sinovels Chapter 1894 Zhao Jun: I feel incredibly strong!
Chapter 1894 Zhao Jun: I feel incredibly strong!
Chapter 1894 Zhao Jun: I feel incredibly strong!
"Hiss... Bang! Crash!"
The firecrackers exploded in the sky above the Zhao family compound. Zhao Youcai watched the paper scraps falling from the sky and put the smoke from the firecrackers into his mouth.
"You're crazy!" Immediately afterward, a discordant voice rang out behind Zhao Youcai.
As soon as Zhao Youcai turned around, he saw Wang Meilan standing at the door, who said to him irritably, "It's only five o'clock, and you're already setting off firecrackers? Aren't you afraid the villagers will scold you?"
Having just enjoyed a bit of Zhao Jun's gaming experience, Zhao Youcai pursed his lips and asked Wang Meilan, "Is everything packed yet? Hurry up, I'm in a rush to leave!"
“I…” Wang Meilan subconsciously glanced back, then, remembering that Ma Ling, Li Baoyu, and Liu Mei were all in the room, she turned back and silently smacked her lips at Zhao Youcai.
"Hurry up!" Zhao Youcai, carrying a hunting rifle and dressed in "military uniform," urged Wang Meilan, then shouted into the house, "Baoyu, let's go!"
"Grandpa, what's the rush?" Li Baoyu came out of the house and said to Zhao Youcai, "Aren't we getting the dog today? Getting the dog requires two cars. I'll drive the Jeep, and Xiaochen will drive the Jiefang when he gets here."
Zhao Youcai pondered for half the night yesterday. If he didn't bring the dog into the mountains, finding the tiger would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He decided to take the dog first, and then go after the hunting dog found the tiger's tracks, and then he would take his gun and go for it.
"You're only bringing one dog, why are you even driving a Liberation truck?" Zhao Youcai said irritably. "You can just squeeze into a Jeep and go, right?"
"No, sir," Li Baoyu said. "Ruhai is coming along too. How are we going to fit six people with a dog?"
"Where's Ru Hai going?" Zhao Youcai asked. Li Baoyu glanced around and then lowered his voice, "He's going to help my brother carry ginseng. Ru Hai is alright, so he can help my brother there. Otherwise, with just my brother and Brother Zhang, it would take them a hundred lifetimes to carry it all."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai frowned impatiently and said, "Then let's drive a big Jiefang truck and haul them all in one trip."
“That won’t work either, sir.” Li Baoyu explained to Zhao Youcai with a bitter face, “We still have to deliver Ruhai and steamed buns to the shacks. Can the Great Liberation Army go up the mountain?”
"Then let Ru Hai take the buns up there himself!" As soon as Zhao Youcai said this, he was hit on the back by Wang Meilan.
Zhao Youcai turned around and saw Wang Meilan gritting her teeth and moving her lips, saying, "Can't you just shut up for a bit?"
Still not satisfied, Wang Meilan shoved Zhao Youcai again, saying, "You've been causing trouble since last night, and you've been causing trouble all morning, isn't that enough?"
Last night, Zhao Youcai went to bed early, but after lying down, he kept thinking about all the difficulties he might encounter in his tiger-hunting mission that day.
He got so engrossed in his deductions that he muttered to himself and gestured wildly, disturbing Wang Meilan's sleep next to him.
This morning, Zhao Youcai got up at three o'clock to feed the dog, and then kept urging Wang Meilan to hurry up and make steamed buns.
Knowing they were coming today, Wang Meilan said last night that she would steam some buns this morning and have Zhao Youcai and the others take them to Zhao Jun and the other four.
But Wang Meilan never expected that Zhao Youcai would leave so soon!
It's only five o'clock, and you're already going up the mountain! The dew hasn't even dried yet, who's going up the mountain so early?
Seeing Zhao Youcai being rebuked, Li Baoyu turned away, hiding the smile on his face.
"Baoyu!" Just then, he heard Wang Meilan call him, and Li Baoyu quickly turned around and replied, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
“I’m telling you about that, don’t forget to tell your brother,” Wang Meilan said. Li Baoyu laughed and said, “Don’t worry, Auntie, I’ll tell my brother when I get there.”
