The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1658 Zhao Family Father and Son Offering Sacrifice at the Mountain: Though Humble in Rank, T

Chapter 1658 Zhao Family Father and Son Offering Sacrifice at the Mountain: Though Humble in Rank, They Never Forget Their Country's Worries

When Zhao Jun's family arrived at Zhang Guangcai Ridge, the Zhao family gang and the people of Xishan Village had already started eating.

They didn't eat the offerings; rather, the people of Xishantun had anticipated that they would be returning late that day, so they brought dry food with them before leaving home.

Once they arrived, they quickly set up the scene. Since they had nothing better to do than wait, they took out their dry rations to have a bite to eat.

Although it was already the end of March, it was still impossible to sit on the ground in the mountains. Everyone had to scatter and find tree branches or fallen logs to sit down and eat.

Although the people of Xishantun were not wealthy, none of them ate alone. They generously shared the dry food they had brought with Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and others.

When Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan got out of the car, they saw their own people eating dry rations all over the mountains.

Seeing Wang Meilan walking towards them, Wu Dalin took out a small white cloth bundle from somewhere and presented it to Wang Meilan like a treasure, saying, "Village Chief, this is cornmeal cake that my wife steamed. Please have a bite."

As Wu Dalin spoke, he opened the bundle, revealing another layer of clean white gauze inside. Within the gauze were pieces of steamed rice cake.

The steamed cake even had red beans on top, and it looked quite well-steamed. The key was that it was wrapped very cleanly, so much so that even Wang Meilan, who is a clean freak, couldn't find any fault with it.

"Thank you, Dalin." Wang Meilan thanked Wu Dalin and said with a smile as she took the bundle, "I'll treat everyone in our village to a meal sometime."

Today, the people of Xishantun helped her fight and made her look good. Wang Meilan felt that it would be worthwhile to treat these people to a twenty-course meal.

After a quick bite of dry rations, as Li Baoyu called out orders, everyone gathered from all directions in front of the large red pine tree wrapped in red cloth.

"Village Chief!" Tong Youfeng, who had just found an opportunity to show off, waved to Wang Meilan and said, "Come and offer incense."

"Why would I burn incense? I'm not going up the mountain." Wang Meilan waved her hand with a smile and said, "You guys go ahead, I'll just take my two daughters and watch the fun from the side."

It was said that Wang Meilan performed the Fengshan ceremony at Zhangguangcai Ridge, but that was just a joke between Li Baoyu, Li Ruhai, and a few others. Wang Meilan was neither a mountain runner nor the leader of a ginseng or hunting gang, and besides, she didn't understand the ins and outs of it.

Wang Meilan knew this was not something she should get involved in, so she stood on the sidelines with Ma Ling and Zhao Chun to watch the commotion.

Seeing that Wang Meilan was not going, Tong Youfeng hurriedly called Zhao Jun and said, "Young Master, you come here. You are the Tiger-Taming General. Who has ever beaten you in the mountains? This is where you have to go."

"Hehe." Zhao Jun chuckled upon hearing this, but humbly declined, saying, "How could I possibly do it? I'm just a young guy; we need to find someone older and more experienced."

As he said this, Zhao Jun looked at Zhao Youcai, whose face was gloomy, not far away.

If Zhao Youcai hadn't come along, Zhao Jun would have taken the blame without hesitation. But since Zhao Youcai was here, if Zhao Jun dared to take on the task, he could already foresee Zhao Youcai throwing a tantrum when they got home.

For the sake of family harmony, Zhao Jun not only couldn't go up, but he also had to help Zhao Youcai get up.

Thinking of this, Zhao Jun looked to his side and the first thing he saw was Li Baoyu.

Zhao Jun quickly gave Li Baoyu a wink, signaling for Li Baoyu to speak and recommend Zhao Youcai to offer the three incense sticks. Otherwise, if some scoundrel from Xishan Village jumped out and snatched the job, Zhao Youcai would probably be unhappy.

Seeing Zhao Jun's meaningful look, Li Baoyu was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Brother, don't be modest. Who else in Lingxi is capable besides you?"

Upon hearing Li Baoyu's words, Zhao Youcai's face darkened so much it was almost freezing.

No sooner had Li Baoyu finished speaking than Xie Chen said, "Brother Jun, you go ahead!"

Zhao Jun was speechless; his brothers were all incredibly simple-minded.

