Chapter 67: Envy and Jealousy

At the foot of the village mountain, a large crowd of villagers drawn by the news had gathered.

Their gazes were locked tightly on the carcass of the black bear being carried down the mountain by four robust men, causing them to draw collective sharp breaths of shock.

Weighing five to six hundred catties, even in death, the sturdy body of the black bear still exuded a chilling aura.

Unable to help themselves, the onlookers shifted their gazes to Lin Yang standing nearby, their hearts filled with disbelief and awe.

"Good heavens, I never imagined that the young man from the Lin family would be so capable, taking down such a huge black bear all by himself!"

"How on earth did he dare to raid a bear's den alone? Wasn't he afraid of being slapped into a meat patty by the beast?"

"As the old saying goes: newborn calves are not afraid of tigers."

...

Suddenly, a discordant and sour voice rang out.

"Hmph, it was probably just dumb luck, picking up a ready-made bargain! No matter what anyone says, I simply won't believe that Lin Yang could kill a black bear all by himself."

The crowd turned their heads to see Old Man Zhang, notorious in the village for his envy.

At this moment, his face was gloomy, and flames of jealousy flickered in his eyes as he went utterly mad with obsession inside.

He simply couldn't figure out why Lin Yang, usually so lazy and good-for-nothing, had suddenly hunted such a massive black bear.

He reasoned in his mind that it must have been the forestry team members who had severely injured the bear first. The beast had then escaped into the mountains and died of exhaustion, only for Lin Yang to happen upon it and reap the windfall.

Seeing everyone turning their gazes toward him, Old Man Zhang simply raised his voice even higher.

"Think about it carefully, doesn't this make the most sense? That black bear ran off to attack the lumberyard twice. The people at the lumberyard aren't wooden posts; would they just watch and do nothing?"

"The lumberyard has a militia, and they all carry Type 56 semi-automatic rifles at the very least. Killing a bear would be a piece of cake for them!"

"If this bear hadn't been beaten to a pulp, why would it have fled frantically into the mountains?"

The more Old Man Zhang spoke, the more excited he became, his face turning crimson, nearly jumping up in agitation.

Under the influence of his "analysis," quite a few people indeed began to wear expressions of sudden realization, and the look of reverence in their eyes toward Lin Yang gradually faded.

In this village, hunting a bear was a remarkable feat.

However, Lin Yang's past image was far too deeply ingrained in people's minds.

He had spent his days idling about, unwilling to work the fields, relying entirely on his parents for support, and had been the subject of many ridiculous laughingstocks.

Consequently, he was secretly dubbed "Young Master Lin" by the villagers.

Some even called him a coward and a good-for-nothing to his face.

It was only out of fellow-villager courtesy that most people hesitated to hallow it aloud directly to him.

Sun Daqiang, however, had been the first to openly call Lin Yang a spineless good-for-nothing, and Lin Yang had suffered plenty of bullying from him in the past.

At this moment, Zhou Haiming was busy arranging subsequent matters and hadn't heard the low murmurings of the villagers.

Having methodically issued all necessary instructions, he ordered his subordinates to cut fifty or sixty catties of meat from the bear.

随后, he walked over to Lin Yang and said approvingly, "Xiaoyang, I'll put in the application for you as soon as I get back, and you can keep this Type 56 semi-automatic for now. In two or three days, go down to the forestry team to pick up your permit, along with two hundred rounds of ammunition—that's the monthly quota."

Lin Yang frowned slightly, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. A moment later, he said with an anticipatory smile, "Brother Zhou, do you think you could help me swap it for a Type 81 assault rifle? I've heard the Type 81 packs a massive punch."

"Wolf packs have been active around the mountains lately, and the bears are busy fattening up for autumn and foraging everywhere. Having a powerful piece of hardware gives me more peace of mind and more confidence when facing danger."

Hearing this, Zhou Haiming couldn't help laughing out loud. "You rascal, we only recently got equipped with the Type 81s, and the quantity is limited. We don't even have enough to go around for our own men!"

He paused, looking at Lin Yang's eager gaze, a hint of hesitation crossing his face before he finally made up his mind. "However, you've really done us a huge favor this time. The third team wouldn't have been able to bring the bear back without your vital contribution. Fine then, you can use my Type 81 first!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yang immediately understood that Brother Zhou was yielding his own rifle to him, and a wave of warmth surged through his heart.

This favor was not light, and he must find an opportunity to repay it in the future.

He hurriedly grasped Zhou Haiming's hand and said sincerely, "Brother Zhou, thank you so much! I, Lin Yang, will keep this favor carved in my heart!"

"Hey! What's with all the courtesy between us? We're all brothers of the same family!" Zhou Haiming laughed heartily, then gave Lin Yang's shoulder a heavy pat.

Then, his expression suddenly turned serious, and he lowered his voice. "However, Xiaoyang, I must warn you that Sun Daqiang probably won't face any punishment."

"Your strike was indeed a bit harsh this time, breaking both of his arms. Even if they heal, he likely won't be as flexible as before."

Lin Yang naturally understood this point and therefore didn't care.

He smiled and nodded. "Brother Zhou, thanks for the warning. I know what I'm doing. If he provokes me again in the future, I'll try to restrain myself and avoid conflicts with him."

"Restrain yourself, my foot!" Zhou Haiming glared, raising his voice. "We are upright men of mettle; why should we take his abuse! You're a member of our third team now. As long as you're in the right and don't kill the man, Brother Zhou has your back!"

Hearing these words from Zhou Haiming, Lin Yang's eyes instantly lit up.

Clearly, this Brother Zhou was truly a man of passion worth befriending—unpedantic, valuing loyalty, and genuinely willing to stand up for his brothers when trouble arose.

Anyone else would likely have brushed it off with perfunctory words and told them to sort it out themselves.

In their remote county town, brawls and fights were commonplace during this era, and even if someone got their bones broken, very few cases ever escalated to lawsuits.

Most of the time, matters were resolved through private negotiations within the village.

Only when it truly couldn't be resolved would they go to the commune for help.

After the forestry team members left, the villagers who had been lingering nearby to watch the excitement swarmed forward.

Their eyes locked hungrily onto the fifty or sixty catties of bear meat in Lin Yang's hands, their gazes filled with longing.

Some even swallowed their saliva involuntarily.

Lin Yang triumphantly shook the brand-new Type 81 in his hand, turned to his father, and said, "Dad, look at this thing! This is a Type 81, and it's fierce! If any tiger dares to charge at us, a single full magazine will turn it into a hornet's nest."

"From now on, your son is the pillar of this family. You and Mom just wait to enjoy a life of ease! If anyone dares to bully our family, they'd better ask the gun in my hand first whether it agrees!"

By the end, Lin Yang's gaze turned sharp, and an aura of murderous intent radiated from him involuntarily.

The reason he spoke thus in front of so many fellow villagers was to deter those with malicious intentions.

After all, not everyone in the village was kind and simple.

In this era, every household had numerous children, with some families squeezing a dozen people into tight quarters, relying solely on the meager yield of contracted farmlands to survive.

After paying the public grain quota and local levies, the remaining food was simply not enough to eat.

Once people were driven by hunger, they were capable of doing anything!