Liu Ruoxi was relieved to confirm the wild boar's death. However, she knew she couldn't bring it back on her own, so she didn't go to check on it. Another consideration was the possibility of encountering other dangers outside. After all, one wild boar had already wandered near the camp; who knew if there might be a second one, or other animals? It was best not to take any risks. Besides, Liu Ruoxi was exhausted, so she decided to go back inside and rest for a while before thinking about anything else.
Just as Liu Ruoxi went back to her room to rest, Wang Lun and the other two decided to head back. Their baskets were almost full, and on the way back they would dig up some wild vegetables and pick some mushrooms to fill them up.
After resting for a while, Liu Ruoxi remembered that Wang Lun and the others should be back soon. Worried that their shouts might attract other animals, she sat down by the pond to wait for them, still holding her spear. After a while, seeing no other movement, Liu Ruoxi put the spear aside and began washing the remaining wild vegetables, while keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings, whether it was from animals or the sounds of Wang Lun and the others returning.
More than an hour later, Wang Lun and the other two finally saw the campsite. Since they weren't carrying as much as they had yesterday, although they returned a little later, none of them shouted beforehand, including Liu Ruoling. On the one hand, they felt embarrassed because they hadn't carried enough, and on the other hand, they were really tired, both tired and hungry.
Before Wang Lun and his companions even reached the gate, Liu Ruoxi opened it a crack and told them to be quiet, entering the camp one by one through the gap. The three were completely bewildered, but followed Liu Ruoxi's instructions. Liu Ruoxi immediately closed the gate and braced it with a thick wooden bar. The three put down their baskets, looking puzzled. Liu Ruoxi then said, "A wild boar, a big wild boar, came near the camp earlier." Hearing that a wild boar had appeared, Wang Lun immediately became alert, took out a knife from his basket, and forced himself to stand up. Liu Ruoxi stepped forward and pressed Wang Lun down, saying, "It's alright, sit down. I killed the boar." The three were astonished. What was going on? Wasn't it supposed to be a big wild boar? Now she said she killed it? Had the sun risen in the west? Liu Ruoling asked doubtfully, "Sister, are you sure it's a wild boar? Is it as big as the one from yesterday?" Liu Ruoxi rolled her eyes at Liu Ruoling, clearly aware that Liu Ruoling was mocking her, and said, "Come with me, I'll take you to see it." The three of them exchanged glances, and although they were all somewhat skeptical, they still got up and followed Liu Ruoxi towards the earthen cliff.
The three looked in the direction Liu Ruoxi pointed, and there lay a wild boar over two meters long. They couldn't help but swallow hard. Liu Ruoxi said, "This is much bigger than the wild boar from yesterday." She then looked at Liu Ruoling. Wang Lun and the other two exchanged glances, first with some self-doubt: had they seen wrong, or were they all incompetent? First, it was impossible for all three of them to have seen wrong; second, it was impossible for them all to be incompetent. Therefore, there was only one truth: Liu Ruoxi had indeed killed the wild boar; Liu Ruoxi was a hidden master.
Liu Ruoling expressed disbelief. If Liu Ruoxi were that capable, she wouldn't have been eating wild vegetables for the past few days. She asked first, "Sister, how did you kill this wild boar?" Liu Ruoxi recounted the whole story in detail, albeit with some embellishment. For example, the story of Liu Ruoxi running back to the house out of fear was changed to Liu Ruoxi being too weak to carry it alone and going back to rest until they returned. Another example was the story of her being afraid to carry a spear while in the camp, which was changed to her being able to easily kill another wild boar without wasting time getting a spear, and also to her being able to rush to their rescue if they encountered a wild boar on their return.
Of course, these alterations were Liu Ruoling's fantasies, with herself conveniently replaced as the protagonist. Liu Ruoxi's account, however, was largely accurate, only some of the more cowardly parts were glossed over. After Liu Ruoxi finished speaking, Wang Lun and the other two exchanged bewildered glances. They were truly outmatched; the three of them had spent the entire day outside, yet their harvest at the camp was less than Liu Ruoxi's. Liu Ruoxi asked, "Is this wild boar still edible?" Wang Lun thought for a moment and said, "Yes, but it's best not to eat the internal organs and blood." Liu Ruoxi said, "Then let's bring it back and process it. We can cook a pot of 'pig-killing stew' later." The mention of pig-killing stew seemed to whet their appetites; the four, who had been exhausted and hungry, seemed to have been fully revitalized.
So Wang Lun went to find a suitable stick to use for carrying the wild boar, since one person probably couldn't manage it. Li Ling went inside to get rope and vines. Liu Ruoling went to wash some peaches in her basket, so each of them could have some to eat first. After making preparations, the four of them walked together to the wild boar.
Wang Lun first threaded the rope and vines under the wild boar, then wrapped them around the wooden stick and tied them tightly. Next, Wang Lun carried the front, while Li Ling and Liu Ruoling carried the back, carrying it back to the camp and placing the boar beside the waterway. The four of them then sat down to rest and drink water. They were already quite exhausted, and carrying the 200-plus-pound wild boar made them even more tired.
After resting for a while, Wang Lun considered how to deal with the wild boar. He thought about scraping off its fur, but the boar was covered in armor; it would probably take until dark. Suddenly, Wang Lun remembered a method of dealing with pigs, perhaps from Yunnan or Guizhou: burning them. He explained this method to the three men, who all agreed it was a good and quick way. So they called everyone to fetch firewood and start a fire. Soon, they laid a layer of firewood where the campfire had been, placed the wild boar on top, lit the fire, and then piled more firewood on top until the entire boar was covered.
The four originally planned to wait there until the fire went out, but Wang Lun said, "There are still some wild vegetables and mushrooms over there that haven't been cleaned yet. If we clean them, we can have a good stew for the pig slaughter." So the four of them worked together, some washing vegetables, some blanching vegetables, some hanging vegetables up, and one person specifically processing mushrooms and other wild vegetables. When they got hungry, they would nibble on a peach, but they just wouldn't eat any rice; they were just waiting for the stew for the pig slaughter.
Before long, the day's harvest was all processed; everything that needed to be dried was dried, and everything that needed to be brought inside was brought inside. Now, only the wild boar remained. The four of them sat quietly beside it, waiting for the fire to go out so they could process the boar and then eat the meat. Just thinking about the fragrant stew made their mouths water. Although none of them had ever eaten it before, they had all seen it. They used to think it was greasy, but now, the more they thought about it, the more delicious it seemed. Tears welled up in their eyes.
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