The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1715 Zhao Youcai, Dog's Testicles; Remains of a Pig, Two Bears Fight (1 words, with yes

Chapter 1715 Zhao Youcai, Dog's Testicles; Remains of a Pig, Two Bears Fight (10,000 words, with yesterday's update)

As soon as spring arrives, strong winds blow, howling mountain winds that make the branches of trees on the mountainside rustle loudly.

About a mile and a half away from where Zhao Jun and his two companions were, on a flat area near the top of the mountain, there was a clearing of nearly twenty square meters between tree stumps and trees.

At this time of year, the snow on the mountain has just melted, and apart from the pine trees, there is no greenery in the forest. The grass has not sprouted, the trees have not yet budded, and the mountainside is covered with withered branches and fallen leaves.

Although this mountain area wasn't clear-cut last year, it was still heavily logged. All the trees as thick as a thigh were gone. Apart from the knee-high tree stumps, there were only two pine trees and one ash tree around this open area.

With no trees around to block the sunlight, the afternoon sun fell on this open space, specifically on a large mound made of tree branches, more than half a person's height.

This mound was several times larger than Zhang Yuanmin's millstone, constructed entirely of tree branches from top to bottom, with stubble on both sides of the branches. The stubble indicated it wasn't cut with a knife or axe; it was carved by wild boars using their teeth.

These bulges are the nests that the female wild boar builds for her unborn babies before giving birth.

Unlike swallows' nests, wild boar nests aren't lined with mud, but they're still very sturdy. Even if Li Baoyu stood on it and jumped around, it wouldn't collapse.

The wild boar's den had three entrances for the piglets to enter and exit. The mother boar was not in front of the den at the moment. Looking through one of the entrances, you could see three piglets lying among the dead leaves, huddled together for warmth.

There was also a little wild boar, standing alone on the other side of the kennel, shivering. It seemed to want to move closer to its brothers and sisters, but its weak body prevented it from taking a step.

Just as Hu Dahai and Zhao Jun said, this litter of piglets was born too early.

In early spring in Northeast China, it's fine if the sun is out. But if the sun isn't out, even wearing a cotton-padded coat doesn't feel warm.

Especially in the mountains, a strong wind can be deadly. Even with the sun shining like today, the temperature in the mountains still drops below zero after sunset. These wild boars haven't even grown their full coats yet; even if they don't freeze to death, they'll get sick.

The weak little wild boar let out screams, a sound of both pain and helplessness. It was its cries that were carried by the mountain wind to the ears of Zhao Jun and his companions.

South of the wild boar's den, about a meter away, lay a small, flattened wild boar. Judging from its gruesome death, it must have been run over by its mother; otherwise, its intestines wouldn't have been squeezed out.

Among the withered leaves around them were clumps of black wild boar droppings. The mother boar was not at her burrow at the moment, probably out foraging for food, but Zhao Jun and his two companions did not know this.

At this moment, Zhao Jun patted Li Baoyu, then pointed to a pine tree not far away that was about the size of a bowl, then pointed to Li Baoyu's chest, and then opened his hand and pressed down.

Li Baoyu understood Zhao Jun's meaning: he was to wait in place.

Zhao Jun continued with his actions, but this had nothing to do with Li Baoyu.

After exchanging simple gestures, Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang, uncle and nephew, moved to the left and right respectively, preparing to feel their way up the ridge from both sides.

The ridge is like the bridge of a person's nose, and the two hillsides are like the nostrils on the sides of the nose.

At this time, the wild boar was located on both sides of the ridge, at most two or three hundred meters away from the ridge.

Judging from the squeaking of the wild boar, Zhao Jun deduced that they would find the boar's den not far up the ridge. However, they couldn't be sure which side of the ridge the den was on, so the uncle and nephew split up.

Watching Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang leave, Li Baoyu, hiding behind a tree, felt somewhat resentful. They were both mountain runners, but while they could go and raid pigsties, he was stuck in the same spot.

But Li Baoyu also knew that Zhao Jun's arrangement was due to his own incompetence.

The trees on this mountain have been cut down quite severely; you can hardly see any trees from below. It's only when you're on higher ground, looking down from above, that you can see them more clearly.

In this terrain, if the sow remains near the burrow, she will easily spot anyone approaching. Reaching the burrow without disturbing the sow requires more than just caution; it demands considerable experience.

Just like Zhao Jun at this moment, he crouched down, craned his neck, and carefully walked up.

The ground was covered with withered branches and fallen leaves, and Zhao Jun took high steps and light footsteps to avoid making any noise.

Zhao Jun took a few steps and felt that the wild boar should be on his side. The forest was clear and bright, without any hazel bushes or thickets.

Because wild boars like to nest in clear, open spaces, they definitely won't go in if there are hazel bushes nearby.