At this moment, Wang Qiang, who was the first to understand his nephew's intentions, immediately stepped forward and said, "Baoyu, Xiaochen, you two stop arguing. My nephew is right, no matter how capable he is, he's still a junior, well..."

As Wang Qiang spoke, he grabbed Zhao Youcai's arm and pulled him forward, saying, "My brother-in-law is here. He's a veteran mountain runner, and he's well-known in Lingxi. He..."

Wang Qiang wanted to mention Zhao Youcai's nickname, but then he suddenly remembered that he couldn't mention Ergudong or Tu Niupao, and what was his other nickname again?

Just then, Zhang Yuanmin, who had received a look from Zhao Jun, stepped forward and said, "My uncle is known as Zhao Youcai, the Tiger-Slaying King."

As he spoke, Zhang Yuanmin pointed to Zhang Guangcai Ridge and said, "My uncle was in Lingnan before the New Year. He killed two big claws in a battle. After he came back, not even fifteen days after the New Year, he killed another one in Shuguang."

Upon hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, the people of Xishantun began to murmur amongst themselves, while Zhao Youcai unconsciously straightened his chest, put his hands behind his back, and adopted the air of a hermit sage.

"Hey? That's not right!" Just then, Zhang Xinglong raised a question: "I remember someone saying that the big claw carries the mountain god. If you kill the mountain god by the big claw, wouldn't that be the same as hitting the mountain god?"

Upon hearing Zhang Xinglong's words, Zhao Youcai's expression changed, and he blinked his small eyes at Zhang Yuanmin twice, as if to say, "You better settle this for me right now."

Zhang Yuanmin's lips twitched; he was speechless. Just now you were all high and mighty, not even glancing at me, and now you know to come looking for me.

But after spending time with Zhao Youcai, Zhang Yuanmin knew what kind of personality he had. Although he was somewhat helpless, he still said loudly, "It's precisely because my uncle kowtowed that we should let him offer this incense."

As Zhang Yuanmin finished speaking, the murmurs among the people of Xishan Village grew even louder. Then, Zhang Yuanmin added and explained, "Why? Think about it, my uncle is so wicked, if he wants something from the mountain god, does the mountain god dare refuse?"

"Hey? That's right!" At this moment, Qin Guangquan, another old mountain runner from Xishan Village, chimed in, "What did I hear? Little Zhao Pao got fatter and fatter after catching the big claws."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun chuckled. After a few more words of discussion among the people of Xishantun, Tong Youfeng approached Zhao Youcai, who was standing with his hands behind his back.

At that moment, a hint of anticipation flashed in Zhao Youcai's small eyes. Immediately afterward, Tong Youfeng said, "The village head, you can offer incense then."

As soon as Tong Youfeng opened his mouth, Zhao Youcai's face darkened again. He didn't care if Tong called him "Chief Zhao" or "Master Zhao," at least calling him "Brother Zhao" would be respectable. What did Tong Youfeng mean by "village headman"? Zhao Youcai hated being called that.

Before Zhao Youcai could react, Li Ruhai, urged on by Zhao Jun's gaze, clapped his hands and shouted "Good!"

In this way, Zhao Youcai no longer cared about arguing with Tong Youfeng. He walked to the kang table and picked up the incense sticks that were placed on it.

Not far away, Ma Ling and Zhao Chun watched with great interest. Seeing that everyone had chosen Zhao Youcai to offer incense, Zhao Chun smiled at Wang Meilan and said, "Mom, Dad is really something this time."

Wang Meilan curled her lip, thinking, "What's so special about that?" Just then, Ma Ling laughed and said, "These people are so interesting."

This person is just there for the spectacle.

Zhao Youcai held the three incense sticks in his hand and winked at Wang Qiang beside him.

"Big Lazybones supports Little Lazybones," Wang Qiang waved his hand at Li Baoyu, and Li Baoyu grabbed Xie Chen and ran away.

Ma Ling, Zhao Chun, and Xiao Zhou craned their necks to look, and saw Li Baoyu and Xie Chen carrying a large roll of firecrackers out of a large sack.

These were ten thousand firecrackers that the Zhao family had acquired themselves. Li Baoyu and Xie Chen spread out the firecrackers, and a long, bright red string stretched across the mountainside.

Li Baoyu spread out the firecrackers and lit them.

As soon as the firecrackers went off, Zhao Youcai lit three incense sticks and solemnly bowed three times towards the lord's mansion, which was covered by a red cloth.

Then, after Zhao Youcai placed the incense sticks in the incense burner, he waited for a while before the firecrackers stopped.

