Ning Yuan froze. “What did you say?”
Was he inviting her to bathe with him?
Rong Zhaonan then realized what he had said, and a blush crept up his cool, fair face.
He was a little awkward. “Um… I meant we should wash off the filth together… no… I mean, wash up separately… but we both need to wash…”
“Okay, okay, stop talking. I know what you mean!” Ning Yuan waved her hand, amused by his rare, flustered state as he stumbled over his words.
She knew he meant they should both wash off the blood and sweat before heading out to work.
Rong Zhaonan coughed lightly into his fist. “Mm.”
Ning Yuan shook her head. “No need to wash. Looking like this makes it more believable that we fought with wild boars all night. You should hurry and deliver the pheasant and pork to Grandma Xia and the others before going to work. Don’t let anyone see you!”
Besides the meat they had set aside to smoke, she had chosen one of the remaining four boars, cut off more than ten catties of meat, skin and all, and brought it down the mountain with the pheasant.
Ning Yuan took out about seven or eight catties of wild boar meat, put it in a burlap sack, slung it over her back, and headed for the door. “I’m going to the Old Branch Secretary’s place first.”
After watching Ning Yuan leave, Rong Zhaonan also packed the pheasant and the rest of the boar meat into a burlap sack to deliver to Grandma Xia and the others.
Grandma Xia had just helped Grandpa Tang wash up when she saw Rong Zhaonan walk in with a burlap sack.
The moment Grandpa Tang saw the sack in his hand, he couldn’t help but cough. “Ahem, ahem… Xiao Rong, why are you bringing us food again? You keep going into the mountains late at night, but you still have to work the next day. How can your body take it?”
This child knew their work points were low and their work was tiring, so they often didn’t have enough to eat. He was always finding ways to help and support the old couple.
Rong Zhaonan, however, emptied the meat and chicken from the sack onto the floor. “I’m still young, it’s fine. I caught a wild pheasant. You can make some soup to regain your strength, old man.”
Grandpa Tang stared, stunned, at the pork with its black bristles and the dressed pheasant. “You… ran into wild boars?”
Grandma Xia immediately rushed over, anxiously grabbing Rong Zhaonan and circling him. “You brat, are you hurt? That’s so dangerous!”
Grandpa Tang grew anxious. “Hurry up and take the pork back. Don’t go up the mountain anymore. If a wild boar rams you, you could end up with broken bones at best. At worst, you could be bitten and trampled to death!”
How could they let a young man risk his life for two old folks like them!
Rong Zhaonan shook his head. “I’m fine. When I was first sent down here, if you two hadn’t helped and guided me, I probably would have done something rash. This bit of food is nothing. Besides, I wasn’t injured.”
He paused, and the image of Ning Yuan scrambling away from a charging boar, scared out of her wits, came to mind. He couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle. “It’s just that Ning Yuan might have gotten a scare.”
Grandpa Tang was so surprised his reading glasses nearly fell off. “What? That little girl went up the mountain with you? How could you let a young lady go hunting with you in the middle of the night… ahem, ahem, ahem…”
Smack! Grandma Xia suddenly shot up and slapped the back of Rong Zhaonan’s head. “You brat, you definitely didn’t tell your wife what you were doing on the mountain! You made her worry, that’s why she followed you. And now you have the nerve to laugh at her!”
Rong Zhaonan was speechless.
Why was Grandma Xia suddenly taking that little spy’s side?
Grandma Xia said irritably, “Also, you brought this game back for us, all this meat… Did you ever once ask your little wife’s opinion?!”
Rong Zhaonan frowned. “She said she didn’t care.”
Grandma Xia looked him over with disdain. “It seems your little wife doesn’t like you. She doesn’t see you as her man. Otherwise, how could she not care about anything you do?”
Rong Zhaonan was speechless again.
The old woman really knew how to hit a nerve.
They were a fake couple to begin with, but for some reason, hearing Grandma Xia say it like that made him feel a little uncomfortable.
“Alright… ahem, ahem… Young couples these days have their own way of getting along. Don’t be their life coach… ahem, ahem…” Grandpa Tang waved his hand while coughing.
Grandma Xia quickly patted his back. “Rest up. I’ll go prepare the chicken and put it on to stew. You watch the fire and have some yourself at noon.”
