The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

After hearing what Zhao Guofeng had to say, a mental map of the mountain area he described—its shape and terrain—automatically formed in Zhao Jun’s mind.

The mountain area was quite large and had plenty of roe deer for foraging. No wonder the Wild Leopard had headed that way.

’But if Jiang the Third and Liu the Fifth saw the Wild Leopard over here yesterday, doesn’t that mean Zhao Youcai was wasting his time in Yongsheng Village?’

"Jun," Zhao Guofeng said when he saw Zhao Jun remain silent. "How about you go and hunt that thing? There were a few old women digging for wild vegetables with Jiang the Third and the others yesterday. Now the news has spread all over the village, and no one dares to go up there to dig anymore. They’re all afraid it’s a Little Tiger."

A tiger cub could be a Lynx, which would be manageable. But a Little Tiger was a real tiger, and that could easily hurt someone.

"Uncle, what are you thinking?" Zhao Jun quickly replied. "If it’s really a Little Tiger, we’d need approval from the higher-ups to hunt it. Can you file a report?"

Zhao Guofeng shook his head. You couldn’t just submit a report for anything these days. The creature in the mountains hadn’t hurt any people or livestock. Besides, he didn’t have the kind of influence Yu Xuewen did, so reporting it would be pointless.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Guofeng, Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin left the village. The two of them headed up the mountain toward No. 77 Logging Camp.

On the way, Zhang Yuanmin asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, can’t we hunt that leopard?"

The moment Zhao Guofeng had spoken, Zhang Yuanmin knew exactly what the creature was, but he hadn’t explained it to him.

"Forget about it," Zhao Jun said, shaking his head without a second thought. "If it were winter, we might be able to figure something out, but you can’t hunt it on dry ground like this. The only way is to use bait—lure it with a sheep. But where are we going to get a sheep?"

"Brother, don’t you have a couple of sheep at home?" Zhang Yuanmin suddenly remembered that a large ewe and two lambs were living in the storeroom at Zhao Jun’s family’s house.

"Hold on there, big brother," Zhao Jun said with a wave of his hand. "What if we don’t get the leopard and end up losing the sheep, too? Wouldn’t that be stupid?"

As they spoke, the two arrived at No. 77 Logging Camp. When they reached the Log Pile Yard, they saw that four Jiefang-brand heavy-duty trucks had already arrived, and the workers were already loading logs.

"Elder Jie!" Zhao Jun called out to Jie Zhong from a distance. Jie Zhong turned, saw it was Zhao Jun, and immediately trotted over to him.

"Here, Inspector, have a smoke." Jie Zhong pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and offered it to Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun held up a hand to politely refuse, smiling. "I’ll pass. I don’t smoke."

The two had interacted a few times before, and Jie Zhong had even brought wine for Zhao Youcai, so he didn’t think much of Zhao Jun’s refusal. He immediately offered the cigarette to Zhang Yuanmin. "Here you go, brother. Have a smoke."

"Thanks," Zhang Yuanmin said, not standing on ceremony. He took the cigarette and stuck it in his mouth, then pulled out a matchbox, struck a match, and offered the flame to Jie Zhong first.

Jie Zhong had just put a cigarette to his own lips. Seeing Zhang Yuanmin offer the flame, he quickly cupped his hands around it to shield it from the wind and lit up.

Zhang Yuanmin then lit his own cigarette, shook the match until the flame went out, and dropped it on the ground before taking a long, satisfying drag.

Jie Zhong also took a drag from his cigarette, then asked Zhao Jun, "Inspector, did you need me for something?"

Zhao Jun smiled. "I remember you mentioned last time that you live over in Lingnan."

"Yep," Jie Zhong said with a nod. "Do you need something, Inspector? If there’s anything, just let me know. I can’t make promises about other places, but around Qianjin and the Elhe River area, I can handle things."

"It’s nothing major," Zhao Jun continued with a smile. "I heard that over in Lingnan, a lot of people raise hounds for hunting. I was thinking of heading over there to get a couple of good dogs."

