Several men carried the wild boar out front while the rest of the villagers followed behind to watch the excitement. From a distance, Shen Danyun spotted the two little tots sitting right by the main gate, prompting her to quicken her pace.
As she drew closer, she saw Shen Wentao crying and howling for his big sister, while Shen Danyue held him tight, her own eyes red and brimming with tears.
Shen Danyun’s heart sank. She rushed forward and asked, “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”
“Waa-waa… Big Sister, where did you go? Did you abandon us? Waa-waa…” Shen Wentao threw himself into her arms, sobbing so hard he could barely catch his breath.
“Big Sister didn’t abandon you. Didn’t Taotao want to eat meat? Look at that wild boar they’re carrying behind me—Big Sister hunted it herself! Let’s have wild boar meat, alright?” Shen Danyun held Wentao tightly, rocking and soothing him.
“Stop crying, Little Brother. I told you Big Sister went out to find food, but you wouldn’t believe me,” Shen Danyue said. Seeing her sister return, the heavy stone in her heart finally lifted, and she joined in to comfort her little brother.
“Listen to me, both of you. Big Sister will never leave you behind. But I need to earn money and find food, so you must wait for me obediently at home, okay?” Knowing how deeply insecure they felt, Shen Danyun held the two small children close, her heart aching for them.
“Okay… Taotao will wait for Big Sister at home and be good. I won’t cry anymore,” Shen Wentao choked out between hiccups.
“Danyue, you are the older sister, so you need to look after your little brother and wait for me to come back, understand?” Shen Danyun turned her gaze to her sister.
“Mmhmm, Big Sister, I understand. It won’t happen again,” Shen Danyue said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Good girls and boys. You must be starving. Big Sister will cook for you now, and later I have to take the meat to town to sell. Once I have silver, I’ll buy you all sorts of delicious treats.” Holding one little hand in each of her own, Shen Danyun led the two children inside.
The villagers carried the wild boar into the courtyard. Some began chopping firewood, some set up the cauldron to boil water, and others prepared to slaughter the pig. Everyone worked in an orderly, methodical fashion.
Shen Wentao and Shen Danyue clung to Shen Danyun’s side, refusing to leave her even for a single step. They didn’t even care to watch the pig being slaughtered. Seeing that there was nothing for her to help with outside, Shen Danyun brought the two children into the kitchen, set down her wicker basket, and prepared to cook.
“Big Sister, let me tend the fire,” Shen Danyue said diligently.
“Be careful, don’t burn yourself,” Shen Danyun replied.
“Don’t worry, Big Sister. I’ve always started the fire and cooked by myself before. If you’re busy in the future, you can just leave the cooking to me,” Shen Danyue offered.
Shen Danyue didn’t want her sister to view her as a burden. If her sister was going to climb the mountains to hunt and earn money, then she would take care of the meals to ease her sister’s workload.
Shen Danyun felt deeply touched. Her little sister was incredibly sensible, leaving her with a profound sense of affection and pity. In modern times, a seven-year-old child would still be pampered at home, yet her little sister was already capable of cooking meals and babysitting her younger brother.
“Yue’er truly is Big Sister’s best helper. In that case, if I’m ever away from home in the future, you can cook for you and your brother and take good care of him. That way, Big Sister won’t have any worries back home.”
Shen Danyue didn’t fully grasp what “worries back home” meant, but she understood the core of her sister’s words—she was being trusted to cook and care for her little brother. She nodded her head vigorously in agreement.
Shen Danyun slaughtered a chicken. Pretending to rummage through her wicker basket, she actually retrieved wild mushrooms from her spatial dimension to make a stew of chicken and mushrooms. She also whipped up a stir-fried sour-and-savory napa cabbage and steamed three bowls of savory egg custard.
If she weren’t afraid of being unable to explain its origin, she would have loved to bring out a fish from her space to steam. The fish in her space grew up drinking spiritual spring water; they were not only incredibly delicious but also highly nourishing for the body.
However, with so many people gossiping outside right now, she had no choice but to drop the idea. It wouldn’t be too late to eat fish once she returned from town.
“Girl Yun, the wild boar has been cleaned. Those pig offals are hard to sell anyway, so I took the liberty of distributing them among the helpers. We’ll load the rest of the pork onto Old Uncle Wang’s ox cart right away so you can take it to town to sell.”
Having just finished her meal, Shen Danyun walked out into the courtyard upon hearing Uncle Shitou’s call. Looking at the wild boar, she said, “Carve up the pork and let every household claim two pounds of meat. I’ll take whatever is left to sell. This was my father’s wish; he always said that any wild boar I hunted in the future should be shared with the villagers.”
