Chapter 57: A Dispute Sparked by a Pheasant

And so, Wen Mubai naturally stepped down from the front lines and became a member of the logistics team. When this news spread, everyone took it in stride. Well, what could they say? They were already used to such things! After all, the image of Comrade Wen as a delicate young man was deeply ingrained in everyone’s mind. Naturally, Comrade Tang wouldn’t let anything happen to his face, so no one found it surprising. As for blaming Comrade Tang? That was out of the question! In these times, whoever provided them with meat was a great benefactor. Comrade Tang was such a good person; surely, she had her reasons for everything she did. Besides, as she herself had explained, there weren’t enough people to go up the mountain, and she was doing it for their sake—so they could have more meat to eat. How could this be called abusing power for personal gain? Thus, everyone convinced themselves quite easily. Tang Banxia had worried that someone might object, but in the end, everyone was more than happy. All was well.

The next day, Tang Banxia took Wen Mubai up the mountain with her. Even if it was just an excuse, they still had to keep up appearances. That day, they chose a different spot to dig traps, but perhaps the location wasn’t ideal—they ended up catching only a single pheasant. Although a little disappointed, they accepted it easily. Shi Jian, worried the three might feel bad, offered some comfort: “There aren’t many animals around here today, but it’s fine. Tomorrow we’ll try another spot.” To his surprise, the three were completely unfazed. Hu Zhaodi felt that catching one pheasant was already quite good. Wen Mubai had absolute faith in Tang Banxia, believing their bad luck was due to poor feng shui. As for Tang Banxia, she still had plenty of meat from the day before, so she wasn’t worried.

That day, once again, the scent of meat wafted through the Gu Yue Village camp. The villages that had set up shacks nearby lived in a state of painful joy: breathing in the aroma of Gu Yue Village’s meat, biting into their own gritty cornbread, and convincing themselves they too were eating meat. This situation lasted only three days before Shi Jian discovered that neighboring villages had started copying their approach and were also foraging in the mountains. But he wasn’t worried—in fact, he found it amusing. Without Comrade Tang’s animal-attracting powder, they could comb the entire mountain and still not find a single feather. And indeed, that’s what happened.

Most villages returned empty-handed, though one or two got lucky and caught a snake or dug up a field mouse. But the effort far outweighed the reward, and most soon gave up. Yet there was one village that refused to believe in their failure, convinced that if Gu Yue Village could do it, so could they, and stubbornly kept at it. Normally, this had nothing to do with Gu Yue Village, but unfortunately, those people set their sights on Gu Yue Village’s game. Since other villages began going up the mountain, Tang Banxia and her group no longer wandered between traps but instead kept watch nearby, hiding in a concealed spot to wait for prey.

Generally speaking, most people were honest—if they saw a trap belonging to Gu Yue Village, they’d move elsewhere. But not Muzi Village. Lacking their own skills, they dug their traps right next to Gu Yue Village’s. Eventually, they grew even bolder, trying to take game from Gu Yue Village’s traps. Of course, Tang Banxia and her team wouldn’t stand for that and immediately caught the woman from Muzi Village in the act.

“You’re from Muzi Village, aren’t you? Don’t you know this is our trap?” Shi Jian put on a stern face, looking quite intimidating. The one caught was a young woman, pretty and neat. She looked flustered for a moment at the sight of Tang Banxia and the others, but quickly regained her composure and retorted, “Who says this is yours? Do you have any proof?”

“I could say it’s ours,” she added, curling her lip disdainfully. “Are you trying to bully me just because I’m a woman and you have numbers on your side?”

What a shameless reversal! Shi Jian clenched his fists in anger and was about to speak when Hu Zhaodi stepped forward first. “Why bother talking morals with a thief?”

The young woman glared fiercely at Zhaodi. Hu Zhaodi strode up to her. “All our village traps are marked. What you took is ours.” With a swift movement, she snatched the pheasant from the woman’s hand. “Don’t even try to pretend you made a mistake. Everyone knows Muzi Village likes to follow us around. And now you’ve stooped to stealing.”

The young woman’s face turned ugly at Zhaodi’s words. “Who are you calling a thief? Can’t I have just made a mistake?”

Hu Zhaodi shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

Watching this, Tang Banxia struggled to keep a straight face. That line was truly infuriating in an argument. Sure enough, the young woman’s face flushed with rage, and she instinctively wanted to fight. But after two steps, she regained her composure. She was alone—she’d be at a disadvantage in a scuffle. Stamping her foot, she spat out, “Just you wait!” and ran down the mountain.

Tang Banxia’s group paid her words no mind and happily carried their catch home. But that evening, people from Muzi Village came seeking retribution. At that time, Gu Yue Village’s folk had just finished work, and before they could react, they found themselves facing a hostile group.

Leading Muzi Village was their team leader, surnamed Li. Team Leader Li was a slightly chubby old man. “Hand over the pheasant you stole from us!”

“Hand it over!”

“Hand it over!”

The Muzi villagers echoed, trying to boost their momentum.

“And compensate us for today’s game!” Team Leader Li said, patting his belly.

The young woman from earlier stood beside him, looking smug, while the Muzi villagers behind glared menacingly. The people of Gu Yue Village were bewildered and a little cowed, until Shi Jian strode to the front and confronted Team Leader Li. “The pheasant is ours. We found it in our trap. Your people tried to steal from us—we haven’t even settled that account, and now you have the nerve to come here accusing us!”

Fury blazed on Shi Jian’s face as he swung his massive fists. The people of Gu Yue Village, hearing this, immediately grew incensed. How dare they steal our game! Such an offense was unforgivable. In an instant, their village pride was roused, and they glared back, angrier than ever. The two villages squared off, ready for battle.

Team Leader Li’s plump face lost its smile, and he said darkly, “Shi, you’d better not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink!” He had long disliked Gu Yue Village. What was so great about that city girl, daring to act as a barefoot doctor—she was out of line!

Shi Jian shot back, “You were the thieves first, and now you’re slandering us!”

Clearly, there would be no compromise. Neither village was easy to push around, and no one would back down. No one knew who threw the first punch, but in the blink of an eye, the two villages were locked in a brawl.

Tang Banxia stood at the back, and Wen Mubai warned her, “Hide yourself well. Don’t get hurt.” Then he dashed into the fray.

In a flash, he kicked a man off Hu Qixin’s back, then landed a left hook that sent another reeling away from Sun Wenming. Tang Banxia stared in shock at the figure wreaking havoc in the melee—wasn’t this man supposed to be the delicate type?

“Zhao, Zhaodi—!”

No response. She glanced sideways and saw that Hu Zhaodi had already vanished from sight. Scanning the battlefield, she quickly spotted Zhaodi, who was busily giving the troublemaking woman from Muzi Village a thorough lesson. One hand gripping her hair, the other a blur, and the woman’s wails echoed through the camp.

Tang Banxia realized, perhaps she was the weakling after all! She shrank back, saw that Gu Yue Village clearly had the upper hand, and quite naturally settled in to watch the show.

This dispute, sparked by a single pheasant, was finally put to an end by the commune leaders, who roared at both villages and then took away their respective team leaders.