The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

"Anything but that!" The moment Zhao Jun heard Zhou Jianjun say he was taking the Pig God to the canteen, he panicked. He rushed to block Zhou Jianjun’s path and said, "Brother-in-law, what are you taking this pig to the canteen for?"

Nearby, Yang Hong stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the two of them. He’d just been wondering himself if Zhou Jianjun wanted him to haul the massive wild boar to the canteen to skin it and cook the meat.

But for a pig this big, never mind how gamy the stewed meat would be, the real problem was that it would never get tender no matter how long you cooked it.

However, it wasn’t his place to question orders. Whatever Zhou Jianjun instructed, Yang Hong had to do.

"Huh? What’s wrong?" Stopped by Zhao Jun, Zhou Jianjun was taken aback. He looked at Zhao Jun in surprise and asked, "I want to take this pig to the canteen to put it on their platform scale and see exactly how much it weighs."

Even though this was his own brother-in-law, there were some things Zhao Jun just couldn’t tell him. He could only continue to protest, "Don’t you guys in the logistics department have a scale?"

"Nope." Zhou Jianjun shook his head. "What would we use something like that for?"

"You..." Zhao Jun was at a loss for words.

It was true. The canteen received grain and vegetables, often by the hundreds or even thousands of pounds, and all these supplies had to be weighed.

So, the canteen had one of those large platform scales.

But the logistics department only handled tools and such. Things like chainsaws didn’t need to be weighed.

"Yang Leader, let’s go." Zhou Jianjun waved at Yang Hong, signaling for him to drive the sled and follow him into the Forest Farm.

"You got it!" Yang Hong agreed readily. He vaguely recalled that Zhou Jianjun’s father-in-law was the Master Chef at the Forest Farm’s canteen. Wouldn’t that make him Zhao Jun’s own father?

If he met Master Chef Zhao in a bit and praised his son, who knew how delighted Master Zhao would be.

Yang Hong was treating Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai like any ordinary father and son!

Zhou Jianjun led the way, guiding Yang Hong and the sled into the Forest Farm. Although not many people were just wandering around the compound at this time, there were still a few.

Whoever saw the massive wild boar couldn’t help but follow along.

This pig was huge!

Everyone lived in the Forest Area; who hadn’t seen a wild boar before? But as for seeing one this big, there was probably no one who had.

This was a sight to see! If you saw this, you might just have a story to brag about for the rest of your life.

And so, a large, bustling crowd followed Zhou Jianjun toward the canteen. The journey wasn’t long, but Zhou Jianjun praised Zhao Jun several times along the way.

Calling him a tiger-slaying hero, the man who single-handedly killed the Pig God.

Zhou Jianjun might not have read comic books, but he’d been to school and had a whole repertoire of compliments.

Originally, few people in the compound knew Zhao Jun, but after Zhou Jianjun’s introductions, everyone around them took note of him.

It wasn’t because of how skilled a hunter Zhao Jun was—they didn’t care about any of that "tiger-slaying hero" stuff. They were simply interested because of his father and his brother-in-law.

It was already past ten o’clock, and the canteen was a hive of activity. Chopping vegetables, stoking fires, washing greens, boiling water... everyone had their assigned task.

As the Master Chef, Zhao Youcai was not idle either. He was at a countertop with his apprentices, pinching off pieces of corn dough to prepare steamed cornbread buns.

But today, Master Chef Zhao’s hands were busy, but his mind was elsewhere.

Suddenly, someone ran in, flustered and out of breath. He hurried to Zhao Youcai’s side and panted, "Master, you should go out and take a look, quickly!"

"What is it? What’s all the fuss about?" Zhao Youcai glanced at his young apprentice, then unhurriedly continued shaping the cornbread bun, pressing a hollow into its base.

"Master," the young apprentice said, "Your son-in-law brought a wild boar over."

