Chapter 501 - 409: Zhao Jun: I Want to Go Big

Just as Zhao Guofeng finished speaking, he realized the only open seat at the table was next to Qin Qiang.

Zhao Guofeng suddenly felt a bit awkward, as he knew about the past unpleasantness between Zhao Jun and Qin Qiang.

Seeing the situation, Zhao Jun gave a faint smile and sat down beside Qin Qiang, directly across from Zhao Youcai.

Zhao Youcai stared at Zhao Jun, his eyes wide.

Li Baoyu then sat down next to Zhao Jun, which put him face-to-face with Li Dayong.

Zhao Jinshan said a word to Zhao Guofeng, nodded to Tan Chaoyang and Zhao Youcai, and then left the Village Office.

Watching his son leave, Zhao Guofeng glanced around at everyone, stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray, and said, "A lot has happened in our village these past two days. Yesterday, Jiang Hua was lost, and today..."

Zhao Guofeng paused, glanced at Qin Qiang, and then said, "Tao Dasheng is gone, too."

The moment Zhao Guofeng finished, everyone heard Qin Qiang sniffle.

Zhao Guofeng continued, "This Black Bear has killed two of our villagers in two days. I’m the Village Chief, so I have to deal with this!"

Although Jiang Hua and Tao Dasheng had died while hunting, they were still human lives. With two deaths in Yong’an Village in two days, the news was bound to travel fast. The township head would probably be asking questions by tomorrow.

But what gave Zhao Guofeng the biggest headache was Mrs. Elder Jiang.

The old woman had no children and had relied solely on her husband. Now that Jiang Hua was gone, she didn’t want to live anymore.

This was no idle threat. The women of that time were serious; if they said they would hang themselves, they’d do it. If they said they’d drink poison, they’d do it. It was truly no laughing matter.

That afternoon, Mrs. Elder Jiang had come to Zhao Guofeng’s home for a long cry. Aside from her tears, she had only said one thing the entire time.

That one thing was: "Guofeng, you’re the Village Chief. You have to do something!"

After the old woman left, Zhao Guofeng had called over the accountant, Tan Chaoyang, to discuss using some money from the Village Office’s funds to incentivize the hunters of Yong’an Village to kill the Black Bear.

But before they could even finish their discussion, another incident occurred.

Qin Qiang had taken his three brothers-in-law and two dogs into the mountains to hunt the Black Bear that had killed Jiang Hua.

Their idea was the same as Wang Dalong’s the day before: they were hoping to snag an easy kill.

What they didn’t expect was that this fight would cost Tao Dasheng his life in the mountains.

Qin Qiang, Tao Ersheng, and Tao Sansheng carried Tao Dasheng’s body down the mountain, stopping just outside the village. Tao Sansheng stayed to watch over the body while Qin Qiang and Tao Ersheng returned to report the death.

Now, the entire Tao Family had gone to the outskirts of the village, leaving only Qin Qiang to come to the Village Office and ask Zhao Guofeng to get justice for Tao Dasheng.

This troubled Zhao Guofeng immensely.

’One after another, they get bold enough to try and kill a Black Bear, planning to sell it and pocket the cash. But the moment something goes wrong, they all come running to me to sort it out.’

’I might be in charge of this village, but am I in charge of that Black Bear, too?’

However, things like this happened often in the Forest Area. In the past, when they did, the village would put up money and work points to hire a Cannon Shooter to kill the beast that had harmed someone.

Whenever Yong’an Village had faced such a problem before, Zhao Guofeng had always hired Zhao Youcai.

But now, the number one Cannon Shooter in Yong’an Village was no longer Zhao Youcai.

This wasn’t just Zhao Guofeng’s opinion; the entire village was saying it. After all, the certificate of honor for "Tiger-Fighting Hero" hung in Zhao Jun’s bedroom. Anyone who visited Zhao Jun’s family would be led over by Wang Meilan to admire it.

Tamer of fierce tigers, the Hunting Pig God.

With a record like that, what Cannon Shooter wouldn’t be convinced?

Now that Zhao Jun was here—and had even set aside past grievances to sit beside Qin Qiang—Zhao Guofeng felt more confident. He turned to Qin Qiang and said, "Qiangzi, tell us what happened today."

Qin Qiang looked up, but his gaze fell on Zhao Youcai. "Second Uncle!" he called out.

Zhao Youcai heard him but only nodded, not saying a word.

"Second Uncle," Qin Qiang called again, then continued, "We went with dogs today. Two dogs, two guns. The dogs both know how to hunt Black Bears; one is even a lead dog. As for the guns, Dasheng and I each carried one.

"We went up to Plot 35, then headed west for about a kilometer, to the river bend. The Black Bear was lying right there on the riverbank. It was surrounded by reeds and grass, so we couldn’t see a thing."

At this, a pained expression crossed Qin Qiang’s face. He closed his eyes and said with a choked voice, "The two dogs passed right by it, only eleven or twelve meters from where the Black Bear was lying, but neither of them barked. I... I... Dasheng and I... the rest of us were following the dogs. We never imagined it—the Black Bear just shot out at us."

Qin Qiang didn’t say what happened next. It wasn’t important anymore.

What followed was simply the story of how they fought the Black Bear, and how Tao Dasheng died.

For the purpose of the hunt, that wasn’t useful information. Besides, bringing it up again would only cause Qin Qiang more pain.

Qin Qiang had already shared the important information.

The fact that the Black Bear was lying by the river proved its mouth had indeed been injured by the explosive. It was lying there with its mouth in the water, using the cold river to soothe the pain.

There was another crucial piece of information: Qin Qiang’s two dogs hadn’t made a sound when they passed the Black Bear.

’That isn’t right!’

If, as Qin Qiang claimed, both dogs knew how to hunt Black Bears and one of them was a lead dog, then this absolutely shouldn’t have happened.

The river water and mud could certainly mask some of the Black Bear’s scent, but the dogs were right there on the bank, only eleven or twelve meters away. It was impossible for them not to have smelled it!

Zhao Youcai’s brow furrowed. He didn’t believe Qin Qiang’s story, but seeing the man’s current state, he couldn’t let his disbelief show.