Chapter 502 - 409: Zhao Jun: I Want to Go Big

But when Zhao Youcai’s gaze met Zhao Jun’s across from him, he saw Zhao Jun mouth two words.

Understanding dawned on Zhao Youcai. He turned to Qin Qiang and asked, "Qiangzi, how long has it been since your dogs were in the mountains?"

"Quite a while," Qin Qiang said. "After the New Year, we went after the Earth Granary and Xiong Ba. The hunt went sideways, and both of my dogs were badly hurt. By the time they healed up, it was already June. The undergrowth was too thick, so I didn’t take them into the mountains."

The moment Qin Qiang said this, Zhao Guofeng, sitting at the head of the table, coughed, cleared his throat, and shot a furtive glance at Zhao Jun.

Qin Qiang’s hunt for Xiong Ba after the New Year had been a setup orchestrated by Zhao Guofeng, but it was ultimately because Zhao Jun needed to save Zhang Yuanmin.

And Qin Qiang’s two dogs hadn’t both been hurt by Xiong Ba. One of them had been mauled by Hua Xiao, Daqing, and the others.

Qin Qiang didn’t notice the subtle exchange between Zhao Jun and Zhao Guofeng. He just stared quietly at Zhao Youcai, waiting for an explanation.

Zhao Youcai now looked completely confident. "Your dogs haven’t been in the mountains for too long," he answered. "They’ve gotten rusty."

Qin Qiang froze at his words. Before last autumn, he had often hunted with Hua Xiao, and it was rare for anyone or any dog to get seriously hurt. He had completely forgotten that hunting dogs could get rusty.

If hunting dogs are kept out of the mountains for too long and are suddenly brought back, they forget how to do their job. In serious cases, they won’t even recognize their former prey.

But if a good lead dog takes them out a couple of times, these rusty dogs will get their old skills back.

Qin Qiang’s two dogs were injured right after the New Year. They had been resting at home for half a year now.

Thrown into the mountains today out of the blue, the two dogs no longer even recognized a Black Bear.

And dogs that don’t recognize Black Bears are just like that. They won’t bite, even if they come face-to-face with one.

But while they won’t bite the Black Bear, the Black Bear will certainly bite people.

Especially a wounded one. It’ll attack a person on sight.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Zhao Guofeng glanced at Zhao Jun, then turned his gaze to Zhao Youcai. "Youcai," he said, "look at the two of you, father and son. Which one of you can help our village and get rid of this Black Bear? Avenge our kinsman."

As he spoke, Zhao Guofeng quickly gestured toward Tan Chaoyang.

Tan Chaoyang took the cue and immediately said to Zhao Youcai, "Youcai, the village has set aside five hundred yuan from its accounts. If your family can kill this Black Bear, the five hundred yuan is yours."

Even though they knew Zhao Jun was the better hunter, Zhao Youcai was the head of the household. As long as he was present, he had the final say on important matters. That was why Zhao Guofeng and Tan Chaoyang were negotiating with him.

But Zhao Youcai didn’t even hesitate. "The logging camp is entertaining guests these next couple of days," he said directly to Zhao Guofeng and Tan Chaoyang. "I can’t get away." With that, he pointed at Zhao Jun. "As for whether my son can go, you’ll have to ask him yourselves."

Having said his piece, Zhao Youcai got up and walked out. Li Dayong, taken aback, gave a quick nod to Zhao Guofeng and Tan Chaoyang before hurrying after him.

"Brother Youcai!" Li Dayong called out, catching up to him. "Why did you just leave?"

Zhao Youcai looked at Li Dayong. "We can’t hunt it. If I don’t leave, what’s the point of staying in there?"

Zhao Youcai knew that hunting this wounded Black Bear at this time of year was simply too dangerous.

Once it hunkers down in the reed beds, how is anyone supposed to see it?

In a situation like that, even a semi-automatic rifle is useless. You need good dogs. You need dogs fighting the Black Bear up front to give the hunter a chance to fire.

