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3 REJECTED Widows Came To His Door Hungry… But He Had 80 YEARS Of Hunting Skills And MAGIC SPACE — Transcript

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0:00I woke up to a woman pressed against me,
0:02whispering that we should live together.
0:04When I opened my eyes, I saw Chinqing
0:07Shua, a beautiful woman I knew was
0:09supposed to be dead. I panicked and
0:11pushed her away. Then I looked around. I
0:14was in my old house. The mud walls, the
0:16wooden beams, the old newspaper on the
0:19windows. But this house collapsed 10
0:21years ago. I looked at my hands. They
0:24were young and strong, not the weak
0:26spotted hands of an old man. I had been
0:28reborn, sent back in time. Two more
0:31women stood at the door. Lin Wner, small
0:34and pretty, and Zhao Ming, dark-skinned
0:37and striking. These were the three
0:39widows who lived next door, all alive. I
0:42almost cried. Chinqing Shua thought I
0:44rejected her when I pushed her away. She
0:46straightened her back and asked me for a
0:48straight answer. Yes or no? If no, they
0:51would leave right now. I remembered
0:53everything from my past life. It was the
0:55winter of 1980. My wife had died of
0:58cancer 6 months earlier. These three
1:00widows had been kicked out by their
1:02in-laws after their husbands died. Their
1:04own families refused to take them back.
1:06They had no food, no protection. Village
1:09thugs harassed them constantly. They
1:12came to me hoping we could take care of
1:14each other. Last time I said no. I was
1:16afraid of gossip. Then later I got
1:19caught in a mudslide while hunting in
1:20the mountains. These three women found
1:23me and tried to save me. Lin Wer was
1:25crushed by a boulder and died on the
1:27spot. Zhao Ming Sui<unk>s leg was broken
1:30by a falling tree. She bled out.
1:32Chunqing Shiua carried me down the
1:34mountain but got swept away by a second
1:36mudslide. She pushed me into a cave
1:38first. I survived. All three of them
1:41died saving me. So this time I said yes.
1:44I told them this would be their home now
1:46and nobody would ever bully them again.
1:49They broke down crying. They had been
1:51alone and desperate for so long. They
1:53were hungry. They hadn't eaten in 2
1:55days. When I asked, they tried to deny
1:58it, but Lyn Wner's stomach growled
2:00loudly. She turned bright red. I smiled
2:03and said, "Come on, let's go find
2:05something to eat." I told the three of
2:07them to follow me outside. The night was
2:09freezing cold. We were all shivering. I
2:12led them to a corner of the yard where I
2:13had a pile of firewood stacked up. I
2:16told them to help me move it. Under the
2:18wood, I dug into the dirt with my bare
2:20hands and pulled out an oil cloth
2:22bundle, about 10 lbs of sweet potatoes I
2:25had secretly hidden. I had to hide food
2:27from my own family. My mother and my two
2:29older brothers would have taken
2:31everything if they knew. They always
2:33did. When our family split up, my
2:35brothers got the big houses, the
2:37farmland, the animals. I got this broken
2:39down shack at the edge of the village. I
2:42worked the field since I was a teenager,
2:44but every bit I earned went to the
2:45family. When it was time for me to get
2:47married, my mother said there was no
2:49money, no bride price, no wedding
2:52banquet, not even new clothes. My wife
2:55married me anyway, not caring that I had
2:57nothing. When she got sick later and was
2:59coughing up blood, I knelled at my
3:01mother's door, begging for money to save
3:03her. My mother sat there cracking
3:05sunflower seeds and told me I was bad
3:07luck, that I had killed my father, and
3:09now I wanted to drag her down, too. She
3:12said she was saving money to build big
3:14houses for my brothers. My wife died
3:16because of that. The three widows
3:18understood. They had been treated the
3:20same way by their own families. We went
3:22into the kitchen and I boiled the sweet
3:24potatoes. When they were done, the women
3:27grabbed them and ate like they were
3:28starving because they were. I didn't
3:31eat. Just watching them fill me up
3:33inside. In my past life, these three
3:35women died to save me. In this life,
3:38giving them a hot meal was enough to
3:40make me feel at peace. But they saved
3:42the biggest sweet potato for me and
3:44insisted I eat it. They said we were
3:46family now. That word hit me hard. I
3:49hadn't heard anyone call me family in a
3:51long time. I took a bite. It was sweet.
3:54Later, I brought them to the bedroom.
3:56There was only one wooden bed, but
3:58enough blankets. I told them to sleep
4:00here tonight. They looked at each other.
4:02They thought I wanted something in
4:03return. They started undoing their
4:05clothes. Under the dim oil lamp, the
4:08three women started undressing. Each of
4:10them was beautiful in her own way.
4:13Chingshua was slender and graceful.
4:15Minguo was curvy and Wner was the
4:18youngest with soft, fair skin. I froze
4:21for a second. Ching Shua said quietly.
4:23You kept your promise, so we<unk>ll keep
4:25ours. Tonight, we<unk>ll take care of
4:27you. Wner even slipped her clothes off
4:29her shoulders and told me to come over.
4:32I shouted at them to stop. I didn't mean
4:34it like that. They were confused. If not
4:36for that, then why did I take them in? I
4:38took a deep breath. I couldn't tell them
4:40the real reason that in my past life
4:43they died saving me. So I told them a
4:45small lie instead. I said they deserve
4:47to be treated well. I said if I stood by
4:50and watched them starve or freeze to
4:52death, my conscience would never let me
4:54rest. I'd rather be dead than live with
4:56that guilt. I'm a man, but I'm not an
4:59animal. I pulled an old blanket from the
5:01cabinet, spread it on the floor, and
5:03told them to take the bed. I would sleep
5:05on the ground. That was how it would be
5:07from now on. They didn't need to be
5:09afraid. Wner protested. She said I was
5:12the head of the household and shouldn't
5:13sleep on the floor. But I laid down with
5:15my back to them and told them to sleep.
5:18We had a lot to do tomorrow. The room
5:20went quiet. I could feel them standing
5:22there staring at my back for a long time
5:24before they finally climbed into bed.
5:26They whispered to each other under the
5:28blanket. Wner worried that maybe I
5:30looked down on them because they had
5:32been married before. But Chingshua said
5:34it didn't matter. No one would believe
5:36the truth anyway. The truth was that
5:38none of them had ever actually been with
5:40a man. Chingshua had been sold by her
5:43stepmother to a dying man who couldn't
5:45even lift his arm. Ming Suer was married
5:48off at 15 to a man with tuberculosis who
5:50coughed blood on their wedding night and
5:52died half a year later. Wner's parents
5:55were gamblers who sold her to a village
5:57fool who didn't even understand what a
5:59wedding night was. He later fell off a
6:01cliff and died. Three women, all married
6:04on paper, all still untouched. Yet
6:07everyone called them husband killers.
6:09Ching Shiwa told the other two that from
6:11now on they should give their whole
6:13hearts to me. She said I was their man,
6:15their sky. No matter what happened, they
6:18would never betray me. The other two
6:20agreed without hesitation. Msue said she
6:23could never repay my kindness. Wner said
6:25she would take good care of me for the
6:27rest of her life. The next morning, I
6:29opened my eyes and found the bed empty.
6:32All three women were gone. I sat up in a
6:34panic, thinking something had happened.
6:36But when I opened the door, I saw the
6:38three women had already been working.
6:40Ching Shuer was sweeping the yard.
6:42Minguer was washing clothes at the well
6:45with her hands red from the cold, and
6:47Wner was scrubbing the old cooking pot.
6:50The whole yard was spotless. Chingshua
6:52smiled and told me there was a warm
6:54sweet potato waiting for me. I ate it,
6:57then went inside and grabbed my homemade
6:59bow and arrows, a bamboo bow with
7:01sharpened bone arrow heads. I needed to
7:04go hunting before the snow came. We
7:06needed meat and animal skins to make
7:08warm clothes for winter. In my past
7:10life, I spent decades hunting. I started
7:13as a clueless kid who could barely catch
7:15a rabbit. But over the years, I became a
7:17real hunter. I could hit a target from a
7:20100 steps away, track animals by the
7:22sound of the wind and the bend of the
7:24grass. My reputation even reached
7:26foreign countries. A rich foreigner once
7:29hired me as a hunting guide. We traveled
7:31across Africa, North America, and
7:34Siberia. I hunted lions, buffalo, and
7:37bears. The money I earned from that is
7:39the only reason I didn't die alone in
7:41some ditch as an old man. Now reborn in
7:44my young body, I still had all those
7:46skills. Feeding three women would be
7:49easy. Chingshua got worried when she saw
7:51me heading out. She said the mountains
7:53were dangerous. Wolves and wild boars. I
7:56told her I knew these mountains like the
7:58back of my hand. Then she took off a
8:00jade pendant from her neck and pressed
8:02it into my hand. It was the only thing
8:04her mother left her before she died. Her
8:07stepmother came after that and ruined
8:09her life. She said this pendant kept her
8:11going through the worst times and now
8:13she wanted it to keep me safe. I tried
8:16to refuse. It was too precious. But she
8:18insisted. The other two women told me to
8:21come back safe, that they would be
8:22waiting. For the first time in a long
8:24while, someone was waiting for me to
8:26come home. I hung the pendant around my
8:28neck and headed for the mountains. The
8:31cold was brutal. My breath came out
8:33white and my fingers went stiff. But
8:35after walking for a while, I noticed
8:37something strange. I was getting warmer,
8:40not from walking, but from my chest. I
8:42looked down and saw a faint glow through
8:44my clothes. I pulled out the jade
8:46pendant. It was hot and green light was
8:49pouring out of it, getting brighter and
8:51brighter. Before I could react, the
8:53light swallowed me whole. When I opened
8:55my eyes, I was standing in a wide open
8:58field of green grass under a blue sky.
9:01Nearby, a crystal clearar spring flowed
9:04with a faint glow. There were neat plots
9:06of farmland, a fenced area that looked
9:08like it was meant for raising animals,
9:10and right in the middle, a two-story
9:12house with white walls and red tiles,
9:15just like the fancy houses I had seen in
9:17the city in my old life. I pinched
9:19myself. It hurt. This was real. I had
9:22read about things like this in novels
9:24before. A magical space hidden inside an
9:26object. I didn't just get reborn. I got
9:29a cheat on top of it. And the secret was
9:31inside the jade pendant Chingshua gave
9:34me. But she had worn it for years and
9:36nothing ever happened. I had it for less
9:38than an hour and it activated. Maybe it
9:40was because I was a reborn person. I
9:42stopped trying to figure out how the
9:44space worked and just explored it. I
9:46knelt by the glowing spring and drank a
9:48handful of water. The moment it went
9:51down my throat, I felt it rushed through
9:53my whole body. It was like every bit of
9:55tiredness and soreness I ever had was
9:57being washed away. My blood moved
10:00faster. My muscles felt stronger. Even
10:02my skin looked better. I felt reborn all
10:05over again. I checked out the villa
10:07next. Inside, there was a leather sofa,
10:10a big TV, a kitchen with a stove and
10:13fridge. All empty, though. The space
10:15gave me the place, but I had to fill it
10:17myself. Upstairs had two bedrooms with
10:20soft beds and new blankets. I lay down
10:22and almost didn't want to get up. Then,
10:24a voice spoke inside my head. It called
10:27itself the spirit of the space. It said
10:29it had been sleeping for a thousand
10:31years. waiting for someone whose body
10:33matched the space perfectly. Ching Shua
10:36wasn't the right person I was. That's
10:38why the pendant never activated for her.
10:40The spirit asked me to use the space to
10:42help people. I thought about all the
10:44suffering I saw in my past life. People
10:47starving, people dying from disease and
10:50those three women buried in the
10:51mudslide. I agreed. I promised to do my
10:54best. After that, knowledge flooded into
10:57my mind. How to enter and leave the
10:59space. How crops would grow faster
11:01inside, how food stored in the space
11:04would stay perfectly fresh. Time inside
11:06moved at the same speed as outside. I
11:09left the space and found myself back on
11:11the mountain path. Now I could enter any
11:13time just by thinking about it, even
11:15without the pendant. I headed deep into
11:18the forest to hunt. Decades of
11:20experience kicked in. I moved quietly,
11:22red tracks on the ground, and within
11:24minutes, I shot a fat rabbit right
11:26through the head. I stored it in the
11:28space instantly. No need to carry
11:30anything. Over the next two hours, I got
11:32three more rabbits and two feeasants.
11:35But I wanted something bigger. I found
11:37deep hoof prints in the mud. A wild boar
11:40at least two or 300 lb. I tracked it and
11:43found it in a clearing, a massive black
11:45beast with bristles like steel needles
11:47and tusks half a foot long. I circled
11:50around to its side, aimed for the soft
11:52spot behind its ear, and let the arrow
11:55fly. One shot, instant kill. I stored
11:58the whole thing in the space. Without
12:00it, I could never have carried a 300-lb
12:02boar by myself. I checked my hall. Three
12:05rabbits, two feeasants, one huge boar.
12:08Enough to keep us fed for a long time. I
12:10turned to head home. Then I heard
12:12rustling behind me. I stopped. This
12:15wasn't a small animal. I turned around
12:17slowly. Green eyes glowed in the bushes.
12:20Then more appeared. 2 3 4 5 wolves. Five
12:25gray wolves coming out of the brush and
12:28staring right at me. They formed a half
12:30circle around me. Five gray wolves, the
12:33leader as tall as my waist. The big one
12:35stared me down, growling low. They had
12:38probably come for the wild boar and
12:39found me instead. Normally, five wolves
12:42against one man with a bow would mean
12:44certain death. Wolves hunt together. One
12:47distracts you from the front while the
12:49others attack from behind. But I had the
12:51space. If things got bad, I could just
12:54disappear into it. They couldn't follow
12:56me there. But before that, I wanted to
12:58kill as many as I could. Wolf skin makes
13:01excellent winter clothing. Five pelts
13:03would keep the three women warm all
13:05winter. I backed against a tree and drew
13:07my bow fast. I shot the nearest wolf
13:10through the neck, dead instantly. Before
13:12the others could react, I pulled another
13:14arrow and killed the second one. Two
13:17arrows, two kills. The alpha howled and
13:20all three remaining wolves lunged at me
13:22from different angles. Right before they
13:24reached me, I thought, "Enter!" and
13:27vanished into the space. The wolves
13:29slammed into the tree trunk. They
13:31sniffed around completely confused.
13:34Their prey had disappeared into thin
13:36air. Inside the space, I watched them
13:38through a kind of mirror and laughed. I
13:40drank some spring water to recover my
13:42energy, then came up with a plan. I
13:45would pop out, shoot one, and disappear
13:47again before they could touch me. It
13:49worked perfectly. I came out, killed a
13:51third wolf, and vanished again. Then I
13:54appeared behind the alpha and shot its
13:56leg. While it was down, I put an arrow
13:58through its head. The last wolf tried to
14:01run. I shot it in the back. All five
14:03dead. I collected every wolf and stored
14:06them in the space. My total hall was now
14:08three rabbits, two feeasants, one 300-lb
14:12boar, and five wolves. Incredible. But
14:15then I realized a problem. I couldn't
14:17bring all of this home. How would I
14:18explain one man carrying hundreds of
14:20pounds of meat back from the mountains?
14:23People would think I was some kind of
14:24monster. The space had to stay secret
14:27forever. Not even the three women could
14:29know. In my 80 years of life, I had seen
14:32what greed does to people. If word got
14:34out about something this powerful, it
14:36would bring disaster on all of us. So, I
14:39only took out two rabbits, tied them to
14:41my waist, and headed home. Everything
14:43else would stay in the space. I would
14:45bring things out little by little over
14:47time. When I got near the house, I saw
14:49all three women running toward me. Ching
14:52Shua had been sitting at the door,
14:53staring toward the village entrance all
14:56afternoon. She looked me up and down,
14:58checking for injuries, scolding me for
15:00being gone so long. I handed them the
15:03two rabbits. Their eyes went wide.
15:05Minguer said, "Even the best hunter in
15:07the village was lucky to catch one
15:09rabbit in a whole day. I brought back
15:11two fat ones. I shrugged and said, "I
15:14got lucky." But the way all three of
15:15them looked at me had changed. I could
15:17see it in their eyes. They thought they
15:19had found something special. Ching Shua
15:21held those rabbits and her eyes got wet.
15:24She told me later that no one had ever
15:26been this good to her in her whole life.
15:28I told them all to stop being emotional.
15:30Let's go home and cook. Back at the
15:32house, Ching Shiwa and Ming Sui skinned
15:35and cleaned the rabbits while Wner got
15:37the fire going. I decided to braze one
15:39rabbit for tonight and make soup with
15:41the other for tomorrow. These women were
15:43skin and bones. They needed proper food.
15:46I cooked it myself. I had spent decades
15:48living alone in my past life, so my
15:50cooking was decent. I used a little bit
15:52of oil my late wife had saved. I had
15:55never touched it until now. I fried the
15:57rabbit with ginger, garlic, and green
16:00onion, added soy sauce for color, then
16:02let it simmer. When it was done, the
16:05smell filled the whole yard. The women
16:07could barely believe it. Ming Sui said
16:09the last time she ate meat was 3 years
16:11ago, a chicken, but her mother-in-law
16:14gave her at a family dinner. Wner said
16:16she had never even had that much. They
16:18all had tears in their eyes while
16:20eating. Wner cried and said it was the
16:22best thing she ever tasted. Their hands
16:24were shaking. I told them to stop
16:26crying. Days like this were just the
16:28beginning. I made a promise to take care
16:30of them, and I meant it. But the meat
16:32smell drifted outside on the evening
16:34wind. In a time when most families could
16:37barely eat enough grain, the smell of
16:39cooking rabbit was impossible to ignore.
16:42Villagers started poking their heads
16:43out, wondering who was eating meat. My
16:46second brother's wife, Luds Sua,
16:49happened to walk past on her way to
16:50gossip with a neighbor. She smelled it,
16:53peeked over my wall, and saw everything.
16:55Me eating with three women, a big bowl
16:58of brazed rabbit on the table. Her eyes
17:00nearly popped out. She ran straight to
17:02the Chun family house to tell my mother.
