The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1913 Even the Wealthy Want to Stay Home: The Zhao Family Helps Find Sixth-Rank Ye

At 8:30 in the morning, those who were supposed to go to work went to work, and those who were supposed to go to school went to school.

In the Zhao family compound, Wang Meilan led the women to inspect the fox pelts stored in the shed in the backyard.

Meanwhile, Zhao Youcai left home carrying a No. 16 pistol. Ever since Wang Meilan relaxed her restrictions on him, Zhao Youcai had been going out every morning, taking his apprentice Gu Yang to the edge of the fields in the South China Sea to hunt pheasants and practice marksmanship.

As soon as Zhao Youcai stepped out of the house, he saw a lynx on the low wall of the vegetable garden suddenly look up towards the direction of the gate, followed by several hunting dogs barking in the backyard.

"Ah!" Zhao Youcai walked quickly towards the gate of the courtyard and saw Jie Chen push open the gate. Then the jeep drove into the Zhao family compound along the path.

Zhao Youcai stopped and waited for the jeep to stop in front of him. He glanced into the car and saw only Li Baoyu and Xie Chen. He asked, "Why are you two back?"

"Grandpa!" Li Baoyu got out of the car and smiled at Zhao Youcai from the driver's seat, "My brother asked us to come back and deliver meat to you."

"Delivering meat?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback. Just then, Wang Meilan, who knew people had returned from the sound of the dog barking, came over from the backyard. Seeing that it was Li Baoyu and Xie Chen, Wang Meilan asked the same question as Zhao Youcai: "Why are you two back?"

"Auntie!" Jie Chen laughed, "My brother Jun beat up the big guy and sent the two of us back to bring you meat."

Hearing Xie Chen's words, Wang Meilan's eyes lit up. Zhao Jun hadn't hunted for a long time, and recently the family had to buy meat from the market. However, while the market in Yong'an Village had plenty of fish and shrimp, there wasn't much meat, which couldn't meet the Zhao family's needs.

So when Wang Meilan heard that Zhao Jun had killed a deer, she was very happy.

Zhao Youcai was equally surprised. When Zhao Jun left, he asked Wang Meilan to call Zhou Jianjun, and then his family spent their own money to buy the remaining refrigerator in the forest farm warehouse and put it in Li Baoyu's house in the west courtyard.

Yesterday afternoon, Zhou Jianjun coordinated and dispatched a vehicle to deliver the refrigerator.

Zhao Youcai didn't say anything openly about this, but last night and this morning he complained to Wang Meilan more than once that Zhao Jun was wasting money and spending money on things he didn't need.

As for Zhao Jun's claim that he went hunting in the mountains, Zhao Youcai did not believe it.

Because this is not the season for hunting, Zhao Youcai, who considers himself the best marksman in the world, dares not say that he will definitely be able to hunt roe deer, wild boar, or black bears if he goes into the mountains.

As Li Baoyu and Xie Chen pulled the sacks off the jeep, with deer hooves sticking out of the sack openings, Wang Meilan couldn't stop smiling.

Zhao Youcai, however, stared wide-eyed as he chased after Li Baoyu, who was dragging a sack into the house, and asked, "Baoyu, how did your brother beat you?"

Zhao Youcai would believe that Zhao Jun had gotten lucky with a roe deer. But he wouldn't believe that he had gotten lucky with the killing of this big red deer.

Deer live for a thousand years, yet every step they take is filled with worry and sorrow. Deer are very wary, and their ears, along with the nose of a bear and the eyes of an eagle, are considered the spirits of the mountains; it's impossible to kill one with a single shot.

"Oh, grandpa!" Li Baoyu boasted to Zhao Youcai with a smile, "You'd never guess how my brother got hit."

"How did you get the shot?" Zhao Youcai pressed. Li Baoyu replied, "Before leaving home one day, my brother took half a sack of potatoes with him. After we got there, my brother built a watchtower near the edge of the woods."

After that, they scattered the potatoes in the stone pond. Last night around six o'clock, my brother and uncle went up to squat in the pond. Around eleven o'clock at night, they heard something 'crunching' as it ate potatoes.

My uncle brandished a stun gun, and my brother fired a shot—that's how this big guy fell down.

