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Hearing “Red hawthorn Forest,” Wang Yida silently cursed,
“Daniu, quickly call your brothers and nephews—get more people, hurry!”
Wang Daniu turned and ran outside immediately. Wang Yida grabbed a shoulder pole nearby and rushed out as well.
Madam L saw this and ran to the kitchen, grabbing a kitchen knife, following behind.
Wang San had no time to think and ran after them too.
Li Xiaohua spun around, stomped her foot, grabbed a hoe, and ran out without closing the door.
Wang Daniu was fast; by the time Wang Yida ran out, he had already brought over a dozen people running this way.
When everyone rushed to the Red hawthorn Forest, they were stunned by the scenes before them.
Wang Man was utterly disheveled, sitting astride the large snake. One hand pressed firmly on its vital point, while the other held a stone, pounding the snake’s head again and again.
The snake’s head was now a bloody mess, its body limp—it looked dead.
Wang Man herself was badly injured; her hair was tangled, her clothes torn in several places, and her shoes were missing.
Her bare feet were covered in blood—whether it was hers or the snake’s was unclear, but the sight was alarming.
Wang San froze for a moment, then anxiously rushed forward, shouting,
“Manman, Madam Wang, is the big snake already dead?”
Wang Man was completely exhausted and, hearing this, closed her eyes and collapsed forward.
Wang San quickly caught her, holding her in his arms.
He reached under her nose to check for breath and found she was still alive, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Wang Yida and the others arrived as well, and seeing the dead snake before them, they all sighed deeply.
Wang Gui, the youngest son of Third Uncle, asked,
“Is this the same big snake that was trying to eat people a couple of days ago?”
Wang Qing nodded,
“It must be the one. Just look at how huge its body is.”
“I’ve never seen such a big snake before. Could it be some kind of spirit or demon?”
“Haha, even if it was trying to become a spirit, it still couldn’t beat Madam Wang. Look, she’s the one who killed it.”
Everyone started chatting loudly, exchanging their thoughts.
Fourth Uncle Wang Yilou, with a serious expression, asked,
“Wang San, did you bring Miss Man here? That’s reckless—she’s just a young girl…”
He was about to say, “What if the snake had eaten her?”
But when he saw the large snake lying limp on the ground, he didn’t know what else to say.
At this moment, Wang San regained his composure and shook his head, saying,
“No, no, Madam Wang came up with a recipe using this red hawthorn fruit to make candied hawthorn sticks to sell.
Later, the recipe was bought by Old Jin from the gambling house. Madam Wang thought that since everyone has been so kind to us, she wanted to pick some and make it to give to you all. Anyway, they can’t be sold anymore.”
Hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned.
“You’re saying these red hawthorn fruits can still be sold?
This sour and astringent thing isn’t tasty at all—how could anyone buy it?”
Li Xiaohua asked in confusion.
“Yeah, eating too much of this not only makes your teeth sore, but also causes digestive issues. It makes you crave rice and meat a lot,” said Jiang Maitian, Wang Daniu’s wife.
This was also why hardly anyone bothered to pick them.
Wang Daniu and the others were making quite a commotion, and many villagers started coming over one after another.
Some came wanting to help, while others were just there for the spectacle.
Seeing the giant snake, everyone was so frightened that they kept backing away.
“Good heavens, this snake looks even bigger than the one from a couple of years ago. I wonder what it’s been eating to grow so large?”
Someone said this, clearly having seen the snake from a few years back.
Another immediately disagreed,
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? I think the pattern on this snake looks different from the one a few years ago. Maybe they aren’t the same snake?”
“Wow, now that you mention it, could it be there’s more than one big snake in these mountains?
Good heavens, that’s terrifying! Let’s get out of here quickly and not linger. If another one shows up, it could be the death of us.”
At this moment, the village chief arrived, glanced at the scene, and asked,
“Wang San, is Miss Manman hurt?”
He had a fairly good impression of the young girl.
Wang San didn’t know how to answer, but since Wang Man was still breathing, he didn’t panic.
Wang Man struggled to open her eyes and weakly waved her hand, saying,
“I’m not hurt, just a little exhausted.
Big Uncle, have the cousins help carry this big snake back, and those two baskets of red hawthorn fruit as well.
Wang San, carry me back—I can’t walk anymore.”
She had used all her strength fighting the snake. Forget walking, even standing up was a struggle.
Wang Ernniu lifted the upper half of the big snake and said,
“Wow, it’s pretty heavy—probably weighs over a hundred jin.”
Wang San carried Wang Man walking in front, while behind them Wang Daniu and Wang Ernniu carried the snake.
Wang Qing and Wang Gen each carried a basket of red hawthorn fruit on their backs, and the others followed behind.
The village chief reminded them,
“Wang San, once you bring this big snake home, don’t waste it.
Have your big uncle and the others take it to the tavern in town to sell. You can make some silver to help support the household.”
He didn’t know about the gambling house’s affairs and was only thinking about selling some silver to safely get through the coming winter.
As the village chief, he didn’t want to see anyone in his village freeze to death.
Wang San said nothing. His mind was blank and his feelings complicated—he didn’t want to think too much.
Wang Yida spoke up,
“Village Chief, don’t worry, she won’t be able to say otherwise. Look at Miss Manman—after all, it’s the snake she killed.”
He trusted that Wang Man was clear-headed and wouldn’t act foolishly.
From what the elders said, Wang Man could keep Wang San in check.
Aunt Ma Liu hadn’t yet heard what had happened and was cleaning the courtyard at home.
Just as she finished sweeping and was about to say she’d wash the clothes, a large crowd suddenly barged in.
She was startled and didn’t have time to ask questions before hearing Wang Qing’s voice,
“Aunt Ma Liu, please let us through.”
Aunt Ma Liu looked confused—what was this young man up to?
They still stepped aside, but when they saw Wang San carrying Wang Man on his back, their eyes instantly welled up with tears.
“Manya, what happened to you? Oh my, why are you hurt? There’s so much blood.”
Wang Man, who had recovered quite a bit, jumped down from Wang San’s back, leaned against the wall, and sat on a nearby stool, replying:
“It’s nothing, it’s not my blood.”
Aunt Ma believed Wang Man’s words completely—if she said it wasn’t her blood, then it wasn’t.
Then, turning her head toward Wang Daniu and his brother carrying the snake, her mouth opened, eyes closed, and she fainted softly to the ground.
Poor Wang San’s calves trembled uncontrollably; he mustered all his strength to carry Wang Man back, and before he could catch his breath, his mother fainted again.
Madam Lu helped Aunt Ma up and shouted at the still-stunned Wang San:
“What are you standing there for? Hurry and help your mother back inside!”
Wang San let out an “Oh,” and just as he was about to help, Aunt Ma, having regained consciousness, weakly waved him off:
“I’m your mother, you scared me to death! Where did this huge snake come from? How did you bring it into our home?”
Everyone else…
This snake was killed by your daughter-in-law—if she hadn’t brought it home, do you really think someone else would have dared to carry it in?