In the Zhou family's courtyard.
Hu Sanmei took out a hemp rope, tied a slipknot, and slipped it over Daqing's neck, replacing the iron chain that had been holding him.
Daqing was eyeing Zhao Jun like a tiger. He had stopped barking but was letting out a constant, low growl.
But when Hu Sanmei handed the rope to Zhao Jun and he gave it a tug, Daqing instantly fell silent and obediently followed the rope to Zhao Jun's side.
That's just how dogs are. No matter how fierce or vicious they were a moment ago, the second you put a leash on them and give it a pull, they'll follow you obediently.
"Well, Auntie, I'll be heading back now," Zhao Jun said, bidding farewell to Hu Sanmei.
"Take care now," Hu Sanmei said, seeing Zhao Jun to the door. She watched him until he was far in the distance before heading back inside with a happy smile.
Leading Daqing, Zhao Jun left Yongsheng Village feeling pleased with himself, wondering the whole way where he could get his hands on a gun.
He had to admit, the way Zhao Chun and Hu Sanmei treated him today made him realize something: in the eyes of his parents and his sister, he was probably still just a kid.
Isn't there a saying? No matter how old you get, you'll always be a child in your parents' eyes.
In his past life, Zhao Jun started hunting in the mountains at twenty-two, mainly because there was no one to stop him. Wang Meilan had died young, and his heartless father, Zhao Youcai, had taken a new, younger wife. Since he didn't need anyone to care for him in his old age yet, why would he waste any thought on the son from his first marriage?
But this life was different. Zhao Jun knew what led to Wang Meilan's death, and he was absolutely certain he could prevent his mother's tragedy.
As for Zhao Youcai... 'After the beating he gave me yesterday, there's no way I'm letting him get a chance to find a new wife!'
But with Wang Meilan around, his path to becoming a hunter likely wouldn't be so smooth.
The thought only made Zhao Jun more frustrated. Where on earth was he supposed to get a gun?
He knew his old lady's personality. Even when he started working at the Forest Farm next year, he'd have to hand over his entire monthly salary.
Wang Meilan would give him three to five yuan for pocket money at most. By the time he saved up enough to buy a gun with that, firearms and hunting would probably be outlawed.
Zhao Jun walked all the way back to the village without coming up with a good plan. A lack of cash can stump even a hero, and he was no hero.
Just ahead, he could see his house.
Suddenly, someone burst out of Li Baoyu's house and nearly ran straight into him.
"Ruhai?"
"Brother Zhao, help me!" Li Ruhai cried out, seeing it was Zhao Jun.
'Another kid whose brain's been rotted by comic books,' Zhao Jun thought.
"What's going on?"
"You little bastard, where do you think you're going?" Just then, another person charged out, brandishing a club.
This time, it was none other than Li Baoyu.
"What do you think you're doing?" Seeing Li Baoyu swinging the club, Zhao Jun quickly stepped forward and pushed him away.
Stopped by Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, contrary to his usual self, didn't even greet him. He just glared furiously at Li Ruhai and roared, "Get over here!"
"What's with you?" Noticing a crowd of onlookers gathering under a large tree nearby, Zhao Jun kept one hand on the dog's leash and used the other to drag Li Baoyu toward his own yard.
Seeing that Zhao Jun had Li Baoyu under control, Li Ruhai hugged the edge of the path and slipped away.
Li Baoyu turned his head and watched Li Ruhai run off, feeling utterly indignant, but he couldn't get mad at Zhao Jun.
Just then, Li Baoyu's dog, Da Huang, suddenly started barking.
Then, a loud, powerful bark erupted from behind them, startling Li Baoyu so much he whipped his head around.
Next, they heard Zhao Jun's family dog, Hua Gou, start barking from the adjacent yard. Before long, the dogs of all the neighbors to the left and right had joined the chorus.
For a moment, the air was filled with a cacophony of barking.
At this point, Zhao Jun had no time for Li Baoyu. Daqing was so strong that it took both his hands to hold the dog back.
Thankfully, Li Baoyu had the sense to see what was happening. He tossed his club aside and helped Zhao Jun restrain Qing Gou.
"Brother, where did this dog come from?"
"A gift from my sister's in-laws."
"He looks like a good one."
"He is." Zhao Jun craned his neck to peek under the dog's tail, then nodded at Li Baoyu. "Once we get him properly trained, we'll be set, you and I."
Hearing Zhao Jun say that, Li Baoyu's face bloomed into a huge grin.
