The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

In late April, the grass on the mountain had yet to grow thick. On the ground, tiny blades of grass had just begun to sprout, pushing out their tender tips.

Since Zhao Youcai intended to use the sheep as bait, he couldn’t give it much room to roam. The animal could only wander in a radius of about a yard around the tree to which it was tethered.

Back at the Sun Family’s home, the lamb had spent the entire winter eating bean cakes and drinking ewe’s milk. To suddenly find itself on the mountain eating fresh green grass was a novel experience.

But once it had nibbled all the surrounding grass clean, there was still no sign of those two scoundrels taking it home.

The hungry lamb began to bleat pitifully.

Hearing its cries, Zhao Youcai and Zhou Jianjun thought the leopard had arrived! But when they got closer to check, they saw it was just hungry.

"Dad, what do we do now?" Zhou Jianjun asked Zhao Youcai.

Zhao Youcai glanced around. There was no grass to pull. The ground was only dotted with sparse blades, not enough to grab by the handful; you’d have to pluck them one by one.

Zhao Youcai frowned in annoyance. "What else is there to do?" he said to Zhou Jianjun. "Let’s go back. It’s not just the lamb that’s hungry—I’m starving."

"I’m hungry too," Zhou Jianjun muttered. They had left home before eight in the morning, and it was already almost two-thirty. Of course he was hungry—who wouldn’t be?

But what were they going to do with the lamb?

When Zhou Jianjun asked, Zhao Youcai nearly laughed with exasperation. "Carry it back, of course! What, you want to just leave it here on the mountain?"

"Carry it..." The word made Zhou Jianjun’s spirit sink. He had already carried this very lamb on his back for over six miles, all the way from Yongsheng Village into the mountains. And now, he had to carry it all the way back...

’Isn’t this just a fool’s errand?’

’But what choice did he have? If he left it and some mountain beast ate it, wouldn’t that be ten yuan down the drain?’

After all, it had been incredibly difficult for Zhou Jianjun to save up those ten yuan.

He’d just have to carry it.

Zhao Youcai walked in front with the rifle on his back, while Zhou Jianjun followed behind, carrying the little lamb.

The two of them, father-in-law and son-in-law, headed down the mountain. As they neared Yong’an Village, Zhou Jianjun hurried to stop Zhao Youcai, who was anxious to get home for dinner. "Dad," he said, "there’s something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it? Can’t it wait until we’re home?"

"It’s about the lamb. We can’t talk about this at home." Zhou Jianjun quickly set the animal down on the roadside to let it graze on some grass. He glanced around, and seeing they were alone, he said to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, when we get back, Chun’Er is definitely going to ask where the lamb came from. You can’t tell her I’m the one who bought it, okay?"

"So I’m supposed to say I bought it?" Zhao Youcai shot back. "I was wondering why you went to fetch the lamb so early in the morning. So, this whole time, you’ve been keeping secrets from my daughter? A husband and wife have to be honest with each other. Hiding money behind her back is no way to live."

"Dad, I have no choice," Zhou Jianjun lamented. "Chun’Er only gives me five yuan a month. After I pay for my lunch every day, is there anything left? If something comes up, what am I supposed to do with an empty pocket?"

"Now hold on a minute." Zhao Youcai seemed to disapprove of this line of reasoning and began to lecture him sternly. "Who do you think my daughter is being so frugal for? Isn’t it all for your family? Isn’t it all so she can build a life with you? Tell me, what has my daughter bought for herself all year?"

"Yes, yes, Dad, you’re right. It’s my fault," Zhou Jianjun said, quickly backtracking when he saw his father-in-law getting agitated. "But Dad, you have to cover for me today. If Chun’Er asks, just say you’re the one who bought it."

"Fine," Zhao Youcai said after a moment’s thought. He waved his hand dismissively. "Let’s just get home. I’m starving."

With that, Zhao Youcai started walking again. Zhou Jianjun quickly hoisted the lamb onto his back and hurried after him.

The two men entered the village and headed home. Zhao Chun and Hu Sanmei had been waiting for a long time. When they saw them arrive, the two women—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—came out to greet them, and Hu Sanmei was stunned.

’Weren’t they supposed to be hunting a leopard? Why on earth are they carrying a lamb?’

The sight of the lamb made it all click for Zhao Chun. Yesterday, her husband had asked for money, and she had refused.

"Jianjun," Zhao Chun asked him directly, "where did this lamb come from?"

She then turned to Hu Sanmei. "Mom, yesterday Jianjun said he wanted to buy a lamb to use as bait for the leopard, but I refused. It felt like such a waste of money. Don’t you think so, Mom? Isn’t that just being a spendthrift?"

"That’s not right at all." Hu Sanmei took Zhao Chun’s hand. With her other hand, she pointed a finger at Zhou Jianjun. "Chun’Er didn’t give you any money, so where did you get the cash for this?"

"No, it wasn’t me." Zhou Jianjun quickly stepped back to Zhao Youcai’s side, placing a hand on his arm. "My father-in-law was the one who bought the lamb."

Normally, Zhou Jianjun would just call Zhao Youcai "Dad," but since he was speaking to his own mother, Hu Sanmei, he had to refer to him as his father-in-law.

Zhao Youcai glanced up at his son-in-law, then turned to Zhao Chun and Hu Sanmei with a smile. "That’s right, I bought it. I figured if spending a little money could help us take down that leopard, it would benefit both my in-laws and Jianjun."

Hu Sanmei knew what was really going on, but as a village woman who had been frugal her entire life, the thought of feeding a lamb to a mountain beast truly pained her.

But she couldn’t deny that the Zhao Family had helped them out a great deal over the past six months. Before the New Year, Zhao Chun had brought back a Bear Gall from her parents’ home. It was a rare Copper Gall, worth eight hundred yuan at the very least.

And then there was the Pig God that Zhao Jun had hunted a few days ago. That would have sold for over three hundred yuan.

Of course, that price of three hundred yuan was what it would fetch in their Yongsheng Village; in Yong’an Village, it would only sell for a little over two hundred. The hunters in Yongsheng Village could get thirty cents a pound for a wild boar—skin, meat, bones, and all!

Yet Zhao Jun had given it to them without a second thought. Hu Sanmei had taken careful note of all these things.

So now, she said to Zhao Chun, "Dear, we can’t let my in-law pay for this. We should pay for it, however much it costs. After all, he’s doing this for our family."