After the wild boar collapsed, it twitched continuously, blood gushing from where the bamboo arrow had pierced. At such close range, the compound crossbow's killing power struck the boar dead instantly. The remaining piglets scattered in all directions, vanishing without a trace in the span of a single breath.
Liu Tiezhu burst out of the weeds, pulled out his hatchet, and put the boar out of its misery. After resting for over ten minutes, he butchered the boar, then hoisted a chunk of meat and headed back.
"Heavens, a wild boar! Tiezhu, you're incredible." Seeing Liu Tiezhu hauling back a massive boar leg, Second Uncle's eyes and drool nearly spilled everywhere.
Catching his breath, Liu Tiezhu said, "Lucky break—ran into that same herd of boars from last time. Too bad all the piglets got away." Carrying several hundred jin of meat up a dozen meters of mountain trail had worn him out.
Second Uncle gathered some dry firewood and lit a fire. The two took a few swigs of strong liquor, warming themselves up, then went back to haul the rest of the boar meat. Second Uncle sliced off a few pieces of boar meat, set them to roast over the fire, and handed the liquor to Liu Tiezhu. They drank a little more as Er Gouzi and Liu Tieshan arrived.
"Heavens, have all the mountain animals come running out?" Seeing the several large bags packed with meat, Liu Tieshan could hardly believe his eyes.
"Brother Tiezhu, what did you hunt this time?" Er Gouzi was also stunned—in just an hour, Liu Tiezhu had bagged another few hundred jin of meat.
Liu Tiezhu handed the liquor to Er Gouzi and said, "That herd of boars from last time."
"Haha, Brother Tiezhu's luck is truly unmatched." Gouzi took the liquor, downed a couple of gulps, then passed it to Liu Tieshan. "Brother Shan, have some too."
Liu Tieshan didn't stand on ceremony and drank from the bottle. They chatted for a while as the boar meat roasted to perfection. After a hearty meal, Er Gouzi and Liu Tieshan started moving the meat. Second Uncle stayed behind to guard it, while Liu Tiezhu continued scouting the weeds for prey.
Time flew by. When Er Gouzi and Liu Tieshan made their final trip up, they were faced with another two hundred jin of meat: three roe deer, a goat, and over a dozen pheasants. By then, it was two in the morning. Second Uncle suggested they stop—everyone was exhausted. Liu Tiezhu wasn't greedy and agreed.
They got home an hour later. After processing the game, they all crashed into sleep. Liu Tiezhu slept straight through until noon, when a commotion woke him.
The yard was packed with people, led by Liu Shan. "Everyone, be the judge. The annual feast is a big gathering, and these two families won't participate. Isn't that harming village unity?" "I say they don't want unity at all." "From now on, we shouldn't even bother telling them about village matters."
The neighbors jabbered on, their tones sharp. Liu Tieshan and Huang Xiumei stood red-faced, at a loss for words. Seeing how easily the couple was bullied, the neighbors grew bolder. "Look, they've got nothing to say." "I say we kick these two families out of Liu Family Village—no loss to unity." "Right, right, the village won't miss them anyway."
Liu Tiezhu stepped out, pulling his brother and sister-in-law behind him, and fixed his gaze on the neighbors. "What's your problem?"
"What's our problem?" Liu Changhai stepped forward, pointing at Liu Tieshan's nose. "I'm asking you two—why won't you join the annual feast?"
Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu couldn't help but laugh in anger and shot back bluntly, "What's it to you if I don't join?"
Liu Changhai was Liu Shan's lackey, always hanging around Liu Shan's house and sucking up. Liu Tiezhu had no patience for such bootlickers. "What do you mean, none of my business? Not joining the feast hurts everyone's unity." "So if we join, that fixes unity?" Liu Tiezhu glared at Liu Changhai and continued, "If I remember right, your family's fought with how many others in this village? Will that feast make you all friends again?"
At this, Liu Changhai froze like a mute. Over the years, to curry favor with Liu Shan, he'd stirred up plenty of conflicts with neighbors. Leaning on Liu Shan's support, his son Liu Zhibiao had often brawled with them too. Now Liu Tiezhu had aired this dirty laundry, leaving him humiliated.
Seeing Liu Changhai silenced, Liu Shan quickly stepped in to salvage the situation. "Tiezhu, how can you talk like that?" "It's precisely because neighbors have conflicts that I organize this feast—to get the village youth together and settle disputes through discussion." "Your two families not joining sets a terrible example."
Liu Tiezhu couldn't help but laugh at Liu Shan's words, which made the old man's face darken. "Liu Tiezhu, what's that supposed to mean? Am I wrong?" "Village chief, you know exactly what I mean." "I also know your real purpose behind organizing this feast."
Liu Tiezhu's insinuations made Liu Shan lose face. He'd planned to bring a few families to pressure the Tiezhu household into submission. He never expected Liu Tiezhu to show no respect, nearly exposing his scheme to skim the villagers' meat and rice. "Liu Tiezhu, say it clearly." "I organize the feast for unity, and you're making it sound like I'm wrong?" "If you don't give me a straight answer today, we're not leaving, and your family's feeding us."
When soft tactics failed, Liu Shan tried the hard approach, threatening to force Liu Tiezhu's family into line. *Liu Shan, since you're so shameless, don't blame me.* Liu Tiezhu thought to himself, then said, "Village chief, you're just using the feast as a front to fleece everyone." "You say it's for unity, but after all these years, has the village united?" "Have you ever disclosed how much rice and meat the villagers handed in each year?" "Where did the leftovers end up?"
These three questions struck Liu Shan dumb, his arrogance deflated. "You, you, you..." Red-faced, Liu Shan pointed at Liu Tiezhu, unable to spit out a word. "In past years, when harvests were decent, asking for some rice and meat was fine." "But this year, with the heavy snow disaster, you're still fleecing us? Where's your conscience? Eaten by a dog?"
Liu Tiezhu showed no mercy, pressing the attack. Liu Shan, enraged and humiliated, roared, "Nonsense! When have I ever cheated the villagers out of a single cent?" "If you two won't join, fine, but don't spout divisive talk." "Right, right, the village chief is always fair. You're slandering him with ill intent." "From now on, no one should associate with these two families—they're full of malice." "Exactly, cut ties with them." "It's shameful to have neighbors like them." "Living in the same village as them is a disgrace."
The neighbors pointed at Liu Tiezhu, shouting abuse. Liu Tiezhu pointed to the yard gate. "Get out. All of you, get out." He couldn't be bothered to argue with these neighbors who couldn't tell right from wrong. The blizzard was coming soon—they'd have their turn to cry.