Chapter 63: Jackals

Ergou was instantly energized upon learning they would head into the mountains in the afternoon. Heading into the mountains meant making money!

"The production brigade doesn't seem to have noticed the missing guns. Shall we continue moving things tonight?" Ergou had his mind on the remaining twenty-some boxes of ammunition and firearms, hoping to haul all of them away.

Zhang Hacheng nodded. Of course they had to move them; these bullets and firearms would sustain them for many years.

"I'll go scout out the situation first tonight. If we haven't been discovered, we'll keep moving the rest. For now, let's get you tried on your wolf-skin coat. Starting today, our mountain-going equipment is complete!"

A wolf-skin hat, an overcoat, a wild boar leather jacket, knee pads, as well as deerskin boots and deerskin gloves—this top-tier cold-weather gear would keep them in peak condition deep in the mountains.

Zhang Hacheng brought Ergou back to his old home and saw a dozen sacks of coal piled in the courtyard, with Dabao and Xiaobao running around them in circles.

Clearly, this was the first load of coal hauled back.

"Uncle, do you have any candy?"

The moment Xiaobao saw Zhang Hacheng, he rushed over swiftly, latched onto his leg, and looked up at him with eager eyes, showing no trace of having been disciplined earlier.

Dabao rushed over and hugged his other leg as well.

Zhang Hacheng pulled two pieces of fruit drops from his pocket. He usually kept some on him, and once Dabao and Xiaobao discovered this secret, they would ambush his legs whenever they saw him.

The two little guys immediately cheered with joy.

His eldest sister-in-law was still busy, the sewing machine humming away incessantly.

After exchanging a greeting, Zhang Hacheng took Ergou to try on the wolf-skin coat. The full set of leather garments made Ergou extremely satisfied, and he completely refused to take them off.

"Nowadays, even mountain guards shouldn't strut around in these outside. Wear them only when heading into the mountains," Zhang Hacheng reminded him. Wearing them at home or in the mountains was fine, but in the village, green-eyed jealousy might prompt someone to report them.

"I know."

Reluctantly, Ergou took off the wolf-skin coat. He ran into the same issue Zhang Hacheng had encountered: the openings of the deerskin gloves were a bit loose. Chen Xiuying took them, tightened them up a bit, and they fit perfectly.

Outside, the cadence of "one-two-one" echoed. Zhang Hacheng and Ergou went out to look and saw his eldest brother pulling a cart back, with his aging father and several other men from the Zhang family pushing hard from behind.

Wang Kui was among them as well.

There was more coal to haul; after unloading the coal, the group immediately headed out again to fetch the next load.

"Why'd you buy so much?"

Ergou looked at the mountain of coal, wondering how long this would take to burn through.

"I traded roe deer meat with the brigade for these. Come on, let's go eat at my place." Zhang Hacheng led Ergou away, leaving the business of hauling coal to the family.

"Didn't giving them the roe deer meat mean they'd get to eat meat?"

Ergou asked in confusion, wondering if they shouldn't have given them meat.

"Given the character of those cadres from the Chen family, do you really think they'd share the meat?"

Zhang Hacheng remarked as he walked off.

He knew the cadres of the Chen family all too well. Share the meat? That tiny bit of roe deer meat wouldn't even be enough for them to divide amongst themselves!

"That's true."

Hearing this, Ergou nodded, finally understanding Zhang Hacheng's implication.

The arrival of the little hinny brought great liveliness to the household, with everyone's attention drawn to it.

"Second Brother, Xiao Dingdang has a problem."

Seeing Zhang Hacheng and the others return, Hualing ran over with a mysterious air.

"What kind of problem?"

Zhang Hacheng asked, puzzled.

Then he watched as Hualing shouted at the little hinny, "Xiao Dingdang!"

The little hinny didn't even turn its head and continued strolling along.

"It's still young, perfectly normal for it not to know its own name yet," Zhang Hacheng smiled and reminded her. What kind of problem was that? How could it know its name without hearing it for a while?

"No, look at this—Little Ancestor!"

Hualing suddenly shouted again.

Hearing that, the little hinny scampered over eagerly, looking utterly delighted. This scene left Zhang Hacheng completely dumbfounded. Wait, what kind of creature had he bought for four hundred yuan?

Watching the little hinny trot over, Ergou cast a sympathetic glance at Zhang Hacheng. "Now that's a true ancestor. Not only do you have to feed it grain, but you also have to address it as your ancestor before it pays you any mind."

"Xiao Dingdang?"

Zhang Hacheng called out.

The little hinny showed zero reaction.

"Ancestor?"

The little hinny immediately turned its head toward him, blinking its clear, bright eyes, then trotted closer and rubbed its head against him, clearly begging for food.