17:05In her head, she was already scheming.
17:07She figured that since I was a Chun,
17:09anything I hunted belonged to the
17:11family. She wanted my mother to come
17:13demand the meat. On top of that, she
17:15wanted my mother to scold me for living
17:17with three widows so soon after my
17:19wife's death. My mother, Wong Hohat, was
17:22sitting in her house cracking sunflower
17:25seeds when Suha burst in out of breath,
17:28shouting that I had meat. two whole
17:30rabbits brazed with soup and the smell
17:33was so good she couldn't walk past it.
17:35We were almost done eating when someone
17:37kicked my gate open. My mother, Wong
17:40Hohat, stormed into the yard, hands on
17:42her hips, screaming. My second brother's
17:45wife, Lud Sui Hua, was right behind her,
17:47grinning like she was watching a show.
17:49My mother started yelling, calling me
17:51ungrateful, saying I had meat, but
17:54didn't bring any to her. She called me a
17:56whiteeyed wolf. So piled on, calling the
18:00three women wild women and shaming me
18:02for being with widows so soon after my
18:04wife died. She said I was a disgrace to
18:07the Chin family name. The three women
18:09went pale. They didn't dare talk back.
18:11They knew if they said a word, they
18:13would be called worse names. But I could
18:15see the anger and hurt in their eyes.
18:18They had done nothing wrong. I put down
18:20my chopsticks. In my past life, these
18:22women were bullied just like this. Not
18:25again. I stood up and told my mother to
18:27get out. She was shocked. I had never
18:29talked to her like that before. She
18:31screamed that she was my mother and I
18:33had no right. I looked her straight in
18:35the eye and said she didn't deserve to
18:37be called my mother. I laid it all out.
18:39When the family split up, my two
18:41brothers got big houses, farmland, and
18:43livestock. They even split the iron
18:46cooking pot between them. All I got was
18:48this broken shack. I worked the field
18:50since I was a teenager, and every penny
18:52I earned went into the family pocket.
18:54When it was time for me to get married,
18:56she said there was no money for
18:57anything, no bride price, no wedding,
19:01not even new clothes. When my wife was
19:03dying, coughing up blood, I knelt
19:06outside the family house, begging for
19:07money to save her. She sat there
19:09cracking sunflower seeds and told me I
19:12was bad luck, that I killed my father
19:14and would kill her, too. She told me to
19:16borrow money somewhere else and stop
19:18bothering her. My wife died because of
19:20that. Now I catch two rabbits and
19:23suddenly she smells the meat and comes
19:25running demanding I hand it over as
19:27filial duty. Where was her duty to me
19:29when I was chewing tree bark to survive?
19:32Where was she when my wife was dying?
19:34Where was she when I sold my own blood
19:36to pay for the funeral? I walked toward
19:38her step by step and told her straight.
19:41From the day my wife died, I no longer
19:43had a mother. If she ever came to my
19:45door again looking for food or trying to
19:47cause trouble, she could forget it. Not
19:50a single grain of rice from my house
19:51would ever go to the Chin family. My
19:54mother screamed that she would go to the
19:55village leader and let everyone judge
19:57what a terrible son I was. I told her to
20:00go ahead. I would be happy to let the
20:02whole village hear how she treated me,
20:04how she played favorites when splitting
20:06the family, how she let my wife die. She
20:08backed off from that idea fast. She knew
20:11the village already talked about her
20:13behind her back. Then Sui Hua jumped in,
20:16threatening to tell everyone in the
20:17village that I was living with three
20:19widows. She said nobody would know what
20:21kind of shameful things we did at night
20:23under the same roof. I just smiled. Go
20:26ahead and spread your stories. I have
20:28something to share, too. She froze. I
20:30asked her what she was doing with Wong
20:32Matsi in the cornfield last autumn. Her
20:35face went white. She denied it, called
20:37it lies, but I pushed further. I asked
20:39if I should describe the mole on Wong
20:41Matsi's body and exactly where it was.
20:44She nearly collapsed. The truth was I
20:47hadn't actually seen it myself in this
20:49life, but in my past life, they got
20:51caught and it became a huge scandal in
20:53the village. I used what I remembered to
20:55bluff her. My mother turned on Sui Hua
20:58with cold eyes. She asked why I would
21:00know about a mole on Wong Matsi's body.
21:02Sui Hua panicked, dropped to her knees,
21:05swore she was innocent. She tried to say
21:07I was making it all up to turn them
21:09against each other. I offered a simple
21:11solution. Go ask the villagers if anyone
21:14else saw them together during harvest
21:16season. Or just check Wong Matsi for the
21:18mole. Suiha blurted out, "Don't ask."
21:21before she could stop herself. That was
21:23all my mother needed. She remembered how
21:25Sui Hua kept going to the cornfield last
21:27autumn, claiming she was picking up
21:29leftover cobs. Now it all made sense. My
21:32mother exploded at her, called her a
21:34shameless woman who put horns on her own
21:37husband. Suiha collapsed on the ground,
21:40sobbing and begging for mercy. My mother
21:42forgot all about Suwa and reached for
21:44the bowl of rabbit meat on the table.
21:47She said she would just take the meat
21:48home. I grabbed the bowl before she
21:50could touch it. She yelled that I owed
21:52her the meat as her son. I told her
21:54there was no meat for her, but if she
21:56wanted, I could offer her something else
21:58from the toilet. She was shaking with
22:00rage, pointing at me, barely able to
22:03speak. By now, villagers had gathered
22:05around to watch. They whispered among
22:07themselves how my mother gave me nothing
22:10when the family split. How she refused
22:12to help when my wife was sick. And now
22:14she smelled meat and came running.
22:17Nobody was on her side. My mother heard
22:19the villagers whispering about her and
22:21couldn't take it. She looked at me and
22:23realized I wasn't the same pushover I
22:25used to be. She couldn't bully me
22:27anymore. She pointed at me, said, "Just
22:30you wait." Grabbed Sua and left. The
22:33villagers watched them go with mocking
22:35eyes. The three women were stunned. They
22:38had never seen anyone stand up to my
22:40mother like that. Ching Shua worried
22:42that I had ruined my relationship with
22:43my mother for their sake. Wner blamed
22:46herself, saying none of this would have
22:48happened without them. I told them it
22:50had nothing to do with them. My mother
22:52and I were finished long before tonight.
22:54Then Wner broke down. She threw herself
22:56into my arms and cried, saying nobody
22:59had ever been this good to her in her
23:01whole life. I wiped her tears and told
23:03her she just had bad luck before. But
23:05from now on, she needed to get used to
23:07someone treating her well. Minguer came
23:09and hugged me from the side, crying,
23:11too. Even Ching Shiu, who was always the
23:14strong one, leaned against me quietly.
23:17The three of them held on to me in the
23:19yard, and for the first time in a long
23:20time, I felt what it was like to have
23:22people who cared. After a while, they
23:24let go, all a little embarrassed. We
23:27finished dinner and went to bed, but I
23:29didn't sleep. I waited until everyone
23:31was quiet, then went out to the well in
23:33the yard. I took some spirit spring
23:36water from my space and poured it into
23:38the well. It glowed for a moment, then
23:40blended in and disappeared. This way,
23:43every time the women drank water,
23:45cooked, or washed, they would slowly
23:47absorb the spring water's benefits.
23:50Their weak bodies would get stronger
23:52without them even knowing. I wasn't
23:54going to tell anyone about the spring
23:55water, too dangerous. The next morning,
23:58I got up before dawn and checked my
24:00space. The whole wild boar was still
24:02there, perfectly fresh. I needed to go
24:05to town. We had no salt, no oil, and
24:08barely any supplies. I planned to sell
24:10some of the boar meat for cash. And
24:12there was one more important thing I had
24:14to take care of, paying off my debts.
24:16When my wife was sick, I borrowed money
24:19from several families in the village for
24:21medicine. After she died, the funeral
24:23cost even more. Altogether, I owed about
24:26a hundred yuan, a huge amount in this
24:28era, more than most families saved in a
24:30whole year. In my past life, it took me
24:33ages to pay it back. This time, I wanted
24:35to settle it quickly. Those people
24:37trusted me enough to lend, and I
24:39wouldn't forget that. I got up early,
24:41washed up, and put on a clean cotton
24:43jacket. Since I activated the spirit
24:46spring, the cold didn't bother me much
24:48anymore. When I walked out, Ching Shuer
24:50was already up standing in the frost
24:52with her thin patched clothes. Her face
24:55was white, her lips purple, her body
24:58shaking. I took off my jacket and put it
25:00on her. She tried to refuse, but a gust
25:03of wind made her shiver so hard she
25:06couldn't argue. I told them to use the
25:08rabbit skins from yesterday to make
25:09gloves and scarves while I was gone. I
25:12needed to get to town. She asked where I
25:14was going. I just said I had business to
25:16take care of and told them to eat the
25:18leftover rabbit meat without waiting for
25:20me. I caught the ox cart at the village
25:22entrance. Old Yang, the driver, charged
25:252 cents per person. On the ride, he
25:28brought up last night's fight with my
25:29mother. The whole village already knew.
25:32He said my mother was wrong, that
25:34everyone could see it. But he also
25:35warned me about the gossip. A single man
25:38living with three widows. People would
25:40talk no matter what. He suggested I go
25:42to the village chief and register them
25:44officially. Maybe say they were hired
25:46help. That way there would be an
25:48explanation on paper and the gossip
25:50would lose its teeth. It was good
25:52advice. I told them I would do it when I
25:54got back. The town was small, one main
25:56street with a supply store, a grain
25:59station, a post office, and a clinic.
26:01But I didn't stop there. I walked east
26:04to a narrow alley at the edge of town.
26:06At the end of that alley was the black
26:08market. It was just a tight lane with
26:10stalls on both sides selling everything.
26:12Grain, cloth, ration tickets, seeds,
26:16poultry. You could buy anything if you
26:18had money, but the risk was real. People
26:20got caught regularly. Small offenses
26:22meant fines. Big ones meant prison. Two
26:25big men stood guard at the entrance. One
26:28had his arms crossed. The other was
26:30smoking. They looked at everyone who
26:31came and went with suspicious eyes. When
26:34I tried to walk in, one of them put out
26:36his hand and stopped me. I paid the
26:38entrance fee, one dime, and walked into
26:41the black market. That was how it
26:43worked. The local boss controlled the
26:45market, split the money with officials,
26:47and in return, everyone inside got a
26:50warning if trouble was coming. I found a
26:52quiet corner where nobody was looking,
26:54pulled the whole wild boar out of my
26:57space, threw it over my shoulder, and
26:59walked through the market like it was
27:00nothing. After drinking the spirit
27:02spring water, my strength had grown a
27:04lot. 300 lb felt easy. People stared and
27:08whispered as I passed. I found a stall
27:10that bought wild game. The owner, a
27:13skinny man with a thin mustache, nearly
27:15fell over when he saw the boar. He
27:17checked the meat, said it was top
27:19quality, then ran off to get more buyers
27:21since he couldn't afford the whole thing
27:23alone. He came back with four or five
27:25others. I told them one yuan per pound,
27:28no bargaining. Someone complained that
27:30regular pork was only.7, but I pointed
27:33out that mine didn't require ration
27:35tickets and wild boar tasted 10 times
27:38better than farm pork. They could resell
27:40it for even more. My one condition, I
27:42kept the skin. They agreed and divided
27:45up the meat. I walked away with 290 yuan
27:48in my pocket. That was a huge amount of
27:50money in this era. Next, I needed ration
27:52tickets. Without them, you couldn't buy
27:55most things, even if you had cash. I
27:57found a woman selling tickets and bought
27:5950 lb of grain tickets, 30 ft of cloth
28:02tickets, 10 lb of meat tickets, 2 lb of
28:05oil tickets, and 2 lb of sugar tickets.
28:08The whole lot cost me 27 yuan. Then I
28:11asked about seeds. She pointed me to an
28:14old man deeper in the market. He had
28:16bags of every kind. Cabbage, radish,
28:19cucumber, beans, peppers, tomatoes,
28:22eggplant, plus potato, sweet potato, and
28:25corn seed. The prices were cheap. I
28:28looked them over carefully. They were
28:29good quality, plump, and fresh. I
28:32started thinking about my space. There
28:34was plenty of land in there. And with
28:36the Spirit Spring Water, crops would
28:38grow fast. I decided to buy a lot. I
28:41bought a huge amount of seeds. Five
28:43packs each of cabbage and radish. three
28:45packs each of cucumber, beans, peppers,
28:48tomatoes, and eggplant, plus 30 lbs of
28:51potato seed, 30 lbs of sweet potato
28:53seed, and 20 lb of corn seed. The old
28:56man couldn't believe it. The whole lot
28:58came to 11 yuan. I stored everything in
29:01my space when no one was looking. Then I
29:03found an old woman in the back of the
29:05market selling baby chicks, ducklings,
29:07and little rabbits from bamboo cages. I
29:10bought 30 chicks, 20 ducklings, and 15
29:13rabbits. She was so shocked she could
29:15barely count. I gave her 20 yuan and
29:18told her to keep the change. She almost
29:20cried and wished me good fortune. I put
29:22all the animals into my space. They
29:25landed on the green grass, looked around
29:27confused for a second, then started
29:29running around happily. The space would
29:31make them grow fast. Soon the chickens
29:33and ducks would lay eggs, and the
29:35rabbits would breed like crazy. I would
29:38have a steady supply of meat and eggs.
29:40After that, I went to the official
29:41supply store and used my ration tickets
29:44to buy salt, cooking oil, white sugar,
29:47matches, soap, and a few pounds of
29:49cotton to make thick blankets. I also
29:51bought three pieces of colorful cloth,
29:54red, blue, and green, for the three
29:57women to make new clothes. Much better
29:59than the patched rags they were wearing.
30:01I spent about 20 yuan on all of that.
30:03After paying back my 100 yuan in debts,
30:06I would still have 110 left. For the
30:08first time, our future looked promising.
30:11When I got back to the ox cart, I was
30:13carrying a big sack over my shoulder and
30:15a basket full of goods with the bright
30:17cloth on top. The village women who had
30:19been gossiping on the cart went silent
30:21the moment they saw me. They had just
30:23been laughing about how I was too poor
30:25to feed myself, let alone three widows.
30:28How I would starve soon and the women
30:30would leave me. How I was worse than an
30:32animal for not giving meat to my mother.
30:34Now they stared at all the things I was
30:36carrying, mouths hanging open, unable to
30:39say a word. The village women on the
30:41cart couldn't stop staring at my things.
30:43When the sack opened a little, they saw
30:45the wild boar skin, huge and shiny. They
30:49spotted the white sugar, the bright
30:50cloth, the cotton. Their jaws dropped.
30:53These were things they couldn't afford
30:55even for New Year. One of them tried to
30:57ask where I got the money. I shut her
30:59down cold, told them my money was earned
31:02honestly, and it was none of their
31:03business. Old Yong laughed at them from
31:06the front of the cart. They had just
31:07been mocking me behind my back and now
31:10they couldn't say a word. When the cart
31:12reached the village, I saw a big crowd
31:14at the entrance. Dozens of people. I
31:16could hear someone wailing before I even
31:18got close. It was my mother. She was
31:21sitting on the ground, hair a mess,
31:23crying at the top of her lungs, slapping
31:25her thighs, putting on a show for the
31:27whole village, screaming that her son
31:29was an ungrateful animal who kicked her
31:31out and wouldn't even give her a bite of
31:33meat. She wanted everyone's pity. The
31:36village chief, Yong Duay, was standing
31:38there looking uncomfortable. He didn't
31:40know what to do. When I walked up
31:42carrying my big sack and basket full of
31:44goods with bright cloth on top, everyone
31:47went quiet, including my mother. She
31:49stared at everything I was carrying. I
31:51set my things down and looked at her. I
31:54asked if she was done with her
31:55performance. She cried louder, called me
31:57an animal, said she didn't want to live
31:59anymore. I ignored her and turned to the
32:02village chief. I said I had something to
32:04discuss. In front of everyone, I laid
32:06out the facts. When my wife was dying, I
32:09went to my mother for help. She refused
32:11to give a single scent. She let my wife
32:14die. She didn't even help with the
32:16burial. After that, I told her we were
32:18done. No more family ties. She agreed to
32:21it at the time. The village chief
32:23confirmed he remembered. My mother tried
32:25to say she had no money back then. I
32:27asked her how she found money to hire a
32:29midwife when her other daughter-in-law
32:31gave birth or to throw a banquet for her
32:34grandson's one-mon celebration. She had
32:36money for them, but nothing for my dying
32:38wife. I looked around at the crowd and
32:40asked everyone. I worked for the Chun
32:42family since I was a teenager. I handed
32:45over every work point, every penny. Did
32:47I owe them anything? People in the crowd
32:49started agreeing with me. They
32:51remembered how I worked like a servant
32:53for the Chun family since I was a kid.
32:55All the hard, dirty jobs, all my work
32:58points handed over. When I got married,
33:00the family didn't pay for anything. I
33:03covered the bride price, the wedding,
33:05even built the house myself. Whatever
33:07debt I might have owed them was paid
33:09back many times over. And on top of
33:11that, she agreed to cut family ties. The
33:14village chief confirmed it. When my
33:16mother saw her crying act wasn't
33:17working, she switched tactics. She
33:20started screaming that I had three
33:21widows living in my house, that it was
33:24shameful and immoral. The crowd got
33:26noisy. Some of the gossipy women jumped
33:28in to add fuel. My mother wailed louder,
33:31saying my wife's bones weren't even cold
33:33yet. I waited for her to finish, then
33:36spoke calmly to everyone. I said, "Yes,
33:38three women were staying at my place,
33:40but there was nothing improper going
33:42on." I explained that they were
33:44desperate people sold off by their
33:46families, thrown out by their in-laws.