Hearing Li Baoyu's words, Zhao Youcai's small eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "You little rascal, why didn't you say so sooner?"

This trick is easy for any hunter to understand, but Zhao Youcai doesn't have the brains to figure it out himself.

"Baoyu!" Wang Meilan wasn't interested in how Zhao Jun had hunted the deer; she only asked, "Looking at these legs, that big deer must have weighed five or six hundred pounds, so how come they only brought back these four legs?"

“Auntie,” Li Baoyu said with a smile, “my brother was shot through the chest, and his stomach is all dirty, so we didn’t take him.”

"What a waste!" Wang Meilan said regretfully. At this moment, Jie Chen, who was dragging a sack into the house, said, "Auntie, what a waste! My brother Jun chopped off four thighs, removed two tenderloins, and then threw the rest into the Shitang area."

It's so hot today, the meat will go bad by evening. And who knows what kind of trouble that stench will attract if it gets out.”

Wang Meilan didn't take Jie Chen's words to heart. At that moment, she called out from the north window to the shed in the backyard, "Xiao Mei, Yan'er, Feng'er, come up to the house."

Wang Meilan called for someone to help her carve the meat, but Zhao Youcai understood the unspoken meaning in Xie Chen's words.

The meat smells bad, which easily attracts omnivorous animals.

Crows and weasels are not on Zhao Youcai's hunting list, but large omnivorous animals such as wild boars and bears are his hunting targets.

This season, not only are the potatoes and eggplants in the farm gardens not yet harvested, but the dried and fresh fruits in the mountains are also not ripe.

Therefore, wild boars and bears are still in a state of alternating hunger and overeating.

Bears, in particular, have a keen sense of smell. The stench of rotten meat can travel on the wind for miles, and even a bear will have to head there.

At that moment, Zhao Youcai understood what Zhao Jun meant by "squatting in a hole"!
As long as you can endure hardship and persevere, the prey will be endless.

For a moment, Zhao Youcai couldn't resist the urge to go up the mountain and set up a den.

"Lan!" While Jin Xiaomei and the others were not in, and Li Baoyu and Xie Chen were out getting meat, Zhao Youcai leaned close to Wang Meilan and whispered, "I want to go up the mountain to see my son."

Upon hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Wang Meilan's face instantly darkened. She said, "You'd better stay put! If you leave, you'll leave us four to guard this big courtyard. Aren't we scared?"

"I..." Zhao Youcai wanted to say something, but then he heard Wang Meilan say, "If you keep dawdling, you're not allowed to go out during the day either."

Upon hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Youcai immediately became obedient. He glanced at Wang Meilan, then slung his gun over his shoulder and walked out to meet up with his eldest apprentice.

Wang Meilan ignored him. After learning that Li Baoyu and Xie Chen had not eaten, Wang Meilan quickly gave them some rice dumplings and sugar, and told them to have a bite to eat first.

Then, Wang Meilan handed over the task of butchering the meat to Jin Xiaomei, Yang Yufeng, and Xu Chunyan, while she went to start a fire and boil water to cook noodles for Li Baoyu and Xie Chen.

After Li Baoyu and Xie Chen had eaten and drunk their fill, they didn't rush to leave but rested at home until noon. After lunch, they took some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and fresh dipping vegetables before boarding their carriage and departing.

Around 3:30 p.m., Li Baoyu and Xie Chen returned to the shack, where Zhao Jun was holding a meeting with his men.

The Zhao family finished work early today, but they still had a good harvest.

Besides the four-leaf shrub that wasn't carried yesterday, the Mayang team found another four-leaf shrub and two *Lysimachia nummularia* shrubs in that grove this morning.

That day, Zhao Jun and his family carried out all four ginseng seedlings. Even Zhao Jinhui participated in carrying the ginseng, getting some exercise in the process.

The results were very encouraging, but Zhao Jun called a meeting to call off the troops ahead of schedule. There was an important topic: the Zhao family gang had discovered a total of twelve wild ginseng seedlings in the Ma Yang Guan Jing area.

Among these twelve wild ginseng seedlings, one has five leaves and four have four leaves.

