The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

The east room of Zhao Jun’s home.

Wang Meilan couldn’t help but laugh at Zhao Jun’s question.

"What are you talking about?" Wang Meilan laughed. "You’re my only son, aren’t you?"

"If I’m your only son, shouldn’t you be living with me?" Zhao Jun was dumbfounded. In those days, parents with a son were expected to live with him. Otherwise, they’d face gossip and judgment from the neighbors.

And yet Wang Meilan, who had only him for a son, was now talking about splitting the family home. What was that all about?

"Son, listen to me," Wang Meilan said to Zhao Jun. "Think about it. When you get married, is it fair to make your wife serve her in-laws and two sisters-in-law?"

"Well..." In his past life, Zhao Jun had lived separately from his parents after getting married, so he’d never had to witness any conflicts between mother and daughter-in-law or among sisters-in-law in his own home.

Wang Meilan continued, "Besides, we only have two and a half rooms. When you get married, she’ll have to move into your room, right? And after you’re married, you’ll want to have kids. You’ve still got two sisters here. Will we all be able to fit?"

"Well..." Zhao Jun was speechless for a moment. It wasn’t unheard of for a family of seven or eight to live in a twenty-square-meter space back then. But his family wasn’t doing poorly; building a bigger house was definitely an option.

But the idea of splitting the family home had to be considered carefully. It wasn’t about living for the sake of appearances, but the mountain folks’ traditional beliefs were deeply ingrained.

Who would know the real reason they split up? Was the son not fulfilling his filial duty? Or was the daughter-in-law?

If word got out at the Forest Farm, people would jump to conclusions. No matter how Zhao Jun tried to explain, no one would believe him.

Just then, Wang Meilan glanced at Zhao Hong and Zhao Na, their faces smeared with sauce as they ate their noodles. She continued, "How many more years will my two girls be with me anyway? Once they’re both married off, your father and I will move in with you. And we’ll keep this house for my grandson to use when he gets married."

At this point, Wang Meilan added, "Son, what do you think of that?"

"Mom, you’re really thinking far ahead. You’re already planning for your grandson."

"Of course!" Wang Meilan took it as a compliment, forgetting that this was her son, who could be just as sarcastic as she was sometimes.

Just then, Zhao Jun said, "It’s a bad idea, Mom. Just drop it."

"It’s not?" Wang Meilan looked at Zhao Jun, a little surprised. "I thought what your father said made a lot of sense. Maybe I didn’t explain it clearly. Why don’t you wait for him to get back and let him tell you himself?"

"What the heck?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun had a bad feeling. ’But,’ he thought, ’no matter how ridiculous my unreliable dad can be, he wouldn’t joke about the family’s reputation.’

After all, if word got out that Zhao Jun was unfilial, his father, Zhao Youcai, would lose face too.

It wouldn’t just be the two of them; his older sister and brother-in-law would also be disgraced.

He sighed inwardly. ’What is that Er Gudong thinking now?’ After a moment, he said to Wang Meilan, "Mom, don’t be in such a hurry to build a house. I haven’t even found a girlfriend yet, so what’s the rush? Once I’m settled with someone, if you say the house is too small, we’ll build a bigger one. Forget five rooms; we can build eight if we have to. Then we can all move in together. It’ll look bad if word gets out otherwise."

"Hey, you’re right!" Wang Meilan’s eyes lit up. "Five rooms would be enough for our whole family. Why would we need to split the house? What on earth was your father thinking?"

"Who knows?" Zhao Jun said. Then, remembering something, he quickly added, "Mom, don’t rush the house-building, okay? Let’s wait a bit."

Zhao Jun had earned a good bit of money recently, but he had set it aside for Wang Meilan to get through her illness.

Right now, nothing was more important than his mom.

Only when she had safely passed through this dangerous period could Zhao Jun truly relax. After that, he could spend whatever money was left however he pleased.

"What are we waiting for? We can’t wait," Wang Meilan protested. "Look how old you are. Aren’t you in a hurry? We’ll get you a wife this year, and I’ll be holding my grandson by next year."

