The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

By the day before yesterday, Zhao Jun’s new house had been completed. Now, all that was left was to plaster the interior walls, lay the floors, build the heated kang-bed, and make the furniture.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jun and Ma Ling’s wedding date had been set. It would be after the Spring Festival of ’88, still more than half a year away.

Zhao Jun took the pork and carried it outside.

He had just stepped out when he saw Li Baoyu, also carrying a piece of pork, coming out of the Li’s House.

Li Baoyu’s arm was mostly healed by now, but the Forest Farm had given him a month off. Why waste it?

The two brothers looked at each other and smiled. They carried the pork out of the house together, and Li Baoyu said, "Brother, I heard Zhang Zhanshan is getting out of the hospital."

"How do you know?" Zhao Jun was taken aback, not expecting Li Baoyu to be so well-informed.

Hearing this, Li Baoyu smiled. "Ruhai told me when he got back last night."

Zhao Jun couldn’t help but laugh. Ever since their day trip to the Forest Farm, it was as if Li Ruhai had unlocked some hidden potential; his mouth had become unstoppable. All day long, he knew all the gossip about the Zhang Family this and the Li Family that. He knew how many eyes three rats had and how far a lame toad could jump.

There was nothing that kid didn’t know or wouldn’t say!

The two of them walked together for a stretch before parting ways. Zhao Jun arrived at Ma Ling’s house just in time to see Ma Yang darting out of the yard, holding a net.

Zhao Jun rushed over in two steps, grabbed Ma Yang, and asked, "Shouldn’t you be in school? Where are you off to?"

Ma Yang was startled when he was grabbed, but upon seeing it was Zhao Jun, he said irritably, "Brother Jun, it’s Saturday!"

"Ah, haha." Zhao Jun laughed and let go of the back of Ma Yang’s collar.

Back then, workplaces had a one-day weekend, but schools had two. Today, Zhao Jun didn’t have the day off, but Ma Yang did.

"What do you think of my net?" Ma Yang held his net out for Zhao Jun to see. "I’m going with the Wei Family’s third kid to the cabbage patch to catch butterflies. When I get back, I’ll press them in a book to make specimens."

Zhao Jun looked at Ma Yang, a few old memories suddenly coming to mind. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he abruptly reached out, pressed down on Ma Yang’s head, and started ruffling his hair like he was kneading a rubber ball.

"Hey!" Ma Yang angrily shook his head, breaking free from Zhao Jun’s hand, and snapped, "Don’t mess with me!"

"What’s wrong?"

Suddenly, a voice came from the yard. Ma Yang made a face at Zhao Jun, then shouted toward the yard, "Sis, come quick! Look who’s bullying me!"

"Who is it?!" Hearing that Ma Yang was being bullied, Ma Ling’s voice immediately grew anxious, and she hurried toward the gate.

Ma Yang smugly jutted his chin at Zhao Jun and pursed his lips, as if to say: ’You’re done for. Just wait and see how my sister deals with you!’

But to Ma Yang’s surprise, Zhao Jun’s expression changed. He put on a pained look and said, "Who’s bullying you? I was just looking out for you, wasn’t I?"

"I..." Ma Yang was about to speak when Ma Ling came out the door. But the moment she saw Zhao Jun, the furious Ma Ling’s expression immediately softened.

Before the siblings could say a word, Zhao Jun looked at Ma Ling and said, "This kid was about to go fishing in the East Big Gully. I told him it rained hard today and the water’s risen. The water in the East Big Gully gets really deep, so I told him not to go, and he started arguing with me."

"I..." Ma Yang stared at Zhao Jun in disbelief. This was the first time he’d ever encountered something like this, and he had no idea how to react.

Hearing Zhao Jun’s words, Ma Ling’s expression changed instantly. She strode over to Ma Yang’s side, grabbed his arm with one hand, and started smacking his back with the other. As she hit him, she scolded, "I told you not to go! Do you have no memory?!"

With that, SLAP! SLAP! came two Big Palms.

Last month, Ma Yang went to the East Big Gully with his classmates to catch clams. He slipped, fell into the water, and choked on a few mouthfuls. He came home with a cold and a fever.

The next day, when Ma Ling went to the clinic early in the morning to buy medicine for Ma Yang, she ran into Zhao Jun and told him about it.

More than half a month had passed, and Ma Ling had already forgotten she’d told Zhao Jun about this, but the memory was still fresh for him.

And with his swift false accusation, it would have been a miracle if Ma Yang didn’t get a beating.

His sister’s Big Palm landed on his back. It didn’t hurt much, but Ma Yang’s heart was filled with rage. He glared at Zhao Jun indignantly, grinding his teeth.

Zhao Jun kept his head down, desperately trying to keep from laughing out loud.

It wasn’t that Zhao Jun was deliberately bullying the boy. In his past life, after he married Ma Ling, he had treated Ma Yang like his own younger brother and was especially good to him.

