The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

The skies bring rain, and people bring trouble.

When Zhao Jun returned, Zhao Youcai questioned him. Zhao Jun didn’t answer because he wanted to protect Zhao Youcai.

But Zhao Youcai just had to push it, just had to ask. And now, things were complicated!

Being questioned by Wang Meilan, Zhao Youcai cursed his luck internally. But his mind raced, and recalling what Zhao Jun had just said, he puffed out his chest, pointed at Zhao Jun, and yelled, "Little Calf, can’t you do anything productive for a single day? You have a blind date the day after tomorrow, what’s this about hunting leopards?"

The moment Zhao Youcai said this, Wang Meilan’s gaze snapped to Zhao Jun. Marriage was no child’s play. If Zhao Jun had really agreed to Tao Dabao’s request, Wang Meilan would definitely be enforcing some family discipline.

"When did I say I was going leopard hunting?" Zhao Jun replied with a smile. "I told Uncle Tao that I couldn’t go because I have a blind date the day after tomorrow. Uncle Tao just told me to let him know once the wedding date is set."

Hearing Zhao Jun’s explanation, a smile appeared on Wang Meilan’s face. But when she turned back to Zhao Youcai, the smile vanished instantly, replaced by an icy glare. She said to him, "Do you think my son is like you? Slacking off work to go hunt leopards on the mountain. You even wasted money buying a goat for bait. If I hadn’t gone to get you, you’d still be squatting out there in the mountains..."

Wang Meilan rambled on and on, and Zhao Youcai didn’t dare make a peep, just sitting on the kang and taking it.

...

The next day, Zhao Jun woke up early. As soon as he left his room, he saw Zhao Youcai at the stove, stirring congee.

Cracked corn congee, steamed cornbread, and a side of pickles.

But today’s pickles weren’t the usual pickled cucumbers from the crock; they were stir-fried.

It was pickled mustard root, minced into fine pieces.

The dish was made by flash-frying scallions in a hot wok, adding minced meat until it was cooked through, and then stir-frying it all with the minced mustard root.

This kind of pickle was almost like a main dish. It combined the fresh aroma of the mustard root with the savoriness of the meat, making it fragrant, crisp, and delicious.

The family of five was sitting on the kang eating when they heard a commotion outside. Wang Meilan turned to look, and Zhao Youcai sat up straight to peer out the window.

After a glance, Zhao Youcai said to Zhao Jun, "Stop eating. Go outside and see what’s happening. I think that kid from the Zhang Family is here."

"The Zhang Family?" Zhao Jun was taken aback. There were plenty of people in the village with the surname Zhang; how was he supposed to know which one Zhao Youcai meant?

Seeing Zhao Jun’s confusion, Zhao Youcai said impatiently, "Zhang Laibao! He’s at Baoyu’s house, raising a racket at the gate. Go check it out!"

"Ah!" Hearing this, Zhao Jun quickly dropped his chopsticks, hopped off the kang, slipped on his shoes, and ran outside.

Even though the two families were enemies, Zhang Laibao was from the younger generation. His elders hadn’t come, and he wasn’t blocking the Zhao Family’s gate, so Zhao Youcai couldn’t get involved directly.

As Zhao Jun pushed the door open, he already had a good idea why Zhang Laibao was there. Stepping outside, he saw a crowd had gathered in front of Li Baoyu’s yard. Li Baoyu himself was standing at his gate, trading insults with Zhang Laibao.

Zhao Jun frowned. Amidst the noisy shouting, he could faintly hear Zhang Laibao saying something about a "wife."

Zhao Jun vaulted the wall into the Li Family’s yard and peeked into the Li’s House through a window. He saw Li Xiaoqiao peering out the window by herself; it seemed Li Dayong and Jin Xiaomei weren’t home.

This was normal. During the busy farming season, the couple would be out working in the fields, leaving Li Baoyu at home to look after his younger brother and sister and make sure they ate.

Otherwise, with Zhang Laibao causing a scene at their gate, even with the age difference, Li Dayong would have been well within his rights to come out and give Zhang Laibao a massive slap across the face.

But since Li Dayong wasn’t home, Zhao Jun could act in his place. Zhao Jun strode to the gate, pushed aside Li Ruhai who was being shielded by Li Baoyu, shoved away the arm Li Baoyu was using to brace the doorframe, stepped forward, and swung his arm, landing a slap on Zhang Laibao.

SMACK!