33:48They had once saved my life when I was
33:50in danger on the mountain and they
33:52helped with my wife's funeral. I was
33:54repaying a debt. Winter was coming. They
33:57had no food and no warm clothes. Was I
34:00supposed to watch them freeze and
34:01starve? I said I had taken them in as
34:03hired help and neighbors, giving them
34:05food and shelter. Nothing wrong with
34:07that. The crowd calmed down. People said
34:10it made sense. Repaying kindness was a
34:12good thing. I turned to the village
34:14chief and formally asked him to approve
34:16the arrangement. He thought about it. He
34:19knew these three women were a problem he
34:21hadn't been able to solve. Their
34:23families on both sides refused to take
34:25them. He could only give them light work
34:27during warm months, but winter meant no
34:29work points and no wild vegetables. If
34:32nobody helped them, something bad would
34:34happen. Me volunteering to take care of
34:36them actually solved his problem. He
34:38approved it and said he would register
34:40it officially. My mother panicked and
34:42protested. She said three women in a
34:45man's house was scandalous and would
34:47ruin the village's reputation. The chief
34:49smiled and asked her a clever question.
34:52If she was so concerned and so
34:54kind-hearted, why didn't she take the
34:55three women in herself? She could feed
34:58them, clothe them, and house them. That
35:00way, nobody could gossip. Her face went
35:02green, feed three extra mouths. She
35:05could barely feed her own family. She
35:07stammered and couldn't answer. I twisted
35:10the knife. What happened? You just said
35:12you were kind-hearted. You're worried
35:13about the family name. Then you take
35:15care of them. She stood there red-faced
35:18and speechless. The whole crowd laughed
35:20at her. The chief wrapped things up. The
35:23three women would stay with me. It was
35:25official. And my mother needed to stop
35:27making scenes. She glared at me and
35:29hissed that this wasn't over. Then left.
35:32After everyone left, I handed the
35:34village chief 100 yuan. the money he had
35:37lent me through the village committee
35:38when my wife was sick. He was shocked.
35:41He said he always believed in me and
35:43that lending me the money was the right
35:45call. He patted my shoulder and told me
35:47the country's policies were loosening
35:49up, that some places were already
35:51allowing private business. He said a
35:53smart, hard-working guy like me could
35:55make something of himself. He had no
35:57idea how right he was. I had lived
36:00through the entire reform era in my past
36:02life. I knew exactly which industries
36:04would boom and which businesses would
36:06make fortunes with my memories and the
36:09spirit spring space. Getting rich was
36:11just a matter of timing. But for now, I
36:13needed to build up savings first. Just
36:16then, the three women came running
36:17toward us, out of breath and worried.
36:20They had heard my mother was causing
36:22trouble at the village entrance again.
36:24Msue said it was all their fault. I told
36:26them to relax. It was handled. My mother
36:29had been sent away and the village chief
36:31had officially approved them living with
36:33me. They could stay without fear. The
36:35chief confirmed it and told them to come
36:37to him if they had any problems. The
36:39women nearly cried with gratitude. He
36:42waved it off and said to thank me, not
36:44him. We headed home. On the way,
36:46Chingshua quietly said, "Thank you." I
36:49told her again, "We're family. Stop
36:51thanking me." Back at the house, I sat
36:53them down for a serious talk. I told
36:55Ching Shuer and Mingui that they were
36:57older, tougher, and had seen more of the
37:00world. From now on, if anyone bullied
37:02them while I was away, they shouldn't
37:04hold back. Hit them right back. I would
37:07back them up, and so would the village
37:09chief. Msue's eyes got red. No one had
37:12ever told her she was allowed to fight
37:13back. Her whole life, she had been
37:16beaten and bullied, first by her
37:18mother-in-law, then by everyone else.
37:20She had learned to swallow it all. I
37:22told Wner she was younger and smaller,
37:24so her job was to back up the other two.
37:27Shout, make noise, create a scene.
37:30Teamwork would beat anyone. Wner puffed
37:32up her little face and said she didn't
37:34want to be protected. She would get
37:36stronger and protect all of us someday.
37:39I laughed and ruffled her hair. She
37:41turned red, but didn't pull away. Then I
37:43showed them what I bought. I opened the
37:45basket and started pulling things out
37:47one by one. Salt, cooking oil, white
37:50sugar. Their eyes went wide. They
37:52couldn't believe it. I showed them
37:54everything. When I pulled out the white
37:56sugar, Chingshua gasped. Msue couldn't
37:58believe the cotton. Then I took out the
38:00three pieces of bright cloth, red, blue,
38:04and green, and told them each to pick
38:06one and make themselves new clothes. Wer
38:09eyes went red. She said it was too
38:11expensive, that they didn't deserve it.
38:13I pushed the cloth into her arms and
38:15said they were my people now, and I
38:17wanted them to look nice. They all
38:19blushed at that. A few days ago, they
38:21had offered themselves to me out of
38:23desperation. But now, after seeing how I
38:26treated them, protecting them, feeding
38:28them, never asking for anything,
38:30something had changed. If I ever did
38:33want them, it would no longer be out of
38:34duty or survival. It would be willing,
38:37truly willing. Finally, I opened the big
38:40sack and showed them the wild boar skin.
38:42They were stunned. I told them I had
38:44killed a boar in the mountains
38:45yesterday, hidden the body, then sold
38:48the meat in town today, and kept the
38:50skin for making warm coats. The story
38:52made sense. Nobody would question a man
38:54selling meat to pay off debts. They were
38:57shocked again when I told them I had
38:58already repaid the hundred yuan I owed
39:01the village chief. Just like that, the
39:03biggest debt was gone. I told them more
39:05good days were coming. Chingua
39:07straightened up and promised they would
39:09earn their keep. They would handle every
39:11chore at home so I could focus on
39:13hunting and making money. I told them to
39:15divide up the work. Ming Suer would sew
39:18the cloth into clothes. Wner and Ching
39:20Shuer would make cotton quilts and Ching
39:22Shua would turn the boar's skin into
39:24winter coats. Then Wer ran inside and
39:27came back with a pair of gloves and a
39:29scarf they had made for me from
39:30yesterday's rabbit skins. The stitching
39:32was tight and careful. The gloves were
39:35lined with soft rabbit fur and the scarf
39:37was thick and fluffy. I put them on.
39:40They were warm, but my heart was warmer.
39:42In my whole past life, nobody had ever
39:45made anything for me. Ching Shiua put
39:47the gloves on my hands herself. Msue
39:49stood on her toes to wrap the scarf
39:51around my neck. Wner stood to the side,
39:54face red, whispering that it was her
39:56first time making something like this,
39:58and she could fix it if it didn't fit
40:00right. I told them it was perfect. My
40:02voice came out a little rough. They
40:04smiled and then their eyes got wet
40:06again. That evening, Ming Sueer cooked
40:09dinner, rabbit soup, and sweet potato
40:11porridge. Simple but good. Afterward,
40:13they shued me away and did all the
40:15cleaning themselves, saying I had been
40:17out all day and needed rest. I lay in
40:20bed listening to them chatting and
40:22laughing softly in the other room. It
40:24felt like a real home. Late at night,
40:26once they were all asleep, I quietly
40:29slipped into the spirit spring space.
40:31That night, inside the space, I got to
40:33work. I planted all the seeds I bought.
40:36Cabbage, radish, cucumber, beans,
40:39peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes,
40:42sweet potatoes, and corn. I knew how to
40:44farm. I had done it my whole past life.
40:47I dug the rows, planted everything, and
40:50ran a channel from the spirit spring to
40:52water the fields. The space spirit had
40:54told me crops grew much faster in here,
40:57so I hoped to have a harvest soon. Then
40:59I checked on the animals. In just one
41:01day, the chicks, ducklings, and rabbits
41:03had already grown noticeably bigger.
41:06Their feathers were fluffier, and their
41:08calls were louder. At this rate, the
41:10chickens would be laying eggs before
41:12long, and the rabbits would start
41:13breeding. I made a mental note to look
41:15for fish fry next time I went to town.
41:18After that, I spent over 2 hours
41:20skinning and cleaning the five wolves.
41:22It was hard work, even for an
41:24experienced hunter, but the space
41:26automatically broke down waste, which
41:28helped a lot. The pelts came out in
41:30great condition, better than wild boar
41:32skin, warmer and softer, perfect for
41:35making winter coats. I sat down on the
41:37villa's leather sofa and thought about
41:39my next steps. Hunting was good money,
41:42but my homemade bow and arrows had
41:44limits. Against big animals or wolf
41:46packs, I was taking serious risks. I
41:49needed a proper hunting rifle, but in
41:51this era, you needed an official
41:53hunter's license for that, which
41:55required the village chief's approval.
41:57The next morning, I went to find the
41:59village chief. But when I arrived at his
42:01house, a crowd had already gathered. A
42:04man from a neighboring village called
42:05Wong Family Hollow was standing in the
42:07yard with a hunting rifle on his back,
42:10telling our village chief that his
42:11people owned the mountain hunting
42:13grounds. He said our village had no
42:15right to hunt there anymore. He mocked
42:17us. His village had over a dozen
42:19licensed hunters and ours had zero. The
42:22chief was angry but couldn't argue. It
42:24was true. Nobody in our village had a
42:27hunting license. Wong Dea, the man with
42:30the gun, sneered at the crowd and called
42:32us a bunch of dirt farmers who had never
42:34even touched a rifle. That's when I
42:36stepped forward. Who says our village
42:38doesn't have a hunter? Everyone turned
42:40to look at me. Wong deficized me up and
42:42laughed. He said I was just a kid who
42:45probably couldn't even pull back a
42:46bowring. His men joined in, mocking me.
42:49I looked at him calmly and said,
42:51"Whether I can hunt or not, why don't we
42:54find out?" Wong Dea laughed and proposed
42:56a bet. If I won, he would never bother
42:59our village again. If I lost, the entire
43:01mountain would belong to Wong Family
43:03Hollow, and our people could never hunt
43:05there. The villagers were furious. He
43:08had a rifle, and I had nothing. Even the
43:10village chief told me not to accept, but
43:13I said yes. The contest was simple.
43:15Shoot sparrows from an old tree. Five
43:18shots each, most kills wins. I pulled
43:20out a slingshot when I had made myself
43:22from wood and rubber. Everyone went
43:25silent, then burst out laughing. Wong
43:27defa nearly fell over. His men howled
43:30that our village had sent a child with a
43:31toy to compete against a real hunter.
43:34The chief begged me to stop, saying a
43:36slingshot couldn't beat a rifle. I told
43:38him to let Wong defigo first. He raised
43:41his gun and fired. One sparrow dropped.
43:44Then four more shots rang out,
43:46scattering the flock. When the smoke
43:48cleared, three more sparrows lay on the
43:50ground. Five shots for hits. His men
43:53cheered. Our villagers hung their heads.
43:56They thought it was over. Wong defa blew
43:58on his gun barrel and mocked me. He
44:00asked how many I thought I could get
44:02with my toy. One or maybe half of one. I
44:05didn't answer. I picked up five smooth
44:07stones, walked toward the tree, and
44:10looked up. Only a few sparrows were
44:12left, nervous and ready to fly at any
44:15sound. I took a breath, pulled back the
44:17slingshot, and fired. The first stone
44:20punched through a sparrow's head. Before
44:22anyone could react, I fired the second.
44:24Then the third, fourth, fifth. Five
44:27stones in 5 seconds. Five sparrows hit
44:30the ground. Every single one dead. Five
44:32shots. Five kills with a slingshot. The
44:36whole crowd went completely silent.
44:38People rubbed their eyes. They couldn't
44:40believe what they had just seen. Wong
44:42defa's face went white. He started
44:44shaking and screaming that it was
44:46impossible, that I must have cheated. I
44:48picked up the five sparrows and dropped
44:50them at Wong defa's feet. Five shots,
44:53five kills against his four out of five
44:56with a rifle. I asked if he still wanted
44:58to call it cheating. He stared at the
45:00dead birds and couldn't say a word. His
45:02own men admitted they had never seen
45:04anyone shoot that fast or that
45:06accurately, especially with a slingshot.
45:09The crowd erupted. People were cheering,
45:11laughing, slapping each other on the
45:13back. The village chief had tears in his
45:16eyes. He said, "I brought honor to our
45:18village." Wong Dea had no choice but to
45:20keep his word. He muttered that he
45:22wouldn't bother us again, then turned
45:24and ran off with his men. Everyone
45:27laughed watching them go. Afterward, the
45:29chief pulled me aside and asked where I
45:31learned to shoot like that. I kept it
45:33vague, said I picked it up from older
45:35hunters and practiced on my own. He said
45:37he would write me a recommendation
45:39letter for the hunter's license exam at
45:41the town militia office. The test
45:43covered shooting, tracking, wilderness
45:45survival, and a written section on
45:47hunting regulations. He said with my
45:50skills, it shouldn't be a problem. I
45:52thanked him and headed home feeling
45:53great. Once I had the license, I could
45:56get a real rifle. That would make
45:58hunting faster, safer, and much more
46:00profitable. When I got back, the three
46:03women had food almost ready. I told them
46:05the good news. The chief gave me the
46:07paperwork and I was going to town
46:09tomorrow to take the hunter's exam. Wner
46:11worried that guns were dangerous. I
46:13ruffled her hair and told her a gun
46:15would actually make things safer. Then
46:17someone called from the gate. It was the
46:19village chief's wife, Lu Guuong. She
46:22walked in carrying a bamboo basket
46:24packed with eggs, 20 or 30 of them. In
46:27this era, eggs were precious. Even the
46:29chief's family couldn't spare that many
46:31easily. I tried to refuse, but she
46:34insisted. She said, "I had earned it by
46:36standing up for the village today
46:38against Wong Family Hollow." She was
46:40truly grateful. Ching Shua looked
46:42confused and asked me what had happened.
46:44She had no idea about the contest. The
46:47chief's wife told the three women the
46:49whole story, how long Dea came with his
46:51rifle to bully our village, and how I
46:53beat him with a slingshot. Five shots,
46:56five sparrow head shot in 5 seconds. She
46:59said the chief told her there wasn't
47:01another person in the whole district who
47:02could do what I did. The women were
47:04stunned. Ching Shiua covered her mouth
47:07in amazement. Ming Suer couldn't believe
47:09a slingshot beat a rifle. Wner begged me
47:12to show her sometime. I turned red and
47:14told them it was no big deal. The
47:16chief's wife laughed and called me too
47:18modest. She left after wishing me luck
47:20on tomorrow's exam. After she was gone,
47:23Chingshua teased me, saying I ran away
47:26from them faster than I ran from wolves.
47:28I ducked into the house embarrassed.
47:30Outside, I could hear them talking
47:32quietly. I didn't catch every word, but
47:35there was a lot of laughing. What I
47:37didn't know was that the three of them
47:38had just had a very serious
47:40conversation. They had all admitted to
47:42each other that they had feelings for
47:43me. Not just gratitude, but real
47:45feelings. They said they had admired me
47:48even before all this. Watching how I
47:50treated my sick wife, never giving up on
47:52her. They worried about what would
47:54happen since there was only one of me
47:56and three of them. Ching came up with a
47:58solution. She made them all link pinkies
48:01and promise no matter what happened,
48:03they would stay sisters forever. If I
48:05chose one of them, the other two would
48:07give their honest blessing. And if I
48:09wanted all three of them, they would
48:11share together as a family. Msue joked
48:14and asked if I could handle all three of
48:16them. Wner, blushing to her ears,
48:19whispered that I probably could since I
48:21was so strong. Chingshua burst out
48:23laughing and called her secretly the
48:25boldest of them all. They laughed
48:27together until their sides hurt. Inside,
48:30I heard them laughing and smiled. The
48:32house finally felt like a real home. I
48:34had no idea what they had just agreed
48:36on. If I had, I think my head would have
48:39exploded. I focused on tomorrow instead.
48:42Shooting, tracking, wilderness survival.
48:44None of it worried me. I just needed to
48:46pass that exam and get a rifle. Things
48:49were about to get a whole lot better.
48:50Tomorrow, back to town. The next
48:53morning, old Yong was waiting at the
48:55village entrance with his ox cart. He
48:57wouldn't take my money this time. Said I
48:59earned a free ride after what I did for
49:01the village yesterday. His wife had even
49:03sent along some oranges for me. That
49:05warmth meant a lot. My real family
49:07treated me like garbage. But people like
49:09old Yang and the village chief had
49:11quietly looked out for me ever since my
49:13wife died. I promised myself that when I
49:16made it big, I would repay every one of
49:18them. At the town militia compound, two
49:21armed guards checked my papers and let
49:23me in. The training grounds in the back
49:25were already full of people, both
49:27militia soldiers and civilians here to
49:29take the exam. Right away, some young
49:32guy in a fancy new suit started
49:34mouththing off. Turned out his name was
49:36Wong Jian Jun. Wong deaf's nephew. He
49:39said his uncle hadn't slept all night
49:41after losing to me. And now he wanted to
49:43settle the score. He bragged that he had
49:45been training with guns since he was a
49:47kid. and his uncle said his talent
49:49surpassed his own. His friends called me
49:51a country bumpkin and said I didn't
49:53belong here. I didn't bother responding.
49:55Actions speak louder. The militia
49:58captain Taiu came out and explained the
50:01exam. Three parts: shooting, tracking,
50:04and combat. Pass all three to get the
50:06license. First up was shooting. Five
50:09bullets at a target 50 m away. Wong Jian
50:12Jun went first. Five shots for hits. One
50:1510 ring, three nine rings. Solid
50:18performance. His people cheered. He
50:20looked at me smuggly and said my
50:22slingshot wouldn't help me here. Others
50:24took their turns. Most scored lower than
50:26him. Then my name was called. When the
50:29captain handed me the rifle, he stared
50:31at my face with a strange look like he
50:33recognized me from somewhere but
50:35couldn't place it. He shook it off and
50:37gave me the gun. It was a type 56
50:40semi-automatic. I knew this weapon
50:42inside and out from my past life. Wong
50:44Jian Jun sneered that holding a gun and
50:46shooting one were two different things.
50:48That a farmer who had never touched a
50:50rifle was going to embarrass himself. I
50:52raised the gun, aimed, and fired. "Ten
50:55ring!" the scorer shouted. The crowd
50:58went quiet. Wong Jian Jun<unk>s face
51:00twitched. His friends scrambled to
51:02reassure him. "Just beginner's luck,"
51:04they said. "A first timer who gets lucky
51:06once will fall apart on the next shots."