The villagers froze in their tracks, entirely struck with disbelief. A man who had passed away was still looking after them—how could they ever repay such kindness? At that moment, they felt both deeply moved and filled with a trace of supernatural awe.
Seeing everyone standing frozen, Shen Danyun urged, “Uncle Shitou, please distribute the meat to everyone. I must carry out my father’s wishes so his soul can rest in peace.”
“Then Uncle will distribute it.” Since she had put it that way, Uncle Shitou felt it would be improper to refuse any further. He turned around, picked up the butcher knife, and sliced the wild boar cleanly in half.
Two pounds of meat wasn’t heavily massive, but holding it in their hands, the villagers felt its immense weight. Their hands trembled as they accepted the pork, their faces overflowing with gratitude.
Before Uncle Shitou could finish distributing the portions, Liu Xiaobao came barging into the courtyard from outside, shouting loudly, “Give me my family’s share of the pork!”
Seeing Liu Xiaobao enter, the villagers collectively turned their gaze toward Shen Danyun. Her face instantly darkened. He actually has the nerve to come here and demand meat? In your dreams! She immediately snapped, “Your family doesn’t get a share.”
When she had scattered the itching powder the previous night, Shen Danyun had ultimately stayed her hand, thinking that he was just a spoiled child who hadn’t done anything truly unforgivable, so she had spared him. She hadn’t expected him to brazenly demand meat today.
“Why doesn’t my family get a share?! In the past, every time Second Uncle came back from a hunt, he would give our family the lion’s share! You have to distribute it exactly the way Second Uncle did!” Liu Xiaobao’s eyes bulged as he glared at her furiously.
“I hunted this wild boar myself, so I’ll give it to whomever I please and withhold it from whomever I don’t. What, you got a problem with that?” Shen Danyun looked down at him disdainfully.
“You greedy, vicious wretch! How dare you refuse to give my family meat! Second Uncle won’t let you get away with this!” Accustomed to being thoroughly pampered and spoiled, Liu Xiaobao had never been rejected like this before. His chubby face flushed bright red with fury. Suddenly, he scooped up a massive chunk of pork from the table, turned around, and bolted.
Like father, like son; the apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree. There was no way Shen Danyun was going to let him steal the meat. Delivering a swift side-kick, she struck right on target; the pork flew out of Liu Xiaobao’s arms while the boy himself crashed hard onto the dirt, erupting into a deafening, earth-shattering wail.
Shen Danyun raised her hand, effortlessly caught the falling meat out of midair, and slapped it back onto the wooden board for Uncle Shitou to continue cutting. “Except for their family, make sure every single household in the village gets a share. If any family couldn’t make it today, please have the neighbors bring their share to them.”
Liu Xiaobao wailed even louder, hurling curses through his tears, “You black-hearted, rotten wretch, just go drop dead! Whoever eats this foul, rotten meat will drop dead too!”
“Shut up, or are you looking for a beating?” Shen Danyun clenched her fist and stepped toward him.
“Don’t… don’t come near me!” Knowing he was no match for her and would only end up getting thrashed, Liu Xiaobao instantly lost his bravado, scrambled to his feet, and fled the courtyard.
Ignoring him entirely, Shen Danyun turned back to see that Uncle Shitou had finished packing the meat. He looked up and said, “Girl Yun, the meat is all divided. Liu Changgeng and the old Village Chief didn’t come, so I’ll have someone deliver their shares later. I’ll load this remaining half-carcass of pork onto Old Uncle Wang’s ox cart for you, so hurry along and sell it.”
“I’ll head out right away.” Shen Danyun went into the kitchen to hoist her wicker basket onto her back, then took hold of Shen Danyue and Shen Wentao’s hands to lead them out.
“It won’t be convenient to bring them along while you’re trying to sell goods. Why not leave them at home?” Uncle Shitou suggested.
“No, I don’t feel safe leaving them home alone.” The trip to town would take a significant amount of time, and with Old Man Liu’s family lurking around, how could she possibly leave the little ones unsupervised?
“How about this: I’ll take them back to my place to play with Goudan. You can just pick them up from my house when you return from town,” Uncle Shitou offered.
“That sounds perfect. Thank you for the trouble, Uncle!” Knowing that traveling with two small children would indeed slow her down, Shen Danyun turned and instructed the little ones, “Go over to Uncle Shitou’s house and play with Brother Goudan for a while, okay? Big Sister is going to town to buy you some delicious treats!”