The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

It would be no exaggeration to call today’s events a complete farce.

In retrospect, the initial plan of the Qin and Tao families was nothing short of delusional. They seemed to think every good thing in the world was destined to be theirs.

The result was that the five of them combined couldn’t even last three rounds against Zhao Youcai.

Their original plan—to use public pressure to force Zhao Youcai into submission—now seemed like a complete joke.

Thus, Qin Dajiang’s arrival gave the five of them a way to back down gracefully.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones who needed a way down.

There was also Zhao Youcai.

Therefore, Qin Dajiang also had to give Zhao Youcai an out.

But even if he laid this way out at Zhao Youcai’s feet, whether Zhao Youcai was willing to take it was another matter entirely.

And so, after yelling at Qin Qiang and the Tao Family Siblings, Qin Dajiang turned to Zhao Youcai. Cupping his fist, he said, "Brother, the children are just ignorant. As an elder, please don’t lower yourself to their level."

In this day and age, Qin Dajiang’s words might be called guilt-tripping, or perhaps just telling a bald-faced lie.

Let the younger generation off the hook just like that?

Qin Qiang was almost thirty. Could he still be called a "child"?

But in that time and place, for Qin Dajiang—a peer of Zhao Youcai’s—to say such a thing was tantamount to the Qin and Tao families admitting they were wrong.

In response, Zhao Youcai gave a dismissive wave. "Get your son home," he said. "He’s in that state, what’s he doing wandering around for?"

Qin Dajiang quickly agreed and led the group away, their tails between their legs.

Zhao Youcai didn’t even bother watching them leave. He just waved to the crowd at his gate and said, "Alright, it’s over. Everyone can head on home now."

With that, he called for Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei to pack up their knives and get ready to head back inside.

When Zhao Youcai said this, some of the onlookers were displeased. They had eagerly come from their homes, carrying baskets and basins to the Zhao Family’s gate, expecting to get a share of the bear meat to take home.

But when Qin Qiang and his group had shown up to cause trouble, Zhao Youcai had ordered people to carry the rest of the Black Bear meat into his courtyard.

And now that Zhao Youcai had told everyone to leave, it was clear he wasn’t going to bring the meat back out.

Isn’t there a saying?

The problem isn’t scarcity, but inequality.

Everyone had come to the Zhao Family for a share of meat. Some got a portion, and some didn’t. Naturally, those who received meat were happy, while those who left empty-handed were resentful.

However, their resentment was directed mostly at the Qin and Tao families.

After all, Zhao Youcai wasn’t a stingy person, and he had been handing out meat continuously before the Qin and Tao families came to stir up trouble.

Thus, many of those who didn’t get any Black Bear meat naturally directed their resentment toward Qin Qiang and his group.

The Zhao father and son paid this no mind. Zhao Youcai turned and walked into the courtyard, with Zhao Jun right behind him.

As soon as the pair entered the house, they heard Lin Xiangshun ask Zhao Youcai, "Second Uncle, are you alright?"

Zhao Youcai shook his head and chuckled. "This turned out well. We saved a lot of meat."

Just as they were speaking, Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei entered from outside, each carrying a basin. Hearing the conversation, Wang Meilan walked over to Lin Xiangshun and said, "Shunzi, make sure you take some extra meat home later."

"That’s right, that’s right," Jin Xiaomei chimed in. "Little Yanzi is at home with the kid. Take a good amount back for the two of them."

The Little Yanzi Jin Xiaomei mentioned was Lin Xiangshun’s wife, Xu Chunyan.

The reason for Jin Xiaomei’s concern over Lin Xiangshun’s wife was simple: she wanted to further improve the relationship between their two families. That way, when they eventually asked Lin Xiangshun to teach Li Baoyu how to drive, it would be an easier request to make, and Lin Xiangshun would be sure to teach him diligently.

Hearing this, Lin Xiangshun didn’t stand on ceremony and readily agreed. He had always considered the Zhao Family to be his own kin, so he wasn’t about to be polite with Wang Meilan over a bit of Black Bear meat.

However, he took Jin Xiaomei’s words as mere pleasantries and didn’t give them much thought.

After all, in his mind, no matter how much Black Bear meat he took home, it was coming from the Zhao Family’s share. He wouldn’t consider himself indebted to the Li Family in any way.

At that moment, both Zhao Youcai and Zhao Jun picked up on the subtle undercurrents. Zhao Youcai secretly shook his head but said nothing, thinking, ’A woman’s hair is long, but her insight is short.’

He had his own way of judging things. He wouldn’t have helped Li Dayong arrange the matter if he wasn’t certain Lin Xiangshun would agree.

So, Zhao Youcai simply said to Wang Meilan, "I already told Dayong their family is eating with us today. You and our sister-in-law should whip up a few extra dishes."

"Alright. You all keep chatting, we’ll go cook," Wang Meilan agreed immediately, leading Jin Xiaomei toward the outer room.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jun called Li Baoyu to go outside and help. The two of them, each grabbing a knife, first cut two large pieces of fat from the bear’s belly and brought them straight into the house for Wang Meilan.

Inside, there was only a little water covering the bottom of the large wok, but it was already at a rolling boil.

Jin Xiaomei took the two pieces of fat, diced them into small chunks, and dropped them one by one into the boiling water.

Boiling the fatty pieces like this rendered out the oil. By the time all the oil had been extracted, the wok was more than half full of bear oil.

The original chunks of fat, meanwhile, had transformed into golden-brown, crispy morsels, almost like puffed snacks.

These were cracklings.

In those days, these were a favorite snack among children.

Back outside, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu worked together to detach one of the bear’s legs. Then, from the thigh, they began carving off long, firm strips of lean meat.

Once they had cut a heaping platter full, Jin Xiaomei came out to take it inside. After being blanched, the bear thigh meat would be stir-fried with green peppers.

This leg meat wasn’t tough at all; it was satisfyingly chewy and packed with flavor. Paired with the peppers, it was the perfect dish to have with both drinks and a meal.

Finally, Zhao Jun cut two large strips of streaky meat from the Black Bear’s hindquarter.

Compared to a wild boar’s, these two cuts from the Black Bear were a bit on the fatty side, but if made into a red-braised dish, they would be an absolutely exquisite delicacy.

These were three hearty main dishes. Including the wild boar meat from a few days ago, and with guests over today, Wang Meilan planned to prepare a feast of eight dishes—every single one containing meat.

A spread of this caliber was, if not completely unheard of, then at least exceedingly rare for a mountain village in those days.

Of course, this was all thanks to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu. But at that moment, the two young men felt particularly meek. They weren’t hoping for any praise; they were just praying that after their families had eaten their fill, they might be spared.

But they knew this was a pipe dream.

A beating was inevitable. They’d just have to live with it. It wasn’t as if they’d never been thrashed before.

With the preparations for their own meal finished, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu started cutting up meat for the dogs. They didn’t hold back, either, deliberately picking out the good cuts for them.

"Eat up, eat up. Have some more." Li Baoyu squatted in front of Daqing, muttering as he watched the dog wolf down the bear meat.

Having eaten bear meat for two days straight, Daqing was completely captivated by the delicacy. In its opinion, the bear meat was far more delicious than the wild boar it had eaten the other day.