51:09They waited for me to fail. Second shot,
51:1110 ring. Third 10 ring. Fourth and fifth
51:15both 10 ring. Five bullets, five perfect
51:18scores. The scorer's voice was shaking
51:20when he announced it. The whole place
51:22went crazy. Wong Jian Jun turned white.
51:25He screamed that I must have cheated,
51:27that even veteran hunters couldn't shoot
51:29like this. Captain Zhao shut him down
51:31hard, saying the target doesn't lie, and
51:34that he watched me fire every shot
51:36himself. He threatened to disqualify
51:38Wong Jian Jun if he kept complaining.
51:40The captain walked over to inspect my
51:42target personally. All five holes were
51:44clustered so tightly in the center they
51:46had merged into one ragged opening. He
51:49said my accuracy was better than any
51:51sharpshooter in his entire unit. He
51:53asked if I had been in the army. I said
51:56no. He asked who taught me. I said I
51:58taught myself. He stared at me like I
52:00was some kind of monster. Next was the
52:02tracking test. The militia had hidden
52:04three red cloth targets somewhere in the
52:06hills behind the compound. We had 1 hour
52:09to find them, at least two out of three
52:11to pass. Everyone rushed into the
52:13mountain. Wong Jian Jun and his crew
52:16sprinted ahead, desperate to beat me. I
52:18stayed put. The captain asked if I
52:20wasn't worried about falling behind. I
52:23said, "Running without knowing where
52:24you're going is pointless. I crouched
52:26down and studied the ground. Last
52:28night's rain had softened the soil. Most
52:31footprints were messy, today's
52:33examinees." But three sets were
52:35different. military boots, even stride,
52:38deliberate pace. These were the militia
52:40soldiers who hid the targets last night.
52:42The three trails split in different
52:44directions, east, north, and northeast.
52:48I followed the eastern trail first. It
52:50was the lightest, meaning that soldier
52:52had been the most careful. The more
52:54careful the hiding, the closer the
52:56target usually was. Within 50 meters, I
52:58spotted a fresh scratch on a tree trunk,
53:01a fingernail mark. At the base, some
53:03fallen leaves were flipped the wrong
53:05way. I brushed them aside and found a
53:07red cloth stuffed in a tree hollow. 5
53:10minutes. The captain was stunned. He
53:12said his men spent 2 hours hiding that
53:14one. I headed north for the second
53:16target. This soldier had been smarter.
53:19Walked on stone paths that left almost
53:21no trace. But I found scraped moss on a
53:24rock, a broken fern, a nudged pebble.
53:27Near a bush, several branches had fresh,
53:29clean brakes snapped by hand. I pushed
53:32the bush apart and found the second red
53:34cloth. 3 minutes. The captain and his
53:37men just stared at me. One soldier asked
53:40if I was part dog. The captain said
53:42nothing, but I could see it in his eyes.
53:44He knew this wasn't luck or natural
53:46talent. This was real professional
53:49tracking skill, the kind that took years
53:51to develop. He couldn't understand how a
53:5327-year-old farmer could have it. The
53:56third target was the hardest. The
53:57soldier who hid it had walked through a
53:59stream to erase his footprints. Most
54:02people would have lost the trail right
54:03there, but I found a faint shoe print in
54:06the mud at the stream bank. He had
54:07climbed out in a hurry and slipped. I
54:10looked in that direction and saw a steep
54:12slope with a cliff at the top. That's
54:14where it had to be, a place nobody would
54:16bother climbing. I scrambled up and
54:18found the last red cloth tucked into a
54:20crack between the roots of a crooked
54:22pine tree. 15 minutes total. All three
54:25targets found. Captain Zhao couldn't
54:27believe it. He said his best soldiers
54:29would need at least 30 minutes just for
54:31that last one. He pulled me aside and
54:34asked again if I had really never served
54:36in the military. I told him no and said
54:38he could check my records. He had
54:40already looked at my file. Born in Green
54:42Mountain Village, wife deceased, never
54:44enlisted clean and simple. He asked
54:47where I learned to track like that. I
54:49gave him the same answer as before.
54:51Taught myself. I said my family
54:53mistreated me. So, I spent years going
54:55into the mountains alone to find food.
54:57Our mountains were far more complex than
55:00this little hill. And if you couldn't
55:01track, you starved. He didn't fully
55:04believe me, but he could tell I wasn't
55:06going to say more. He let it go. I sat
55:08on a rock and waited while everyone else
55:10was still searching. Half an hour
55:12passed. Most people came out
55:14empty-handed and got eliminated. Then,
55:16Wong Jian Jun finally appeared, holding
55:19two red cloths, looking proud of
55:21himself. His friends cheered and started
55:23mocking me, saying I was probably lost
55:26in the woods somewhere. Then they
55:27noticed me sitting there with all three
55:29cloths in my hand. I told them I had
55:31been done for 30 minutes. A militia
55:34soldier laughed and confirmed it. 15
55:36minutes, three targets, while Wong
55:38Janjun spent almost 50 minutes finding
55:41two. Wong Jan Jun<unk>s face turned dark
55:44red. He snarled that the third test,
55:46wilderness survival, was the real
55:48challenge and that I should wait and
55:50see. I glanced at him. A hunter who grew
55:52up in the mountains, worried about
55:54wilderness survival. Please. Only seven
55:57of us passed the second test. Captain
56:00Zhao led us deeper into the mountains
56:01for the final round. Wong Jian Jun kept
56:04looking back at me with a nasty glint in
56:06his eyes. He was planning something.
56:08Captain Zhao explained the final test,
56:11wilderness survival. We had to enter the
56:13deep mountains and survive until 6:00
56:15the next morning. No equipment except a
56:18hunting knife and one signal flare. We
56:20each signed a life or death waiver. One
56:23man dropped out immediately. Six of us
56:25remained. We entered the forest and
56:27split up. I took a path that was harder
56:30to walk but safer. Wild animals avoid
56:32tricky terrain. After about 30 minutes,
56:35I found a perfect spot. A small valley
56:38with three mountain walls and only one
56:40entrance. A steep rock face behind it.
56:43Flat ground and a small stream running
56:45through. I built a shelter from thick
56:47branches and covered it with leaves. I
56:50started a fire using my knife and a
56:51stone. Then I went to the stream, carved
56:54a tree branch into a spear, and caught
56:56three fish in minutes. I gutted them,
56:59skewered them on sticks, and roasted
57:01them over the fire. A comfortable camp
57:04with food and warmth. This was nothing
57:06for someone who spent decades living off
57:08the land. What I didn't know yet was
57:10that Wong Jian Jun had sent one of his
57:12lackeyis to follow me and scout my
57:14location. The spy watched me set up camp
57:16and reported back everything. My
57:19position, the layout, the single
57:21entrance. Wong Jian Jun came up with a
57:23plan. He knew my campsite was boxed in
57:25on three sides with only one way out. He
57:28ordered his men to catch a wild rabbit,
57:30drain its blood, and spread it all
57:33around my camp after dark. The blood
57:35would attract wild boars or wolves
57:37straight to me. With nowhere to run, I
57:39could be killed. And since we all signed
57:41the waiver, nobody could blame him. He
57:44told his men it was just an animal
57:46attack. Nothing to do with them. Night
57:48fell. I leaned against my shelter with
57:50my eyes closed, but I wasn't sleeping.
57:52After drinking the spirit spring water,
57:55my senses were sharper than ever. I
57:57heard every sound. Wind, insects, the
58:00stream, and then footsteps. More than
58:03one person creeping toward my camp. They
58:06stopped at the edge and started
58:07scattering something on the ground. I
58:09smelled it right away. Animal blood,
58:12fresh and strong. I understood
58:14immediately. They had spread animal
58:16blood around my camp to attract wild
58:18boores or wolves. Clever, but not clever
58:21enough. I didn't move until they left.
58:23Then I followed them silently through
58:25the dark forest. Years of tracking in
58:27jungles far worse than this. I once
58:30spent 4 days stalking prey in the
58:31Amazon. Made trailing two amateurs
58:34effortless. They never knew I was behind
58:36them. I heard every word they whispered.
58:39They were laughing, saying I was as good
58:41as dead. I followed them all the way to
58:43their mountain cave about 2 mi northwest
58:46of my camp. I memorized the exact
58:48location and terrain. Then I went back
58:50and put my own plan together. Instead of
58:52cleaning up the blood, I dipped my hands
58:55in it and started marking trees and
58:57rocks along the path from my camp to
58:59their cave. Dozens of marks forming a
59:01clear blood trail leading straight to
59:03Wong Janjun<unk>s door. At my camp, I
59:06carved a bunch of sharp wooden stakes,
59:08dug a shallow pit at the entrance, and
59:11set them point up inside covered with
59:13leaves and dirt. A simple trap just in
59:16case. Then I sat by my fire with my
59:18knife in hand and waited. Around the
59:21middle of the night, I heard them
59:22coming. Heavy breathing, hooves on dirt.
59:25Three wild boars, two big ones, and a
59:28smaller one. The lead boar was massive,
59:30at least 300 lb, tusks gleaming in the
59:33moonlight. They smelled the blood and
59:36moved toward my camp, but they stopped
59:38when they saw the fire. While boars fear
59:40flames, I grabbed a burning branch and
59:43threw it at them. They panicked, turned,
59:45and ran straight toward the fresher,
59:48stronger blood trail I had laid out, the
59:50one leading to Wong Janjun<unk>s cave. I
59:53watched them disappear into the darkness
59:55and smiled. Across the mountain, Wong
59:58Janjun was sleeping peacefully, dreaming
1:00:00about my death. Then screaming woke him
1:00:03up. His lackey came running covered in
1:00:05blood, shouting about wild boars. The
1:00:08three boores charged out of the forest
1:00:10straight at their cave. Wong Janjun ran
1:00:12but slipped on the blood trail, the one
1:00:14I had painted right to his doorstep. He
1:00:17finally understood. I had found their
1:00:19trick and turned it back on them. He
1:00:21scrambled up a tree just before the lead
1:00:23bore slammed into the trunk hard enough
1:00:25to shake the whole thing. He would
1:00:27himself, crying, screaming, snot running
1:00:30down his face. He pulled out his signal
1:00:32flare and fired it into the sky. That
1:00:35red light meant one thing. He was
1:00:37calling for rescue. And calling for
1:00:39rescue meant he failed the exam. He was
1:00:41done. His own scheme destroyed him.
1:00:43After the signal flare went up, and I
1:00:46knew the bores were gone, I slipped into
1:00:48my spirit spring space and slept in the
1:00:50villa's soft bed. Best night's sleep I'd
1:00:53had in a while. In the morning, I
1:00:54checked on things inside the space. The
1:00:57seeds I planted yesterday had already
1:00:59sprouted. tiny green shoots in neat
1:01:01rows. The chicks, ducks, and rabbits
1:01:04were bigger again. Everything was
1:01:06growing perfectly. I washed my face with
1:01:08spring water, stretched, and headed out
1:01:10to the meeting point. I was the first
1:01:12one there. Captain Joe looked me over
1:01:14and asked how my night was. I told him I
1:01:17slept well. His eye twitched. He
1:01:19couldn't understand how someone could
1:01:21sleep peacefully in a mountain full of
1:01:23wild animals. He noticed I looked even
1:01:25more rested than before I went in. I
1:01:28told him I ran into three wild boars,
1:01:30but scared them off with fire and a
1:01:32simple trap. He studied my face. I could
1:01:35tell he suspected there was more to the
1:01:36story, but I kept it calm. Then, Wong
1:01:39Janjuns lackeyis stumbled out of the
1:01:41forest, filthy and beaten up. One was
1:01:44limping with a hurt leg. Finally, a
1:01:46group of militia soldiers came out
1:01:48carrying Wong Janjun on a stretcher. He
1:01:51was in terrible shape, arms slashed open
1:01:54by a boar's tusk, clothes shredded, face
1:01:56white as paper, and a big wet stain on
1:01:59his pants from where he had pissed
1:02:00himself. He had passed out multiple
1:02:02times during the night. The soldiers
1:02:04reported they found him clinging to a
1:02:06tree with three wild boars circling
1:02:09below. They had to fire several shots to
1:02:11scare the animals away. They also
1:02:13mentioned finding rabbit blood smeared
1:02:15in a trail leading straight to his cave.
1:02:18That's what brought the boars. Captain
1:02:20Zhao<unk>s eyes narrowed. He glanced at
1:02:22me. I kept my face blank. Then Wong Jian
1:02:25Jun woke up on the stretcher and started
1:02:27screaming. He pointed at me with a
1:02:29shaking hand, saying I was the one who
1:02:31led the boores to him, that I smeared
1:02:33the blood trail. That I tried to kill
1:02:35him. The captain looked at him coolly
1:02:37and asked one question. Do you have
1:02:39proof? Wong Janjun couldn't answer. If
1:02:42he told the truth about the blood, he
1:02:44would expose his own plot to murder me.
1:02:46That would mean prison. So he just lay
1:02:48there on the stretcher, mouth opening
1:02:50and closing, saying nothing. Captain Joe
1:02:53told him to shut up. He was already
1:02:55eliminated the moment he fired that
1:02:57flare. If he kept making accusations
1:02:59without proof, the captain would ban him
1:03:02from ever taking the exam again. They
1:03:04carried him away. He stared at me the
1:03:06whole time with pure hatred in his eyes.
1:03:08I didn't even bother looking back. His
1:03:10lackeyis who survived the night came
1:03:12stumbling out too. Wong Ergu fell to his
1:03:15knees crying, swearing he would never go
1:03:17hunting again. When he saw me, he looked
1:03:20at me like I was a demon. I glanced at
1:03:22him and he flinched. They all knew what
1:03:24I had done, but they couldn't say a
1:03:26word. They had started it. They tried to
1:03:28kill me first. At 6:10, the captain
1:03:31called time. Five of us passed all three
1:03:34tests. He handed out the hunter's
1:03:36licenses, little red booklets with our
1:03:38names, photos, and the militia's
1:03:40official stamp. I finally had it. legal
1:03:43permission to hunt and carry a firearm.
1:03:46He laid out the rules. Guns for hunting
1:03:48only. Stay within approved areas. Don't
1:03:51shoot protected animals. Tomorrow
1:03:53morning, we would come back to pick up
1:03:55our rifles and ammunition. As everyone
1:03:57was leaving, the captain pulled me
1:03:59aside. He asked me quietly if the wild
1:04:01boar situation was my doing. I could
1:04:04tell he had already figured most of it
1:04:05out. I kept it simple. I said, "Those
1:04:08who try to harm others end up harming
1:04:09themselves." He laughed hard at that and
1:04:12said he liked me more and more. Smart,
1:04:15brave, and resourceful, but he warned me
1:04:17too. Wong Jian Jun was the type to hold
1:04:20grudges. After what happened, he
1:04:22wouldn't let it go. The captain told me
1:04:24to watch my back. I thanked him and
1:04:26left. Behind me, I could feel the
1:04:28captain still watching. He kept staring
1:04:30at my face with that strange look like I
1:04:32reminded him of someone important. He
1:04:34couldn't figure out who. He shook his
1:04:36head and told himself it was just a
1:04:38coincidence. I stopped at the supply
1:04:40store to buy a few things to celebrate,
1:04:42then headed to where old Yang was
1:04:44waiting with the ox cart. When I showed
1:04:46him my hunter's license, he slapped his
1:04:48thigh and nearly jumped off the cart. He
1:04:51kept saying I was the first real hunter
1:04:53in Green Mountain Village history. On
1:04:55the ride back, he asked about the exam.
1:04:58I kept it simple, said Wong Janjun had
1:05:00bad luck with wild boars and failed. Old
1:05:02Yong laughed and said it served him
1:05:04right. When we reached the village, I
1:05:06spotted Ching Shu standing under the big
1:05:08tree at the entrance. She had been
1:05:10waiting there since before dawn. She
1:05:12told me she had a nightmare, saw me in
1:05:15the mountains covered in blood, chased
1:05:17by wild boars, and no matter how loud
1:05:19she screamed, I couldn't hear her. She
1:05:22woke up terrified and couldn't go back
1:05:24to sleep. She came out in the freezing
1:05:26cold and waited for hours. When she saw
1:05:29me step off the cart, her eyes lit up.
1:05:31She ran over and checked me for
1:05:33injuries. I showed her the hunter's
1:05:35license. She started crying and threw
1:05:37her arms around me, pressing tight
1:05:40against my chest, whispering that the
1:05:42nightmare had felt so real, she thought
1:05:44she would never see me again. Old Yong
1:05:47coughed and told us to remember we were
1:05:49in public. She turned bright red and let
1:05:51go. I grabbed my things and we walked
1:05:54home together. At the gate, Ming Sui and
1:05:57Wer were waiting, too. They looked just
1:05:59as worried. They said Chingshua's
1:06:01nightmare had woken all three of them
1:06:03and none of them slept the rest of the
1:06:05night. Once they saw I was fine, they
1:06:07finally relaxed. I handed over the
1:06:09supplies I bought and told them tonight
1:06:11we were celebrating. Getting this
1:06:13license was a big deal. I was now the
1:06:16first officially certified hunter in the
1:06:18village. Things were only going to get
1:06:20better from here. Msue opened the things
1:06:22I bought and her eyes lit up. White
1:06:24rabbit candy, sorghum sweets, and crispy
1:06:27sugar treats. Wner squealled with
1:06:29excitement. I told them today was a
1:06:31special day, so we were celebrating.
1:06:33They threw themselves into cooking.
1:06:35Brazed rabbit, fried eggs, stir-fried
1:06:38wild greens, and a pot of grain
1:06:40porridge. I sat in the yard like a lazy
1:06:42boss, soaking up the sun and listening
1:06:44to them laugh in the kitchen. It felt
1:06:46like a real home. At the table, I poured
1:06:49everyone a bowl of the wine I bought in
1:06:51town. We raised our bowls and clinkedked
1:06:53them together to the hunter's license
1:06:56and to better days ahead. We drank and
1:06:58the three women's faces turned pink and
1:07:01pretty from the alcohol. They competed
1:07:03to pile food in my bowl until it was a
1:07:05small mountain. I told them to stop and
1:07:07eat their own food. After dinner, Wner
1:07:10opened the white rabbit candy and popped
1:07:12one in her mouth. Her eyes went wide.
