Chapter 89: Dare To Disobey Me? Break The Legs First, Then Beat To Death
“Clan Leader, Xin Yatou, how do you plan to handle this wild boar?” Some impatient villagers simply ran over to ask.
The Old Clan Leader said with a smile, “You shouldn’t ask me about this. The wild boar was hunted by Xin Yatou.”
Lin Xin thought for a moment and decided to keep one for herself and sell the other to the villagers. The usual price for pork was sixteen wen per catty, but she would charge only ten wen per catty. However, there was one condition: she wouldn’t sell to He Luan’er’s family, and in the future, she wouldn’t sell any prey she hunted to the He family.
After much borrowing here and there, plus the coffin money saved by the old couple of the He family over the years, they finally scraped together five taels of silver to send to Lin Xin. But then they heard her say she wouldn’t let the He family benefit even a little from her favors in the future. Mi Shi nearly bit through her steel teeth in rage and went back to beat and kick He Luan’er.
This incident thus came to a close. The village’s pig slaughterers sharpened their knives eagerly, while Lin Xin dragged the wild boar hind leg allocated to her back home with one hand.
“Sis, you hunted a wild boar? Are you hurt?” Nan Nan came running over with his short little legs pattering, asking Lin Xin with a face full of worry. Behind him followed Mo Ziyuan, Meng Yichen, and Cui Shi.
“Of course not! Older Sister is very capable, remember?” Lin Xin washed her hands clean, squatted down, and let Nan Nan hug her neck.
“Yeah, I know Older Sister is very capable.” Nan Nan’s face was full of mysterious trust in Lin Xin as he rubbed his little face against her neck.
“Miss Lin, are you alright?” Meng Yichen asked, somewhat startled by the wild boar’s two curved long tusks.
“I’m fine, what could be wrong with me! Alright, call everyone over. This big wild boar is enough for all of us to eat.” Lin Xin didn’t want every person who came to ask if she was okay, so she straightforwardly changed the subject.
Meng Yichen gave her a hesitant look, then turned to call people. Before leaving, he gave Mo Ziyuan a meaningful glance.
Cui Shi squatted on the ground with Nan Nan studying the wild boar. Mo Ziyuan walked up to Lin Xin, lowered his head, looked seriously into her eyes, and said, “We didn’t not want to help you before, but we’re all outsiders, and all men. If we openly stood on your side, it might harm your reputation. Would you… blame us?”
Lin Xin slanted him a glance. “I was even afraid you’d rush out to speak up for me! I know better than you what kind of people are in the village. If you really helped me, He Luan’er would definitely twist your intentions, and then the villagers would look at us with filthy eyes. I’m not afraid of that, but it would still make me feel disgusted.”
Mo Ziyuan carefully observed Lin Xin’s expression until he confirmed that she truly thought this way before he relaxed completely. Tilting his head, he saw Nan Nan trying to break off a wild boar tusk, so he simply helped by cleanly severing one with his sword.
Soon, Gao Yong and the others followed Meng Yichen to Lin Xin’s home, their faces embarrassed. Before they could speak, Mo Ziyuan repeated Lin Xin’s earlier words, and their expressions normalized a bit.
“Don’t just stand there, get to work! I’m saying upfront, I’m only responsible for cooking, not for slaughtering the pig!” Lin Xin thought of the slaughtering scene and already felt the stench drilling into her nose, so she quickly added, “Take the pig outside to kill it, or the house will stink too much.”
Gao Yong and the others happily carried the wild boar outside to process it.
Everyone was very satisfied with this full wild boar feast. Even the little wolf cub got two palm-sized pieces of fresh pork, and it ate until its entire wolf face was buried in the meat.
“Miss Lin, the foreman asked us before when you plan to start building your house. If it’s tomorrow, they won’t go back to town tonight. If it’s in a few days, they’ll go home first and come back.” While sitting and digesting after the meal, Meng Yichen asked Lin Xin.
It was now late October, and winter was coming soon. Lin Xin thought it over and decided on a quick resolution, setting the house-building time for tomorrow.
“Good, I’ll go back and tell the foreman right away so they don’t leave.”
“Thank you!”
“One more thing, you’re going to tear down this house and rebuild, right? Where do you plan to stay during this time?”
This really was a problem. Lin Xin couldn’t just openly sleep on the ground with Nan Nan!
“Can Nan Nan stay with you all while building the house?”
“Of course! I’m Nan Nan’s mister! Having him stay at my place is no problem at all. What about you?”
“I’m easy, I can stay anywhere.” Lin Xin said indifferently.
“Nonsense, you’re a young lady. What do you mean you can stay anywhere!” Meng Yichen scolded displeasedly.
“Worst case, I’ll find an inn in town, alright!” Lin Xin rolled her eyes, ignored him, and went off to the side.
In the end, even Meng Yichen, Mo Ziyuan, and Gao Yong together couldn’t persuade Lin Xin. She left Nan Nan and two hundred taels in silver notes behind, waved casually, and left dashingly.
As for where she went? Officially, she said to town, but once she left the village entrance, she turned into the mountains and found a dense grove to enter the space.
“Phew!” She stretched comfortably, lay down on the bed, looked at the blue sky and white clouds overhead, yawned, and fell into a hazy sleep.
“Master, don’t worry about Sis. She’s very capable.” Nan Nan earnestly comforted Cui Shi.
“I’m not worried about that stinky girl at all!” Cui Shi blew his beard and glared. “Stinky boy, let me tell you, I’m your master. In the future, you’re to take responsibility for my old age and burial. If you dare not listen to me, I’ll break your legs first and then beat you to death!”
Nan Nan blinked his big eyes, bit his lip, and asked, “What if Master’s words are wrong? Do I still have to listen?”
Cui Shi: “······”
The others nearby: “Pfft~”
“Get lost, all of you.” Cui Shi’s face darkened as he waved at everyone. “Quickly pick your own rooms, let the house air out for a few days, then move back in.”
Gao Yong chuckled and sidled up to him. “Old Cui, you first.”
“Hmph!” Cui Shi snorted, pulled Nan Nan toward the newly built house, and said persuasively along the way, “Nan Nan, your room should be next to Master’s! It’ll be more convenient for teaching you medical skill, and I can supervise you to study properly.”
Nan Nan blinked his big eyes at him and asked, “What about my sister? I want to be next to my sister.”
“Your sister can’t live with us. She’s a girl. What would it look like for a girl to stay with a bunch of stinky boys!”
“Then I won’t pick. I’ll go back and live with my sister.” Nan Nan finished speaking, broke free of Cui Shi’s hand, ran to Mo Ziyuan, hugged his leg, looked up, and said, “Big Brother Mo, take me to find Sis, okay? I want to live with her. I don’t want to pick a room.”
Mo Ziyuan picked him up. “Letting you pick a room is just for temporary stay. Your family will build a house soon too. Once your family’s house is built, you can go back to your own home.”
“Oh, so that’s it!” Nan Nan patted his chest with his little hand in relief, sighed with relief, amusing everyone.