The messy fallen leaves and twigs on the ground slowed down Zhao Jun's pace, making him move even more cautiously.

After climbing another 230 or 240 meters, Zhao Jun spotted the wild boar's den. He cautiously surveyed his surroundings, then pursed his lips and mimicked two bird calls, trying to alert Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu to come and meet him.

The situation has changed; reconnaissance must be replaced by a direct assault.

At this moment, Zhao Jun tried to keep his body low and crouched behind a tree stump.

When chainsaw operators cut down trees, they have to squat to cut them close to the root. Squatting is uncomfortable, so these chainsaw operators cut down trees standing up. As a result, the tree stumps they leave behind are all high, above their knees.

At this moment, Zhao Jun squatted behind the tree stump, his eyes searching around, concealing himself while observing the surrounding situation.

He was afraid that the sow was hiding nearby and might suddenly jump out and kill him again.

After observing for a while, Zhao Jun imitated the bird's call three more times.

Zhao Jun has spent two lifetimes running through the mountains, and he can imitate the sounds of various animals in the mountains very well.

Unlike roe deer, wild boars are very alert. At the slightest disturbance, they will run away. A sow who has just given birth will protect her piglets for a few days. During this time, any disturbance will draw her attention.

But the wild boars don't care about the birdsong. There are so many birds in these mountains that the wild boars have gotten used to hearing it all the time.

Zhao Jun blew two notes the first time, three the second time, and then four. Each bird call was continuous, so the wild boar couldn't distinguish them, but Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu could definitely tell the difference.

Zhao Jun blew the whistle twice more, and after further observation, he concluded that the sow was indeed not nearby.

Even so, Zhao Jun didn't approach the wild boar's burrow. Because the baby boars weren't dead; if someone suddenly went near, the startled baby boars would run away from the burrow.

The key point is that Zhao Jun knows the wild boar's den doesn't have just one exit. If he runs to one side, the baby boars will definitely escape through the other two exits. Zhao Jun can't bring all the baby boars back by himself.

Therefore, Zhao Jun imitated bird calls to attract Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu.

Zhao Jun waited patiently, and after about seven or eight minutes, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

He glanced to the side and saw a large, unidentifiable lump of something that darted up beside him.

"Oh my..." Zhao Jun exclaimed in surprise, then heard a familiar voice: "Brother, don't panic, it's Baoyu!"

Zhao Jun looked up and saw Li Baoyu squatting beside him.

The mountain wind was so strong that it drowned out the sound Li Baoyu made when he arrived.

"Brother," Li Baoyu whispered, his lips close to Zhao Jun's ear, shielding his eyes from the wind, "what's going on?"

Zhao Jun whispered in Li Baoyu's ear in the same way, "Baoyu, hurry back and get in the car to get three sacks."

"Yes!" Li Baoyu nodded heavily, thinking that he finally had a chance to show his skills.

Seeing Zhao Jun wave at him, Li Baoyu crouched down, got up, and slowly walked back the way he came.

After walking twenty or thirty meters and not seeing Zhao Jun again, Li Baoyu jumped down and landed on the rocks below.

Immediately afterwards, Li Baoyu continued down the mountain at an extremely fast pace.

As Wang Qiang rushed to join them, he saw a dark shadow flash by between the hazel stalks and the tree. Wang Qiang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly reached out to grab the gun.

Just then, Sui Feng called out "Uncle," causing Wang Qiang to pause.

Wang Qiang frowned and looked down. He saw a large, dark figure descend in a flash. The speed was so fast that if he hadn't called out "Uncle," Wang Qiang would have definitely mistaken it for a wild animal.

Li Baoyu took a few quick steps, trying to stop in front of Wang Qiang, but Wang Qiang was too heavy and fast. Helpless, Li Baoyu could only grab Wang Qiang's arm, pulling him off balance as he stumbled.

"Baoyu, where are you going?" Wang Qiang asked. Li Baoyu replied, "Uncle, my brother has reached the pigsty and wants me to go get the sack."

Wang Qiang was experienced, and he immediately understood what Zhao Jun was planning. He quickly said, "Baoyu, shall I go with you two?"

“No need, Uncle.” Li Baoyu waved his hand and said, “I can go by myself, and it will be faster.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang felt that Li Baoyu's words made sense, and immediately said, "Alright, then go ahead."

After saying that, Wang Qiang added with a laugh, "You run fast, kid. That guy's really something."

"Hehe..." Li Baoyu chuckled upon hearing this, then raised his hand and pointed upwards, saying, "Uncle, when you see my brother, please put in a good word for me."

"Huh?" Wang Qiang was taken aback; he couldn't understand Li Baoyu's logic at all.

