At the gate of the yard sat a cart.
Her sister was sitting at the front of the cart, and behind her lay a huge, pitch-black wild boar.
Pulling the cart in front was Chu Xun, the same man who always bullied her sister.
Beside him was also a middle-aged man and a young girl who looked about her age.
The scene looked absurdly strange.
For Qin Xing’er, who had just recovered from a serious illness, it was so bewildering that she could not make sense of it at all.
In the end, Qin Yue’er spoke first, waving to her younger sister. “Xing’er, I’ve twisted my ankle. Come help your sister.”
Twisted her ankle?
Qin Xing’er immediately looked at Chu Xun. He must have beaten her sister again.
Just a couple of days ago, he had come and beaten her sister several times.
Her sister had been walking crookedly all day because of it.
After only a couple of steps, her legs would go weak and she would sit down on the ground, trembling all over.
It had to be because of him again today!
Chu Xun was baffled by Qin Xing’er’s angry glare.
Had Yue’er already told her what had happened between them?
Otherwise, why would she be looking at him so strangely?
Qin Xing’er then stepped forward to support Qin Yue’er and slowly got down from the cart.
After the two of them went back into the house, Chu Xun and the others pulled the cart home as well.
As soon as he got back, he saw the attentive figure of Second Aunt.
She was all smiles, bringing water and white flour buns one after another.
She handed everything to Chu Xun. Even thirsty Second Uncle Chu had to wait his turn if he wanted a drink.
Second Aunt said with a grin, “Xunzi, you really brought honor to our family this time. The whole village knows your hunting skills are first-rate, and everyone is fighting to introduce a wife to you. Tell Second Aunt, is there a girl you like? I’ll arrange for the two of you to meet in a couple of days.”
Chu Xun and the others had returned slowly with the cart.
By then, quite a few people had already spread the news that he had taken down a wild boar throughout the village.
Some wanted to imitate Chu Xun and go into the woods to hunt game.
Others were thinking about marrying their daughters off to him as wives.
There were even quite a few who came to Chu Qing’s house to propose marriage.
Who wouldn’t want such a hunter as a brother-in-law?
People came and went, all of them eager and attentive, and that made Second Aunt overjoyed.
Her own nephew had finally made something of himself, and they would benefit from it too.
They needed to settle Xunzi’s marriage quickly. There were plenty of good girls in the village, and if they waited too long, they might be sold off to another family.
As for that Qing girl, villagers had always said she was thin and weak and could not work.
No man would want her. Now, though, there were plenty of men eager to ask for her hand.
Heh, dream on. I still don’t think much of you people!
Hearing Second Aunt talk about introducing a wife to him, Chu Xun said with a strange expression, “No need, Second Aunt. I know what I’m doing about marriage. Let’s deal with these game first.”
Second Aunt still wanted to persuade him a little more. His reputation was good right now; how could he not hurry and marry a wife?
If they waited until the villagers all went into the mountains to hunt game, then he would not be so popular anymore.
But Second Uncle quickly grabbed Second Aunt by the arm and pulled her aside.
In a low voice, he said, “Xunzi knows what he’s doing. Let’s not meddle. Let’s go to the kitchen and make food. Once we’re done with the game, we’ll have a good meal.”
He had already noticed that the atmosphere between Chu Xun and Qin Yue’er today was off.
There was a hint of a spark about to catch, and when combined with what Chu Xun had just said, how could he not understand what his nephew meant?
He was clearly taking a liking to that young, pretty widow.
It was just that Qin Yue’er did not have the best reputation.
If she really married into the old Chu family…
No one could say for sure whether there would be any spooky or supernatural trouble later.
Then a thought flashed through Second Uncle Chu’s mind. Didn’t Qin Yue’er still have a younger sister?
The two looked exactly alike. If Xunzi married her younger sister, wouldn’t that be the same thing?
Ha, what a coincidence!
In the kitchen, Second Uncle Chu and Second Aunt were sorting out the wild chickens and hares.
Chu Xun went to the yard, sprinkled water on the sharp boning knife at his waist, and prepared to bleed the wild boar.
It was a large boar, and the smell was already strong.
Because of its breed and because it had never been castrated, it had an especially pungent, gamey odor.
If he did not bleed it first, the meat would be almost impossible to swallow once it was cooked.
Just as Chu Xun was dealing with the wild boar, Chu Qing, who was helping beside him, put down the basin of hot water.
She pinched the hem of her clothes and stared at the clods of dirt on the ground.
Biting her lip, she asked, “Big brother, you… you and Sister Yue’er… are you two… do you like her?”
Chu Xun paused while scraping the pig bristles away and looked up at the extremely shy Chu Qing.
He laughed in surprise. “Am I really that obvious?”
In fact, it was more than obvious.
By now, probably everyone along the way knew that Chu Xun and that pretty widow cursed by the White Tiger had quite a close relationship.
If it had been anyone else, who would have dared let that ill-omened woman sit on the cart?
And even pull her all the way back?
Chu Qing froze at first, then blurted out, “Big brother, you really like Sister Yue’er? But… then…”
Then what about me? She almost could not stop herself from saying it.
Chu Xun smiled, shook the water from his hands, and ruffled Chu Qing’s hair. “Don’t worry. Even if I marry, you’ll always be my most cherished second sister.”
But I don’t want to be just your…
Chu Qing felt a sour ache in her heart, but she still sighed and kept helping Chu Xun with the work.
As the sky gradually grew dark, the smell of blood in the yard became even stronger.
Chu Xun cut off about five pounds of pork with the boning knife, picked up a prepared hare, and carried them to the village head’s house as gifts.
The old village head and his wife almost had their eyes pop out of their heads.
They hurriedly invited Chu Xun into the house and told Bai Jiaojiao to serve rice quickly and entertain him.
But Chu Xun refused, saying he had come to thank the village head for lending him the cart and the bow and arrows last time.
Of course, the most important thing was to build a good relationship with the village head.
After all, he was the head of the village and managed the whole village.
Chu Xun then said he would need to borrow the cart and a steelyard for the next couple of days as well.
He was going into the county town to sell the pork.
The village head naturally agreed at once.
He even told him that if he went to the county town, he could go find his son Bai Dashan for help.
Bai Dashan worked as a patrol constable at the county yamen in the county town, so he could be of some use.
Chu Xun smiled and nodded. Was not this network easy to open up?
After leaving the village head’s house, Chu Xun went home and cut off an entire pork leg, then took a plump wild chicken.
He also bought some white rice and white flour from the shop.
He even spent ten Shop Coins to buy a Yunnan Baiyao medicated plaster.
“Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I’m going out for a bit. Start eating without me; don’t wait for me.”
Then he shouldered the things and headed toward Qin Yue’er’s house.
…
In the thatched cottage, Qin Xing’er was bandaging her sister’s wound.
First she smeared it with plant ash, then mashed up some wild purslane and applied it to the wound.
Suddenly, Qin Xing’er heard her sister say something unexpectedly, and her whole body stiffened.
“Xing’er, how about you marry Brother Chu?”