The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

There’s a saying in storytelling: "The old dragon lies resting on the sand; a single phrase awakens the dreamer."

Wang Meilan’s words made Zhao Jun come to his senses instantly.

Of course!

No matter what, that was his own father.

Zhao Youcai’s personality might have been a bit odd, and his way of expressing paternal love was unconventional, but Zhao Jun knew that in his father’s heart, he, as his son, was still incredibly important.

In his previous life, after his mother passed away, Zhao Youcai remarried in less than a year. But he built Zhao Jun a large, three-room, tile-roofed house, spending seven or eight thousand yuan.

That amount of money couldn’t have come from just his and Wang Meilan’s savings of half a lifetime; it must have also included the private stash of cash he’d hidden in his padded jackets and pants for so many years.

But from then on, Zhao Jun held a grudge against Zhao Youcai, only visiting him twice a year during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival.

On normal days, he worked in the inspection team, often going down to various Logging Camps to measure timber, so the father and son didn’t have many opportunities to meet at the Forest Farm. But whenever Zhao Jun went to the canteen for a meal, Zhao Youcai would always manage to conjure up something delicious for him.

Later, after Zhao Jun became successful, he quit his job at the Forest Farm, and the pair had even fewer chances to meet.

For all those years, Zhao Jun never spared a thought for his father.

It wasn’t until Zhao Youcai passed away, as Zhao Jun rushed back from the city upon hearing the news, that his tears began to fall uncontrollably while he sat in the vehicle.

When he saw Zhao Youcai lying there, completely still, all the hatred in Zhao Jun’s heart vanished in an instant, without a trace.

Later, when Zhao Jun fell on hard times, he slowly began to understand Zhao Youcai.

Every generation has its own struggles.

Zhao Youcai was a man who worked from dawn till dusk at the Forest Farm every day. With two young, naive girls at home, how could he manage without a woman around?

It didn’t matter if this woman was good to his daughters or not; at least there would be an adult in the house. As long as she didn’t abuse the children, that was enough.

So, after his rebirth, Zhao Jun no longer held a grudge against Zhao Youcai. But because he’d been beaten twice, he always felt the urge to butt heads with him.

Now, hearing what Wang Meilan said, Zhao Jun came to his senses.

That’s right. If he really angered Zhao Youcai to the point of sickness, then he, the son, would be the one to take care of him.

At this thought, Zhao Jun quickly admitted his mistake to Wang Meilan, "Mom, I get it. I’ll go smooth things over with Dad in a little bit."

"Hey! Now that’s more like it!" Wang Meilan beamed when she heard this. ’My son is so sensible after all,’ she thought. She pointed at Zhao Jun, then turned and pulled the door to leave.

But just as she had the door halfway open, she suddenly remembered something. She turned back to Zhao Jun and said, "You know your dad. The thing he’s been most proud of for most of his life is those few years he spent hunting. He has to brag about it every time he has a little to drink. You know that, don’t you?"

Zhao Jun knew this all too well. When he was little, whenever Zhao Youcai drank too much, he would tell him heroic tales of his days roaring through the mountain forests. Now, he told those stories to Zhao Hong and Zhao Na.

’But Mom, you can’t say that with the door open.’

Zhao Jun got up to stop her, but before he could reach her, he heard Wang Meilan continue, "Your hunting is much better now than your dad’s ever was, but he’s still your father. As his son, can’t you just let him have this one?"

"I can, but Mom, just stop talking." Zhao Jun couldn’t take it anymore and cut Wang Meilan off.

Wang Meilan was taken aback, but seeing Zhao Jun giving her a look, she turned and realized she had pulled the door open. She peeked outside, then frowned and headed into the outer room.

Left alone in the room, Zhao Jun pondered for a moment. After careful consideration, he took a wad of cash from his pocket and pulled out ten yuan.

He stuffed the rest of the money back into his pocket and started to leave, clutching the ten yuan. But when his hand touched the doorknob, Zhao Jun paused to think again. He then took all the money out of his pocket once more, put the ten-yuan bill at the bottom of the stack, and pulled out a five-yuan bill instead.

And so, Zhao Jun put away the rest of the money, and clutching just the five yuan, he left the room.

At that moment, Wang Meilan was tidying up at the stove. Seeing Zhao Jun emerge from the room, she gave him an encouraging look.

Zhao Jun gave a firm nod and cautiously walked to the doorway of the opposite room, poking his head in to look.

He was afraid a plate might come flying and smash over his head.

Worthy of a former Cannon Shooter, the moment Zhao Jun appeared in the doorway, Zhao Youcai, who was on the kang drinking alcohol with dried vegetables, snapped his head up and glared fiercely at him.

Zhao Jun, however, broke into a brilliant smile. He took small steps to the edge of the kang and sat down, saying with a grin to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry."

Zhao Youcai blinked and opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He just turned his head away and refused to look at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun chuckled and placed the five-yuan bill, which he had folded in half, on the low kang table.

The instant the five yuan landed on the table, Zhao Youcai’s gaze shifted. He glanced at the bill, then his eyes moved to Zhao Jun’s face.

’I’ve seen plenty of money before.’

