That night, the dogs in Lei Family Village barked with unusual excitement.
The next morning, just as dawn was barely breaking—
“Aaaahhh!!!”
A piercing scream tore through the quiet morning. It was Zhang Guihua’s voice—sounding even more tragic than if her own father had died.
“The pigs! My pigs!!”
The Wang household immediately exploded into chaos.
Wang Dajun didn’t even have time to put on his shoes properly. He threw on his padded jacket and rushed to the backyard.
There, the pigsty gate—which had been tightly shut—was now wide open.
Inside, the five fat piglets that had been raised with care and were meant to be sold for a good price at year’s end had completely disappeared. Not even a single hair was left behind.
Only messy hoofprints remained on the ground, leading out through a poorly secured back gate and disappearing into the vast wilderness.
“What… what happened here?” Wang Dajun was stunned.
Those five pigs were the family’s entire hope for the year—worth several hundred yuan!
Zhang Guihua collapsed onto the ground covered in pig waste, slapping her thighs and crying uncontrollably.
“We’re ruined! We’re ruined!! Who was watching the door last night?! Su Wan! You dead woman! Where are you?!”
Like a madwoman, she searched everywhere for Su Wan.
At that moment, Su Wan slowly walked out of the woodshed, rubbing her sleepy eyes with a confused expression.
“Mother, what’s wrong? Why are you shouting so early in the morning?”
“You still dare to ask?! Where are the pigs?! I told you to watch them—where did they go?!”
Zhang Guihua scrambled up from the ground, claws out, ready to scratch Su Wan’s face.
Su Wan took a step back, looking innocent.
“Mother, it was too cold last night, so I went back to rest for a bit… who knew the pigs were so disobedient and just pushed the door open themselves?”
“Bullshit! That latch was made of iron—how could pigs open it?!”
Zhang Guihua was shaking with rage.
“Enough, Mother! Stop yelling! We need to find the pigs!” Wang Dajun shouted anxiously, stomping his foot.
“If they get eaten by wolves in the mountains, we’ll lose everything for the year!”
“Yes, yes! Find the pigs! Hurry!”
Zhang Guihua no longer cared about hitting Su Wan and scrambled to leave.
“Dajun, go call your uncles! We’ll split up and search! We must bring the pigs back!”
The family rushed out of the courtyard like headless flies.
Before leaving, Zhang Guihua shot Su Wan a vicious glare.
“You stay here and wait! If we don’t find those pigs, I’ll sell you off to pay the debt!”
Finally, the yard quieted down.
Su Wan looked at the empty pigsty and couldn’t help but curl her lips into a faint smile.
Serves them right.
This was karma.
She turned back to the woodshed and closed the door, not bothering to join the chaos.
In this kind of weather, searching the mountains for pigs would wear them out enough.
Not long after, a soft sound came from the back wall.
Clack.
Su Wan’s heart stirred, and she quickly pushed open the back window.
There, Lei Deshui’s tall figure was nimbly climbing over the wall, landing firmly in the courtyard.
He was carrying a paper oil bundle and had a military water flask tucked in his arms.
The moment he entered, a domineering aroma of roasted meat filled the room.
“Brother Lei, did you really let the pigs go?”
Su Wan looked at his mischievous grin, already having guessed the answer, but still couldn’t help asking.
“Of course.”
Lei Deshui spread the oil paper on the table.
Inside was a golden, oily roasted wild rabbit, still steaming hot—clearly just taken off the fire.
“Last night I opened the pigsty gate and scattered some soybeans outside to lead the way. Those stupid pigs ate as they went and wandered straight into the mountains.”
He tore off a rabbit leg and handed it to Su Wan’s mouth.
“By now, they’re probably out there befriending wild boars. It’ll take those Wang family cowards at least two or three days to find them.”
Su Wan took the rabbit leg and bit into it.
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside—full of rich flavor.
“Delicious.”