And right now, while both he and Li Dayong had dogs, it wasn’t a given that those dogs would listen to them in the mountains.

That’s why Zhao Youcai had backed down from the challenge.

But Zhao Youcai was still deeply resentful. He remembered the days when he was Yong’an Village’s most famous Cannon Shooter, a man who had even taken part in a tiger hunt.

But now, he’d been so completely overshadowed by his own son that he couldn’t accept it.

"Dayong!"

"Yes, Brother Youcai!"

Zhao Youcai said, "Once that Little Calf of mine gets married and moves out, let’s you and I raise a few good dogs in the yard. We’ll go hunting in the mountains again!"

...

「Inside the Village Office.」

With Zhao Youcai gone, Zhao Guofeng no longer held back. He said directly to Zhao Jun, "Zhao Jun, if you decide to hunt this Black Bear, take whatever you need from the semi-automatic rifles and ammunition."

"Uncle Zhao," Zhao Jun said, shaking his head. "It’s not a matter of guns and bullets. The key is that a Black Bear that’s killed a man is... unnatural. We hunters have a saying about that. You don’t go looking to tangle with one."

Hearing this, Zhao Guofeng and Tan Chaoyang exchanged a look. Neither of them were hunters, so they didn’t understand these unwritten rules.

But Qin Qiang, who was standing nearby, burst into tears. He’d been hunting for many years; of course he knew Zhao Jun was telling the truth.

It was a saying passed down from the old-timers. But men die in pursuit of wealth, and at the time, Qin Qiang and his group had thought it would be an easy score.

Only Li Baoyu lowered his head slightly, not letting the others see his expression. ’The others might not know,’ he thought, ’but I do. Zhao Jun once avenged Hu Guangmin, and Hu Guangmin was also killed by a Black Bear.’

’If Zhao Jun was truly superstitious about this, he never would have gone into the mountains with Yang Mantang that day.’

Just then, Zhao Jun stood up, and with Li Baoyu, said his goodbyes to Zhao Guofeng and Tan Chaoyang.

Seeing Zhao Jun was about to leave, Zhao Guofeng personally walked him out of the Village Office. Once outside, Zhao Guofeng pulled him aside and said in a low voice, "Zhao Jun, I watched you grow up, so I’ll be straight with you. Whether or not you hunt this Black Bear is up to you. But if you do go, you’d be doing your uncle a huge favor."

Zhao Jun understood Zhao Guofeng’s meaning immediately. Zhao Guofeng was a tactful man. The message between the lines was clear: ’If you don’t go, I won’t hold it against you. But if you do go, whether you kill the Black Bear or not, I’ll owe you one. In the future, if you ever need anything, I’ll help you.’

A promise from Zhao Guofeng carried a lot of weight. Zhao Jun knew that Zhao Guofeng would remain the Village Chief of Yong’an Village until he was sixty, and he was only forty-two this year.

"Uncle Zhao," Zhao Jun said after a moment’s thought. "Let me go home and think it over. Once I’ve made up my mind, I’ll give you my answer tomorrow morning, one way or another."

"Alright!" Hearing this, Zhao Guofeng wasted no more words. He just clapped Zhao Jun on the shoulder once and walked away.

Watching Zhao Guofeng return to the Village Office, Li Baoyu quickly sidled up to Zhao Jun and asked in a low voice, "Brother, are we actually going to hunt that Black Bear?"

Zhao Jun was silent for a moment, then let out a long breath. He said to Li Baoyu, "We have nine dogs we can take out right now, don’t we?"

"Yep." The moment he heard that, Li Baoyu knew Zhao Jun intended to take on this fight. He said no more, waiting for Zhao Jun’s next words.

Zhao Jun didn’t keep him waiting. He beckoned to Li Baoyu. "Come on. We’re going to find more dogs."

"More?" Li Baoyu was stunned. In this day and age, hunting with a pack of nine dogs was already an incredible force.

Who could afford to keep that many dogs?

But Zhao Jun shook his head. "This Black Bear won’t be easy to take down. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it big!"