The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Inside the dugout.

The two old men glared at each other.

Xu Changlin had just picked up his chopsticks, ready to grab a dumpling from Zhao Jun’s helmet bowl. But when he heard what Xing San said, he slammed his chopsticks down on the table.

"Xing the Third!" Xu Changlin said angrily. "I come here once a year, and you won’t even give me a meal?"

Xing San didn’t say anything. He just ladled the dumplings out of the pot, put them on a plate, and set it on a nearby wooden shelf.

Then, he ladled a bowl of the dumpling broth for both Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu before picking up the flour sack and pouring cornmeal into the pot.

He was using the boiling dumpling broth to cook some cornmeal for the dogs.

"Xing San’er!" Xu Changlin gritted his teeth, swinging his crossed legs off the kang. "I come all this way and don’t even get a bite to eat. I’d rather go home with an empty stomach than eat your food."

Although the old man said this, he didn’t move an inch. He was waiting for someone to talk him into staying.

"Then go," Xing San said bluntly, pointing to the door with one hand while stirring the cornmeal in the pot with a large ladle. "Hurry up and leave. Once you’re gone, my grand-nephew and I—the three of us—will go hunt that herd of boars tomorrow."

"You..." Xu Changlin tilted his head. Looking back at Xing San, he laughed and cursed, "You old mountain dog, just hurry up and bring me the dumplings. We’ll go first thing tomorrow morning, how about it?"

Hearing this, Xing San smiled. He took the plate of dumplings from the wooden shelf and placed it directly in front of Xu Changlin. Then he asked, "Care for a drink?"

"Yes!" Xu Changlin said irritably. "Hurry up and bring it." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Xing San looked at Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. Seeing they hadn’t touched their chopsticks yet, he gestured and said, "Boys, eat up while it’s hot. You two want a drink?"

"Sir, I won’t have any," Zhao Jun said. "But maybe give Baoyu some."

Xing San brought over two bowls and a bucket of liquor. Li Baoyu took the bucket and poured a small half-bowl for Xu Changlin and himself.

Dumplings and liquor, the more you have, the better it gets.

Xing San’s dumplings might not have had as much meat as Wang Meilan’s, but eating them in the dugout gave them a unique flavor.

Sitting on the warm kang, washing down dumplings with Kaoliang liquor—a bite of dumpling, a sip of liquor—it was pure comfort.

Just then, the cornmeal was cooked. Since it was too hot, Xing San carried the pot outside the dugout. It was cold out, so it would cool down faster.

Xing San came back inside. Looking at the dogs lying obediently on the floor, their eyes constantly darting toward the dead roe deer on the side, he remarked with admiration, "Look at these dogs. So well-behaved."

At this, Xing San turned to Xu Changlin. "Not like those dogs of yours. The winter before last, one of them, a Hua Gou, dug up a roe deer I had buried in the snow outside."

Xu Changlin froze. His own dogs came to mind. He took a sip of liquor and turned his head toward the inside of the kang.

Seeing this, Xing San glanced at Zhao Jun. When Zhao Jun shook his head, Xing San knew something must have happened to Xu Changlin’s dogs.

"Mr. Li, how many people in your family?" Xing San turned his head again, starting to make small talk with Li Baoyu.

After a couple of exchanges, Zhao Jun joined in. A little while later, Xu Changlin seemed to have recovered, but he just kept eating his dumplings and drinking his liquor, not participating in the conversation.

Through their chat, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu learned that Xing San was the old man’s real name. In those days, just staying alive was a struggle, so naming children was often done casually. The old man had two older brothers, Xing Da and Xing Er, which made him Xing San.

Xing Da had died in the wars years ago. Xing Er was Xing Zhiyong’s father.

As for Xing San, he too had a family and a livelihood when he was young. But in 1960, his wife starved herself to death to save food for him and their child. In 1973, his son was beaten to death.

Left all alone, he retreated into the mountains. Over the years, Xing Er would only send Xing Zhiyong to visit him during the holidays.

