Qin Qiang and the Tao Brothers went up the mountain to hunt the Black Bear, while Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu weren't idle in the village either. The two of them were just wandering from house to house, getting in on all the commotion.
Zhao Jun wandered aimlessly through the village, seeing many people from his past life's memories. This put his heart more and more at ease.
They kept at it until noon. Just as the two were getting ready to head home for lunch, Zhao Jun saw a middle-aged woman with children approaching.
The woman was wearing a gray top and had two children with her; she held one in her arms and the other by the hand.
"Aunt!" Zhao Jun hurried forward to greet her. Only then did he remember that his mother, before she left that morning, had reminded him to take some wild boar meat to his uncle's house.
'This morning, all I could think about was dealing with Qin Qiang. Then I came out to wander, and the whole thing just slipped my mind.'
"Ah, Zhao Jun." Zhao Ling seemed to be in a bad mood. When she saw Zhao Jun, she struggled to force a strained smile.
Zhao Jun patted his little female cousin on the head, then pinched his little male cousin's cheek and asked Zhao Ling, "Aunt, where are you taking the children?"
"To their grandma's for a few days."
Just then, Li Baoyu came over as well. He greeted Zhao Ling, then stepped aside with Zhao Jun.
Once Zhao Ling and her children were out of earshot, Li Baoyu leaned close to Zhao Jun's ear and whispered, "Bro, our uncle went gambling again, didn't he?"
"Sigh!" Zhao Jun heaved a long sigh. Gambling was a constant problem.
In the village, some people who lived solely off the land would work through the spring, summer, and fall. Once winter arrived and there was no work in the fields, they would gather to play card games, poker, or mahjong.
Over time, this fostered a habit of gambling.
Zhao Jun's uncle, Wang Qiang, was an especially avid gambler.
'As the saying goes, "like uncle, like nephew." I've always suspected my own gambling habit was his fault.'
When Zhao Jun got home, he grabbed a bundle of corn stalks to fire up the stove and heated up the food Wang Meilan had prepared that morning.
Afterward, Zhao Jun ate lunch with his two younger sisters, left the dishwashing to Zhao Hong, and told her to look after their youngest sister.
Then, Zhao Jun went to the backyard, took out ten or so pounds of wild boar meat from the cellar, and headed straight for the gate.
Zhao Jun hadn't gone far from his house when he suddenly stopped.
The person coming toward him was also taken aback upon seeing him.
The man asked, "Zhao Jun, where are you headed?"
Zhao Jun lifted the bag in his hand and smiled. "Uncle, I got a wild boar. I was just on my way to bring you some meat."
"You stole it from someone's trap, didn't you." Wang Qiang shook his head, clearly not believing Zhao Jun could have hunted a wild boar on his own. "Don't do that anymore. In a little while, your uncle will take you up the mountain to go stalk-hunting."
Stalk-hunting was different from hunting with hounds.
As the name suggested, it meant hunting on the move. It didn't involve hounds. Instead, the Hunter relied on identifying tracks, silently stalking their quarry, and killing it with a clean shot before it was ever alerted to their presence.
This was much more difficult than hunting with hounds, as a person could only rely on their eyes to find prey—far less effective than a dog's nose.
'But in my past life, I was a master at stalk-hunting. That wasn't the point, though. The point was, my uncle had a shotgun.'
Wang Qiang, still unaware that Zhao Jun was eyeing his shotgun, just said, "Alright, take the meat home and eat it. I'm heading to Wang Tian's grandma's place."
Wang Tian was Zhao Jun's younger cousin.
'So, Uncle is going to get his wife back. It makes sense. He's gluttonous and lazy and can't cook. Without Auntie home, even getting a hot meal would be a challenge for him.'
"Uncle, Uncle." Seeing that Wang Qiang was about to leave just like that, Zhao Jun quickly reached out and grabbed him. "You can't go empty-handed. Here, take this wild boar meat to Granny Zhao."