Just then, Li Baoyu set off. There was a gentle slope beneath his feet. After running a few steps and covering five or six meters, he saw a steep ledge in front of him, about half a meter high. Li Baoyu lifted himself up and jumped down. Without stopping, he leaped down from another ledge, and then, to avoid tree stumps and rocks, quickly ran in an S-shape.

Watching Li Baoyu disappear in the blink of an eye, Wang Qiang couldn't help but sigh, "My nephew is right. If we don't catch bad guys, we'll be wasting this talent."

Forty minutes later, Li Baoyu arrived to meet up with Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang, carrying three burlap sacks rolled up on his back.

At this moment, Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang hid behind a pine tree. Zhao Jun imitated a bird's call to call Li Baoyu over. They saw Li Baoyu, who was panting heavily, take a burlap sack off his back.

Wang Qiang distributed the sacks, and Zhao Jun gently patted Li Baoyu's back to help him catch his breath.

Meanwhile, on the shady side of the mountain, Qin Guangquan, Qin Hongzhi, and Wu Dalin from Xishan Village were surrounding a dead sow.

Before Xishan Village sought refuge with Grandma Zhao, there were two trees of number 16 in the village. One belonged to Tong Youfeng, and the other was in the hands of Qin Guangquan.

On the day Zhao Jun led his men to capture One-Ear, he encountered Qin Guangquan and his nephew, who were hunting wild boars, on his way home. Zhao Jun bought their wild boars, which led to the later incident where the people of Xishan Village sought Zhao Jun's help to solve the fox problem.

The man who was chased by the wild boar yesterday was Wu Dalin. When he returned to Lengchang, he happened to run into Hu Dahai, who was taking out the swill.

Seeing that Wu Dalin's clothes and pants were torn and his face was bruised, Hu Dahai asked him what had happened. Wu Dalin told him that he had been chased by a wild boar, and Hu Dahai told him not to tell anyone about it.

If Hu Dahai had told Wu Dalin that he shouldn't talk about it because Zhao Jun was going to use a small amount of force, Wu Dalin would definitely have listened to Hu Dahai. But Hu Dahai didn't say anything, so Wu Dalin kept his suspicions to himself.

Wu Dalin had heard that Hu Dahai was an old gunner, although he didn't hunt much anymore, his nephew still did.

Wu Dalin thought that Hu Dahai was going to tell his nephew about the sow, so he told Qin Guangquan about it that very night.

The people of Xishantun had only been eating well for a few days, so they didn't care about the rule against killing livestock with young.

Before going up the mountain, all of them brought their guns from home; Qin Guangquan brought his No. 16 gun.

The No. 16 can fire both shotgun shells and slugs. Shotgun shells are effective against small prey, while slugs are effective against wild boar, deer, and bears. However, air rifles cannot be used against wild boars, so when Tong Youfeng stayed behind to guard Xishantun, Wu Dalin had to rely on Qin Guangquan.

They were supposed to come yesterday, but the group of workers from Xishantun was led by Zhang Xinglong.

This old man's personality is quite similar to Liu Haizhong in "The Courtyard House". They are both people who like to put on airs as leaders, are ambitious but lack talent.

Qin Guangquan and his two companions asked Zhang Xinglong for leave, but Zhang Xinglong not only refused but also took a special liking to them.

Today, Qin Guangquan and the other two slipped out while Zhang Xinglong went to the outhouse after lunch.

The two hundred and forty-odd female wild boar lay on the ground, shot in the shoulder blade, the bullet having pierced her body.

The sow's body twitched slightly, blood foam came out of her mouth, and her long, protruding milk carcass was pressed against the ground, squeezing out drops of milk.

The sow chased Wu Dalin away the day before yesterday, and gave birth to her piglets yesterday. On the day of giving birth, the sow stayed in her den for a whole day and night. She only came out today to look for food. But unexpectedly, before she even had a chance to eat her fill, Qin Guangquan shot her down.

"Brother Quan, you're amazing!" Wu Dalin gave Qin Guangquan a thumbs-up and laughed, "He was killed with a single shot!"

"Then look!" Qin Hongzhi laughed from the side, "My second uncle is a really good shot!"

Wu Dalin and Qin Hongzhi didn't contribute much to the hunt of this wild boar, yet they got a share of the prey. Of course, they had to fawn over Qin Guangquan.

"Alright, hurry up!" Qin Guangquan called to the two of them, "You two sit down and butcher this pig. I think this pig can yield a hundred catties of meat. Once you've butchered the meat, put it in a sack and carry it back."

Those two foreman surnamed Xie and Huang, don't they want to buy? Carry the meat back and sell it to them. After that, put the pig's head, pig's trotters, hanging lanterns, big bones, and all sorts of rotten things in a sack and drag them into the river.

"Then you two come again tomorrow, give them the money from the pork seller, and keep these leftovers to send home. Let the three of us share them, let the kids have a treat. Otherwise, we won't have anything to eat this spring."

