Era: Seven money-losing girls? They're trying to trick me into having a daughter again!

"Did you see that, David?!"

Wu Shaoli became more and more excited as she rode, but she still didn't dare to look back, only shouting loudly, "I've learned to ride a bicycle!"

Fang Wei chuckled softly from behind, loosening his grip on the back seat slightly, but not completely letting go.

Just as Wu Shaoli was barely able to complete a full lap, a series of chaotic footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the village entrance.

Fang Wei's ears twitched.

He gripped the back seat with one hand and pressed down on Wu Shaoli's shoulder with the other, saying in a deep voice, "Put your feet on the ground and stop."

Wu Shaoli was startled and stepped on the ground with both feet at the same time. The front of the car wobbled twice before it stabilized.

She turned her head and followed Fang Wei's gaze toward the village entrance.

Several burning torches came into view, and in their firelight, seven or eight figures were hurrying toward the threshing ground.

The leader was an old man in his fifties, wearing a gray cloth jacket with his trousers rolled up above his knees.

Fang Wei raised an eyebrow.

Isn't this Village Chief Hu from Changtian Village? Why is he suddenly here in their village?

Behind Village Chief Hu were five or six men, all of whom looked quite strong, but they looked like they hadn't slept for several days.

As soon as Village Chief Hu reached the threshing ground, he recognized Fang Wei at a glance and immediately shouted, "Fang Wei!"

Fang Wei helped Wu Shaoli out of the car and made her stand aside, frowning as he looked at the anxious old man in front of him.

"Village Chief Hu, what are you doing in the middle of the night...?"

"Fang Wei! Our Changtian Village has been hit by a major disaster!"

Village Chief Hu stamped his feet anxiously, his voice hoarse as he said, "We have a large cornfield in our village, and it's been attacked by wild boars every night for the past few days!"

Fang Wei frowned: "A herd of wild boars?"

"Yes! A herd of wild boars!"

A man behind Village Chief Hu chimed in, "They arrived the night before last and took over that piece of land at the foot of the mountain!"

"They came again the day before yesterday and last night! Most of the corn cobs in our village's fields were eaten, and the rest were trampled into the mud!"

"We stayed up all night on the field, waving torches and banging on them with iron basins, but those beasts weren't afraid at all!"

Fang Wei's voice turned serious as he asked, "How much land did you lose?"

"Eight...eight acres of land..."

Village Chief Hu stretched out a calloused hand, pointing each finger upwards. "Eight mu of cornfields, all gone!"

His lips moved a few times, then he suddenly bent over.

"Fang Wei, we heard that the night before last, you led the people of Laotang Village to wipe out eight wild boars in one night, and you even personally killed that 300-pound boar!"

"Village Chief Hu!"

Fang Wei was startled by Village Chief Hu's posture and quickly reached out to help him up: "We can talk things out! Don't be like this!"

"We don't have anyone in our Nagata village capable of leading a hunting expedition..."

Village Chief Hu remained bent over, his hands gripping Fang Wei's arms tightly. "I, Old Hu, have been village chief for twenty years, and I've never asked anyone for anything!"

"I'm begging you today: go to our Changtian Village and take command, lead the way in wiping out those beasts!"

The five or six men behind him also spoke up.

"Fang Wei! As long as you're willing to go, Changtian Village is willing to agree to any conditions!"

"Please! The food supplies for dozens of families in our village are all in the fields! If we can't even keep what's left... people will really starve to death this winter!"

Wu Shaoli stood behind Fang Wei, looking at the group of anxious and exhausted men, and then turned to look at Fang Wei's profile.

Fang Wei gripped the bicycle handlebars tightly, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Village Chief Hu, I cannot agree to this right now."

"What?"

Village Chief Hu suddenly looked up at Fang Wei and said urgently, "Fang Wei, as long as you—"

"Let me finish what I have to say first."

Seeing that the men wanted to speak, Fang Wei stopped them from saying anything.

"Now is the time when the crops are ripe, and there are definitely wild boars in the mountains not only in our two villages, but also in other villages."

"Our village did indeed hunt eight wild boars the night before last, but that was just good luck."

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Hu became anxious again: "Fang Wei—"

"Village Chief Hu!"

Fang Wei raised his voice helplessly and looked at him, saying, "I haven't finished speaking yet."

"well."

Village Chief Hu could only nod haphazardly, repeatedly saying, "You speak first, and we'll talk after you've finished."

"What I meant was that the wild boars in the mountains are definitely not just causing trouble in our two villages."

Seeing that no one interrupted, Fang Wei continued, "They wander around everywhere. Today they're in your village, tomorrow they might be in our village, and the day after tomorrow they'll be in another village."

"So a few people alone can't stop them."

"I've finished speaking."

"..."

Village Chief Hu frowned at Fang Wei, hesitated for a moment, and tentatively asked, "So, Fang Wei, you mean... we should all cooperate to hunt the pigs?"

"Village chief, I heard that Xiayang Village has also been ravaged by wild boars!"

A man behind him quickly added, "And it seems their wild boars appeared even earlier than our village!"

"Has Xiayang Village also been attacked by wild boars?"

Fang Wei's brow twitched slightly.

"right!"

Seeing that Fang Wei had responded, the man immediately shouted, "It was people from Xiayang Village who said it themselves! Wild boars have been appearing there for about four or five days now!"

"Village Chief Hu."

Fang Wei thought for a moment, then looked at Village Chief Hu and said, "This matter can't be explained clearly just here in the threshing ground. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Go find our Village Chief Zhou."

Fang Wei looked at Wu Shaoli and said softly, "Wife, you take the bicycle home first. I'll go to Village Chief Zhou's house with Village Chief Hu."

"Lock the door shut, don't wait for me."

Wu Shaoli looked into his eyes and finally said, "Okay, then come back soon."

After saying that, she pushed her bicycle and headed home.

But after walking a few steps, Wu Shaoli looked back again.

Fang Wei and Village Chief Hu's group had already headed towards Village Chief Zhou's house.

……

At this time, the gate to Village Chief Zhou's courtyard was still open.

Village Chief Zhou was sitting on a bench in the main room, soaking his feet, with a pipe in his mouth and his eyes half-closed, looking very content.

"Village Chief Zhou!"

Fang Wei entered the courtyard and walked a few steps to the entrance of the main room.

When Village Chief Zhou saw Village Chief Hu and five or six burly men following behind him, he paused for a moment, then pulled his foot out of the wooden basin and stepped onto a pair of tattered cloth shoes.

"What brings you here in the middle of the night, Village Chief Hu?"

"Village Chief Zhou!"

Village Chief Hu repeated what he had just said in the threshing ground, shouting, "We have to join forces and get rid of these beasts!"