1:07:15She said she hadn't tasted candy in
1:07:17ages. She unwrapped another and held it
1:07:19to my lips. I took it. Sweet and milky.
1:07:22Then someone kicked our gate so hard it
1:07:24flew off its hinges. Five or six young
1:07:27thugs swaggered into the yard. The
1:07:29leader was Xiao Taidan, the village
1:07:31bully. His father was the commune
1:07:33accountant, so he acted like he owned
1:07:35the place. Behind him stood a mean-l
1:07:37looking old woman with a cruel face and
1:07:40snake eyes. Wner went white the moment
1:07:42she saw her. It was Son Hohat, Wer's
1:07:45former mother-in-law. This woman had
1:07:47three sons. After Wner's fool husband
1:07:50fell off a cliff and died, son Hohhat
1:07:53blamed Wner for everything. Called her a
1:07:55husband killer, beat her daily, starved
1:07:58her, made her serve the whole household
1:08:00like a slave. Then the eldest son tried
1:08:02to force himself on Wner. One night, she
1:08:05fought back and stabbed him with
1:08:06scissors. Instead of punishing her son,
1:08:09the old woman beat Wner bloody, accused
1:08:12her of seducing her brother-in-law, and
1:08:14threw her out of the house. Now, this
1:08:16woman had tracked Wana here. She
1:08:18screamed that Wner was her property,
1:08:20that she had been bought and paid for
1:08:22and had no right to leave. It didn't
1:08:24matter that they had already divorced
1:08:26her. Ziao Taidan looked over the three
1:08:28women with hungry eyes. He stared at
1:08:31Wner and licked his lips, making filthy
1:08:34comments about her body, saying he
1:08:36understood why men couldn't resist her.
1:08:38Wner grabbed the corner of my shirt,
1:08:40shaking all over. I looked at the old
1:08:42woman coldly and asked what she wanted.
1:08:45Then Xiao Taiden stepped up, puffing
1:08:47himself up, bragging that his father was
1:08:49the commune accountant. He pulled out a
1:08:51marriage certificate, Wner's name and
1:08:54his name with son Hohhat's Thumprren on
1:08:56it. He said he paid 20 yuan and Wner now
1:08:59belonged to him. He was here to collect
1:09:01his wife. Wner cried out that they had
1:09:04no right. They already divorced her. She
1:09:07had nothing to do with the Jeang family
1:09:08anymore. Son Hoa raised her hand to slap
1:09:11Wner. I caught her wrist before it
1:09:13landed. I told them the truth. They
1:09:16threw Wner out. The moment they did
1:09:17that, she stopped being theirs. She was
1:09:20my person now. Nobody was going to touch
1:09:22her. If they wanted to report me to the
1:09:24commune, go ahead. I would love to see
1:09:27how the authorities handled the case of
1:09:28human trafficking disguised as marriage.
1:09:31This was a socialist country, not a
1:09:33slave market. I flung the old woman's
1:09:35arm away. She stumbled back. Ziao Taiden
1:09:38didn't care about logic. He ordered his
1:09:40thugs to grab Wer by force. Five or six
1:09:43of them charged at us. I kicked the
1:09:46first one so hard he flew into the wall.
1:09:48The second threw a punch. I dodged and
1:09:50smashed his face. Blood everywhere. The
1:09:53third swung a stool at me. I caught it,
1:09:56yanked him forward, and kicked him in
1:09:58the stomach. He went flying. The last
1:10:00two begged me to stop. They ran behind
1:10:02Xiao Taidan, too scared to breathe. Ziao
1:10:05Taidan tried hiding behind his father's
1:10:07name, threatening me with consequences.
1:10:10Before he finished talking, I punched
1:10:12him in the gut. He folded in half. I
1:10:14grabbed his hair, pulled his head down,
1:10:17and drove my knee into his face. His
1:10:19nose broke with a crack. Blood poured
1:10:21out. I stepped on his chest and told him
1:10:24to try screaming one more time. He went
1:10:26dead quiet. I laid down the rules.
1:10:29First, Wner was mine, and if he ever
1:10:31came near her again, I would break his
1:10:33legs. He nodded frantically. Second, he
1:10:36kicked my door off its hinges, so he
1:10:38owed me 10 yuan for repairs. He whined
1:10:41that the door wasn't worth that much. I
1:10:43raised my foot toward his face. He dug
1:10:45the money out of his pocket instantly. I
1:10:48took the cash and told him to get lost.
1:10:50He scrambled up and ran, blood pouring
1:10:53from his broken nose. His men limped
1:10:55after him. Sunho hot was white as a
1:10:58sheet. She threw out one last empty
1:11:00threat and ran too. Wner stood frozen,
1:11:03trembling, not from fear anymore, but
1:11:05from shock. The woman who had terrorized
1:11:08her for years, the bully nobody in the
1:11:10village dared to cross. I had crushed
1:11:12them all in under a minute. She looked
1:11:14at my back with tears running down her
1:11:16face. Wner threw herself into my arms,
1:11:19sobbing, saying it was all her fault. I
1:11:22wiped her tears and told her she was
1:11:24family now. And when family gets
1:11:26bullied, I fight back, even if it's
1:11:28against the king himself. Ching Shua
1:11:30warned me that Xiao Taiden wouldn't let
1:11:32this go. His father Xiao Yukai was the
1:11:34commune accountant and had real power
1:11:36around here. Msue worried that Son Hohat
1:11:39would spread lies everywhere. I told
1:11:42them not to be afraid. Buying and
1:11:44selling people was illegal under the new
1:11:45system. If anyone should be scared, it
1:11:48was them. But I knew I needed to handle
1:11:50this properly. I went to the village
1:11:51chief's house. He was chopping firewood
1:11:54in his yard. I showed him my hunter's
1:11:56license first. He was thrilled. said he
1:11:58would give me a reward from the
1:12:00production team. Then I told him what
1:12:02happened with Xiao Taan and Son Hohat.
1:12:04He was furious. He called it human
1:12:06trafficking and said it was a serious
1:12:08crime. Son Hohat had already kicked
1:12:11Warner out with divorce papers. She had
1:12:13zero right to sell her to anyone. But
1:12:15then his face fell. He told me the real
1:12:17problem. Xiao Yukai wasn't just a
1:12:20commune accountant. He had a cousin
1:12:21named Chiend Hai who was a deputy bureau
1:12:24chief at the county level in charge of
1:12:26public security. That was why the Xiao
1:12:28family had been untouchable for years.
1:12:31People who tried to report them got
1:12:32punished instead. Eventually, everyone
1:12:35stopped trying. He asked me what I
1:12:37planned to do. He was worried I would do
1:12:39something rash. I thought for a moment
1:12:41and then I remembered Captain Joe Taihu.
1:12:44He was a military man. The local
1:12:46government had no authority over the
1:12:47army. He was clearly a man of principle
1:12:50and he had taken a liking to me during
1:12:52the exam. The country was in the middle
1:12:54of a crackdown on corruption and
1:12:56lawlessness. If the Xiao family's crimes
1:12:59were brought to someone in the military
1:13:00system, no county level cousin could
1:13:03protect them. The chief's eyes lit up.
1:13:05He said going through the military was
1:13:07smart. Zhao Taiu was a tough, honest
1:13:09soldier, and if he got involved, even
1:13:12the biggest local connections wouldn't
1:13:14matter. We agreed on the plan. Tomorrow,
1:13:16I was going to town to pick up my rifle.
1:13:18While I was there, I would tell Captain
1:13:20Zhao everything about the Xiao family.
1:13:23The village chief warned me that Captain
1:13:25Zhao might not want to get involved. He
1:13:27had a promising career ahead and might
1:13:29not want to make enemies with local
1:13:30officials. I told him I understood. I
1:13:33would just present the facts and let
1:13:35Zhao decide for himself. Before the
1:13:37chief could finish talking, we heard
1:13:39shouting outside his gate. Someone was
1:13:41yelling my name, telling me to come out.
1:13:44It was Xiao Yukai, Ziao Teddan<unk>s
1:13:46father, the commune accountant. The
1:13:48chief grabbed my arm and told me to slip
1:13:50out the back door while he handled it. I
1:13:52refused, running away and leaving him to
1:13:55deal with my problem wasn't who I was. I
1:13:58walked out the front gate. Xiao Tien
1:14:00stood behind his father with his nose
1:14:02wrapped in bandages. The old man was
1:14:04about 50, wearing polished shoes and a
1:14:06slick back hairstyle, eyes sharp and
1:14:09cold. He jabbed his finger into my chest
1:14:11and demanded to know how I planned to
1:14:13settle this. I grabbed his finger and
1:14:16pushed it away. I told him his son came
1:14:18to my house with thugs to kidnap a woman
1:14:20using a fake marriage certificate. In
1:14:23the old days, that was called brides
1:14:24snatching. Under socialist law, it was
1:14:27human trafficking. I asked if he wanted
1:14:29me to look up how many years that
1:14:30carried. He screamed that it was a
1:14:32legitimate marriage. The old woman took
1:14:34money and signed. I pointed out that son
1:14:37Hohat had already divorced Wner from the
1:14:39family. She had no legal connection to
1:14:41Wner anymore. One stranger selling
1:14:44another stranger to his son wasn't a
1:14:46marriage. It was a crime. The chief
1:14:48stepped in. He told Xiao Yukai that
1:14:50everyone knew about the things he and
1:14:52his son had done over the years. Then he
1:14:54dropped the real warning. He mentioned
1:14:56that I had just earned my hunter's
1:14:58license. That tomorrow I would be
1:15:00picking up a rifle and that the whole
1:15:02village watched me hit five sparrows in
1:15:04the head with a slingshot. He paused and
1:15:07said very calmly that a man who walks
1:15:10dark roads too often eventually meets
1:15:12something dangerous. Xiao Yotsai's face
1:15:15changed. I could see the picture forming
1:15:17in his head. Me with a hunting rifle. A
1:15:20man who never misses. Cold sweat
1:15:22appeared on his forehead. He tried to
1:15:24act tough, but his voice wavered. He
1:15:26pointed at me, said this wasn't over,
1:15:29then grabbed his son and left. Xiao
1:15:31Taidan complained, and his father
1:15:33slapped him across the face and told him
1:15:35to shut up. After they were gone, the
1:15:37chief let out a long breath. He told me
1:15:40we had bought some time, but Xiao Yukai
1:15:42held grudges. He wouldn't let this go. I
1:15:45needed to act fast. Tomorrow, when I
1:15:47went to pick up my rifle, I had to talk
1:15:49to Captain Zhao before the Xiao family
1:15:51made their next move. The next morning,
1:15:53I went to the militia compound to pick
1:15:55up my rifle. When I walked in, a soldier
1:15:58recognized my name immediately. Word had
1:16:00spread about my perfect score at the
1:16:02shooting range. He pointed me to Captain
1:16:04X at the supply warehouse. Zhao greeted
1:16:07me warmly, but kept staring at my face
1:16:10in a strange way. When I asked if
1:16:12something was wrong, he laughed it off
1:16:13and said I just looked sharp, but I
1:16:15could tell something was on his mind.
1:16:17Then, as we walked to the warehouse, he
1:16:20suddenly asked me what my father's name
1:16:21was. The question caught me off guard. I
1:16:24was quiet for a moment, then told him
1:16:26the truth, something I had kept buried
1:16:28for a long time. I'm not a real member
1:16:30of the Chin family. Wong Hohat is not my
1:16:33birth mother. I was picked up, found
1:16:35somewhere, brought home as a baby to be
1:16:37raised as free labor for the Chin
1:16:39family. That explained everything. Why
1:16:42she treated her other two sons like
1:16:43princes and me like a dog. Why I got
1:16:46nothing when the family split. Why she
1:16:48let my wife die without lifting a
1:16:50finger. I found out by accident. Once
1:16:52when I was very young, I had a terrible
1:16:54fever and was barely conscious. I
1:16:57overheard Wong Ho telling my
1:16:59sister-in-law that she had picked up
1:17:00some abandoned baby, a wild seed, who
1:17:04was tough enough not to freeze to death
1:17:06on the roadside. She said raising me was
1:17:08just about getting a worker for the
1:17:10family. At the time, I thought it was a
1:17:12fever dream, but in my past life, I
1:17:14later confirmed it was all true. I told
1:17:16Captain Zhao I had no idea who my real
1:17:19parents were. I never had the money or
1:17:21connections to search. China was too big
1:17:24and I was too poor. But this life was
1:17:26different. I was reborn with decades of
1:17:28knowledge. I had the spirit spring space
1:17:31and I was only 27. My real parents might
1:17:34still be alive. Whether they abandoned
1:17:36me or I was stolen, I wanted to find
1:17:38them. I wanted to see their faces. I
1:17:40wanted to ask what happened, but finding
1:17:42them would take money, connections, and
1:17:45resources. So, the plan was simple. Get
1:17:47rich first, then search. What I didn't
1:17:50know was what was happening inside
1:17:51Captain Joe's head. He had been up all
1:17:54night comparing my face to an old
1:17:56photograph, a group photo of military
1:17:58officers. The man standing in the center
1:18:00was a high-ranking general still active
1:18:03in the military, one of the most
1:18:04respected figures in the armed forces.
1:18:07And I apparently looked exactly like a
1:18:09younger version of him. There was a
1:18:11long-standing rumor in the military that
1:18:13this general had lost a son over 20
1:18:15years ago. A baby who disappeared
1:18:18shortly after birth, possibly stolen by
1:18:20traffickers. The general had searched
1:18:22half the province for years and never
1:18:24found the child. His wife fell gravely
1:18:27ill from the grief and never fully
1:18:29recovered. Nauha was staring at me, a
1:18:32man who wasn't part of the Chun family
1:18:33by blood, who had been found as an
1:18:36abandoned baby around the same time in
1:18:38roughly the same region, and who looked
1:18:40like a carbon copy of that general.
1:18:42Captain Joe was lost in thought.
1:18:44Everything was lining up in his head,
1:18:46the timing, the face, the fact that I
1:18:49wasn't born into the Chin family. He
1:18:51looked at me like he was seeing a ghost,
1:18:53but he pulled himself together and led
1:18:55me into the weapons warehouse. He handed
1:18:58me a brand new double-barrel shotgun,
1:19:00glossy black metal, smooth wooden stock.
1:19:03He said it was this year's newest model,
1:19:05originally reserved for the best
1:19:07performing militia soldier, but he
1:19:09thought I deserved it more. I was
1:19:11surprised by the generosity and thanked
1:19:13him. The gun felt perfect in my hands. I
1:19:16broke it open, checked the chamber,
1:19:18tested the trigger, shouldered it, and
1:19:20aimed, all from muscle memory built over
1:19:23a lifetime. Zhao watched every move with
1:19:25sharp eyes. He noticed my inspection
1:19:28technique was identical to a trained
1:19:30soldiers. I told him I had borrowed guns
1:19:32before to practice since I always
1:19:34planned to be a hunter. He accepted
1:19:36that, though I could tell he wasn't
1:19:38fully convinced. He gave me 50 rounds
1:19:40per month with strict logging rules.
1:19:43Every bullet accounted for, every kill
1:19:45recorded. He handed me the official
1:19:47receipt with the gun's serial number and
1:19:49his signature. I slung the rifle over my
1:19:52shoulder. From today, I was a real
1:19:54hunter with a real weapon. Then I got
1:19:56serious. I closed the warehouse door
1:19:58partway and told Zhao I wanted to report
1:20:01someone. Xiao Yukai, the commune
1:20:03accountant, and his son, Ziao Taidan. I
1:20:06told him everything that happened
1:20:07yesterday. His face darkened as he
1:20:09listened, but I told him reporting just
1:20:11the kidnapping attempt wouldn't be
1:20:13enough. Xiao Yukai had connections. He
1:20:16would make it disappear and I would be
1:20:18the one punished. I wanted to bring down
1:20:20the whole operation. Not just the son,
1:20:22not just the father, but also their
1:20:24protector. Shind Hai, the deputy bureau
1:20:27chief at the county level who ran public
1:20:30security. Zhao<unk>s eyes went wide. I
1:20:32explained that Shin Dehai was Xiao
1:20:34Yoai's cousin and he was the reason
1:20:36nobody could touch the Xiao family.
1:20:38Years of land grabbing, wage theft, and
1:20:41bullying. Every complaint got buried.
1:20:44People who reported them got punished
1:20:45instead. That was why I came to the
1:20:47military instead of going through local
1:20:49channels. The army didn't answer to
1:20:51county officials. Joe understood
1:20:53immediately. So, you came to me because
1:20:55the local route is a dead end and you
1:20:58want to go through the military. I
1:20:59nodded and told Captain Zhao I came to
1:21:01him because he was military outside the
1:21:04reach of county officials and because I
1:21:06could see he was a man of principle. He
1:21:08was moved but he cooled down quickly. He
1:21:11said even if he wanted to help, the
1:21:13militia's job was local security and
1:21:15military support, not civilian disputes.
1:21:18He needed a legitimate reason to get
1:21:20involved. And most importantly, he
1:21:22needed evidence. Without proof, nothing
1:21:24would happen. I smiled. That was exactly
1:21:27what I wanted to hear. I asked him,
1:21:29"What if I could get Xiao Yoda's secret
1:21:31account book?" He froze. I explained my
1:21:34reasoning. Xiao Yukai had been the
1:21:36commune accountant for over a decade,
1:21:38handling all the money, grain, and
1:21:40supplies. His family lived far beyond
1:21:43what an accountant salary could support.
1:21:45A big brick house, leather shoes, box
1:21:48cigarettes, a bicycle. His son threw
1:21:50around 20 yuan like it was nothing.
1:21:52Every holiday, the Xiao family sent
1:21:55crates of gifts to the county. The money
1:21:57had to come from somewhere. Corrupt
1:21:59officials always keep two sets of books,
1:22:01I told him. One clean version for
1:22:04inspections and one private ledger
1:22:06recording every bribe given and
1:22:08received. That secret book was Xiao
1:22:10Yoai's insurance policy, proof he could
1:22:13use against his protector, Chandah Hai,
1:22:15if they ever turned on each other. So,
1:22:17the book definitely existed. Joe went
1:22:19quiet for a long time. Everything I said
1:22:21made sense to him. What he didn't know
1:22:23was how I really knew all this. In my
1:22:25past life, Xiao Yukai kept stealing for
1:22:28another decade before he finally fell.