"Okay, okay, let’s just eat," Zhao Jun said. He picked up his small bowl with his left hand, used his right to add another spoonful of meat sauce, mixed it into his noodles, and went back to eating heartily.

After he finished eating, Zhao Jun rested at home for a bit before heading out to Zhang Yuanmin’s place.

He remembered promising Zhang Yuanmin on his way back that he’d stop by for a visit. Since he had nothing else to do this afternoon, he decided to go ask Zhang Yuanmin where on earth he got a gun. Was the man trying to get himself killed or something?

’That guy was already a handful without a gun. Now that he has one, isn’t he going to get himself killed?’

At the thought, Zhao Jun couldn’t help but feel exhausted. Between his family and his friends, no one gave him a moment’s peace.

Just as he stepped into the courtyard of Zhang Yuanmin’s home, a dull THUD made him jump, startled out of his thoughts.

Zhao Jun looked up and saw Zhang Yuanmin burst out of the house, his short legs churning as he rushed over. "Brother, you’re here!"

"What’s going on here?"

Zhang Yuanmin said, "It’s a long story!"

"Since when did you start pulling out idioms?" Zhao Jun felt a headache coming on. "I’m here now, Big Brother. Whatever it is, just tell me."

"I..."

Before Zhang Yuanmin could finish, Yang Yufeng’s voice came from inside. "Hurry up and invite your brother inside! What are you two doing talking out there?"

"Right, right, what’s wrong with me?" Zhang Yuanmin looked vexed. He said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, let’s get inside."

The two of them went inside to find Yang Yufeng making tea for Zhao Jun. Little Lingdang must have gone out to play somewhere; it was rare for her not to be home doing her homework.

"Brother, you’re here! Come in, have a seat." Yang Yufeng said, moving first to place a cup of tea for Zhao Jun on the kang table. Then she picked up a comic book that was on the table and casually tossed it onto the heated kang bed.

The corner of Zhang Yuanmin’s mouth twitched at the sight, but he didn’t dare say a word.

Zhao Jun climbed onto the kang, took the tea mug to warm his hands, and said to Yang Yufeng, "That’s enough, Sister-in-law. Don’t go to any trouble. We’re not strangers."

"Okay," Yang Yufeng replied with a smile. She sat down next to Zhang Yuanmin and asked Zhao Jun warmly, "Brother, when did you get back?"

Zhao Jun shot Zhang Yuanmin a surprised look. Seeing it, Zhang Yuanmin quickly told Yang Yufeng, "Brother got back this morning. We ran into each other on the road."

"Oh?" Yang Yufeng glanced at her husband, then turned back to Zhao Jun. "Brother, did you come for a reason?"

Her question put Zhao Jun on the spot. He had come to ask where Zhang Yuanmin got the gun, but he knew his friend had a history with stealing them, and he was afraid of starting another fight between the couple over the issue.

After all, Zhang Yuanmin had already gotten a slap in the face for it.

Seeing Zhao Jun’s silence, Yang Yufeng sensed something was up. She turned to her husband and asked, "What did you tell him now?"

"Ah!" Zhang Yuanmin didn’t try to hide it. "I asked Brother to come over and help us get revenge."

Hearing this, Yang Yufeng pursed her lips and sighed heavily. "What revenge? You? If you hadn’t done what you did, would they have hit you in the first place?"

At that, Yang Yufeng stood up. "Brother," she said to Zhao Jun, "if he’s not too ashamed to talk about it, let him tell you. I’m going to go buy some food. You’re eating here tonight, okay?"

"No, really, Sister-in-law, I’m heading back soon. Please don’t go to the trouble."

"You’re eating here!" To his surprise, Yang Yufeng insisted with a wave of her hand. "You haven’t been here in so long. Now that you’ve come, you have to stay for dinner. You two chat. I’m going to the store."

And with that, Yang Yufeng left, leaving Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin alone.

Only then did Zhao Jun ask Zhang Yuanmin, "Big Brother, who was it that hit you?"