The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Chapter 275: Chapter 235: Militia Spring Hunt (2)

"Ah, what a good kid." Tao Fulun looked at Zhang Yuanmin with admiration, then offered some encouragement. "With your skills, you’re really something else. If you get the chance, you should practice with a gun. It’ll make hunting a lot easier."

At this, Tao Fulun glanced at Tao Dabao beside him before turning back to Zhang Yuanmin. "If you can’t get your hands on a gun, come find me at the Yongxing Brigade. We can go up the mountain together, and you can learn to shoot while we hunt."

These words from Elder Tao scared Tao Dabao half to death. His father had taken up hunting in recent years, but he only ever went after rabbits, squirrels, and grouse. He’d never actually faced off against big game like a wild boar.

His father’s recent behavior already had Tao Dabao on edge, and now, hearing the old man’s intentions, he was afraid his dad was planning to go after a Black Bear.

Tao Dabao knew full well that a creature like that was nothing like a wild boar.

But sometimes, your worst fears have a way of coming true.

Zhang Yuanmin might have been a bit reckless, but he didn’t dare take an old man of this age into the mountains.

But for a moment, he didn’t know how to refuse and could only look at Tao Fulun awkwardly.

"Dad, look at your age! Why are you still talking about hunting?" Seeing his chance, Tao Dabao rushed over, put a hand on Tao Fulun’s shoulder, and pulled him aside.

Zhao Guofeng watched the father and son with amusement. When they had moved to the side, he turned to Zhang Yuanmin curiously. "So what are you doing, bringing these Bear’s Paws all the way out here?"

"Ah," Zhang Yuanmin replied. "I just thought I’d bring something to see my uncle and aunt."

"Your uncle..." It dawned on Zhao Guofeng that the uncle and aunt Zhang Yuanmin was referring to were Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan.

Since they were all heading to the same place, they decided to go together.

Zhao Guofeng and Tao Dabao carried the gifts, Jiang Jinyou led the horse, and the group of five arrived at the gate to Zhao Jun’s family home.

They hadn’t even reached the main gate when they heard dogs barking nonstop from the yard.

"Hey, so our brother keeps dogs?" Jiang Jinyou asked Zhang Yuanmin.

"You bet," Zhang Yuanmin said. "Our brother is an amazing hunter with those dogs. This winter alone, he’s taken down over ten Black Bears. He even managed to get two Tiger cubs."

The moment these words left Zhang Yuanmin’s mouth, Tao Dabao, standing beside him, groaned inwardly.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, his worrisome father’s cloudy old eyes began to shine as he muttered, "Damn it. Little Zhao lied to me that day. He told me he couldn’t hunt."

Zhao Guofeng chuckled at that. He said to Elder Tao, "Sir, he wasn’t lying to you. He was probably just teasing."

By now, Jiang Jinyou had tied the horse outside the gate of Zhao Jun’s family home. Zhang Yuanmin, meanwhile, untied two Bear’s Paws from the sleigh. These two were intended for Zhao Jun’s family, while the other two were for his own wife and daughter.

The arrival of so many strangers at the gate, combined with the scent of the Black Bear’s Paws, sent the dogs of the Zhao and Li families into a frenzy of barking.

The barking alerted those inside to the visitors’ arrival, and both Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei came out of the house to see who it was.

Seeing that Zhao Guofeng and Zhang Yuanmin were among the visitors, Jin Xiaomei turned and went back inside.

Wang Meilan, however, came out to welcome the group into the yard.

Though Wang Meilan was an uneducated country woman, she certainly knew her manners. After the introductions were made, she stepped aside to let the eldest enter first.

The moment Elder Tao stepped into the yard and saw the dogs craning their necks to bark at him, a look of delight spread across his old face. He pointed at White Dragon and said to his eldest son, "Now that’s a good dog! Take a look. You can tell just by looking at it."

"Right, good," Tao Dabao muttered, his lips twitching skeptically. ’How on earth can Dad tell it’s a good dog just by looking?’ he wondered.

Trailing behind them, Zhang Yuanmin, who had just entered the yard, called out to Wang Meilan. "Auntie, I won’t come in. I just wanted to talk to you about something out here."

"What is it?"

Zhang Yuanmin pointed to the two Bear’s Paws he and Jiang Jinyou had set down in a corner by the wall. "Auntie," he said to Wang Meilan, "I brought you a couple of Black Bear Paws. I left them over there for you."

"Huh?" Wang Meilan had been so preoccupied with greeting the Tao father and son and Jiang Jinyou that she hadn’t noticed Zhang Yuanmin carrying the two Bear’s Paws.

Now, seeing the two Bear’s Paws, Wang Meilan was quite surprised. "Where did you get these?" she asked.

Zhang Yuanmin smiled. "We went hunting up the mountain today and got a Black Bear. I brought a couple of the paws over to see you and my uncle."

It was a kind and thoughtful gesture.

But for some reason...

As Wang Meilan listened, a terrible feeling welled up inside her. She looked Zhang Yuanmin up and down, then sighed. "You went to the Logging Camp to work. You should focus on your job there, not spend your days messing around with dangerous things like this. What would you do if you got hurt?"

"Auntie, look, I’m perfectly fine, see?" Zhang Yuanmin said. He then pulled a small cloth pouch containing the Bear Gall from his pocket and handed it to Wang Meilan. "Auntie, I’ve already finished preparing this Bear Gall, but I have to trouble you to keep it for me. I’m not home much, and with just my wife and daughter there, I don’t feel safe leaving it at my house."

"Oh, that I can do." Wang Meilan immediately nodded in agreement. A moment later, she thought of a few more things to warn him about, but Zhang Yuanmin had already said his goodbyes and left with Jiang Jinyou.

Zhao Guofeng and the Tao father and son still hadn’t gone inside, so Wang Meilan couldn’t chase after Zhang Yuanmin. She could only watch as he and Jiang Jinyou departed.

After Zhang Yuanmin and Jiang Jinyou left, Wang Meilan quickly ushered the three men remaining in the yard into the house. Once her guests were seated, she first stepped out to the storeroom to hang up the Bear Gall, then returned to pour tea for them.

At this point, Tao Dabao set out the gifts they had brought: a large string bag with five kilograms of apples, four jars of Peach Cans, four jars of canned hawthorn, and two boxes of peach shortbread.