1:22:30It wasn't a whistleblower who brought
1:22:32him down. It was a falling out with
1:22:34Chandah Hai. They turned on each other.
1:22:36The noise reached a provincial
1:22:37inspection team and both of them went to
1:22:40prison. It was the biggest scandal the
1:22:42county had ever seen. And I remembered
1:22:44one crucial detail from that case. The
1:22:47secret account book was found buried
1:22:48half a meter underground beneath the pig
1:22:51trough in Xiao Yotai's backyard pigsty.
1:22:54It was wrapped in three layers of oil
1:22:56cloth, sealed in an iron box coated with
1:22:59waterproofing oil, hidden under the
1:23:00trough with pig feed and weeds piled on
1:23:03top. Nobody would ever think to look
1:23:05there. In my past life, that book wasn't
1:23:08discovered until the '90s. By then,
1:23:10countless families have been ruined. But
1:23:12in this life, I already knew where it
1:23:14was. The only problem was getting it
1:23:17out. Xiao's house was nearby with a
1:23:19walled yard and the pigs die in the
1:23:21back. During the day, people were always
1:23:23around. I would have to go at night and
1:23:26only when the whole family was away from
1:23:28home. Zhao asked me straight. How
1:23:30confident was I about getting that
1:23:32secret ledger? I thought for a moment. I
1:23:34knew where it was buried, but I hadn't
1:23:36scouted Xiao's property yet in this
1:23:38life. Wall height, guard dogs, exact
1:23:41layout, details might differ from what I
1:23:44remembered. So, I held up my fingers and
1:23:46said 70 to 80%. Joe<unk>s eyes went
1:23:49wide. In military terms, 70% is enough
1:23:52to launch an operation. He could tell I
1:23:55wasn't bluffing. He made me a promise.
1:23:57If I delivered the ledger, he would
1:23:59handle everything. He would bypass the
1:24:01county entirely and send it through
1:24:03military channels straight to the
1:24:05military district. From there, they
1:24:07would coordinate with the provincial
1:24:09disciplinary commission. A joint
1:24:11investigation that nobody at the county
1:24:13level could block, not even Chianda Hai.
1:24:16But he warned me to be extremely
1:24:17careful. Xiao Yukai had eyes everywhere
1:24:20after years of running the area. If I
1:24:22tipped him off, the first thing he would
1:24:24do was destroy the evidence. And until
1:24:26this was done, nobody else could know
1:24:28about our arrangement. Not a single
1:24:30person. I agreed, took my new rifle, and
1:24:33left. What I didn't know was what Joe
1:24:35did after I walked out. He went back to
1:24:37his room and sat there for a long time
1:24:40wrestling with himself. He kept thinking
1:24:42about my face and that old military
1:24:44photograph. He finally made a decision.
1:24:47He wrote a careful, respectful letter to
1:24:49a high-ranking general in the capital,
1:24:52the man he believed might be my real
1:24:54father. He described what he had
1:24:55observed without making any firm claims,
1:24:58leaving room for the general to judge
1:25:00for himself. If he was wrong, he would
1:25:02accept whatever punishment came. But if
1:25:05he was right and said nothing, he would
1:25:07never forgive himself. The general had
1:25:09been searching for his lost son for 27
1:25:12years. Zhao sealed the letter with wax,
1:25:14stamped it, and sent it by urgent
1:25:16military mail straight to the capital.
1:25:19Meanwhile, on the ox card heading home,
1:25:21I was planning my next move. The ledger
1:25:24was supposedly buried under the pig
1:25:26trough in Xiao's backyard, half a meter
1:25:28deep, wrapped in oil cloth, sealed in a
1:25:31waterproofed iron box. That information
1:25:33came from Xiao's wife's confession in my
1:25:36past life. But that was in the '90s, 10
1:25:38years from now. Had he already hidden it
1:25:40there in 1980? Had he used a different
1:25:43spot before? I couldn't be sure. I
1:25:45needed to scout the property first
1:25:46before making my move. On the ride home,
1:25:49Old Yong noticed I looked distracted and
1:25:51guessed I was thinking about the Xiao
1:25:53family. I didn't deny it. Instead, I
1:25:56asked him what he knew about them. He
1:25:58had plenty to say. He told me how Xiao
1:26:00Yukai got his accountant job in the
1:26:02first place. Pure corruption. His cousin
1:26:04Chandah Hai had just become deputy
1:26:07bureau chief and Ziao bribed his way
1:26:09into the position despite barely having
1:26:11a primary school education. After that,
1:26:14the Xiao family became untouchable. Xiao
1:26:17controlled the commune's money. Chin
1:26:19Dehai covered for him from above and
1:26:21Ziao tied and ran a gang of thugs below.
1:26:23Old Yang told me about a man named Lee
1:26:25Dashwan whose family had owned a piece
1:26:28of land for generations. Xiao Yukai
1:26:30wanted it for his son's new house. When
1:26:32Lee refused to sell, Xiao doctorred the
1:26:35books to show Lee owed 200 yuan in
1:26:37commune fees. Lee couldn't pay, so he
1:26:40lost the land. His family was forced
1:26:42into the mountains. His elderly mother
1:26:44died that winter from the shock. Old
1:26:46Yangs eyes went red telling the story.
1:26:49Then I asked about Xiao's habits. Old
1:26:51Yang said Xiao had two vices: drinking
1:26:54and gambling. Every 2 or 3 days, he went
1:26:57to an underground gambling den in the
1:26:59next village. It looked like a tea house
1:27:01on the outside, but had secret rooms in
1:27:03the back for card games and dice. Xiao
1:27:05always stayed past midnight, sometimes
1:27:08until dawn. The gambling operation was
1:27:10protected by Chanda Hai, with a deputy
1:27:13chief of police backing it. Nobody dared
1:27:15say a word. This was perfect. An illegal
1:27:18gambling den was another crime I could
1:27:20add to the pile. The secret ledger plus
1:27:22the gambling ring. That would be more
1:27:24than enough to bring them all down. I
1:27:26asked about habits, too. Old Yong
1:27:29laughed bitterly. The kid was a complete
1:27:31waste, drinking, gambling, chasing
1:27:34women. He spent most nights either drunk
1:27:37or sleeping at some widow's house in a
1:27:39neighboring village. Sometimes he didn't
1:27:41come home for days. His mother couldn't
1:27:43control him and didn't bother trying
1:27:45since the family had plenty of stolen
1:27:47money to burn. I filed everything away.
1:27:49The father gambled late into the night
1:27:51every few days. The son often slept
1:27:54elsewhere. That meant there would be
1:27:55nights when the house was nearly empty.
1:27:58That was my window. I asked old Yang one
1:28:00more thing. Did the Xiao family have a
1:28:02dog? He said yes. One old yellow dog
1:28:05that mostly slept by the front gate and
1:28:07never went to the backyard. Good to
1:28:08know. Back home, the women had already
1:28:11replaced the broken door. When they saw
1:28:13the rifle on my shoulder, Warner ran
1:28:15over with wide eyes and asked if she
1:28:17could touch it. I let her, reminding her
1:28:20never to point it at anyone. Minguer
1:28:22said it was the most impressive gun she
1:28:24had ever seen. Chingshua asked about the
1:28:26Xiao situation. I told them I was
1:28:28handling it and they didn't need to
1:28:30worry. I gave them instructions for the
1:28:32coming days. Tiedon<unk>s broken nose
1:28:35would keep him away for at least 2
1:28:36weeks. His father had backed down in
1:28:39front of the village chief and wouldn't
1:28:40come knocking while I had a rifle. But
1:28:42just in case, I told Ching Shiu and Ming
1:28:45Sui to fight back if anyone showed up.
1:28:47If they couldn't handle it, run to the
1:28:49chief's house. Wner promised she
1:28:52wouldn't freeze up like last time. I
1:28:54told them I would be going out at night
1:28:55sometimes and might come back late.
1:28:58Don't wait up. Don't ask where I went or
1:29:00what I did. The less they knew, the
1:29:02safer they were. Ching Shua understood.
1:29:04She just asked me to come home safe.
1:29:06Over the next 3 days, I hunted during
1:29:09the day with my bow and arrows, saving
1:29:11the rifle and its limited ammunition for
1:29:13emergencies. Bullets were precious, 50
1:29:16per month, and everyone had to be
1:29:18logged. For rabbits and feeasants,
1:29:20arrows worked just as well. I bagged
1:29:23dozens of small game over those three
1:29:25days and stored everything in the space.
1:29:28The stockpile was growing into a small
1:29:30mountain of meat I could sell at the
1:29:32black market later. The rifle stayed on
1:29:34my shoulder as insurance. If a boar or
1:29:37wolf pack appeared, one shot would
1:29:39handle it. The bow was for earning
1:29:41money. The gun was for staying alive.
1:29:43Each evening, I ate dinner with the
1:29:45women, waited for dark, then slipped out
1:29:47to scout Xiao Yoda's property. After
1:29:50three nights of watching, I had the Xiao
1:29:52family's routine figured out. On the
1:29:54fourth night, I hid inside my space and
1:29:57waited near their house. Just after 7,
1:29:59the front door opened. Xiao Yukai and
1:30:02Xiao Taiden walked out. Titan still had
1:30:04bandages on his swollen face from where
1:30:06I broke his nose. I heard them talking.
1:30:09Xiao Yukai told his son to be patient.
1:30:12He would ask Shian to Hai to find some
1:30:14excuse to confiscate my rifle first,
1:30:16then they would deal with me slowly.
1:30:18They climbed on their bicycles and rode
1:30:20off to the gambling den. I kept waiting.
1:30:23Then something unexpected happened.
1:30:25Around 9:00, Litu Yin, Xiao's wife, came
1:30:28out, fed the dog, then went back inside,
1:30:31and changed into nicer clothes. She
1:30:33fixed her hair and put something on her
1:30:35face. A woman doesn't dress up alone at
1:30:38night for no reason. Sure enough, she
1:30:40cracked open the side door, and a man
1:30:43slipped in, short, chubby, with a limp.
1:30:46She locked the door behind him. They
1:30:48whispered, grabbed each other, and
1:30:50disappeared into the bedroom. The lights
1:30:52went off. Xiao Yotsai's wife had a
1:30:54lover. The father and son were out
1:30:56gambling while she was cheating at home.
1:30:59What a family. But for me, this was
1:31:01perfect. She would be completely
1:31:03distracted. A thunderstorm wouldn't get
1:31:05her attention right now. I came out of
1:31:07the space. First, I dealt with the dog.
1:31:10I tossed a meatball laced with crushed
1:31:11detura seeds over the wall. The old dog
1:31:14sniffed it once and swallowed it whole.
1:31:16Within a minute, it was out cold. I
1:31:19scaled the back wall using a folded wolf
1:31:21skin to cover the broken glass on top. I
1:31:23dropped into the yard without a sound.
1:31:25From the main house, I could hear the
1:31:27wife and her visitor. They weren't
1:31:29paying attention to anything. I moved to
1:31:31the pigsty. Two fat pigs were sleeping
1:31:34inside. One woke up and grunted, so I
1:31:36tossed half a sweet potato from my
1:31:38space. Both pigs started fighting over
1:31:40it and forgot about me completely. I
1:31:43crouched by the pig trough, a heavy
1:31:45stone basin, 70 or 80 lb. Thanks to the
1:31:49spring water, I was strong enough to
1:31:51slide it aside quietly. Underneath was
1:31:53flat dirt that looked no different from
1:31:56the ground around it. I pulled a shovel
1:31:58from my space and started digging, slow,
1:32:01quiet, controlled, one scoop after
1:32:03another. About half a meter down, my
1:32:05shovel hit something hard. My whole body
1:32:08went electric. It was there. I put down
1:32:10the shovel and dug with my bare hands.
1:32:13An iron box appeared about a foot
1:32:15square, coated in dark waterproofing
1:32:17oil, nearly invisible against the soil.
1:32:20I pulled it out, wiped it clean, and
1:32:22opened it. Inside, wrapped in three
1:32:25layers of oil cloth, was a thick account
1:32:27book. I flipped to the first page. July
1:32:301973, diverted 200 yuan from public road
1:32:35repair funds to private account. A few
1:32:37pages later, January 1975, gifts to
1:32:41cousin Chandai, liquor, cigarettes, and
1:32:44300 yuan cash. Page after page, year
1:32:47after year. I didn't have time to read
1:32:49it all there. I stored the box and
1:32:51ledger in my space, refilled the hole,
1:32:54packed the dirt tight, put the pig
1:32:56trough back exactly where it was, and
1:32:58checked everything twice. No trace left.
1:33:01The whole operation took less than 15
1:33:03minutes. In the main house, the wife and
1:33:05her lover were still going at it. The
1:33:07dog was still unconscious. Nobody knew a
1:33:10thing. Back home, I slipped into my
1:33:12space and read the entire ledger in the
1:33:15villa study. What I found was bigger
1:33:17than I expected. This wasn't just one
1:33:19corrupt accountant. It was a network
1:33:21stretching from the commune all the way
1:33:23up to the county level. Xiao Yukai was
1:33:25the bottom. Chin Dehai was the middle.
1:33:28And above him, even a deputy county
1:33:30chief was involved. No wonder they were
1:33:32untouchable. This ledger could blow up
1:33:35half the county's government, but that
1:33:37worked in our favor. The timing was
1:33:39perfect. 1980, the start of the national
1:33:42crackdown on corruption. The authorities
1:33:44above were hungry for examples. This
1:33:46case was a gift wrapped present. The
1:33:48next morning, I went straight to Captain
1:33:50Joe's office. When I walked in, he could
1:33:53tell from my face. He closed the door,
1:33:56pulled the curtain, and told me to talk.
1:33:58I pulled out the ledger, and handed it
1:34:00to him. He opened it. By the first page,
1:34:02his expression changed. By the fifth
1:34:04page, his hands were shaking. He looked
1:34:06up at me with wide eyes and asked where
1:34:08I got it. I told him, "Zhiao's pigsty,
1:34:12buried under the pig trough. I had
1:34:14staked out the house and dug it up while
1:34:16the family was away. He stared at me for
1:34:1810 full seconds. Then he grabbed my
1:34:20shoulders. You're one hell of a guy." He
1:34:23said if this went through normal local
1:34:24channels, not only would the case be
1:34:26buried, I would disappear, but through
1:34:29the military route straight to the top,
1:34:31bypassing everyone in the county, this
1:34:34was going to bring them all down. Joe
1:34:36looked me in the eye and said I was
1:34:37playing with fire. I told him no, I was
1:34:40setting the fire and the ones getting
1:34:42burned were them. He laughed and slapped
1:34:44my shoulder. He said Xiao Yukai had
1:34:46terrorized people for years and this
1:34:48ledger was the blade he had been waiting
1:34:50for. He wrapped the book carefully and
1:34:53gave me strict orders. Stay away from
1:34:55town. Stay away from Xiao's house. Don't
1:34:58talk to anyone about this. Just go hunt
1:35:00in the mountains like normal. Keep the
1:35:02rifle loaded and close. He would handle
1:35:04everything from here through military
1:35:06channels. I understood. The less visible
1:35:09I was, the better. Meanwhile, that same
1:35:12morning, Xiao Yukai came home from the
1:35:14gambling den in a terrible mood after
1:35:16losing all night. As he approached his
1:35:18house, he noticed something. a faint
1:35:21scuff mark on the top of his back wall.
1:35:23Fresh. It hadn't been there yesterday.
1:35:25Most people wouldn't notice, but Xiao
1:35:27Yukai knew what was buried in his
1:35:29backyard. His face went white. He threw
1:35:32his bicycle down and sprinted to the
1:35:34pigsty. He shoved the pig trough aside
1:35:37and started digging like a madman. His
1:35:39son chased after him, terrified, asking
1:35:42what was wrong. At half a meter deep,
1:35:44nothing. The iron box was gone. The
1:35:46ledger was gone. Xiao Yukai let out a
1:35:49scream that echoed across the whole
1:35:51compound. He grabbed his son by the
1:35:53collar, eyes bloodshot, and howled that
1:35:55his account book had been stolen. Then
1:35:57he caught himself. The secret of that
1:36:00book could never be shared with anyone,
1:36:02not even his own son. He let go. His
1:36:05mind raced. He had guarded this secret
1:36:07for 8 years. Nobody knew it existed. He
1:36:10always handled the box alone, deep at
1:36:12night, with every door locked. How could
1:36:15anyone have found it? Then it hit him.
1:36:17his wife. She was home alone last night.
1:36:20If someone climbed the wall, she should
1:36:22have heard something. Unless she was too
1:36:24distracted to notice, unless she was
1:36:26doing something else. He stormed into
1:36:28the kitchen and grabbed Leitulian by the
1:36:30arm. He demanded to know what she was
1:36:32doing last night while he was gone. Her
1:36:34face drained of color. She thought he
1:36:36had found out about her lover. She
1:36:38stammered that she was just sleeping.
1:36:40Her eyes darted everywhere except his
1:36:42face. Ziao Yukai had spent a decade
1:36:44reading liars in the commune. He could
1:36:47see right through her. He slapped her
1:36:49hard across the face and told her to
1:36:51talk. While I was handling things on my
1:36:53end, Xiao Yotsai's world was falling
1:36:55apart at home. He beat his wife,
1:36:57demanding to know what happened last
1:36:59night. She thought he had discovered her
1:37:01affair and broke down completely. She
1:37:04confessed everything. She had been
1:37:06sleeping with a man from the next
1:37:07village for 6 months. Every time Xiao
1:37:10went gambling, the man snuck in through
1:37:12the side door. Xiao Yukai had come home
1:37:14to discover his secret ledger was
1:37:16stolen. Now he learned his wife had been
1:37:18cheating on him for half a year. The
1:37:20double blow was too much. His face went
1:37:23purple. He started foaming at the mouth
1:37:25and collapsed backward, cracking his
1:37:27head on the doorstep. He passed out
1:37:29cold. His son ran screaming for the
1:37:32village doctor. Back at my house, the
1:37:34three women met me at the gate. I told
1:37:36them it was done. I had handed the
1:37:38evidence to someone reliable and results
1:37:41would come soon. I gave no details. The
1:37:43less they knew, the safer they were.
