Chapter 14: The Beginning of Schemes

Ning Dalang smiled with eyes curved like crescent moons. "Axin, come tell your father how you managed to catch these two wild boars."

"Just like that, one punch and it fell down. The other boars got scared and ran off in all directions. I could only kill this smaller one with a single punch," Ning Xin said with a hint of pride. "It was my first time hunting wild boars; I lacked experience. Next time, I'll definitely catch two more."

"Besides, carrying down two wild boars didn’t feel heavy at all. We had to bring some firewood bundles to balance the load," he added.

The Meng family and others were stunned.

Ning Dalang was even more shocked. "You killed them with just one punch?"

"Yeah, just one punch."

Meng took a deep breath. "You two, go wash up quickly. It's time to eat."

"After eating, we still need to go to the county town," Ning Xin replied promptly.

Ning Dalang whispered to Ning Xin, "Axin, take father along next time to catch live wild boars. Live ones are worth more."

"..." Ning Xin nodded, remembering the advice clearly: catch live ones, they’re more valuable.

Take her father along? Impossible.

The meal wasn’t much different from before.

Now that cabbage was plentiful, they stir-fried some with preserved pork and had sour vegetable dumpling soup.

More vegetables than meat, but the bean rice was filling.

Seeing Ning Dalang and Ning Xin eat so quickly, Mrs. Meng couldn’t help but say, "Dalang, after you sell the wild boars in the county town, go to the government office and arrange with the constables when they’ll come to our home. We need to prepare some good food. You handle the wine and buy some sunflower seeds and peanuts."

Ning Dalang nodded vigorously.

Mrs. Meng continued, "Buy about ten pounds of glutinous rice. I’ll make some fermented rice wine and grind some rice flour to make glutinous rice balls."

"Sesame filling?" Ning Xin asked.

"Sweet hemp seed filling is good too," Mrs. Meng smiled. "You sure know how to eat."

"We still have over a pound of hemp seeds at home. We’ll use those for the filling," Ning Xin said.

In truth, Mrs. Meng had other plans.

She had been married for over a decade; her parents had never spent a night at her home to enjoy her filial piety.

Before, when the family hadn’t split, her mother-in-law made all decisions; she had no say.

Even after the household divided, there was still no place for them.

Her parents felt sorry for her and even more for the children; at most, they would come only for a meal before leaving.

Once the new house was built, she planned to invite her parents to stay for ten or fifteen days. Her father loved fermented rice wine, and her mother enjoyed glutinous rice balls.

Mrs. Meng thought that even if Ning Dalang went to sell the wild boars, he wouldn’t be without money.

Besides, dealing with the government office required some bribes to get anywhere.

After the meal, they went inside to fetch the purse, filling it with copper coins, each worth a single cash.

When the time came to pay, even a handful would amount to thirty or fifty cash coins—not much, but still some extra income.

She reminded Ning Dalang to be willing to spend.

After all, the barren land they bought for cultivation could first be planted with grains.

With so many children, mouths to feed were many.

The faster they grew crops, the better.

"Don’t worry, Huiniang, I’m in a hurry about this," Ning Xin said as he carried the wild boars.

Ning Dalang carried the bamboo backpack but still couldn’t keep up with Ning Xin.

"Axin, wait for your father!"

"…"

Ning Xin, carrying the boars, showed no sign of fatigue or redness in his face as he looked at his father.

And she still had to go into the mountains with him?

"Axin, aren’t you tired?"

Ning Xin shook his head.

If she weren’t afraid of being cheated selling the boars alone, she wouldn’t have brought her father along.

Whenever the father and daughter passed by, pedestrians and villagers were stunned and wide-eyed.

"That girl carrying the wild boars? Such strength and skill."

"If we could marry a daughter-in-law like that, the family would be blessed for eight generations."

Some words are spoken casually, but the listeners take them to heart.

Lin’s mother was one such listener.

Widowed early, she had struggled to raise several children. Her youngest, Lin Mu, had passed the county-level examination for young scholars. If he passed the provincial exam the following year, he would bring honor to the family.

She and Lin Mu had ambitions for him to continue studying, aiming for the higher-level provincial exam to become a government official.

But pursuing the young scholar degree was costly, and the two daughters-in-law in the family complained about the expenses.

If only they could find a capable daughter-in-law to support Lin Mu’s studies...