"And what about you, Second Uncle?" Qin Hongzhi asked. Qin Guangquan raised his hand and pointed to the top of the hill, saying, "I climbed over the hill to the sunny slope."

As he spoke, Qin Guangquan kicked the sow's hoof and said, "Look, this old sow just gave birth. I'm going to find Xiao Huabangzi. Once I find her, we'll take her home to raise. When she's grown up, we'll sell her to the village chief, Wu."

"Hey!" Upon hearing this, Wu Dalin hurriedly asked, "Brother Quan, won't you be back later?"

"Why would I come back? I'm not coming back." Qin Guangquan said, "I'm going straight back to Lengchang. After you two finish your work, you can go back from here down to the ditch and pond."

“Okay then.” Wu Dalin replied, “Then Quan-ge, take your time. We’ll head back after we’re done.”

"Hmm." Qin Guangquan responded with a slightly aloof tone, then slung his gun over his shoulder and left.

It's normal for the besieger to act arrogantly at this time.

To gut a pig, it must be positioned with its four legs in the air. At this moment, Wu Dalin, who was setting up the pig's legs, glanced at Qin Guangquan's departing figure, then smiled and said to Qin Hongzhi, "Look at my brother Quan, he's completely different now that he's gutting a pig."

"Hehe...that's how gunners are," Qin Hongzhi laughed. "Even if you're shooting at the gray-skinned enemy, you'll still be awesome when you get home, right?"

After saying this, Qin Hongzhi nudged Wu Dalin lightly with his elbow and said with a wicked smile, "Doesn't my sister-in-law wash your feet too?"

They addressed each other differently. Wu Dalin called Qin Guangquan "brother," while Qin Hongzhi, Qin Guangquan's nephew, called Wu Dalin "brother."

"Hehe..." Thinking about how his status in the family had skyrocketed in recent months, Wu Dalin couldn't help but laugh.

Wu Dalin is a grateful person, and whenever he thinks about the wonderful life he has now, he remembers how good Wang Meilan was.

Thinking of Wang Meilan, Wu Dalin recalled something and asked Qin Hongzhi, "Hey? Brother, you said our village chief also goes hunting, and he caught a wild boar. Doesn't he look awesome when he gets home?"

In Wu Dalin's mind, Wang Meilan was a legendary figure. A woman more generous than any man, offering them cigarettes and treating them to meat. Wu Dalin wondered, wouldn't such a woman spoil her husband at home?

"The village headman?" Qin Hongzhi chuckled upon hearing this, and said, "Him? He's a son of a bitch!"

The word is used here not as an insult, but to say that Zhao Youcai is utterly incompetent at hunting.

"Huh?" Wu Dalin was taken aback, then heard Qin Hongzhi laugh and say, "Didn't you hear what that gang of thieves, that leader surnamed Huang, said? The village chief's son went out hunting and accidentally killed someone's old ox!"

"Oh my god!" Wu Dalin exclaimed in shock, "Old Niu beat him to death? How much compensation do we have to pay him?!"

"Three thousand." Upon hearing Qin Hongzhi's words, Wu Dalin immediately stood up, exclaiming, "How much? Three thousand yuan? What kind of old cow is that expensive?"

Qin Hongzhi gestured with his hands and laughed, "He didn't just fight one, he fought three!"

"Huh?" Wu Dalin looked incredulous and said, "Really? Are you kidding me? Three of them? Is that even possible?"

"See, why would I lie to you?" Qin Hongzhi laughed. "Besides, this isn't what I said, it's what Chief Huang said."

As he spoke, Qin Hongzhi pulled out a knife from his back and gestured with it to indicate that Wu Dalin should hold the pig's leg so that he could cut into it more easily.

“Ah, Huang the foreman knows the village head’s family, huh?” After Wu Dalin finished speaking, Qin Hongzhi said, “Yeah, not only does Huang the foreman know his family, but does Jie the foreman not know his family either? When Huang the foreman said that the village head’s son beat the old ox, Jie the foreman was listening nearby, but he didn’t say anything.”

As he spoke, Qin Hongzhi cut open the wound and said, "He's the younger brother of the foreman, isn't he the son of the village head's cart owner?"

The "Huang Batou" Qin Hongzhi mentioned is Huang Gui, and "Jie Batou" is naturally Jie Zhong. As for "Che Laobanzi" he mentioned, it's a local dialect term meaning rickshaw driver. Jie Chen drove a Jiefang rickshaw every day, following the Zhao family, so the people of Xishantun spread the rumor that he was the Zhao family's rickshaw driver.

At this moment, the wild boar's entrails were slit open with a knife, and the two men worked together to pull out the lantern and hang it on a nearby tree.

They weren't doing this to honor the mountain, but because they had nowhere else to put it.