"Dad, this is a little something from your son to show my respect." Zhao Jun said with a smile, pushing the money toward Zhao Youcai. "From now on, every month when I get paid, I’ll give you a little something."

"Hmph!" Zhao Youcai snorted, but his hand moved quickly, snatching the five-yuan bill from under Zhao Jun’s palm.

He unfolded the five-yuan bill to inspect it, then refolded it along the original crease Zhao Jun had made. After that, he tucked the money into his pocket. Finally, he glanced at Zhao Jun and said, "People from the Forestry Bureau are coming tomorrow. Your brother-in-law is slaughtering a sheep, and I’m in charge of hosting. If you’re free, come over to my place tomorrow afternoon. I’ll give you some mutton to take back."

"Alright, I’ll definitely be there tomorrow."

...

For the next few days, Zhao Jun worked steadily. He finished measuring all the timber at Logging Camp No. 79, then finished up the last few unmeasured logs at Logging Camps No. 77 and No. 78. Only then did he return to the inspection team to report to Xu Baoshan.

Xu Baoshan was very satisfied with Zhao Jun’s performance. For a newcomer who had just started, he was a solid and conscientious worker.

Although he took a lot of leave, he never let it affect his work. Compared to those who slacked off and goofed around, he was much more likable.

After giving Zhao Jun some verbal praise, Xu Baoshan assigned him his next task.

Next up was transporting the timber stacked at the Logging Camp down the mountain.

This was no small task, and the Forest Farm didn’t have that many trucks. Fortunately, since the reforms, the Forest Farm allowed private contractors to take on jobs, so some people bought their own trucks to help haul timber.

Although this job didn’t require the inspector to do any physical labor, it did require Zhao Jun to supervise. In other words, only those he authorized could haul the timber. If he didn’t give the word, you could have your truck right there and still have to wait.

That’s how much power he had!

In his past life, Zhao Jun had made many connections because of this very job.

Of course, among these people, there were good ones and bad ones.

As for the good people, Zhao Jun planned to get along well with them. As for the bad ones... heh heh...

After receiving his new assignment, Zhao Jun went home to rest for half a day. Early the next morning, he headed straight for No. 77 Logging Camp.

Meanwhile, as Zhao Jun was leaving the village, the married couple Zhang Yuanmin and Yang Yufeng came out of their house, each with a wicker basket on their back. The two were heading up the mountain to gather wild vegetables.

It was already late April. The wild vegetables on the sun-facing side of the mountain had all sprouted, making it the perfect time for foraging.

Just as Zhang Yuanmin and his wife stepped out of their house, they saw Minister Li and Li Erchen emerging from the neighboring yard. When the two brothers looked up and saw Zhang Yuanmin, they both looked embarrassed.

Zhang Yuanmin acted as if he hadn’t seen them and walked right past.

If it had been anyone else, Yang Yufeng would have tried to smooth things over, but toward these two, she had no good will at all. She gave a cold snort and followed Zhang Yuanmin away.

"Brother, are they going foraging too?" Li Erchen said to Minister Li.

Minister Li nodded and said, "We’re not taking the same path as them. Follow me. I know a place. It’s on a sunny slope, and the aralia shoots grow better there than anywhere else."

"Alright..."

Seeing his younger brother’s reluctance, Minister Li frowned and asked, "Erchen, what’s wrong?"

"Brother." With his own brother, Li Erchen didn’t hide anything. He just said, "I got a bad scare from that Black Bear last time. I’m a little afraid to go into the mountains now."

"Hah, what’s there to be scared of? We’re just gathering wild vegetables, not poking a Black Bear’s Den." Minister Li said. "After it rains in a while, we still have to go gather wood ear mushrooms. Those are valuable. We can dry them, sell them at the store down the mountain, and we two brothers can save up some money to get married."

The moment he heard "get married," Li Erchen’s spirits lifted. He shouldered his wicker basket and followed Minister Li.

Meanwhile, in front of the village’s small store, Xu Changlin led Xiaosun out from inside.

While eating a slice of sponge cake, Xiaosun asked Xu Changlin, "Grandpa, I saw Grandma give you fifty cents. How come you only bought twenty cents’ worth for me?"

"You little rascal... Isn’t this a lot?" Xu Changlin held up the Butter Paper package in his hand and said to Xiaosun, "When you finish this, Grandpa will buy you more."

Hearing this, Xiaosun nodded, then lowered his head and took another bite of his sponge cake. Chewing, he asked Xu Changlin indistinctly, "Grandpa, when are you going to take me into the mountains to see a big Tiger?"

The day before yesterday, on the way back from In the Town, the boy had overheard someone on the bus talking about a Tiger being caught somewhere.

When the little boy got back, he asked his grandpa, and it just so happened the old man had been drinking at the time. He casually replied, "Tomorrow. Grandpa will take you into the mountains to see a big Tiger."

Children are so innocent, after all. He started asking yesterday and hadn’t stopped.

Where on earth was Xu Changlin supposed to find a big Tiger for him?

So, Xu Changlin could only find an excuse. Patting the little boy’s head, he said, "Grandson, it’s early spring now. The bears are all out of their dens. The mountains are most dangerous at this time of year. If you’re not careful, a bear could pounce on you..."