The village was named Nanqiao Village because the Nan Mountain was to the south and the Qiao River was to the north. The Bai family's fields and land plots were located to the north of the village, situated between the river and the village itself.
The Village Chief's youngest son, Jiang Qing, was now rushing toward the Bai family's fields and land plots. He seemed extremely excited and was shouting from a distance:
"Uncle Bai! Uncle Bai! Something big has happened!"
The Bai family members, with the exception of the two pregnant daughters-in-law, were all working in the fields, even Bai Ming, who was only ten years old. The Bai family's land plots in Nanqiao Village were slightly larger than those of the Village Chief, so if every single person didn't work, they would have to spend money to hire laborers.
Bai Father (Bai Zhou), Bai Mother (Mo Hua), and their children stopped what they were doing when they saw a young boy rushing towards them. Currently, they were talking about their second son (Bai Li), but they were arguing because they dared not believe that Bai Li had truly changed.
When they saw that the approaching young man was from the Village Chief's house, Bai Mother's eyebrows twitched. Although she did not know what had happened yet, she had a vague feeling that this matter might be connected to her second son, and thus her face turned grim.
Oh no, could it be that her wicked son had done something bad again? She had seen the Village Chief's bow at Bai Li's house yesterday, could he have sold the bow?
While Bai Mother was lost in her thoughts, Jiang Qing arrived, gasping for breath due to the hurried run, and spoke between frantic inhales:
"Uncle Bai! Your... your second son... huff... Bai Li's house! My Father said to come right now!"
The Bai family was extremely frightened. One could not blame them; it was simply because the Original Bai Li had brought them many pieces of bad news in this manner before.
Bai Father (Bai Zhou) was a very simple farmer. Because of Jiang Qing's words, he frowned and asked:
"Xiao Qing, do you know what happened to the second son of our family?"
Jiang Qing was now slightly less breathless. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he said:
"Uncle Bai's son met with two wild boars deep at the foot of the mountain!"
Right after that, he wanted to continue and tell them that Bai Li had killed both wild boars, but how could he have expected Bai Mother to scream out in terror?
"Ah!! Second Son! Second Son! What happened to him?! Did he get severely injured?! Where is he now?! Has something bad happened to my foolish son?!"
As Bai Mother spoke, tears streamed down her face, which even made Jiang Qing feel flustered.
In truth, this was not Bai Mother's fault. The Original Bai Li was a good-for-nothing, and even though he had hunted pheasants yesterday, the difference between a pheasant and a wild boar was considerable. Therefore, thinking that Bai Li was in danger just because he encountered a wild boar was not wrong.
Jiang Qing looked at Bai Mother's tears and the pale faces of the Bai family and felt completely puzzled. Bai Li was an extremely wicked good-for-nothing in the past. Why did the Bai family still have affection for such human trash? If Jiang Qing had been even ten percent as wicked as Bai Li, his Father would have beaten him to death a long time ago.
However, Jiang Qing decided not to question the different fates and quickly waved his hand:
"Aunt Bai, you are wrong! Your son killed both of the wild boars! One is already at his house, and he is currently retrieving the other one with my eldest brother. That's why my Father told you to bring the cart so that we can go and sell them in town before it's too late!"
There were only two carts in Nanqiao Village, and one of them belonged to Xiao Han's Father's house. The Xiao family made a living by transporting goods and money between the town and the village, and they prioritized this business. They had no fields for growing rice, only two vegetable plots. If the villagers needed to rent their ox-cart, they would have to pay a fee.
The other cart was jointly owned by the Bai family and the Village Chief's house, for the purpose of carrying out the village's farming tasks. The Bai family owned the cart itself, while the Village Chief's house owned the ox.
Since the two households were the wealthiest families in the village and had a good relationship, there had never been any disputes in this arrangement, and they always worked together with mutual understanding.
That cooperation was also convenient for the villagers; the Village Chief and the Bai family would only rent out the ox-cart for farming tasks at a very affordable price. Sometimes, it could even be exchanged for sweet potatoes.
Only after hearing Jiang Qing's words did the Bai family feel a slight relief, but then they became confused again.
Two wild boars! Oh heavens!
Bai Father (Bai Zhou), in disbelief, asked:
"Xiao Qing, are you being serious? Are you absolutely sure? We are talking about wild boars!"
"Uncle Bai, this is harvest time! Would I really skip work just to come and joke with you? You can see for yourselves if you come with me! The wild boar is so huge, it's even bigger than a man!"
Although the Bai family still could not believe it, they had to go and check Bai Li's house.
Bai Father said:
"Eldest son, go and bring the cart."
Since the cart was currently at the Bai family's place, the Bai family, including Jiang Qing, would be heading to Bai Li's house with the cart. Neighbors working in nearby fields, hearing the news of the wild boars, also wanted to come and see, and thus the cart became full of people. When the cart reached Bai Li's house, they noticed that curious villagers were also walking and following them from behind. By the time the Bai family arrived at Bai Li's house, the news about the wild boars had already spread throughout the entire village.
At Bai Li's house, the Village Chief's family was present, and the huge wild boar, which had been carried on a makeshift stretcher, was lying on the open ground in front of the house. All those who arrived gasped upon seeing it.
Bai Father saw the Village Chief, approached him, and asked:
"Lao Jiang, you saw the second son of my family. Did he get any injuries?"
