Chapter 19: The Commune President Decides on a Reward

News of Wang Jianguo’s heroic capture of the wild boar quickly spread throughout their first production team; every household, old and young, knew about it.

Moreover, starting from the first production team, the story spread to surrounding production teams.

Although there were no cell phones, no social media, or Douyin (TikTok) back then, everyone had relatives and friends. Word spread like wildfire—ten told ten, and ten told a hundred.

Thus, through word of mouth, the story of Wang Jianguo from the first production team, his heroic capture of the wild boar, protecting the people’s property and lives, and improving the team’s food supply, became widely known.

Instantly, everyone’s impression of Wang Jianguo changed dramatically.

The leap from “wild man” to hero was significant.

Wang Jianguo even became an idol for many young people. His handsome looks made him a dream lover for many young girls.

“Brother-in-law, you’re amazing! I heard that wild boar was huge, several hundred pounds, and you took it down easily!” Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu, though they hadn’t witnessed the event, had heard about their brother-in-law’s feat from their friends. They now understood they shouldn’t call him “brother,” but “brother-in-law.”

Wang Jianguo replied, “It’s nothing. You know I often hunted in the mountains, so this was child’s play.”

Seeing others admire their brother-in-law so much, yet he remained so modest, this kind of demeanor and magnanimity were truly rare.

Their brother-in-law’s image in Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu’s minds immediately grew taller.

“Brother-in-law, can you teach us how to hunt and catch wild boars?” Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu looked at Wang Jianguo with eager eyes.

Seeing his two younger brothers’ longing gazes, Wang Jianguo smiled and said, “Of course. If you want to learn, brother-in-law will teach you. It’s good to have more skills; you can never have too many.”

“Great, brother-in-law is the best!” Learning that Wang Jianguo was willing to teach them, Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu were so happy they almost jumped for joy.

After all, every boy has a hero dream, a dream of being strong. They innately like powerful things and conquering the world.

To become like their brother-in-law, capable of taking down a wild boar alone, becoming a respected hero throughout the region – that was their dream.

“Brother-in-law, let me help you fetch water,” Huang Yuehu said, scooping water with a gourd ladle and rinsing a large pot.

Huang Yueqiang wasn’t to be outdone. “Brother-in-law, I’ll help you build the fire.” He immediately carried a large armful of firewood from the woodshed and lit a match to start a fire.

The two brothers actively helped, trying their best to please Wang Jianguo. Their goal was clear: they wanted their brother-in-law to teach them his skills.

They wanted to be strong! They wanted to be heroes!

In the past, they hadn’t understood, always hanging out with some village hoodlums, catching loaches, robbing bird nests, sometimes even stealing other people’s radishes and apples. In short, they did nothing good and only caused trouble.

Now they finally understood that such a life had no future, and that they would be ruined if they continued that way.

They had to do as their sister said, study hard to have a future. And now they knew they needed to be like their brother-in-law, develop skills, become heroes, and protect themselves and others.

Actions speak louder than words; this is the power of example.

Although children are young, they are not stupid. They see what adults are like, remember it, and know right from wrong.

Wang Jianguo cleaned the wild boar meat and salted some of it.

Because the team leader had given them extra, they couldn’t eat it all at once. It was better to salt it and eat it over a few days.

Wang Jianguo also knew his wife was pregnant and couldn’t eat strong flavors, so he wouldn’t use too much salt. He would use plenty of scallions, ginger, and garlic to remove the gamey smell, and then stir-fry some vegetables. This would not only mask the boar’s smell but also make the dish more delicious.

Although Huang Yuelan couldn’t stand the smell of meat, especially greasy smells, finding them nauseating even from a distance,

Wang Jianguo’s cooking still emitted an enticing aroma, and she didn’t find it smelly at all.

Soon, Wang Jianguo finished cooking the meal. Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu quickly set the table, and everyone gathered around to eat.

“Yuelan, this wild boar meat isn’t gamey at all. Try some,” Wang Jianguo said, placing some in Huang Yuelan’s bowl.

Huang Yuelan smelled the fragrant food, finding it very appealing. The dish looked delicious, a feast for the eyes, and she didn’t feel nauseous at all.

Picking up her bowl, Huang Yuelan began to eat. “Not bad, not bad. The wild boar meat is well-prepared, really well-cooked.”

