Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

"Let's go take a look."

Lin Nuo stood up, her legs went weak, and she almost lost her balance.

He walked over, squatted down, and reached out to touch the wild boar's neck. The bristles were coarse and stiff, and prickly to the touch.

This was the first time in his two lifetimes that he had ever seen such a large wild animal, and he was still somewhat dazed.

The bullet went in through the back of my ear and came out the other side, swirling around inside my head.

Dead beyond dead.

It weighs over 300 pounds, is male, and has fangs that are more than two inches long, sticking out from the lower jaw, and are white and sharp.

Lin Jiang also came over, squatted down beside it, looked at the wild boar, and couldn't say a word. Then he reached out his finger and poked the wild boar's bristles.

The old leader's move really shocked the two brothers.

"It really hit."

Lin Jiang's voice sounded a little unsteady.

Zhang, the foreman, stood to the side, leaned his flintlock pistol against a tree, pulled out his pipe from his waist, filled it with tobacco, and lit it with a match. He took a drag, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and began:

"Pack it up and carry it down the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Lin Nuo immediately put down the crossbow, pulled out a rope from the basket, and began to tie up the wild boar. Lin Jiang helped lift the legs, and the two of them tied the wild boar's four legs together, threaded the lever through, and carried it one in front and one behind.

The wild boar was so big that it bent the support beam, making a "squeak" sound.

Lin Nuo was in front, Lin Jiang was behind, and Zhang, the foreman, was at the very back, carrying a musket and with a pipe in his mouth, walking at a leisurely pace.

The three of them walked down the mountain path. The sun had fully risen.

Smoke rises from the distant village, slowly dissipating in the morning light.

Lin Nuo carried a wooden stick on his shoulder, his palms were sweaty, and the stick was pressing painfully against his shoulder. He hadn't walked half a mile before he was out of breath, and his steps began to feel heavy.

"Take a break."

He said.

The two men put the wild boar down and placed the stick on a roadside stone. Lin Nuo was bent over, his hands on his knees, panting heavily. Lin Jiang stood beside him, his breathing relatively steady, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

Lin Nuo glanced at his older brother, feeling a pang of unease. This was the difference between a respectable farmer and a good-for-nothing. His father had farmed his whole life, and his older brother had followed suit, his shoulders as strong as iron.

What about him? In those years, he was only interested in playing cards and drinking. His parents loved him too, so he never put in this much effort.

I need to get up earlier and exercise more from now on.

"Let's go."

Lin Jiang hoisted the wooden stick back onto his shoulder, waiting for Lin Nuo to lift the other end.

The two of them lifted it up again, walking and stopping, resting three or four times, before finally reaching the foot of the mountain.

When they reached the village, some people were already up. Wang Lao Er was squatting at his doorway smoking his pipe when he saw two people carrying a wild boar towards them. He forgot to smoke, his mouth agape.

"Did they really hit him?"

Wang Lao Er's eyes widened in surprise.

Lin Nuo nodded:

"It was the old gang leader who beat him up."

Wang Lao Er stood up, came over to look at the wild boar, reached out to touch its tusks, and then withdrew his hand.

"This thing weighs more than 300 pounds. The old foreman is amazing, really amazing."

Lin Nuo didn't linger. The wild boar couldn't stay long; it had to be taken to town quickly. He and Lin Jiang placed the wild boar on the stone platform in front of Wang Lao Er's house and turned to run towards the village chief's house.

Village head Liu Guicun was feeding chickens in the yard, holding a basin of corn grits and scattering handfuls of them on the ground. The chickens circled around him, clucking.

"Uncle Liu, could I borrow your donkey cart? The old foreman hunted a wild boar and needs to take it to town."

Liu Guicun glanced at him, put the basin on the ground, and dusted off his hands. In the past, when villagers asked to borrow his car, he would always think twice.

Given Lin Nuo's past behavior, he definitely wouldn't have lent him money; it was common for him to borrow and not return it, or to damage it and not compensate for it.

But things are different now. Su Wanqing runs a school in the village to teach children to read, and her grandson also studied with her for a few days. When he came back, he even recited the characters for "person" to her.

Lin Nuo stopped playing cards and, I heard, even helped Qi Dawu with his wedding arrangements, taking his older brother into the mountains to make a living.

He couldn't refuse.

"OK."

Liu Guicun led the donkey out, harnessed it to the cart, and noted that it had turned black in some places due to its age.

However, this car is wider than Old Sun's, making it much more convenient.

Lin Nuo took out a dime from his pocket and handed it over:

"Uncle Liu, here's the fare."

Liu Guicun waved his hand:

"No, no need."

"Uncle Liu, take it. You might be able to borrow more in the future."

Lin Nuo stuffed the money into his hand.

Liu Guicun looked at the small amount of money, then at Lin Nuo, and finally accepted the money.

This kid is really different.

I never had this thought before.

Lin Nuo was also giving a heads-up, in case he really needed to borrow it often in the future.

