The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Zhao Jun was familiar with Chen Dalai. A few days ago, when Wei Tie needed some bullets, Zhao Jun had introduced him to Chen Dalai.

But when Zhao Jun heard Zhang Yuanmin say he was going to team up with Chen Dalai to hunt the Black Bear, he quickly grabbed his arm. "Brother Zhang," he cautioned, "Chen Dalai’s gun is a break-action. If you go with him, you have to be extra careful. Make sure you don’t wound it with the first shot and then can’t get a second one off in time."

"Brother, don’t you worry," Zhang Yuanmin said, full of confidence. "I’ve already thought it all out at home. If you won’t go with me, I’ll just get Chen Dalai.

The two of us will get to the spot, and we won’t even try to smoke it out. We’ll just open fire and kill the Black Bear while it’s still in the tree."

Zhao Jun understood what he meant. Chen Dalai’s 16-gauge shotgun was a single-shot. After one shot, you had to break the action to reload.

Moreover, he didn’t have any hunting dogs. If you only wounded the Black Bear with the first shot, it would be hard to follow up with a second, which is where the danger lay.

So Zhang Yuanmin’s plan was to not lure it out, but have Chen Dalai shoot directly into the tree and kill the hibernating Black Bear inside.

But if they did that, how would they get a bear weighing several hundred pounds out of there?

If they had to use a Large Axe to chop down the tree, the Black Bear’s gallbladder would be ruined by the time the tree fell, and the bile would be worthless.

On this trip, besides the bear meat, they wouldn’t get much.

Zhao Jun was surprised. ’Is it just because he’s itching to hunt a Black Bear? But this seems a little extreme.’

"Brother Zhang, what’s the point of all this?"

Zhang Yuanmin laughed. "Brother, let me finish. Tomorrow, we’ll head to the Forest Farm first. I’ll find my uncle there and have him help me borrow a chainsaw."

"Your uncle? Who at the Forest Farm?" Zhao Jun grew more and more confused. They lived in the same village, and he had never heard that Zhang Yuanmin had an uncle there.

"Ha!" Zhang Yuanmin slapped Zhao Jun on the back. "It’s your dad!"

Zhao Jun: ...

Based on their respective generations, calling him ’Uncle’ was actually correct.

Zhang Yuanmin continued to explain, "Once we borrow the chainsaw, the two of us will go there, kill the Black Bear, and then use the chainsaw to fell the tree."

After Zhang Yuanmin finished, seeing Zhao Jun was silent, he asked again, "Brother, what do you think?"

Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin, thought for a moment, and then said, "Brother Zhang, that’s something only you could come up with. Normal people... no, I mean, most people wouldn’t think of a plan like that."

Zhao Jun had originally wanted to say "Normal people wouldn’t think of a plan like that," but on second thought, considering Zhang Yuanmin didn’t have a proper gun or dogs, coming up with such an idea was already quite impressive. Since he couldn’t go with him, he shouldn’t throw cold water on his plan.

So, as the words reached his lips, he changed it to "most people."

But when Zhang Yuanmin heard Zhao Jun’s words, his face lit up with joy. He grinned and said, "Brother, to be honest with you, sometimes I also feel that I’m smarter than most people."

Zhao Jun: ...

Looking at Zhang Yuanmin, Zhao Jun smiled. In any case, the method Zhang Yuanmin came up with had a high degree of safety. Since that was the case, he might as well let him go ahead with it.

The two said their goodbyes. Zhao Jun didn’t go back into the little shop but headed straight home. He played with his little sister Zhao Na for a while, then went back to his room and took a nap.

When Zhao Jun woke up, it was already dark. He got up and helped Wang Meilan out a bit. As soon as the food was ready, they set the table to eat.

With the New Year approaching, there were many banquets at the Forest Farm, so as the head chef, Zhao Youcai naturally had to stay at his post.

Knowing that Zhao Youcai wouldn’t go hungry, the mother and her three children didn’t wait for him to eat.

