Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

With Ma Dadan's promise, everyone's enthusiasm was instantly reignited.

No one dared to provoke the blood-covered, grim-faced monster next to them anymore, and they all rolled up their sleeves and ran over to help Ma Dadan move the wild boar.

As if afraid that if they were too slow, the half-pig would fly away, the entrance to the cave was quickly filled with the activity of setting up a pot, fetching water, and gathering firewood. Several strong men worked together to hang the wild boar upside down on a wooden frame, with a basin underneath to catch the blood.

Although they were all mediocre craftsmen, and the process of poaching and scraping made a mess of the place, everyone had a smile on their face.

Compared to the lively scene over there, Jiang Xing's place seemed rather lonely. A 300-pound porcupine lay on several pieces of spread-out oilcloth, and she squatted beside it, trying to pry open the thick skin on the pig's belly with a short knife.

The blade got stuck in the tendon as soon as it went in. She couldn't use her left arm, so she could only use her right hand to press down on the handle and cut downwards. With each inch she pushed, she had to gasp for breath. Cold sweat from the pain mixed with the undried blood on her forehead and dripped down.

"Give me the knife." Shen Dehou appeared behind her at some point, bent down, and took the knife from her, not minding that she was covered in blood.

After settling the two children in, Widow Sun quickly came over. She was quiet and didn't say much. She squatted down to help, her eyes occasionally glancing at Jiang Xing's swollen and numb left arm.

Dr. Gu also arrived. His first glance fell on Jiang Xing's arm. The wound had already been treated. He shook his head. This girl really isn't afraid of death!

The largest porcupine quill on the ground was as long as a forearm, with a sharp, cone-like tip.

Old Doctor Gu picked up a quill and examined it closely for a while. His white beard twitched twice. He turned and walked to Jiang Xing's side, pointing to the quill on the ground with a slightly embarrassed expression: "Jiang girl, these porcupine quills... are good medicinal materials. They can clear heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and calm the nerves. If you don't need them, could you... let this old man pick out a few intact ones?"

"Take whichever you like." Jiang Xing didn't even look up, pointing to the pile of sharp thorns pulled from the pig's back next to him: "Take whichever one you like."

Dr. Gu immediately squatted down and carefully picked out four or five of the best-shaped main thorns from the scattered thorns. He wrapped them in cloth and put them into his medicine box, his careful manner making it seem as if he were holding a bag of gold ingots.

With many people working together, things moved quickly. Shen Dehou took the lead, while Widow Sun and Doctor Gu assisted. In less than half an hour, the entire porcupine's meat was neatly divided into several large pieces.

The ribs were kept separate from the hind legs, and even the fat was sliced ​​off separately and set aside.

Zhang found a few clean oilcloths and spread them on the ground. Silently, she lowered her head, her eyes red, and picked up a piece of coarse salt to rub repeatedly on the wild boar meat. She couldn't help but mutter, "How many times must I have to endure this to get this meat..." Her voice trembled slightly, and hot tears finally slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the oilcloths.

The little calf squatted beside her, looking at the shocking wound on her sister's arm, and only dared to cry softly, her tears dripping onto the freshly marinated meat.

Before long, Ma Dadan had also finished dealing with the wild boar.

He asked Li Shitou to help divide the meat, while he carried Jiang Xing's half of the pork and strode over to Jiang Xing's resting place.

He had just put down half a pig when Jiang Xing looked up at him, his eyes clearly saying: Put it down and leave.

Feeling inexplicably guilty under her gaze, Ma Dadan touched his nose, muttered "Thanks," and turned to leave.

Jiang Xing handed the half-pig to Zhang Shi and his third uncle to handle, then stood up and walked to the oilcloth next to the meat container.

She squatted down and used a short knife to cut three large pieces of meat, each one thick and weighing at least ten pounds.

She tied the meat together with a few strands of dry grass, stood up, and walked away.

She first went to Shen Dehou's shop.

Shen Dehou had just washed off the bloody handprints on his body and was resting by the cart when he saw Jiang Xing carrying meat over and was stunned for a moment.

Jiang Xing put the meat on his cart and said, "Village Chief, thank you for taking care of me these past few days."

Shen Dehou did not refuse and nodded to accept it.

When the meat was delivered to Widow Sun's bedside, she was feeding Niu Niu water. Upon seeing such a large piece of meat, her hand trembled and she almost knocked over the bowl.

She opened her mouth, but something seemed to be blocking her throat. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Miss Jiang... this is too much. You're hurting yourself. You should take care of yourself first..."

"Take it." Jiang Xing said and left.

Finally, it was delivered to Dr. Gu's medicine box. Dr. Gu was putting the selected porcupine quills into the medicine box when he looked up and saw Jiang Xing's back already walking away.

He stared at the meat in silence for a moment, then wiped his presbyopia with his sleeve and continued to sort through his porcupine quills.

These few pieces of meat, once delivered, did not escape the eyes of those with ulterior motives. The eldest son's family and Jiang Caimao of the Jiang family were standing by the oxcart, watching Jiang Xing deliver meat to these three families. Even Widow Sun received some, but they, his "relatives," did not, and their faces looked ashen.

Jiang Dazhu sat on the edge of the cart, silent, his legs dangling below the edge.

"Don't you think she's an ingrate?" Zhou Shi clutched the back of his shirt, lowering her voice but unable to suppress her sour resentment. "She gave them to two people, two of them! She wouldn't even give them to that outsider, Widow Sun. And you don't even say anything to her! Our Qingshan is a scholar, after all. He'll pass the imperial examinations and become a scholar, which would bring honor to our ancestors! It's only right that she comes to us to curry favor, why do we have to beg her?"

Jiang Dazhu got annoyed by her tugging, moved half an inch to the side, and said in a muffled voice, "If you want to go, go by yourself, don't take me with you."

Zhou was seething with hatred, but she dared not. The memory of that night in the village was still etched in her mind: Jiang Xing, covered in blood, standing amidst a pile of corpses—that image was more powerful than any reasoning.

So after being rebuffed by Jiang Dazhu, she could only glare at Jiang Xing from afar through the crowd with resentment and unwillingness, before retreating back to her cart with a pang of heartache.

Deep inside the cave, He Daliang's family also saw the commotion outside.

He Daliang, with strips of cloth wrapped around his shoulders, leaned against the bedding. He stared in Jiang Xing's direction for a long time, his lips moving several times before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "If we hadn't fallen out, that meat would be ours now."

Even at this point, all he could think about was how to take what belonged to others.

Yang Cuihua squatted down beside him, head down, without responding. Before her eyes was the image of Jiang Xing dragging a porcupine, covered in blood, as he walked out of the woods.

That child was afraid of even a leech when he was little, how did he become like this?

If I hadn't been so ruthless, the mother and daughter wouldn't be in this state, worse than enemies.

She gripped the half-peeled yam tightly in her hand, her fingers trembling uncontrollably, whether from fear or regret.