Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 7

Our third daughter is really smart. She earns five extra pounds of meat for the family.

The Lin couple is very happy because their daughter is the first to spot the wild boar’s footprints on the riverbank and warns the children, giving them time to escape from the dangerous area. Even if Zhen Baobao doesn’t kill the wild boar later, Lin Rui’s timely warning saves many children.

As a reward, when the meat is being distributed, the Lin family receives an additional five pounds of wild boar meat. However, due to the large amount, the extra five pounds aren’t from the best cuts, but even so, the couple is pleased.

On the way home, the couple already starts thinking about how to preserve the pork and ration it over several meals.

In the countryside, no family can afford to eat meat freely, not even the Zhen family, who receive the most wild boar meat.

The whole day is chaotic. First, there is fear, then the joy of dividing the meat. No one asks Lin Rui where she sees the wild boar’s footprints, or how a five-year-old can be so certain it’s a wild boar’s.

Now, everyone’s thoughts are consumed with hundreds of ways to cook wild boar meat. Looking at the tender pork, their mouths water. How can they think about anything else?

“When we divide the meat later, give the third child two more pieces.”

Father Lin is an ordinary-looking, simple man. Today, his daughter finds the wild boar’s footprints in time and saves many children, which makes him proud. This man, always rather unremarkable in the production team, receives quite a bit of gratitude thanks to his daughter. He is overjoyed and feels extra affection for the daughter who brings him this honor.

Beside them, Lin Duo is filled with envy. Staring at the two pieces of pork her parents are carrying, she regrets not being the one to discover the boar first. But Lin Rui, the one at the center of the praise, doesn’t seem thrilled by her parents’ generosity.

Wild boar meat isn’t considered delicious. In fact, it’s the same with domestic pigs—if they aren’t castrated, they have a strong odor.

And the wild boar’s meat is very tough, not as tender as that of domestic pigs. This is a significant drawback. Only with the best processing methods and heavy seasoning can the wild boar meat’s flavor be brought out.

In this era, seasonings are in short supply, and most households only have salt, onion, ginger, garlic, and chili to season their dishes. Even sugar and oil are rare. How good can the wild boar meat taste when made with such limited resources?

Before Lin Rui was reborn, the country already allowed private market transactions. Zhen Baoli can make money. Though they can’t have big fish and meat every meal, there is some meat on the table most days, and they can even dine out once in a while.

Her desire for meat is no longer as strong as it was in her childhood.

Now, she can’t help but wonder about the supernatural power of her sister-in-law, Zhen Baobao.

In her past life, up until the day she died, Zhen Baobao never showed any sign of such strength. Lin Rui remembers her as someone who, under the excuse of poor health, freeloads off her parents and older brother’s family—never once trying to support herself. She cries over everything, always has a long face, and acts like the whole world has bullied her.

That version of her sister-in-law is extremely unlikeable. But now, at just three years old, the little girl is already showing signs of becoming the same crybaby she once was—yet the scene of her killing a wild boar with her bare hands shocks Lin Rui enough to question her own memories.

When does her sister-in-law, who used to cry at the drop of a hat, become so bold and capable?

Well, yes, she does kill a wild boar with one punch, but at the time she is teary-eyed, fierce yet timid—not exactly the image of bravery. Besides her divine strength, Zhen Baobao is still, at her core, a crybaby.

Lin Rui can’t recall many details from her childhood in her past life. She only remembers the encounter with the wild boar on the riverbank. She doesn’t remember which child died or which was injured, but she is certain that Zhen Baobao didn’t kill the wild boar in her previous life.

Could it be a change brought about by her rebirth?

Lin Rui isn’t sure whether her sister-in-law simply doesn’t have this power in the previous life, or if, like her and her second sister, the Zhen siblings don’t take part in the riverbank outing at all.

With the image of Zhen Baobao punching the boar playing on a loop in her head, Lin Rui is visibly shaken.

Luckily, from the moment she realizes she has been reborn, she never intends to take revenge on the Zhen family. Lin Rui knows the problems in her life stem more from differing mindsets than from true abuse.

In fact, she lives better than many others around her. What she can’t stand is how the Zhen family ignores her and her daughter. But they haven’t tortured or mistreated her, and her husband Zhen Baoli has never betrayed their marriage or done anything unforgivable.

They have their irreconcilable differences, but it never reaches the point of deep hatred or vengeance.

Otherwise, when danger strikes, her first instinct wouldn’t be to tell her second sister to take the Zhen family’s sickly child and leave quickly—even though she really dislikes how her sister-in-law always intrudes on their marriage.

