The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 123: Heroic Women_1

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Heroic Women_1

These days, everyone is lacking meat!

"Comrade Zuo, Comrade Xiang Rong, you both did well. These two boars must weigh over five hundred pounds," Village Chief Qi said with great joy. With just over a hundred households in the village, each family could get two or three pounds of meat.

Zuo Li stepped forward and modestly said, "It’s all thanks to Secretary Qi’s excellent leadership. We didn’t catch these two pigs; the credit goes to Comrade He Tiantian. The pigs chased after Comrade He Tiantian and fell into a fissure on the mountain. We just went down and hauled the pigs up, so we didn’t expend much effort!"

Zuo Li told the truth and didn’t take the credit for himself!

The crowd was greatly surprised. While they admired Zuo Li’s honesty, they were also very curious about He Tiantian, the young girl.

"Good job, Girl Tian. You three will be remembered for your outstanding contribution. Later, you’ll get extra pork," Village Chief Qi chuckled. "Everyone remember, these two big wild boars were caught by Comrade He Tiantian, Comrade Zuo Li, and Comrade Xiang Rong, who have made a contribution to our village."

"Indeed, these three are quite impressive!"

"Correct, very good!"

The crowd praised them while unconsciously salivating.

Hearing the crowd’s words, He Tiantian was also very happy in her heart and didn’t feel at all downcast for bringing the two big wild boars to the village.

In this era, everything belonged to the collective, to the people. Normally, catching small game like wild chickens and rabbits in the mountains could be kept for oneself. Everyone would turn a blind eye, as it had become a customary agreement. But these two big wild boars were different; they had to be handed over to the collective.

Zuo Li and Xiang Rong had already cut some tree branches as thick as arms and of varying lengths. Everyone brought small ropes, tied up the frames, and then several people together bound the wild boars onto the frames. Four people carried one frame, which wasn’t too heavy, making it manageable to walk.

The remaining people carried the bamboo baskets filled with pine nuts, which had been packed by He Tiantian, Zuo Li, and Xiang Rong.

He Tiantian wanted to carry her own basket, but Qi Ergou got ahead of her, saying, "That’s enough. With your small frame, don’t bother carrying it. I’ll do it."

Just as He Tiantian was about to argue, Zuo Li laughed and said, "Don’t underestimate Girl Tian. Her strength isn’t any less than that of an ordinary man. She carries grass down the mountain, and neither old Xiang nor I can catch up to her."

Qi Ergou gave a thumbs-up and said, "Impressive, a true heroine among women!"

"A heroine who doesn’t yield to men," Zuo Li echoed, though he was thinking to himself that he should bring He Tiantian with him next time when he went hunting in the back mountains.

That girl is pretty unusual. Her luck is simply too good!

The meager food rations were barely enough to fill their stomachs, but not enough to starve. Living at the foot of the mountain, they could go up into the mountains to get something to eat. However, when they went out on their own, the yield was small, not like when He Tiantian went along. Usually, when she went up the mountain, they never came back empty-handed, always managing to bring something back.

Even though He Tiantian had a somewhat thick skin, her cheeks still reddened from all the praise.

The young men couldn’t take their eyes off her and were too embarrassed to stare.

The looks they gave her were pure and innocent, unlike the lustful, possessive, and evil gaze of Qi Jianguo.

In her heart, He Tiantian thought that if possible, she hoped Huo Yingjie could pay a visit to Qijia Village to inform all those young men that she was already spoken for.

It wasn’t that He Tiantian was self-centered. She had been very attractive in her previous life; otherwise, Qi Jianguo wouldn’t have set his sights on her at first glance. In this life, with the help of Snake King, He Tiantian’s beauty was even more exceptional.

Even without makeup, her luminous skin, large eyes, long curled lashes, perky little nose, cherry-red lips, and graceful figure revealed her beauty everywhere.

Once they reached the foot of the mountain, Qi Ergou and the other two left their bamboo baskets at the livestock team, carrying away the wild boar. The contents of the baskets were not taken, left behind for each person.

"Not bad, not bad, tell me what happened?" Old Man Qi said excitedly, recalling his younger days when he needed a hunting rifle to take down a wild boar, never expecting that these three would manage it with sickles and firewood knives.

Xiang Rong recounted their experience on the mountain, especially when He Tiantian was chased by the wild boar all over the mountain, which made Qi Xiaoyan laugh heartily.

"Sister Tiantian, you’re amazing, even the wild boar couldn’t catch you." Qi Xiaoyan said with a laugh, "I couldn’t do that in my whole life!"

"Forget you, most people can’t compare to He Tiantian," Professor Wang said, "You all talk, I’ll go wash some more potatoes. We’ll stew them with the meat tonight."

He Tiantian smiled and said, "I should head back too, Grandma Qi is home alone and will be worried about me."

"Grandma Wang, I’ll go back with Sister Tiantian. We’ll bring some meat over to you later," Qi Xiaoyan said. With her help, they could carry extra, especially those large bones and ribs that others might not want. Stewing a big bone soup was particularly nourishing.

"Okay, you two go ahead," Professor Wang said with a chuckle, increasingly pleased with his student Qi Xiaoyan.

He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan descended the mountain together, chatting and laughing.

However, He Tiantian noticed that Qi Xiaoyan’s complexion was paler than the average person’s and her lips were very pale, realizing that Qi Xiaoyan’s health was not as good as she had imagined. Once she had some money in hand, she planned to take Qi Xiaoyan to a big hospital for a check-up.

In times of danger, Qi Xiaoyan had put herself in front of He Tiantian without regard for her own well-being. To Tiantian, aside from her parents and Huo Yingjie, Xiaoyan was the first person to show such candid concern for her, which made Tiantian cherish this good friend immensely.

It was not only about improving Qi Xiaoyan’s health but also changing her life, ensuring this kind-hearted girl had a good ending.

"Hey hey, Sister Tiantian, look, isn’t that Qi Fangfang?" Qi Xiaoyan pointed toward a family of three walking not far ahead. They had come back just in time to share the meat.

He Tiantian lifted her chin, squinting her eyes toward Qi Fangfang, Fangfang’s mother, and father thirty meters away, without seeing the sinister Qi Jianguo.

Didn’t Jianguo also go to visit relatives? Why hasn’t he come back with them? Could it be that he’s harboring malice and starting a new round of conspiracy and scheming?

When will this man ever stop!

"It should be," He Tiantian said softly, lowering her head to hide the disgust and hatred in her eyes from Qi Xiaoyan.

"Let’s walk slower, then. I don’t want to talk to Qi Fangfang," Qi Xiaoyan muttered. "Her older brother is no good. If it weren’t for Brother Dajun and Sister Lili giving you a heads-up, without any preparation, we might have been in real trouble this time."

"Yeah, that was close!" He Tiantian exclaimed. "Brother Dajun and Sister Lili are my saviors. I need to repay them properly in the future."

Qi Xiaoyan just smiled and said, "You don’t need to be polite; you’re my good friend, and Brother Dajun will definitely help you. As for Sister Lili, you should thank her a bit more."

Qi Xiaoyan’s tone was confident as if she could make decisions for Niu Dajun.

He Tiantian had her suspicions, and after hearing Qi Xiaoyan’s words, was even more curious. Could it be that there was something between those two?