Chapter Four: Little Lucky and Her Brother Doggie

“Ah—”
“Why is the wild boar still alive?”
“Run!”
“My leg!”
“The wild boar is attacking people, scatter!”
“Help!”
A flurry of panicked shouts and shrieks echoed through the air, abruptly interrupting the heated battle between Old Lady Lin and Granny Tian, which was nearing its climax.

“What’s…” Before she could finish, Granny Tian saw her son Tian Zhen running frantically, chased by the charred wild boar. Her other two sons lay sprawled on the ground, and her third son clutched his leg, wailing. “Son, what’s happening?”

“Husband, run quickly!”

“Ah—” Granny Tian watched as her eldest son was violently struck and sent flying by the wild boar; anxious and furious, she rushed forward to attack the beast.

“Granny Tian, that's a wild boar!” The villagers, seeing her reckless charge, quickly shouted to stop her, muttering under their breath—this troublesome old woman. Only then did Granny Tian regain her senses. She turned and saw the wild boar staring directly at her, its eyes bloodshot. And so—Granny Tian rolled her eyes and fainted spectacularly. The wild boar, perhaps exhausted from its rampage, collapsed as well, finally breathing its last.

In the end, Granny Tian was dragged back home by her husband, who had just returned from outside, while her sons were either dragged or carried back.

“This pork belongs to the Lin family who hunted the boar; don’t covet it anymore, disperse!” The village chief Lin, also just home from outside, made the final decision with a slap, declaring the wild boar rightful property of the Lin family. After all, the Lin family was his own kin, and settling the matter well might earn him a few pounds of pork from his aunt—Uncle Lin, the village chief.

Thus, the pork was awarded to the Lin family, and the Tian family, having stirred up trouble and corrupted the village customs, was severely criticized by the chief. This kept them well-behaved for quite some time.

—The Lin Family—

The Lin household was bustling with activity. Though Old Lady Lin had fought with Granny Tian, her spirits remained unaffected.

Lin Dalang and Lin Sanlang were slaughtering the pig, Lin Erlang was working in the county as a hired hand, the women Li and Wu were preparing dinner, Meng was in her confinement, and the two little boys—Little Wolf from the eldest branch and Cen Hai from the second branch (Lin Erlang believed his son was destined for study and named him Cen Hai)—were in the courtyard, their wide eyes fixed on their father and uncle as they butchered the pig—meat was finally here!

As for Old Lady Lin—

“Pfft—hahaha, serves her right! That’ll teach her to try and snatch our meat, haha…” Old Lady Lin was in high spirits; just thinking about the Tian family being chased by the boar made her laugh uncontrollably.

“Hahaha—”

“Wife, what are you giggling about? It’s late, and you're creeping me out,” Old Man Lin, watching his wife laugh like a fool, couldn’t help but worry. She was frail and bedridden most of the year; should anything happen to her, what would he do?

“She’s been laughing for hours,” Old Man Lin sighed helplessly. “You don’t understand, today’s events…” She started, but was soon overcome with laughter.

“Hahaha,” Old Man Lin also couldn’t help but laugh. “That Tian family is truly shameless.” He shook his head.

“Serves them right, daring to steal our pork without the luck for it, bah—” Old Lady Lin boasted.

“By the way, did you send some pork to the Er De family?”

“I did, don’t worry, everything’s arranged,” Old Lady Lin assured him.

“That’s good,” Old Man Lin nodded.

“Once the pork is sold tomorrow, I’ll get you some good medicine, and Dog Egg will need a few more prescriptions,” Old Lady Lin’s joy faded slightly as she thought of her eldest grandson, Dog Egg. Dog Egg was Lin Dalang’s eldest son, only six years old. When his mother was pregnant, she delivered prematurely; the child was no bigger than a kitten and survived on milk from various households. Frail and sickly since birth, he was given a humble name. Originally, they relied on Old Man Lin’s skill at writing for others to make ends meet, but he injured his waist, and after spending money on treatment, life became tight. Thankfully, their youngest son Meng married in, and her family helped, making things a bit better, but time proved it wasn’t enough. They couldn’t rely solely on her family, and so the medicine was often interrupted; Dog Egg’s prescriptions were sometimes cut off.

“Wife, my health is what it is, I don’t need tonic. Just make sure Dog Egg gets his medicine, let the child take his remedies and get well.” Old Man Lin was open-minded; at his age, half his life was already buried, what point was there in tonics?

“No, you’ll listen to me on this. Tomorrow, let Erlang bring back a few prescriptions.”

“Old…” wife

“That’s settled!” Old Lady Lin declared with authority.

Knowing her stubbornness, Old Man Lin said no more.

After dinner, Wu carried a bowl of dark, thick medicine to her son’s room. Seeing her son drink the medicine as easily as water, her heart ached, and her eyes reddened. “Mother, I’m fine, don’t be sad,” Dog Egg said, seeing his mother’s tearful eyes and knowing she felt guilty and upset.

“Son, today your father and uncle brought home a wild boar—it was heavy…” Wu recounted the events of the day, and when mentioning the Tian family being gored by the boar, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Mother, is Grandma and you alright?” Dog Egg worried about his grandmother and mother.

“We’re fine. But I heard the Tian family suffered. Tian’s second and third sons were kicked by the boar, broke two ribs, Tian Zhen got rammed in the back—no idea how he is, and Tian’s fourth son broke his leg,” Wu said, a bit gleefully. Serves those bullies right—thieves and scoundrels in the village, everyone curses them. Being gored was their due.

“…Mother,” Dog Egg was helpless at his mother’s obvious schadenfreude.

“Mother, didn’t you say Auntie had a baby girl? Is she cute?”

Dog Egg wanted to change the subject, casually asking about his little aunt’s baby girl.

“Oh, your little aunt gave birth today—a healthy six pounds six ounces! Fair and chubby, such a lucky child. Look, it’s been dry for ages, and as soon as she was born, it rained…” Aunt Wu was excited, babbling on.

Hearing his mother talk about his little sister, Dog Egg felt a strange urge to meet her. He was weak and couldn’t leave his room often; apart from his parents, uncles, aunts, and two naughty brothers, life was dull for Dog Egg.

Seeing her son’s forlorn expression, Wu’s heart softened. Remembering her mother-in-law’s words about the lucky baby, she thought perhaps letting Dog Egg get close to her might help his health.

Thus—after coaxing Dog Egg to sleep, Wu went to Old Lady Lin and explained the situation. Since it concerned her precious grandson, Old Lady Lin waved her hand in agreement: tomorrow, Dog Egg would go out to meet the lucky baby!

The next day, Dog Egg finally met his legendary little sister.