The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1897 The Birth of the Ginseng King and Strange Phenomena from Heaven
After traversing mountains and forests, Zhao Youcai endured countless hardships to reach Laoguitouzi Ridge.

The spruce trees here are so tall that you can't see their tops; they block out the sky and there is no light in the forest.

There was complete silence all around; not even a bird could be heard chirping.

The silence, coupled with the slightly eerie environment, made Zhao Youcai feel depressed and a little cold.

Zhao Youcai crouched low, carrying his gun as he hurried along, muttering to himself, "Zhao Jun, you little bastard, this time I'll show you who's in charge."

Beyond the spruce forest lies a rocky beach.

This rocky beach is different from the stone pond where Zhao Jun fought the tiger. The rocks there were piled up very densely, with few gaps between them. Otherwise, the Azure Dragon wouldn't have been able to run on it safely.

But this place is different. There are large gaps between the stones. Some gaps are big enough to insert a hand, some are big enough to stick a leg in, and some even form caves that people can crawl into and hide in.

Zhao Youcai strode forward, stepping on the stones one by one. Some of the stones had hollow spaces underneath, and they would wobble as Zhao Youcai stepped on them.

“Awooo…” Suddenly, a long, drawn-out tiger roar resounded across the mountaintop. It was not a sharp cry, but a roar with the texture of muffled thunder.

It's a demonstration, but also a deterrent.

Hearing the tiger's roar, even Zhao Youcai, a veteran of countless battles, could not help but feel physically uncomfortable.

With a chill running down his spine, Zhao Youcai picked up his gun and strode quickly toward the direction from which the sound came.

This stone path seemed to have no end. Zhao Youcai walked for more than a mile before he saw a large rocky cliff.

That rocky outcrop is as big as a platform; a dozen or twenty people could stand on it at the same time without any problem.

At that moment, there was no one on the rocky cliff, only a peerless giant tiger lying there.

The tiger had a sturdy body and thick, mottled fur. Its massive body occupied most of the stone surface. Its limbs were tucked in, and its forepaws were so broad that they could cover Zhao Youcai's skull, with the claws half-tucked into their pads.

At this moment, the tiger's head rested on its front paws, its eyes squinted, and its tail drooped on the side of the rock, occasionally sweeping left and right, appearing very lazy.

For some reason, Zhao Youcai walked all the way until he was only two hundred meters away from the tiger, but the tiger failed to spot him.

Zhao Youcai didn't think about why; he just suppressed his excitement and slowly raised the gun.

A 600-pound Siberian tiger! Legend has it that only Zhao Youcai's grandfather's generation had ever seen one. If someone can hunt this tiger down, the name of the Tiger-Hunting King will surely spread throughout the Zhangguangcai Mountains, and everyone in the hunting industry in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces will know it.

"Oh!"

Just as Zhao Youcai was about to pull the trigger with the gun pointed at his face, a gunshot suddenly rang out.

Zhao Youcai saw through the gun's eye that a spurt of blood shot out from the top of the tiger's head, and then the tiger's head tilted back, protruding out of the stone surface.

As the tiger's head drooped off the rock, it dragged its massive body down towards the rock.

Zhao Youcai was stunned for two seconds by this scene. When he came to his senses, he heard a whistle coming from not far away.

"Brother, did you get hit?" Just by hearing this, Zhao Youcai knew who was speaking without even looking at the person.

Zhao Youcai looked over and saw his son leading Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, Zhao Jinhui, Li Ruhai, Ma Yang, and a group of others carrying knives, spears, and clubs, running towards the corpse of the peerless giant worm.

"Ow ooh..."

"Wang Wang Wang..."

The next second, barking erupted, echoing through the stone pond area.

Then, Zhao Youcai saw the Zhao Family Dog Gang. He whistled, but Erhei, who was only fifty meters away from him, didn't even glance at him.

Zhao Youcai watched helplessly as people and dogs gathered under the large rock, swaggering around the dead tiger.

"Brother, it has to be you! Your shooting grip is a hundred times better than my uncle's." Li Baoyu's expression at this moment made Zhao Youcai want to slap him.

"Don't compare me to him, haha..." Zhao Jun said with disdain, sneering, "He may be good at beating an old ox, but can he handle a tiger?"