"Oh?" Zhao Youcai understood immediately. His son-in-law had brought a whole wild boar to the canteen. His first thought was that Zhou Jianjun wanted to host a banquet and had brought the boar for him to help prepare.

That wasn’t a problem, but with his son-in-law here, he had to go out and greet him, no matter how busy he was, lest he give him the wrong idea.

But just as Zhao Youcai placed the bun on the counter and reached to take off his sleeve protectors, he heard the young apprentice say, "Master, the boar he brought is massive! It must be over a thousand pounds!"

Zhao Youcai had pulled his sleeve protector halfway off when his hand froze. He looked up at his young apprentice, who was nodding emphatically. Zhao Youcai yanked the sleeve protector the rest of the way off, tossed it aside, and strode out of the canteen.

These mountains stretched for hundreds of miles, spanning two provinces. How many thousand-pound wild boars could there possibly be?

So, upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai immediately realized what had happened. It had to be his own little rascal who had killed the Pig God.

The thought filled Zhao Youcai with a storm of emotions.

He didn’t know why Zhao Jun and the others had brought the Pig God to the canteen, but when he was on his own turf, Zhao Youcai wasn’t afraid of anyone.

Zhao Youcai pushed aside the thick cotton door curtain and stepped out to see a large procession approaching. His son-in-law, Zhou Jianjun, was at the head of the group, but he didn’t see Zhao Jun.

"Dad!" Seeing Zhao Youcai come out, Zhou Jianjun hurried over to him.

Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhou Jianjun, then jutted his chin toward the wild boar. "What’d you bring the pig here for?"

"Dad, listen to me," Zhou Jianjun said, placing a hand on Zhao Youcai’s elbow. He gently turned his father-in-law around so their backs were to the crowd before continuing, "The Forestry Bureau sent down a directive. They want all the Forest Areas and Forest Farms to submit wild boars, Black Bears, and so on. They said they’ll pick the most outstanding specimens to be displayed in the Provincial Museum."

"Ah, I see." As soon as Zhou Jianjun said that, Zhao Youcai understood. His son-in-law’s father was looking to move up in the ranks. This was a good thing, and important business.

Zhou Jianjun added, "Dad, you’ve got a scale here, right? Let’s weigh the pig first, then we can report it up the chain."

"Alright, I’ll have them bring the scale out now." Zhao Youcai lifted the door curtain with one hand and, without going inside, shouted, "Xiaosi’Er! Xiaosi! A couple of you, hurry up and drag the scale out! And bring two ladders!"

"Right away, Master!"

Hearing someone answer from inside, Zhao Youcai let the curtain fall. Just then, Zhou Jianjun said to him, "Dad, after we weigh it, I’ll go find my dad and have him submit the report today. The Forestry Bureau will probably send people down tomorrow. When they come, I’ll buy some groceries, and you can be the chef. We’ll give them a proper welcome."

"Goes without saying." Zhao Youcai waved a hand dismissively. "It’s family business. You don’t need to ask."

"Yeah, yeah." Zhou Jianjun was delighted. He felt like everything was going smoothly.

At that moment, Zhao Youcai walked toward the front of the sled. He wanted to get a look at this Pig God.

"Elder Zhao!" someone in the crowd called out. "You’re truly blessed! Your son-in-law is so outstanding, and your son is so capable!"

"Isn’t that the truth?" someone else chimed in. "What’s that saying? A tiger father will not beget a dog son!"

On any other day, being showered with such praise would have had Zhao Youcai grinning from ear to ear. But at this moment, looking at the massive wild boar lying on the sled, he felt an indescribable pain in his heart.

And his wonderful son-in-law had followed him over, whispering from behind, "Dad, I heard from Zhao Jun that the last time you went into the mountains after this pig, you were nearly buried by the snow. We’re getting older now; you should stop going up the mountain. Stay home and enjoy life, let us take care of you. As for hunting, just let..."

Zhou Jianjun didn’t get to finish. He stopped short because his father-in-law had just turned and shot him a fierce glare.