To get their hands on some wild boar meat, everyone who could run wanted to head into the mountains.
However, the brigade leader quickly put a stop to this.
“Only the strong men will come along. Everyone else, stay here and don’t get in the way.”
The able-bodied young men eagerly followed the brigade leader into the mountains, while the others stayed behind, visibly disappointed.
The wild boars, clueless about their impending doom, unknowingly ran straight toward the hunting party.
As both groups moved forward, the distance between them quickly shrank.
Finally, the group heard the snorting and panting of the wild boars.
The brigade leader shouted excitedly, “Quick, quick! Get your weapons ready!”
The wild boars soon spotted the crowd of people. Their reaction: !!!
Surrounded by so many people, not a single boar managed to escape.
Cheers erupted from the group.
“Hahaha! So many of them! Each family will get a good share of wild boar meat. These boars are so plump!”
Indeed, the wild boars were even larger than the domesticated pigs raised for work tasks. However, since wild boars roamed freely in the forest, they had less fat and more lean meat.
“The mountains are full of things they can eat—nuts and whatnot. No wonder they’re so big and fat.”
One of the group asked, “What should we do with the piglets?”
Amid the herd of large wild boars, there was also a litter of piglets.
The piglets were a bit of a problem—they couldn’t be raised easily and didn’t yield much meat.
Song Wei suggested, “How about we castrate them and let them go back into the mountains? They might grow even bigger and fatter. Next time we hunt wild boars, if we come across them, we can butcher them. If not, it’s no big deal.”
Wild boar meat had a strong gamey flavor, but castrating them would improve the taste significantly.
There was, of course, the risk that the piglets might grow up and be eaten by other predators in the mountains.
But castration wasn’t a major effort, and releasing them into the wild didn’t cost anything. If they got eaten by predators, it wouldn’t be a loss.
Hearing Song Wei’s suggestion, the others were speechless: …You sure know how to think outside the box.
However, the brigade leader thought it wasn’t a bad idea.
“Our brigade isn’t exactly great at raising pigs. Even the raised pigs aren’t as big as these wild boars. Let’s not waste these piglets. If we manage to hunt them down again someday, all the better.”
Everyone worked together to bring the captured wild boars back to the village. Meanwhile, Song Wei slipped away from the group, heading back on her own.
She was worried about the three dead wild boars they had left behind—hopefully, no predators had gotten to them.
When she reached the wild boars’ nest, she found that predators had indeed been drawn to the scene, but it was only a fox.
A red fox, to be precise, and a rather beautiful one.
The fox immediately raised its head warily at the sound of her approach.
Song Wei walked straight toward it.
“Hey, buddy, this is mine.”
The fox yipped in protest and clamped its jaws on one of the boars’ hind legs, trying to drag it away.
With its small size, however, it had no chance of succeeding.
When Song Wei got closer, the fox bared its teeth, attempting to intimidate her. But upon spotting the wolf behind her, it immediately tucked its tail between its legs and bolted.
Looking at the wild boar leg the fox had gnawed on, Song Wei used her knife to slice off the chewed section and tossed it into the grass in the fox’s direction. Then, she dragged two wild boars away.
Lin Zhen had also returned.
Seeing Song Wei dragging two wild boars, each weighing two to three hundred pounds, he was silent for two seconds.
His partner’s strength was truly extraordinary.
He had dealt with the last wild boar, and now, with two people and two wolves, they hauled all three boars out of the forest.
After they left, the fox returned.
It hadn’t actually gone far. Peeking out cautiously in the direction Song Wei and Lin Zhen had gone, it lowered its head and grabbed the two-pound chunk of meat she had thrown, then scampered off.
Shortly after, other animals, drawn by the scent of blood, arrived at the scene, but by then, the wild boars were long gone.
“Are we taking these directly to the black market to sell?”
Lin Zhen replied, “We’ve got enough from the nine wild boars we caught with the brigade. I asked the brigade leader to set aside a leg and some ribs for me.”
Since both he and Song Wei had been instrumental in the hunt, they received a larger share. Lin Zhen had only asked for a leg and some ribs, along with a few large bones to feed their two wolves.
“We won’t sell all this meat. We’ll keep some for ourselves.”
Song Wei nodded. The two of them first hid the three wild boars in a secure location. Lin Zhen then went to find a buyer—not at the black market but directly through a sales director at the steel plant.
He didn’t even bother with a disguise.
Having established good relationships with a few directors during their vegetable-selling days, he didn’t feel the need to hide anything. Of course, this wasn’t something that could be done openly.
The director, understanding the rules, agreed immediately when he heard there were three large wild boars. Without another word, he followed Lin Zhen, even bringing a small truck from the factory.
By the time they had processed and sold the three wild boars, it was already late at night.
This sale brought in over seven hundred yuan—a significant sum.
Lin Zhen handed all the money to Song Wei.
Under the cover of darkness, they returned home. Heidan was already asleep, and the two wolves were lying by the courtyard gate, standing guard.
“I’ll head back to the educated youth dormitory,” Song Wei said.
Lin Zhen nodded, though he wished she could stay. He knew it wasn’t appropriate.
He sighed inwardly, wishing they could get married immediately so they wouldn’t have to tiptoe around these formalities.
“Come over for breakfast tomorrow. I’ll make meat buns.”
Song Wei nodded. When she returned to the dormitory, she was surprised to find someone waiting for her—Su Fang.
“Song Zhiqing, may I ask you something?”
Her tone was cautious, carrying a hint of nervousness.
At this moment, Su Fang was a little unhinged, especially when it came to dealing with the Luo family.
But this kind of madness was something Song Wei appreciated. Instead of internalizing her struggles, Su Fang directed her energy outward.
“What is it?”
“I wanted to ask about collecting medicinal herbs. I noticed you were gathering herbs for a while. Did you sell them to the hospital in town?”
Before Song Wei could answer, Su Fang hurriedly added, “I’m not trying to compete with you. I was thinking of going to the city to sell herbs. If it works out, I’d like to try herb gathering myself. I won’t interfere with your business.”
Su Fang was desperate to make money but lacked Song Wei’s skills. She couldn’t hunt wild boars barehanded or even catch mountain chickens or rabbits. Gathering medicinal herbs seemed to be her only viable option, but she didn’t want to upset Song Wei.
Song Wei replied, “Of course. The mountains aren’t mine. The hospital needs plenty of herbs, and I can barely keep up with the demand just in town. Recently, I’ve been gathering herbs for my own use. If you’re serious, I can take you to the hospital’s procurement director to ask.”
Hearing this, Su Fang’s eyes lit up, and she felt deeply moved.
“Thank you, Comrade Song. I’ll always remember your kindness.”
Song Wei patted her on the shoulder. “Get some rest. We’ve got work tomorrow.”
The next day, the Ping’an Brigade was filled with the aroma of cooking meat.
However, the strong gamey flavor of wild boar meat meant its taste depended entirely on the cook’s skill.
Lacking confidence in her own cooking, Song Wei chose to eat at Lin Zhen’s house.
Still half-asleep from going to bed late the previous night, she made her way over in the early morning.
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