Little Wild Boar

Chapter 15

The wounds on Li Qingqing’s back had scabbed over, and she was slowly becoming able to get out of bed.

Before she could walk, she had spent every day hoping Ming Wen would come to the house, but Ming Wen had no freedom and naturally could not visit every day.

Consequently, as soon as she was able to walk, she started running to Ming Wen’s house every day to find her, even though she still couldn’t understand a word the other woman said.

“I stewed some meat today and thought I’d bring you some,” she said in the local dialect, while also trying hard to learn Mandarin.

Li Qingqing had grown up in this village. She understood social dynamics very well. Every time she visited, she didn’t just bring food; she also helped Ming Wen with her chores. Because of this, the Zhang Family didn’t mind her coming around.

Wu Jie was a bit unhappy. “Don’t go looking for that Trafficked Bride every day. Be careful not to offend the Zhang Family.”

Li Qingqing knew in her heart that the one who minded wasn’t the Zhang Family, but her own man. So she said, “Don’t I still have you? If anyone dares to bully me, you can take your axe to their house. Who in this village dares to mess with me now?”

Wu Jie was flattered by these words, and his mood instantly brightened.

In a village like this, not everyone received such emotional validation. Most people lost the ability to interact normally with others amidst the exhaustion of a day’s labor.

Wu Jie immediately stopped bothering Li Qingqing.

The young couple had already split from the main household, so no one else could control her. These were the best days of Li Qingqing’s life; she only needed to coax a man who stood on equal footing with her.

Li Qingqing would get up before dawn to feed the pigs, prepare breakfast for Wu Jie, and set out his lunch. Then, she could spend the day looking for Ming Wen.

Because Li Qingqing sought her out so frequently, the Zhang Family began to harbor some schemes.

Over the past two days, the Zhang Family had been ordering Ming Wen to clear wasteland. Clearing wasteland was no simple task; it was hundreds of times more grueling than digging a garden or weeding.

For a novice like Ming Wen, who couldn’t even properly clear weeds from a vegetable patch, sending her directly to clear wasteland was naturally an attempt to exploit Li Qingqing’s labor.

The wasteland the Zhang Family wanted cleared was halfway up the mountain. It was filled not only with deep-rooted weeds but also small shrubs. This was not a job a person with a crippled leg could complete.

In reality, the Zhang Family was banking on the fact that Sha Niu, Sha Niu’s mother, and Li Qingqing would help, which was why they assigned such a heavy task.

Ming Wen’s leg injury was severe, and since she had never shown any inclination to run away, the Zhang Family didn’t think she could escape.

Furthermore, lately, whenever people saw the Zhang Family, they would bring up the fact that they wouldn’t let Ming Wen, a city doctor, work in the medical clinic.

“You people are truly short-sighted.”

The Zhang Family couldn’t vent their anger on the rest of the village, so they deliberately chose this method to torment Ming Wen for everyone to see.

If you all think she should be a doctor, then she’ll have to do the hardest labor instead.

Ming Wen didn’t understand the local language and had no idea what was happening. As soon as she came out with a hoe, Sha Niu and Li Qingqing arrived.

“My mom said you’re going to clear wasteland,” Sha Niu said. “Li Qingqing and I are going with you.”

Only then did Ming Wen realize that the place the Zhang Family had shown her wasn’t for weeding. She had wondered why the grass was so tall; it turned out to be wasteland reclamation.

Li Qingqing really wanted to join the conversation, but she only knew a few phrases in Mandarin. She picked through her mental vocabulary and said, “Thank you for saving me.”

Li Qingqing was already learning Mandarin from Sha Niu, but she still only knew basic terms. At this point, she had to rely on Sha Niu to translate for her.

“The Immortal Lady asks if you’re busy at home,” Sha Niu said to Li Qingqing. “If you are, you can come see her after you’re finished.”

