—so they could exchange it for some meat.
Now that Lu Jinghuai was bedridden, no one dared to go up the mountain to hunt. The villagers hadn’t tasted meat for almost a year. No one expected that the new daughter-in-law of the Lu family would be so capable—she had just entered the family and already hunted a wild boar.
“The daughter-in-law that Sister Ruyun brought home is really impressive. She can even hunt. Looks like the Lu family will have better days ahead.”
The “Sister Ruyun” they mentioned was Lu’s mother, Liu Ruyun. Over the past two days, the Lu family had been the subject of plenty of gossip in the village because all three sons had married the same wife.
Of course, some people were more understanding. After all, the Lu family’s father had died young, leaving Liu Ruyun alone to raise three children. It hadn’t been easy.
Now that she had managed to find them a wife, that was already good enough.
Besides, it wasn’t unheard of in the village for two brothers to share one wife. It wasn’t that unusual—though people would inevitably talk behind their backs.
“If you ask me,” someone said, “Liu Ruyun is just foolish. She doesn’t even cherish her own flesh and blood, yet she raises those outside children as if they were her own. If Lu Jinghuai hadn’t been desperate to earn money for the younger two to go to school, would he have gone deep into the mountains? He’s lucky he survived, but now that he’s bedridden, isn’t that almost the same as being dead?”
“Yang Bigmouth, what nonsense are you spouting?” Li Cuilan, the wife of Lu Genwang, couldn’t hold back and immediately shot back. “Did you forget what Sister Ruyun told the villagers back then? She said she would raise those two children as her own, and no one in the village should ever bring up their background again. Haven’t you eaten meat from their family before? Or have you forgotten the kindness of Lu Changming?”
Yang Bigmouth was notorious in the village for gossiping, but during the famine years, if Lu Jinghuai’s father Lu Changming hadn’t led people into the mountains to hunt and find food, many villagers would have starved to death.
Later, Lu Changming was conscripted into the army. Before leaving, he entrusted his wife and children to the villagers.
But no one expected that once he left, he would never return. Several years later, news finally came that he had died in battle.
Liu Ruyun refused to believe her husband had died like that. She traveled thousands of miles searching for him.
She didn’t bring back Lu Changming—but she returned with two children.
At that time, one was six years old and the other three. Liu Ruyun said they were born to Lu Changming’s mistress outside the family and were also children of the Lu family. Both Lu Changming and the mistress had died, and she felt sorry for the children, so she brought them home to raise.
At first, the elderly members of the Lu family didn’t believe it.
But Liu Ruyun had no reason to lie about something like that, so eventually they accepted it.
At that time she had declared that she would raise those two children as her own. If the villagers still valued their past relationship with the Lu family, they were not to mention the children’s background again.
Over the years, Liu Ruyun truly had treated them like her own children, so naturally the villagers didn’t gossip about it.
Yang Bigmouth might love to talk nonsense, but she was now silenced.
After all, her family also owed the Lu family a debt of gratitude.
Besides, she still wanted to exchange for some pork later, so she wouldn’t push things too far.
“I was just saying it casually. It’s not like any outsiders heard.”
But just after she finished speaking, a few younger villagers nearby poked their heads out curiously.
“Aunt Yang, are you talking about Lu Wenyuan and Lu Yanqiu? Aren’t they Aunt Liu’s biological sons?”
“Oh my gosh—they’re not?”
“No wonder they’re so good-looking. They don’t look like people from our village at all. Do they resemble their birth mother?”
A group of young girls began chattering excitedly.
Everyone glared at Yang Bigmouth.
She laughed awkwardly. “Shoo, shoo. That’s grown-ups’ business. Kids shouldn’t ask about it. If you keep making noise, you won’t get any pork later.”
Li Cuilan shot her another glare. “See what happens when you talk nonsense? If this gets out, how will you face that family again?”
While they were talking, Lu Yanqiu and the others had already come down from the mountain.
When everyone saw the huge wild boar being carried by the men behind them, they were overjoyed.
Lu Genwang was delighted to see his wife and the villagers waiting at the foot of the mountain.
Even if they might not get to eat any meat, just seeing such a big wild boar was enough to make people happy.
“Alright, alright—stop staring. Go back and do what you need to do. We’ll let everyone know later if there’s any arrangement.”
After all, the boar had been hunted by Lin Xiyue. Whether they would distribute it like before and let the villagers exchange goods was still uncertain, so Lu Genwang didn’t want everyone standing there and putting pressure on them.
Lu Yanqiu naturally knew why everyone was so excited.
They were waiting because in the past, whenever Lu Jinghuai caught large prey, he would first let the villagers exchange goods for meat before taking the rest to sell in town.
Lin Xiyue hadn’t expected the villagers to be so friendly.
Her family had just hunted a boar, yet everyone seemed genuinely happy about it.
After Uncle Genwang dispersed the crowd, they carried the boar back to the Lu house.
When Liu Ruyun heard that Lu Yanqiu and Lin Xiyue had hunted a wild boar, she nearly fainted from shock.
Compared to the boar, she cared far more about whether the two children were safe.
This family simply couldn’t endure any more accidents.
“Are you two alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Liu Ruyun hurried over to check them both. Only after seeing that they were fine did she finally relax.
“Mom, we’re fine. Xiaoyue was amazing—you should’ve seen it. At that time she—mmph—”
Lu Yanqiu was excitedly explaining when Lin Xiyue suddenly covered his mouth and dragged him away.
“Lin Xiyue, what are you doing?” Lu Yanqiu tried to struggle free, but found he couldn’t break her grip.
“You brat, are you trying to make Mom worry herself to death? Do you want to go hunting in the mountains again or not?” Lin Xiyue flicked his forehead.
“Lin Xiyue! What are you shouting like that for?” Lu Yanqiu reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He grabbed her hand and tried to retaliate, only to be restrained by her again.
Liu Ruyun hadn’t expected that after just one day together, the two of them would already get along so well.
It seemed her worries had been unnecessary. Still, they were young—this was the age when people loved to play around.
To the others watching, their scuffle looked more like playful flirting.
Liu Ruyun ignored them and instead asked Lu Genwang and the others to help prepare for slaughtering the pig and dividing the meat.
Since Lin Xiyue had hunted the boar, technically she had the right to decide how it should be distributed. So Liu Ruyun first asked for Lin Xiyue’s opinion.
Lin Xiyue glanced at the villagers waiting eagerly outside the courtyard and could roughly guess what was going on.
So she told Liu Ruyun to just follow the same method they used before.
Liu Ruyun explained their usual way of handling it, and Lin Xiyue didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
Even if they sold the meat, they would still have to buy daily necessities anyway. It would be easier to exchange some meat directly with the villagers for things the family needed, and sell the remaining portion afterward.
However, Lin Xiyue didn’t plan to sell this boar.
She thought the leftover meat could be made into cured pork and eaten slowly.
After all, she couldn’t stand eating wild vegetables every day.
As for making money, there was no need to rush.