The substance was actually an anesthetic.
Lan Luoyun knew that if things continued like this, the wild boar would keep struggling, and everyone would eventually run out of strength.
So she handed Lin Nancheng a large-dose anesthetic injector.
Of course, the effects wouldn’t last very long on a creature as large as a wild boar.
She immediately shouted to those holding the chains,
“Quick! Tie all the chains around the boar while it’s still weakened!”
Then she hurried over to Lin Yixiao, who had been injured during the attack.
After cleaning his wounds, she applied medicine and wrapped them with bandages.
Lin Yaru had been waiting for Lan Luoyun to treat her injuries as well.
To her annoyance, Lan Luoyun didn’t even glance in her direction.
After finishing with Lin Yixiao, Lan Luoyun turned to the lead guard, Chen Laoda.
“Officer, I’d like to discuss something.”
“How about we slaughter this wild boar and divide the meat among everyone?”
The moment Chen Laoda heard the suggestion, he became interested.
The guards hadn’t eaten pork in a very long time either.
These days, life in Southern Yue was difficult.
Even government soldiers earned very little.
After receiving his approval, Lan Luoyun raised her voice.
“Does everyone want wild boar meat?”
Wild boars had become a serious problem throughout Southern Yue.
They frequently destroyed farms and attacked villages.
Despite annual hunting campaigns, their numbers remained high.
The crowd practically exploded with excitement.
Who would refuse free pork?
“If you want meat, come help!”
“We’re butchering the boar right now!”
As soon as she spoke, young men from nearly every collateral branch family rushed forward.
By now, everyone had seen how Lan Luoyun handled things.
They were afraid that if they didn’t contribute, they wouldn’t get any meat later.
During the fight with the boar, the collateral families had been staying in the building across the courtyard and hadn’t helped.
If they skipped the butchering too, they would have no excuse.
“Sister-in-law, just tell us what to do!”
The prospect of food made everyone enthusiastic.
“Go gather firewood.”
“We need hot water to remove the boar’s hair.”
At the moment, the only cooking pot available was the small one Lan Luoyun had taken from her space the previous night.
Using that little pot to heat enough water would take forever.
She needed a way to secretly use the boiling water from her space without anyone noticing.
That wasn’t easy.
Everyone was eagerly watching the butchering process.
Still, Lan Luoyun wasn’t the sort of person who gave up.
An idea quickly came to mind.
Just then, the young men returned with armfuls of firewood.
“Pile the wood beside the well.”
“We’ll heat water while we scrape the hair.”
“Two people keep the fire going.”
“The rest can help turn the boar.”
“I’ll keep refilling the water.”
Everyone got to work immediately.
The men built a fire pit and brought out two long benches.
The boar was lifted onto the benches.
Soon, they began pouring hot water over it.
In reality, only the first batch of water had been heated normally.
Every time the water level dropped, Lan Luoyun secretly refilled the pot with boiling water from her space.
She pretended to draw water from the well.
In truth, she was taking it directly from her space.
Since everyone’s attention was fixed on the boar, nobody noticed that the “well water” was already boiling.
Thanks to her space, the process moved much faster than expected.
Once the hair was removed, the next steps were skinning, bleeding, and dividing the meat.
Fortunately, among the collateral relatives was a middle-aged man who had once worked as a butcher.
Let’s call him Butcher Lin.
He took charge of everything afterward.
Lan Luoyun finally had a chance to sit down and rest.
The moment she returned, Dabao and Erbao rushed over.
“Mother, you’re amazing!”
“Erbao admires you so much!”
“When I grow up, I want to be as awesome as Mother!”
The two little sweet-talkers showered her with praise.
Their mouths were practically dripping with honey.
Lin Nancheng couldn’t help feeling jealous.
The children had completely forgotten their father existed.
He immediately moved closer and tried to regain some attention.
“Dabao, Erbao.”
“Wasn’t Daddy amazing too?”
Watching from the side, Lan Luoyun couldn’t help thinking:
His skin is getting thicker and thicker.
According to the original owner’s memories, Lin Nancheng had once been rather cold and aloof.
“Daddy, do you want us to tell the truth?”
The children had apparently learned how to build suspense.
“Of course!”
Lin Nancheng was feeling very confident.
After all, he thought he’d performed pretty well during the battle.
“Daddy, you’re handsome too.”
“But Mother is the most handsome!”
Lin Nancheng blinked.
He had never heard the word handsome used like this before.
Naturally, it was another modern phrase Lan Luoyun had taught the children.
He wasn’t entirely sure what it meant.
Still, since they used it for both him and Lan Luoyun, it probably wasn’t a bad thing.
The three continued chatting happily.
Before long, the butchering was complete.
It was time to divide the meat.
After being drained of blood, the boar still weighed more than two hundred pounds.
There were only a little over one hundred people present.
Everyone could receive at least a pound of meat.
Having spent decades as a butcher, Butcher Lin could estimate a pound almost perfectly with a single cut.
“Line up and collect your portions!”
“One pound per person for now.”
“If there’s any left over, we’ll discuss it afterward.”
Everyone eagerly formed a queue.
Meanwhile, Lan Luoyun called over Lin Yixiao.
“Father, after each person receives their portion, please record it on paper.”
The purpose was simple.
Prevent anyone from lining up twice.
Within half an hour, everyone had received their share.
Even so, roughly seventy or eighty pounds remained.
Lan Luoyun turned toward the guards.
“Officers, how should we divide the rest?”
The guards looked at one another.
None of them felt comfortable taking all the remaining meat.
There was too much of it.
Besides, it would spoil eventually.
After a brief discussion, Chen Laoda announced:
“Any household with children gets an extra pound.”
“Any household with someone over sixty receives an extra half-pound.”
Butcher Lin immediately followed the instructions.
Once the extra portions were distributed, there were still twenty to thirty pounds remaining.
Lan Luoyun smiled.
“Officers, you can take the rest.”
After all, maintaining a good relationship with the guards could make exile much more bearable.
The distribution finally ended.
Some people hadn’t received food from relatives that morning and had gone hungry all day.
The moment they got their meat, they roasted it over open fires and devoured it.
Others who had already eaten returned indoors to sleep.
Lan Luoyun’s group ended up with nearly ten pounds of pork.
Third Concubine, Lin Nanxuan, and Lin Yaxin also entrusted their shares to her for safekeeping.
Now there was a problem.
With so many people watching, she couldn’t simply store the meat in her space.
That would attract suspicion.
But early March was already becoming warm.
Without proper preservation, the meat would spoil within a day or two.
Fortunately, Lan Luoyun had already thought of a solution.
A way to keep the meat fresh for several more days.