Chapter 22: Wild Boars Coming Down the Mountain?

Thanks to Jiang Yuman’s quick reflexes, she managed to avoid spilling the food on the person in front of her.

Stepping aside to steady herself, her gaze landed on the two red bows tied in braids on the visitor’s head.

In the book, the iconic description of Yao Simeng includes the red bows in her braids.

Looking up, she saw a girl dressed in military green clothing with a standard oval face.

It was none other than the original book’s female lead, Yao Simeng.

Yao Simeng was surprised to see Jiang Yuman. She had followed her father to mediate during the argument yesterday and knew Jiang Yuman was Fu Jingchen’s wife.

Now, looking at her beautiful face, her expression was somewhat complicated.

Yao Simeng had lived two lives. In her previous life, the Fu family had also been sent down for reform, but after a couple of years, they returned to the capital and rose to prominence, becoming people whom the villagers could only dream of.

During that time, Jiang Yuman had never appeared in her life.

Only Fu Jingchen, Fu Haitang, and Fu Wangshan were present. Fu Jian had died not long after they arrived.

In this life, Jiang Yuman inexplicably accompanied the Fu family to the countryside.

And Fu Jian didn’t seem to be the sickly person he had been before.

This left her feeling very complex: in her previous life, she had been betrayed by a scummy youth, and now she worried that everything predetermined might differ from her memories.

Could she still change her fate?

“You must be the team leader’s daughter, right?” Finally, Jiang Yuman took the initiative to speak.

She didn’t want to have any conflict with Yao Simeng unnecessarily.

As the original book’s female lead, Yao Simeng was quite lucky and had her previous life’s memories as an advantage.

In situations where there was no conflict of interest between them, there was no need to be confrontational from the very start.

“Yes, sister. Sorry, our firewood ran out at home, so I came to get some and almost bumped into you,” Yao Simeng replied politely.

She didn’t know why Jiang Yuman was there, but instinctively, she didn’t feel very comfortable around her.

It felt as if something she strongly desired was being taken away from her.

“It’s nothing,” Jiang Yuman waved her hand. “You carry on; I’ll head back inside first.”

After saying that, she turned and carried the dishes back into the house.

Yao Simeng watched Jiang Yuman’s retreating figure, her expression deepening.

Besides Jiang Yuman, she had already been down for several days, and many events had lined up.

However, as long as that event happened tomorrow, it would indicate that her memories were generally accurate…

…

At noon, when the Fu family finished work, they were once again enjoying a hearty meal.

At the dining table, Fu Haitang spoke about something she had heard while working: “Dad, brother, I heard that wild boars have been coming down from the mountains recently, and the team is planning to catch them?”

Fu Wangshan replied in a deep voice, “Who did you hear that from?”

Wild boars were considered one of the fierce beasts of the mountains, often rolling around in the stones and bushes, their tough skin making them nearly impervious to weapons, and they were extremely difficult to handle.

Especially their tusks; if one were accidentally gored, they might not die but would definitely be injured.

How could the team even think about hunting wild boars?

“I heard the team leader discussing it with a few men by the field.”

Fu Haitang worked in the fields next to Yao Anguo, and they hadn’t hidden their discussions from the others.

“The team leader said that wild boars from the back mountain have come down, running into the fields to eat the crops. Some villagers tried to stop them and two villagers died.”

The back mountain team was very close to the Shi Nuanzi team. After this incident occurred, the team organized a group of young people to go up the mountain to investigate the situation.

Upon investigation, they found that there was a significant number of wild boars, both males and females, along with piglets—at least twenty of them!

What was even more alarming was that they were moving in the direction of the Shi Nuanzi team.

It was currently harvest season, and the grain not only needed to be allocated to the villagers but also had to be submitted to the commune.

If the crops in the fields were ravaged by so many wild boars, the upcoming winter would surely be difficult!

During the lean seasons next year, everyone would experience hunger.

The captain of the back mountain team quickly informed Yao Anguo of the situation.

Yao Anguo realized they couldn’t just sit idly by and decided to organize the youth to go up the mountain and drive away the wild boars.

At this moment, Jiang Yuman, who was sitting nearby, tightened her grip on her chopsticks.

She remembered this incident!

In the book, this group of wild boars would come to the Shi Nuanzi team that night to wreak havoc on the crops!

Angry, Yao Anguo borrowed a hunting rifle from the police station and organized the villagers to hunt the wild boars. However, due to poor coordination, someone sounded the alarm before the traps were set.

Startled, the wild boars scattered in all directions, avoiding the traps.

Seeing the crowd of villagers running out, the boars seemed to have found a target and wildly chased after them.

The villagers didn’t know how to use rifles, and they couldn’t outrun the wild boars, nor could they climb trees in time.

Several men were gored by the boars, breaking their legs or arms, and some even lost their eyesight; the losses were catastrophic.

Afterward, due to Yao Anguo’s poor judgment, he lost his position as the team leader.

In the aftermath, Yao Simeng could not stop her father and had to replace the person who had sounded the alarm.

In the end, it cost a few people minor injuries to drive away the wild boars.

As for the Fu family, they didn’t participate at all because Fu’s mother was devastated by grief.

Jiang Yuman hadn’t thought about this incident since it wasn’t closely related to the later plot.

“Wild boars coming down from the mountains is very dangerous, Yuman. From now on, when we go to work, you should stay indoors,” Fu’s mother worriedly advised.

“Don’t worry, Mom. There’s nothing at home; wild boars won’t come here,” Jiang Yuman reassured her.

“Exactly!” Fu Haitang chimed in, then looked at her father and brother. “Dad, brother, I heard they’re organizing a team tonight to borrow rifles for tomorrow’s hunt.”

“Didn’t you have a reputation as a sharpshooter in the army? Shouldn’t you give it a try?”

She had heard that hunting wild boars would yield a lot of meat, so she was quite eager.

With her brother’s shooting skills, wouldn’t it be an easy task?

“No!” Fu’s mother immediately opposed, poking Fu Haitang’s forehead with her finger. “You silly girl! Do you know how terrifying wild boars are?”

If her son or husband were to get hurt, it would cost her life!

After speaking, Fu’s mother turned to Fu Wangshan, “Old man, don’t you think so?”

But Fu Wangshan didn’t nod; instead, he asked Fu Haitang, “Did you hear correctly? They said they were going to borrow rifles?”

“Yes,” Fu Haitang rubbed her forehead and nodded affirmatively.

“We’ll ask about it this afternoon,” Fu Wangshan said, glancing at Fu Jingchen.

The father and son exchanged looks with Jiang Yuman. If they could indeed hunt wild boars, it would provide security for her and the baby.

Moreover, there were other reasons.

Although they had connections, they were still seen as outsiders in the villagers’ eyes. They needed to establish a positive image through actions to protect their family.

Hunting wild boars was the perfect opportunity.

Jiang Yuman hadn’t expected these two to be so interested, and she looked up in disbelief.