Wang Qiang paused, then realized it was true. It wouldn't look good to show up at his mother-in-law's house empty-handed to pick up his wife. So, he dropped the pretense and took the bag of boar meat from Zhao Jun. "Fine. I'm leaving then."
"Take care!" Zhao Jun watched Wang Qiang walk away. But instead of heading home, he continued on toward Wang Qiang's house.
After all, given Wang Qiang's temperament, this was hardly the first time he'd angered Zhao Ling enough for her to run back to her family's home.
Over the years, Zhao Jun had figured out the pattern: his uncle simply couldn't live without his wife.
And just like that, no sooner had Zhao Ling left than Wang Qiang was on his way to get her.
And once he went to get her, they'd be gone for at least three days.
Because Zhao Ling's family home was nearly thirteen miles from Yong'an Village, the round trip was no easy task. And since they were going all that way, they would naturally stay at her parents' for a few days.
'And these next few days... isn't this my chance?'
In his past life, after the gun confiscation of '98, Zhao Jun hadn't fired a gun in more than twenty years.
'In the future, they say every man loves cars, but what man doesn't love guns? It's just that they're impossible to get your hands on.'
Zhao Jun strode to Wang Qiang's house, reached his hand through a gap in the door, and felt along the wall beside the frame. A key fell into his hand, and he promptly opened the door.
This wasn't strange; it was a common practice in the countryside. Each family only had a single key.
Throughout the day, family members left for work, school, and other errands. So what did you do with only one key?
The first one home wouldn't have a key, and they couldn't just wait outside. That might be fine in the summer, but what were you supposed to do in the winter, when it was twenty or thirty degrees below zero Celsius?
Thus, every family developed the same habit: they found a hiding spot for the key so that whoever came home first could let themselves in.
As for whether a thief might use the key to break in and steal things—that almost never happened.
Just now, for instance, as soon as Zhao Jun entered Wang Qiang's courtyard, he heard someone from the neighboring yard shout, "Zhao Jun! Your uncle isn't home!"
"Yeah!" Zhao Jun grunted in acknowledgment and started toward the house.
The door to the house wasn't locked. Just as Zhao Jun reached for it, the person in the next yard yelled again, "Your uncle and aunt got into a huge fight..."
"What fight?" Zhao Jun's brow furrowed as he cut off the man's tedious chatter in irritation. "Old Blackie, stop spewing nonsense. My uncle went with my aunt to visit her family."
"What are you talking about!" The man Zhao Jun called Old Blackie seemed unable to take a hint. Hearing Zhao Jun's denial only seemed to excite him more, and he yelled, "That couple's fights are something else! I'm telling you..."
"Piss off!" Zhao Jun snapped at him, pulling the door open and stepping inside.
The man stood on his side of the wall, staring resentfully at the door Zhao Jun had yanked shut.
Following his memory, Zhao Jun entered the house, turned right, and went into the room on the right. He lifted the shotgun from its place behind the door.
This shotgun was just like Qin Qiang's: a 16-gauge break-action.
With the shotgun in one hand, Zhao Jun reached into a nearby canvas bag with the other, grabbing a handful of shells. He stuffed them into his pocket, slung the gun over his back, and headed out.
On his way home, Zhao Jun passed several people, and they all exchanged greetings. They saw the gun slung over his back, but no one paid it any mind or seemed the least bit curious.
The Zhao Family had been Hunters for generations, so it was common for his elders to ask him to carry or deliver a gun. Besides, back in those days, guns weren't a rare sight, so nobody thought twice about it.
Zhao Jun got home, hid the gun in a cabinet, and climbed onto the heated brick bed to sleep.
Zhao Jun slept soundly until nightfall, when Li Baoyu burst in and woke him up.
"Bro, something's happened!"
"What's wrong?"
Li Baoyu said, "That guy, Qin the Third, went up the mountain to hunt a Black Bear today and nearly got mauled by it."
"What happened?"
After Li Baoyu finished telling him the secondhand story he'd picked up, Zhao Jun thought for a moment. "Brother," he said, "are you brave enough to come with me tomorrow?"