Bears are known for their poor eyesight, which is why they are colloquially known as "blindies."
Black bears, for example, are called "black blindies."
Additionally, mountain folk also liked to call them "black old fellows."
But the "black old fellow" Qin Qiang was talking about was a person's nickname.
The day Zhao Jun went to his uncle Wang Qiang's house to steal the gun, he had also seen this person, who lived right next door to Wang Qiang.
This "black old fellow's" surname was Bai, and his full name was Bai Xiuyun.
His name was delicate, but he was a full-grown man.
However, the man was malicious. He was also one of the few people back then who was nearsighted and wore glasses every day, so the villagers gave him a nickname: the "black old fellow."
It meant the person was both bad and blind.
A person like that naturally wasn't popular. Of the hundred-plus households in the village, very few people associated with him.
Normally, when Qin Qiang saw him in the village, he was unwilling to greet him. He would avoid him if he could, only offering a perfunctory pleasantry if escape was impossible.
These past few days, Qin Qiang had been laid up at home after being mauled by a Black Bear, and quite a few people had come to visit him.
But Qin Qiang knew in his heart that this visit from Bai Xiuyun had an ulterior motive; he was definitely up to no good.
Looking at Qin Qiang lying on the heated bed, Bai Xiuyun almost burst out laughing. He forced his smile down and asked with false concern, "Well now, Third Brother, how's the injury?"
It was no wonder nobody liked him. Bai Xiuyun's expression, words, and attitude showed no sign of someone visiting a sick person; instead, he gave off the feeling that he was there to gloat over the spectacle.
"It's alright," Qin Qiang replied faintly.
At that moment, Tao Hehua, who had entered behind Bai Xiuyun, saw his smug look and felt a surge of pure hatred.
So, without a word, Tao Hehua sat on the edge of the heated bed, grabbed a half-finished sweater she was knitting, and started working on it, ignoring him completely.
The atmosphere in the room grew awkward.
By rights, when a guest arrived at a home in the Northeast, the first thing to do was invite them to sit on the heated bed, and then immediately pour them some water.
It didn't matter if there was tea or not, but a glass of water was essential.
But ever since Bai Xiuyun had entered the room, the couple, Qin Qiang and Tao Hehua, hadn't even offered him a seat, let alone poured him any water.
This made Bai Xiuyun start to lose face.
But he had come today with an ulterior motive. How could he leave so easily without achieving his goal?
Besides, he was thick-skinned. He simply turned and sat down next to Qin Qiang, even tucking in his blanket with a show of concern.
"Third Brother, have you heard? Yesterday, Zhao Jun and Li Dayong's eldest son brought back a Black Bear's paw from the mountain."
"I heard," Qin Qiang said. "Didn't they say they just found it?"
Bai Xiuyun laughed, a very smug and nasty sort of laugh. "Third Brother, are you stupid?"
"You're the stupid one!" Tao Hehua threw her knitting aside, jumped right off the heated bed, and glared at Bai Xiuyun, shouting, "Watch your mouth!"
One should never underestimate a woman from the Northeast. If Bai Xiuyun dared to say one more wrong word right now, he absolutely wouldn't be leaving this room in one piece.
"Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law." Bai Xiuyun quickly held out his hands in a calming gesture, signaling for Tao Hehua to sit down.
She already hated him, so why would Tao Hehua put up with Bai Xiuyun's nonsense?
She shot back, "I'm telling you, you 'black old fellow,' if you dare spout any more nonsense, I'll find someone to break your legs!"
"Sister-in-law, I was wrong. Let's talk this out calmly," Bai Xiuyun said, quickly getting up and begging for forgiveness.
You have to understand, Tao Hehua had the confidence to say such things. Her family, the Tao Family, had three brothers, all of them grown men.
In that era, whichever family had more men was bound to be the more powerful one.
Tao Hehua shot Bai Xiuyun a disgusted glare and walked toward the outer room.
