Chapter 363 - 301: Dongfeng Security Site
A shout came from inside the room. Chen Dalai’s wife hurried in to see her husband glaring at Zhang Yuanmin. She rushed forward and asked, "What’s wrong? Why are you two arguing?"
Chen Dalai let out another curse, his anger subsiding slightly. He just said loudly to Zhang Yuanmin, "If you ever bring up hunting Black Bears again, don’t even think about coming to my house."
Hearing this, Chen Dalai’s wife also frowned and shot Zhang Yuanmin a cold look.
They had gone after a Black Bear’s Den twice—once the Celestial Granary, once the Earth Store—and both times, someone nearly died.
"Sister-in-law." Zhang Yuanmin ignored Chen Dalai and turned to his wife, asking, "How old is your Xiao Guo now?"
The Xiao Guo Zhang Yuanmin mentioned was Chen Dalai’s only son. They had two daughters and one boy, and this boy was the apple of their eye.
"He’s eight. About the same as your Lingdang."
"Ah." Zhang Yuanmin nodded. "I’ve been watching that kid. He’s got a sharp mind. You two have to make sure he gets a good education."
"Of course." Speaking of which, Chen Dalai’s wife swelled with pride. "My son gets first place in his class on every test. His teacher even said our village might produce a university student."
’Heh, if anyone’s going to university, it’ll be my Lingdang,’ Zhang Yuanmin muttered to himself. Outwardly, though, he nodded in agreement. "My, but university must cost a lot of money, right?"
"Sigh!" At the mention of money, Chen Dalai’s wife sighed and shook her head. "Forget university. We don’t even know how we’ll afford high school."
Such is the heart of a parent.
It would be one thing if the boy didn’t have the aptitude for it, but Chen Dalai’s son was genuinely a good, hardworking student. His teacher had even said that when school started again in September, he could skip a grade and join the third-year class.
How could Chen Dalai and his wife not dote on their only son? But preparing to send him to university... that was a real headache.
Forget university; even high school would be tough.
This Forest Area had elementary and middle schools, but for high school, you had to go to the town, and the expenses were no small sum.
"Then let his dad put in the effort." Zhang Yuanmin looked at Chen Dalai. "You two only have the one son. If he makes it big, you’ll both be able to enjoy a comfortable life later on."
Chen Dalai looked at Zhang Yuanmin and scoffed, but said nothing.
But his wife jumped in from the side. "Brother Zhang," she said, "you know our family’s situation. How much can we possibly earn in a year? We finally had a chance to make some money hunting wild boars a while back, but who would’ve thought? We sold one, and then the whole business went bust."
Chen Dalai’s wife was blaming Zhang Yuanmin and Zhao Jun. If they hadn’t brought back over seventy wild boars, her family could have earned a bit more money.
Zhang Yuanmin immediately understood what she meant, but his expression didn’t change. He just said, "Sister-in-law, your husband—my Brother Chen—wandered the mountains for over ten days just to get one wild boar. How much money can that fetch? Look at me and my brother. We stabbed and killed seventy-five wild boars in a single day and sold them for over three thousand five hundred yuan."
In truth, even without Zhang Yuanmin saying anything, Chen Dalai, his wife, and even the entire Yong’an Village knew that Zhang Yuanmin and Zhao Jun had struck it rich selling wild boars.
The one who spread the news was none other than Li Ruhai.
Thanks to that guy’s gossiping, the whole village knew their three families had made a fortune. But how exactly they managed to kill so many wild boars remained a mystery.
As a fellow hunter, Chen Dalai was especially curious about this. With Zhang Yuanmin right in front of him, he couldn’t help but ask, "How’d you guys manage it? Killing that many pigs in one day."
"You think I can just tell you?" Zhang Yuanmin said with a smile. "What’s this all about? It’s about being clever. You have to outsmart them, not overpower them."
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Chen Dalai and his wife looked at each other in confusion. Neither of them was very educated, and Zhang Yuanmin’s words left them completely baffled.
"Alright, stop listening to his nonsense." At that moment, Chen Dalai’s wife stood up and said to her husband, "Zhao Jun hunts with dogs, and his family has whatever guns he needs. How can we compare to them?"
"Sister-in-law, that’s where you’re mistaken." Zhang Yuanmin pointed out the window. "Go and ask around. Which one of those seventy-five wild boars had a single bullet hole in it? We didn’t even take dogs with us. We subdued the pigs and stabbed them with knives."