"You little bastard!" Zhao Youcai couldn't help but curse. For some reason, the moment he uttered those words, Zhao Jun appeared in front of him.

"Who the hell are you cursing?" Zhao Jun said, raising his hand to slap him.

The slap landed on Zhao Youcai's face, and Zhao Youcai looked at Zhao Jun in shock, followed by fury.

"You little brat! I'll fucking kill you!" Zhao Youcai roared, and then got slapped by Zhao Jun again.

Zhao Youcai could truly feel the pain on his face after being slapped.

"Ouch!" Zhao Youcai felt a sudden jolt, followed by a bright light that was so dazzling that he had to squint.

Even with his eyes half-closed, Zhao Youcai could see Wang Meilan raise her hand and slap his face.

This wasn't a slap, and Wang Meilan didn't use much force, but Zhao Youcai still wouldn't stand for it.

You shouldn't hit someone in the face, especially not the head of the household!
"What are you doing?" Zhao Youcai glared at her with his small eyes and saw Wang Meilan staring at him sideways. Beside Wang Meilan were Zhao Hong and Zhao Na.

At this point, Zhao Youcai gradually came to his senses. He only remembered that he had drunk half a cup too much that night. Then everyone was watching TV in the room, and he leaned against the kang cabinet, feeling his eyelids getting heavy. He probably just fell asleep.

"What are you doing? You're like a madman all day long!" Wang Meilan frowned and scolded Zhao Youcai in a low voice, "What did my son do to you? You're still calling him a little brat in your dreams!"

Upon hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Youcai immediately recalled the time in his dream when Zhao Jun slapped him.

In this day and age, it's unheard of for parents to treat their children as friends. Some people are even in their fifties or sixties, yet their parents' words still seem like sacred decrees.

It's not uncommon for people to beat their parents, but it's extremely rare and makes people look bad.

Zhao Youcai, who is so concerned with saving face that he would rather suffer than be beaten by his children, would rather die.

So even though it was a dream, Zhao Youcai still felt uncomfortable when he woke up.

"Damn it!" Zhao Youcai muttered under his breath, "I dreamt that that brat hit me..."

"That's the one who hit you!" Zhao Youcai was interrupted by Wang Meilan before he could finish speaking. Wang Meilan glared at Zhao Youcai and said, "You were cursing your son in your sleep, and your daughter heard it. What kind of situation is that?"

Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Youcai fell silent. He knew that when people are asleep, some things from the outside world can be reflected in their dreams.

Even so, Zhao Youcai still felt uncomfortable.

"What are you still thinking about?" Seeing Zhao Youcai standing there in a daze, Wang Meilan said impatiently, "Hurry up and get under the covers and go to sleep!"

Twenty minutes later, the family of four, having finished tidying up, crawled into their respective beds. As Zhao Youcai reached out to turn off the light, he heard Wang Meilan say, "Can't you sleep? Don't be having wild dreams!"

"Huh?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback. Wang Meilan whispered, "Or else I'll hit you again!"

Zhao Youcai: "..."

……

The next morning, Wang Meilan got up at around 3 a.m. to make dumplings.

Ma Ling and Wang Meilan were busy working together, while Zhao Youcai went out to feed the dogs. The Li Baoyu couple from next door came over; Liu Mei went inside to help, while Li Baoyu helped Zhao Youcai outside.

Before 5:30, Li Baoyu finished his meal. At that moment, Wang Meilan was using a strainer to scoop out dumplings. The dumplings were placed in a large enamel plate, and then Ma Ling and Liu Mei used chopsticks to transfer them one by one into aluminum lunch boxes.

Yesterday, Li Baoyu and Xie Chen escorted Zhao Youcai back, and today the two of them have to return to the mountain to rejoin their unit. There wasn't much left at home for Zhao Jun and the others, so Wang Meilan made some dumplings for Li Baoyu to take with him.

Before six o'clock, Li Baoyu drove his jeep out of his house, picked up Jie Chen, and headed out of the village to the mountain area.

Around nine o'clock, Li Baoyu and Xie Chen got out of the jeep and walked towards the shack.

They hadn't walked far when they encountered Xing San's patrol team.