“When Mother distributes the meat later, I’ll give my extra pieces to you and Big Sis.” Lin Rui snaps out of her thoughts and takes her second sister’s hand.

In this life, she’s already decided to cut ties with the Zhen family. What they are, what abilities they have—none of it matters anymore. She just wants to live a good life for herself.

As for Zhen Baobao’s freakish strength—as long as Lin Rui doesn’t provoke her, is she really going to get beaten up for no reason?

“Ruirui, you’re the best!”

Lin Duo is so happy she nearly jumps for joy.

“We’ll eat it together. If I get anything good in the future, I’ll share it with you and Big Sis too.”

Lin Duo nods emphatically, afraid her little sister won’t believe her.

“Mm.”

Lin Rui’s smile is dazzling. No matter the time or place, the bond between the three sisters has always been strong. Even when Big Sis and Second Sis don’t marry as well as she does, they always treat her as the younger sister in need of protection.

Looking at her adorably naive second sister, Lin Rui shows her first genuine, relieved smile since her rebirth.

Meanwhile, on this side, Xu Panhao holds her daughter and leads her son, while Liu Sanmei carries the pig leg and pig head, finally making their way home.

The pig leg and pig head are placed on the cabinet in the kitchen.

Xu Panhao and her mother-in-law boil water together, helping the little one take a bath and change clothes.

“Baobao, tell me, when do you develop this strength?”

Now that Xu Panhao and Liu Sanmei have calmed down, they help the child get dressed and ask about the origin of her super strength.

“I’ve always had it~”

Baobao is panicking inside but puts on a sweet and innocent expression. Tilting her head as if in thought, she slowly gives her answer.

This reply surprises the two women. After all, they’ve been raising her for three years and never once noticed this strength.

Still, their imaginations quickly fill in the blanks. From just this one sentence, they construct a plausible explanation on their own.

They guess that this power must be innate, but the child was too weak at birth, so her strength wasn’t obvious until now.

Looking back on the past three years, they treat this child like a precious jewel—afraid she might melt if held in the mouth, or shatter if held in the hand. Before the baby even cries from hunger, Xu Panhao already puts her nipple in the child’s mouth to feed her. The moment the baby soils her diaper, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law immediately reach out to check based on the slightest change in her expression and hurriedly change her.

They always manage the child’s needs promptly and carefully, giving Baobao no opportunity to demonstrate this strength.

“Our baby is definitely special. Back then, the daughter-in-law of the Sun family gets pregnant around the same time as you, but her child doesn’t make it and is miscarried. Her body also never fully recovers from the incomplete postpartum rest and ends up with long-term health problems.” Liu Sanmei sighs.

Those years are incredibly hard; even young, strong adults have trouble surviving, let alone babies, the elderly, and pregnant women. Not to mention that the daughter-in-law suffers the heavy blow of losing her husband at the time. It is truly a miracle that Baobao is born safely.

Liu Sanmei feels that this seems to be proof that her granddaughter is extraordinary from birth.

She completely overlooks the fact that, back then, in order to protect this child, she gives all the food she can find to her daughter-in-law, starving herself until she is dizzy and nearly doesn’t survive the famine. She forgets how bravely Xu Panhao faces the pain of losing her husband, turning her grief into strength and working hard to keep her emotions from affecting the baby in her belly.

In truth, it isn’t that Baobao is born extraordinary, but rather that an amazing mother and grandmother bring this child into the world.

“Yes, I remember when Baobao was a baby, she was so energetic when drinking milk. Even her brother, who is so strong, can’t compare to her.” Xu Panhao also finds proof that her daughter has been strong from an early age.

In reality, it’s mostly due to the food shortage at the time. Even though Xu Panhao is given the best food in the house, her milk supply is still limited. A child’s innate desire to survive pushes Baobao to exert all her strength just to get a little milk. Once Baobao starts teething, Xu Panhao often feels the pain of her nipples being bitten.

When Zhen Baoli is born, Zhen Shankun is still alive and goes hunting in the mountains from time to time to improve his wife’s diet. At that time, Xu Panhao had plenty of milk, and Zhen Baoli was never hungry. Naturally, his milk-drinking habits aren’t as forceful as Baobao’s.

“Our baby is amazing!” Xu Panhao is so happy that she kisses her daughter several times.

Xu Panhao always worries that her daughter is too weak and might be bullied in the future, especially when she grows up and gets married. If her judgment is wrong and her future son-in-law turns out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, how can her frail daughter stand up to a strong man?

Xu Panhao already makes contingency plans, even considering the possibility of not marrying her daughter off at all, choosing instead to raise her with her son for the rest of her life.