Just as the family finished eating, Zhao Youcai came back, carrying two aluminum lunch boxes. Seeing the messy table of empty plates and cups, Zhao Youcai laughed. "You all missed out. The venison I cooked today was delicious."

"What? Did the farm catch a deer?" Zhao Jun asked.

A deer lives a thousand years, yet every step is filled with worry.

These animals are especially clever; hunting them is truly not easy.

Zhao Youcai just nodded, then lay down on the kang and said no more. He had been busy all day and was tired.

But Zhao Jun said to him, "Dad, there’s something I need to tell you first."

"Go on."

Zhao Jun could see his father was tired, so he briefly explained Zhang Yuanmin’s plan.

After listening, Zhao Youcai squinted his eyes, a faint smile on his face. He said weakly, "Only he could come up with something like that. But aside from being a bit clumsy, the method is safe enough."

Hearing this, Zhao Jun smiled. "So, you’ll lend it to him?"

"Then lend it to him," Zhao Youcai said. "Go to your brother-in-law’s place and get one for him. Tell him to return it to me when he’s done."

Zhao Jun’s eldest brother-in-law was in charge of logistics at the Forest Farm, and Zhao Youcai was his father-in-law. How could his father-in-law’s request be denied?

But Zhao Jun still added, "Brother Zhang isn’t exactly the most reliable person, is he?"

"What?" Zhao Youcai’s eyes widened. "He’d dare to borrow a chainsaw through me and not return it?"

"No, he wouldn’t dare." Zhao Jun thought about it and agreed. Given his old man’s "fearsome reputation," Zhang Yuanmin wouldn’t dare, not even if he had three times the nerve.

At this point, Zhao Youcai also started to have some doubts. But on second thought, although Zhang Yuanmin’s method was clumsy, it was definitely safe. As long as the man himself wasn’t in danger, he wouldn’t fail to return the chainsaw.

"Then you should get some rest, Dad."

...

The next day, Zhao Jun spent his time visiting one family after another. He went home for a nap at noon, then headed out, planning to go to the little shop to see what was going on.

But just then, someone came running frantically toward him. When Zhao Jun saw it was Yang Yufeng, for some reason, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Zhao Jun!" Yang Yufeng shouted to him from a distance. Zhao Jun’s sense of unease grew. If it were good news, she wouldn’t be in such a panic.

At that thought, Zhao Jun hurried forward to meet her. "Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?"

Yang Yufeng had been running too fast. When she reached Zhao Jun, she bent over, clutching her stomach, and took a couple of gasping breaths before saying, "Brother, come with me, quick."

"What happened?"

"Go home and see your brother!"

’This is bad!’ a thought flashed through Zhao Jun’s mind. He hurriedly followed Yang Yufeng, asking as they walked, "Should we get Doctor Han?"

"No need, it’s nothing serious," Yang Yufeng replied.

"Then why were you in such a hurry to find me, Sister-in-law?"

"You’ll know when you get there."

Zhao Jun followed Yang Yufeng to her house. As soon as he entered the inner room, he saw Zhang Yuanmin sitting on the edge of the kang, his right hand covering the left side of his face, rubbing it and sniffling.

He was crying!

Zhao Jun was dumbfounded. He took two steps to get closer to Zhang Yuanmin and asked, "Brother Zhang, what happened to you?"

As he got closer, Zhao Jun saw that the sleeve of Zhang Yuanmin’s cotton-padded jacket was torn.

"Oh, Brother." The moment he saw Zhao Jun, Zhang Yuanmin’s tears almost started flowing again. He cried out, "Your brother here barely made it out alive!"

"What happened?" Zhao Jun was puzzled. ’That plan from yesterday seemed so safe. How could he have possibly run into danger?’

But then, Zhao Jun suddenly remembered something. He quickly looked left and right but saw no sign of the chainsaw. He then turned and scanned the outer room.

When he came back, his face was grave as he asked Zhang Yuanmin, "Where’s the chainsaw?"

"I lost it on the mountain!"