Chapter 51

As Li Qiang had expected, not long after, a small herd of wild boars came over, led by a male wild boar weighing three to four hundred jin, followed by four sows around three hundred jin each, and seven or eight piglets.

At first the male wild boar was very alert, constantly looking around; after observing for a while and finding no danger, it kept sniffing around the spot where the wild boar had left blood traces.

Taking advantage of a moment when several wild boars were inattentive, Li Qiang used a thought to collect the herd into the breeding area of his space; after the herd was stored in the space, a wave of dizziness followed, which Li Qiang knew was definitely caused by overuse of his mental strength.

Li Qiang clung to the tree trunk to avoid falling, and rested in the tree for about half an hour before he recovered.

"Looks like I need to take it easy from now on; this is too dangerous," Li Qiang thought to himself.

After checking the time and seeing it was still noon, Li Qiang slid down again and continued walking deeper into the mountains.

After walking for about half an hour, he suddenly heard the sound of flowing water; following the sound, he found a small waterfall, beneath which lay a small pool of about ten square meters, with many animal footprints around its edge, and Li Qiang knew that many animals must come here to drink.

He then found another large tree, quietly climbed up, and planned to guard this water source, waiting silently for prey to come.

Heaven rewards the diligent; in the afternoon, animals came to drink water one after another, and over the course of the afternoon Li Qiang harvested five wild goats, six muntjac deer, four wild boars, plus many wild chickens and rabbits; as for creatures like wolves, he didn't take them because they are not tasty and would be useless even if caught.

Seeing the sun about to set, Li Qiang ended this hunting trip; going down the mountain was much faster than going up, mainly because he was already familiar with the route.

When Li Qiang returned to Sijiucheng, it was already very late, after all he had spent over two hours on the road.

He returned the vehicle to the Transport Team, giving the Transport Team Captain a wild rabbit and a wild chicken, since he had harvested plenty today; mainly he wanted to maintain good relations with the captain so borrowing a vehicle later would be convenient.

"Qiangzi, why are you coming back so late?" Yan Butgui was about to lock the door when he saw Li Qiang pushing his bicycle inside.

"I went hunting in the mountains, so I'm back late," Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Wow, you really got a lot," Yan Butgui exclaimed, only then noticing several wild chickens and rabbits hanging from Li Qiang's handlebars.

"Not bad; you go attend to Third Grandfather first—I haven't eaten yet, so I'll head back now."

"Qiangzi, is hunting good these days?" Seeing the game on Li Qiang's handlebars, Yan Butgui felt tempted.

"Not bad; it's autumn now, also the time when game is fattest," Li Qiang said, then pushed his cart into the Siheyuan.

"Zhuzi, Zhuzi," Li Qiang shouted a few times at He Yuzhu's door.

"Second Brother, what's up?" He Yuzhu came out.

"I went hunting in the mountains today and caught some game; I'll give you some for you to cook and let Yushui and them try," Li Qiang said, handing over a wild chicken and a wild rabbit to He Yuzhu.

"Not a bad haul," He Yuzhu said, looking at the game on Li Qiang's handlebars and smiling.

"Not bad; it's best to process it tonight, don't leave it until tomorrow or it'll spoil," Li Qiang reminded.

"Alright, Second Brother, just dump it all on me; I'll take care of it together, so you won't have to get your hands dirty."

"Alright, once it's cleaned I'll send some to my older brother," Li Qiang said, taking all the game off the handlebars.

"Alright, I'll go boil some water now," He Yuzhu said, picking up the game and heading to the kitchen.

"Zhuzi, I see Li Qiang gave you plenty of game; since you can't finish it all, why not give us one?" Jia Zhangshi said, following He Yuzhu into the kitchen after Li Qiang left.

"Aunt Jia, that really won't work; I just counted—there are exactly three wild chickens and three wild rabbits, which works out to one chicken and one rabbit per household, with no surplus," He Yuzhu said, deliberately pointing at the game on the ground.

"Aunt Jia, why not give me one of your wild chickens or rabbits? Your sister-in-law just gave birth not long ago and the baby has no milk," Jia Zhangshi said while rolling up her sleeves.

