The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

In the Northeast, "old lamp" is an insult. It implies that an old man is useless, with no function left.

"Old fucking lamp," then, is a whole lot worse.

At this point, the Tao Brothers were much more subdued. They didn’t dare make a peep, even as Xing San cursed them out.

This old man was vicious. He’d pull his knife at the slightest disagreement, and he wasn’t afraid to use it.

Not far away, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were cracking up watching and listening. Li Baoyu practically burst out laughing when he heard Xing San cussing out Qin Qiang’s dad.

"Elder San, that’s enough." Xu Changlin pried Xing San’s hand open, took the Invasion Blade, and pointed off to the side. "The roe deer was left for you. Don’t be angry."

"It’s not about the deer." Xing San had calmed down considerably, but he still grumbled, "Even if they’d just left me a leg, that would’ve been the decent thing to do. But those motherfuckers didn’t even leave me a single hair."

Hearing this, Xu Changlin knew the worst was over. He just clapped Xing San on the shoulder, then turned and shouted to the three Tao Brothers, "Get on home! And follow the rules from now on!"

The three Tao Brothers didn’t dare say a word. They just nodded at the two old men and headed east.

"Son of a bitch!" Xing San yelled after their retreating figures. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Xu Changlin handed the Invasion Blade back to Xing San and waved his other hand at Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. "You two, come on over."

Looking at Xu Changlin and Xing San, Zhao Jun thought, ’These old-timers are all fiercer than the last.’

When they got closer, Xu Changlin pointed to each of them, introducing them to Xing San. "These are a couple of lads from our village. This is Zhao Jun, and this is Li Baoyu."

As Xu Changlin made the introductions, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu nodded at Xing San. But Xing San just glanced at Zhao Jun, then at Li Baoyu, and didn’t say a word.

Then Xu Changlin pointed at Xing San and said to the two boys, "Given his age, you should call him Master Xing."

"Master Xing." Li Baoyu was obedient and called out immediately, but Zhao Jun tugged his arm as soon as the words left his mouth.

Hearing a junior address him, Xing San was about to respond, but when he saw Zhao Jun’s action, his face immediately soured.

"Sir," Zhao Jun said quickly, "do you know Xing Zhuyong?"

"Aiya!" Xing San’s expression changed. He looked at Zhao Jun in surprise and said, "That’s my nephew."

Zhao Jun smiled. "He’s my second brother-in-law."

Hearing this, Xing San was even more surprised. He asked tentatively, "Second brother-in-law? You’re from the Hu Family...?"

"My dad and Uncle Hu are sworn brothers," Zhao Jun said. "Before the new year, my second brother-in-law even picked me and Baoyu up to go to his place. We stayed the night and went to hunt a Black Bear the next day."

"Aiya! I get it now!" Xing San tucked his Invasion Blade behind his back, grabbed Zhao Jun with one hand, and said, "Kid, let’s go! Hurry up to my shack. Uncle will stew some meat for you."

As he spoke, he reached his other hand out for Li Baoyu.

And just like that, Xing San led Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu away, a scene that left Xu Changlin dumbfounded.

After just a few steps, Xing San suddenly remembered something and turned around. "Forgot the roe deer."

"Master Xing... I mean, Uncle, I’ll drag the deer for you." Li Baoyu, knowing just what to do, turned back to get the roe deer.

Zhao Jun whistled, and the dogs scattered nearby all started to follow.

Xing San glanced at the dogs, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

The four of them headed up West Mountain. After walking for a little over a kilometer, they arrived at Xing San’s dugout.

A dugout is similar in principle to a root cellar. But to make it livable, you have to choose a spot sheltered from the wind, Xiangyang, and with a water source nearby, then dig a square pit.

The pit is dug more than a meter deep. Then, several rows of posts are erected inside, with the center row being the tallest and the rows on either side getting progressively shorter. Crossbeams are then laid across the posts to form a frame.

Those with means would lay roe deer hides or other animal pelts over the frame. Those without would tie bundles of grass to it.

Finally, everything is covered with a thick layer of earth for wind-proofing and insulation.

Xing San’s dugout was quite well-made. It was covered with a layer of roe deer hide, which in turn was weighted down with a thick layer of yellow earth.

It had a door and a window on the south side. The interior was about twenty square meters, with a heated brick bed. Once the stove was lit, the room became warm and cozy.

As soon as they returned, Xing San ushered Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu inside, dragging the roe deer in after them.

This deer hadn’t been caught today; it was frozen solid and would need to thaw before they could eat it.

But the three of them hadn’t eaten yet. Xing San quickly washed a pot, boiled some water, and started cooking dumplings for Zhao Jun and the others.

The dumplings were filled with roe deer and daikon radish.

While the dumplings cooked, Xing San grabbed half a bag of cornmeal. He pointed at the four dogs lying on the floor, taking up half the space, and asked Zhao Jun, "Nephew, these dogs of yours need to eat too, right?"

"Yep." Zhao Jun nodded, then turned and shot a pointed look at Xu Changlin.

Before they came, Xu Changlin had said he would cover the cost of food for both the people and the dogs on this trip. But now that he saw Xing San had a connection with Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, he wasn’t mentioning it.

If it were just for the people, Zhao Jun wouldn’t have said anything. But there were also four dogs, and they ate a lot. Zhao Jun couldn’t bear to let Xing San shoulder that burden as well.

Xing San caught Zhao Jun’s glance. He smiled and said, "It’s a good thing you brought the dogs today. Otherwise, your uncle here has a problem I don’t know how to solve."

Hearing this, Zhao Jun had a good idea of what was coming. He said, "Uncle, what’s the matter? Just tell me. If I can handle it, I will."

Xing San said, "On the mountain where I trap roe deer, a herd of wild boars showed up a few days ago, so I set a bunch of boar traps there."

At this, Xing San slapped his Big Palm and said indignantly, "But then, someone brought their dogs and chased the herd further up the mountain. Nephew, if you’re free tomorrow, bring your dogs and come with me. We’ll go bag a pig. The second day of the second lunar month is coming up, so we can all share some meat."

"What do you mean, ’if you’re free’?" Xu Changlin cut in. "We’re busy tomorrow!"

"Oh." Xing San grunted in acknowledgment and said no more.

Just then, the dumplings in the pot all puffed up. Xing San grabbed a large basin from a nearby wooden shelf, but after a moment’s thought, he put it back and picked up a small bowl from next to it.

Xing San used a strainer to scoop some dumplings into the small bowl, then walked over to the heated brick bed and placed it on the low table, right next to Zhao Jun’s own bowl.

Xing San gestured to Zhao Jun. "Kid, eat!"

"Yes! Uncle, I’ll eat," Zhao Jun replied, but he glanced at Xu Changlin. An elder was present; it wasn’t right for him to start eating first.

So, Zhao Jun could only call out, "Master Xu."

The old man was clearly hungry. He stared at the steaming dumplings, licking his lips.

Just then, Xing San scooped out another strainer-full of dumplings, put them in another bowl, and set it in front of Li Baoyu. He said, "You kids eat. There’s none for him. Let the old bastard starve."