"How did you subdue them?" Chen Dalai pressed on.
Zhang Yuanmin raised a hand and tapped his own head, grinning. "All cleverness and wisdom."
Zhang Yuanmin’s words were ambiguous. It was clearly Zhao Jun’s clever idea, but since he was tapping his own head, Chen Dalai assumed the plan had been Zhang Yuanmin’s.
Chen Dalai leaned in closer. "What was the plan, exactly? Come on, tell me."
Zhang Yuanmin wasn’t about to tell him. He just changed the subject. "Elder Chen, let’s not talk about that. Just tell me, the last two times I took you to raid a Black Bear’s Den, what did you think of my plans?"
"They were great..." Chen Dalai sneered. "If it weren’t for me, you would’ve been kicked to death by a Black Bear long ago."
Zhang Yuanmin’s face darkened. He waved his hand dismissively. "You always bring up that useless stuff. Those were just accidents, weren’t they? Otherwise, we’d both have a couple of Bear Galls by now."
"Tsk!" Chen Dalai clicked his tongue, a genuine sense of regret welling up inside him. He had to admit, the methods Zhang Yuanmin came up with had sounded really plausible.
Otherwise, Chen Dalai would never have been convinced.
And it wasn’t just Chen Dalai. Think about Zhao Youcai, that old Cannon Shooter. After hearing Zhang Yuanmin’s plan, didn’t he go out of his way to borrow a chainsaw for him?
And Li Dayong, after hearing the plan, also got detonators and dynamite for Zhang Yuanmin.
Seeing Chen Dalai fall silent, Zhang Yuanmin shifted on the kang, scooting his butt forward. He leaned on the low table with both elbows, stuck his head toward Chen Dalai, and said, "Elder Chen, yesterday my wife and I went into the mountains to pick cucumber-scented herbs, and I spotted two Black Bears. If we can take them down, that’s two Bear Galls. Couldn’t we sell those for at least three thousand yuan? We split it fifty-fifty, that’s one thousand five hundred each."
At this, Chen Dalai’s heart stirred, but he glanced at his wife. After all, she had forbidden him from going out with Zhang Yuanmin again.
But this time, Chen Dalai’s wife didn’t seem to object. She just asked Zhang Yuanmin, "Brother Zhang, tell us, what kind of trick are you planning this time?"
"Heh heh." Seeing he had swayed the couple, Zhang Yuanmin chuckled. "To get these two Black Bears, I’m planning to set a trap."
The moment Zhang Yuanmin said this, Chen Dalai’s face fell. He pointed a hand toward the door and shouted, "Get the hell out."
Chen Dalai had lost his temper again, but you couldn’t blame him. In the mountain forests, people set snares for wild boars and roe deer, but no one had ever heard of someone specifically setting a snare for a Black Bear.
But to Chen Dalai’s surprise, Zhang Yuanmin, the target of his curse, wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he burst out laughing.
And what was even more unexpected for Chen Dalai was yet to come. Zhang Yuanmin’s next words would leave him dumbfounded.
...
While Zhang Yuanmin was at Chen Dalai’s house trying to persuade the couple, Zhao Jun had already gone into the mountains. He first made a trip to No. 77 Logging Camp, told the four transport crews to haul logs as usual today, and then left, heading straight for the Yong’an Forest Farm.
Arriving at the Yong’an Forest Farm, Zhao Jun went directly to the logistics department, but upon asking, he found out his brother-in-law had taken the day off.
Unable to find Zhou Jianjun, Zhao Jun went to the equipment depot to look for Zhou Chengguo.
Zhou Chengguo was at work. The moment he saw Zhao Jun, he shot up from his stool and said excitedly, "Brother, you’re just incredible now!"
Capturing a Tiger, vanquishing the Pig God—these were the highest aspirations for all Hunters, and now Zhao Jun had achieved them both.
The two sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries. Zhou Chengguo glanced up at the large clock on the wall and asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, are you here for something today?"
"I am." Zhao Jun didn’t stand on ceremony with Zhou Chengguo. He said directly, "I want to get my hands on some deer-drugging medicine. Big Brother, do you have any connections?"
"Ah." Zhou Chengguo turned his head, blinked, and said thoughtfully, "That... that’s really not easy to get these days."
Zhao Jun watched Zhou Chengguo without saying a word.
When Zhou Chengguo turned back to him, he said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, I’ll take some time off in a bit. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the Dongfeng Defense Field and ask around for you."