The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

"Sigh, don’t even ask," Jiang Ming said in frustration. "We were trying to spear a boar up on the mountain, but we screwed up and let the pig smack him a couple of times."

"Ah." Zhao Jun wanted to say something more, but by then he had followed the crowd to Li Shufeng’s front door.

The gateway was narrow, too small for so many people to pass through at once. Zhao Jun let go of Huang Gui’s hand and, instead of going straight in, walked over to Tao Fulun’s side.

Tao Fulun asked Zhao Jun, "What’s wrong? You know him?"

Zhao Jun first nodded to show that he did, then shook his head in dismay.

Finally, with a sigh, he said to Tao Fulun, "That man just now... he’s the owner of Little Black, the female dog I brought back."

"Ah, what a mess this is." Hearing this, Tao Fulun also sighed and shook his head. He then said to Zhao Jun, "He’s completely laid up. Should we go back and get the dog for him?"

Zhao Jun thought for a moment, then said to Tao Fulun, "Sir, wait here for me for a minute. I’m going in to have a few words with him."

"Alright." Tao Fulun nodded. "You go on in. I won’t."

The moment Tao Fulun finished speaking, people began coming out of Li Shufeng’s house to greet him. A crowd quickly started to gather around him.

As the old saying goes: Thirty years ago, a son gains respect through his father; thirty years later, a father gains respect through his son.

On the home turf of the Yongxing Brigade, Tao Fulun was always treated with great respect no matter where he went. That was why he didn’t want to go inside and cause a fuss for the family.

Zhao Jun entered the courtyard alone. The three dogs tied up there wouldn’t stop barking.

Unlike Little Bear, these three dogs had given up the chase halfway and turned back. Even though they hadn’t seen their master, they came down the mountain on their own and returned to Li Shufeng’s house.

Zhao Jun went straight into the house. As soon as he opened the door, he heard Huang Gui asking Jiang Ming, "Is Little Bear back yet?"

Just moments before, even while lying on the stretcher as they entered the courtyard, Huang Gui had glanced over at the dog kennel several times.

When he saw that the other three dogs were back, but his Little Bear was missing, Huang Gui had grown extremely anxious.

"Brother Huang," Zhao Jun said, hurrying to the side of the kang. "Don’t you worry. Little Bear is with me."

"What?" Although Huang Gui couldn’t get up, his neck shot up and his eyes stared intently at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun quickly explained, "I went up the mountain to hunt today and came across your Little Bear chasing a wild boar. It was pure chance. After I killed the boar, he started following me. He’s back at Team One right now."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Huang Gui sighed in immense relief. His head, which had lifted from the pillow, fell back onto it as he let out a long, deep breath.

Then, Huang Gui turned his head and looked up at Zhao Jun. "Brother, I can’t thank you enough. You not only brought my dog back, but you also got my revenge for me!"

Huang Gui knew that the wild boar Little Bear had been chasing must have been the one that injured him. Now that Zhao Jun had killed it, it was as good as avenging his broken leg.

"Brother, we’re friends, don’t say that," Zhao Jun said politely before asking, "Where are you hurt, brother?"

Earlier, Jiang Ming had just said the boar "got a couple of good hits in," without specifying where he was injured or how badly.

Huang Gui’s expression darkened. "My leg’s broken," he said in a low voice. "I’m afraid I won’t be able to hunt in the mountains anymore."

"Sigh..." Hearing this, Zhao Jun felt a pang of sympathy. He reached into his pocket, then pulled twenty yuan out of his bag.

"Brother, what are you doing pulling out money?" Seeing this, Huang Gui naturally knew Zhao Jun intended to give it to him.

In these times, in a mountain village, a gift of even five yuan was considered generous. Zhao Jun had pulled out twenty. For the sake of their friendship alone, even without any other reason, Huang Gui couldn’t accept Zhao Jun’s money.

"Brother," Zhao Jun said, sitting down on the edge of the kang. "I came over today looking for you, planning to bring your dog back tomorrow. I had no idea you’d injured your leg.

I’m not going to buy you anything specific, so just take this twenty yuan. When you get back home, buy yourself something nice to eat and build your strength back up. Help that leg heal faster."

As he spoke, Zhao Jun tried to hand the money to Huang Gui, but Huang Gui put up a hand to stop him.

But Zhao Jun was fully mobile, and he forcefully stuffed the money under Huang Gui’s pillow.

