Chapter 603: The Birth of the Wild Boar King

“River Pomegranate stewed with tofu!”

Zhao Youcai called out, hurrying from the outer room into the east room with a large white porcelain basin in his hands.

Seated on the edge of the kang, Zhao Jun shifted to the side, and Zhao Youcai placed the basin on the low kang table.

“Uncle!” Jie Chen, sitting across from Zhao Jun, called to Zhao Youcai. “Come on up on the kang. You’ve been busy all morning.”

“Not at all, not at all.” The basin was hot, so Zhao Youcai pinched his earlobes to cool his hands. He smiled and said, “You all take your time and eat. I’m going to stir-fry some cabbage and wood ear mushrooms for you.”

After speaking to Jie Chen, Zhao Youcai turned to Wang Meilan. “Meilan, try the River Pomegranate. See how I stewed it. Is it good?”

In front of her son and his friend, Wang Meilan didn’t want to make a fuss. She simply picked up a River Pomegranate fish from the basin with her chopsticks, placed it in her bowl, and said to Zhao Youcai, “Go on and cook. When you’re done, you should eat quickly too. You have to go to work soon.”

“Alright, alright,” Zhao Youcai replied twice, then turned and walked out to the outer room.

Seeing Zhao Youcai leave, Wang Meilan smiled at Jie Chen. “Your uncle is just stir-frying a dish; he’ll be done in a moment. We don’t need to wait for him. Jie Chen, please, eat up.”

“Okay!” Jie Chen agreed, and without further ceremony, he started to eat.

Zhao Jun picked up a small fish, holding it with his chopsticks just behind the head. He put the tail in his mouth first, then slid the entire body in, leaving only the head outside his lips.

He closed his mouth, pressed the fish between his tongue and his upper palate, and then, still holding the head with his chopsticks, he gave a gentle pull. The skeleton came right out, leaving all the meat behind in his mouth.

An expert’s touch is obvious from the first move.

Before stewing these small fish, Zhao Youcai hadn’t fried them. Worried they would fall apart, he also didn’t stew them for long—only twenty minutes over a wood fire.

Stewing food over a wood fire is different from using the gas or natural gas stoves of later years. A wood fire’s heat is strong but not harsh, which makes for better-tasting meals.

Once Zhao Youcai was done stewing them, these little River Pomegranates were, to use a word from the Northeast dialect, perfectly tender.

Zhao Jun chewed carefully. The flesh of the fish was soft and tender, but the roe inside was firm.

The contrast between firm and soft created an immediate, layered texture in his mouth.

While still chewing the fish, Zhao Jun picked up a large piece of tofu, placed it on the side of his bowl, mashed it with his chopsticks, and mixed it with his rice. With a little fish meat and roe still in his mouth, he took two big mouthfuls of the tofu and rice mixture.

Even though he didn’t get to eat fish paste, this was still an excellent meal.

After the meal, Zhao Jun and Jie Chen went back to their room to gather their things. Once they were dressed and ready, they slung their rifles over their shoulders, said goodbye to Wang Meilan and Zhao Youcai, and left the house to lead the dogs to the vehicle.

Li Baoyu hadn’t left for work yet. Hearing the commotion, he came out of his house and helped Zhao Jun load all the dogs into the vehicle.

Today, Zhao Jun was taking all eleven dogs from both families, big and small.

Zhao Jun sat in the back of the truck with the dogs, while Jie Chen drove. They made their way to Zhang Yuanmin’s house.

Zhao Jun told Jie Chen to wait outside while he went into Zhang Yuanmin’s house. He gave 860 yuan to Yang Yufeng, then came back out with Zhang Yuanmin.

“Brother!” Yang Yufeng called out, chasing after them from the house and waving. “Come over for dinner tonight! We’ll make braised oxtail!”

“You got it, Sister-in-law!” Zhao Jun turned and shouted back. He was immediately pulled away by Zhang Yuanmin, who asked, “Brother, where’s the book I asked you to bring me?”

“It’s at home,” Zhao Jun said with a smile. “I was so busy with the dogs this morning. We can get it when we get back.”

“Alright.” Hearing this, Zhang Yuanmin smiled so wide his eyes narrowed to slits.

When they reached the truck, Zhao Jun said to Zhang Yuanmin, “Brother Zhang, you get in and give Jie Chen directions. We’re going to… that spot where we waited for the leopard last time.”

“Ah!” Zhang Yuanmin thought for a moment. The time Zhao Jun was talking about, when they’d waited for the leopard, must have been back in the spring. He had gone into the mountains with Chen Dalai to set snares, hoping to catch a Black Bear, but they ended up seeing a Northeast Leopard hunting a roe deer.

Then, Zhang Yuanmin had sent Chen Dalai away and gone to the No. 77 Logging Camp to find Zhao Jun. The two of them then returned to the spot where Zhang Yuanmin had seen the leopard.

If Zhang Yuanmin’s rifle hadn’t malfunctioned that day—the first shot was a misfire—they might have taken down that leopard right then and there.

Having grown up in these mountains, Zhang Yuanmin was familiar with every gully and trail. As soon as he understood their destination, a route automatically formed in his mind.

So, Zhang Yuanmin got into the passenger seat, and Zhao Jun climbed back into the truck bed.

The truck drove away from Yong’an Village and headed straight into the mountain forest.

Their destination wasn’t far from the No. 77 Logging Camp. When Zhao Jun used to work there, it was only a half-hour walk.

Therefore, it only took a little over ten minutes of driving after entering the forest to reach the spot.

Zhao Jun had Zhang Yuanmin get into the truck bed to stay with the dogs. He then led Jie Chen up the slopes of South Mountain, starting from the Wood Transport Route, carrying a satchel full of leg-hold traps.

Summer was over, and the male roe deer had all formed herds. Zhao Jun led Jie Chen through a patch of deciduous forest.

This part of the forest had many linden trees. Given the habits of roe deer, they would come here to forage in the early morning.

Zhao Jun crouched low, scanning the undergrowth for any signs of passing animals, looking for a game trail.

After finding one, Zhao Jun walked alongside the game trail, careful not to step on it in the slightest.

When he reached a narrow spot, Zhao Jun squatted down, pushed aside the green grass, and began digging in the earth with his bare hands.

He dug a small pit, slightly deeper and wider than a leg-hold trap.

Zhao Jun reached back, and Jie Chen quickly pulled a leg-hold trap from the satchel and placed it in his hand.

Zhao Jun took the trap, placed it in the pit, and instead of covering it with dirt, he layered two levels of green grass over it.

Twenty centimeters to the side, he dug another pit and placed another trap in the same way. He continued this until a row of four leg-hold traps lay across the narrow path.

Then, Zhao Jun moved forward just half a meter, dug more pits, and set the remaining five traps.