Wang Meilan asked Li Baoyu to tell Zhao Jun that Manager Huang had called yesterday, saying that a wealthy boss wanted to buy high-quality wild ginseng.
The ginseng that the Zhao family has been bringing out these past few days has been of good quality, and there's even a giant ginseng on the mountain. Wang Meilan was thinking that it would be best to exchange all these ginseng roots for money; otherwise, the more they accumulated, the more uneasy she felt.
"Oh my god!" At this moment, Ma Ling's voice came from inside the house, saying, "The salted goose is cooked, I've taken it all out."
The geese raised by the Zhao family collective are the Huoyan goose, a breed unique to Northeast China. This type of goose is also called the chicken goose, meaning that it lays eggs like a chicken.
The weather in June is neither too hot nor too cold, which is the perfect time for poultry to lay eggs. On average, a female goose lays two eggs every three days. With over a hundred geese, we can collect seventy or eighty eggs a day.
There were far too many goose eggs to eat, so these families all pickled them into salted goose eggs. Although the eggs, salted for twenty days, didn't release much oil, they had a slightly salty taste and could be eaten plain. Taking these up the mountain was convenient for Zhao Jun and his men, and they were also quite filling.
Hearing her daughter-in-law call her, Wang Meilan turned around and glared at Zhao Youcai before hurrying into the house.
As soon as Wang Meilan entered the house, the dogs in the east and west courtyards started barking.
Zhao Youcai craned his neck to look towards the gate, wanting to see who was so sensible as to respond so readily to his call.
Then, Zhao Youcai saw his good brother Li Dayong, and Li Ruhai following behind Li Dayong.
"It has to be my brother!" Zhao Youcai thought to himself. Then he heard Li Baoyu say, "Dad, why aren't you coming up the mountain? What are you doing here?"
"That brat!" Zhao Youcai glanced at Li Baoyu, while Li Dayong glared at Li Baoyu and said, "What kind of question is that? If your grandpa sets off a firecracker, do you think I wouldn't come?"
As soon as Li Dayong finished speaking, Li Ruhai muttered behind him, "He hasn't eaten yet, but he insisted on coming!"
"What are you saying?" Li Dayong turned around and scolded Li Ruhai, saying, "Let's eat when we get back!"
"Can I still go back?" Li Ruhai said irritably, then called into the house, "Auntie, is there any food?"
"Ruhai!" Wang Meilan's voice came from inside the house. "Come in quickly, the buns your auntie steamed are still warm!"
“This kid…” Li Dayong was about to say something when he heard Liu Mei come out of the house and call to him, “Dad, my aunt wants you to come in and have a bite to eat.”
"Ah... my dear daughter, have you eaten yet?" Li Dayong had one face to his son, but a completely different face to his daughter and daughter-in-law.
Seeing Li Ruhai go inside to eat, Zhao Youcai grew even more anxious waiting outside. What angered him even more was that more than ten minutes after he set off the firecrackers, only Li Dayong and Li Ruhai arrived; Wang Qiang and Xie Chen were nowhere to be seen.
As for Zhao Weipeng, it's easier for Zhao Youcai since he's not here.
Just as Zhao Youcai was anxiously waiting, on the stone pond at the southeast corner of Qing Shi La Zi, the green dragon pounced on the Siberian tiger, fiercely tearing at the "king" character on the tiger's forehead.
The tiger was shot in the back of its shoulder blade; the bullet pierced its body, killing it instantly.
"Brother, that was a blast!" Zhang Yuanmin was the first to recover, and he shouted excitedly to Zhao Jun, "One shot and it was dead!"
Without saying a word, Zhao Jun picked up his gun and walked toward the carcass of the Siberian tiger.
Tigers are different from bears. Tigers don't feign death. If this tiger had even a breath left, it wouldn't let the Azure Dragon bite it like that.
Zhao Jun approached and circled the Siberian tiger carcass. He frowned when he saw the disturbing wound on its buttocks.
"Brother-in-law!" At this moment, Ma Yang ran up from behind, glanced at the dead Siberian tiger, then turned around, grabbed Zhao Jun's arm, and shouted, "You're so awesome! So awesome!"