Seeing that they were his own people, Xing San breathed a sigh of relief. The transport of the ginseng king hadn't gone smoothly; first, Pang Gaoming's group launched a sneak attack, and then a Siberian tiger appeared.

Now that the ginseng-raising ceremony has reached a critical stage, the Zhao family gang is afraid that there will be any unexpected complications.

Li Baoyu and Xie Chen followed the patrol team to the shack, where they saw Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and Li Ruhai still carrying ginseng.

The four of them were completely focused, carefully using deer antler spoons to dig into the soil and stir the ginseng roots.

Zhao Jun and his three colleagues worked for an hour, then rested for twenty minutes, working from morning till night, and continued working the next day.

And so, June 13, 1988 arrived.

That afternoon, the Zhao family gang formed a circle, with only Zhao Jun kneeling in the pit, using a deer antler spoon to remove the mud and pick out the ginseng roots.

The task was the same as usual. Zhang Yuanmin didn't help because Zhao Jun was carrying the last half of the beard.

It's estimated that Zhao Jun will be able to complete the task in less than half an hour.

By this time, the shack had been tidied up inside and out, and the luggage had been transported down the mountain in advance.

Now all that's left is to wait for the ginseng king to be unearthed with its entire root and tail intact. Then, they'll pack it up with moss and pine bark, and the Zhao family gang can head home.

Suddenly, Li Baoyu's eyes widened, he looked up sharply, and at the same time raised his hand to touch his left cheek.

Immediately afterwards, a crackling sound rang out, and large raindrops fell from the sky.

Zhao Jun, who was carrying the ginseng, suddenly changed his expression and shouted, "Brother, bring the basket and the plastic sheet!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanmin hurriedly turned around to find his carrying basket. The rain came without warning, catching everyone in a flurry of activity.

First, cover the basket with a lid, then cover it with two layers of plastic sheeting to cover the ginseng and any remaining ginseng roots.

After dealing with the situation, everyone went inside to take shelter from the rain. With the shed door open, they saw the rain pouring down, no less intense than the downpour a few days ago, but there was no thunder or lightning today.

"Good things come to those who wait!" Li Ruhai said this first, afraid that someone might say something inappropriate.

Hearing Li Ruhai say this, Zhao Jinhui laughed and said, "Didn't I say that the emergence of the Ginseng King is always accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains? Let's carry this Ginseng King to see two rainstorms..."

Halfway through his sentence, Zhao Jinhui raised his hand and gestured to the crowd, saying, "In the south, water is wealth. When this heavy rain comes, we'll be rolling in money."

Zhao Jinhui's words amused everyone, but Xing San, looking at the heavy rain outside, said, "If this rain keeps going, we're not going to leave today. Damn it, we've already sent the pots and pans downstairs, what are we going to eat tonight?"

As soon as Xing San said this, the rain outside the shack visibly subsided.

Ten minutes later, the rain stopped completely. As everyone emerged from their hut, a rainbow stretched across the sky.

"Rainbow!" Ma Yang exclaimed, raising his hand to point, but Zhao Jun pressed his arm down.

“Don’t point to the rainbow.” Zhao Jun tossed this sentence to Ma Yang, then called to Zhang Yuanmin, “Brother, remove the plastic sheeting and stuff, I’ll continue carrying it.”

At 3:17 p.m., the antler spoon picked out the whisker tip under everyone's watchful eyes.

Zhao Jun stuck the deer antler spoon into the soil beside him, then held the tendril with both hands. Zhang Yuanmin pulled out the pine stick from the ground, tied the ginseng body to the stick, and wrapped the tendrils he had lifted out around it.

Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin began to unfold the ginseng roots one by one, while Li Baoyu and the others carefully held them in their hands.

This ginseng king has three reeds as one, each reed divided into three sections: round reed, piled flower reed, and horse tooth reed. Judging from the reed heads, all three reeds are over a hundred years old.

Below the root, the whole plant is divided into three ginseng roots. These three ginseng roots are inseparable, and their wonder surpasses that of mother-child ginseng or husband-and-wife ginseng.

Wild ginseng that reaches grade six has a chance to be reborn. According to Zhao Jun's judgment, this ginseng king must be over 350 years old.