"Brother," Wu Dalin suggested, "Let's pick out the good meat and carry it back. As for the rest of the rotten meat, let's throw it in the river and pick it out."

"Throw them into the chicken feather river," Qin Hongzhi said. "The two who pick out the good ones carry them back, and the rest, like skeletons, lanterns, and stuff, are just thrown here into the chicken feather river."

"Will that work?" Wu Dalin asked. "Didn't your second uncle say he wanted us to..."

"Give what?" Qin Hongzhi interrupted Wu Dalin, saying, "It's so far from the river. If he stops pulling, let the two of us pull instead."

Qin Guangquan and Qin Hongzhi, uncle and nephew, have a really good relationship, but even if they are good friends, it's not wrong for them to complain to each other a little.

Seeing that Wu Dalin remained silent, Qin Hongzhi pointed to the side and said, "It's getting dark soon, and this shady slope will get very cold at night. The meat won't spoil if we leave it here. We can get up early tomorrow and take it back."

"Won't your second uncle scold us if he finds out?" Wu Dalin asked. Qin Hongzhi laughed and said, "Are you stupid, brother? If we don't tell him, how will he know?"

With that, Qin Hongzhi waved his hand and said, "Didn't you hear what he said? If we come tomorrow, it will be just the two of us."

Immediately afterward, Qin Hongzhi pointed to the opposite bank and said, "The riverbank is more than three miles away. What are you going to do there?"

Hearing Qin Hongzhi say this, Wu Dalin fell silent.

At this moment, Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, and Li Baoyu, each carrying a burlap sack, cautiously made their way towards the wild boar's den.

They were cautious, fearing the sow might suddenly leap out. At that moment, Zhao Jun and his two companions were on the sunny slope, while Wu Dalin and his two companions were on the shady slope. If they fired from across the hillside, the shady slope wouldn't be able to hear them at all.

Therefore, Zhao Jun and his two companions are still unaware that the sow has died.

As Zhao Jun and his two companions approached, the four little wild boars in the den became aware of their presence.

The three animals that had been huddled together got up. Instead of running away, they moved towards the center of the pigsty, away from Zhao Jun and his two companions who were nearby.

Zhao Jun and his two companions stopped two meters away from the wild boar's den, then spread out and surrounded it.

Immediately afterwards, all three of them carried sacks in one hand and raised the other to gesture numbers.

All three of them gestured with the number "one," meaning that they saw an exit.

There are exactly three entrances, so the three of them can each block one.

“I’m going,” Zhao Jun said. “Uncle, Baoyu, you two are blocking the way.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu both braced their hands against the openings of the burlap sacks and quickly moved towards the exit of the wild boar's den, then fastened the burlap sacks over the exit.

With both exits blocked, the light in the wild boar's den went out instantly. Just as the baby wild boar panicked, Zhao Jun reached his hand into the last opening.

Then, a squeaking sound was heard, and a startled little wild boar plunged headfirst into the sack that Wang Qiang had blocked the exit with.

In the ensuing chaos, one took the lead, followed by the other two.

Wang Qiang felt the sack suddenly sink, and then it felt like something had crawled inside.

"My nephew's here," Wang Qiang said. "There seem to be three of them!"

As Wang Qiang spoke, a rustling sound came from inside his sack. Seeing this, Wang Qiang quickly grabbed the sack's opening, knelt down on one knee, and pushed his knee into the opening to prevent any more wild boars from escaping.

"Let me see." Zhao Jun knelt down and tilted his head to look into the pigsty, but it was dark inside and he couldn't see anything.

"Baoyu, give me some light!" Zhao Jun shouted. Li Baoyu quickly pulled the sack down further, exposing half of the opening.

"Alright, alright!" Zhao Jun glanced inside again and said, "Baoyu, put your hand in, there's a piglet that looks dead."

A small wild boar lay on the withered leaves; it was the same one that had been separated from the herd and was weak earlier. It hadn't fallen dead; rather, it had been knocked down by its three siblings in their panicked running.

It was already weak, and once it fell to the ground, it couldn't get up.

Li Baoyu reached in, touched it a couple of times, and then touched the little wild boar.

“Brother isn’t dead.” Li Baoyu’s words were ambiguous, but he didn’t care about that at the moment, and simply said, “He’s still warm.”

As he spoke, Li Baoyu caught the little wild boar.

"Uncle, let's get out of here, that's all." Zhao Jun said as he stood up and headed towards Li Baoyu. Wang Qiang carefully lifted the sack, and with a gentle scoop, the three wild boar pups landed at the bottom.

"Let me see." Zhao Jun came over and saw that the little wild boar in Li Baoyu's arms was on the verge of death.

"Brother, do you think it's going to survive?" Li Baoyu asked. Zhao Jun replied, "Hurry down the mountain and back to Lengchang. Let's see if it can recover."