Sell it on the black market!

The thought instantly flashed through Zhang Hacheng's mind.

"Its former owner really treated it like an ancestor." He finally understood why they had weaned it at just three months old and sold it on the black market—they had spoiled it rotten keeping it hidden at home.

Never mind; selling it to someone else might land an innocent family in misery, considering how much maintenance it would require. He'd just have to find it a fierce handler next month to whip it into shape.

At noon, as soon as they sat down to eat, the little hinny trotted over happily, stretched out its neck, and stared fixedly at the table without moving.

"You want to sit at the table?"

Zhang Hacheng slapped its snout away. Jumping onto the heated brick bed at every turn was one thing, but now it wanted to dine at the table?

Fortunately, the little hinny didn't snatch food, preferring instead to rub against people endlessly. Little Ya secretly grabbed a small piece of corn pancake and fed it to the little hinny. Even Dou Dou tried to imitate her and feed it, prompting Wang琳 to snatch it back in a fury. In this day and age, who could spare grain to feed a mule?

Zhang Hacheng had no choice but to chase the little hinny outside. Once outside, the little hinny would yelp by the door for a bit, then yelp by the window, looking pitifully forlorn.

The moment Little Ya let it back inside, it reverted to its old antics, leaving Zhang Hacheng with a splitting headache.

Just as they finished their meal, Tiezhu returned from Fuzhuang Brigade.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Zhang Hacheng asked, looking up as he wiped his gun.

"Mm."

Tiezhu nodded.

"There's still food and steamed buns on the plate, go ahead and eat some more!" Zhang Hacheng knew Tiezhu's appetite was formidable; whenever he cooked nowadays, he made large portions—without Tiezhu around, the food simply wouldn't get finished.

"Okay."

Tiezhu scratched his head and sat down happily.

Wang Lin went over to ladle him a bowl of porridge.

The little hinny nuzzled Tiezhu for a long time without getting a single bite. It rubbed against him endlessly, its eyes wide and tired from the effort, yet it didn't score a single morsel.

Trying to beg food from Tiezhu?

Zhang Hacheng could only shake his head at the sight.

In the afternoon, Tiezhu also donned the cold-weather fur gear, touching it here and there with delight. With his nutrition keeping pace lately, Tiezhu was visibly sturdier than before.

Once Chen Xiuying finished sewing the three leather bags, they strapped on their leather packs, hoisted their bamboo baskets, and headed into the mountains.

Bitter winds raged through the forest, but they could no longer feel the chill.

They had great luck this time; shortly after entering the mountains, they encountered a pair of red foxes. The two red foxes were gnawing on an unfortunate squirrel, while a baby squirrel perched on a pine tree, shrieking and wailing continuously.

Zhang Hacheng crept forward quietly, pulling out his slingshot when the distance was right. The wolf-skin coat he wore also provided excellent camouflage.

"Bang!"

One red fox collapsed straight to the ground without even emitting a cry. The other red fox let out a piercing screech before a pellet from the slingshot sent it tumbling on the spot.

Ergou rushed forward and kicked it dead.

He had long since grown used to it; whenever Zhang Hacheng made a move, he never missed.

Zhang Hacheng also gave the first red fox a kick, expertly slitting its belly and discarding the internal organs. Although red fox meat was somewhat gamey, as long as plenty of chili peppers were added, stir-frying it made for a wonderfully fragrant meal.

His primary goal was simply those two fox pelts.

Ten minutes into the mountain trip, they had already bagged a pair of red foxes with pristine pelts.

Over an hour later, they were not far from the habitat of the wapiti.

"Looks like we'll just have to bag a wapiti and head back." Zhang Hacheng and his companions had searched the entire way, but the wolf pack seemed to have vanished somewhere—not even a howl could be heard.

"Could they have run off?"

Ergou was much more eager to hunt wolves.

"Bang!"

Right at that moment, a gunshot shattered the stillness. They stopped in their tracks simultaneously, scanning their surroundings.

"A gunshot!"

Ergou was astonished.

How could there be gunshots in this vicinity?

Could there be mountain guards or hunters from other brigades hunting in the mountains?

"It's a Type 38 rifle, and it's not very far!"

Zhang Hacheng gazed toward the source of the gunfire, and before he could finish speaking, two more gunshots rang out.

"Let's go take a look!"

Had they run into a wolf pack, or were they hunting wapiti?

Daring to venture deep into the mountains, whoever was out there was likely no pushover.

Zhang Hacheng led Ergou and the others running toward the source of the gunfire.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Hacheng faintly heard strange, chaotic, and howling cries, and instantly recognized what they were.

Dholes!

There was actually a pack of dholes!