bookrebus Chapter 284 Old Tao's Consolation
Chapter 284 Old Tao's Consolation
On that evening when the sun was setting like blood, a group of people, laden with their harvest, slowly descended the winding mountain path. Their faces were filled with the joy of their harvest, their shoulders and hands carrying the bounty of the mountains and forests.
Among the group, the brothers Lu Zhiqiang and Lu Jinyang were particularly eye-catching. Together, they picked out a plump old sow and a heavy cannon egg from the pile of prey, skillfully skinned and deboned it, sorted the tender pieces of meat, and shared this hard-won spoils with their companions.
A faint scent of blood mingled with the freshness of vegetation, creating a unique mountain forest aroma. Song Desheng carefully carried eight lively wild boar piglets. These little guys, perhaps unaware of their impending doom, continued to frolic and play in their cage. He settled them in Li Ju'an's backyard, deep in Changchong Gully, where a long-abandoned fence became a temporary haven for these little lives.
When the mother, Song Lanhua, arrived, she looked at the litter of fluffy little lives and smiled gently, but with a hint of teasing: "What good are these tiny piglets?" Her tone contained both indulgence for her children's innocent thoughts and a helpless acceptance of the reality of life.
Upon hearing this, Song Desheng smiled憨厚ly, his eyes sparkling with hope: "If we raise them to adulthood, we can sell pork to eat, which is better than nothing."
Li Xiao stood aside, looking completely bewildered, clearly unable to comprehend the hardships and difficulties involved.
Song Lanhua gently shook her head, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes: "Child, wild boars are not like domestic pigs. They grow slowly, have a low meat yield, and may not be ready for market even after being raised for a long time. In the end, it's probably a losing proposition." Her words contained both reverence for the laws of nature and lament for the hardships of making a living.
Upon hearing this, Song Desheng frowned, clearly both loving and resentful of this unexpected "gift." Unwilling to give up on these little lives, he went door-to-door in the village, hoping to find a new home for the wild boar piglets. However, he was met with repeated refusals; the villagers laughed heartily when he said he wanted to raise pigs.
As night fell and the village lights began to twinkle, Song Desheng, staying at Li Ju'an's house, felt his heart sink. Faced with this situation where no one would adopt them, Song Desheng had no choice but to make the decision to take these wild boar piglets back to the county town.
Song Desheng stood in the center of his yard, clutching the pink piglet he had just caught tightly in his hand, his eyes filled with reluctance and conflict. He had caught the piglet in the Xing'an Mountains forest; its fine fur shone softly in the sunlight, and its two black bean-like eyes looked around curiously, exuding innocence and liveliness.
He thought to himself that if he raised the piglet to adulthood, he could earn a considerable income by the end of the year, enough to supplement the family income and buy some new clothes for the children. But reality is always unpredictable. He inquired around, but no one wanted it. His home in the county town was a small but cozy tenement building, where he could always dispel the fatigue of the day.
Song Desheng pushed open the door with anticipation, only to see his wife sitting at the table, her head bowed, mending clothes for the family, her expression focused and gentle. He coughed lightly, trying to get his wife's attention, then gently placed the eight piglets on the ground, fully expecting this unexpected surprise to elicit a smile from his wife, or even a hug.
But things were far from as wonderful as he had imagined.
The daughter-in-law looked up and her face changed drastically. She stood up abruptly, pointed at the piglet on the ground, and said with a mix of anger and amusement, "Song Desheng! You...you actually brought this back! How am I supposed to raise this thing?"
Song Desheng was stunned. He tried to explain, but the words that came out were weak excuses: "We'll raise them to eat pork, and roasting them is so delicious." His wife wouldn't listen at all and even called his parents out.
Mr. Song was in a good mood. He had a few drinks with his colleagues and came out of the house to take a look. Good heavens! Eight piglets were staring at him with their big, dark eyes.
Song's father's colleague was also quite drunk, and said in a daze, "Old Song, didn't you say you wanted to hold your big, fat grandson? Where is your big, fat grandson?"
The eight wild boar piglets grunted and squealed, raising their heads and calling out a few times. The tenement building was already cramped and crowded, and their noises made it sound like a pig farm. It startled my colleague sober up. When he looked up and saw the eight piglets, he laughed and said, "Old Song, you're going to be a grandfather! You're already holding your grandchildren so soon, and your son has brought you eight of them."
Mr. Song was furious. His colleagues teased him, telling him to take his anger out on his son. He angrily turned around, grabbed a broom, and ruthlessly shooed the piglets away. The piglets squealed and ran around in terror. He yelled at Song Desheng, "Get out of here, you little brat! It's already a hassle to keep one of you, and now you've brought me eight more? Get them out of here! It's either you or them in this house!"
Song De snorted angrily and said, "Isn't it good to have meat delivered? If nobody wants it, roast it and I'll send it to a restaurant to sell as roast suckling pig."
The Song family was both amused and annoyed. His wife grabbed his ear and kept nagging him not to bring such a thing down the mountain next time. If he had to bring it, he should bring some pork knuckles.
……
On the other side, after Li Ju'an finished distributing his shares, he gave the wild boar meat to his mother. He planned to sell the white lingzhi mushrooms he had gathered at the market the next day. He first contacted Pang Duolai and arranged to meet him at the market the following day. Then, with heavy steps, he walked through the winding mountain path, feeling as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing on his heart, to find Old Tao.
He was heartbroken. His loyal hunting dog, Iron Hammer, though slippery and lazy, had done his fair share of good deeds. Iron Hammer usually ate and drank for free and was a free spirit in the mountains, but he died just like that, his spine broken by a kick from Big Cannon's egg while protecting Little Cannon.
The setting sun cast its last rays upon his shoulders, but could not penetrate the gloom that clouded his heart. He arrived at Old Tao's somewhat simple yet weathered little house and gently knocked on the door. Hearing the sound, the widow of the Chen family came out. Seeing it was Li Ju'an, she quickly went inside to call for Old Tao.
Old Tao's weathered face was etched with the marks of the past. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes as he looked at Li Ju'an, but he wasn't unexpected. He then ushered Li Ju'an into the house. In the dim light of the room, their shadows were stretched long, as if the stories of the past were also infinitely stretched out.
With great difficulty, Li Ju'an slowly recounted the news of Tiechui's death, each word feeling like a piece of flesh being torn from his heart. After listening, Old Tao remained silent for a moment, then took out a worn-out cigarette case from his pocket, lit it shakily, took a deep drag, and in the swirling smoke, his eyes seemed to travel back more than a decade to the past.