The spiritual spring water was effective, but Xu Shengnan hadn't drunk enough. She had been poisoned by snake venom, and the intense running had accelerated her blood flow, making her poisoning quite severe. Half a bowl of spiritual spring water could only save her life and reduce the poisoning to a moderate level. She soon felt dizzy, her vision blurred, and she was terribly panicked.
Several women caught up with her and disapproved of her words, but seeing how miserable she looked, they couldn't bear to say anything more. They just disapproved of her behavior of running away after an accident.
Wang Baoguo and his group arrived quickly. As soon as Liu Xia saw Xu Shengnan, she rushed over and burst into tears, patting her twice. "You brat, what are you trying to do? Is your family short of food or clothes? It's all my fault. You said you wanted to bring things home, but I didn't think it through. What can you get here? It's just hunting, right? Why didn't I stop you!"
Xu Dajun was also visibly panicked, his eyes bloodshot. Wang Baoguo cursed under his breath, but it was no use. He quickly said, "Hurry up and carry him to the clinic. Don't delay. Snake venom is no small matter."
Several women helped Xu Shengnan onto Xu Dajun's back, and Xu Aiguo, who arrived later, helped protect her and they left quickly. Dong Fan accompanied Liu Xia home to get the money.
Wang Baoguo suddenly remembered Xu Zifan, and his expression changed. "Has anyone seen Grandpa Xu? Has he come down the mountain? Xu Shengnan asked for leave to go find her grandfather, and she ran down the mountain. Where is her grandfather?"
The women gathering pig feed looked at each other, their faces pale. "We didn't see him. Old Xu... he wouldn't... Oh my god, this is terrible!"
Wang Baoguo hurriedly ran a few steps to ask Xu Shengnan, but Xu Shengnan had fainted and couldn't be woken up no matter how many times he tried. Xu Dajun and Xu Aiguo were also worried when they heard that the old man was still on the mountain. Wang Baoguo urged them to go to the hospital immediately and called on the men in the village to go into the mountain to look for him.
Wang Baoguo went to the field and gave a call, and more than twenty strong men with shovels followed him up the mountain. Although they were scared, that's how it is in the village; if someone is in trouble, you have to go and check on them. If it weren't too dangerous, you would definitely try to rescue them.
After they entered the Shaohua scanning area, Xu Zifan left the space, tossed aside the two pheasants he had previously shot, and began wildly slashing at a wild boar with his knife, getting blood and mud all over his face and body. He then lay down on the ground, panting heavily.
This person's health isn't very good; they get so tired from such a small activity.
When Wang Baoguo and the others arrived, they were shocked to see Xu Zifan covered in blood. They all took a few steps back, and many of them screamed. It wasn't until Wang Baoguo noticed that Xu Zifan was breathing that he shouted for everyone to quiet down.
He glanced at the ferocious-looking wild boar, then at Xu Zifan, and cautiously walked towards it, keeping his eyes fixed on the boar, afraid that it might jump up and hit him again. The others did the same; their faces turned pale at the sight of the bloody scene.
As they approached, Wang Baoguo was astonished to find that the wild boar was completely dead. He rushed to Xu Zifan's side and helped him up, "Uncle Xu! Uncle Xu, wake up, what happened to you?"
Xu Zifan opened his eyes and let out a long breath, waving his hand weakly, "I'm fine, I just fought that beast and I'm exhausted. Don't be afraid, I'm not injured, this blood is all from wild boar."
Wang Baoguo then realized his voice was trembling, and quickly coughed twice to confirm, "Uncle Xu, are you really alright? You're not injured?"
"No, look if you don't believe me." Xu Zifan helped him stand up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and sighed, "I'm old, my health is failing me, I'm useless now. If I were young, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state."
Everyone's expressions were somewhat indescribable. How could a nearly sixty-year-old man kill a wild boar without getting hurt and still have the nerve to complain about being useless? But was Grandpa Xu really this good when he was young? Everyone thought about it carefully, and they didn't seem to remember him ever hunting. Could it be that he had a family to support and didn't want to take the risks?
Wang Baoguo breathed a sigh of relief, looked around, and then frowned. "Uncle Xu, have you seen the snake? Your eldest granddaughter was bitten by a poisonous snake. Her father and her second uncle just took her to the clinic."
Xu Zifan feigned shock at the opportune moment, "What? Xu Shengnan was bitten by a poisonous snake? Where did this poisonous snake come from? No, what's a little girl like her doing in the mountains? Who took her in?"
"Well... she asked me for leave this morning, insisting on going into the mountains to find you, saying she was worried about your safety. I disagreed, and she said I looked down on women. Uncle Xu, I had no choice but to grant her leave, but I told her not to go any further. I'm so sorry!" Wang Baoguo had a headache. If he had known Xu Shengnan was going to be this unlucky, he would never have agreed.
Xu Zifan frowned. "Nonsense, no one in my family would come looking for me. Last night she was even advising her parents to stop bothering me and to listen to my advice to separate and live a good life, so as not to make me angry. How could she possibly come looking for me today? Are you sure someone didn't trick her into coming to the mountains?"
Wang Baoguo quickly shook his head, "There was no one else. Everyone who was gathering pig feed saw it. She went into the mountains by herself and ran back down by herself."
Xu Zifan waved his hand. "Alright, let's talk about it when we get down the mountain. Since so many kids have come, let's carry the wild boar down too."
"Hey! Alright!" Several quick-moving people hurriedly lifted the wild boar up. Usually, when someone hunts a big one, they will share some with everyone. They were happy, but because Xu Zifan's granddaughter's fate was still unknown, they were too embarrassed to show it.