Ma Yang was a considerate kid who knew how to appreciate kindness, and he always respected Zhao Jun. Later, when Ma Yang grew up, he even went hunting in the mountains with Zhao Jun.

He remembered one time when he botched an attempt on a Black Bear’s Den, it was Ma Yang who had charged in, swinging a knife, and saved Zhao Jun from under the Black Bear’s rear.

But after Zhao Jun and Ma Ling divorced, Ma Yang stopped talking to him. It wasn’t until Zhao Jun returned to his hometown in disgrace that Ma Yang, contrary to expectations, started bringing him food and clothes every now and then.

But every time he brought something, he would give Zhao Jun a lecture.

This meant that whenever Ma Yang came to visit, Zhao Jun was happy to see him, but also always ended up angry.

Just now, Zhao Jun had suddenly remembered the look on this kid’s face thirty years from now, and he couldn’t resist teasing him a little.

"Get back in the house!" Ma Ling delivered two more Big Palms, then grabbed Ma Yang, pushed him toward the yard, and yelled, "Keep acting up, and I’ll let Dad deal with you!"

"I..." Ma Yang was about to explode with anger. He had already made plans with his friends, and bailing now would surely get him teased. But he knew all too well that his sister’s hits didn’t hurt much. If his dad got involved, though, the lightest punishment would be a welted backside!

A man must bow his head under the threat of the rod.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ma Yang shot Zhao Jun a vicious glare, then turned and dragged his net into the yard.

Watching him go, Zhao Jun sighed softly and said, "Look at that. I haven’t even married my wife yet, and I’ve already offended my little brother-in-law!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Hearing this, Ma Ling rolled her eyes at Zhao Jun, then gave his arm a light tap before saying, "It’s right for you to keep an eye on him. That kid is always getting into trouble and doesn’t know his limits."

At this point, Ma Ling noticed the pork in Zhao Jun’s hand and realized he had come to bring meat for her family.

The Ma Family’s circumstances were average, but they were all strong-willed and not the type to take advantage of others.

Ma Ling didn’t care what Zhao Jun brought for her, but she did care about the attitude of Zhao Jun and the Zhao Family toward her.

And such a large piece of pork was enough to prove the Zhao Family’s attitude towards her.

A smile appeared on Ma Ling’s face. She waved Zhao Jun over. "Come on in, Dad happens to be home."

"Alright!" Zhao Jun followed Ma Ling into the yard. As they reached the front door, they saw Ma Yang slam the door to the west room, shutting himself inside. Wang Cuihua was standing at the doorway, shouting, "What do you think you’re doing? Who are you throwing a fit for?"

In the Northeast, people really disliked it when children slammed things around.

Wang Cuihua called out, but when Ma Yang didn’t answer, she grew even more annoyed and was about to push the door open.

But just then, she saw Ma Ling enter with Zhao Jun. Wang Cuihua’s expression changed in an instant, and she smiled at Zhao Jun. "Xiaojun, you’re here! Come on in!"

"Auntie!" Zhao Jun lifted the pork with both hands and offered it to Wang Cuihua, saying, "Today is the Start of Autumn, time to fatten up for the season. My mom went to get some meat this morning and told me to bring it to you and Uncle."

"Your mother is too kind." Wang Cuihua smiled and took the pork, then said to Zhao Jun, "Just visiting is enough next time, you don’t need to bring anything." With that, she placed the meat on the stove and called toward the east room, "Honey, Xiaojun is here."

"Ah! Zhao Jun’s here?" Ma Daifu called back from inside the room. On a summer day like this, with the doors and windows open, how could he not have known Zhao Jun had arrived? But a father-in-law had to maintain his dignity. Only then did he say, "Come on in!"

Zhao Jun went into the inner room, greeted him with an "Uncle," and then got onto the kang to sit across from Ma Daifu.

Ma Daifu was rolling a tobacco leaf and asked Zhao Jun, "Want one?"

After Zhao Jun declined, Ma Daifu asked again, "Is work busy?"

"Not busy," Zhao Jun replied with a smile, then made some small talk with Ma Daifu. "You’ve been well, I hope, Uncle."

While the two were talking, Wang Cuihua brought in a cup of water for Zhao Jun, then stood beside Ma Daifu and said with a smile, "Xiaojun came over and brought us such a big piece of meat."

"Hah! Just coming over is enough, no need to bring things." Ma Daifu smiled when he heard this and said immediately, "I have two bottles of liquor on top of that cabinet. Take them back to your dad later."

"Don’t worry about it, Uncle," Zhao Jun said with a laugh. "You keep them for now. When my dad comes over next time, he can drink with you."

When Zhao Jun said this, Ma Daifu and Wang Cuihua glanced at each other, both extremely pleased. ’This son-in-law is really something,’ they thought. ’Even his refusals are so tactful.’