"Yes!" Li Baoyu responded, not caring about the mess, he put the little wild boar in his arms and carried it downstairs.

The Zhao family gang killed countless wild boars, but that did not stop them from showing compassion for the weak.

“Three nephews!” Wang Qiang said to Zhao Jun with a smile, while opening the sack for Zhao Jun to see.

Zhao Jun looked down into the sack and saw three little wild boars swaying and bobbing around inside like they were on a trampoline.

"Let's go, Uncle!" Zhao Jun said to Wang Qiang, "Let's hurry up and leave before the old sow comes back."

The uncle and nephew chased after Li Baoyu down the mountain, while Qin Guangquan had not yet reached the top rank.

Zhao Jun and his two companions descended the mountain, got into a jeep, and quickly returned to Xinlengchang. By then, the Jiefang truck was no longer there, presumably Jie Chen and the others were almost home.

The jeep stopped in front of the cook's shack. Yang Shuqiu's wife came out and heard Zhao Jun call out to her, "Uncle Yang, is that you?"

"Oh my, Zhao Xiao!" Old Mrs. Yang exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you back again?"

When Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu got out of the car to greet Mrs. Yang, Hu Mantang's wife came out of the house.

Hu Mantang and Zhao Youcai are sworn brothers, and Zhao Jun calls this old Mrs. Hu "Auntie".

"Come inside, kid!" Old Mrs. Hu greeted Zhao Jun warmly, saying, "Your third uncle is nailing down a pigsty in the house, saying you wanted to catch some little flower sticks?"

"Ah!" Zhao Jun laughed, "We've brought them all back."

"Really?" The two old ladies came closer and saw the little wild boar in Li Baoyu's arms. Old Mrs. Hu said, "What happened? Why is it half dead?"

"It's too cold at night, it must have caught a cold." Zhao Jun said to Mrs. Hu, "Auntie, could you make some rice porridge for it? I'll crush the painkiller and feed it to it in the rice porridge, see if it can recover."

“Okay, children.” Mrs. Hu said readily, “You two come inside quickly, I’ll go make you some rice porridge.”

After saying that, Mrs. Hu left.

Old Mrs. Yang led Zhao Jun and the other two into the shack. As soon as she opened the door, she heard cursing and swearing coming from inside.

"You're just banging it on! I told you that's not okay! It's not okay!"

"I'll nail it however I want! Are you trying to impress me? You old bastard!"

Judging from the sounds, it seems that Hu Mantang and Hu Dahai are arguing.

Sure enough, when Zhao Jun entered the room, he saw the two old men arguing heatedly, their faces red and necks bulging, while Yang Shuqiu watched the commotion with great interest.

"Old Hu, Erhu!" Old Mrs. Yang called out as soon as she saw this, "What are you two doing? Zhao Xiao is here. Don't let the child laugh at you."

At Mrs. Yang's shout, Hu Dahai and Hu Mantang immediately fell silent, and Yang Shuqiu also got up to greet Zhao Jun and the other two.

"Auntie, why are you playing the erhu?" Zhao Jun asked Old Mrs. Yang with a smile. "Don't you have a suona?"

"Haha..." Old Mrs. Yang laughed, then pointed at Hu Dahai and Hu Mantang, saying, "They both have the surname Hu, so to avoid confusion, they are called Big Hu and Second Hu."

As she spoke, Mrs. Yang pointed at Hu Mantang and said, "He is young, and he plays the erhu."

"Ah, hehe..." Zhao Jun smiled upon seeing this and said to Hu Mantang, "Then I have to change how I address you. From now on, I'll have to call you Second Uncle Hu, right?"

"What do you mean by changing your way of speaking!" Hu Mantang's attention wasn't on that at the moment. He held up a hammer and gestured towards Hu Dahai, saying, "Look at how he does that work, all twisted and turned. When I told him to stop, he got upset with us."

"Don't you dare complain to me the moment Master Zhao arrives!" Hu Dahai glared at Hu Mantang and said, "What the hell does it have to do with you that the kid asked me to do?"

“That’s my eldest nephew!” As Hu Mantang spoke, he pointed the hammer at Zhao Jun again. Hu Dahai stuck out his neck and said, “That’s still my eldest nephew.”

Seeing the two old men arguing again, Zhao Jun hurriedly went over to mediate. At this moment, Yang Shuqiu took the little wild boar from Li Baoyu's arms, then looked at the three little wild boars in the sack before turning around and calling to Hu Dahai and Hu Mantang, "You two, stop yelling and hurry up and nail it. We've already caught the piglets, and you two haven't even set up your nest yet."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Hu Dahai hurriedly asked Zhao Jun, "Have you caught all the little flowers and sticks?"

"Ah!" Zhao Jun nodded with a smile, then heard Hu Dahai ask, "What about the old sow? Was she killed?"

