She kicked Xu Changsheng. "You just watch them spout nonsense and frame us?"
Xu Changsheng actually agreed with the villagers' point of view; he didn't think his old mother had the ability to save anyone. However, with the wild boar tempting fate, his son's future was even more important, so naturally, he couldn't let the villagers take the matter to the officials.
But before Xu Changsheng could speak, Liu Shitou shouted at Mrs. Kong, "Don't talk nonsense, don't make me, Liu Shitou, seem ungrateful! Uncles, brothers, listen to me, today's incident, it truly was Auntie Xu who saved me. Without her, I would be lying here dead!"
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent; everyone turned to look at Liu Shitou in disbelief.
Liu Shitou sighed, "I have no need to lie about this matter. We all know that Auntie Xu's father was also skilled in the mountains, and she learned a bit from him. Today, we owe her a lot. Wife, you have wronged Auntie, apologize to her."
After speaking, Liu Shitou, enduring the pain, pulled Mrs. Kong to kneel before Zhang Xiaoying and kowtowed, "Auntie, I will never forget the life-saving grace. My wife spoke out of turn in haste and falsely accused you, please don't be angry."
Zhang Xiaoying frowned. "Second brother, don't let him kneel. It was hard enough to save his life, don't end up dead at the Xu Family ancestral grave because of it; I don't want to see your ghost of a father again!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Changsheng and everyone else looked towards Zhang Xiaoying again.
Mrs. Kong was shocked.
"Husband, is what you say true?"
"Why would I make up such a thing?"
Mrs. Kong was embarrassed but brave enough to own up to her mistake, immediately apologizing to Zhang Xiaoying, "I'm sorry Auntie, I spoke without understanding the situation. Feel free to scold or hit me, I won't have any complaints."
Liu Shitou had a good reputation in the village, so when the villagers heard he was in trouble, many dropped what they were doing and rushed up the mountain. Now, hearing Liu Shitou's explanation, they knew they had wrongly blamed Zhang Xiaoying.
Even if they didn't believe Zhang Xiaoying would do such a thing, the fact was clear before their eyes. They didn't argue in defense of their own words but all apologized to Zhang Xiaoying.
Zhang Xiaoying put on an impatient look, "Alright, hurry up and carry him back. If there's any more delay and he dies, don't start blaming me again for killing him!"
Mrs. Kong once again expressed her thanks, then with the villagers' help, they lifted Liu Shitou onto the litter and carried him back.
Before leaving, everyone glanced at the wild boar; Liu Shitou said, "Let's go back, I'll properly thank everyone later."
The crowd didn't say anything more and headed back to the village first.
On the way back, Mrs. Lin was criticized by the other villagers, fuming with anger. Seeing the chicken brought for ancestral paper burning now eaten only added fuel to the fire.
"Mom, are you alright?" Xu Qinglin stuttered, though he was still young, his bent back seemed as if it could never straighten, "I'll carry you down the mountain."
"No need, you two brothers, carry the wild boar back. Second brother's family, you've been wronged by today's event." Zhang Xiaoying pushed Xu Qinglin away, looking at Mrs. Lin, "It's getting late, we can talk about this back at home."
What else could Mrs. Lin do, even if she was unsatisfied? Zhang Xiaoying was her mother-in-law!
She pulled a long face, didn't say another word, picked up her basket, and stomped away angrily.
Meanwhile, Xu Changsheng, looking at the massive wild boar, felt instinctively tired and said, "Mom, big brother is strong enough to carry the wild boar on his own. Let me support you instead!"
Zhang Xiaoying suppressed the urge to slap her eldest son and send him flying.
"I'm perfectly capable, I don't need your help. A three-hundred-pound wild boar to be carried by your big brother alone? Maybe I should just chop you up and have your brother carry you back!" Zhang Xiaoying stared at him sinisterly, brandishing the firewood knife, "Your maternal grandfather taught me how to dissect livestock."
Just then, a gust of wind blew, and Xu Changsheng, terrified by Zhang Xiaoying, had his hairs stand on end, "I'll help big brother carry it!"
Zhang Xiaoying narrowed her eyes, "Then why aren't you working? What are you standing around for?"
Harboring a bellyful of anger, Xu Changsheng helped Xu Qinglin tie up the wild boar, and together they carried it down the mountain.
Da Ni dared not speak from beginning to end.
Zhang Xiaoying didn't make another sound either; she observed the environment and vegetation of the back mountain all the way.
There's an old saying, "One depends on the mountain that one lives by," the Xu Family couldn't remain impoverished forever!
However, there was no rush at the moment, Zhang Xiaoying slowly had a plan forming in her mind.
Back in the village, the story of how Zhang Xiaoying killed the wild boar to save Liu Shitou had already spread, and the villagers all ran to see the Xu Family's wild boar.
Most of them didn't believe that Zhang Xiaoying had really saved someone; they inclined to think that Zhang Xiaoying had bullied the honest Liu Shitou, forcing him to say so.
Actually, it wasn't strange for them to think this way since the original owner of the body had often taken advantage in the village.
"Poor Shitou, barely managed to hunt a wild boar, thinking he could exchange it for some silver, but who would've thought he'd run into Zhang, the old prude, and lost the boar for nothing, almost losing his life too."
"Keep your voice down, I heard Zhang has seen ghosts, she's possessed by evil, be careful she doesn't set her sights on you, she'd flay you alive. Just stay away from the Xu Family from now on."
"Shameless creature, daring to kill someone over a wild boar, why doesn't the Liu Family file a complaint? At the very least, they could've had the village chief intervene. It would be best to drive this old woman out of our village."
...
Those who said these things were the ones who usually didn't get along with the original owner.
If you'd say the original owner was a shrew, these few people were not far behind, banding together to target her.
When the original owner's husband had just died, they had even spread rumors around the village that the original owner had an affair with a wild man, conspiring to kill her own husband. They said it as ugly as they could, and it was only after the original owner, fierce as she was, directly confronted them that the rumors ceased.
"Zhao's family, I heard you plan on having Da Ni marry into your family to be your Genzi's wife? If the beam is crooked, the column under it will be askew, the old one is malicious at heart, and the young one is not much better. She's so young and already seducing your family's Genzi..." Mrs. Xu hadn't finished speaking when she was silenced by a slap.
Zhang Xiaoying caught a glimpse of Da Ni's embarrassed and aggrieved expression and slapped Mrs. Xu again.
Da Ni was still young, yet growing up in such an environment, she had developed a precocious and insecure nature.
Zhang Xiaoying wouldn't allow Mrs. Xu to be full of malice toward a young girl. Her icy glare landed on Mrs. Xu's face as if tangible, "Went to the toilet and didn't rinse your mouth? Stay away, and don't spout manure; it's not enough to slander me, now you're smearing my Da Ni, too. Did I desecrate your ancestral grave or something?"
Mrs. Xu, covering her face, stared at Zhang Xiaoying, grinding her teeth in fury, "You old thing, I'm going to fight you to the death!"
She lunged forward to scuffle with Zhang Xiaoying.
However, the next instant, Mrs. Xu was standing there covered in cold sweat, trembling as she looked down to see a firewood knife placed against her neck.
"Murder, murder!" Mrs. Xu shrieked in terror, "Help me!"
Zhang Xiaoying's firewood knife pressed forward a little, causing Mrs. Xu's legs to go weak, and she nearly collapsed.
The surroundings fell silent, everyone's eyes wide as they stared at Zhang Xiaoying.
Zhang Xiaoying glared at Mrs. Xu and spoke deliberately, "Apologize to my Da Ni!"