Sure enough, the wild boar charged heavily at Ye Xiaojin on the rock again. Ye Xiaojin lightly tapped her toes and easily dodged, leaping onto another rock.
The enraged boar slammed hard into the boulder. Seizing the moment while it was dazed, Ye Xiaojin leaped down from the rock, knelt onto the boar’s back, and plunged the dagger deep into its neck. She quickly withdrew the blade and stabbed forcefully into the carotid artery on the other side.
By the time Li Hao and the other two ran over from behind the trees, the boar was already lying on the ground twitching.
The three of them stared at Ye Xiaojin in shock once again. Was killing a wild boar really this easy?
Not giving them too much time to be astonished, Ye Xiaojin directed the Hao brothers to chop down two trees and gather some vines, teaching them to build a simple stretcher. Carrying the three-hundred-plus-jin boar back would be much easier with it.
Once the stretcher was ready, they checked the sky—it was already getting late. The trip back would take about an hour and a half, and the smell of the boar’s blood might attract other wild beasts.
Without lingering, they headed back along the path they came. Along the way, Ye Xiaojin offered to help carry the stretcher so the two brothers could take turns resting, but they both refused. Ye Xiaojin didn’t insist—she could tell the two brothers had plenty of strength.
Walking alongside the stretcher, Ye Xiaojin listened to the birds chirping along the way, gathering some medicinal herbs and seasonings with Kang Ping as they walked. She knew simple insect-repelling herbs and things that could be used as seasonings—her past life had involved plenty of jungle training, and for people like her, these were essential survival skills to know.
Just as they were nearing the outer edge of the mountain, a wild rabbit hopped into view. The dagger in Ye Xiaojin’s hand struck precisely into the rabbit’s neck.
Kang Ping looked at her with stars in his eyes, full of admiration. Ye Xiaojin looked at him and smiled. “Want to learn?”
Kang Ping nodded desperately, then remembering that Ye Xiaojin had never paid much attention to him and his sister before, he asked cautiously, “Can Sister Jin teach me?”
“Of course. Start with breathing exercises—circulate your breath through your dantian. When we get back, you’ll learn the basics. Once your foundation is solid, I’ll teach you techniques.”
Kang Ping followed Ye Xiaojin’s instructions, breathing in and out. The two men carrying the boar behind them also listened carefully and followed along. As they grasped the rhythm, they realized they weren’t as tired as before.
Kang Ping exclaimed in delight, “Sister Jin, I feel much lighter!”
“Keep practicing. It strengthens the body.”
Even if Kang Ping hadn’t asked to learn, Ye Xiaojin had already planned to teach some martial arts to everyone who would go into the mountains. After all, going into the mountains carried risks. With few people, she could protect them herself, but once there were more people, she wouldn’t be able to watch over everyone. Besides, in the end, people had to rely on themselves.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was starting to get dark. The Village Chief was waiting with a group of people, craning their necks and straining to see.
When they saw them return, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Lao Zhuang quickly darted over to Ye Xiaojin. “Young miss, are you alright? Are you hurt? Are you tired?”
Seeing Lao Zhuang’s concern and everyone else’s worried expressions, Ye Xiaojin felt a warmth in her heart.
“Grandpa Zhuang, don’t worry. I’m fine. None of us are hurt, and we even hunted a wild boar.”
“As long as you’re fine, as long as you’re fine. I was so worried.” Lao Zhuang said as he reached to take the basket off Ye Xiaojin’s back.
Ye Xiaojin didn’t let them. On the way back to the village, while the Haoyun brothers carried the wild boar, she placed the snakes and pheasants from their two baskets into her own. Along the way, she kept them in her Space, only moving them back into the basket just now.
At this moment, the basket was quite heavy, and Grandpa Zhuang was old with poor eyesight.
When the others heard that a wild boar had been caught, their eyes gleamed with hunger. Cheering, they took the stretcher from the Haoyun brothers and carried it all the way toward the Li family courtyard.
Even if they couldn’t eat the meat, just getting a look would be nice.
On the way, the Village Chief insisted on carrying Ye Xiaojin’s basket for her. The weight in his hands startled him—Xiaojin had been carrying such a heavy basket the whole way without even a hint of heavy breathing.
Truly a child from a military family, he thought, looking toward the mountains with a heart full of hope.
The crowd carried the wild boar into the Ye family courtyard. Since it was summer, the boar would spoil if kept until tomorrow. Seeing the crowd’s excitement, with some even silently swallowing their saliva…
Ye Xiaojin herself was also craving meat. She figured this body hadn’t eaten meat in a long time, and the two elders at home probably had even less oil in their stomachs.
Ye Xiaojin discussed with the Village Chief and decided to slaughter the boar tonight and distribute it to everyone.
When the Village Chief heard that she was willing to share the wild boar with everyone, he was moved to tears. It had been so long since anyone had tasted meat. He had just learned from his son that Xiaojin had taken down the boar all by herself, yet she was now willing to share it with everyone. He wished he could kneel and kowtow to this kind-hearted girl on behalf of the whole village.