Therefore, Zhao Jun concluded that it was hard to say whether there were any fifth-grade leaves in that patch of land, but there would definitely be one sixth-grade leaf.

Zhao Jun's conclusion was a good one for the Zhao family gang. Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Ma Yang, bursting with ambition, immediately got up, grabbed his rope and stick, and was about to go out to raid the mountain, declaring that he wouldn't sleep until he found the Six-Grade Leaf.

Zhao Jun was very satisfied with Ma Yang's attitude, but he still managed to persuade Ma Yang to stay.

Everyone's been quite tired these past few days, and besides, it's already this late. Even if Ma Yang finds the sixth-grade ginseng leaf, the Zhao family gang won't be carrying it around by lamplight.

So Zhao Jun decided to get a good night's rest. The venison leg meat they'd cut that morning was already simmering in the stew pot, so everyone could have a good meal tonight and be well-rested for tomorrow's battle.

……

The next day, June 19, 1988, Zhao Jiabang got up early and went to the river to fetch water and wash up.

At this moment, several crows with swollen bellies were perched on the trees at the edge of the woods.

Crows don't carry their young; a big belly means they've eaten too much.

About thirty meters from the edge of the woods, eight crows perched on the carcass of a red deer, their sharp beaks catching the deer meat in their beaks.

They snatched a thick, meaty piece and quickly tilted their heads back to swallow it whole.

Flies landed and hovered around the crows.

As Zhao Jun and his group reached the edge of the woods, the crows that had been pecking at the deer carcass took flight and scattered in all directions. But the crows in the trees, already stuffed, were too lazy to fly away even as people passed beneath them.

"Oh my god!" As soon as they left the woods, Zhao Jinhui covered his nose and said, "It stinks after just one night?"

After saying that, Zhao Jinhui added, "It was quite chilly last night. I didn't feel hot even though I was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat and trousers."

"How can that be the same?" Xing San laughed. "This big guy is dead, his chest is still warm. If you leave it warm overnight, it will definitely stink."

“Yeah, right.” Wang Qiang chimed in, “It’s sunny here. If you wait two hours in the sun before you come, the smell will be unbearable.”

Hearing Wang Qiang's words, Zhang Yuanmin asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, are you and your uncle coming again tonight?"

Before Zhao Jun could speak, Li Baoyu interrupted Zhang Yuanmin, saying, "Uncle, if it smells so bad, you shouldn't come. I'll come with my brother."

"Forget it," Wang Qiang said with a laugh, waving his hand. "You're not up to par."

"What handle?" Li Baoyu asked in surprise. "Uncle, you're just waving a flashlight, what kind of handle would you need?"

"Hey! So what are you thinking about?" Wang Qiang laughed and said, "There was only one big guy last night. If there were two, when the gun went off over there, I would have to chase after the one with the flashlight and leave room for lead."

Hearing Wang Qiang say this, Li Baoyu fell silent. At this moment, Ma Yang moved closer to Zhao Jun and said, "Brother-in-law, let me go with you two. That watchtower can fit the three of us."

"Little brother," Zhao Jun patted Ma Yang on the shoulder and laughed, "How can we use you for this job? You're the leader of our Zhao family gang now! Tonight, you can't do anything, so you just need to get some sleep. If you can enjoy the scenery while you're asleep, then enjoy it; if not, at least get some rest so you can lead us on the mountain raid the next day!"

Zhao Jun's words made Ma Yang grin from ear to ear. He immediately puffed out his chest and declared, "Brother-in-law, don't say anything more. Even if your brother bows his head to the ground, I'll find that sixth-grade leaf for you!"

As soon as Ma Yang said this, everyone in the Zhao family laughed and praised him, giving him an unprecedented sense of accomplishment.

Motivated by a sense of accomplishment, Ma Yang was bursting with energy today. After breakfast, he urged everyone to hurry up and work on the mountain.

It wasn't until Zhao Jun said the dew hadn't dried that Ma Yang impatiently waited until 7:30.

Upon arriving at Anzi, Ma Yang helped Zhao Jun organize the baton-fighting game. His enthusiasm made Zhang Yuanmin feel a sense of crisis, as if his position as deputy leader was in jeopardy.

