The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Yong’an, Yongsheng, Yongfu, and Yongli—these four villages were nestled against the Yong’an Forest Farm.

Though they were called villages, there was a more modern term for them: employee housing. The residents of the four villages were mostly current or former employees of the Forest Farm and their families.

The land in these villages also belonged to the Forest Farm. If someone wanted to use a plot to build a house, they first had to get the Village Chief’s permission. Only then could they submit an application to the Forest Farm.

And only once the Forest Farm gave its approval could they proceed.

At this point, Zhao Jun was already a full-time employee of the Forest Farm. Moreover, with connections from Zhao Youcai, Zhou Jianjun, and others, he believed getting the Forest Farm’s approval would be a mere formality.

So, the only thing missing now was Zhao Guofeng’s written approval. But given the relationship between Zhao Youcai and Zhao Guofeng, that wouldn’t be a difficult task.

However, every family in the village was supposed to have a yard.

They needed a yard in both the front and back, with one of them used as a vegetable garden.

As for the plots of land each family had at the edge of the village, those were for growing grain.

And in those days, the mountainous area was vast and sparsely populated, so an average family’s yard was often bigger than their house.

This was where the problem arose. Wang Meilan wanted to build a large, five-room house with a tiled roof. It also needed both front and back yards—the front for the dogs, and the back for a vegetable garden.

A five-room, tile-roofed house was already quite large, so how big would the corresponding yards need to be? How much land would that take up?

With the front and back yards combined, the Zhao family’s property would be the size of two regular households. Add in the five-room, tile-roofed house, and anyone who didn’t know better might mistake it for a landlord’s compound.

If Zhao Guofeng approved such a huge plot of land for Zhao Jun today, what would he do when other people came asking for land tomorrow?

If Zhao Guofeng approved this plot, the other villagers would inevitably start to gossip.

Of course, Zhao Guofeng was both the Village Chief and the Director of Security; he had the final say in all of Yong’an Village. This wouldn’t really affect him much, but for the Zhao Family, this was a favor—one that couldn’t be repaid with just a bit of wild boar and Black Bear meat.

What Wang Meilan had said earlier was meant in a general sense; she didn’t mean they should literally only bring two bottles of liquor.

Customs varied by region, and the local tradition was to present a "four-box gift." To ask for a significant favor, you had to prepare all four components.

Uncharacteristically, as soon as building a house for Zhao Jun was mentioned, Zhao Youcai agreed without hesitation. He immediately swung around, planting his feet on the floor, and said, "Give me the money. I’ll go right now."

Wang Meilan and Zhao Jun exchanged a look, both a bit surprised. Although he might pocket some small change while out shopping, that didn’t seem to warrant this much enthusiasm.

After a moment of surprise, Wang Meilan took ten yuan out of her pocket and handed it to Zhao Youcai.

"Is this all?" Zhao Youcai asked, looking at Wang Meilan with a displeased expression as he held the money.

"That’s plenty!" Wang Meilan said, making a gesture. "Go buy two bottles of good liquor and a carton of cigarettes. Use the rest to buy a couple of jars of canned fruit. That’ll do. After this is all taken care of, we’ll treat him to a meal."

Hearing this, Zhao Youcai said nothing. He simply folded the ten-yuan bill in half, stuffed it into his pocket, and headed out.

Zhao Youcai was gone all afternoon. But neither Zhao Jun nor Wang Meilan was worried. They knew that in a situation like this, Zhao Guofeng must have invited him to stay for a meal.

Dinner at Zhao Jun’s family home that night was simple: a soup of julienned radish and potato. It was made by shredding a large red radish and julienning potatoes, then stewing them into a soup.

Once served, a splash of vinegar was added to the soup, making the flavor incredible. Zhao Hong and Zhao Na added some sesame oil to their bowls, while Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan preferred a bit of chili oil.

By the time the family finished dinner, it was already half past five, nearly six o’clock.

Just then, the potatoes simmering in the large pot were cooked. Wang Meilan used a skimmer to scoop them out one by one, placing them in a large basin to let off steam.

These dozen or so potatoes were meant for the dogs’ dinner. It was undeniable that ever since Big Fatty and San Pang had arrived, the family had been going through potatoes much faster than before.

"Son," Wang Meilan called to Zhao Jun. "Bring the leftover soup over and mix it in for the dogs. Your father isn’t coming back for dinner."

Dog food needed a bit of salty flavor, and mixing in leftover soup was certainly better than just sprinkling on salt.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun, who was clearing the table, carried the basin of radish soup into the outer room. He poured it over the large basin of potatoes, then used the spoon reserved for dog food to mash everything together. This would also help it cool down faster.

Once the mashed potatoes and soup were mixed and the steam had dissipated, Zhao Jun carried the feed basin outside and portioned out the food for the five big dogs.

Just as he finished feeding the dogs and was about to go back inside, Zhao Jun saw Big Fatty, who was beside him, lift his head and look toward the yard gate.

Zhao Jun turned his head to look and saw Zhao Youcai staggering toward the yard gate.

"Dad!" Zhao Jun hurried to the gate to meet him and supported him as he walked into the yard.

Zhao Jun reached out to help, but Zhao Youcai raised his arm, shaking off Zhao Jun’s hand. He pointed a finger at Zhao Jun and said, "You little bastard!"

Zhao Jun: "..."

Annoyed, Zhao Jun dropped his arm. He then heard Zhao Youcai say, "I got it done for you today. The land will be approved in a day or two, and after that, we’ll build your house. Once the house is built, you better hurry up, find a wife, and get the hell out."

After saying that, Zhao Youcai steadied himself on the yard gate and walked inside. Zhao Jun stood behind him, gritting his teeth, and muttered, "We’ll see if I ever give you money again!"

...

The night passed without incident. The next day, Zhao Jun was still at home on leave. The sobered-up Zhao Youcai was surprisingly proactive. He took the slip approved by Zhao Guofeng to the Forest Farm and got the official stamp on it that very day.

That evening, Zhao Youcai came home unusually early and ate dinner with the family. At the dinner table, he took out the slip of paper and handed it to Wang Meilan.

"It was approved so quickly?" Wang Meilan clapped her hands in delight and carefully put the paper away. In those days, the Forest Area didn’t have formal things like property or land deeds; the approval slip from the Forest Farm served as the official proof.