This kid doesn't know how to praise people; he just keeps using the same word over and over again.
Zhao Jun chuckled. He was nicknamed "Tiger-Taming General" by others, but this was his first time actually shooting a tiger with a gun. The last time he hunted a tiger across the border, he used explosives and a ground gun, but it wasn't nearly as thrilling.
Zhao Jun, gun in hand, stared at the Siberian tiger carcass lying on the ground, his blood boiling and his spirit soaring!
This is a tiger, the king of beasts.
It was truly satisfying to kill him with my own hands!
At this moment, Zhao Jun suddenly understood Zhao Youcai's obsession and also understood why Guo Wei, the tiger-hunting general of Zongheng Ridge, was so determined to hunt a hundred tigers.
"Brother Jun, you're amazing!" No wonder Ma Yang was uneducated; Zhao Jinhui praised Zhao Jun with the same words.
"Hahaha..." Zhao Jun couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Brother, what do we do with this tiger?" Zhang Yuanmin asked. Zhao Jun replied, "We don't care. We'll fetch water, go back to cook, and after we eat, we'll continue carrying ginseng."
"Huh?" Zhang Yuanmin was taken aback and quickly asked, "No? Brother, you just left the tiger here?"
"Let's leave it here for now," Zhao Jun said. "When Baoyu and the others arrive, we'll have them carry it down. We have important business to attend to."
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhang Yuanmin fell silent. Indeed, compared to the ginseng king, nothing else mattered.
"Come on, Qinglong!" Zhao Jun said, seeing that Qinglong had vented its anger. "I can't feed you this meat. I'll get you a can of luncheon meat when we get back."
The Azure Dragon was truly obedient. When Zhao Jun told it to leave, it got up, wagged its tail, and came close to Zhao Jun.
"Brother-in-law, this Azure Dragon is amazing!" Ma Yang always says this when praising people or dogs. He squatted down next to the Azure Dragon, rubbing its neck, and said, "I saw it rushing towards those big claws with a roar, and it wasn't scared at all, huh?"
“That’s right!” Zhang Yuanmin said, “Our Azure Dragon has been through countless battles. It has swung its claws more times than you have ever seen them.”
“And it’s more than me…” Ma Yang was about to retort, but then his momentum weakened and he said, “I’ve only seen this one, so it’s seen more than I have.”
"Alright, enough of that nonsense," Zhao Jun said. "I'll take Qinglong back first, then the three of you can carry water and walk slowly."
"Huh?" Seeing Zhao Jun leave without warning, Ma Yang was about to say something when Zhang Yuanmin stopped him.
Ma Yang looked at Zhang Yuanmin in confusion, only to hear Zhang Yuanmin laugh and say, "Little Yang, what are you doing?"
“I…” Ma Yang pointed at Zhao Jun and said, “Why isn’t my brother-in-law carrying water?”
“Why would they carry water?” Zhang Yuanmin said, “They’re fighting tigers, they’re powerful, they don’t care about your business.”
After saying this, Zhang Yuanmin pointed to the Siberian tiger's carcass and then said to Ma Yang, "If we were hunting a wild boar and the other guy ran off with his gun, leaving the three of us to trail behind and drag the boar, we wouldn't be able to say a word, understand?"
"Oh my?" Ma Yang exclaimed in surprise, "That's so ruthless!"
"So what are you thinking about?" Zhang Yuanmin smiled and took the two buckets from Ma Yang. Then the three of them walked to the riverbank, filled their buckets, and headed back to their shack.
The three of them went into the woods, while Zhao Jun had already returned to his shack.
Thinking about what he had to tell Xing San before he left, Zhao Jun whistled twice.
Upon hearing the whistle, the black dragon in the shack barked. Xing San opened the door and came out of the shack, where he saw the green dragon running towards him.
"Oh dear! Qinglong!" Upon seeing this, Xing San hurriedly chased Qinglong back into the shack.
Qinglong obediently went into the house. Xing San pulled the shack door shut, turned around and saw Zhao Jun walking over. Xing San hurriedly asked, "Where are those three boys?"