After much deduction, Li Baoyu and Li Ruhai concluded that the ginseng king grew during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Zhao Jun didn't understand these things, but he could tell that this ginseng king had undergone many transformations, and its skin texture bore the marks of time.

The rootlets of this ginseng king include both main rootlets and tendrils. The longest rootlets reach 1.35 meters, while the shortest are 15 centimeters long.

For the past two days, Xing San has been leading the patrol team to collect moss.

Zhao Jun and the others lifted the ginseng king over and carefully laid it flat on a large patch of moss. Then, they gathered up its roots and wrapped them with moss.

To prevent the ginseng roots from breaking, the Zhao family used two baskets of moss. Finally, Li Baoyu carried a ginseng bun that was 1.5 meters tall and thicker than Zhao Jun's thigh on his shoulder.

Zhao Jun, Zhao Jinhui, Li Ruhai, and Ma Yang led the way with Qinglong and Heilong, while Xing San, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and Xie Chen surrounded Li Baoyu with weapons in hand.

It's no wonder the Zhao family gang acted this way; although the ginseng king was brought out, it wouldn't be safe until it got home.

When they got to the jeep, they first stuffed the little black bear inside, and then Xing San, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and Ma Yang squeezed into the back seat. Zhao Jun and Xie Chen took the ginseng buns off Li Baoyu's back, stuffed them horizontally into the back seat, and placed them on the legs of Xing San and the other three.

Then, Li Baoyu got into the driver's seat, Zhao Jinhui got into the passenger seat, and the six of them, carrying ginseng buns, went down the mountain to return home.

Zhao Jun, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai led Qinglong and Heilong down the mountain on foot. Li Baoyu's group didn't wait for them, but there were Jiefang trucks parked at the bottom of the mountain, so Zhao Jun and the others could ride in one of them after they got down.

After seeing off Li Baoyu and his group of six, Zhao Jun, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai walked downstairs chatting and laughing.

But just then, it got dark!
It's June. Although it gets dark earlier in the mountains than outside, it's not even four o'clock yet, so it's not dark yet.

Besides, even at night, it doesn't get dark in the blink of an eye.

For a moment, Jie Chen and Li Ruhai were somewhat flustered. Fortunately, Zhao Jun was a man of experience; he called the two to his side, then took a semi-automatic rifle from his shoulder, raised it, and fired into the air!

Zhao Jun fired five shots in a row, keeping five bullets just in case.

Before Zhao Jun fired his gun, the jeep was parked on the mountain road. The sudden darkness made everyone in the car tense.

Although the car headlights provided illumination, Li Baoyu didn't dare to drive off rashly. The car stopped there, and Li Baoyu and Zhao Jinhui in the front seats both gripped their pistols, nervously staring out the window.

At that moment, gunshots rang out from above. Li Baoyu told the others to stay in the car, then he got out and fired two shots into the air in response to Zhao Jun.

Twenty minutes later, Zhao Jun and his two companions came down the mountain in the dark, leading their dog. The incident was sudden; no one expected this, and Zhao Jun and his friends hadn't brought flashlights.

It got dark suddenly when it got cold, and we didn't even have anything to start a fire.

Moreover, it had just rained heavily, and the woods were damp.

Zhao Jun made a quick decision, and the three of them joined forces, one supporting the other's shoulder, and tentatively began to descend.

"Brother!" Upon seeing Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu hurriedly went to greet him.

"Hurry up and leave!" Zhao Jun urged Li Baoyu, saying, "I knew you'd be waiting for us here, otherwise we wouldn't have come down."

"Brother, aren't you coming down? Are you going to stay on the mountain?" Li Baoyu said, "There's nothing left in the shacks, how are you going to live?"

"You guys just need to hurry up and leave!" Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu. "After you get down the mountain, see if it's light yet. If it's not light yet, you can drive up here in an empty car to pick us up. If it's light yet, you can just leave."

After saying that, Zhao Jun used the car headlights to see a fallen tree by the roadside. He led Zhao Jinhui and Li Ruhai, along with the dog, over to sit down, and urged Li Baoyu to leave quickly.

Strangely enough, after Li Baoyu drove the jeep to the foot of the mountain, got out, opened the back door, and took out the ginseng buns, it suddenly became dawn!