The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

"She’s in the back room getting the bed ready."

"I’ll go check on her, then." After saying this, Zhou Jianjun turned to leave but was stopped by Zhou Chunming.

Zhou Chunming said, "Jianjun, your brother-in-law and Wei Lai are going up the mountain tomorrow. You should go with them."

"Me?" Zhou Jianjun froze. "Dad, I don’t know how to hunt. What would I do?"

Hu Sanmei chimed in from the side, "You don’t have to hunt. Just go and keep an eye on your brother-in-law. Don’t let a wild boar gore him."

"No way."

"You silly boy!" Hu Sanmei slapped Zhou Jianjun’s back a couple of times. "He’s visiting us, and you want him to end up getting gored by a wild boar? What would people say?"

At this, Hu Sanmei turned to Zhou Chunming. "Don’t just lie there. Hurry over to the Village Office and find Qi Shengli. Get the boy a semi-automatic rifle to carry."

...

「In Yong’an Village.」

After hanging up with Zhou Jianjun, Village Chief Zhao Guofeng glanced at the clock on the wall. ’Perfect,’ he thought, ’I can head home for dinner and stop by the Zhao and Li households on the way.’

He went to Zhao Jun’s family home first and told Wang Meilan that Zhao Jun would be staying the night at his sister’s in-laws’ place.

Wang Meilan didn’t think anything of it. She just assumed their in-laws were being overly hospitable and had insisted Zhao Jun stay over. So she didn’t ask any questions and politely saw Zhao Guofeng out.

But the next morning, when Li Baoyu came to the Zhao Family’s house to pick up the dogs, Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan finally learned that Zhao Jun had stayed in Yongsheng Village to go hunting.

However, Zhou Jianjun hadn’t given Zhao Guofeng many details over the phone. He had only asked him to tell Li Baoyu that Zhao Jun wanted him to bring the hounds to Yongsheng Village for a hunt.

Li Baoyu told Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan the same thing. The couple had no objections and let Li Baoyu take the dogs.

So, Li Baoyu put Hua Xiao’Er, Daqing, and White Dragon all on leashes. Along with his own dog, Da Huang, he led the four hounds out of his house and headed for the edge of the village.

Just as he was about to leave the village, a man suddenly rounded the corner of a house to his left. Seeing Li Baoyu leading the dogs, he boomed, "Baoyu! Where are you headed with all them?"

"Oh, Brother Zhang." Seeing it was Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu stopped to chat for a moment. "I’m off to go hunting," he explained.

Li Baoyu’s voice was tinged with pride as he said it.

"By yourself?" Zhang Yuanmin eyed him doubtfully.

Li Baoyu shook his head and recounted how he had gotten a call from Yongsheng Village the day before, asking him to bring the dogs over.

After listening, Zhang Yuanmin nodded in admiration. "My brother Zhao Jun is really making a name for himself. People are calling him for hunts all over."

Zhang Yuanmin then added with a sigh, "Spring is almost here. If you guys kill a few more bears, you’ll really be raking it in."

Zhang Yuanmin shouldn’t have brought it up. The moment he mentioned killing bears, Li Baoyu shook his head. "Brother Zhang, you don’t know the half of it. The last time we went after that black bear, my brother almost got mauled, didn’t he?"

"Oh, right. That did happen," Zhang Yuanmin said. "What about it?"

Li Baoyu said, "I think that black bear really spooked him. A couple of days ago, we went up the mountain to check the large traps. I spotted a Big Bear Dominator, but my brother wouldn’t take the shot. He had two chances and passed on both."

"Really? That happened?" Zhang Yuanmin thought for a moment, then nodded. "That’s not surprising. I’ve heard the old-timers say that once you’ve been spooked by a bear, just hearing one of those things roar is enough to make your heart pound."

"Sigh." Li Baoyu let out a breath. "That Big Bear Dominator must weigh over a thousand pounds. Can you imagine how much the Bear Gall would sell for if we took it down?"

The moment Zhang Yuanmin heard that, his interest was piqued. He immediately asked, "Baoyu, where is that Xiong Ba?"

They were standing right there in the village. Li Baoyu raised his arm and pointed toward the distant mountains. "Brother Zhang, you see that peak? Over on the other side is Jumping Stone Pond. It’s somewhere inside Jumping Stone Pond."

After Li Baoyu finished, he noticed Zhang Yuanmin staring at the distant mountain, his gaze fixed for a long time.

Li Baoyu chuckled. "What’s the matter, Brother Zhang? You thinking of going after Xiong Cangzi?"

Li Baoyu meant it as a joke, but to his surprise, Zhang Yuanmin whipped his head around. His face was full of excitement as he stared at Li Baoyu. "Baoyu, can you tell me exactly where that Xiong Cangzi is? If I kill it, you’ll get a share of the Bear Gall."

