The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Once a dog has been to the mountains, joined a hunt, and eaten the kill, it develops a yearning for the wilderness.

Afterward, whenever a hunter takes them into the mountains, they get very excited. Slowly, they grow accustomed to it, even starting to enjoy the hunt.

And good hunting dogs are never afraid of getting hurt. In fact, they’re more afraid their hunter won’t take them into the mountains.

The better the dog, the truer this is.

This was also why Xu Changlin had wanted to sell his dogs.

They say it takes a hundred days to recover from an injury that affects muscle and bone, but Huang Gui’s wound was far from that simple.

Just as he had said, he might never be able to go into the mountains or join a hunt again.

As a result, there would be no one to look after Little Bear.

Huang Gui had originally planned to entrust Little Bear to Jiang Ming for the time being, since they were relatives after all. But the moment Zhao Jun offered to borrow Little Bear, Huang Gui immediately agreed.

Huang Gui did this not just to repay a debt of gratitude, but mainly because Little Bear would actually eat food from Zhao Jun.

If Jiang Ming had really taken her, Little Bear would have surely gone hungry for a while upon arriving at his house.

Huang Gui couldn’t bear to see his dog suffer, so he agreed to Zhao Jun’s request without a second thought.

"Brother, don’t you worry," Zhao Jun assured Huang Gui. "I’ll treat Little Bear the same way I treat my own dog."

Huang Gui didn’t speak. He just pressed his lips together, closed his eyes, and nodded.

He was heartbroken.

Zhao Jun knew it was time to leave; Tao Fulun was still waiting for him outside. So, he stood up and said his goodbyes to the others.

Hearing Zhao Jun was leaving, Huang Gui said to Jiang Ming and Li Shufeng, "I can’t get up. You two see my brother out for me."

The two agreed and walked Zhao Jun to the door. Stepping outside, they saw Tao Fulun standing by the entrance. A passerby greeted him, and the old man, with one hand clasped behind his back, raised the other in acknowledgment.

"Tao—" Seeing Tao Fulun, Li Shufeng hurried over, bowing slightly. "Uncle Tao, you’re here! Why didn’t you come inside?"

Li Shufeng was just being polite. He hadn’t realized Tao Fulun had come with Zhao Jun and simply assumed he was passing by.

With his hands behind his back, Tao Fulun glanced at Li Shufeng and huffed, "What would I go in for? It’s not like you’d take me hunting."

Li Shufeng was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Uncle Tao, come in for a drink of water."

"No need to trouble yourself." Tao Fulun’s tone softened. He then waved at Zhao Jun and said, "Let’s go. Time to head back. I’ve been waiting forever."

"Brother Jiang, Brother Li, I’ll be going now."

"Hey, brother, come over for dinner sometime!" Li Shufeng shouted after Zhao Jun. He had heard Zhao Jun mention living in the first production team, but he hadn’t expected him to be staying at Tao Fulun’s house.

When Zhao Jun got back to Tao Xiaobao’s house, Li Baoyu was already there. Having finished his meal, he and Tao Fei were in the courtyard, talking about using dogs to haul game.

Seeing Zhao Jun return, Li Baoyu hurried over to greet him. But as he got closer, he first nodded to Tao Fulun and called out, "Master Tao," before asking Zhao Jun, "Did you find Brother Huang?"

"Don’t ask," Zhao Jun said. "Brother Huang is injured."

"How’d it happen?"

"A wild boar got him." Zhao Jun was speaking to Li Baoyu, but his eyes were on Tao Fulun as he said, "One tusk gored his thigh and drew blood. Then it turned and, with another strike, snapped his calf."

"Damn!" Li Baoyu sighed. He had been to the mountains with Huang Gui before and had a good impression of him.

At that, Li Baoyu’s gaze fell on Little Bear. He asked, "So, do we have to take the dog back to him?"

"Not for now," Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu as he followed Tao Fulun inside. "I’ve already arranged it with Brother Huang. He’s letting us borrow Little Bear for a while."

"Ah." Li Baoyu’s eyes lit up. "That’s great! This little female is a damn good hunter."

"And that’s not all," Zhao Jun said with a grin. "I’m finding a wife for our Daqing."

"Huh?"

As they spoke, they entered the house, where they saw Li Yunxiang was already boiling water to stew the wild boar’s thigh.

Seeing the boar thigh, Tao Fulun’s yearning to hunt was rekindled. After sitting down on the kang, he started muttering to himself.

But though he was talking to himself, his voice was loud enough for the others to hear clearly.

The old man was saying something like, ’I’ve never been on a dog-assisted hunt in my entire life. It would be great just to go and watch the excitement.’

But no matter what he said, no one in the room took the bait.

Tao Fei went a step further, grabbing a thermos, pouring water for Tao Fulun, and interrupting him loudly, "Grandpa! Have some water."

"What water?" Tao Fulun grumbled, then turned to Zhao Jun. "Zhao Jun, if you’re going up the mountain again tomorrow, would it be alright if I tag along to watch?"

"Elder Tao." Zhao Jun lifted the lid of the enamel mug in front of him, placed it upside down on the kang table, and tapped his fingers twice to thank Tao Fei for the water. Only then did he turn to Tao Fulun and say, "You saw us back at the Li Family’s Gate, at Li Shufeng’s place, right? My Brother Huang’s leg... that was broken by a wild boar. I reckon he won’t be able to get out of bed for half a year."

The moment Zhao Jun mentioned this, the smile on Tao Fulun’s face froze, and he fell silent.

Seeing Tao Fulun had gone quiet, Zhao Jun continued, "Elder Tao, you’re in great shape for your age, but you can’t compare to a young man, can you? Take my Brother Huang—he’s been hunting for more years than I’ve been alive. And look what happened to him today. Didn’t he end up crippled on that mountain?"

Tao Fulun actually took Zhao Jun’s words to heart. What Zhao Jun said was true; he was old, after all. No matter what, he couldn’t compete with the young.

Seeing his grandfather was silent, Tao Fei seized the opportunity to add, "Grandpa, just listen to him. You’re at an advanced age. A broken bone wouldn’t heal easily."