Grandpa Tang was ill, but Grandma Xia still had to go to work.
Grandpa Tang gently patted the back of Grandma Xia’s hand. “This is hard on you. I’ll get better soon.”
“Alright, you old man, get some good rest.” Grandma Xia picked up the dressed pheasant and walked out.
Grandpa Tang looked at Rong Zhaonan and smiled. “Xiao Rong, your wife is a kind-hearted, good girl. You have to treat her well. Sooner or later, she’ll come to like you. Have two big, chubby boys, and your Grandma Xia and I can even help you look after the children.”
Rong Zhaonan replied, “…Okay.”
Forget it. There was no need to explain too much. Some things were just not convenient to tell the elderly couple.
Have children with the little spy?
Rong Zhaonan thought expressionlessly, That’s impossible.
…
“That’s impossible!”
A cry of astonishment rang out in the room.
Man Hua, Hua Zi, and the Old Branch Secretary’s family stared, dumbfounded, at the wild boar meat Ning Yuan had emptied from her sack.
“Ning Zhiqing… you’re not hurt, are you?” The Old Branch Secretary frowned and looked at Ning Yuan.
Wild boars would occasionally come down to ruin the crops. Ning Yuan said that yesterday, when she and Doctor Rong went up the mountain to gather firewood at dawn, they had encountered wild boars.
And they “fought” them, killing four?
Even a dozen men would have a hard time dealing with four frenzied wild boars. After all, once these large boars were injured, they would only attack people more ferociously.
A young woman and a scholar as thin as a bamboo pole could kill four wild boars?
Ning Yuan shook her head, putting on a look of lingering fear, and recited the story she and Rong Zhaonan had agreed on.
“It was very dangerous. Luckily, we managed to lead the boars into a trap left by an old hunter. We waited until they were too exhausted from struggling to fight back before dragging them out. I cut off a bit of meat to bring back. The rest are still on the mountain!”
Although this vague explanation wouldn’t stand up to detailed questioning, the Old Branch Secretary’s family found it acceptable.
After all, the main point was that everyone would get to eat meat. Why dig too deep into where it came from?
Man Hua couldn’t help but exclaim, “Xiao Ning, that was too dangerous! If your family found out, they would be worried sick.”
She was an Educated Youth from the “Old Three Classes” and figured she would never be able to return to the city, so she had married into the village. But she felt a strong sense of kinship with the other Educated Youth from the city.
Besides, Ning Yuan had always been very sensible, not at all like Tang Zhenzhen with her spoiled-miss temper.
This girl knew how to repay kindness. Candy, liquor, and even the wild boar she had risked her life to kill—she still remembered to bring them so much meat. How could Man Hua not have a good impression of her?
Ning Yuan patted her chest and smiled. “I was scared too, but when you run into wild boars, it’s either they die or you’re done for. What else could we do but fight for our lives!”
As she spoke, she pointed at the meat. “Fortunately, we were lucky. Our village will have an extra dish tonight!”
“Hey, that’s right! Dad, our village gets to eat pork today!” Hua Zi got excited and couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
Pork! In their village, they only got to eat it once a year during the New Year or other festivals!
Several small children also gathered around the seven or eight catties of meat, jumping with excitement. “Meat, we get to eat meat!”
The Old Branch Secretary irritably tapped Hua Zi’s leg with his pipe. “All you think about is eating! Xiao Ning and Doctor Rong risked their lives for this. Later, call your brother Hei Zi and take some more people up the mountain to carry the boars down and turn them over to the collective. Give Xiao Ning’s family a few extra shares.”
Hua Zi gave a dry laugh. “I know, I know!”
Ning Yuan waved her hand. “I’ve already kept some meat for myself, so I don’t need extra shares!”
Man Hua sighed. “Why are you so honest? Not to mention the huge risk you and your husband took to get it, but even if you sold it, it would be worth a lot of money!”
Although everything had to be turned over to the collective now, they still felt a little guilty eating this wild boar meat that someone had risked their life for.
The Old Branch Secretary took a couple of puffs from his pipe and suddenly said, “Xiao Ning, by doing this, you’ve eliminated a pest, contributing to our village and the collective. Since you’ve made a contribution, you should be rewarded.”
He had first defined the nature of Ning Yuan’s actions.
Ning Yuan’s eyes instantly lit up. There was such a good thing?