PCJ – Chapter 224 Wild Boars Enters the Farm

Fortunately, the horticulture field and the back mountain are connected to Meishan Mountain. Otherwise, driving a large group of mountain dogs with wild boars through the fields of Meizi’ao Village would be a disaster. The wild boars wouldn’t obediently follow the main road and might seize opportunities to escape. Although the mountain dogs are obedient, they can’t avoid trampling crops while driving the boars. However, since the horticulture field is already connected to Meishan Mountain, it’s easier to handle. They can just follow the mountain path.

The large group crushed the underbrush of the mountain, creating a path. Shanbao led fifteen mountain dogs to surround the wild boars, while Zhang Jiaohua occasionally used Meishan Mountain spells to calm the wild boars, making them docile as they walked towards the horticulture field. All the wild animals they passed avoided them.

Although this was happening in Meishan Mountain, such a commotion still drew the villagers’ attention. As Zhang Jiaohua drove the wild boars towards the horticulture field, many villagers came to see what was happening.

“Wild boars! A large group of wild boars! Jiaohua drove a large group of wild boars down from Meishan Mountain! What is he planning? Does he want to raise wild boars in the pig farm?”

“How can wild boars be raised? If they escape, they might destroy the tea trees in the horticulture field. The horticulture field not only has tea trees but also many navel oranges.”

“Indeed, the navel oranges are growing so well. It would be a pity if they were ruined. Also, the tea trees took a lot of effort to revive, and now each harvest can yield over a thousand pounds of tea leaves, worth a few hundred yuan. There’s no certainty that the wild boars can be raised successfully. If they escape and ruin the horticulture field, it would be a total loss.”

“What are you worrying about? Although Jiaohua is young, has he ever failed at anything he’s set his mind to? Remember when everyone laughed at him for not knowing how to farm the rice field near his house? But his rice field, without any fertilizer or pesticides, grew better than anyone else’s. Who would dare boast about their farming skills in front of Jiaohua now?” Zhang Jiwang couldn’t help but say.

“Uncle Jiwang, you were also one of those who laughed at him back then.” Someone immediately exposed Zhang Jiwang’s past remarks. He coughed a few times in embarrassment.

“Stop talking nonsense. The point is, we should help Jiaohua with raising wild boars. After all, it costs nothing. If the horticulture field gets damaged, we can always repair it. But if Jiaohua successfully raises the wild boars, it could be a great way for Meizi’ao Village to get rich. We could all follow Jiaohua’s example and raise wild boars. Isn’t that a good thing? Unless everyone plans to leave for work elsewhere, our prosperity might still depend on Jiaohua.” Zhang Dechun said loudly.

“Uncle Dechun, you are the secretary of Meizi’ao Village. Shouldn’t you be the one leading the village to prosperity?” Someone teased.

Zhang Dechun glared at the young man, “You lazy rascal, if you don’t work hard, you won’t even be able to find a wife. Jiaohua is just a kid, yet he’s thinking about ways to make money. Meanwhile, you’re idling around every day. Let me be clear: if anyone dares to mess with Jiaohua’s horticulture field, I’ll break their legs.”

The young man blushed, “Uncle Dechun, I may play around, but I’ve never done anything bad, and I certainly won’t mess with Jiaohua’s horticulture field.”

“Better not. Don’t think you can bully Jiaohua just because he’s young. I’m warning you for your own good. If you cross him, you’ll regret it.” Zhang Dechun snorted.

The young man slunk back into the crowd and left with a few others.

“Dechun, those rascals can’t go on like this. They often steal and cause trouble. We need to find something for them to do.” Zhang Jiwang said, watching the young men leave.

“What can we find? They won’t do the dirty and tiring work in the village, and they don’t have the skills to go out and make a living. They just cause trouble in the village. I may be the village secretary, but I don’t have the authority to control them. If their parents don’t discipline them, what can I do?” Zhang Dechun said, frustrated. If this were during the production team era, troublesome people like them would be sent to work on water reservoirs by the militia.

“Everyone, stop just watching and help Jiaohua. Last time when we picked tea leaves, although we said we were helping, Jiaohua still paid us. If we help him now, he’ll likely prioritize us when he needs help in the future.” Zhang Jiwang said loudly.

His words inspired the villagers, and they moved to help Zhang Jiaohua.

Driving pigs requires skill. You can’t block their path; if you do, they’ll turn around. You usually need to drive them from behind. In the village, people driving boars usually carry a small bamboo stick and control the pig’s direction by waving it from behind.

The people of Meizi’ao Village understood this. They helped by moving to the sides and behind the wild boars to assist Zhang Jiaohua in guiding them.

The entrance gate is the place wild boars fear the most, perhaps because it looks like a mouth ready to devour them. When they reached the horticulture field gate, the boars refused to enter. If it weren’t for the barking mountain dogs, they would have turned around. This was where the villagers proved very helpful. They waved sticks to drive the boars.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly chanted a spell to close the mountain pass: “Disciple steps out, praying to the ancestral masters, sealing three sides, sealing the east, south, and west, leaving only the west open. Close the village, beasts do not wander, birds do not fly, all beasts bow their heads. I command in the name of the Supreme Lord Laozi.”

Upon hearing this spell, the restless wild boars calmed down. The mountain dogs also quieted.

The boars obediently walked along the path into the horticulture field. Although the dogs followed on both sides, they no longer barked.

The villagers were amazed.

“Uncle Jiwang, you’ve seen a lot. What spell is Jiaohua using?” someone asked curiously.

“How would I know? If I knew, wouldn’t I be a shaman too?” Zhang Jiwang had only a superficial understanding of Meishan Mountain spells. If he had learned from a carpenter who inherited the Lu Ban Book, he might have known more. However, the Lu Ban Book is rarely seen among modern carpenters. Zhang Jiwang had only learned a bit from his master.