At this moment, Zhao Youcai shouted loudly, "When the firecrackers go off, gold will be worth ten thousand taels of silver!"

This is an auspicious saying that mountain runners themselves have adapted, meaning that wealth will flow in from the mountains.

After shouting this, Zhao Youcai raised his arms high and spread them to the sides, then loudly proclaimed, "I hereby inform the Mountain God, Old Master!"

Zhao Youcai's move was just like the scene in the Chen Xiaochun version of "The Deer and the Cauldron" where the Divine Dragon Cult members shouted, "May Master Hong enjoy eternal happiness and longevity!"

Hearing Zhao Youcai shout this, everyone's expressions turned solemn, and their eyes quietly stared at the mansion shrouded in red cloth.

"Bless us all, may we all be safe and successful this year when we go up the mountain, and may wealth and treasures roll in!" Zhao Youcai continued to make his wish, saying, "When our hunting gang hunts, roe deer and wild boars roam the paths, pheasants and greyhounds run in swarms. Every bullet hits its mark, and the whole mountain is filled with riches and money!"

With that, Zhao Youcai clasped his hands in a fist and bowed three times towards the master's mansion. This time, everyone who had gone up the mountain to hunt also followed Zhao Youcai's example and bowed.

After bowing three times, Zhao Youcai looked at Zhang Xinglong, who had a serious expression, and said, "Hey? Come on, you timber gang members."

In 2006, a documentary called "The Lumberjacks" was released, which tells the story of lumberjacks and their families in the icy and snowy Heilongjiang Province.

These people are collectively known as the Timber Gang.

After a while, when it becomes harder to make money from the mountain timber, the people of Xishantun will organize themselves to move and unload timber for the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce and the Zhao Group. Their work can also be classified as a timber gang.

Startled by Zhao Youcai's call, Zhang Xinglong, who had been stubbornly holding his head high, froze. Seeing his reaction, Zhao Youcai glared at Zhang Xinglong, then turned to Zhao Jun and gestured with his chin, indicating that Zhao Jun should step in quickly and not let the situation become awkward.

Zhao Jun understood Zhao Youcai's meaning, and immediately stepped forward, striking a pose of eternal bliss, raising his arms and shouting, "I hereby inform the Mountain God, Old Master!"

Sun Liang, the old leader, is the patriarch of the mountain-climbing tradition. He is not a mountain god in the traditional sense, but he also serves as the mountain god of Changbai Mountain.

Therefore, those who make a living in Changbai Mountain, whether they are hunting gangs, timber gangs, or ginseng gangs, all call the Mountain God and the Old Leader together.

At this moment, Zhao Jun opened his arms and continued to shout, "Please bless the ginseng from Lingxi, Lingnan, and Lingdong Gully so that it may all grow in perfect shape!"

The five elements present here are not metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, but rather the rootlets, rhizome, skin, texture, and body of wild ginseng. If all five are present, it must be a divine herb.

As the old saying goes, the layman sees the spectacle, while the expert sees the details.

Ma Ling and Zhao Chun, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed, finding the spectacle quite amusing. However, Zhao Youcai, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and the others sensed something was amiss.

Hunting and grazing are different. When hunting, you can go anywhere you want, even if you go all the way to the Greater Khingan Mountains, no one will care.

But you can't just go off into the mountains. These days, you can beat someone without going through the authorities, so people just follow the mountain rules. Even the Shao family gang back in the day, when they crossed the line, weren't they chased back?

Therefore, the difference between releasing animals to worship the mountain and hunting animals to worship the mountain is that releasing animals to worship the mountain can only ask the mountain god and the head of the village to bless the ginseng in their own area, and cannot ask for blessings from outside.

Logically speaking, Zhao Jun only needed to take Lingxi, and there was no need to add Lingnan and Lingdonggou.

And since they all know that Zhao Jun is knowledgeable in the field, the fact that Zhao Jun still said that proves that this kid is going to take the mountain rafting job to Lingnan and Lingdong Gully.

Zhao Jun really thought so. Last year, when he visited the Shao family, they asked him to help drive away a tiger. Zhao Jun's condition was that the Shao family would tell him about an old man.

This is not in line with Zhao Jun's character. Zhao Jun doesn't want this to compete with the Shao family for food; he just wants the qualification to enter Lingnan Fangshan.

As I said before, mountain runners these days follow the rules. But what rules will there be in twenty or thirty years? Money will be more important than anything else, and anyone who sees money in the mountains will be scrambling to get it.