He paused, then added, "And my brother Zhao Jun will get a share, too."

"No, Brother Zhang, don’t mess around." Hearing this, Li Baoyu started to panic. Zhang Yuanmin had only gone after a Black Bear Den twice before, and both times the results had been less than ideal.

A brown bear was nothing like a black bear. A massive, thousand-pound brown bear—how tenacious would its will to live be?

If Zhang Yuanmin actually took his words to heart, went to that Bear Dominator Den, and got himself mauled by the Xiong Ba, Li Baoyu would never be able to live with himself.

"Baoyu." Zhang Yuanmin walked right up to Li Baoyu and reached out to pat his arm, trying to get friendly.

But just then, Da Huang, the dog at Li Baoyu’s feet, let out a low "HUFF... HUFF..."

Zhang Yuanmin glanced down. Da Huang was glaring at him intently, its lips curled back to bare its teeth as a threatening growl rumbled from its throat.

Zhang Yuanmin knew the dog was just being protective of its master around a stranger. He immediately lowered his hand and even took a step back before saying to Li Baoyu, "Baoyu, I’m not messing around. I’ve come up with a foolproof plan this time."

"A foolproof plan?" Li Baoyu’s curiosity was instantly piqued. "What kind of foolproof plan, Brother Zhang?" he asked eagerly.

Zhang Yuanmin grinned. "I’m going to blow it up with dynamite."

"How is that a foolproof plan?" Li Baoyu shook his head, laughing. "It’s a ground den, a den made of rock. If you blow the Big Bear Dominator to bits inside it, how are you going to get it out?"

A stone den isn’t like a den in a tree. If it were in a tree, you could just use a chainsaw to fell it. But Jumping Stone Pond is all rock. What could you possibly do?

Faced with Li Baoyu’s skepticism, Zhang Yuanmin just smiled. He wasn’t a tall man—five-foot-three at most, and that’s with shoes on—but at that moment, he tilted his head up slightly, his face a mask of self-satisfaction.

Zhang Yuanmin said, "Brother, you think I’m just an empty-headed fool? When I tell you I have a foolproof plan, I mean it’s a sure thing."

Li Baoyu had been a reader since he was young, so he understood the phrase "a sure thing." In the classic novels, it was the equivalent of saying something was as easy as reading the lines on your palm or taking something out of your pocket.

His curiosity flared up again. "So, Brother Zhang, what’s this brilliant plan of yours?"

Had it been anyone else, Zhang Yuanmin would have kept his mouth shut. But he felt he could trust Li Baoyu.

Besides, Li Baoyu held the information on the Big Bear Dominator. If he didn’t share his plan, Li Baoyu would never dare give him the location.

"Brother, you don’t get it. Dynamite alone is no good. You need a blasting cap and a fuse. I’ll just make the fuse extra long, then shout into the den. When that bear comes halfway out, I’ll light it up. We’ll see where it runs then, huh?"

"Whoa!" Li Baoyu’s eyes lit up. It was as if Zhang Yuanmin’s words had just opened the door to a whole new world for him.

In that instant, a single thought flashed through Li Baoyu’s mind: ’You can hunt like that? That’s incredible!’

Seeing Li Baoyu stunned by his brilliance, Zhang Yuanmin gave a faint, mysterious smile.

Just then, Li Baoyu snapped back to reality. He nodded and pointed to the distant mountain. "Brother Zhang, when you get down into Jumping Stone Pond, there’s a big rocky mound about three meters high. There’s a cave under it. The Xiong Ba went in there."

"Deal!" Zhang Yuanmin said. "I’m going to get the caps and dynamite right now. Once I take it down, there’s a share of the Bear Gall with your name on it."

Li Baoyu, running his mouth, casually asked, "Brother Zhang, where are you gonna get blasting caps and dynamite?"

"I was thinking I’d go find my Uncle Li."

"Your Uncle Li?" Li Baoyu was puzzled. ’There are only a handful of families named Li in this village,’ he thought. ’I can’t think of any of them who would have that kind of stuff.’

Thinking of this, Li Baoyu asked, "Which Uncle Li are you talking about?"

"Who else?" Zhang Yuanmin burst out laughing. "Your dad, of course."

Li Baoyu: "..."

Zhang Yuanmin added, "My Uncle Li used to work in the security department, didn’t he? You think he doesn’t have any dynamite on hand?"

"He does, he does," Li Baoyu nodded. "If you go now, there’s some at the house."

"Now that you say that, I can rest easy." With that, Zhang Yuanmin walked past Li Baoyu and started toward Baoyu’s house.

For some reason, as Li Baoyu watched Zhang Yuanmin’s retreating figure, he thought about the man’s past record and felt a sudden unease. He shouted after him, "Brother Zhang, you be careful out there!"

But without even turning his head, Zhang Yuanmin called back, "Don’t you worry, brother. Just you watch!"