Seven or eight people looked at the wild animals on the ground, happily embraced each other and cheered. No one was prepared to chase the fleeing animals; they hadn’t noticed that some had already been killed by Xiao Wu with a single stone. Zhang Guoqing saw everyone’s excitement and quickly arranged, "Everyone, don’t get too excited. Let’s move these things back first, to prevent any big creatures from being attracted by the smell of blood. Brother Qingshan, you make the arrangements. I’ll go chop some branches to make a frame to pull back." After saying that, he didn’t wait for them and hurried off to cut trees, tying them with rope to make a frame. Content orıginally comes from 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩 Zhang Qingshan looked at the wildlife scattered around, "Everyone, bring the ones farther away over here first, pile them together. When Xiao Wu brings the frame over, we’ll take turns carrying them. Qingya, you take two people to start moving, Qingling, Qingyan, deal with the smell of blood on the ground. There are six deer, three boars, and one mountain goat, it’s enough, let’s head back first. If you guys want to come back, it’ll have to be in a few days. I reckon by the way we hunt, even the deer might become extinct here." Zhang Qingfeng was carrying a wild deer not far away and shouted, "If I’d known hunting was so effective, I would have gone hunting with Xiao Wu sooner. Look how much effort it saves us. What a loss, what a loss, how could I be so silly?" Zhang Qingya rolled his eyes at him, "If it were that easy, would Daqing Mountain still have any wildlife? Xiao Wu had it all figured out long before. After this hunt, it’ll take at least a month for animals to come back. Don’t tell anyone about this place; in the future, we’ll come here to hunt ourselves. It’s so good here, you can see wild fruits in the cold deep forest, if others find out, there’ll be nothing left for us." "I’m not stupid, Qingya, how about we set a few traps?" "No. We won’t set traps; the wild animals will come here to drink water, it’s as if we’re raising them. If there are traps, there’ll hardly be any animals left. These creatures aren’t as foolish as people." Zhang Qingya shook his head, and seeing that the smell of blood had subsided here, grabbed a handful of herbs and went to the side. Zhang Guoqing soon returned carrying two frames, "Brothers, hurry up, put everything on top, you carry them away, and I’ll use ropes to carry off the rest myself." After everyone helped put things onto the frames, they hurriedly rushed off. Zhang Guoqing carried a wild deer and held a bag of stones, bringing up the rear. Every now and then, when he spotted a wild chicken, he would throw a stone at it. Seeing wild chicken eggs, he regretfully shook his head, realizing there was no way to take them this time, he’d have to come back again. Before long, there were five or six wild chickens dangling in the bamboo basket hanging from his shoulder. His wife Jiao Jiao didn’t like dried wild game, so these were specially for her. Not far from the outskirts of the mountain foot, Zhang Qingshan and the others quickly put down the frames, and sat down to rest on the side, too happy to care about the unmelted snow on the ground that could freeze them. Everyone saw Zhang Guoqing carrying a wild deer effortlessly, with a pile of wild chickens in the basket, but not a single wild rabbit. Zhang Qingfeng’s mouth hung open in surprise, pointing at the basket in astonishment, "Xiao Wu, were you specifically looking for hens? Where are the roosters? And the rabbits?" Everyone burst into laughter, knowing that Xiao Wu was thinking of his young wife; otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that they were all wild hens? After Zhang Qingshan finished laughing, he asked Zhang Guoqing, "Xiao Wu, did the deer herd happen to be over here? Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many; you see there are three bucks among them. Do you know where the wild boar herds are too?" Zhang Guoqing saw everyone eagerly looking at him, and amusedly said, "There’s actually a wild boar herd halfway up the mountain, but there’s a wolf pack nearby. Also, just before reaching the deep mountains, there’s a monkey group, with a black bear among them. There are plenty of wild fruits near the monkey group, but on the left, there’s a wolf pack, along with black bears, so I didn’t dare to go there. This place is far from them and comparatively safer. If you want to enjoy a feast, come here. But don’t go to other places unless it’s for village-organized hunts; it’s too dangerous." Zhang Qingfeng lamented, "I was hoping to come up the mountain a few more times with you to catch wild boars. It’s a pity; why don’t those wolf packs just leave." "All animals in the mountains follow natural laws, big fish eat little fish, everyone has their own territory. You see, wild boars dare to stay near wolves because there are monkeys and black bears above them who won’t venture deep into the mountains; there are even bigger beasts there. This time, with the men from the three villages going up the mountain, we’re targeting wild boars and black bears. Wolves and monkeys run fast, seeing so many people they’ll definitely retreat into the deep mountains, whereas wild boars can’t. Black bears hibernate and feel sluggish in the dead of winter, so they can’t escape." Zhang Guoqing said with a smile. "Alright, we should get going, what to do with so many things?" Zhang Qingyan looked at the pile of wildlife on the ground and said. Zhang Qingshan looked at the wild game on the ground, "Xiao Wu led us here, I only managed to shoot one, Qingya also shot one, the rest were all supplemented by Xiao Wu. How about this, each family gets a wild deer, and the rest goes to our second uncle’s house." After finishing, everyone except Zhang Guoqing’s three brothers nodded in agreement. Zhang Guoqing said with a stern face, "Brothers, do you look down on me or what? There are six deer, just right for three families, two for each. The boars are also three, one for each family. Don’t oppose; the mountain goat will go with me. I’ve got a mountain goat, that’s enough. Let’s carry them back and let Uncle arrange whether to sell them or not. It’s best to sell them; won’t there still be plenty of meat when we go up the mountains tomorrow?" After speaking, he carried the wild deer and led everyone towards the North Mountain Foot. He often took this path, allowing him to enter directly from the back door of his house, avoiding drawing attention. Back at Zhang Guoqing’s house, he told everyone to put the items in the backyard first, then hurried to the main house. Seeing Zhang Guoqing come in, Mr. Zhang asked in surprise, "Are you back so soon? What did you catch? Where are your brothers?" "They’re back too, all in the backyard. Lucky today, there were quite a few wild animals near the creek, so we surrounded them. Each family gets two deer and one boar, our family got an additional mountain goat. You can ask Mom if she wants to sell them." After speaking, he saw Xi Zi about to run to the backyard and quickly called out, "Xi Zi, don’t run just yet. Go invite Grandpa and Great-Uncle over, tell them we’ve caught game and want them to come, but keep your voice down." "Got it, Uncle, don’t worry." Xi Zi nodded, then took his little brothers outside to find the elders. Zhang Guoqing thought for a moment and said to his father, "Dad, let’s not sell the mountain goat; let’s keep it for winter stew. Take care of the rest with Brother; I’ll go to the county with Second Brother for business." "You go handle your business first. Leave the household affairs to me and your brother. Your father-in-law has already gone to the county; if you need anything, discuss it with him." Mr. Zhang said as he walked towards the backyard. Zhang Guoqing quickly followed and whispered, "Dad, I’m not going to the backyard; signal Second Brother to come out. I’ll go wash up first." Seeing his father nod, he watched him enter the backyard before turning to head towards the west wing of the inner room.