After bestowing several praises upon his son, the two didn't delay any further. They bled the carcass where necessary, dismantled the limbs, and loaded it onto the cart.
Zhou Yang pulled from the front, while Zhou Daniu pushed from behind.
"Son, now that you've bagged a wild boar, don't forget to show it off a bit in the village. In a few days, I'll head over to the village chief's place and find you a good wife."
Zhou Yang initially wanted to say there was no rush. However, the image of his wife from his previous life flashed through his mind—she had been the prettiest girl in the village when she was young. She had suffered years of hardship alongside him, lived like a widow while he served in the military, and was ultimately driven to her death by his second uncle.
In this life, he wanted to marry her again and make up for everything he had owed her in the last.
"Dad, why don't you go over to the Xue family and put in a good word?"
"You’ve got your eye on their Bingbing?" Zhou Daniu chuckled. "My son, you certainly have a taste for beauty. I’ve been watching, and that girl has feelings for you too."
"I figured as much!"
"Haha, well, don't get too cocky around her. Every young man in the ten surrounding villages has his eyes on her!"
Father and son chatted and laughed, and before the sun set, they finally hauled the wild boar back home. But while they were still a distance away, Zhou Yang spotted an uninvited guest at their door.
He would never mistake that silhouette. It was his second uncle, Zhou Zhiguo!
"Where is my big brother? Where is he hiding?"
"Stop giving me all that nonsense! Get him out here right now and give me the money!"
"What now? I sacrificed a leg to help him get a wife, and now that his son is out mountain foraging, I’m still a goddamn bachelor! Are you actually feeling aggrieved because I’m asking for money from your family?!"
"I don't care about anything else. Give me the money today to pay off my gambling debts, or I’m going to lie right here in your doorway tonight. I’ll let the whole village see what a bunch of ingrates you people are!"
"Oh, the misery! My own big brother is nothing but a cold-hearted beast!"
"If I don't pay up this time, they’re going to break my other leg... Let me tell you, if I end up completely crippled, your whole family will have to support me for the rest of your lives! You owe me this!"
Zhou Yang pulled a long face and looked away. He turned to see his father, Zhou Daniu, standing with his head hung low; there was humiliation on his face, but even more regret and helplessness.
Zhou Yang said nothing. He pulled the cart to the gate, broke free from his father’s grasp, and grabbed Zhou Zhiguo by the collar: "Do you want money, or do you want your life?"
"You little bastard, how dare you treat your second—ah, holy shit!"
Zhou Yang couldn't be bothered to listen to his drivel. He hauled him up by his collar and dragged him across the ground, pulling him right out of the courtyard.
"Don't hit him, don't hit him! He’s your second uncle!"
"Dad, get out of the way!"
"Stop hitting him. He wants money—just give it to him."
His father, shielding the second uncle who was rolling on the ground and howling, stood between him and Zhou Yang. He looked at his younger brother on the ground with honest, pained eyes and sighed. Then, he reached into his pocket, pulled out some coins and a few old banknotes, and prepared to hand them over.
Seeing this, Zhou Zhiguo bared his yellow teeth and shamelessly reached out. Before he could touch the money, Zhou Yang lunged forward and kicked his hand away, causing him to howl and roll in agony.
"Murder! He’s trying to kill me..."
As Zhou Zhiguo writhed, his eyes suddenly locked onto the wild boar on the cart, and his voice cut off abruptly.
"Yo, you bagged a mountain pig?"
He scrambled up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and winked at Zhou Daniu. "Tell you what, just give me a little bit of money for now, but first, you’re going to butcher this pig and drag it to my house!"
"All four hocks go to me. Save the pig head and the prime cuts for me too. You can keep the intestines and the rest; don't say I haven't looked out for you!"
He still had the gall to act like a parasite?
The more Zhou Zhiguo acted like a leech, the more Zhou Yang's rage boiled over. Remembering the miserable end his parents and wife had suffered in his past life, he wanted nothing more than to carve this old beast into pieces.
He shoved Zhou Daniu aside and snatched the hunting knife from his own waist. The blade was still stained with dried blood and gore, and reeking of a metallic stench. Without a moment's hesitation, he slashed it toward Zhou Zhiguo's throat.
Seeing the murderous intent on Zhou Yang’s face, Zhou Zhiguo was finally terrified. This young wolf really was protective of his kill—he actually meant to do it!
Don't let the fact that this old scoundrel had a limp fool you; when he was scared out of his wits, he moved faster than a healthy man. He scrambled up from the ground and scurried away.
Seeing Zhou Yang still moving to pounce, he backed away, cursing as he went: "Damn you! Your family has all this meat, why won't you share it with me? Do you have no sense of justice?"
"Just wait! You all better wait! I’m going to find someone to settle this with. What's owed to me, I'll get!"
Zhou Yang gritted his teeth and snarled, "I'll hack down anyone you bring here. If you've got the guts, just keep coming back!"
The old man shivered, dragging his crippled leg as he limped away. His disgruntled, shouting voice trailed behind him; he seemed to be cursing loudly on purpose, wanting the whole village to hear. But in all of Shaoguo Tun, nobody cared for this bottom-feeder.
"Dad, can you stop being a fool?"
After the second uncle left, Zhou Yang looked at his father with a mix of frustration and heartbreak. "The whole village knows what kind of man he is. Look around—apart from you, who else even bothers with him?!"
"That’s exactly why... if I don't look after him, he’ll starve to death..."
"Dad, you!"
Zhou Daniu kept his head low, like a child who had done something wrong, but his honest face remained stubborn.
Zhou Yang looked at his father, feeling both angry and pained. After holding it in for a long time, the lecture he wanted to give couldn't find its way out. He could only punch the boar’s carcass in frustration and soften his tone: "Dad, I know you feel guilty, and I can't speak for the grudges of your generation."
"But for the sake of the life I risked mountain foraging, listen to me just once. Take care of our own family first. Mom has suffered a lifetime with you—let her at least be able to eat her fill!"
His father nodded, though it was hard to tell how much had actually sunk in.
"Alright, Yangzi, don't give your father such a hard time."
His mother, Chen Xiuling, who had been hiding in the house the whole time, finally opened the chain lock and stepped out to greet them. In truth, she had harbored resentment toward her husband for years. But on the other hand, she felt sorry for him, so over the years, even though their life was constantly disrupted by the second uncle, Chen Xiuling had just quietly endured it. Only, she couldn't stand the sight of Zhou Zhiguo; every time he came over, she would hide in the back room and only emerge after he left.
Mother looked at the wild boar on the cart, her furrowed brow relaxing slightly. "Let’s get the pig cleaned up. My son caught a big one—that’s a good thing! Stop pulling such long faces!"
Just then, a pleasant female voice came from the side.
"Zhou Yang? Did your second uncle come to stir up trouble again?"
Xue Bingbing walked into the courtyard, holding a tray of sun-dried radishes. In this era, unlike the future, a girl was considered attractive if she was sturdy and strong—after all, being healthy meant she could work and bear children.
However, Xue Bingbing seemed to have grown in the opposite direction. Her delicate, slender frame made her look exceptionally fragile, especially her tiny, willow-thin waist that looked as if a strong breeze might knock her over.