Lin Nuo went home to get the rabbit skin and some windproof. Zhao Xiuying peeked out from the kitchen and saw that he was covered in mud and had bloodstains on the cuffs of his cotton-padded jacket. Her face changed instantly.

"Are you injured?"

"No, wild boar blood."

Zhao Xiuying said "Oh," and then turned her head away without asking any further questions.

Lin Nuo rummaged through the storage room and found the two rabbit pelts; their fur was thick and soft, gleaming with a grayish-brown sheen in the sunlight. He then picked up the basket of windbreaks.

When they reached the village entrance, Zhang the foreman was already there. He stood beside the donkey cart, a flintlock pistol resting on the cart, a cloth satchel draped over his shoulder, and a pipe in his hand, slowly puffing away.

The three men lifted the wild boar onto the truck. The boar was so heavy that the truck bed sank down, and the wheels sank into the snow. Lin Jiang gave it a push from behind, and the truck finally started moving.

Several women stood at the village entrance, carrying baskets, preparing to go to the town market. They looked at the wild boar on the cart, their voices low, but the whispers of rural women could actually be heard from ten meters away.

"This second son of the Lin family is incredibly lucky. He killed such a big wild boar."

"What luck? They learned from the old foreman. What kind of person is the old foreman? He talks more about the mountains than people."

"The second son of the Lin family, his wife almost ran away before. Now, how come his luck has turned around?"

"He's changed for the better. Look at him now, he doesn't gamble anymore, he doesn't drink anymore, and he goes into the mountains every day. Su Wanqing is a teacher now, and the two of them are living a good life together."

Lin Nuo heard this but didn't turn around. He touched the crossbow at his waist, and his lips twitched slightly.

The donkey cart swayed and wobbled forward. The wheels crunched over the snow, making a soft, rustling sound. Zhang, the foreman, sat on the cart's platform, his back against the wild boar.

Lin Nuo and Lin Jiang sat opposite each other. Lin Jiang's hand remained on the wild boar, stroking its bristles, as if confirming that it was real.

After all, we are farmers; in the past, we were lucky if we could even find a wild pheasant.

On the way, Zhang, the foreman, suddenly spoke up:

"Once we sell them, I'll take half. The rest, you two can each have half."

Lin Nuo paused for a moment, then shook his head:

"Uncle Zhang, you made this, what should we pay for it...?"

"Hunting rules."

Zhang interrupted him, his voice not loud:

"I'm the first one to finish today, so I get half. The rest of the work is yours to do, so you get the rest. It's only fair."

Lin Nuo opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed it back. He glanced at Zhang Batou's face; the old man's eyes were still closed, a pipe in his mouth, the tobacco burning red and shiny.

He now understood that the old foreman had kept quiet while the two of them were working, for a reason. According to hunting rules, only those who helped out could get a share of the money.

Lin Jiang wanted to say something, but Lin Nuo nudged his leg from below and shook her head.

"Okay, Uncle Zhang. I'll do as you say."

Zhang nodded and said nothing more.

Upon arriving in town, the donkey cart had just turned onto the main street when it attracted a crowd of onlookers.

The wild boar was enormous. It lay on the cart floor, its four legs tied up in the air, its tusks protruding, and its bristles black and stiff. The townspeople had never seen anything like it before, and they gathered around, bombarding each other with questions.

"Who hit this?"

"It was the old foreman who beat him up."

"The old foreman? Which old foreman?"

"Zhang, the foreman, from Song Village."

"Oh dear, that's an old hunter. I haven't heard of him in years."

Lin Nuo jumped out of the car, walked to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, and shouted inside:

"Brother Jun! Come out and see, there's a big shipment!"

Liu Jun was using an abacus behind the counter when he heard the sound. He looked up and peered over his glasses. He exclaimed "Hey!" and put down his abacus, running out.

His eyes lit up when he saw the wild boar on the cart. He strode over, circled the cart, patted the boar's belly, and then pried open its mouth to examine its tusks.

"Over 300 jin, good stuff."

Although wild boar has a strong odor and is troublesome to cook, such a large piece is still rare.

He rubbed his hands together, looked up and saw Zhang, and his expression changed.

Zhang, the foreman, was slowly getting off the vehicle, his cloth satchel draped around his waist, and he nodded to Liu Jun.

Liu Jun quickly took out cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it over with both hands:

"Uncle Zhang, you've come out of retirement again."

Zhang took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and took a puff.

"It doesn't matter whether he comes down the mountain or not. This wild calf is causing trouble when he goes down the mountain, so it's easier to just beat him up."

Liu Jun nodded and gave Lin Nuo a thumbs up:

"Nuozi, you're really lucky. You get to learn skills from Uncle Zhang."

Lin Nuo smiled but didn't reply.

Liu Jun called over four men to carry the wild boar down to the large scale. The hook of the scale was attached to the hemp rope binding the legs, and two men carried the scale beam to begin weighing it.

After the large scale was weighed.

"A total of 323 catties, wild boar is 5 mao per catty, so it's 161.5 yuan. Let's round it up to 162."