"No," Zhao Jun said. "I didn't see the sow; I just brought the piglets back."

……

More than an hour later, Zhao Jun and his two companions were escorted out of the shack by two elderly women. The four wild boar pups had been settled in; the weakest one had been given half a painkiller in its rice porridge, and with the warmth of the shack, it was much more energetic than it had been in the mountains. If all went well, it should recover.

Just as Zhao Jun and his two companions were about to get into the car to go home, they heard someone shout, "Young Master, Young Master!"

"It's calling you." Wang Qiang nudged Zhao Jun, who looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhang Xinglong running over.

"Uncle Zhang," Zhao Jun greeted Zhang Xinglong politely, only to hear Zhang Xinglong say, "Young Master, three of our workers have run away!"

"Huh?" Zhao Jun exclaimed in surprise, "Where did you go? Did you go home? Did you quit?"

"Who knows?" Zhang Xinglong said, "They're lazy, greedy, and cunning all day long, they..."

Before Zhang Xinglong could finish speaking, Qin Guangquan carried a gun and entered the gate of the workshop.

"Look, young master!" Zhang Xinglong pointed behind Zhao Jun and said, "One more has returned!"

Zhao Jun turned around and saw Qin Guangquan jogging over, nodding at him and saying, "Young Master, what brings you here?"

"I came to take a look," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "Master Qin, where have you been?"

"Ah..." Qin Guangquan wanted to lie, but with a gun on his back, he couldn't lie. He could only bite the bullet and say, "That day before getting food, I heard the foreman say that everyone should chip in to buy some meat and make dumplings so everyone could have some fun. So I thought... I'd go up the mountain for a stroll."

As soon as he said that, Zhao Jun understood that he wanted to make money from meat.

No sooner had Qin Guangquan finished speaking than Zhang Xinglong said, "Look at you, so smug! What does it have to do with you that those three groups are making dumplings?"

That day, Xie Zhong mentioned it, and Huang Gui and Xu Fangman both responded, but Zhang Xinglong did not agree.

This is because Xie Zhong, Huang Gui, and Xu Fangman are all foremen. They can make money from the workers, so they are willing to pay out of their own pockets to improve the workers' meals.

Zhang Xinglong was self-appointed as the leader, and the people of Xishantun only allowed him to do so because of his age and his position as the village's survey director. Since Zhang Xinglong didn't earn money from the workers, he couldn't possibly improve their meals.

In front of Zhao Jun, Qin Guangquan ignored Zhang Xinglong, and Zhao Jun understood what was going on. He immediately advised Zhang Xinglong, "Alright, Uncle Zhang, let them go out for a stroll, it's fine."

As he spoke, Zhao Jun pointed towards the back of the storage yard and said, "They're not used to doing this kind of work all of a sudden."

“They’re delaying the work…” Zhang Xinglong wanted to say something, but Zhao Jun didn’t give him a chance. Instead, he asked Qin Guangquan, “Master Qin, what are you hitting?”

Zhao Jun wasn't the foreman, so he didn't care whether they delayed the work or not. And the key point was that loading and unloading wasn't a fixed wage; it was calculated by the cubic meters of timber loaded and unloaded. Qin Guangquan thought running up the mountains was more profitable than loading and unloading, so let him do it.

It's unclear what Qin Guangquan was thinking, but he gave Zhao Jun a wry smile and said, "We didn't catch anything, it was a wasted trip."

"Ah, okay then." Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Then you guys get on with your work, I'll be going now!"

After saying that, Zhao Jun got into the jeep. Seeing Zhao Jun get in, Li Baoyu started the car, left Xinlengchang, and drove straight home.

When Zhao Jun arrived home, it was already past five o'clock. In the outer yard, Wang Meilan was leading the women in cleaning river fish.

Today's river fish were caught using fish traps. Two traps yielded a total of seven or eight pounds of small, miscellaneous fish, mostly loaches and willow root.

These river fish are half coated in batter and fried, and the other half fried into fish sauce.

Tonight's main meal is rice and large pancakes, which Ma Ling made at noon. As soon as Zhao Jun returned, he heard Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei praising Ma Ling, saying that Ma Ling's pancakes were excellent.

The freshly made pancakes were crispy, fragrant, and crunchy before they were dried. Zhao Hong and her friends ate them as snacks until they felt acid reflux.

Once the pancakes have softened after being dried, they're ready to be rolled with vegetables. Tonight's fish sauce can be used to mix with rice or rolled into pancakes.

The pancake is filled with shredded potatoes, bean sprouts, and stir-fried meat, topped with a swirl of fish sauce. The whole small fish is coated in sauce and braised for the perfect amount of time, until the fish head and bones are tender.