Bai Zhou and the Village Chief, Jiang Ran, were childhood playmates who grew up together in the same village, so they shared a very close relationship. The Village Chief was currently looking at the wild boar and drinking hot tea. When he heard Bai Father's question, he put down his teacup and replied.
"Lao Bai, far from getting injured, your son was actually carrying this wild boar on his back and running all the way to my fields by himself! When we saw him from a distance, we thought a huge wild boar was running towards us, and we almost ran away!"
Hearing those words finally brought genuine relief to Bai's parents. The words of Jiang Qing and the Village Chief were different. No matter how much Jiang Qing said, they were reluctant to believe the words of a young man like him. But the Village Chief was different. This man was the leader of the village, and his every word was trustworthy.
Only then did Bai Mother finally feel completely at ease. When she looked for her grandchildren, she saw them silently standing at the doorway, each one clinging to one of Xiao Han's legs. These little Ge'ers were timidly observing the crowd that was surrounding the wild boar.
Although Xiao Han still had a fever, it was no longer serious enough to keep him confined to bed. Today, he had given his sons a good wash, so the freshly bathed little Ge'ers looked incredibly adorable, like pure white steamed buns. The red and moist birthmarks beneath the corners of their left eyes were like little red dots placed upon the white steamed buns. Whenever Muo Hua (Bai Mother) looked at her eldest grandchildren, her heart would soften involuntarily, and she could never understand why her second son could bear to neglect these incredibly adorable little ones.
Just as she was about to go to her grandchildren, she saw that the Village Chief's wife, Tu Shi, was also there, so she went to Tu Shi first. Tu Sannan (Tu Shi, the Village Chief's wife) and Muo Hua had a sisterly relationship since childhood. They were also fortunate that both their husbands (family heads) turned out to be good men when they got married. Muo Hua's only misfortune was giving birth to a son named Bai Li.
Tu Sannan severely hated Bai Li and could never understand why a person like Bai Li had to exist in this world. The Bai family owned ten plots of rice fields and twenty vegetable plots. They should have been living comfortably in a tiled-roof house by now, but due to Bai Li's torment, their wealth was now nominal at best. In the end, they even had to withdraw their fourth son from school because they could no longer afford the tuition. Tu Sannan despised such human trash who only brought trouble to their families. She liked everyone in the Bai family, but Bai Li was the exception. She thanked the Gods every day that her sons were not like Bai Li.
Tu Shi saw Muo Shi (Muo Hua, Bai Mother) approaching her, and since it was no longer appropriate for her to remain seated among the men, she went to Muo Shi, then called Xiao Han and the children, and entered the small hut (or shack).
Tu Shi liked Xiao Han and the children; the only person she disliked was Bai Li. However, because of Bai Li's transformation yesterday, her perspective on Bai Li had also begun to shift slightly.
Since the small table inside the house had been moved out for the adults to sit at, they all gathered and sat on the brick bed (Kang). Although Bai Mother had heard what the Village Chief said, she could not help but ask Tu Shi again:
"Is the second son truly safe? I'm worried that he might have gotten injured."
"Muo Shi, didn't you hear what my husband said? Your son didn't get any injuries! I even saw him myself—he was energetic and agile!"
"Did you really see him? What if the injury is underneath his clothes?"
Tu Shi was occasionally annoyed with her good sister for loving her son too much.
"He's fine, you should worry about something else instead, sister! Look, I don't know how big the other wild boar is, but I know that this one lying in front of the house alone will bring us a considerable amount of silver! You need to supervise carefully and make sure your son doesn't become trash again. Look at your second daughter-in-law and grandchildren; they are so skinny! Your second son is truly a bad egg. Although it seems like he has changed yesterday, I'm worried it will be temporary. If he gets a lot of money again, he'll start doing bad things again. That's why you must take the money away from him once he starts doing bad things, and then you can buy food and necessities for the second branch of the family."
Muo Shi understood what Tu Shi was saying. She also did not want her second son to become wicked again. She just wanted to see him living peacefully and happily with his family.
"I know," she replied. "I'm sure the Village Chief and the men of the family will go along when the wild boars are sold. He won't be able to spend the money easily. The moment he tries to start doing bad things again, I will instruct his father to take the money away."
Tu Shi was satisfied with Muo Shi's words.
"That's good. You must do exactly that; don't pamper that scoundrel anymore!"
Afterward, Tu Shi sighed as she looked at Muo Shi, the children, and Xiao Han.
"How wonderful it would be if your second son became sensible! Look at today—he even has hunting skills that the entire village can't believe. If he can just stay this way permanently, you all will be able to live much more peacefully."
Hearing those words, Bai Mother's eyes turned red again.
"That's my fault. I pampered the second son too much."
They truly had indulged him. This was because something had happened when she gave birth to her eldest son, and she did not get pregnant again for seven years. They had even thought they would never have another child, so when the second son finally arrived, they indulged the child excessively. Originally, they had even wanted the second son to go to school, bypassing the eldest son. Unexpectedly, the second son not only did not want to attend school but also became extremely wicked, and they gradually lost control of him.
Tu Shi was also well aware of this fact. She comforted her good sister:
"These things are in the past now. Your second son has just begun to change. All you need to do is maintain this progress."