Lin Nuo nodded. He then took out the rabbit pelts from the basket and spread them out on the counter.

"Brother Jun, take a look at this one too."

Liu Jun picked up a piece of paper, held it up to the light, and felt the fur. It was a wild rabbit hunted in winter; the fur was thick, the hide was sturdy, the color was even, and there were no holes.

Good condition.

"Two yuan and fifty cents a piece. Three pieces for seven yuan and fifty cents."

Lin Nuo then took out the Saposhnikovia divaricata. Liu Jun grabbed a handful, smelled it, and examined its appearance. The roots were intact, without any mold, and had a strong medicinal aroma.

"Windproof, one yuan and two jiao per jin. You have two and a half jin, three yuan."

Liu Jun clattered away on his abacus, counted out a wad of cash from the drawer, and handed it to Lin Nuo.

Lin Nuo took the money, counted out half—eighty-one yuan—in front of Zhang the foreman, and handed it over with both hands:

"Uncle Zhang, this is for you."

Zhang took the money, put it in his pocket, and patted it. Then he took out his pipe from his waist and lit it again.

"Come see me the day after tomorrow morning."

Lin Nuo was secretly delighted. He touched the herbal medicine book in his pocket, knowing that the old foreman would be formally teaching him next time he went.

"Hey, Uncle Zhang."

"I'll call you a carriage."

Lin Nuo:

Zhang shook his head: "I'm going to see an old acquaintance. I don't know when I'll leave. You guys go back."

As he spoke, he picked up the musket, turned and walked west. His figure looked even thinner in the morning light, but his back was straight.

Lin Nuo watched his retreating figure for a while. He remembered what Old Zhou had said: Zhang Ba Tou talked more with the mountains than with people. But today, the old man had said quite a lot.

Liu Jun stood behind the counter, watching Zhang Batou's retreating figure, and shook his head:

"Nuozi, you're lucky. Many people would love to see Uncle Zhang's skills but can't."

Lin Nuo didn't reply, counted the money, and gave half to Lin Jiang.

The wild boar portion was 81 yuan, the windbreak 3 yuan, and the rabbit pelt 7.5 yuan, totaling 91.5 yuan. Subtracting the 81 yuan given to Zhang the foreman for the wild boar, 10.5 yuan is left? Wait a minute...

Lin Nuo mentally recalculated: 162 for the wild boar, 81 for Zhang Batou, and the remaining 81 for him and Lin Jiang. Three for the windbreak, 7.5 for the rabbit skin, totaling 10.5. A total of 91.5. Half for each of them, 45.75.

He counted out forty-five dollars and seventy-five cents from the stack of money and handed it over.

"Big brother, this is for you."

Lin Jiang looked at the wad of money but didn't take it. He rubbed his hand on his trouser leg a couple of times and his lips moved several times.

He might never get that money in his lifetime.

"Second brother, I..."

"Take it."

Lin Nuo stuffed the money into his hand:

"You're working for me, so you can't work for nothing. There's a long road ahead of you."

Lin Jiang's fingers gripped the wad of money, his knuckles turning white. He lowered his head, folded the money neatly, stuffed it into the inner pocket of his cotton-padded jacket, buttoned it up, and patted it down.

"……Why."

His voice sounded a little muffled.

Lin Nuo turned and went into the grocery store. The store counter was made of glass, and inside were displayed candies, pastries, and canned goods. He stood in front of the counter, looked around, and his gaze settled on the row of roast chickens.

The roast chicken was wrapped in oil paper, and the oil had seeped through the paper, leaving oil stains on the surface. It cost eight yuan a chicken.

"Give me one."

The sales clerk took the roast chicken off the counter, wrapped it in straw paper, then wrapped it in old newspaper, and tied it tightly with hemp rope. Lin Nuo took it and put it in his pocket.

Su Wanqing loves to eat chicken. In their past life in the South, they were poor and couldn't even afford a chicken leg. In this life, he wants to make up for everything he owes her, one by one.

Although during this period,

Lin Nuo's lips curled up slightly.

He walked out of the grocery store, the sunlight warming his face.

Wanqing will definitely be happy.

The donkey cart headed back. Lin Jiang sat on the cart, his hands still in his pockets, touching the wad of cash, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

He earned forty yuan in just one day, and now he understands why his second brother didn't want to farm.

Lin Nuo sat opposite him, a roast chicken tucked into his arms and the remaining money clutched in his hand. Thirty-seven yuan and seventy-five cents.

Lin Nuo now understood the advantage of having a gun; when dealing with such a large shipment, a gun was still the only option.

The donkey cart entered the village; it was almost noon. The sun shone down from above, casting short shadows at the feet.

Lin Nuo saw a figure flash past Liu Jian's house gate in the distance – Qi Dayong. The figure saw the donkey cart, turned around and went into the yard, slamming the gate shut with a "bang".

Lin Nuo squinted.

The 26th day of the first lunar month is just around the corner.

This guy probably just said something inappropriate while drunk.