Topped with slightly sweet and spicy scallion whites, the rolled-up pancake is as thick as a child's arm. One bite reveals distinct layers of aroma: the pancake's fragrance, the fish sauce's aroma, and the various vegetable flavors, providing a truly satisfying experience.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone watched TV and chatted. When the clock struck nine, the diners gradually dispersed. Before the Zhao family prepared to go to bed, Zhao Jun called Wang Meilan to the east hut alone and told Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan the reason why Wang Haitao killed his father.

"That brat!" Upon hearing from Zhao Jun that Zhao Hong had brought plush toys to school to show off, Wang Meilan was immediately furious.

"Look at you!" Zhao Youcai pointed at Zhao Jun and complained, "You always have to buy her those things. All you do is spoil her! You're such a spoiled brat!"

Some people are like that; when something happens, they have to find someone to complain to first. Zhao Youcai is one of those people.

Zhao Jun ignored him and said to Wang Meilan, "Mom, it's already this late, time to go to sleep. Don't say anything to her today. Otherwise, she'll cry tonight, which wouldn't be good."

Zhao Jun had heard someone say in his past life that crying at night before bed is bad for the brain.

Zhao Jun meant well, but as soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Youcai said, "You're done talking nonsense. You're pretending to be a good guy again!"

Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Zhao Junqiang suppressed his anger, but at this moment Wang Meilan slapped Zhao Youcai on the shoulder: "You're so good with words!"

……

"Hmph..." Under the cover of night, the bear's roar was dispersed by the howling mountain wind.

A black bear emerged from its enclosure and descended the ridge from the north mountain, heading straight for the opposite hillside.

As the black bear moved, its loose fur swayed. Having hibernated all winter, the bear was emaciated.

The bear's nose, deer's ears, and eagle's eyes are considered the three spirits of the mountains, and the bear's sense of smell is dozens of times that of a hunting dog.

Although the black bear was blind, it could clearly smell the blood on the opposite mountain.

It wasn't a mistake; on the opposite hillside, under a pine tree, a wild boar skin covered a burlap sack.

The sack contained a wild boar's head, tail, and chopped spine, along with its internal organs including heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and stomach.

The wild boar spleen, also known as the pig's conjoined body, was roasted over a fire by Wu Dalin and Qin Hongzhi. As for the pig intestines, those things were filthy, and who knows what they would smell like if left overnight, so the two took them back to the farm to improve their meals.

They should listen to Qin Guangquan and put the remaining pig heads and such in the water. With the mountains and rivers covering them, even a bear might not be able to smell them.

But Qin Guangquan didn't explain in detail when he left, and the two of them didn't understand what Qin Guangquan meant. They just thought that Qin Guangquan was afraid that these things would get damaged, so he asked them to be pulled into the water.

The mountain wind, carrying the stench of blood, kept blowing into the black bear's nostrils. Hungry and desperate, the bear quickened its pace, running step by step towards the ditch at the foot of the mountain.

Meanwhile, in front of the wild boar's den where Zhao Jun was digging for wild boar stalks today, a black bear was chewing on the flattened carcass of a small wild boar.

At this time, it's difficult for the black bears to find food outside the barn. Since black bears are carrion eaters, they will be drawn by the scent of the dead wild boar cubs and rush over from thirty miles away.

How much meat can a newborn wild boar have? The black bear chewed up the whole baby wild boar, but it still wasn't full.

The black bear, still savoring the aroma, raised its head and twitched its nose, trying to discern the scents carried by the mountain breeze.

The bear's nose is amazing; it could pinpoint the direction of the bloody smell even through the mountainside.

The black bear set off, striding towards the ridge's peak. At this moment, two bears, one on the south mountain and one on the north mountain, one heading uphill and the other downhill, were both heading towards the same destination!

"Cough...cough..." With the black bear's sense of smell, it could smell the scent of its own kind.

At this moment, the two black bears smelled each other, but food was scarce, and the other was not a brown bear. They were both of their own kind, so who was afraid of whom?

However, they were at different distances from the wild boar meat. The black bear from the north mountain came down the slope of the ditch and pond and arrived at the pine tree first.

The black bear used its paws to peel off the wild boar's skin, then hugged the sack with both arms, bit and tore it open, revealing a pig's head rolling to the ground inside.

The black bear glanced at it but ignored the pig's head, because it smelled the entrails.

The crunching sound of a black bear chewing on a wild boar's heart carried on the wind, and the black bear, which had crossed the mountain, quickened its pace and hurried over.

When it arrived, its kind had already eaten the pig's heart and liver.

The large slab of pig liver was a real treat for the black bear, but as it greedily devoured the pig lungs, another black bear approached.

"Hmph..." The black bear, its mouth full of oil and blood, bared its teeth and opened its mouth at its fellow bears.

The black bear didn't tolerate it either, and slapped it hard across the face!

(End of this chapter)