“Good thing that black bear was scared off by the gunshot. Otherwise, we’d all be dragged down by you, you bastard! Do you even realize what you almost did?” Jianjun was already short-tempered.
If it weren’t for the fact that Xu Qiang’s soul looked like it had fled from fright, he would’ve punched him twice right then and there.
“That’s enough! At least no one got hurt. With that bear around, don’t even think about running into other animals tonight. We’ll head back for now and come again tomorrow.” Shoushan didn’t blame anyone.
Bullets were already limited, and wasting them was frustrating, but as long as everyone was safe, he wouldn’t make a fuss.
This time, their trip down the mountain didn’t have the joy and excitement of the last hunt.
When they got back to the village entrance, Jianjun didn’t even want to give Xu Qiang any share of the rabbits.
“Xu Qiang, take this rabbit back so you can at least have a bit of meat. But from now on, stick to working the fields. Don’t bother coming up the mountain again.”
No matter how Xu Qiang begged later, Shoushan would never bring him again. “Thanks, Brother Shoushan. I’ll head back now,” Xu Qiang said as he stumbled off. Only after arriving at the village did his soul seem to return. After tonight’s fright, even if Shoushan invited him again, he wouldn’t go.
The group disbanded without much talk. Xu Feng carried a wild chicken and went home. They returned early this time—there was still some time before dawn. Xu Feng climbed into bed and gently embraced his wife, falling asleep.
[8x multiplier triggered. Reward: 8 wild chickens.]
He cooked one for the sisters, and though the System notification rang in his mind, Xu Feng wasn’t as excited as he was the first few times.
“A’Feng, are you going back to the mountains tonight?” Lin Xiyue, still a little dazed, was worried about the baby in her belly. She didn’t even want to sleep until she knew her husband had returned safely.
“Didn’t get anything big last night. Don’t worry, wife. They’ve got rifles with them. Even if we run into a bear, the gunfire’s enough to scare it off.” Xu Feng gently explained, knowing his wife’s concerns.
“By the way, that fabric I brought back last time—Xixue, you and Xiyue should cut it and make yourselves new outfits.” Dacron was durable but not breathable. The fabric he picked this time was of much better quality. With how beautiful these sisters were, they deserved beautiful clothes too.
As usual, they met at the west end of the village. Xu Feng had a strong feeling they’d catch something big tonight. “Let’s go. Tonight we’ll move faster and sweep more of the forest.”
Shoushan brought his best hunting dog this time. He wasn’t planning on coming back empty-handed. They entered the forest and quickly brought down a few wild chickens to warm up but didn’t linger—soon they were pushing deeper in.
Their pace was fast. It was Jianjun who spotted wild boar droppings. “That beast is nearby. Everyone, stay sharp!”
“Xiaohua, go sniff it out!” Xiaohua was a purebred local farm dog, ranked among the top in the whole village when it came to scent-tracking. It sniffed the droppings and immediately bolted northwest.
“Follow it!” Shoushan didn’t even need to call it out. The group, along with the other hunting dogs, took off in pursuit.
After about fifteen minutes of running, Xiaohua slowed down and advanced with caution. They had found it—right up ahead.
The good news? There were a few piglets with it. The bad news? Besides the large sow, there was also a boar, even bigger in size!
That boar had long, sharp tusks that gleamed menacingly under the moonlight. A single hit from it could leave someone black and blue—or worse.
This was bad. Trees as thick as their waists wouldn’t hold up to a charge from that monster. Let alone a few of them. Even worse, the wild boar’s hide was so tough that bullets couldn’t penetrate it.
“If we can take down the sow tonight, that alone is a huge win. Everyone be careful!” Shoushan knew that aiming for too much could cost them their lives.
He slowly loaded a bullet into the Hanyang rifle and took aim at the sow’s head as it munched on some grass. The Hanyang rifle packed power and could easily shatter a pig’s skull.
Bang! A sharp cry echoed through the forest. The piglets scattered in panic.
“Missed?” Xu Feng saw the sow run off and thought Shoushan had missed again.
“I hit it! That thing’s got unbelievable stamina. It’s just not going down immediately. Chase it! Watch out for the boar!”
The dogs dashed ahead, and Shoushan and Xu Feng followed closely. At the spot where the sow had been, a large pool of blood confirmed the shot had landed.
“Go after it!”
They chased for about ten minutes before the sow, having lost all its blood, finally collapsed, unwilling to give up even in death.
“Shit, this beast is ridiculously tough!” Shoushan cursed. Even with a bullet in its skull, it had kept running for ages.
The large boar and the piglets had long vanished. Shoushan wasted no time and drained the sow’s blood. Every part of the animal was valuable—even the blood couldn’t be wasted.
Everyone looked at the massive sow lying on the ground and grinned from ear to ear. They had been up the mountain so many times just for this. Finally, all the effort had paid off.
“If only we could’ve taken down that big boar too… It had to be at least 300 kilograms!” someone said with a laugh.
“Alright, quit dreaming. The sow’s scent will attract other beasts soon. We can’t handle more trouble.”
Shoushan tied the sow’s front and back legs to two thick poles. Four men carried it, with two others rotating in shifts.
Even so, it nearly killed them to lift the 400-jin (200 kg) sow. The forest trails were uneven, and it wasn’t until dawn that they finally got it down the mountain.
By then, some villagers were already out with their hoes, ready for field work. Seeing the group carry down such a massive wild boar left them stunned and envious.
“Shoushan, you guys are amazing! You really took down that huge wild boar!”
“Just lucky, Uncle. You get back to work. Come by later and have some pork stew with us.”
Whether other villages had this tradition or not was unclear, but whenever Shoushan brought back a wild boar, Village Chief Xu Li would make a big pot of pork stew.
It was mostly pickled vegetables and organs, but it was enough to satisfy the village elders and children.
As they carried the boar through the village, they were met with admiring eyes from everyone. Not one of them complained of being tired.
Xu Feng offered to take over carrying for a while, but Jianjun refused flat out. “This guy just wants to look good. Maybe he’ll catch the eye of one of the village girls!”
“Hahahaha!”
“If each of us gets sixty or seventy jin of meat, that’s more than enough to get a wife!”
Laughing and joking, Xu Feng felt like he had helped enough and went home first to reassure his wife.
But even in the short time he was gone, the news had already spread—Shoushan and the others had brought back a 350-kilogram wild boar!
Well… That’s how rumors worked in the village. A small story always got blown way out of proportion.