“Everything at home is done. Besides, I have my own home now. Wu Jie is my man, not my father; he can’t control me. I’m going too. It’ll be perfect, the three of us clearing land together will be fun,” Li Qingqing replied.

Then, Li Qingqing watched as Sha Niu turned her head and said, “She insists on going.”

Even though Li Qingqing didn’t understand, she was sure the sentence shouldn’t have been that short. No, she really needed to learn Mandarin faster.

Regardless, the three of them headed to the wasteland halfway up the mountain.

As soon as they arrived, Li Qingqing lunged forward. “So much sour-sour grass! Let’s eat grass first.”

Sha Niu was also delighted and lunged forward as well.

Ming Wen watched as the two girls pounced on a patch of… clover? It was clover.

Ming Wen recognized it. There was a saying that finding a four-leaf clover among the three-leaf ones brought good luck.

She thought the two girls were looking for four-leaf clovers.

But in the next second, she saw them pick a large handful of clover, rub it together, and… eat it?

Their faces crumpled from the sourness.

They picked another large handful and gave it to her.

“It’s good! Immortal Lady, you eat too!”

Ming Wen took it and looked down. Among the crisp, green clover, there were clearly two four-leaf clovers.

She paused.

“Eat it, quick,” Sha Niu said, rubbing another handful of clover.

Ming Wen followed their lead, rubbing the grass before putting it in her mouth to eat.

The next moment, her face wrinkled from the sourness. It was so, so sour.

But beyond that, there was a very fresh fragrance.

After finishing it, she wanted more, wanting to experience that sensation of her whole body puckering from the sourness again.

It made her feel like she was still alive.

So, Ming Wen also crouched down and began selecting fresh clover.

The three of them shuddered simultaneously from the sourness.

Ming Wen couldn’t help but laugh, briefly forgetting where she was and briefly forgetting her pain.

After eating the grass, the three of them began to work. They started by digging up the roots. The weeds here were cogon grass with very deep roots. Every time they dug, they pulled up a large bunch of thick, white roots. They tossed the roots aside to be burned once the digging was finished.

As they dug, Li Qingqing practiced her Mandarin.

Sha Niu taught her.

“To say hello in Mandarin, you say ‘Have you eaten¹ yet?'”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Have you eaten yet.”

Ming Wen worked beside them, quietly digging up the roots.

Soon, the two individuals who had been busy learning Mandarin fell silent. Li Qingqing nudged Ming Wen, gesturing for her to look the other way. Sha Niu was already staring intently at a certain spot.

Ming Wen followed their gaze. Near the pile of grass roots they had just dug up, a small animal resembling a fawn was huffing and puffing as it munched away.

“A wild boar,” Li Qingqing whispered. “Wait for me. I’ll go kill it, and we’ll have meat for dinner tonight.”

Ming Wen couldn’t understand Li Qingqing’s words, so she walked over to Sha Niu’s side. Sha Niu said, “Immortal Lady, that is a wild boar. Let’s kill it, and we can eat meat in a little while.”

Ming Wen froze. First, she had honestly thought it was a fawn, and second, she was taken aback by the casual mention of killing and eating it. Ming Wen said, “Don’t kill it.”

Li Qingqing was about to move in, but Sha Niu held her back. “Wait, the Immortal Lady said no.”

Ming Wen added, “Don’t kill a lone cub.”

Sha Niu translated this to Li Qingqing as: “Don’t kill the little boar while its mother isn’t around.”

Sha Niu didn’t quite understand the logic. Did they have to wait for the mother boar to arrive before killing the little one? Wouldn’t that be a bit cruel?

Li Qingqing, misled by the translation, also assumed they were waiting for the mother boar so they could kill the cub right in front of her.

“But we can’t beat a full-grown boar.”

Over there, the tiny wild boar remained completely oblivious to the approaching danger.

Sha Niu relayed her and Li Qingqing’s concerns to Ming Wen.