"Go find some planks, we'll nail together another doghouse at my place," Zhao Jun said, then started leading Daqing toward his home.
Li Baoyu eagerly agreed and scurried off to pull some pine boards from his dilapidated shed.
The moment Zhao Jun led Daqing into his yard, the situation immediately shifted from the standoff between Yellow Dog and Qing Gou to a conflict between Hua Gou and Qing Gou.
You have to understand, these weren't the pet dogs of later years that could meet in a neighborhood and immediately start playing together.
These were guard dogs, fiercely territorial. An unfamiliar dog suddenly invading their home? That was an unforgivable offense.
It didn't matter if it was another dog or a Tiger—if it stepped into their territory, they would fight it to the death.
Zhao Jun dragged Daqing into the storeroom and tied him up inside.
Just then, Li Baoyu entered the yard, a pine board in one hand, a box of nails in the other, and a hammer tucked under his arm.
"You got him tied up?"
"What choice did I have?" Zhao Jun shouted. Several dogs from the neighboring houses were all barking their heads off; you couldn't hear anything if you didn't yell.
"Brother, where do you want to build it?"
"Over there!" Zhao Jun pointed toward the gable end of the house.
If they built a doghouse where Zhao Jun was pointing, it would be about seven or eight meters away from the other one.
This way, the two dogs could see each other, but their chains would keep them from being able to fight.
This would prevent them from fighting while allowing them to slowly get familiar with each other.
After all, they would have to go hunting in the mountains together in the future. If they weren't familiar with each other and started fighting up there, it would be a huge problem.
Li Baoyu went to build the doghouse as instructed, while Zhao Jun headed back into the house.
As soon as he stepped inside, Zhao Jun saw the wild boar stomach he'd brought back yesterday sitting in a basin on the stove.
Wang Meilan had probably been planning to cook it for dinner, as she had already washed it spotlessly clean.
Zhao Jun thought for a moment, then took a knife and sliced off a small piece of the stomach. He looked high and low but couldn't find where the rest of the boar meat had gone.
Zhao Jun cut off another large piece of the stomach before walking back outside. By now, the two dogs had more or less stopped barking and were just panting as they stared at each other from a distance.
Zhao Jun casually tossed the smaller piece to Hua Gou, then walked over to the storeroom with the larger one. Through the door, he dangled the piece of boar stomach in front of Daqing.
Daqing was a remarkably smart dog. Ever since Zhao Jun had brought him all the way home, it was as if he already realized this person before him was his new master.
Now, seeing the object in Zhao Jun's hand giving off a tempting—er, no, a dog-tempting aroma, he couldn't help but shamelessly start wagging his tail at Zhao Jun.
If he hadn't been tied to the far end of the storeroom, he probably would have run over, tail wagging, to try and get some affection from Zhao Jun.
Zhao Jun tossed the boar stomach to Daqing, who opened his massive jaws and began to chew.
"Bro!" Zhao Jun called back to Li Baoyu, watching Daqing wolf down the boar stomach.
"I'm coming, Brother!" The moment Li Baoyu heard Zhao Jun call, he dropped his hammer and ran over without even asking what was wrong.
When he reached the storeroom, Li Baoyu couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he watched Daqing chew on the boar stomach, "What a great dog!"
This praise from Li Baoyu was a classic case of someone complimenting something they knew nothing about.
Zhao Jun just smiled and asked, "You still have any pig ears at your place?"
"Yeah, my mom's already cleaned them up. She's planning to boil and then stir-fry them tonight. You want some, Brother? I can go grab them for you."
Li Baoyu said this without a moment's hesitation.
"Not for me. It's to feed the dog," Zhao Jun said nonchalantly.
"Feed the dog?" Li Baoyu was taken aback. This wasn't like after a kill in the mountains, where you had to gut the animal and let the dogs eat their fill.
Daqing was a good dog, sure, but he'd just arrived and hadn't done a lick of work. Giving him a piece of wild boar stomach to tide him over was already more than generous.
And now he was going to give him wild boar ears? People barely got to eat those themselves.
Zhao Jun shot Li Baoyu a look and sneered, "And here you are, yelling about wanting to be a mountain hunter since you were a kid, but you don't even know what 'baiting' a dog is?"
"Oh!" Li Baoyu's face lit up with understanding. He grinned and said, "Baiting! Right, 'baiting'! One isn't enough, I'll go get both of them for him!"