Free Web NovelChapter 265: Chapter 227: The Powerful Join Forces (Part 2)
"Technician Zhao, you know how to hunt, too?" Song Dong asked, looking at Zhao Jun in surprise.
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "A little. Not much."
Hu Dahai smiled at Zhao Jun, then turned back to Song Dong and asked, "What about the other dogs? Did you get a look at them?"
"No." Song Dong shook his head. "I had a feeling it was Big Claw. I didn’t even dare to get closer. The dogs... I didn’t even dare to bury them. I just came straight back."
Song Dong looked very ashamed as he said this. But Hu Dahai reached out, patted his shoulder, and said, "Let it be. Don’t go back. That’s the Mountain God. We can’t handle it."
"Uncle." Song Dong suddenly looked up and asked, "Isn’t there anyone around here who can take it down?"
Hu Dahai shook his head. "Can’t be done. Don’t even think about it. That thing comes and goes like the wind. In a single leap, it can cover a hundred feet."
At this point, Hu Dahai pointed over his shoulder and continued, "Twenty years ago, didn’t a tiger show up at the Forest Farm? Zhou Chengguo and Zhao Youcai, what kind of men were they? Each of them slung a semi-automatic over their back, picked up the trail, and gave chase. They tracked it all the way to the top of Yellow Stone Cliff, only to see that tiger leap dozens of meters. The two of them skedaddled right back here without daring to fire a single shot."
Hu Dahai’s words made Zhao Jun pause. He quickly asked, "Uncle, how come I heard they killed that tiger later on?"
"Mhm." Hu Dahai nodded. "They didn’t dare to shoot it *then*. That’s why they came back to the Forest Farm to lie in wait for it."
"Ah, so that’s how it happened." Only then did Zhao Jun realize that the story his old man had told him had been embellished.
By now, Song Dong had warmed up. Hu Dahai got up again and ladled out a bowl of cornmeal porridge for him.
The three of them continued eating their buns and porridge. When they were full, Zhao Jun rested for a short while in the shack before bidding farewell to Hu Dahai and Song Dong. Then he picked up his tools, left the shack, and departed from the Logging Camp.
After leaving the Logging Camp, Zhao Jun saw that it was getting late and stood by the side of the road, thinking. But just then, lights flashed in the distance.
Zhao Jun squinted toward the light and saw a vehicle speeding toward him along the logging road.
Since it was a Forest Farm vehicle, Zhao Jun didn’t hesitate and stepped forward to flag it down.
What a coincidence—the driver was Lin Xiangshun, and sitting in the passenger seat was Li Baoyu.
Zhao Jun got in and squeezed into the passenger seat with Li Baoyu. Lin Xiangshun asked him why he hadn’t gone straight home.
Zhao Jun just said that he’d heard from someone that Zhou Chengguo had started working at the Forest Farm, so he wanted to go to the logistics department to see him.
Lin Xiangshun and Li Baoyu both knew that Zhou Chengguo had been hired at the Forest Farm, but they didn’t know that Zhao Jun had already met him.
Neither of them asked any more questions, and Zhao Jun didn’t say anything further. He kept the matter of the tiger to himself.
Hiding it from Lin Xiangshun meant hiding it from Zhao Youcai. If Zhao Youcai found out, he would definitely gather a huge crowd and go "pay respects" to the Mountain God.
As for hiding it from Li Baoyu, he had no choice. If Li Baoyu found out, being someone who had grown up reading *Water Margin* and idolizing Wu Song, he would absolutely insist on coming along.
But one had to remember that the tiger Wu Song faced in *Water Margin* was only a South China tiger. If he had encountered a Northeast Tiger that day, the outcome would likely have been very different.
What sets a tiger apart from a bear is its speed. Hiding in the shadows, it can strike so suddenly that it’s on you before you even have time to react and fire your gun.
Zhao Jun didn’t dare take Li Baoyu along to face such a dangerous opponent.
When the car pulled into the Forest Farm, it was already past five o’clock. The workday was over, but the commuter vehicle to the various villages wouldn’t leave until six.
Zhao Jun got out of the car and ran all the way to the Logistics and Equipment office. When he got there, he happened to catch Zhou Chengguo just as he was coming out of the office, keys in hand, about to lock the door.
"Big Brother!" Zhao Jun called out quickly.
"Hey, Brother, what are you doing here?" A smile instantly spread across Zhou Chengguo’s face when he saw Zhao Jun. But then he took a closer look, noticed Zhao Jun was panting from running, and figured something must be up.
Immediately, Zhou Chengguo’s expression changed. He walked up to Zhao Jun and asked, "What’s wrong, Brother?"
"Noth... Nothing’s wrong." Zhao Jun caught his breath before saying to Zhou Chengguo, "Big Brother. Let’s talk inside."