"Aunt Jia, your family has children, and so does mine; we haven't had meat in a long time either," He Yuzhu said, knowing Jia Zhangshi's nature—she's like a piece of dog-skin plaster; once she sticks, it's hard to peel her off.

"Zhuzi, one shouldn't be too selfish; you already have one, what's wrong with giving one to our family?" Jia Zhangshi also learned Yi Zhonghai's moral blackmail.

"Tsk, if you put it that way, I'll be selfish today—I won't give any; see what you can do about it," He Yuzhu's stubborn temper flared.

"He Yuzhu, just wait," Jia Zhangshi snapped a harsh remark and left. He Yuzhu wondered, this isn't Jia Zhangshi's usual style—normally, if she sets her sights on something, she won't rest until she gets it; why is she being so agreeable today? Actually, Jia Zhangshi had no choice; now that He Yuzhu and Li Qiang are sworn brothers, she would never so easily back down if it were anyone else, but she truly dares not provoke Li Qiang.

"Old Yi, are you asleep?" After leaving He Yuzhu's house, the two Zhangs didn't go home but went straight to Yi Zhonghai's home.

"Old sister-in-law, it's so late—what brings you over?" Yi Zhonghai said, half-lying in bed.

"Old Yi, you said our Huairu just gave birth not long ago, her milk supply is insufficient, the baby cries from hunger all day; today Shu Zhu got a lot of wild chickens and rabbits, I want some to nourish Huairu, but that stingy Shu Zhu won't give a bit," Jia Zhangshi said, while deliberately wiping her eyes—her acting could outshine those fresh-faced youngsters of later generations by many streets.

"There's more to this?" Yi Zhonghai asked, frowning.

"Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, go see for yourself—Shu Zhu is still cleaning up."

"Come on, let's go see—how can he be so selfish? What era is this, that neighbors don't help each other?" Yi Zhonghai said angrily; if someone else came to him with this, he'd surely have another excuse, but whenever it's a Jia family matter, his mind just goes haywire.

"Zhuzi, I heard you have plenty of good stuff," Yi Zhonghai said upon arriving at He Yuzhu's kitchen and seeing him really cleaning the wild chickens and rabbits.

"Yeah, what's up?" He Yuzhu looked at Jia Zhangshi behind Yi Zhonghai and instantly understood—she had fetched Yi Zhonghai to back her up.

"Zhuzi, it's not me saying this, but one shouldn't be too selfish; your sister-in-law Huairu just gave birth not long ago and needs nutrition, the rations have been reduced again, you know her situation—why can't you show a little generosity? With all this stuff you have, what's the harm in giving them a bit?" Yi Zhonghai said with great feeling.

"Old Master Yi, your words sound just like Aunt Jia's—you both say 'outsiders don't enter the family'; are you two actually one family?" He Yuzhu retorted without holding back.

"He Yuzhu, how can you talk like that?" Yi Zhonghai stomped his feet in anger; he'd have to be blind as a bat to think he and Jia Zhangshi are one family.

"That's just how I see it—when you see others have something good, you all come licking your faces to ask for it, but when your own family has something good, I never see you sharing with other neighbors," He Yuzhu said, pointing at Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi.

"He Yuzhu, then explain to me where these things came from; if you can't make it clear, I'll go to the police station and accuse you of profiteering," Yi Zhonghai said, not even knowing how he came up with the term 'profiteering'.

"Master Yi, let me tell you where these things came from; today I went into the mountains to hunt, and all this game is what I shot. If you don't believe me, you can go to the factory and ask the Transport Team captain—I borrowed the team's truck, and on the way back I gave him a wild chicken and a wild rabbit." Li Qiang walked over and said; he had originally come to help He Yuzhu process the game, but he hadn't expected to run into Yi Zhonghai pressuring He Yuzhu to hand over the game to the Jia family.

"Qiangzi, I didn't know this game was yours—my mistake, my mistake," Yi Zhonghai said, then slunk away ashamed; he truly couldn't afford to offend Li Qiang, and even if he were stupid he'd know he was being used as a pawn by Jia Zhangshi, who surely knew that He Yuzhu's game came from Li Qiang and wasn't telling him because she hoped to get the game for free if she could take it, and if not she'd lose nothing; Yi Zhonghai felt this hatred—he who spends his days playing with hawks has now been pecked by the hawk.