Chapter 494 - 407: Someone’s Dead! (Part 2)

"We’re not lending him out!" The moment Zhao Youcai spoke, Zhu Dashan’s expression changed, and he immediately refused.

He didn’t dare take Zhao Jun’s family’s dog home anymore.

The old man’s vehement reaction took Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan by surprise. ’If you’re not here to borrow a dog, then what are you here for?’ they thought.

"I can’t handle your dog," Zhu Dashan said, paying no mind to what Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan were thinking. "I know you raise sheep. I came to ask if they’re for sale. If so, I’d like to buy one."

Ever since the start of summer, Wang Meilan had been taking her family’s three sheep out every afternoon, herding them to a meadow on the west side of the village to graze.

The two lambs were now almost forty jin each. Wang Meilan was planning on raising them until the following year. Then, when Zhao Jun got married, they could slaughter a pig and the sheep for the wedding feast. It would be so impressive for the guests.

And since she herded the sheep every day, it wasn’t long before everyone in the village knew her family was raising them.

Now, hearing that Zhu Dashan wanted to buy a sheep, Wang Meilan furrowed her brow slightly. She looked at him and asked, "Uncle Zhu, what do you need a sheep for? Are you going to hunt a leopard, too?"

The moment Wang Meilan said this, Zhao Youcai’s face fell. He couldn’t help but remember the time back in Yongsheng Village when he had angrily spent eighty yuan on a large ewe. That eighty yuan had been his own personal savings, scraped together through hard work!

"Huh?" Zhu Dashan was a bit baffled. The old man had no idea why Wang Meilan was suddenly talking about leopards. He just said, "I’m not hunting a leopard. I’m trying to hunt a Black Bear. You know, the one that got into my cornfield? Yesterday when I borrowed your dog, I even..."

A bitter feeling rose in Zhu Dashan’s heart as he spoke, and he quickly changed the subject from that sore spot. "I was just thinking I’d set a couple of explosive traps and see if I can’t kill that Black Bear."

"What?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback. He asked doubtfully, "Uncle Zhu, you know how to set explosive traps? I’ve never heard you knew how to do that."

Every trade has its master.

Three generations of the Zhao Family were renowned hunters, but not a single one of them knew how to prepare an explosive trap.

Besides, there was a real art to setting those traps. When making a trap for a Black Bear, you couldn’t wrap the charge too loosely, but wrapping it too tightly wouldn’t work either.

"That’s not it." Zhu Dashan shook his head and explained to Zhao Youcai, "I just came from the Jiang family’s home. Elder Ghost Jiang has the explosive charges."

Elder Ghost Jiang, the man Zhu Dashan mentioned, was a nickname.

His surname was Jiang, and his given name was Hua. He was already sixty years old. This old man didn’t know much, but he was an expert at two things: setting deadfall traps for badgers and setting explosive charges for Black Bears.

Practice makes perfect, and this old man had honed these two skills to an uncanny level of perfection.

But he was getting on in years now and could no longer go up into the mountains, so his skills had been gathering dust.

So when Zhu Dashan came looking for him today, Jiang Hua immediately refused the moment he heard the plan was to set the traps in a cornfield.

The fields were full of people coming and going. If someone got hurt by one of the charges, it would be a huge disaster.

But when Zhu Dashan mentioned that the cornfield attracting the Black Bear bordered the mountain hunting grounds, Jiang Hua immediately changed his tune and agreed.

What’s more, Jiang Hua seemed very interested and insisted on going with Zhu Dashan to do the job himself. He even told Zhu Dashan outright that if they managed to kill the Black Bear, he would take two-thirds of the money from selling the Black Bear Gall, leaving the remaining third for Zhu Dashan.

Zhu Dashan thought about it for a moment and agreed.

After all, Jiang Hua was providing the traps and the expertise. For Zhu Dashan to get a third of the Bear Gall and protect his crops on top of that was a good deal no matter how he looked at it.

However, to prepare the explosive trap, the charge had to be tied to some kind of bait.

And the best bait for luring a Black Bear was sheep tallow. It had a strong, gamey scent that a nearby bear would catch as soon as the wind picked up.

Of course, an old ox was just as gamey, but the cost of slaughtering one was too high for anyone to bear.

After mulling it over, Zhu Dashan had come back to Zhao Jun’s family home—a place that brought back painful memories—to ask Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan about buying a sheep.

But while he wanted to buy, Wang Meilan had no intention of selling. A lamb of just over thirty jin wouldn’t fetch much money, but if they raised it until after the New Year, it would be worth a great deal more.

Besides, and most importantly, there was no cost to feeding the sheep in the summer and autumn. They just had to graze on grass to fatten up. What could be more perfect?

Therefore, selling the lamb now would be a huge loss.

But they were relatives, after all, so Wang Meilan didn’t refuse him outright. Instead, she tried to persuade him gently. "Uncle Zhu, let me say something, and please don’t take offense."

"Ah, Youcai’s wife, go on."

Wang Meilan said, "It’s a perfectly good lamb. To just feed it to a mountain beast... wouldn’t that be a total waste?"

As she spoke, Wang Meilan shot a sidelong glance at Zhao Youcai. As if sensing something, Zhao Youcai quietly took a step back.

Hearing Wang Meilan’s point, Zhu Dashan frowned. He knew it was an expensive solution. Even though their families were related, he couldn’t just take a lamb from Zhao Jun’s family for free. He’d have to give them at least twenty yuan or so.

How much had his family already sunk into dealing with this bear? Another twenty yuan... Forget Wang Juan, even Zhu Dashan himself felt the sting.

Seeing Zhu Dashan remain silent, Wang Meilan added, "Besides, Uncle Zhu, why do you insist on using a whole sheep? I remember my dad used to say that if you just leave a dead cat or a rotting dog out there, a bear will smell the stench and come for sure."

"Her dad" that Wang Meilan mentioned was Zhao Jun’s paternal grandfather. And what she said wasn’t wrong.

Bears are scavengers with a keen sense of smell. If they catch the stench of a dead cat or a rotting dog nearby, they’re bound to show up.

Zhu Dashan nodded at her words but replied, "Youcai’s wife, I know that, but where am I supposed to get a dead cat or a rotting dog?"