This wasn’t flattery. To cook wild boar meat so tender and delicious, without any gamey smell, and with a good chew, that was a real skill.

“If you like it, eat more. It’s not just for you; the little one in your belly needs to eat too,” Wang Jianguo said, thoughtfully putting more food on Huang Yuelan’s plate.

Hearing that their sister was pregnant, Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu understood that their sister was pregnant.

“Sister, you have a baby in your belly?”

“Sister, are you pregnant?”

They had been wondering why their sister, who had always been diligent, whether at the Huang family’s old house or after marrying their brother-in-law, usually got up early to work,

had recently become so lazy and loved to sleep in. But their brother-in-law wasn’t angry; he seemed happier than ever.

They had been puzzled, but now they finally understood that their sister was pregnant.

This was wonderful.

After all, they knew many people in the village said their sister couldn’t have children, calling her a hen that couldn’t lay eggs.

They had even fought with those people over it.

Now that they knew their sister was pregnant and had a baby, the two brothers were genuinely happy.

Huang Yuelan smiled and nodded. “Yes, you two don’t worry. Even though I have a child, I will still love you both the same. You two must study hard and make something of yourselves. Don’t let others look down on us.”

“Okay, sister, we’re really happy for you.”

The family atmosphere was very harmonious, completely different from their time at the Huang family’s old house.

Before, when their uncle and the others ate, they could only stand at the kitchen door and watch, occasionally being scolded. They lived in constant fear.

Now they felt that a family didn’t have to be full of scheming and fighting over food, arguing incessantly, and plotting against each other. A family could be full of harmony and love.

Wang Jianguo’s wild boar meat was especially delicious. Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu ate even the scallions, ginger, and garlic on the plate.

“Is Huang Yueqiang home?”

Hearing someone call him at the door, Huang Yueqiang put down his chopsticks and went out.

“Brother Sanpang, what’s up?”

The visitor was Liu Sanpang, a village loafer who didn’t go to school. Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu used to hang out with him.

“Want to go to the back mountain to play this afternoon?” Liu Sanpang asked Huang Yueqiang.

Huang Yueqiang refused without hesitation. “I have to help my brother dig the land this afternoon. The team leader just assigned our family a private plot. You guys go ahead.”

“Okay, then I’ll go.”

Back in the house, Huang Yuelan said, “If you finish your homework, you can go play. You don’t have to help with the work every day.”

“It’s okay, sis. We don’t have time to help with the housework when we’re at school. Now that we’re on vacation, we should help out more, and not be as irresponsible as before,” Huang Yueqiang said. He knew this wasn’t the main reason; the main reason was that he had already seen through Liu Sanpang’s true nature.

Liu Sanpang was three years older than them and naturally more cunning.

Before, they hadn’t understood and thought Liu Sanpang was willing to play with them, that he was loyal. But now they understood that Liu Sanpang was using them.

Whenever he did something bad, he came up with the plan, but they were the ones who carried it out.

If things went well, they split the stolen goods three ways. But if they were caught, he would distance himself and let them take the blame.

He was too malicious, good at using others, then abandoning them when things went wrong, leaving them to take the fall.

This guy was really untrustworthy; they couldn’t associate with him.

Seeing her brothers being so sensible, Huang Yuelan felt very relieved. Before, they had only known how to play and were very rebellious. Now they knew how to help reduce the family’s burden. They had improved tremendously.

Team leader Fan Ming reported the wild boar incident to his superiors. In his report, he didn’t take all the credit, as the whole village knew what happened, making it impossible to claim all the credit.

In his report, he highlighted Wang Jianguo’s bravery and leadership.

After discovering the wild boar attacking villagers, he immediately found Wang Jianguo, who quickly subdued the boar, preventing further escalation and neutralizing the danger.

The commune president read Fan Ming’s report and admired Fan Ming’s decisiveness and even more so Wang Jianguo’s bravery and strength.

After all, a two-hundred-pound wild boar wasn’t easy to handle. Several villagers might not be able to subdue it, but Wang Jianguo easily controlled it. How different was this from Wu Song fighting the tiger?

Wu Song was the hero who fought the tiger, and Wang Jianguo was the Red Flag Commune’s hero who fought the boar.

Although the beasts were different, the nature of the act was the same: eliminating a threat to the people!

Therefore, the commune president immediately decided to reward Wang Jianguo, and with a substantial reward.