It had to be said, Bai Xiuyun was extremely embarrassed, but his ability to swallow humiliation was considerable. He just lowered his head and said to Qin Qiang on the heated bed with an apologetic smile, "Third Brother, don't be angry with your Brother Bai now."
But what followed was Qin Qiang's silence, which made him even more embarrassed.
Seeing this, Bai Xiuyun grew furious inside. He hardened his heart and said directly, "Third Brother, you went up the mountain with your three brothers-in-law to hunt the Black Bear. You lost three dogs, and you even got injured.
Now someone else has reaped the rewards from that Black Bear of yours. Your Brother Bai couldn't stand by and watch, so I came to tell you about it, and you're giving me the cold shoulder. Heh..."
With that, Bai Xiuyun started to leave.
As soon as Qin Qiang heard this, he reacted and hurriedly shouted, "Brother Elder Bai, wait a minute."
"What's wrong?" Hearing Qin Qiang's shout, Tao Hehua rushed back in. She didn't know what had happened, but she was smart enough to block the doorway, cutting off Bai Xiuyun's path.
Qin Qiang raised his hand, pointed at Tao Hehua, and shouted as if using all his strength, "Go make some tea, quickly."
"Huh? Oh..." Tao Hehua reacted instantly. Realizing her husband wanted Bai Xiuyun to stay, she quickly said, "Brother Elder Bai, please, have a seat. I'll go make you some tea."
"Sister-in-law, don't trouble yourself. I'll just say a few more words to Third Brother and be on my way."
"It's no trouble, no trouble at all."
After Tao Hehua left, Qin Qiang struggled to sit halfway up and pulled Bai Xiuyun down to sit on the edge of the heated bed. "Brother Elder Bai, from what you just said, are you saying the Black Bear that Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu found yesterday was the one that injured me?"
"What do you mean, 'found'?" Bai Xiuyun said. "Today, Second Li from the Li Family said that his older brother and Zhao Jun took the dogs up the mountain, snuck over to the place where your father set the explosive trap, and killed that Black Bear."
When Qin Qiang heard this, he nearly jumped off the heated bed.
The fact that his father had set an explosive trap and injured that Black Bear was something Li Ruhai shouldn't have known, and Bai Xiuyun certainly shouldn't have known either.
Since they both knew now, it meant the story was true.
But Qin Qiang found it hard to believe. In his eyes, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu didn't know the first thing about hunting. Bagging a wild boar would have been a stroke of pure luck for them.
And a Black Bear was nothing like a wild boar. Although Hua Gou from Zhao Jun's family was a formidable dog, Qin Qiang knew that you couldn't rely on dogs to hunt a bear; you needed a gun.
A couple of rookies like Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, who had never fired a gun before, would probably piss their pants at the sight of a Black Bear. Giving them eighty dogs would be useless.
So, if someone said they had found the Black Bear, Qin Qiang might have believed it. But to say that Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had hunted and killed it? Qin Qiang would never believe that for a second.
But Qin Qiang didn't say this out loud, only asking, "How did they kill it?"
Bai Xiuyun said mysteriously, "Yesterday, I saw Zhao Jun go to Wang Qiang's house and take his single-barreled shotgun."
"For real?"
"Your Brother Bai saw it with his own two eyes."
Qin Qiang thought for a moment, remembering that Bai Xiuyun lived next door to Wang Qiang, but he still found it hard to believe. "But those two kids don't even know how to shoot!"
"Brother, wasn't that Black Bear already wounded by you? It probably didn't have much fight left in it, so they got lucky. I heard from Second Li that the Bear Gall is hanging in the Zhao family's woodshed right now."
"This..."
Just as Qin Qiang was hesitating, Tao Hehua came in. She had overheard most of the conversation from the doorway and, upon entering, asked Qin Qiang directly, "Qiangzi, according to hunters' rules, do we get a share of that Bear Gall?"