Back then, there was no such thing as overstepping boundaries. As long as the trees and ginseng garden weren't contracted by you, but belonged to Shancai, then I could operate it. If you disagreed, you could fight me. After you fought me, I would report you to the authorities, and the profits would be even greater than those from raising wild ginseng seedlings.

It was precisely because people at that time no longer followed the mountain rules that Zhao Jun learned the locations of several old hamlets in Lingnan, Lingxi, and Lingdong Gully.

He negotiated with the Shao family because he wanted to build Lao'anzi in Lingnan. Zhao Jun had previously given up on this plan, but when the Shao family came to his wedding, they brought up the agreement from last year again.

Since things have come to this point, and all the trouble has already been done, Zhao Jun thought he would just build a couple of old houses along the way and bring in a few mulberry trees so that these families could have a good New Year.

Regardless of what others thought, Zhao Jun continued, still fully embodying the five elements, shouting, "It won't rust for a hundred years, nor will it develop spots for a thousand!"

These two sentences are also a prayer to the mountain god and the old master to bless the quality of wild ginseng.

Some wild ginseng may have rust spots or blemishes on its skin. In such cases, no matter how good the other parts such as the rootlets, rhizome, texture, and body are, it is still considered a substandard product.

Wild ginseng develops rust because the soil contains ferrous and manganese ions. At the same time, the soil in which wild ginseng grows has high moisture content and poor permeability, causing iron and manganese elements to precipitate on the surface of the wild ginseng, resulting in rust-like spots.

As for the spots, they are due to the climate. For example, this year's drought caused wild ginseng to absorb insufficient water, affecting its growth and metabolism, resulting in spots on its skin.

The older generation of mountain herders didn't understand how these things formed, but they knew that rust and spots were bad, so they came up with these two lines.

After shouting those two phrases, Zhao Jun's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, and he yelled, "May the weather be favorable and the harvest plentiful! May the country be prosperous and the people at peace!"

These two phrases are not Zhao Jun's own, but have been passed down from generation to generation in Fangshanxing.

This is the meaning of: Though in a humble position, one should not forget to worry about the country!

As the shout subsided, Zhao Jun bowed deeply, his hands resting on his knees.

Seeing this, Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and other members of the Zhao family gang followed Zhao Jun's example and bowed to the master's mansion with their hands on their knees.

Zhao Youcai also wanted to bow, because he remembered Zhao Jun saying that he would lead the way when they went mountain climbing. But then Zhao Youcai thought that if he bowed as well, it would make it seem like he was also a member of the Zhao family's gang.

Although he had become a lone commander, Zhao Youcai still maintained the airs of a leader.

Just then, Zhao Youcai felt someone tugging at his arm. He glanced sideways and saw Zhang Xinglong leaning close and whispering in his ear, "None of us know the Timber Gang's jargon. Do you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai immediately waved his hand, signaling Zhang Xinglong to step back, and said, "I will."

After Zhao Jun and his Zhao family members bowed three times to the magistrate's mansion, Zhao Youcai shouted, "I beseech the Mountain God, Elder Chief, to bless our Timber Gang brothers with safety! Our shouts shake the heavens! We can carry a thousand pounds on our shoulders and traverse ten thousand miles of mountains!"

Timber caravans needed large animals to pull logs, hence the saying "May the men and horses be safe." The shouts that shook the heavens referred to the chants shouted by the caravans while carrying logs.

After Zhao Youcai finished shouting, he led the people of Xishantun to bow three times to the lord's mansion.

Just then, a mountain breeze blew by, and the shattered red paper from the firecrackers flew everywhere, while the fragrance of three sticks of incense wafted out.

"Kneel down!" Zhao Youcai was the first to kneel down, and at the same time he turned around and shouted to Zhao Jun and the others who were standing in the distance.

Last year, when Zhao Jun took Zhao Youcai hiking, he discovered that the old man would kneel down and kowtow to anything he saw.

As everyone knelt down in unison, Zhao Youcai kowtowed three times with a loud thud. After finishing, Zhao Youcai straightened up, assumed the posture of eternal bliss, and shouted, "Mountain God, Old Master..."

Zhao Jun and more than eighty others shouted in unison, "Open the door!"

The shouts were deafening, echoing through the mountains.

Thankfully, most of the snow had melted, otherwise they might have easily cried out for an avalanche.

(End of this chapter)