After asking this question, Xing San didn't give Zhao Jun a chance to reply and pressed on, "I heard gunshots coming from the shack, what's wrong?"
"Hehe, it's nothing, Uncle San." Zhao Jun said casually, "I was killed by that big claw."
"Huh?" Xing San was shocked upon hearing this, and asked with wide eyes, "You beat him to death?"
Zhao Jun smiled and nodded, then sat down on the bluestone in the corner of the shed, casually put the semi-automatic chair aside, looked up at the covered baskets in the distance, listened to the birds chirping in the forest, and felt the peace and tranquility after the great war.
Before long, Zhang Yuanmin and the other two returned with water. Xing San went to wash up, and Zhang Yuanmin opened the shed. Qinglong and Heilong jumped out.
"Brother, should we still tie the dogs up over there?" Zhang Yuanmin asked. Zhao Jun replied, "No need to tie them up, brother. Let them play."
"Huh?" Zhang Yuanmin was taken aback and said, "Brother, what if some big livestock comes?"
"If a big animal comes, just kill it." Zhao Jun said this casually. Ever since he shot and killed a Siberian tiger, Zhao Jun felt that he was terrifyingly strong. He would kill bears if they came and tigers if they came.
Zhang Yuanmin looked at Zhao Jun, and for some reason, he saw the shadow of Zhao Youcai in Zhao Jun.
These two don't even look alike.
The dogs were no longer leashed, only the little black bear was kept in the shed. The unrestrained Qinglong and Heilong had a blast, the two dogs running wild all over the mountain, chasing squirrels and magpies.
While Zhao Jun and the others were eating, Qinglong and Heilong returned.
Zhao Jun kept his promise and opened a can of luncheon meat for Qinglong.
But Qinglong couldn't eat it in front of Heilong and the little black bear. Zhao Jun, who was in a particularly good mood today, opened another can of luncheon meat and shared it with the two of them.
Two dogs and a bear ate luncheon meat, while Zhao Jun and his five companions ate boiled noodles with pickled vegetables.
It's not that they can't afford luncheon meat, nor that they're unwilling to spend the money; it's just that they're getting tired of eating it every day. A change of pace, like some pickled vegetable strips with noodles, would be nice.
After eating and drinking their fill, Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin began carrying ginseng. Xing San, along with Zhao Jinhui, Ma Yang, and the two dogs, patrolled the area before returning to their shack to rest. The two dogs continued to run around.
At 8:45, the jeep began its ascent up the sled track. Li Baoyu was driving, Zhao Weipeng was in the passenger seat, and Wang Qiang, Zhao Youcai, and Li Ruhai were in the back row from left to right.
Jie Chen and Hei Hu didn't come up; they waited for Zhao Youcai and the others to come down from the mountain in the Da Jiefang area.
After the car passed the spot where they had seen tiger droppings the day before, Zhao Youcai even got out of the car to take a look.
After yesterday's heavy rain, all the tiger droppings disappeared.
"Grandpa, get in the car!" Li Baoyu urged Zhao Youcai when he was slow to get in.
Zhao Youcai looked back at Li Baoyu, then at Wang Qiang. Although he wanted to go to the hillside to look for the tiger's tracks, he eventually got into the car with the two of them.
The jeep hadn't gone far uphill when it heard barking dogs.
For a moment, everyone in the car was a little surprised. They were still quite a distance from the shack, so why were they hearing dogs barking?
"Azure Dragon!" Li Baoyu suddenly stopped the car and saw Azure Dragon standing in front of him. Seeing the car stop, Azure Dragon wagged its tail and came over with small, backward steps.
Li Baoyu and the others hurriedly got off the car, and at that moment, Heilong also got off.
The two dogs stood in front of the man for a moment, then turned and ran up the mountain.
Seeing this, Zhao Youcai angrily said, "This guy is just showing off! Doesn't he know there are big claws in these mountains? What if this dog runs free and gets kicked by those big claws?"
I went back to the mountains to pay respects at my ancestors' graves these past two days, so my updates have been sporadic. I'll start catching up on the missed chapters tomorrow. I only managed to add one chapter that day, so I still owe three, and there's a whole bunch more to go after that…