She narrowed her eyes, looking completely satisfied.
“Eat more if it’s good.”
Lei Deshui looked at her like that—like a little greedy cat—his gaze so gentle it seemed like it could drip water.
He took out a water flask from his chest and unscrewed the lid.
“This is red date water. Just boiled. Still hot—have a couple of sips.”
While eating meat, Su Wan drank the sweet red date water, listening to Lei Deshui explain how he lured the pigs away last night, and how he watched them waddle off into the deep mountains with their backsides raised.
The sharp contrast made her laugh out loud.
Outside, the cold wind howled. The Wang family was out in the mountains, suffering, freezing, and searching everywhere for pigs.
Inside the room, it felt like spring. She was being pampered and fed by the fiercest man in the village, eating roasted meat in warmth.
This was the confidence Lei Deshui gave her.
“Brother Lei, you’re too bad,” Su Wan said coyly, glaring at him, though her lips were still greasy and smiling.
“Bad?”
Lei Deshui raised his thumb, his rough fingertip gently wiping the oil from the corner of her mouth, then pressing lightly against her lips.
“I’m only bad to them.”
His eyes burned intensely, carrying a wildness that made people’s hearts tremble.
“To you, I’d rather dig out my heart and roast it for you to eat.”
Su Wan blushed and lowered her head.
“Who wants to eat your heart? That’s scary.”
The two of them lingered together for a while, until the sun was high in the sky. Estimating that the Wang family would be returning soon, Lei Deshui finally climbed over the wall to leave.
Before he left, he kissed Su Wan on the forehead.
“Rest well at home. If that old witch comes back to cause trouble, just pretend you’re sick—don’t fight her head-on.”
As expected, by noon, the Wang family returned dejectedly.
Each of them looked like drowned rats, covered in mud, freezing and sniffling.
Out of the five pigs, they only managed to bring back two.
The other three were probably truly lost to the mountains—or eaten by wolves.
As soon as Zhang Guihua entered the courtyard and saw the half-empty pigsty, her eyes rolled back and she fainted backward.
“Mother! Mother, what’s wrong!”
Wang Dajun hurried to pinch her philtrum.
After a long while, Zhang Guihua slowly came to.
“My pigs… my money…”
She cried so miserably it was heartbreaking. Overwhelmed with anger, she truly fell ill this time.
She lay in the eastern room on the heated brick bed, a wet towel on her forehead, groaning weakly.
“Su Wan… where is that jinx Su Wan?”
She called out feebly.
“Get her here! Make her serve me—bring me food and water, take care of me! This is what she owes the Wang family!”
At that moment, Su Wan was in the kitchen boiling water.
Hearing Zhang Guihua’s shouting, she didn’t get angry. Instead, she calmly added more firewood into the stove.
The flames flickered across her face.
Serve her?
Fine.
She would “serve” her properly.
Su Wan picked up the chipped medicine pot and poured in the herbs Wang Dajun had brought back.
Then she reached into a hidden crack in the wall and pulled out a small packet of something.
It was the Chinese herbal medicine Lei Deshui had brought her last time—coptis root.
Originally meant to clear heat when soaked in water, but now it was perfect for something else.
Su Wan grabbed a large handful of coptis and threw it into the pot all at once.
“Mother, didn’t you say your heart feels bitter? This daughter-in-law will add some extra ‘flavor’ for you—treat poison with poison.”
She stirred the dark, thick medicinal soup, a cold smile curling at her lips.
The medicine was ready.
Just smelling it was enough to make one’s tongue go numb.
Su Wan carried the steaming bowl step by step into the eastern room.
“Mother, the medicine is ready. Drink it while it’s hot.”
She spoke gently, as obedient as a lamb.
Still half-delirious from fever, Zhang Guihua didn’t think much and took a big gulp.
“PFFFT—!!!”
The next second—
Dark brown medicinal liquid sprayed out like a fountain, directly onto Wang Dajun’s face.