On the way down the mountain, Xu Zifan asked about Xu Shengnan's condition. Wang Baoguo said that she seemed to be able to be saved. He then asked how Xu Shengnan had gotten into a fight with the wild boar and advised, "Uncle Xu, you can't do that again. You're not young anymore. What if you get hurt?"
Xu Zifan sighed, "I didn't want to run into it either. I value my life very much. When I go into the mountains, I always look for the tracks of wild animals and go around them. At most, I can only hunt a pheasant or a rabbit. But just now, after I caught a pheasant and came down the mountain, I saw this beast running down the mountain."
"If I didn't kill it, what would happen if it ran down the mountain? That hillside is full of women and children; how many casualties would there be? I couldn't wait for the boys to come and rescue me; I had to go up myself. Thankfully, these old bones of mine didn't give in to it, or I would be done for."
Everyone immediately became serious, a sense of crisis rising in their hearts. If it weren't for Xu Zifan, those women might have escaped, but those children would most likely be doomed! Xu Zifan was risking his life entirely for the sake of his fellow villagers. Who had ever called such a good person selfish? They were blatantly lying!
And what about Xu Shengnan? Why did she inexplicably go into the mountains? I don't know where she provoked the poisonous snakes and wild boars, but she just kept leading them down the mountain without any regard for everyone's safety. No wonder she made her own grandfather faint; her character is really not good.
The group remained silent the whole way down the mountain, but after descending, they shared what they had seen, heard, and thought with their loved ones, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire village.
Wang Baoguo convened an emergency meeting and solemnly told everyone that since the venomous snake had not been found, no one was allowed to enter the mountain or go to that hillside to gather pig feed until the snake was caught.
Fear spread through everyone's hearts, and some couldn't help but resent Xu Shengnan. How could an eighteen-year-old girl be so capable of causing trouble?
She angered her grandfather to the point of fainting, instigated her parents to separate the family, and attracted wild animals into the mountains. I heard that she doesn't even do much housework at home. The eldest son and his wife of the Xu family are so simple and honest, how could they have spoiled their daughter like this?
After this incident, any families who had their eyes on Xu Shengnan's appearance immediately gave up the idea. Even if Xu Shengnan and her husband were kind and honest, it was all for naught if Xu Shengnan herself was not good enough. They couldn't have such a wife!
At the same time, everyone looked at Xu Zifan with new respect. The old man was capable; even though he was in poor health, he still managed to kill a wild boar just to protect the women and children down the mountain!
The families who gathered pig feed were extremely grateful to him. When they heard that he wanted to exchange some pots and pans, they immediately went home to find the best quality ones and sent them to him, to express their gratitude for saving their lives.
Xu Zifan certainly couldn't accept it. He had gone through all this trouble to trick Xu Shengnan, not to take advantage of the villagers. The villagers were so hospitable that they not only provided him with pots and pans but also gave him eggs, vegetables, and cornmeal. Unable to refuse, Xu Zifan simply had the wild boar butchered and gave these families an extra piece of meat when distributing it.
Wang Baoguo originally told Xu Zifan to live alone and to marinate the wild boar meat to eat slowly. However, Xu Zifan said that everyone was frightened because of his granddaughter, and this portion of pork should be considered an apology to everyone.
Everyone was overjoyed to receive the meat, and their fear had indeed subsided considerably. Moreover, since they had received Xu Zifan's flesh, they naturally spoke highly of him, feeling that he was kind and loving towards his descendants, always thinking of them. They thought it was Xu Shengnan who was ungrateful and foolish.
Xu Dawei and Zhang Wen rushed back from school in a panic. After finding out what had happened, they blamed Xu Shengnan. Xu Zifan didn't say much to them, but gave them some of the meat and then took a bunch of his own things back to his room to pack.
Xu Dawei and Zhang Wen had so much to say, but they couldn't tell anyone, and their hearts were heavy with pent-up emotions.
After all, he was her biological father. When they heard that Xu Zifan had almost gotten into trouble by killing a wild boar, they were also scared and worried. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Xu Zifan when they came back.
However, there was also a sense of relief. If Xu Zifan had died in the mountains at that time, even if it was his own fault, the three brothers would have been drowned in spittle! In other people's eyes, they were the ones who forced their father to divide the family property, leaving him with nothing but hunting in the mountains. If something happened, wouldn't it be their fault?!
The couple were terrified. They went back to their room, locked the door, and counted their savings from over the years several times.
The village wages are low. In the past ten years, the wages of teachers have increased from 5 yuan to 10 yuan a month. Seventy percent of their wages is not a small amount. Even if some of it is spent, there are still more than 800 yuan left.
They decided to build their own house and move out once this matter was over. Who knows what might happen if they lived together again? They didn't want to get involved.
Besides, the brigade leader has been very cold to them these past few days. If they move to the vicinity of the brigade leader's house, they can salvage their relationship. That would be a real, genuine connection.
Shao Hua relayed their plan to Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan was not surprised at all. The most scheming and best at pretending in this family were the second son and his wife. In the first life, their family had the best life. Unfortunately, in the second life, they were schemed against by Xu Shengnan and suffered a miserable fate.
This is none of his business. They don't care about their own father, and he won't care about them either.
Since the brigade leader had closed the mountain because of this incident, he decided to go to the county town to see if there was a suitable house to live in. Moving there would mean less social interaction and fewer people around who knew the original owner, so he figured he could live more comfortably.