1:37:46Just live normally and wait. Wner
1:37:48started crying again, blaming herself
1:37:50for everything. She said if it weren't
1:37:52for her, we never would have crossed the
1:37:54Xiao family. She called herself a curse.
1:37:57I walked over and lifted her chin, so
1:37:59she was looking at me. I told her this
1:38:01had nothing to do with her. Ziao Taidan
1:38:03was the kind of trash who would prey on
1:38:05any woman. Sun-ho was a criminal who
1:38:08sold people. I fought them because they
1:38:10deserved it. My choice, not her fault. I
1:38:13wiped her tears with my thumb and told
1:38:15her she was my person. Anyone who messed
1:38:17with her would answer to me. That was
1:38:19just how I was. I protected what was
1:38:21mine. She froze, cheeks turning red, and
1:38:24repeated softly, "I'm your person." Then
1:38:27she blushed all the way down to her
1:38:29neck. Ching and Ming Suer couldn't help
1:38:32laughing at her. I ruffled her hair and
1:38:35told her to never call herself a curse
1:38:37again. She was family. She nodded hard,
1:38:40tears still wet on her face, but smiling
1:38:42now. And somewhere behind those eyes, I
1:38:45could tell she had made some kind of
1:38:46quiet decision about something. That
1:38:48night, I lay on the bed thinking about
1:38:50Xiaoyukai. If he had discovered the
1:38:52ledger was gone, he must be losing his
1:38:54mind right now. But he had no reason to
1:38:57suspect me. A hunter wouldn't know about
1:38:59a commune accountant's secret books.
1:39:01Still, I needed to stay alert. I was
1:39:03starting to drift off when I heard my
1:39:05door creek open. Someone slipped inside,
1:39:08moving as quietly as possible. I didn't
1:39:10open my eyes. My senses told me it
1:39:13wasn't a threat. The person smelled of
1:39:15soap, freshly washed. No thief bathed
1:39:18before a robbery. The blanket lifted. A
1:39:20warm, trembling body slid in next to me.
1:39:23A cold, soft hand touched my arm. I
1:39:26opened my eyes. In the pale moonlight, I
1:39:28saw Wer's face inches from mine. She was
1:39:31wearing only a thin inner garment,
1:39:34shaking like a leaf, eyes full of fear
1:39:36and courage at the same time. She told
1:39:38me she had made up her mind. She said
1:39:40her life already belonged to me. She
1:39:43knew she was just a widow who had been
1:39:44sold and traded her whole life and she
1:39:47had nothing to offer. But her heart was
1:39:49mine. Even if I didn't want her, even if
1:39:51I didn't take responsibility, she was
1:39:54willing. Then she leaned up and kissed
1:39:56the corner of my mouth. Soft as a
1:39:58butterflyy's wing. Every drop of blood
1:40:00in my body caught fire. I was 27, had
1:40:03been alone my whole life, both lives.
1:40:06And the spirit spring water had made me
1:40:08stronger than I had ever been. A
1:40:10beautiful woman had just climbed into my
1:40:12bed and kissed me. If I could stay calm
1:40:14after that, I wouldn't be human. But I
1:40:17didn't rush. I looked at her carefully.
1:40:19The well water mixed with spirit spring
1:40:21had changed her. Her skin was now smooth
1:40:24and glowing, her features delicate and
1:40:26alive. She was shaking but refusing to
1:40:29back down. I told her I don't do things
1:40:31without taking responsibility. If she
1:40:34came into my bed, she wasn't leaving.
1:40:36Her eyes flew open. Before she could say
1:40:38another word, I kissed her, not gently
1:40:41this time. In the next room, Ching Shiu
1:40:43and Minguer were both awake. They had
1:40:46heard the door. They knew exactly what
1:40:48was happening. Msue sat up and said she
1:40:50couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to
1:40:52go, too. Ching Shuer tried to scold her,
1:40:55but her own face was burning red. Ming
1:40:57Sui reminded her of their promise. They
1:41:00had agreed to share. No jealousy, no
1:41:02regrets. Minguer got up and left the
1:41:05room. Ching Shua sat alone on the bed,
1:41:07heart pounding, listening to the faint
1:41:10sounds from my room. She whispered to
1:41:12herself that she couldn't stand it
1:41:13either. Chinga couldn't stay in bed
1:41:15either. She put on her shoes and went
1:41:18outside. She found Minguer already
1:41:20standing by my door in the cold. They
1:41:22could hear water inside. The two of them
1:41:25stood there in the freezing night,
1:41:26unable to leave, unable to go in. After
1:41:29a long time, Chingshua finally pulled
1:41:31Ming Sui away. She said Wner had
1:41:34suffered more than any of them and
1:41:35deserved this moment. Their turn would
1:41:37come. They went back to bed, but
1:41:39couldn't sleep. The next morning, I woke
1:41:42up with Wner curled against my chest,
1:41:44still sleeping peacefully. I looked down
1:41:46and saw something that stopped me cold.
1:41:49A spot of red on the sheets. She had
1:41:51been a virgin. It hit me all at once.
1:41:53She had been married to a fool who never
1:41:55touched her. She went through years of
1:41:57abuse from her mother-in-law, was thrown
1:42:00out, nearly sold off, and through all of
1:42:02it. She had never been with anyone. She
1:42:05gave her first time to me, and she
1:42:06hadn't told me because she was afraid I
1:42:08would stop if I knew. When she woke up,
1:42:11shy and softvoiced, I asked her why she
1:42:13didn't say anything. She buried her face
1:42:16in my chest and whispered that she
1:42:18didn't want me to hesitate. She had
1:42:20waited her whole life for someone worth
1:42:21giving herself to. Even if it was only
1:42:24once, she wouldn't regret it. I kissed
1:42:26her forehead and told her it wasn't
1:42:28going to be just once. It was for life.
1:42:30I would take responsibility for her. She
1:42:33cried, but she was smiling. She held on
1:42:36to me like I was everything she had in
1:42:38the world. Wner fell back asleep almost
1:42:40immediately. I carefully tucked the
1:42:42blanket around her and stepped outside
1:42:44into the cold morning air. I needed to
1:42:47clear my head. There was still Xiao
1:42:49Yukai to worry about and my own origins
1:42:51to figure out. Then the door of the
1:42:53other room opened. Ching Shiwa and Ming
1:42:55Sui came out, both with dark circles
1:42:58under their eyes. Msue said casually
1:43:00that someone had kept them up all night.
1:43:03I turned red. They told me not to feel
1:43:05guilty. They said the three of them had
1:43:07made a pact long ago. Whoever was first,
1:43:09the other two wouldn't be jealous.
1:43:11Mingui stepped forward and kissed me
1:43:13hard on the lips. Then Ching Shua kissed
1:43:16my cheek. Both said their first times
1:43:18would be for me and only me. Then they
1:43:20ran back inside, faces burning. I stood
1:43:23in the yard, completely overwhelmed. I
1:43:26ended up jumping into the ice cold
1:43:28spirit spring inside my space just to
1:43:30cool down. Around midday, while the
1:43:32women were still resting, I heard
1:43:34yelling at the gate. It was Wong Hohat,
1:43:37my so-called mother, with my two older
1:43:39brothers behind her. She was screaming
1:43:41that I had brought disaster on the Chin
1:43:43family by fighting the Xiao family. She
1:43:46demanded I go beg for forgiveness, cow
1:43:48out to Xiao Yukai, and make things right
1:43:51before the whole family suffered. My
1:43:53eldest brother said I should apologize
1:43:55before Xiao crushed us all. My second
1:43:57brother wouldn't even look at me. I
1:43:59laughed. I reminded them we had already
1:44:01cut family ties. My business had nothing
1:44:04to do with them. Even if I killed the
1:44:06entire Xiao household, it wouldn't touch
1:44:08the Chin family. I told Wong Ho Ha that
1:44:11if she came to my door again making
1:44:12noise, she would learn what real
1:44:14consequences looked like. She tried
1:44:16pulling the mother card again. That's
1:44:18when I dropped the bomb. You know
1:44:20exactly whether or not you actually gave
1:44:22birth to me. Her face froze. Panic
1:44:24flashed in her eyes. She had never told
1:44:27anyone I was adopted. Picked up off the
1:44:29road as a baby. She thought the secret
1:44:31was hers alone. She stared at me, voice
1:44:34shaking. What? What do you mean by that?
1:44:36Wong Ho Ha<unk>s voice wavered after
1:44:38what I said. I didn't explain further,
1:44:41just gave her a look that made her skin
1:44:42crawl. She knew exactly what I meant. My
1:44:45eldest brother, Chin Dashin, lost his
1:44:48temper. He charged at me with his fist
1:44:50raised, screaming that he would teach me
1:44:52a lesson like the old days. I
1:44:54sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and
1:44:56twisted. His wrist popped out of its
1:44:58socket. He collapsed, screaming and
1:45:01rolling on the ground. My second
1:45:03brother, Chun Erniu, didn't want to
1:45:05fight. He had heard what I did to Xiao
1:45:07Tiedon<unk>s gang, but Wong Hohat
1:45:09screamed at him until he rushed me. I
1:45:12need him in the chest and punched him in
1:45:14the face. He flew backward, blood
1:45:16pouring from his nose. I told all of
1:45:18them, "Come to my door again, and next
1:45:21time it won't be just a dislocated wrist
1:45:23and a bloody nose." Wong Hohat went
1:45:26berserk. She lunged at me, clawing at my
1:45:28face. Before I could stop her, Ching
1:45:31Shua came flying out of the house. She
1:45:33grabbed Wong Ho by the hair and yanked
1:45:35her back, then started slapping her
1:45:37across the face hard, fast, over and
1:45:41over. This is for bullying my man. This
1:45:43is for letting his wife die. This is for
1:45:46coming here to cause trouble. Wner
1:45:48charged out with a broom and started
1:45:50whacking Wong Ho hot across the back.
1:45:52Mansu kicked her legs out from under
1:45:54her, shoved her face into the dirt, and
1:45:56told her that if she ever touched our
1:45:58man again, the three of them would break
1:46:00her legs. I stood there watching,
1:46:02genuinely impressed. These three women
1:46:05had been beaten down their whole lives,
1:46:07called cursed, thrown away by their
1:46:09families, told they were worthless. But
1:46:12now they had something to fight for, and
1:46:13they were fearless. The villagers
1:46:15gathered around laughing and cheering.
1:46:18They said Wong Ho had it coming after
1:46:20years of mistreating me. I told the
1:46:22women that was enough. They stepped
1:46:24back. Wong Ho lay in the dirt, bloody
1:46:27and shaking, glaring at us with hatred.
1:46:30I looked down at her and warned her one
1:46:32final time to stay away. She saw
1:46:34something in my eyes that finally scared
1:46:36her into silence. My two brothers limped
1:46:39away, one clutching his wrist, the other
1:46:41his bleeding face. Wong Hohat dragged
1:46:44herself after them. Then Old Yang came
1:46:47sprinting up to the gate, drenched in
1:46:49sweat, eyes wide. Chinmo, something huge
1:46:53just happened. Old Yong burst in with
1:46:55the news. Xiao Yukai had collapsed the
1:46:57night before. a stroke. Half his body
1:47:00was paralyzed. And the reason he found
1:47:02out his wife had been cheating on him
1:47:04for six months. The shock on top of
1:47:06discovering his ledger was gone was too
1:47:09much. He passed out and hadn't
1:47:11recovered. But there was more. That very
1:47:13morning, men in military uniforms had
1:47:16gone to the commune office, searched
1:47:18Xiao Yoda's desk and cabinets, and
1:47:20walked out carrying stacks of documents.
1:47:23Nobody at the commune dared say a word.
1:47:25The villagers went wild with excitement.
1:47:28Years of Xiao<unk>s bullying, and now it
1:47:30was all coming down at once. Cheated on,
1:47:33struck down, and raided by the army all
1:47:35in one night. Wong Ho<unk>s face cycled
1:47:38through every color. Minutes ago, she
1:47:40had been demanding I go beg for
1:47:42forgiveness. Now Xiao was flat on his
1:47:45back with soldiers tearing through his
1:47:47office. She glanced at me nervously. I
1:47:49was standing there perfectly calm with a
1:47:52slight smile. She could tell something
1:47:53was off, but couldn't figure out what.
1:47:56Her tone changed instantly. She started
1:47:58backpedaling. Said she was just talking,
1:48:01didn't mean anything by it. Ching she
1:48:03was shut her down cold, reminding her of
1:48:05every threat she had just made. Wer and
1:48:08Mingui piled on, warning her that if she
1:48:10ever came near me again, they would show
1:48:12up at her door everyday and tell the
1:48:15whole village exactly what kind of
1:48:17mother she was. Wong Ho grabbed her two
1:48:19injured sons and limped away. The
1:48:22villagers laughed as they went. After
1:48:24things calmed down, Mingay turned on
1:48:26Wner, poking her forehead and teasing
1:48:29her mercilessly about sneaking into my
1:48:31bed ahead of everyone else. Wner turned
1:48:33bright red and stammered that she
1:48:35couldn't help it. I was too much of a
1:48:37gentleman and would never have made the
1:48:39first move, so she might have waited
1:48:41forever. Chingshua laughed and said they
1:48:43needed to learn from Wner's boldness. I
1:48:46stood there with a red face, coughing
1:48:48awkwardly, pretending I wasn't hearing
1:48:50any of this. Msue kept teasing Wner,
1:48:53asking her all sorts of embarrassing
1:48:55questions about the night before. Wner
1:48:58whispered that I was gentle and always
1:49:00worried about hurting her. I couldn't
1:49:02take it anymore and practically ran out
1:49:04of the house, saying I needed to check
1:49:06on things outside. Msue nearly fell over
1:49:08laughing at me. Before I left, Msui told
1:49:11Wner plainly. Next time it was her turn
1:49:14and Ching she was no more cutting in
1:49:16line. Wner nodded and said she had no
1:49:19regrets. Giving herself to me was the
1:49:21best decision she ever made. I walked
1:49:24around the village to cool off then came
1:49:26back and sat in the yard thinking. Xiao
1:49:29Yukai was down with a stroke. His office
1:49:31had been raided by the military and his
1:49:33wife's affair was the talk of the
1:49:35village. Everything was moving according
1:49:37to plan, but I couldn't relax yet.
1:49:39Chandah Hai was still out there until he
1:49:42was taken down too. The Xiao family
1:49:44still had a lifeline. Chingshua brought
1:49:46me a bowl of hot porridge. Then she
1:49:48asked me quietly if I had something to
1:49:50do with what happened to Xiao Yukai. She
1:49:52had noticed my late nights and early
1:49:54mornings and the timing of everything
1:49:56was too perfect to be coincidence. I
1:49:59told her she didn't need to know the
1:50:00details, just that Xiao Yukai brought
1:50:03this on himself. She nodded and said she
1:50:05understood and that no matter what, she
1:50:08and the other two women would always
1:50:10stand behind me. I reached over and held
1:50:12her hand. She turned bright red and her
1:50:15heart was pounding so hard I could
1:50:17almost hear it. Then Wner appeared in
1:50:19the doorway, grinning. She teased Ching
1:50:21Shu for blushing, getting her revenge
1:50:24for all the teasing earlier. Then Wer
1:50:26walked over and wrapped herself around
1:50:28my arm, asking why I was only holding
1:50:30Chingshua's hand and ignoring her. I sat
1:50:34there surrounded by three women who all
1:50:36wanted my attention, feeling my face
1:50:38burn. I was a man who had hunted wolves
1:50:40and fought gangs. But this was the one
1:50:42battle I had no idea how to win. The
1:50:45three women spent the rest of the day
1:50:47teasing each other and competing for my
1:50:49attention. Wner clung to my arm and
1:50:52complained I was playing favorites with
1:50:53Chinshua. Chingshua stammered that she
1:50:56only brought me porridge. Ming Sui
1:50:58leaned in close and whispered something
1:51:00in my ear that made my whole body go
1:51:02stiff. I couldn't take it anymore. I
1:51:04made up an excuse about checking traps
1:51:06in the mountains and bolted out the door
1:51:08like wolves were chasing me behind me. I
1:51:10could hear them laughing. Mingua called
1:51:12me hopeless. Wner pouted that I ran away
1:51:15before she could hold my hand. Chingshua
1:51:17tried to deny everything while the other
1:51:19two cornered her about the handholding
1:51:21they caught us doing. I needed distance
1:51:23to think clearly. The situation with
1:51:26Xiao was progressing, but it wasn't
1:51:28over. Chandhai was still in his position
1:51:30until the military investigation reached
1:51:33him. Anything could happen. That night,
1:51:35things got worse at the Xiao house. Xiao
1:51:38Titan sat by his father's bed, staring
1:51:40at the man who used to run the commune
1:51:42like a king. Now, Xiao Yukai lay there
1:51:44paralyzed on one side, drooling, barely
1:51:47able to speak. Lituian cowered in the
1:51:50corner, bruised and sobbing, begging for
1:51:53forgiveness. Xiao tied and screamed at
1:51:55her that this was all her fault. If she
1:51:58hadn't been cheating, his father
1:51:59wouldn't have collapsed. Then Xiao
1:52:01Yoda's one working hand started shaking.
1:52:04He forced out a few broken words through
1:52:06his twisted mouth. He told his son to
1:52:08find his cousin, Chindahhai, something
1:52:11about an account book. While I was at
1:52:13home dealing with the women's teasing,
1:52:14the Xiao family was falling apart. Xiao
1:52:17Yukai regained consciousness just long
1:52:19enough to grab his son's wrist with
1:52:21terrified eyes and force out two words
1:52:24account book. He told Ziao Taiden to go
1:52:26find Chandai immediately that everyone
1:52:29would be ruined if they were too late.
1:52:31Then he passed out again. Xiao Taiden
1:52:33had never seen his father that scared.