Before the New Year, Xing Zhiyong had come with injuries, bringing the old man some food. Xing San asked how his nephew got hurt. After hearing the cause, the course of events, and the outcome, Xing San didn’t remember Zhao Jun’s name, but he remembered the incident.

That was why Xing San’s attitude toward Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu changed immediately when Zhao Jun mentioned fighting the bear with Xing Zhiyong.

After they finished eating, Zhao Jun asked Xing San to find a worn-out basin, and he filled it with cornmeal to feed the dogs one by one.

Then, they sat down together to plan the next day’s hunt.

Xu Changlin suggested they get up early tomorrow to hunt the herd of wild boars Xing San had mentioned. If they got back early, they could go trap the lynx in the afternoon. If they returned late, they would go after the lynx the day after.

But that meant they wouldn’t actually be able to go after the lynx until the day after tomorrow.

Being out for four days and three nights would be a first for Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu.

In the evening, Xing San brought a piece of wild boar meat back from outside. He stewed it with cabbage, potatoes, and glass noodles, and stuck large flatbreads to the side of the pot to cook.

After dinner, the four of them lay down and went to sleep early.

The next morning, Xing San steamed sorghum rice. The four men ate a basin of it with pickled vegetables. Then, they hastily butchered the roe deer, feeding the organs, scraps, and "lantern hanger" rib cage to the four dogs.

They let the four dogs eat until they were about half-full. Zhao Jun and Xu Changlin shouldered their guns, while Li Baoyu and Xing San fastened their Invasion Blades to their waists. The four of them left the dugout, with Xing San leading the way to find the herd of wild boars he had mentioned yesterday.

They passed the ridge where Xing San had snared the roe deer and headed toward the high mountains. From a slope, they spotted a line of wild boar tracks. Hua Xiao’er sniffed them and followed the trail.

Daqing followed close behind, with White Dragon and Da Huang fanning out on the left and right.

Before long, the sound of barking echoed down from the top of the ridge.

White Dragon and Da Huang snapped their heads up and both took off running.

Zhao Jun told the two old men to follow behind while he and Li Baoyu ran quickly up the slope.

On the ridge, Hua Xiao’er and Daqing charged into the herd of boars.

It was a large sounder.

Two ’cannon eggs’, three old sows, and eight ’yellow-haireds’.

The whole family hadn’t even left their den when Hua Xiao’er attacked. The moment it barked, the sounder descended into chaos.

The two ’cannon eggs’ abandoned their mates and offspring and bolted.

The old sows also scattered, each running in a different direction.

With their parents having fled for their lives, the little yellow-haireds were in an even greater panic.

Hua Xiao’er instantly locked onto one of the yellow-haireds, caught up to it, and bit it right on the rear.

The yellow-haired squealed and whipped its head around to snap at the dog. Hua Xiao’er dodged, circled around, and bit its rear again.

Just then, Daqing arrived.

On the ridge of Gangjiansi, the sounder was in total disarray. Daqing targeted an old sow and lunged, sinking its teeth in.

When hunting a sounder of boars, the dogs don’t choose their target based on size.

They don’t pick the biggest one to fight, as a person would.

They usually just attack the first one they see.

These two boars were unlucky; they had been targeted by Hua Xiao’er and Daqing.

Two hounds against two wild boars.

The little yellow-haired, weighing about a hundred jin, was forcefully corralled by Hua Xiao’er within a radius of six or seven meters.

The little yellow-haired had no intention of fighting Hua Xiao’er; it only wanted to run. But every time, before it could take two steps, Hua Xiao’er would bite its rear.

How was it supposed to run?

As for the old sow, Daqing had latched firmly onto one of its ears. The sow kept trying to lift its head and swing its snout to strike Daqing, but whichever way it turned, Daqing moved with it. So it could only keep its head down, locked in a constant struggle with the dog.

"WOOF WOOF..."

What made the two boars despair even more was that White Dragon and Da Huang had arrived!