Chapter 611: Got Nothing Better To Do

With Black Tiger, the food-hoarder, out of the way, distributing the rest of the meat was a much more peaceful affair.

After the liver, lungs, intestines, and stomach were divided up, Zhao Jun cut more meat directly from the sow’s belly to feed the dogs.

As the sow had been fattening up for autumn, the layer of fat on its belly was already nearly a finger thick.

Zhao Jun’s family wasn’t short on fatty foods, so he generously sliced off the soft belly meat to feed the dogs.

Only after even Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon had gotten some meat did Zhao Jun cut three more strips and walk over to Black Tiger.

By now, Black Tiger had finished eating the pig heart and liver it had regurgitated. But having just been slapped, it didn’t dare approach Zhao Jun again.

But seeing Zhao Jun approach with meat, Black Tiger didn’t seem to hold a grudge. It raised its tail and wagged it furiously at him.

Zhao Jun walked up to Black Tiger and tossed the three strips of boar meat down between its front paws.

Seeing there was plenty of meat and no other dogs around, Black Tiger didn’t bother swallowing and regurgitating this time. It simply picked up a piece and began chewing it with its back molars.

Zhao Jun crouched beside him, reaching out to stroke Black Tiger’s large head. The dog didn’t flinch, letting Zhao Jun pet him as he ate.

After that last fight, Zhao Jun suddenly realized something. ‘This dog, Black Tiger, actually knows how to run an interception.’

In a drive hunt, the person who herds the prey toward the ambush point is called the “driver.”

The person who gets to the ambush point before the prey to take the shot is called the “blocker.”

If the prey reaches the ambush point but the blocker isn’t there yet, it’s called a “missed block.”

Now, if someone up ahead can cut off the prey and turn it back, that person is called the “interceptor.”

What Black Tiger had done earlier was exactly that—run an interception. It had forcefully cut off all four of those Little Yellows.

Then, Black Tiger herded them back to Zhao Jun, who was able to take them out one by one.

‘That’s incredibly rare,’ Zhao Jun thought. ‘After all, no matter how smart a dog is, it can’t match a human’s intellect. Getting a dog to help run an interception is much, much harder than coordinating with another person.’

‘And Black Tiger did it better than a person could have. If a human had tried to intercept them, those young boars would have scattered in every direction the moment they saw him. There’s no way he could have herded all four of them back like Black Tiger did.’

‘A dog like this might not have an edge against large boars or Black Bears. But for hunting yellow-haireds, roe deer, or Ma Lu… with the Hunter giving chase from behind while the hound takes a shortcut to intercept them? That would be devastatingly effective.’

‘In his past life, Zhao Jun also had a dog that could run interceptions: Yellow Dragon.’

‘But Yellow Dragon knew how to do it because he grew up wild in the mountains and, by a stroke of luck, had learned to coordinate with people on a drive hunt.’

‘But Black Tiger? Zhao Jun couldn’t even begin to guess his background. After this battle, though, he finally knew this fella wasn’t as useless as he’d thought.’

“Brother Jun!” Just then, Jie Chen came running back, shouting to Zhao Jun from a distance, “Those Little Yellows are all gutted! What’s next?”

Zhao Jun got to his feet. “Where’d you leave the cart?” he asked.

Jie Chen raised his arm and pointed down the slope. “It’s just down there,” he said.

“Drag them down!” Zhao Jun shouted. “Let’s get this old sow down first, then we’ll haul down the yellow-haireds. We’ll drag them all back; someone in the village will buy them.”

“Alright!” Jie Chen agreed and walked over to Zhao Jun. He was going to help him drag the sow down first.

And just as Zhao Jun and Jie Chen were dragging the sow down the slope toward the Wood Transport Route, Zhao Youcai, far away in Xing San’s hut, was not idle either.

At that moment, Zhao Youcai’s expression was exceptionally focused. He unwrapped the bandage around the black dog’s wound and, section by section, began pulling the dog’s intestines back out.

Then, Zhao Youcai used a warm saline solution to wash the intestines again.

The solution was made by boiling water, letting it cool until it was no longer scalding to the touch, and then adding refined salt.

After the water boiled, Wang Qiang had suggested that Zhao Youcai add some cold water to cool it down faster instead of just waiting.

But Zhao Youcai refused, saying the cold water had bacteria in it. Only boiled water that had been left to cool on its own was safe enough to wash the dog’s intestines.

Seeing how meticulous Zhao Youcai was, both Xing San and Wang Qiang couldn’t help but look at him with renewed respect.

After washing the dog’s intestines, Zhao Youcai asked Xing San for a pair of scissors. He first sterilized the large iron shears in the fire, wiped them down with high-proof spirits, and only then began to carefully snip away the mesenteric fat from the intestines.

This was a task that required immense patience, nothing like preparing pork intestines for a meal in the kitchen. One nick in the intestinal wall, and it would be over for the dog.

So, as Zhao Youcai trimmed the fat, his focus was absolute, his movements meticulous and precise.

Wang Qiang was so moved watching this that he stepped forward and used his own sleeve to wipe the beads of sweat from Zhao Youcai’s brow.

Once all the fat was trimmed away, Zhao Youcai carefully tucked the intestines back into the dog’s abdominal cavity, one section at a time.

Then, Zhao Youcai held the black dog still while Wang Qiang took a sack-sewing needle—sterilized with fire and spirits—and began to stitch the wound closed.

The dog truly seemed to understand. As Wang Qiang’s needle pierced its flesh, its body shuddered in pain and it whimpered nonstop, yet it never tried to turn and bite Zhao Youcai, who was holding it down.

“Good dog,” Zhao Youcai said, seeing the dog’s reaction. He kept one hand firmly on its front shoulder while gently stroking its neck with the other. “Er Hei, just hang in there a little longer. It’ll be over soon.”

Wang Qiang, having just completed the first stitch, heard this and couldn’t help but look over at Zhao Youcai. ‘Er Hei?’

‘He’s only just gotten the dog, and he’s already named it. Zhao Youcai is really treating it like it’s his own.’