Ming Wen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How had they interpreted her words as wanting to kill the cub in front of its mother? Did they think she was some kind of heartless demon?

She could only clarify, “I mean, don’t kill the young.”

It was difficult for Ming Wen to explain her feelings to children like Li Qingqing and Sha Niu.

To them, encountering a lone cub that could be killed without effort to provide meat was likely a stroke of great luck.

But for someone like Ming Wen, who had grown up in a civilized world, killing a lone cub, even a wild boar, made her feel uneasy.

In truth, she didn’t need to explain herself clearly.

Of the other two present, one was Sha Niu, who firmly believed she was the Immortal Lady, and the other was Li Qingqing, whose life she had saved.

If she said they couldn’t kill it, neither of them required a reason.

Both women immediately changed their attitudes. They even began to find the little boar quite cute.

It was small, better looking than a puppy, and as it grunted and chewed on the tender grass roots, it would occasionally look up at them.

Perhaps it realized these humans meant no harm, or perhaps it simply hadn’t witnessed human cruelty yet. After eating the pile of tender roots, the little boar actually began to trot slowly toward Ming Wen’s feet.

Its small, furry body had several bright stripes along its back, and it looked incredibly soft.

Sha Niu watched her Immortal Lady with a dazed expression, remembering what her mother had told her when she was little. The Immortal Lady would protect the animals of the mountains. Sure enough, while the people in the village hadn’t recognized the Immortal Lady, the little wild boar had.

“Immortal Lady, it recognizes you,” Sha Niu said, unable to hide her joy.

Li Qingqing felt something different, a grander emotion she had never experienced before. Her heart felt warm.

Ming Wen crouched down. Thinking of a cat she used to have, she couldn’t resist reaching out to pet the little creature.

Was this really a wild boar?

Forgive Ming Wen for never having paid attention to wild boars in their infancy; she even doubted if it was a boar cub at all. She wondered if Sha Niu had made a mistake.

However, a second later, Ming Wen’s doubts were resolved.

A rustling sound came from the other side.

A large wild boar appeared not far away.

Li Qingqing quickly grabbed her hoe. “Oh no! The big boar is here!”

The little boar grunted and trotted away from Ming Wen’s side.

Li Qingqing stood frozen.

She watched as the large boar carefully nudged the little one toward her. The cub was still being greedy, trying to eat the grass roots they had dug up.

The mother boar was clearly anxious. She even gave the cub a little bite. Feeling the sting, the little boar finally stopped eating.

The three women were all nursing a lingering fear.

But after the large boar nudged the little one away, she glanced at them, picked up a large mouthful of the grass roots, and turned to run off without harming them.

The three of them watched the scene unfold.

After a long silence, Li Qingqing said, “They are so human-like!”

The grass roots must have been what the mother boar intended for the cub, right?

They seemed to… have feelings too.

Li Qingqing felt a very special sensation, a warm current filling her heart.

She used to think that the experiences she had after starting a family were the best life could offer.

It wasn’t until this moment that Li Qingqing realized the world was completely different from what she had previously known.

When she returned home, she couldn’t wait to tell Wu Jie about it. It was so novel that she wanted to share it with the person closest to her.

At that time, there was a large fire pit in the middle of their small earthen house. The young couple sat beside it.

Li Qingqing spoke eagerly about the wild boar, hoping her man would feel the same way she did.

After listening, Wu Jie found it amusing. “Are you guys stupid? You could have had wild boar meat, but now you have nothing.”

Li Qingqing couldn’t understand Wu Jie’s perspective. She asked, “Don’t you find it… moving?”

“What’s there to be moved by? Back when we used to slaughter oxen, an ox would start crying the moment it heard us sharpening the knife. When everyone went to the pen to drag it out, the ox even knelt down. Now that was strange.”

A dull ache throbbed in Li Qingqing’s heart. She looked at Wu Jie, feeling as though they were worlds apart.

Translator’s Notes