What does this have to do with Ye Qing anyway?” the village doctor, who had not yet left, asked from the sidelines, his arms folded in his sleeves. “She’s just a young wife—how could she possibly lead a search party?”
Qiu Xia was so distraught and frantic that she could only cover her face and weep.
Li Anping, looking uncomfortable, spoke up. “It’s pitch black up there. Even with flashlights, we can’t tell one trail from another. Yongzi made it back, but he’s terrified and running a high fever—he’s delirious and can’t point the way. Er Gouzi and his gang followed Ye Qing’s path today. Right now, she’s the only one who knows exactly where Xiao Wu is. If you come with us, Ye Qing, you can just follow the same route you took this afternoon, and we’ll find him.”
Ye Qing remained silent for a moment, looking from Qiu Xia to the group of militiamen. Then she spoke in a calm, steady voice: “So if they hadn’t run into that boar, they would have followed me all the way up the mountain, waited until I found something valuable, and then stolen it from me—am I right?”
It was only a simple restatement of the facts, but the villagers shifted uncomfortably, some even flushing with embarrassment on behalf of the culprits.
“Xiao Wu—I always thought he was just lazy, but I never guessed he had such a wicked heart,” someone muttered. “And the son of the brigade leader, too! How was he raised to behave like this?”
Glancing at Qiu Xia, others shook their heads. “Well, he’s her only precious boy. She never disciplined him, never spoke a harsh word to him. Spoiling him like that was bound to lead to trouble. Perhaps this lesson will do him some good.”
The crowd grew even more reluctant to leave, whispering among themselves as they watched events unfold.
Hearing the gossip, Qiu Xia stopped crying. Remembering her son still trapped on the mountain, she pulled herself together and threw herself down before Ye Qing once more.
“I know he’s wrong, and he deserves whatever punishment comes his way,” she choked out. “But surely he doesn’t deserve to die for it? Yongzi said there’s more than one boar up there—they’re surrounding him. I’m terrified he’ll be killed. Ye Qing, please, I beg you! Name your price. Whatever you want—money, grain, anything I own—I’ll give it to you, just bring my boy back alive!”
When Ye Qing still gave no answer, she turned and pleaded with Chen Xiuzhi instead. “Xiuzhi, please—talk some sense into her. I’ve watched that boy grow up from a baby, you know I have.”
Chen Xiuzhi looked at Ye Qing, her face tight with anger. “Don’t ask me. I can’t say a word to persuade her. She is my daughter-in-law. Today she went up alone and came back safe—but what if those scoundrels had followed her all the way? What if they hadn’t only wanted to steal, but to hurt her or worse? How could I live with that?”
“Whether she goes or stays is entirely her choice. I will not pressure her.”
Chen Xiuzhi was usually kind and gentle, but when it came to her own family, she drew the line.
Shi Fengxia stood nearby with her arms crossed, looking on with indifference—as if the whole matter was none of her concern.
Seeing their reactions, a faint smile touched the corner of Ye Qing’s lips. These were exactly the kind of people she could trust to stand beside her and watch her back. If the Xiao family had tried to persuade her to go just to please Qiu Xia, she would have begun to doubt her place here.
Qiu Xia saw their resolve and felt her hope slipping away. Just as she was on the verge of despair, Ye Qing finally spoke.
“Very well,” she said. “I will go.”
Qiu Xia’s face lit up instantly. “Name whatever you want—it’s yours!”
Ye Qing thought for a moment. “I will lead the militia up the mountain. But you must bring hunting rifles to protect us and to shoot any wild boars we encounter. If we kill one, I want the whole carcass. If we bring down two, I will take half of each. Agree to those terms, and I’ll go.”
Only village officials could authorize the use of rifles. Qiu Xia was neither a cadre nor a person of authority, and with the brigade leader away, the decision rested with the militia.
She turned to them, tears streaming down her face. “Please—you must agree! My son’s life hangs in the balance!”
“And one more thing,” she added quickly to Ye Qing. “Whatever meat we get tonight doesn’t count. At the end of the year, when the village distributes the pork, I will give you our entire family’s share. Just save Xiao Wu—you can have all our meat.”
The militiamen exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. “We carry rifles anyway for safety when going into the hills. If the boars are enraged, it’s only right to put them down to protect everyone. We’ll give you one whole boar, and the rest will be brought down and divided among the village.”
Ye Qing nodded. “Then it’s settled.”
The onlookers in the courtyard cheered. It had been ages since any of them had tasted fresh meat, and now, thanks to Ye Qing, they stood a chance of getting wild boar!
Suddenly, many of the villagers looked at her with new warmth and respect. “Be careful up there, girl,” one woman called out. “Don’t let your courage make you careless—those beasts are ferocious when angry. Don’t take any unnecessary risks!”
“Xiuzhi, you’ve brought home a treasure of a daughter-in-law!” another man said, giving Chen Xiuzhi a thumbs-up.
It was already late at night, but no one wanted to go home. They were far too curious to wait and see if Xiao Wu would be brought down safely, and what condition he would be in.
Since Ye Qing had agreed to go, the Xiao family had no choice but to let her. Chen Xiuzhi looked worried and hurried back toward the kitchen.
“All the rations she took this morning are gone,” she muttered. “I won’t rest easy sending her up there in the dark with nothing to eat. I’ll boil a few eggs and bake some hard flatbreads—something to keep her strength up in the mountains.”
The villagers, already looking forward to their share of meat, chatted and laughed while praising Ye Qing.
But the Xiao family’s feelings were far more complicated: they feared for Ye Qing’s safety in the night, yet also resented Xiao Wu for plotting with outsiders to harm one of their own.
Shi Fengxia cursed under her breath, and Xiao Lei had to push her toward the house to get her to sleep.
She had barely stepped over the threshold when a sharp, shrill voice cut through the yard again.
“Wait a minute! What is this? You’re just going to leave me standing here? Who said I agreed to let her go? We haven’t finished our business yet!”
“She still owes me two yuan and twenty cents!”