But now, her worries are gone. After witnessing her daughter punch and kill a wild boar, she thinks, What man could overpower her? If anything, it’s the man who should be worried now.

Xu Panhao doesn’t concern herself with whether her daughter might bully others. She only cares that her daughter will never be bullied.

“This child takes after her father!” Liu Sanmei is even prouder than Xu Panhao. Her granddaughter’s strength and ability have to come from her son’s bloodline.

Xu Panhao glances at her mother-in-law but doesn’t say anything.

“I’ll leave the pork thigh for you. As for the pig head, the meat is tricky to clean. I’ll take it back and prepare it. Once it’s ready, I’ll have Baoli and Baobao come over for dinner.”

Since Xu Panhao and Liu Sanmei have separated households, the pork is also divided between the two families.

Along with the pork thigh and the flattened wild boar head, there is also a piece of pork buttocks weighing nearly eight taels that belongs to Liu Sanmei. However, she leaves it in Xu Panhao’s cupboard.

It’s an unspoken understanding between the two women. Every time food is divided, Liu Sanmei secretly sets aside more than half of her share of fine grains for her grandson to bring over. Baobao has a weak stomach and can’t digest coarse grains. These fine grains—precious enough for the average villager to trade for money—are all reserved for Bao alone in the Zhen household.

What little is left with Liu Sanmei is cooked when the grandchildren come over to eat. She never eats the fine grains herself.

“Alright,” Xu Panhao replies as she watches her mother-in-law leave with the pig head. Her expression is conflicted.

After so many years as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, how can they not know what kind of people the other really is? It’s just that things have gotten so tense back then that even after all these years, neither wants to be the first to lower their head.

“Baoli, play with your sister for a while. Mama will stew some meat for you,” Xu Panhao says.

She isn’t one to dwell on sadness or regret. After sighing briefly, she is back to being her quick and efficient self. Handing the little girl to her son, she heads to the stove, lights a fire, and boils water to remove the wild boar’s hair before preparing the large piece of meat.

“Baoli, take this dish of meat to your grandmother.”

Xu Panhao stews the pork butt with pickled mustard greens for the old lady. The wild boar meat, which has little fat, isn’t the best choice for this dish, but in these times of scarcity, no one cares.

She steams the dish for an hour and a half, making the meat incredibly tender and melt-in-the-mouth. The pickled mustard greens help neutralize the wild boar’s gaminess, resulting in a flavorful and aromatic dish.

More importantly, the texture of the meat is easy for the elderly to chew.

“Mama, I’ll go!” Baobao raises her hand eagerly. She doesn’t want her silly brother to take on the messenger role again.

“Alright, Baobao, go with your brother!” Ever since discovering her daughter’s supernatural strength, Xu Panhao feels much more at ease.

She hands the small bowl, which contains four or five pieces of wild boar meat and half a bowl of pickled mustard greens, to her daughter. Watching her little girl act so mature and responsible, Xu Panhao can’t resist patting her head lovingly.

Zhen Baoli, robbed of the task, just stands there grinning goofily, still unaware that his sister thinks he is unreliable.

“Grandma, Mama made stewed pork with preserved vegetables. She told me to bring it to you. She said the meat’s really tender—doesn’t require strong teeth—and you don’t have to worry about getting a bone stuck in your throat.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Baobao carefully places the bowl on the table and innocently relays the message.

Zhen Baoli, standing behind her, scratches his head in confusion. Was Mama’s message really that long? But he reasons that since his sister can kill a wild boar, her words have to be correct.

“What do you mean by ‘getting a bone stuck in the throat?’” Liu Sanmei is puzzled. She has long forgotten her offhand comment from the last time her grandson brought her chicken. The original meaning of her words isn’t even this.

Bao repeats what her brother said that day word for word.

“Your brother said that?” Liu Sanmei asks, startled.

She looks at her eldest grandson, who beams with pride, expecting praise. Her expression turns a bit strange, as if she recalls all the times her grandson’s messages nearly gave her a heart attack. Maybe what her daughter-in-law originally said wasn’t what she imagined after all.

“Mm, I remember everything.” Baobao nods sweetly.

Although she knows her silly brother might be in trouble later, it’s worth it to prevent further misunderstandings between her mother and grandmother.

The old lady doesn’t get angry. Instead, she looks at her grandson with a mix of regret and nostalgia, as though recalling past memories.

“This child takes after his father. Back then, the relationship between me and your great-grandmother wasn’t great either,” she says faintly after a while.

Her words carry weight, hinting at untold stories.

Baobao turns her head to look at her silly brother. The image of the father they never met seems to become a little more vivid.