The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

’This is bad!’ The moment he heard his son say Zhao Jun had arrived, Zhao Guofeng’s heart skipped a beat. He knew this wasn’t good.

Just as he’d told Qin Xiaojuan a moment ago, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay Zhao Jun; it was that he didn’t have the money.

Right now, the Village Office had just over nine hundred yuan in its accounts. And even that was what Zhao Guofeng had painstakingly saved up over several years.

His original plan had been to get around twenty wild boars, which would have cost maybe eight hundred to a thousand yuan, and that would have been the end of it.

If the Village Office had trouble covering the cost, he could make up the difference himself. He figured he’d have to chip in a hundred or two at most, and that would be that.

Then, the township would give a small reward, the town would provide a subsidy, and he’d get to make a good impression on the higher-ups. It was a perfect plan.

But what he never expected was for Zhao Jun to bring back so many wild boars.

Seventy-five wild boars, over seventeen thousand catties... How much money would he have to pay Zhao Jun for that!

That would be around thirty-five hundred yuan!

And how much of a reward would the township give?

By then, the village wouldn’t have a single cent left. Not only would he have to give Zhao Jun everything in the accounts, but he’d probably have to chip in a large sum himself.

That’s why he’d developed a raging toothache overnight. In the morning, it was a struggle to even drink his congee.

But no matter what, he couldn’t just refuse to pay. This wasn’t just a matter of face. Back in ’72, when the Zhao Family had fallen on hard times, it was Zhao Youcai who had lent them a hand.

Whether as the Village Chief or as an elder, his word was his bond. The money had to be paid.

Hearing Zhao Jinshan announce Zhao Jun’s arrival, Zhao Guofeng quickly said to Qin Xiaojuan, "How much money do we have at home? Quick, scrape it all together and bring it to me."

"Sigh!" Qin Xiaojuan let out a heavy sigh, but there was nothing she could do. She took a small money box from the cabinet by the heated platform, opened it, and pulled out all the ten-yuan and five-yuan bills. She then counted out and removed three of the five-yuan bills, handing the remainder to Zhao Guofeng. "This is one thousand six hundred," she said.

"Alright." As Zhao Guofeng took the money, he saw Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin entering his yard through the window. He quickly told Qin Xiaojuan to put the money box away.

"Uncle Zhao! Aunt Zhao!"

Just then, Zhao Jun’s voice came from the doorway. Zhao Guofeng shot Qin Xiaojuan a look. She went to the outer room to open the door and said with a smile, "Zhao Jun is here! Oh, and Yuanmin too! Come on in, your Uncle Zhao is in the inner room."

Zhao Jun led Zhang Yuanmin into the house. As soon as he saw Zhao Guofeng, he greeted him, "Uncle Zhao, busy? What happened to your cheek? It’s all swollen."

"It’s nothing, just a toothache." Zhao Guofeng gestured for the two of them. "Here, have a seat."

"Jinshan is home too." Zhao Jun smiled at Zhao Jinshan, then got onto the heated platform and sat cross-legged across from Zhao Guofeng. Zhang Yuanmin sat beside Zhao Jun on the edge of the platform.

"So, Uncle Zhao," Zhao Jun said with a smile, his hands resting on his knees. "That thing you asked me to do, your nephew got it done for you, eh? And I did a pretty good job, don’t you think?"

Zhao Guofeng gave a bitter smile at his words. Just two days ago, he’d gone to Zhao Jun’s family home to corner him and rush him along. What could he possibly say now?

So, Zhao Guofeng could only say, "Not bad, not bad."

Zhao Jun chuckled and just looked at Zhao Guofeng without saying anything more.

Zhao Guofeng knew why Zhao Jun was here. He pointed at Zhang Yuanmin and said to Zhao Jun, "Ah, Zhao Jun, about the weighing before noon... he and the Li Family’s eldest son were both there. The grand total was over seventeen thousand, six hundred and forty catties. At two mao per catty..."

"Uncle Zhao," Zhao Jun said with a smile, "Just give me thirty-five hundred. I’ll waive the rest."

Hearing this, Zhao Guofeng smiled bitterly again. But at least Zhao Jun was rounding it down for him. So, he took out the one thousand six hundred yuan Qin Xiaojuan had just given him and placed it on the low table on the platform.

Then, Zhao Guofeng took out a cloth bag from under the low table. From the bag, he pulled out a thick stack of banknotes, counted out ninety bills, and placed them with the other money before pushing the whole pile toward Zhao Jun.