"Hm?" Hearing Zhao Jun say nothing was wrong, Zhou Chengguo’s expression relaxed. Then he smiled and said, "Brother, if there’s really nothing wrong, then come with me. Come over to my place tonight. Your sister-in-law is always talking about you, saying she’ll make you something delicious when you visit."
"No, no." Zhao Jun pointed at the office. "Big Brother, let’s go inside. I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" Zhou Chengguo said. "Can’t we talk on the way? Otherwise, we’ll miss the commuter train."
"What time is it? It’s still early." Zhao Jun didn’t take no for an answer and pushed Zhou Chengguo straight into the office.
It was called the Equipment office, but Zhou Chengguo was the only one working there. In his office, there was a desk, a chair, and a long bench against the wall.
Once inside, Zhao Jun pushed Zhou Chengguo down to sit on the long bench, then turned back and closed the door.
"Brother, what on earth is going on?" Zhou Chengguo asked.
"Big Brother." Zhao Jun also sat down on the bench and asked Zhou Chengguo, "I want you to go hunting with me. What do you say?"
Partnering up for a hunt was actually a very normal thing to do, but Zhou Chengguo was a loner and had always hunted by himself, so Zhao Jun had to ask for his opinion first.
But to Zhao Jun’s surprise, the moment he asked, Zhou Chengguo nodded and said, "Sure. What are you hunting? Big Brother will go with you." As he spoke, Zhou Chengguo pointed to a large metal cabinet standing against the west wall. "You’ll need a gun, right? There’s still a semi-automatic in there."
"I do," Zhao Jun replied. But seeing Zhou Chengguo get up to fetch the gun, Zhao Jun quickly stopped him. "Big Brother, hold on, let me finish first."
"Go on, Brother."
Zhao Jun said, "Today, behind Old Ghost Head Ridge, they ran into a Big Claw."
"Well, now!" Zhou Chengguo’s eyes lit up. "So there’s still one of those things around?" As he spoke, he rubbed his palms together and said, "I haven’t seen one of those in years."
Then Zhou Chengguo asked about how the tiger was discovered. After listening to Zhao Jun recount Song Dong’s experience, Zhou Chengguo clicked his tongue. "Seven dogs, all of them full-grown... What a waste."
"I know, right?" Zhao Jun said. "Big Brother, I was thinking we should go take a look. Whether we hunt it or not is another question. We can track it, figure out its territory. Even if we don’t hunt it, we’ll know to avoid that area in the future."
"Alright." Hearing this, Zhou Chengguo stood up, walked over to the large metal cabinet against the west wall, took a key from his pocket, and opened cabinet number one.
Zhou Chengguo took a semi-automatic rifle from the cabinet, turned, and handed it to Zhao Jun. Then he used another key to open a drawer and started taking out packets of bullets one after another.
The semi-automatic rounds came on ten-round clips. As for the packets, each one contained twenty-five rounds, wrapped in kraft paper into a rectangular block.
Zhou Chengguo took out four packets in a row, making for a full one hundred rounds.
Just as Zhao Jinshan had said that day, with that many bullets, you’d have almost enough to take on a bandit’s den.
Zhou Chengguo locked the drawer, looked at the one hundred rounds on the table, and said, "Brother, that thing isn’t like other game. We need to take enough ammo to really let loose."
"You got it, Big Brother." Zhao Jun’s face lit up. What gun enthusiast wouldn’t want the chance to fire away without holding back?
But then he suddenly remembered something and asked Zhou Chengguo, "Big Brother, if we take this many, what about the inventory count?"
After all, bullets weren’t like guns. You could just bring a gun back after using it, but once bullets were fired, they were gone.
"Don’t worry, Brother," Zhou Chengguo said with a laugh. "I wouldn’t take advantage of public property. When the Armed Forces Department issues more ammunition, I’ll just buy some from their clerk to replace it."
Hearing Zhou Chengguo say this, Zhao Jun was relieved. But there was another problem: it wasn’t convenient for him to take the gun home.
When Zhou Chengguo learned the reason, he couldn’t help but laugh. "Ah, your dad? He’s addicted to hunting. We can’t let him know, or else he’ll go every single day and keep the workers from their meals."
Zhou Chengguo wasn’t much younger than Zhao Youcai, but he maintained separate relationships with the father and son. He was on a "big brother, little brother" basis with Zhao Youcai, and also with Zhao Jun. So, as long as he wasn’t being sarcastic, it was fine for him to comment on Zhao Youcai.
Hearing this, Zhao Jun laughed and asked, "Big Brother, I heard my dad say that when you guys hunted that tiger back then, it covered over two hundred meters, back and forth, in just two seconds?"
Zhou Chengguo was taken aback by Zhao Jun’s question, then the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Your Brother Zhao... he really knows how to take an inch and turn it into a mile."
