Chapter 7

They say: Going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is hard.

This mountain has not been developed, and the mountain paths are all naturally formed, rugged and difficult to walk.

The paths are already hard to walk, and with about a hundred pounds of pork on their backs, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu walked and stopped, stopped and walked along the way.

At first, it was still manageable, but by the end, they could hardly walk for five minutes without sitting down to rest.

Thus, the two people started from around one in the afternoon and walked until almost six, and by October, it was already dark in the mountains.

At this point, the two had already reached the foot of the mountain, and it would take just another ten minutes to leave the mountain area.

Zhao Jun's home, Yong'an Village, was built for the convenience of the workers at the Yong'an Forest Farm in the mountains, and the village was not far from the foot of the mountain.

Therefore, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu decided to rest a bit more here, gather their strength, and then walk home in one go.

This rest lasted for about twenty minutes.

When they got up, as Li Baoyu helped Zhao Jun put the sack on his shoulder, Zhao Jun suddenly told Li Baoyu, "Baoyu, remember, if anyone in the village asks what we're carrying, tell them it's mountain goods."

"Ah..." Li Baoyu immediately understood Zhao Jun's meaning.

But looking at the sack in front of his feet, Li Baoyu was a bit troubled, "Brother, what we're carrying doesn't look like mountain goods?"

Zhao Jun laughed, "Never mind that, just say it and keep walking. Do you think they'll dare to check our sack?"

"They wouldn't dare." Li Baoyu also laughed.

In those days, who wouldn't want more meat at home? Except for some close relatives and good friends, who would be willing to share their meat with others?

The two brothers walked down the mountain and into the village in one go.

It was already almost six-thirty, and those who worked at the forest farm had already gone home, and those who worked in the fields had also finished their work.

At this time, it was the time when every household was cooking and eating dinner.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu returned at this time, and from the moment they entered the village to the time they reached their homes, they only met two people on the way.

These two people indeed asked Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu what they were carrying, and Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu only answered that it was mountain goods. After saying that, they ignored their puzzled looks and carried the sack and walked home.

When Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu reached their doorstep, their dog had already arrived home first.

The two brothers had taken the dog out and run all day.

At first, the adults at home didn't know, as their fathers were working at the forest farm and had left for work early in the morning.

Zhao Jun's mother, Wang Meilan, and Li Baoyu's mother, Jin Xiaomei, had left for work in the fields after preparing lunch for their children.

When the two women returned, it was already around three in the afternoon.

Wang Meilan returned home and found that Zhao Jun was not there. She asked her two daughters, and they shook their heads, saying they didn't know where their brother had gone. She didn't pay much attention.

Not only her, but Jin Xiaomei also didn't pay much attention.

After all, at this age, young men can't sit still. They might have gone to play somewhere.

Moreover, Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei both believed that the two boys would definitely come back by mealtime.

But by four o'clock, almost five, Li Baoyu's father, Li Dayong, had already returned home by the forest farm's shuttle train.

Li Dayong entered the yard and called out over the wall, "Sister-in-law! Are you home?"

Li Dayong's call made Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei come out of their houses.

"Brother is back?" Wang Meilan greeted casually. The two families were neighbors, only half a wall apart, and they got along like one big family.

Li Dayong lifted his right hand, showing an old yellow package wrapped in paper and tied with a hemp rope.

"Sister-in-law, this is the dried tofu your son asked me to bring back," Li Dayong said. "There were guests at the factory today, so he said you should eat without waiting for him."

Wang Meilan walked to the wall and picked up the package. "Alright, brother, you take some of the dried tofu back with you."

"No need." Li Dayong smiled and lifted his left hand, revealing another similar package. "Would my brother leave me out?"

"Alright, I'll go back inside then." Wang Meilan smiled and took the package into the house.

At this moment, in Li Baoyu's yard, Jin Xiaomei walked up to Li Dayong and took the package from his hand, smiling. "Just in time to fry some small peppers; you and the boys love them."

Li Dayong didn't say anything and walked into the house. Once inside, he didn't even take off his shoes and climbed onto the kang, leaning against the wall with his feet on the edge.

Then, he heard Jin Xiaomei in the outer room asking her youngest son to bring water for Li Dayong.

Li Dayong had two sons and a daughter. Li Baoyu was the eldest, the second son, Li Ruhai, was thirteen years old, and the youngest daughter, Li Xiaqiao, was seven.

Taking the enamel cup from his second son, Li Dayong, who had worked all day, felt tired and drowsy, thinking he would take a nap before dinner.

But remembering that he hadn't seen his eldest son yet, he casually asked Li Ruhai, "Where did your brother go to play?"

Li Ruhai chuckled and said, "My brother and Zhao Jun went up the mountain to hunt wild boars and black bears."

"Hmm..." Li Dayong had just asked casually and responded casually, but when Li Ruhai's words registered in his mind, he was suddenly startled, sitting up abruptly and dropping the enamel cup on the kang.

"Clang... Clang, Clang, Clang..."

The enamel cup rolled and bumped on the kang, making continuous sounds.

Li Dayong's eyes widened, and he stared at his youngest son, shouting, "What did you say?"

Li Ruhai was startled and froze on the spot.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Hearing the commotion inside, Jin Xiaomei, who was cutting the dried tofu in the outer room, quickly threw down the knife and rushed in.

"Speak!" Li Dayong swung his legs down, got off the kang, and pushed Li Ruhai, roaring.

"What are you doing?" Jin Xiaomei didn't know what had happened, but as a mother, she was afraid Li Dayong would hit Li Ruhai, so she immediately pushed Li Dayong back to the kang with both hands.

Li Dayong stumbled backward, his knees hitting the edge of the kang, and he fell onto it.

Li Dayong was furious and shouted at Jin Xiaomei, "You still have the nerve to ask me? How do you raise your children? The eldest went over the mountain, and you let him go hunting with Zhao Jun?"

"Hunting?" Jin Xiaomei glared at Li Dayong and pointed at him, smiling. "What can they hunt? Catch a wild duck, shoot a squirrel, or at most, a badger."

Jin Xiaomei's words only made Li Dayong even angrier, and he cursed, "You wicked woman! You reckless son!"

Pointing at Li Ruhai, Li Dayong glared at Jin Xiaomei, his teeth gritted, and said, "Ask this little brat! He said the eldest and Zhao Jun went into the mountain to hunt wild boars and black bears!"

"What?" Jin Xiaomei's head buzzed, and she suddenly felt a chill all over her body.

Growing up in the forest farm, she had followed the adults to collect mountain goods like schisandra, mushrooms, and wood ears around the forest farm. She knew that hunting was dangerous.

Encountering a wild boar was one thing, but if they met a black bear, which Li Ruhai and Li Dayong called a black bear, her eldest son might not come back from the mountain.