The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Li Baoyu’s dog, Da Huang, was also eager to go up the mountain, but he didn’t throw a fit despite being unfairly left behind.

But that was because Zhao Jun wasn’t his master. Though he was unhappy, he could still accept it.

As for White Dragon and Little Bear, however, what Zhao Jun did was just plain hurtful.

Zhao Jun squatted in front of White Dragon, but the dog remained just as it was, head resting on the ground. It merely lifted its eyelids and shot Zhao Jun a look of disdain.

This dog had been bought from Wang Dalong, but ever since Hua Xiao’Er and Daqing were gone, White Dragon was the one who had been with the family the longest.

Normally, when Zhao Jun came over, he would never act like this.

He was sulking!

This was the first time Zhao Jun had ever encountered a situation like this. Besides, he hadn’t thought much about it when he left that morning.

Even now, Zhao Jun still hadn’t realized the severity of the problem. Seeing that White Dragon was ignoring him, he got up and went to the storeroom to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon shot out, pouncing on Zhao Jun from both sides.

Zhao Jun ignored them, went into the storeroom, and came out with a small hatchet.

The two puppies stuck close to Zhao Jun. When he walked into the storeroom, they followed; when he came out of the storeroom, they were still trailing him.

Hatchet in hand, Zhao Jun went outside the storeroom, opened the burlap sack filled with wild boar meat, and pulled out half a rack of ribs.

"AWOOO!"

A sudden howl made Zhao Jun jump.

Zhao Jun looked up to see Black Tiger straining against its chain, its two front legs dangling in the air as if it was about to stand up completely. At the same time, Black Tiger was wagging its tail at Zhao Jun for all it was worth.

"What a glutton!"

Of the three big dogs left at home, Black Tiger was the only one who wasn’t giving Zhao Jun the cold shoulder.

Zhao Jun squatted down, stood the half-rack of ribs on its end, and gave it a chop with his hatchet. He then put the hatchet down, snapped the rib off with his hands, and a single, meaty wild boar rib came free.

Zhao Jun held it out horizontally to the two puppies. Both Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon stretched out their heads to snatch it, but the bigger Cyan Dragon had the advantage. With a nudge of its rump, it pushed Black Dragon aside.

Cyan Dragon then snatched the wild boar rib and ran off. He was still small and had some trouble gnawing on bones, but he loved to hide them all over the place.

Seeing how anxious Black Dragon was, Zhao Jun quickly broke off another piece and gave it to him.

Black Dragon snatched it in a single bite and ran off, his little tail wagging.

After feeding Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon, Zhao Jun gave his arm a swing and tossed the remaining smaller half-rack of wild boar ribs toward Black Tiger.

He had to give him some. The dog was acting like a maniac, a mix of barks and whines that was getting on his nerves.

Seeing the meaty bone fly past him, Black Tiger reared up like a man, craning his neck to watch it as his two hind legs scrambled backward. But he lost his footing and tumbled over backward. Instantly, he rolled with the fall, scrambled back up nimbly on his three legs, and dove for the bone, sinking his teeth into it.

"This damn dog, his whole day is like a circus act," Zhao Jun muttered in exasperation. "So much trouble on three legs. If he had all his limbs, he’d be tearing the roof off."

Zhao Jun pulled a wild boar Haraba bone from the sack. This one had a lot of meat on it. He took it and walked over to White Dragon.

White Dragon didn’t get up or even shift his position, but his eyes were constantly darting toward Zhao Jun.

"White Dragon!" Zhao Jun squatted in front of him again. Holding the meaty bone in one hand and petting White Dragon’s head with the other, he said, "Don’t be mad anymore. Look what tasty treat I brought for you. Just take one bite. I’ll take you up the mountain tomorrow, and we’ll go after something big."

White Dragon didn’t resist being petted on the head. He listened to Zhao Jun’s coaxing but paid him no mind, remaining just as he was, lying there completely still.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun placed the Haraba bone in front of White Dragon’s nose. But the instant the meaty bone touched the ground, White Dragon lifted his head.

Just as Zhao Jun thought White Dragon was about to open his mouth and take the bone, the dog twisted his head away, pointing his snout in the opposite direction.

Zhao Jun picked up the Haraba bone and placed it in front of White Dragon’s mouth again, but the dog just turned his face away once more.

"What an attitude!" Zhao Jun cursed with a laugh. But then he suddenly remembered hearing Wang Dalong say in his past life that this dog had a terribly stubborn streak and was a real mule.

