Chapter 18: Bad Luck!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

She would occasionally take a look around her second uncle’s old courtyard, but she had not seen a single duck. However, this girl picked up an entire nest as soon as she moved in!

They both fished in the same river, but their family didn’t catch anything. That wretched girl got a full harvest instead.

And now, when she went up the mountain and lost her way, she even managed to find two fat pigs for free!

What kind of lucky streak was this?

After this incident spread in the village, not only did Lin Xiujuan think this way, but the other villagers who knew about this also discussed it behind her back.

“Hey, do you guys think that little jinx from the Zhou family got lucky? These wild boars are so difficult to hunt and yet she found two as soon as she entered the mountain? What kind of luck did she have?”

“Heh, you don’t say. It’s really possible. Has the jinx become a lucky star?”

“I don’t think so. Have you heard of ‘Terminal lucidity’? It’s said that when a person is about to die, their mind will suddenly recover as if nothing had happened.”

“But not long after, they would take their last breath and die! In my opinion, this is probably the case for her and she’s dying.”

“This Zhou Yu family is so lucky this time. I’m afraid it won’t be long before they suffer!”

“You don’t say. It’s possible.”

…

They gossiped that the Zhou family would suffer a big misfortune soon, but when they saw the two fat pigs, they were still jealous of them.

Liu Liangcai and the others carried the wild boars straight into Zhou Xiaoli’s house. Wei Chiyu had left them without a word after leaving the mountain.

Zhou Xiaoli guessed that he had probably gone to sell the fox skin, so she did not pay much attention to him.

Liu Liangcai and the village chief’s two sons had contributed greatly towards carrying the two wild boars down the mountain.

She had to thank them for being willing to enter the mountain to look for her when she was in danger, although she did not really encounter danger.

However, she still had to be grateful for their help.

Thus, Zhou Xiaoli suggested that they cut the smaller wild boar and give them half of the wild boar to split between the two families.

Lin Xiujuan, who was just upset at Zhou Xiaoli for wasting her man’s time, instantly beamed when she heard that her family could get a big piece of wild boar meat.

However, the village chief’s family and Liu Liangcai refused.

However, they could not resist Zhou Xiaoli’s plea to accept it. In the end, under Zhou Xiaoli’s insistence, they all accepted it with a smile.

After all, wild boar meat was a good thing. It was much more expensive than ordinary pork and it was said that the officials and rich ladies in the city liked it.

However, they also felt that taking that much of the meat was akin to taking advantage of a little girl.

Thus, Liu Liangcai and the village chief expressed that they would help Zhou Xiaoli process the two wild boars.

If she had to process these two wild boars herself, she would probably be half-dead from exhaustion.

Zhou Xiaoli accepted their offer happily.

The weather was hot, so she was afraid that the meat would not be fresh after being left for too long.

Liu Liangcai and the two sons of the village chief made a prompt decision. They dug a hole at the entrance of the village, erected a rack, and boiled water to slaughter the pigs!

Even Lin Xiujuan, the village chief’s wife, and her eldest daughter-in-law helped. They removed the hairs and washed the pig offal. They were all very busy.

Usually, the village would only see pigs being slaughtered during the new year.

Therefore, the liveliness attracted the attention of many villagers. Adults and children alike surrounded them in a circle.

After hearing that the village chief’s family and the Liu family could take a huge portion of the wild boar, many villagers regretted it.

If they had known earlier, they would have gone to the mountains to help find Zhou Xiaoli and they too, would also have a share of the wild boar meat.

However, it was too late for regrets. Other than being jealous and envious, there was nothing else they could do.

However, there would always be some greedy people who did not want to let go of this opportunity.

Just as they were busy working, the Lu family’s daughter-in-law, Mrs. Bao, Lai Jinniang, and a few other women whom they are friends with, gathered together and approached them.

When Lai Jinniang heard that Zhou Xiaoli had picked up two big wild boars, she was overjoyed. She was about to run to Zhou Xiaoli’s house to get them to give her the wild boars.

Her husband, Zhou Dashan, shouted at her to come back.

“Don’t you find it embarrassing?! You chased them out of the house when I wasn’t at home. You had no idea how the neighbors had gossiped behind my back about this!”

Now, you even planned to ask them to give you the wild boars. Did you have any thoughts of my dignity?!”

Lai Jinniang, who had been scolded, turned back resentfully, but she was not convinced.

After entering the house, she muttered softly, “You’re so shameless! Didn’t you want to chase their family out long ago? Now you’re blaming me. If you truly couldn’t bear to chase them out, you would have brought their family back home a long time ago.”

“Now, I’ve become a bad person while you’re the good person who values friendship and loyalty. Aren’t you happy?”

Back then, when they settled in Boyu Village, the villagers who had fled here together knew that their eldest son, Zhou Yu, was abandoned at the roadside and they had brought him back even though they barely had anything themselves.

Therefore, they praised the Zhou family for saving an abandoned baby under such difficult circumstances.

The village chief of Boyu Village had even praised them in person. It was also because of this that they could quickly integrate into Boyu Village.

It was also because she wanted to maintain this reputation that she had tolerated her eldest son’s family for so many years. Otherwise, she would have chased that family of nuisances out long ago.

Hearing Lai Jinniang’s mumbling, Zhou Dashan instantly glared at her. “What did you say?”

Lai Jinniang immediately shut her mouth and ran out of the door. She bumped into Madam Bao, the matriarch of the Lu family, who was gossiping about this on the street.

Bao Meifang said, “Why shouldn’t we have a share of the wild boar meat? If you ask me, we should split it equally. Moreover, as Zhou Yu’s mother, you’ve suffered hardships in bringing him up. He should be filial to you and give your family a bigger portion of the wild boar meat too!”

In an instant, Lai Jinniang found a ‘confidant’.

After some discussion, the small group of old women walked over.

“Village Chief! I suggest that we distribute these two wild boars to the villagers of our village!”

Bao Meifang’s voice was rough to begin with. Almost everyone present heard her shout, and the surroundings instantly fell silent.

At that moment, the village chief was standing at a corner, smoking a pipe while chatting with the villagers with a smile.

Hearing this, he frowned in disbelief. “What did you say?”

“Village Chief, this wild boar was picked up by the girl from the Zhou family on the mountain. It should belong to everyone in the village. How can their family pocket it for themselves?” Bao Meifang continued shamelessly.

The old women at the side quickly chimed in. “That’s right, that’s right. Village Chief, a large area of the North Mountain belongs to our village.”

“That wild boar is a beast living on the mountain. Everything on the mountain should belong to all of us villagers, so it should be distributed to us.”

What a shameless speech.

Zhou Xiaoli was impressed.

Bao Meifang and the others used the pretext that it is for the common good of the entire village to gain benefits for themselves. Therefore, other than Lin Xiujuan, no one else stood up against them and said that they were shameless.

On the contrary, many people nodded in agreement.

The village chief and Liu Liangcai, who was slaughtering the pigs, were so angry that they laughed.