Footsteps approached from afar, and Zhao Honghui instantly tensed up, retreating rapidly to hide behind a large tree ten meters away in the opposite direction of the sound.
Was it Xie Yuyao who came? Did she guess that the gun had been exposed and come to kill her to cover it up?
Xie Yuyao saw his actions from a spatial perspective, and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. As expected, she couldn't fool him.
After Zhao Honghui left, she packed the remaining half-pile of grass into her basket, pondering what supplies she would move out of her spatial storage and where to hide them, just in case.
With his mind preoccupied with the supplies in his spatial storage, he naturally didn't think much about what Zhao Honghui was doing in the deep mountains.
It wasn't until she got up to go down the mountain that she suddenly realized that Zhao Honghui might have become suspicious and gone to investigate the "crime scene."
She mentally reviewed the disguise and the aftermath, confirming that no guns or tranquilizer darts had been left behind, but she was still on tenterhooks.
Never underestimate the quality of Chinese soldiers.
Its keenness and reconnaissance capabilities are unmatched by ordinary people.
Xie Yuyao felt as if she were caught in an invisible net, with nowhere to escape.
No, she can't just sit here and wait to die!
Even if she can't be completely honest, she can still express that she has no intention of harming anyone, thus turning a passive situation into an active one.
She hastily sprayed some insecticide and then hurried off to the ancient trees deep in the mountains.
By using spatial perception to survey the surroundings, they became aware of Zhao Honghui's vigilance.
Xie Yuyao felt a bitter taste in her mouth. How could she dispel his hostility and allow herself to survive for two more years?
As long as the college entrance examination is reinstated, she will definitely be able to return to the city, and from then on, the world will be vast and boundless, and there will be no future meeting.
After much internal struggle, I decided to respond to each move as it came.
She composed herself and began her performance: "Comrade Zhao, where are you?"
Upon hearing the voice, Zhao Honghui remained motionless; it was indeed her!
"Comrade Zhao—Comrade Zhao—Zhao Honghui—"
She tapped the bushes on either side of the path with a stick, muttering to herself, "Isn't he nearby? Where did he go? He went into the deep mountains without a machete or anything. How will he escape if he encounters a wild beast?"
Walking under the ancient tree, she looked around casually and called out a few more times, but still only heard the sound of the wind and the chirping of insects and birds.
"Forget it, I'm not looking anymore. Let's go back." With that, she turned and left the way she came.
What Zhao Honghui saw when he peered out was her using a stick to knock and bang, driving away snakes and insects; there were no guns or weapons in sight.
He didn't know whether to be glad she didn't intend to kill him and engage in close combat, or to regret not being able to use the gun to supplement the evidence.
A myriad of feelings welled up in my heart at once.
*
In the open space in front of the Qingshantun brigade headquarters, the wild boar had already been dehaired and gutted, and placed on a makeshift slaughter table.
A long line had already formed in front of the slaughtering table to collect meat. Zhao Jianbin, who worked at the meat processing plant, naturally became the person in charge of distributing the meat, while the team leader decided how much meat each household would receive.
Zhao Jianbin's eyes lit up when he saw Yang Shumei queuing up not far away. He turned to the brigade leader and said, "Brigade leader, Xie Zhiqing found this wild boar. Shouldn't we give her a separate share?"
The meals at the educated youth compound were shared, so Xie, the educated youth, got an extra portion, and Yang, the educated youth, was also able to eat a little more.
"That won't do! The wild boar was stunned; she didn't exert any effort at all!" Upon hearing this, Liu Dazui, who was third in line, jumped out of the ranks and shouted loudly before the captain could speak.
Other members of the community also voiced their objections. Although wild boar meat doesn't taste as good as domestic pork, it's still a rare delicacy. If Xie Zhiqing gets a share, then they'll get one less.
“If Xie Zhiqing hadn’t led the way, would you have known there were wild boars under that big tree?” Zhao Jianbin reasoned with them.
But those women had their own reasons:
"Without you guys carrying it back, she couldn't have brought back such a big wild boar by herself!"
"She ran into the deep mountains during work hours, and the brigade leader hasn't even punished her yet. How dare she ask for more meat?"
"This forest belongs to the collective, and the wild boars belong to the collective too, so they should be divided equally for me to be satisfied!"
......
Some reasonable people either remained silent or muttered quietly, not daring to challenge the crowd's opinions.
Yang Shumei stood up with a tense face after hearing those slanderous words against Xie Yuyao.
"Dear aunties and sisters-in-law, we understand that you want a bigger share of the meat. But please don't speak ill of our educated youth Xie. She could have easily sent the other educated youths to bring back the wild boar; there's no need for you to trouble yourselves. Besides, she only went for a stroll after completing her quota. Working isn't like being in jail; who says she can't leave?"
Wu Lihong, who followed her, also stood up to refute those who were slandering her.
Some people blushed with embarrassment, while others stubbornly refused to admit their mistake, insisting that everyone should have a share of the collective supplies and mocking Xie Yuyao for being lazy, gluttonous, and cunning.
When Zhao Deqiang, the team leader, who was calculating the amount for each household, saw this noisy scene, he shouted, "Shut up, all of you!"
The noise immediately subsided, and after a few seconds, almost no one was talking.
The captain's prestige is still top-notch.
He stood with his hands behind his back and angrily scolded, "Have you never eaten pork before! Will you die of hunger if you miss just one bite! If you keep making a fuss, I'll send you to the commune, and nobody will get to eat any more!"
Everyone felt insecure and secretly regretted their actions.
The captain glared angrily at the few people who had been jumping the loudest, then turned to Wu Lihong and Yang Shumei and said, "Come to the front, you two, and be the first to get your share of the meat."
Some people in the team were dissatisfied, but after being glared at by the captain, they only dared to mutter under their breath.
The brigade leader decided: "The educated youth compound will receive 3 jin, and Xie Yuyao will receive 2 jin."
"Alright!" Zhao Jianbin replied happily, his eyes fixed intently on Yang Shumei. "Yang, which piece of meat do you want?"
Yang Shumei ignored his gaze and looked at the wild boar meat that had been cut into several parts on the butcher's table. She noticed that the pig had very little fat, only a thin layer of fat under the skin, and the rest was lean meat.
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