1:52:35He finally understood whatever that
1:52:38account book was, it was the most
1:52:39important thing his father owned. He
1:52:41grabbed a flashlight and ran into the
1:52:43night. At Shendai's house in the county
1:52:46seat, the deputy bureau chief was
1:52:48already on edge. He had received word
1:52:50that afternoon that military personnel
1:52:53had raided Xiao Yoai's office at the
1:52:55commune. The military getting involved
1:52:57was his worst nightmare. Soldiers didn't
1:53:00care about local connections or favors.
1:53:02When Xiao Taiden burst in and told him
1:53:04about the stroke, Shindhai relaxed for a
1:53:07moment. He thought it was just the
1:53:09wife's affair that caused it. But then
1:53:11Xiao Taidan repeated his father's last
1:53:13words. Account book. Find your uncle
1:53:16where everyone is finished. Chin Dhai's
1:53:18cigarette dropped from his fingers. He
1:53:20exploded. He slapped Xiao Taidan across
1:53:23the face and started raging. He had told
1:53:26Xiao Yukai years ago to destroy those
1:53:28records. That fool had kept them as
1:53:30leverage, probably planning to use them
1:53:32against him someday if things went bad
1:53:34between them. Now the book was missing
1:53:36and the military had come searching.
1:53:38Chandah Hai paced the room trying to
1:53:40think. He asked Ziao Taidan who his
1:53:43father had clashed with recently who
1:53:45could have found and stolen the ledger.
1:53:47Xiao Taidan said the family had too many
1:53:49enemies to count. But when pressed for
1:53:51the most recent conflict, his eyes lit
1:53:54up. There's one. A guy named Chinmo.
1:53:57Chindai asked who Chinmo was. Xiao
1:53:59Taidan told him everything. the fight
1:54:02over Wner, the broken nose, and that I
1:54:04had recently gotten a hunter's license
1:54:06and seemed close to Captain Joe Taihu.
1:54:09The moment Joe<unk>s name came up,
1:54:10Chandai's expression turned ice cold.
1:54:13The same military captain who raided the
1:54:15office was connected to me. He didn't
1:54:17wait to confirm anything. He called in
1:54:19his enforcer, a big thug named Luba, and
1:54:23ordered him to go to Green Mountain
1:54:24Village that very night, grab me, and
1:54:27find out where the ledger was, by any
1:54:29means necessary. Then Shind Hai pulled
1:54:32out a black leather bag with 30,000 yuan
1:54:34inside. His emergency escape money. 20
1:54:37years in the police system. And now he
1:54:39was preparing for the worst. Meanwhile,
1:54:42at home, I lay awake in bed thinking the
1:54:45real target was never just Xiao Yukai.
1:54:47It was Chindahhai. And I knew he
1:54:49wouldn't sit quietly once he learned
1:54:51about the missing ledger. Wner came to
1:54:53my door unable to sleep. Worried about
1:54:56retaliation. I told her not to worry.
1:54:58Then Ming Sui appeared and teased Wner
1:55:01about sneaking over to my room again.
1:55:03Ching Shuer came out too and told
1:55:05everyone to let me rest. I looked at all
1:55:07three of them and promised I would keep
1:55:09this home safe. After they went back to
1:55:11bed, my smile faded. I was ready for
1:55:14whatever came next. At 3:00 in the
1:55:16morning, I heard it. Three sets of
1:55:18footsteps outside. My traps around the
1:55:20yard were triggered. Someone had just
1:55:22tripped the wire I had set up. I snapped
1:55:24my eyes open. Enhanced senses from the
1:55:26spring water made every sound crystal
1:55:29clear. The three women rushed into my
1:55:31room, whispering urgently. Chingshua
1:55:34said she heard people outside. Minguer
1:55:36confirmed there was more than one. They
1:55:38had come. Shandahhai had sent his men. I
1:55:41told the three women to leave through
1:55:43the back door and get the village chief.
1:55:45Chingi didn't want to go. She grabbed my
1:55:48arm, terrified. But I told her to trust
1:55:50me the same way she always had. She bit
1:55:53her lip, nodded, and led the other two
1:55:56into the darkness. I loaded my rifle and
1:55:58waited. Three men burst into my yard.
1:56:01Their leader, Lubiao, kicked down the
1:56:04gate and told me to come out. He sent
1:56:06his two thugs toward the main house
1:56:08while he headed for the women's room,
1:56:10licking his lips and muttering something
1:56:12disgusting about wanting a taste. He
1:56:14pushed open the door and found a gun
1:56:16barrel pressed against his forehead.
1:56:18"Say that again," I said. His face went
1:56:21white. Sweat poured down his temples. He
1:56:24stammered that he was from the public
1:56:25security bureau. I told him that real
1:56:27police don't break into homes at 3:00 in
1:56:30the morning with iron clubs. He was just
1:56:32a burglar impersonating an officer. That
1:56:34made his crime even worse. His two men
1:56:37were already down. They had stepped
1:56:39right into the bamboo spike traps I set
1:56:41around the yard. Both were on the ground
1:56:43screaming, stakes through their ankles.
1:56:46I pressed the gun lower, pointing at a
1:56:48part of him no man wants to lose. He
1:56:50dropped to his knees instantly begging.
1:56:53I asked who sent him. He said
1:56:54Chindahhai. The deputy bureau chief
1:56:57wanted me brought in to answer questions
1:56:59about an account book. So Chindahhai
1:57:01already knew. He was panicking and
1:57:03trying to grab me before the military
1:57:05could act. I knocked Luba out with the
1:57:07rifle but and tied all three of them up
1:57:09in my woodshed. Live witnesses were more
1:57:12useful than dead ones. When Ching Shiua
1:57:15returned with the village chief, I told
1:57:17him everything. the ledger, Captain
1:57:19Xhao, the military investigation, and
1:57:22now Chin Dehai sending armed men to
1:57:24silence me. The chief was stunned at how
1:57:26far ahead I had planned. I said we
1:57:28needed to get to the militia compound
1:57:30immediately. That was the safest place,
1:57:33military territory, where Chianda Hai
1:57:35had no authority. Once he was arrested,
1:57:37it would all be over. The chief sent old
1:57:40Yong to hitch the ox cart. Within the
1:57:42hour, we were rolling through the dark
1:57:44toward town. me, the three women, and
1:57:47everything we needed. We reached the
1:57:49militia compound before dawn. I jumped
1:57:51off the cart and told the guards I
1:57:53needed to see Captain Joe. I told the
1:57:55guards who I was, and they recognized me
1:57:57immediately from the shooting exam. One
1:58:00ran to get Captain Zhao while the other
1:58:02led us inside. Zhao was waiting in his
1:58:04lit office, already in uniform. I told
1:58:07him everything. Chin Dehai's men
1:58:09breaking into my home at 3:00 in the
1:58:11morning. The iron clubs, Lu Bao heading
1:58:14toward the women's room. I explained how
1:58:16I had trapped them and tied them up.
1:58:18Joe's jaw tightened. He hadn't expected
1:58:20Chandai to move that fast. Then he
1:58:22showed me a telegram on his desk. The
1:58:25military district had approved the
1:58:26investigation. A special team would
1:58:28arrive the next morning. He looked at me
1:58:31and said it plainly. Shind Hai and the
1:58:33Xiao family were finished. The three
1:58:35women nearly collapsed with relief.
1:58:38Ching shea<unk>s eyes went red. Ming Sui
1:58:40slapped her thigh and cheered. Wner
1:58:42asked if we were really safe now. I told
1:58:45her that once the military investigation
1:58:47team arrived, no county police chief
1:58:49could stop what was coming. That same
1:58:51night, Shindahai realized Lu Bao wasn't
1:58:54coming back. He packed his bags,
1:58:56suitcases full of cash, gold bars, jade,
1:59:00antiques, and tried to flee with his
1:59:02wife and daughter. He told them they
1:59:04were going on a trip. He opened the back
1:59:06door and found a dozen armed soldiers
1:59:09pointing rifles at him. Zhao stood at
1:59:11the front. Shind Hai tried bluffing.
1:59:13Said he was a deputy bureau chief and
1:59:16Zhao had no authority. Zhao smiled
1:59:18coldly. He brought out Lu Bao and his
1:59:20two thugs all tied up and beaten. Lu Bao
1:59:23had confessed everything. Then the
1:59:25soldiers opened Chin to high suitcases.
1:59:28Cash, gold, and valuables spilled across
1:59:31the ground, far more than any salary
1:59:34could explain. Finally, Joe pulled out
1:59:36the account book. He held it in front of
1:59:38Chandah Hai's face and told him every
1:59:40bribe, every theft, every dirty deal was
1:59:43written in black and white. Chandhai's
1:59:46legs gave out. He dropped to his knees.
1:59:48They dragged him away. After 3 days of
1:59:51interrogation, Shandhai broke completely
1:59:54and confessed to everything. That pulled
1:59:56Xiao Yukai and Xiao Taiden down with
1:59:58him. Soldiers dragged Xiao Yukai from
2:00:01his sick bed. Xiao Taiden cried and
2:00:03begged when they came for him. The news
2:00:06spread through the village like
2:00:07wildfire. People celebrated in the
2:00:09streets. A few days later, the four of
2:00:11us came home. The case was closed. We
2:00:14had spent days giving statements and
2:00:16testifying. Msue stretched and said she
2:00:19was exhausted. Wner leaned against me
2:00:21and asked if Shiao Taidan would really
2:00:23never come back. I ruffled her hair and
2:00:25told her he wouldn't see the outside of
2:00:27a prison for the rest of his life. Ching
2:00:30Shua looked at me with soft eyes. I had
2:00:32kept every promise I made. I said I
2:00:34would protect them and I did. I said I
2:00:36would bring down the Xiao family and
2:00:38they were gone. The village chief and
2:00:40his wife came by with two baskets of
2:00:43eggs. He told me I was the vill's savior
2:00:46that for years nobody could touch the
2:00:48Xiao family and now they were gone
2:00:50because of me. He said the eggs were the
2:00:52least he could offer. I tried to refuse
2:00:55but he insisted. I thanked him and
2:00:57accepted. After they left, I got quiet
2:01:00for a moment. I told the three women
2:01:02that I would never forget the kindness
2:01:03people showed me. The village chief lent
2:01:06me money when my wife was dying and
2:01:08helped with the funeral. And the three
2:01:10of them, they had taken turns nursing my
2:01:12wife, bringing medicine, washing
2:01:14clothes, and helping with the burial. I
2:01:17remembered all of it. They blushed and
2:01:19said I had done far more for them. Wner
2:01:21said maybe it was fate. She promised
2:01:23that the three of them would take care
2:01:25of me the way my late wife would have
2:01:27wanted. Ching Shuer and Ming Sui agreed.
2:01:29From now on, we would live as one
2:01:32family. The next morning, I got up
2:01:34before dawn. I grabbed my rifle, bow,
2:01:37and hunting gear and headed into the
2:01:39mountains. Since getting my license, I
2:01:41went hunting every few days. The
2:01:43mountain was my livelihood. After about
2:01:46an hour of hiking through the misty
2:01:47forest, I crouched down and found what I
2:01:50was looking for. Fresh wild boar tracks.
2:01:53big ones, deep prints, no more than two
2:01:55hours old, broken branches, fresh bark
2:01:58scrapings from tusks on the trees. There
2:02:00was a stream ahead with wild yams
2:02:03growing along the bank. Perfect feeding
2:02:05ground for boar at this time of year. I
2:02:07moved silently toward the stream,
2:02:09testing every step before putting my
2:02:12weight down. Then I smelled it, the
2:02:14sharp, sour stink of wild boar droppings
2:02:17very close. I pressed against a tree and
2:02:20listened. heavy breathing and the sound
2:02:22of something rooting in the dirt just
2:02:24ahead to my left. Found it. I spotted
2:02:27the boar through the leaves, a massive
2:02:29black beast, at least 200 lb, tusks
2:02:32gleaming in the morning light. I studied
2:02:34my breathing and raised the rifle. The
2:02:37key was patience. While boar have thick
2:02:39skulls, and a bad shot means a wounded,
2:02:42raging animal charging straight at you.
2:02:44I waited for it to lift its head. The
2:02:46moment its ear came into view, I fired.
2:02:49The shot hit its side. Not the perfect
2:02:51kill spot, but it punched through the
2:02:53lung. The boar screamed and bolted into
2:02:56the trees. I didn't panic. I followed
2:02:58the blood trail calmly. Dark red blood
2:03:01with foam in it. A lung shot. Fatal. It
2:03:04just didn't know it was dead yet. 200 m
2:03:06later, the boar collapsed. I kicked it
2:03:09to make sure, then checked the wound.
2:03:11Clean through the lung cavity. About 230
2:03:14lb of meat. My first thought was to
2:03:16store it in the space and sell it at the
2:03:18black market. But then I stopped myself.
2:03:20I thought about all the people who had
2:03:22helped me. The village chief who stood
2:03:24up for me again and again. Old Yang who
2:03:27always had my back and the ordinary
2:03:29villagers who at least didn't turn
2:03:31against me when times were hard. In my
2:03:33past life, I kept everyone at a distance
2:03:36and died alone. This time, I wanted to
2:03:38do things differently. I hid the boar
2:03:40under some brush and went down to find
2:03:42the village chief. When I told him I had
2:03:45a 200- lb wild boar up the mountain, his
2:03:48eyes nearly fell out of his head. He
2:03:50called a group of young men to help
2:03:51carry it down. When they saw the boar,
2:03:54they went crazy with excitement. In an
2:03:56era where most families rarely tasted
2:03:58meat, a whole wild boar was like a
2:04:01miracle. The chief asked what I wanted
2:04:03to do with it. I told him I wanted to
2:04:05share it with the whole village.
2:04:07Everyone was shocked when I said I
2:04:08wanted to share the boar with the whole
2:04:10village. The chief's eyes got wet. He
2:04:13said most people would have kept it all
2:04:14or sold it. The young men who helped
2:04:17carry it down couldn't stop thanking me.
2:04:19I told them it was nothing. We were all
2:04:21neighbors. By the time we reached the
2:04:23village, half of the residents had
2:04:25already gathered at the threshing
2:04:26ground. The chief announced that I was
2:04:28giving the meat to every family divided
2:04:31by the number of people. The crowd
2:04:33erupted. Women grabbed my hands with
2:04:35tears in their eyes, saying their
2:04:37children hadn't tasted meat in months. I
2:04:40told them it was just the right thing to
2:04:41do. The three women stood at the edge of
2:04:43the crowd watching me. Chingshua smiled
2:04:46and said, "I always acted before I
2:04:48spoke." Ming Sui crossed her arms
2:04:50proudly and said, "Nobody else would
2:04:52give away 200 lb of meat like that. Wner
2:04:55just watched me with soft eyes,
2:04:57whispering that I was wonderful." The
2:04:59young men butchered the boar right there
2:05:01and handed out portions to every
2:05:03household. People left grinning,
2:05:05promising to help me whenever I needed
2:05:07it. Meanwhile, my eldest brother's wife
2:05:10heard the news and ran home to tell Wong
2:05:12Hohat. She burst through the door,
2:05:14screaming that I had killed a huge wild
2:05:16boar and was giving it away to the whole
2:05:18village, but not to the Chin family.
2:05:21Wong Hohat shot up from her bed. She had
2:05:23been resting, but the moment she heard
2:05:25about 200 lb of free meat going to
2:05:28everyone except her, all her aches
2:05:30disappeared. She grabbed her walking
2:05:32stick and started raging, saying she
2:05:34raised me for 20 years and deserved her
2:05:36share. My sister-in-law poured fuel on
2:05:39the fire, complaining that the three
2:05:41widows were struting around like queens,
2:05:43while the Chin family was treated like
2:05:45garbage. Then my two brothers rushed in,
2:05:48having heard the news, too. Wong Ho
2:05:50slammed her stick on the ground and
2:05:52declared they were all going to the
2:05:54threshing ground to demand their share.
2:05:56In her mind, since I was Chin family
2:05:59blood, anything I hunted belonged to
2:06:01them, too. Wong Ho Ha and my two
2:06:03brothers stormed into the threshing
2:06:05ground just as the last portions were
2:06:07being handed out. She slammed her
2:06:09walking stick on the ground and screamed
2:06:11that I was an ungrateful animal giving
2:06:14meat to strangers but nothing to my own
2:06:16mother. She demanded two shares. My
2:06:19brothers chimed in saying family should
2:06:21come first. I looked at them calmly and
2:06:24asked the whole village to judge. I
2:06:26reminded everyone what happened when my
2:06:28wife was dying. I knelt at the Chun
2:06:30family door begging for help and they
2:06:32told me her death was my problem. Wong
2:06:34Hohat agreed to cut ties with me that
2:06:36day. Now she smelled meat and came
2:06:38running back. The villagers muttered in
2:06:40disgust. They all remembered. The
2:06:42village chief stepped forward and tore
2:06:45into her. He reminded everyone that he
2:06:47was the one who helped me borrow money
2:06:49for the coffin because the Chun family
2:06:51refused to lift a finger. He asked what
2:06:54kind of mother abandons her son and then
2:06:56shows up demanding free meat when he
2:06:58succeeds. My three women lined up in
2:07:00front of me. Msue told Wong Hoa, "She
2:07:03had no right to anything of mine." Ching
2:07:05Shua said the whole village knew what
2:07:07the Chin family did. Wner stood tall and
2:07:10said I could give my things to whoever I
2:07:12wanted and the Chun family didn't
2:07:13qualify. When Wong Hohat saw she was
2:07:16losing, she collapsed on the ground and
2:07:18started her old trick, screaming and
2:07:21crying, calling the three women fox
2:07:23spirits, husband killers, and evil stars
2:07:26who had stolen my soul. She wailed about
2:07:28how they were cursed women who brought
2:07:30death to every man they touched. Some
2:07:33villagers shifted uncomfortably. The
2:07:35stigma of being a young widow was real
2:07:37in this era, and Wong Hoa knew how to
2:07:40use it. Wner's eyes went red. Those
2:07:42words, "Curse, broomstar, husband,
2:07:45killer," had been stabbed into her heart
2:07:48since childhood. But Ching Shuer grabbed
2:07:50one hand and Mingu grabbed the other.
2:07:53They told her not to be afraid. They had
2:07:55a man who stood behind them. Now, other
2:07:57people's words meant nothing.

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