"Ah! Zhao Jun!" Zhang Laibao clutched his cheek and roared, "You dare hit me!" As he spoke, he lunged at Zhao Jun.

The onlookers were a mix of gawkers and would-be peacemakers. They couldn’t stop Zhao Jun’s sudden attack, but they were quick to restrain Zhang Laibao now. They all rushed forward—some grabbing his waist, others his arms—and managed to hold Zhang Laibao back.

"Zhao Jun!" Held back and unable to break free, Zhang Laibao pointed at Zhao Jun and bellowed, "Mind your own fucking business, ah—"

Before Zhang Laibao could finish, he saw Zhao Jun raise a foot and kick him squarely in the lower stomach. Being held back, Zhang Laibao couldn’t even dodge.

Seeing Zhao Jun kick Zhang Laibao, a few people moved to stop Zhao Jun as well.

"Back off! All of you, back off!" Zhao Jun roared, pointing at the men approaching him. "You all know the history between our families, right? You dare to get in the middle of this fight?"

At Zhao Jun’s roar, the men looked at each other uncertainly. It was true. The feud between the Zhang Family and the Zhao and Li Families ran too deep for outsiders to interfere.

"Baoyu!" Zhao Jun pointed at Li Baoyu, then at Zhang Laibao. "Beat him! Beat him to a pulp! Don’t worry about anyone who gets in the way. There are no rules in a brawl, and if they dare to interfere, they shouldn’t be afraid of getting hit!"

The moment Zhao Jun finished speaking, Li Baoyu charged out, swinging his fists right at Zhang Laibao’s head.

Just as Zhao Jun had told him, he ignored anyone trying to stop him, fighting with wide, unrestrained swings.

"AH... AH..." Zhang Laibao’s miserable cries rang out from the crowd. Li Baoyu was truly showing no mercy.

"Baoyu! Baoyu!" Seeing Li Baoyu landing punch after punch on Zhang Laibao’s head, Zhao Jun feared something serious would happen and quickly called him off.

By now, Zhang Laibao’s face was black and blue, blood was streaming from his nostrils, and his head was covered in lumps.

SOB SOB SOB... Li Baoyu had beaten Zhang Laibao to tears again. Wiping away tears and snot with one hand, he pointed at Li Baoyu with the other and said, "You stole my wife-to-be, and you dare to hit me! This isn’t over!"

"Who the hell is your wife-to-be?" Zhao Jun roared in anger at his words, pointing forward. "Baoyu, keep hitting him!"

As soon as Zhao Jun spoke, the crowd around Zhang Laibao scattered, leaving him completely exposed.

Zhang Laibao was trembling with fear, but he couldn’t stop running his mouth.

Li Baoyu clenched his fists and roared at Zhang Laibao, "Zhang Laibao, if you dare spout any more nonsense, I’ll beat you to death."

Zhang Laibao turned, pushed through the crowd, and fled.

As the weather grew warmer, people had started going to the fields to work in the mornings. Zhang Laibao had been avoiding people lately, not even going out to walk his bear.

But even if he did nothing all day, even if he skipped meals, he still had to use the latrine eventually.

But as soon as he stepped out of the latrine, Zhang Laibao overheard people talking about Li Baoyu and Liu Mei, saying the two were about to get engaged!

The news was like a bolt from the blue, striking Zhang Laibao so hard it left him completely dazed and confused.

The moment he came to his senses, the first thing Zhang Laibao did was rush to Li Baoyu’s house to settle the score.

As the saying goes: a man will fly into a rage for the sake of a woman.

Zhang Laibao had truly been seeing red today. He had blocked the Li Family’s Gate and cursed them out, and when Li Baoyu started to fight back, people had even tried to break it up.

But he never expected Zhao Jun to jump into the fray out of nowhere.

"Everyone break it up, break it up. It’s over," Zhao Jun said, waving his hand to disperse the crowd at the gate. As he and Li Baoyu walked back into the yard, he asked, "Liu Tiezui sure works fast, huh? I just talked to her yesterday at noon, and she got it done by the afternoon?"

At this point, Zhao Jun still thought the news had leaked from Liu Tiezui.

"Works fast my ass!" Li Baoyu snapped. He pointed at Li Ruhai, who was standing nearby winking and making faces, and roared, "It was all that little bastard, running his mouth outside! I’m gonna beat him to death!" As he spoke, Li Baoyu grabbed a stick from a nearby firewood pile and charged at Li Ruhai.