The eight men lined up their sticks and began pressing down on the mountain. An hour later, they stopped to rest. Zhao Jun drank water from his military water bottle, while Wang Qiang took out cigarettes and offered them to the younger men.

"Xiao Yang!" At this moment, Zhao Jun put away his water bottle and called out to Ma Yang, who was still using a rope to poke at the grass, "Come and have a drink of water."

At this time, among the Zhao family gang, only Ma Yang had not yet rested.

Zhao Jun's words reached his ears, but Ma Yang ignored them. At this moment, the boy was covered in sweat, but his eyes were determined. He held the rope and poking stick and relentlessly poked at every blade of grass he saw.

How many blades of grass are there in this patch of land? The answer is as many as the stars in the sky.

Ma Yang kept his head down, and when one hand got tired, he switched to the other.

"This Ma Lao Er is really good at putting on an act," Li Ruhai muttered under his breath, only to be elbowed by Li Baoyu.

No matter what, hard work and perseverance should never be ridiculed.

Li Ruhai was certainly not a vulgar person, but he had a deep-seated hatred for Ma Yang, so regardless of whether Ma Yang was right or wrong, he had to make a sarcastic remark.

Zhao Jun passed the kettle to Wang Qiang, then turned to look at Ma Yang.

Zhao Jun had never seen a Ma Yang like this in his previous life.

Zhao Jun raised his hand to look at his watch and said, "Let's rest for another five minutes, and then we'll continue our mountain climbing at 9:30."

Before Zhao Jun could finish speaking and before anyone could respond, Ma Yang shouted, "Fool! Fool!"

Upon hearing the shout, Zhao Jun jumped up in a flash and responded loudly, "What grade of leaf!"

"Step by step, climb higher!" Ma Yang shouted again, and Zhao Jun responded, "How many seedlings!"

“They’re all over the mountain!” Ma Yang shouted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Zhao Jun strode towards Ma Yang, with Wang Qiang and the others following closely behind. The way the Zhao family was acting made it seem as if Ma Yang was presenting not a third-grade leaf, but a sixth-grade leaf.

The reason everyone did this was because they were inspired by Ma Yang's perseverance.

As everyone approached, they saw that Zhao Jun had already taken out a club lock from his pocket.

"Baoyu, Xiaochen," Zhang Yuanmin said to Li Baoyu and Xiechen, "you two quickly break the Kabala stick and press it down with the club, then I'll lift my head."

Li Baoyu and Xie Chen left in response. Two minutes later, the ginseng was tied with a red rope, and three copper coins were placed side by side on the horizontal wooden stick. Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin began to lift the ginseng from the left and right.

Zhao Jun made the first move, using a deer antler-shaped tool to break through the soil, revealing the ginseng root.

Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, Zhao Jinhui, and Li Ruhai, who were standing around, were all silently counting the number of ginseng roots. This ginseng seedling must be around forty years old. Although it was only a third-grade leaf, it might be a fourth-grade leaf next year.

Ma Yang didn't join in the fun. After Zhao Jun and his men took over the wild ginseng seedling, Ma Yang picked up his rope and stick, went to a nearby place, picked up his water bottle, and took a couple of sips of water.

While Zhao Jun and the others were tying the club lock, Ma Yang had already taken the rope and the club and continued searching for the sixth-grade leaf.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin took a small pair of scissors and cut the tree root, then put down the scissors and picked up a deer antler spoon to fiddle with the tendrils.

Zhao Jun continued to pry the ginseng with the deer antler spoon. As the humus left the ginseng body, Zhao Jun was taken aback. He saw that a leg had split off from the ginseng body and was pointing straight to the southwest.

It's across the sea!
"Little brother!" Zhao Jun looked up to find Ma Yang. Li Baoyu and Xie Chen, who were blocking his way, stepped aside. Ma Yang, who was silently weeding not far away, looked at Zhao Jun and saw Zhao Jun pointing in the southwest direction, saying, "Start looking from my side and head in that direction!"

There's a guy named Zhang Fan from Hubei. He left me a message with 10 winning lottery tickets, but one digit was missing from the phone number. The courier won't deliver. I've been trying to contact you for months, but you haven't replied on QQ. If you see this, please reply.