Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

Old Zheng's method of handling wild boar was clean and efficient. While skinning it, he explained the key points to Li Xiangyang: "There's a membrane under the skin. If you cut along the membrane, the skin won't break."

A gunshot rang out in the distance, followed by several more, echoing through the valley.

Old Zheng kept working with his hands, not even looking up, and said, "Judging from the sounds, all of us old buddies are having a good day."

Li Xiangyang pricked up his ears to listen carefully: "That gunshot, it sounds like it's coming from a distance."

“Of course,” Old Zheng chuckled. “They’re all veterans; they know to head towards the valley entrance. Wild animals come down the slope; they’re easy to catch.”

As he spoke, he spread out a large, intact pigskin, his fingers lightly tracing its surface: "Look, that's skill. Not a single bit of subcutaneous tissue was left; it'll fetch a good price after drying."

Just as Li Xiangyang was about to speak, he suddenly heard a series of urgent whistles coming from the east, followed by a second and a third, in quick succession.

This was not a normal communication signal, but a cry for help.

"Master Zheng..."

“Hmm,” Old Zheng stood up, brushing the snow off his hands, “sounds like Old Liu’s area. They’re in such a hurry, they’ve probably run into a large herd.”

Li Xiangyang also understood: "Should we go over and take a look?"

Old Zheng, however, remained unhurried. He took out his pipe from his pocket and slowly filled it with tobacco: "Don't rush."

He took out a match to light a cigarette, but Li Xiangyang grabbed his hand and pressed it down.

"Mr. Zheng, what's the wind direction...?"

Old Zheng's eyes lit up: "That's right!"

He put away his pipe and turned to Nightshade: "Go check the wind direction."

The black dog immediately understood and ran off towards the upwind side.

Old Zheng then explained, "The worst thing you can do when hunting a group of pigs is to be reckless. You have to figure out the wind direction first and know where their escape route is."

A little while later, Nightshade returned, howling loudly towards the northeast.

“I understand,” Old Zheng nodded. “The wind is blowing from northeast to southwest, so the wild boar herd will definitely run southwest. We need to take a shortcut and intercept them.”

He turned to Li Xiangyang and said, "Take two men and keep watch on that cliff by the river. If the wild boars come, don't rush to fire."

"When should we fire?"

"Just wait and see, let's go over there first." Old Zheng said as he ran over.

Li Xiangyang followed closely behind, and upon arrival, led two hunters to the cliff by the river.

The terrain here is high, offering a wide view and facing a gentle slope.

Not long after, they heard a commotion in the distance.

Through the gaps in the treetops, Li Xiangyang saw a group of wild boars running towards him.

A rough count revealed there were more than a dozen of them, varying in size.

The first few were particularly large, their fangs gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Get ready..." Li Xiangyang said in a low voice, raising his gun.

Just then, he heard hurried footsteps and the sound of tree branches breaking from the other side of the slope.

Immediately afterwards, he saw Old Zheng lead a few men rushing out from the side, shouting loudly and throwing stones at the wild boar herd.

The wild boar herd was startled and immediately turned away.

But they had only run a few steps when several hunters rushed out from in front of them, shouting and smashing things.

Li Xiangyang then realized what was happening.

Old Zheng was creating a false escape route for the wild boars, driving them towards the river.

Although the terrain here is open, the riverbank is steep, and once the wild boar herd reaches the edge of the cliff, they have nowhere to retreat.

Sure enough, the wild boar herd was driven around in circles and eventually had no choice but to run towards the open area by the river.

By the time they realized there was a cliff in front of them, it was too late.

The entire herd of pigs was huddled together, unable to move forward or backward.

At that moment, Old Zheng gave a whistle, and Night Shadow suddenly darted out from the side, barking wildly at the pigs.

The wild boars panicked even more and huddled together.

"Now!" Old Zheng's voice echoed through the valley.

Li Xiangyang immediately understood.

In this situation, the wild boars are huddled together and unable to move, making it the best time to shoot.

He quickly aimed and pulled the trigger.

With a "bang!", the wild boar fell to the ground.

Other hunters also opened fire, and gunfire erupted.

When the smoke cleared, six wild boars lay dead on the ground.

The remaining wild boars panicked and fled down the slope.

"Night Shadow!" Old Zheng shouted, and the black dog immediately rushed out, circling the wild boar herd and barking wildly.

The other hunters reacted quickly, spreading out to block the path.

Li Xiangyang took a shortcut and got ahead of the wild boar herd.

He seized the opportunity and fired a shot at the leader of the pack.

The wild boar fell to the ground with a thud, and the other wild boars, seeing this, immediately turned around and fled into the deep mountains.

As Li Xiangyang fired his gun, the other hunters each chose their targets and wiped out the entire herd of pigs.

After everyone finished dealing with the wild boar, it was already getting late.

Old Zheng patted the snow off his hands and said to Li Xiangyang, "A good day, come over to my place for a couple of drinks tonight."

"That's great, it'll be perfect to see your puppies."

Li Xiangyang readily agreed.

"Alright, I'll give you one today."

Old Zheng turned to the other hunters and shouted, "Thank you all for your hard work! Come over here, it's time to divide the meat according to headcount."

The crowd gathered around upon hearing the noise.

Old Zheng first had the wild boar meat weighed, and then began to distribute it.

If we agreed to divide the spoils by headcount, then we will divide them by headcount, regardless of how much effort you put in today.

With the distribution done this way, no one objected, and everyone wore a joyful expression.

After distributing the meat, Lao Zheng gave Li Xiangyang the wild boar king's tusks and hide.

"I'm telling you all, don't feel this is unfair. If it weren't for Li Xiangyang, my son and I might be stuck here today."

Seeing this, the other hunters all laughed and agreed, "That's right. If it weren't for Li Xiangyang today, and that wild boar king had escaped, next year's crops would have been ruined."

Hearing this, Old Zheng smiled and said to everyone, "Alright, go home early. Come to my house for drinks tonight; you all know how good my wife is at cooking."

"Alright!" everyone readily agreed.

After parting ways with everyone, Li Xiangyang returned home with a full load of goods.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I smelled the aroma of food.

His mother was busy at the stove when she saw him return. She quickly asked, "Are you exhausted? Come and eat."

"Mom, I have to go to Old Zheng's tonight; he's treating everyone to drinks." Li Xiangyang put his things down. "We had a good day; we hunted quite a few wild boars."

"Brother," Li Xiaohua poked her head out of the house, "where's the puppy?"

"Don't worry, I'll have it when I get back later," Li Xiangyang patted his sister's head. "Old Zheng promised."

"Really!" Li Xiaohua's eyes lit up. "Then you'd better come back soon."

“Okay,” Li Xiangyang said with a smile, “but you have to promise me you’ll treat it well.”

"I definitely will!" Li Xiaohua patted her chest and promised.

Li's mother shook her head with a smile, "You silly child, fill your stomach first."

"Mom, I really'm not eating," Li Xiangyang said, walking towards the door. "Old Zheng's family is waiting."

"Then drink less," Li's mother advised.

Li Xiangyang responded and quickly walked towards Old Zheng's house.