But Huang Gui reached out, pulled the money back out, and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, if you act like this, I can’t be friends with you. Last time, you helped me get revenge for my dog. This time, you’ve gotten revenge for me *and* found my dog. I don’t even know how to thank you, so how could I possibly take your money?"

"Brother, friends don’t talk like that. These are two different things." Zhao Jun reached over, pressed down Huang Gui’s hand that was holding the money, and said, "This is just a small gesture from your brother. Just take it."

Then, Zhao Jun lifted the corner of the quilt, pushed Huang Gui’s arm with the money back under it, and promptly tucked him back in.

By handling it this way, Zhao Jun had given Huang Gui a way to accept without losing face. With a grateful expression, Huang Gui said, "Brother... I’m not going to say anything more."

"Alright, just focus on getting better," Li Shufeng, who had been standing to the side, finally spoke up. Then, with Jiang Ming making the introductions, he and Zhao Jun formally met.

Tao Fulun was still waiting outside, so logically, Zhao Jun should have left. But he thought for a moment and decided to stay a little longer.

Just then, Li Shufeng’s wife brought a mug of tea for Zhao Jun. Li Shufeng personally stood up, took the mug from his wife’s hands, and then passed it to Zhao Jun.

After Zhao Jun thanked the couple, Li Shufeng turned to his wife and said, "Honey, hurry up and get some food ready. I’m happy to have met this new brother today. We need to have a good drink together."

From listening to the conversation between Huang Gui and Zhao Jun, Li Shufeng could already tell that Zhao Jun was a man worth knowing. Not to mention, Zhao Jun had even given Huang Gui twenty yuan.

Li Shufeng’s wife readily agreed, but Zhao Jun stopped her.

"Brother Feng, and you ma’am," Zhao Jun said, "please don’t go to any trouble. I can’t eat today. I have someone waiting for me outside."

"What’s the harm in that?" Li Shufeng straightened up and peered out the window. But Tao Fulun was outside the main gate, so there was no way he could be seen.

"I really can’t, Brother Feng," Zhao Jun said. "We’ll have another chance some other day."

"Alright, then." Seeing that he couldn’t convince him, Li Shufeng didn’t insist. "Brother, you’re here to hunt, so you’ll probably be around for a few days. I’m telling you, before you leave, you have to come over to my place. Even if all we have is corn grits and steamed buns, you have to have a meal at our home."

"Deal, Brother Feng. I’ll definitely stop by before I leave."

Just then, Huang Gui, still lying on the kang, suddenly interrupted their conversation. "Brother," he asked Zhao Jun, "my dog won’t let anyone else feed him. Little Bear hasn’t eaten yet, has he?"

"He’s eaten," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "My friend tried to feed him, but he wouldn’t eat. When I fed him, he ate. He had two halves of a pig’s heart, one big and one small, plus half a pig’s stomach."

"Whoa." It wasn’t just Huang Gui; even Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng were quite surprised.

That dog, Little Bear, would let someone else lead him, but he wouldn’t eat food from anyone but Huang Gui.

Seeing Huang Gui staring at him in amazement, Zhao Jun said, "It’s probably because I carried him on my back when he got hurt after the New Year. He feels a bit of a bond with me."

"That must be it." Realization dawned on Huang Gui, and only then did he relax and lay his head back on the pillow.

At this point, Zhao Jun shifted his weight closer to Huang Gui on the kang. "Brother," he said, "there’s something I want to ask you, but I’m not sure if I should."

Huang Gui was taken aback for a second, then quickly replied, "Why are you being so formal with me? Is there anything we can’t talk about as brothers?"

"No, it’s not that," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "Logically, since you’re injured, I shouldn’t even be bringing this up. But I’m in need of a dog right now. I was wondering... if you could lend me Little Bear for a while? I’ll bring him back to you after I’m done."

The moment Zhao Jun said this, both Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng, who were standing nearby, felt a pang of regret.

They had also been thinking of borrowing Little Bear from Huang Gui. It was just that, from the time they left the clinic until they got into the house, they hadn’t found the right moment to ask.

As for Little Bear refusing to eat their food, Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng figured he’d come around after a few days of hunger.

But they could also see that as soon as Zhao Jun asked, they could forget about borrowing Little Bear for themselves.

And sure enough, upon hearing the request, Huang Gui immediately said, "Brother, you hunt with dogs, so you know how it is. A hunter can take a break, but a good dog can’t stand being idle. It’s going to be a while before I can even get out of bed, let alone run the mountains. To be honest, I’d feel much better knowing Little Bear is with you. Just take him."