"Well..." Jie Zhong’s expression turned troubled. He said to Zhao Jun, "If you’d asked a little while ago, you wouldn’t have even needed to spend money; I could’ve just gotten you some hounds. But I don’t know what’s been going on lately. A lot of people from Lingxi and Lindong have come to our area to buy dogs. Almost all the good hounds have been sold."

Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin exchanged a look. ’It’s all Zhao Guofeng’s fault!’ they both thought.

But since it was Zhao Jun asking, Jie Zhong thought for a moment before adding, "Inspector, if you’re not in a hurry, wait for me to get back and I’ll ask around for you. If I find any from a reliable source, I’ll send word."

"Alright," Zhao Jun agreed, then asked, "Elder Jie, you guys have a Supply and Marketing Cooperative over there, right? Do you know anyone who works there?"

"I do!" Hearing this question, Jie Zhong’s confidence returned. He quickly said, "My brother-in-law works at that very Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Inspector, if there’s anything you want to buy, just tell me, and I can bring it for you next time."

"I’m not looking to buy anything. I want to sell something."

"Sell something?" Zhao Jun’s words took Jie Zhong by surprise. The Supply and Marketing Cooperative in Lingnan did buy goods, but they only accepted three things: Bear Gall, Ginseng, and Sable Fur. They wouldn’t take anything else, not even Lynx Fur.

Zhao Jun smiled. "My family has a few Bear Galls and several stalks of Ginseng right now. See if you can talk to your brother-in-law and get me a good price."

Jie Zhong looked at Zhao Jun in surprise. The last time Zhao Jun had arranged for him to borrow tools from the Yong’an Forest Farm, Jie Zhong had known he wasn’t just some ordinary person. But he never expected that Zhao Jun’s family would have Bear Gall and Ginseng—and several of each, at that.

’Ginseng... this time of year?’ But thinking it over, Jie Zhong couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious of Zhao Jun’s claim.

If it was Ginseng dug up last year, it would be in no condition to be sold now. But if it had just been harvested, well, that was a little frightening to consider.

"Yes, a few stalks." Zhao Jun nodded with a smile and glanced over at the workers hauling logs. He saw Jie Chen sitting on one of the trucks.

In his past life, it had been Jie Chen who took him to the Rakshasa Country to buy and transport Ginseng. Back then, Zhao Jun’s family was broke; Jie Chen had even paid for his visa to go abroad.

Thirteen thousand!

Back in 1995, that was no small sum of money.

Zhao Jun’s later fortune and success could be said to be thanks to Jie Chen.

So, Zhao Jun wanted to give the present-day Jie Chen a helping hand. Especially since Jie Chen was a loyal and dependable person.

If possible, Zhao Jun wanted to take Jie Chen with him on his mountain expeditions. Not only would it help him get rich sooner, but it would also get him interested in Ginseng earlier. That way, the two of them might be able to go to the Rakshasa Country to buy and transport Ginseng even earlier than in his past life, and become even wealthier.

But Jie Chen was the driver. Jie Zhong and his entire crew depended on him. If he left, the whole group would be out of a job.

Just then, Jie Zhong said to Zhao Jun, "Inspector, if you go to Qianjin, you can stop by my house. Just ask for Jie Zhong in the township; everyone knows me. If I’m home, I’ll go with you. If I’m not, just go straight to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and find Sun Haizhu. Just mention my name, and it’ll work."

"Alright."

Zhao Jun chatted with Jie Zhong for a little longer. Once Jie Zhong’s truck was full, he said his goodbyes to Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin and got into the passenger seat to ride along with the shipment.

Zhao Jun also gave a few instructions to Du Chunjiang before leaving No. 77 Logging Camp with Zhang Yuanmin. After exiting the camp, the two waited by the side of the corduroy road until Li Baoyu drove up and stopped in front of them.

Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin climbed into the passenger seat. Zhao Jun gave Li Baoyu a wave and said, "Let’s go, Baoyu! We’re off to move some serious cargo!"