“Uncle Village Chief, go make the arrangements quickly. While there’s still daylight, the sooner everyone finishes, the sooner they can eat meat.” Ye Xiaojin wasn’t good at handling such emotional scenes, so she quickly changed the subject.
The Village Chief nodded repeatedly and said yes.
He then called out two sturdy men from the crowd to help dress the boar, and summoned his two sons to notify every household in the village to send someone to collect their share of meat.
Actually, there was no need for notification at all. The villagers had heard they’d gone into the mountains that afternoon and returned safely with plenty of game, so they’d all come running to see what was happening.
The two sturdy men the Village Chief called out were the village’s butchers, who had slaughtered pigs for over a decade. Now with the famine, there was no butchering work to be had. Looking at the three-hundred-plus-jin wild boar on the ground, the two rubbed their hands eagerly. “Village Chief, how do you want this pig handled?”
The Village Chief looked at Ye Xiaojin, clearly deferring to her.
Ye Xiaojin said, “However many households there are in the village, divide it into that many portions, split evenly by household. Tonight everyone gets a taste of meat.”
The two men happily acknowledged and ran home to fetch their tools.
When the crowd heard they each had a share coming, they thanked Ye Xiaojin profusely with gratitude and happily ran off to help.
Ye Xiaojin took out the two pheasants from her basket. She gave one to Li Kangping, telling him to take it home and make pheasant soup to nourish Grandma Wang. She gave the other to Grandpa Zhuang, asking him to prepare it and she would cook it herself later. After arranging these matters, she went into her grandfather’s room.
Ye Hong had sat up when the crowd entered the courtyard and was now leaning against the headboard, looking at his granddaughter with a face full of pride.
“Grandfather, I had the Village Chief distribute the wild boar to everyone.” Sitting down by the bedside, Ye Xiaojin spoke to Ye Hong.
“Distribute it, then. These past two years have been too hard—I fear many families haven’t tasted meat in two or three years.” Ye Hong sighed.
“The families that stay behind, I want Uncle Village Chief to distribute food based on each person’s work—those who contribute more get more food. That way, we can avoid a lot of trouble.”
Ye Hong saw that his granddaughter had thought things through thoroughly, and his expression seemed to relax considerably. He nodded and said, “Your thinking is right. This concerns everyone’s own stomachs—it can’t be something you bear alone.”
“Granddaughter won’t do something like everyone sharing the fried beans while one person bears the burden of the frying pan.” Ye Xiaojin laughed. “If they don’t behave, I have plenty of ways to deal with them. At worst, I’ll just take Grandpa and leave.”
Indeed—a pint of rice makes a benefactor, a bushel makes an enemy. She had grown up in the village, and after retiring from office, she had lived there for another ten years. Although the whole of Shuiwan Village was generally harmonious and united, there were inevitably some with selfish motives and lazy tricks. And in times like these, how many people would do heartless things just for a bite to eat?
Having a young girl shoulder the burden of an entire village—the difficulty of it was not hard to imagine. It really was asking a lot of her.
Ye Hong said gently, “My Xiaobao truly is the best girl in the world—capable and kind-hearted.”
“That’s right.” Ye Xiaojin didn’t want her grandfather to worry too much about those matters, so she put on a proud, spoiled air and followed the old man’s words. “Don’t you see whose granddaughter I am? My grandfather is the most formidable person around, so naturally I’m the most formidable person in the world too. So you just wait to enjoy your granddaughter’s blessings.”
Ye Hong was amused by her. “Alright, I’ll wait to enjoy the blessings of my most formidable granddaughter.”
Seeing her grandfather’s brows relax, Ye Xiaojin said cheerfully, “Then you just watch—Granddaughter is off to make you the most delicious food ever.”
She made a funny face at her grandfather and dashed off toward the kitchen. Grandpa Zhuang had already finished dressing the chicken and was about to ask her how she wanted it prepared.
Ye Xiaojin cut off the chicken breast, boiled it, and had Lao Zhuang help her shred the cooked meat into fine strips. She mixed it into the congee to make a shredded meat porridge, then put the remaining chicken pieces in a pot to simmer slowly, leaving Grandpa Zhuang to watch over it.
She then went back out to the courtyard. The wild boar had been processed quickly, and the villagers nearly cried when they received their pork. Ye Xiaojin truly meant what she said—this life-saving food, she really did share it as promised.
After thanking Ye Xiaojin again, they went home happily, and before leaving, they even helped clean up her courtyard.
The Village Chief made the decision to keep a hind leg of the boar for the Ye family, and the rest was divided equally among the households. His own two sons had gone into the mountains with the others, and they received the same portion as everyone else—nothing extra.
Ye Xiaojin gained more respect for the Village Chief’s integrity, and she gave him the large snake from her basket to carry back.