He hadn’t witnessed it in his past life, but he was certainly getting a taste of it now.

Zhao Jun didn’t take the Haraba bone away. He left it beside White Dragon, wanting to see just how stubborn this dog could be.

There was one Haraba bone left in the sack. Zhao Jun took it out and walked toward Little Bear’s doghouse.

This dog was no pushover either. At least White Dragon was still out in the open; this one had gone and hidden directly in its house.

"Little Bear!" Zhao Jun squatted in front of the doghouse. Unable to see inside, he tilted his head and peered in.

As he looked, he could just make out a furry body. The little guy was sitting inside his house.

"Little Bear, come get some meat," Zhao Jun said, sticking the meaty bone into the doghouse to try and lure him out.

"HUFF... GRRR..." To Zhao Jun’s surprise, a huffing growl emanated from the doghouse. It sounded like the dog was about to bite someone.

"Oh, really? Let’s just see if you dare to bite me." Zhao Jun pulled the Haraba bone back and reached his other, empty hand into the doghouse.

"HUFF-GRRR... HUFF-GRRR..."

The moment Zhao Jun’s hand grabbed one of Little Bear’s front legs, the threatening noises stopped.

Zhao Jun tugged on its front leg, pulling him out of the doghouse. Little Bear resisted the entire time.

The dog just sat there, letting Zhao Jun drag him out by one leg.

Only after he had dragged Little Bear out did Zhao Jun realize the dog’s eyes were welling with tears, as if he’d suffered some terrible injustice.

Zhao Jun’s heart softened. He tossed the Haraba bone from his other hand into the dog’s food bowl, then wrapped his arm around Little Bear’s head and stroked his neck over and over.

At that, Little Bear’s nose twitched, and he let out a series of little whimpers, just like a child who’d been wronged.

Zhao Jun comforted him for a good while before Little Bear finally cheered up. Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Jun pushed the food bowl containing the Haraba bone in front of him. This time, Little Bear didn’t resist and pounced on it, starting to gnaw away.

One down!

Zhao Jun stood up and glanced to the side. White Dragon was still giving the meaty bone the cold shoulder, lying motionless.

"Brother!" Just then, Li Baoyu’s voice drifted over from next door. Zhao Jun turned to see him vaulting over the wall. He pointed to the nearby sack and said, "Grab some meat for Da Huang and Xiaohua. My second brother and I are taking them up the mountain tomorrow."

Li Baoyu came over, pulled open the sack to take a look, then looked up at Zhao Jun and said, "This boar wasn’t very big, huh."

"Yeah." Zhao Jun told Li Baoyu what happened that day. Li Baoyu looked troubled after hearing the story. One or two dogs slipping was manageable, but if a whole pack slipped, dragging them would be a huge pain.

Zhao Jun pulled out two more half-racks of wild boar ribs from the sack and gave the rest to Li Baoyu. He told him to take them home, feed some to Da Huang and Xiaohua today, and save the remainder to feed Flower Cat and Hua Lang the next morning.

Then, Zhao Jun took the two half-racks of ribs inside. The moment he walked in, he heard Wang Meilan ask, "Son, are we having ribs for dinner?"

"Nope," Zhao Jun said, placing the wild boar ribs on the kitchen counter. He asked Wang Meilan to soak them in cold water for Big Fatty and San Pang to eat the next morning.

For the better part of the last year, Zhao Jun’s family hadn’t been short on meat. Hearing her son’s instructions, Wang Meilan knew there must be a reason behind it. She didn’t ask, simply doing as he said.

As for dinner that night, Zhao Jun’s family ate vegetarian. There was a block of tofu left from that morning. Wang Meilan cut it into cubes, added a little soy sauce, and stewed it with potatoes.

The vegetables stewed in the pot below while the rice steamed in a basket above. By the time the stew’s sauce had reduced, the rice was perfectly cooked.

The tofu Northeasterners eat is made with a brine coagulant, making it exceptionally tender. Once stewed with the potatoes, it was mixed into the rice and served with pickled cucumbers from the crock. It was delicious and made for a very appetizing meal.

After the family of four had finished their meal, Zhao Youcai finally arrived home. He worked as a cook at the Forest Farm and always ate there before returning.

The moment he stepped inside, Zhao Youcai went straight to Zhao Jun’s room and asked the boy, who was lying on the heated brick bed, "What’s going on with that white dog outside? Why is it standing guard over a piece of meat but not eating it?"