Zhao Guofeng placed his palm on the money and said to Zhao Jun, "This is two thousand five hundred. I’ll owe you one thousand yuan. I’ll pay you back later."

Zhao Guofeng said this very directly, his tone firm and leaving no room for refusal.

He had no choice. He had no money left at home, and neither did the village. Besides, Zhao Guofeng never intended to not pay the full amount, he just needed to delay it a while.

"That’s fine," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "Then I’ll wait until you’ve earned the money, Uncle Zhao."

"What?" Zhao Guofeng was taken aback for a moment, then he cursed with a laugh, "You little rascal, always messing with your uncle."

Last night, when he heard the driver say there were still so many wild boars on the mountain, Zhao Guofeng had been very worried.

That night, lying on the heated platform, he’d tossed and turned, thinking. He had considered going to the market to sell the boar meat, but with so many pigs, how could he possibly sell it all?

Zhao Jun took the thick stack of money with both hands and, under Zhao Jinshan’s mournful gaze, stuffed it into his satchel. Then he said to Zhao Guofeng, "Uncle Zhao, you’ve been the Village Chief for so many years. You must know the chiefs from the surrounding villages, right?"

"Ah." Zhao Guofeng didn’t know why Zhao Jun was asking, but he nodded anyway.

It went without saying, really. They always went to the township for meetings together, so of course they knew each other.

Zhao Jun leaned forward and said, "Uncle Zhao, I brought down all those boars. You keep a portion for yourself, and for the rest, you can ask those other village chiefs who wants some. You can divide the boars among them. As long as you’re the one with the most boars, you’ll be fine, right?"

As soon as Zhao Jun said this, Zhao Guofeng’s eyes lit up. He suddenly felt his toothache wasn’t so bad anymore.

He was confident that with a little persuasion, he could get the chiefs of the three nearby villages—Yongsheng, Yongfu, and Yongli—to cough up the money.

As for whether those chiefs would organize their own people to hunt boars, Zhao Guofeng wasn’t worried. The May First Labor Day was just a few days away, and besides, their villages didn’t have a monster like Zhao Jun.

Just then, they heard Zhao Jun add, "When you sell to them, Uncle Zhao, you can’t be so honest. You have to charge at least two-and-a-half mao per catty!"

Hearing this, Zhao Guofeng nodded twice in a row. When he looked at Zhao Jun again, his face was blooming with a smile. "You’re really something, kid."

Zhao Jun smiled back and said, "Uncle Zhao, don’t forget. Of all the pigs from my hunt, you keep the biggest one for yourself."

"I know." Zhao Guofeng rubbed his hands together, then glanced to the side and saw Zhao Jinshan staring intently at Zhao Jun’s satchel.

Zhao Guofeng raised his hand and smacked Zhao Jinshan on the back. He pointed at Zhao Jun and said to him, "Look at your Brother Jun! Look how capable he is now. You should learn from him instead of just loafing around all day."

"I..." Zhao Jinshan was speechless, but he knew that if he talked back to his old man in front of an outsider, he’d get beaten half to death later.

Seeing Zhao Jinshan fall silent with his head down, looking wronged, Zhao Jun just chuckled. He got off the heated platform and said to Zhao Guofeng, "Well, Uncle Zhao, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back."

"Stay for a meal." Zhao Guofeng quickly got off the platform too, trying to stop Zhao Jun. "Look at this, where did your aunt go? The boy comes to visit and she doesn’t even pour him a glass of water."

Qin Xiaojuan was just too heartbroken. All the money she had painstakingly saved over several years by working from dawn till dusk, scrimping and saving, was all gone to buy wild boars. Who could possibly stand that?

"Don’t trouble yourself, Uncle Zhao." Zhao Jun held up a hand to stop Zhao Guofeng. "I’m leaving now. You get back to your business."

When Zhao Jun said he was leaving, Zhang Yuanmin also said a word of farewell to Zhao Guofeng and Zhao Jinshan, then headed out first.

Zhao Jun followed him out, with Zhao Guofeng and Zhao Jinshan seeing him off.

When they reached the doorway, Zhao Jun turned back to stop Zhao Guofeng. "Uncle Zhao, go on back inside. Don’t see me out."

But to Zhao Jun’s surprise, Zhao Guofeng grabbed his arm and said, "Zhao Jun, I’ve been thinking. That idea you told me about just now is great. I was wondering... could you hunt a few more Black Bears?"