Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 106 The Dog Gang Provokes Others

If Li Ju'an wanted to take on taxidermy jobs, he first needed a gang of dogs. He knew this job was lucrative and many people wanted to hire them, so he figured he should go to Old Tao's place and buy some trained helper dogs.

He chuckled and ruffled Li Xiao's hair, saying, "Don't worry, I have a plan. We'll take down a mountain bandit and dismantle his tiger teeth for you to play with."

My younger sister's previously dry and yellowish hair has become shiny and healthy after a month of nourishment; with improved nutrition, the little girl's complexion and overall appearance have improved significantly. My mother, Song Lanhua's, previously haggard and sunken face has gradually become fuller and younger after a month of work.

Li Xiao, the younger sister, shook her head earnestly: "Brother, I don't want to play with the mountain king's teeth. I just want you to come back from the mountain safely."

Looking at his sensible younger sister, Li Ju'an felt a pang of tenderness and coaxed her, "Alright, I won't run into the mountain king. Even if I'm willing, Big Tiger won't be."

Big Tiger, who was suddenly called out, was lying at his feet, warming himself by the comfort of the kang (a heated brick bed). Big Tiger raised his dozing eyes, glanced at him, sighed, and rested his chin on his crossed forelegs, seemingly impatient but helpless.

Li Xiao laughed and said, "Brother, Da Hu really doesn't want to fight the mountain king."

The Li family was filled with joy, and their laughter echoed outside the courtyard gate.

……

The next morning, Li Ju'an thought it wouldn't be right to go empty-handed when he went to see Lao Tao, so he took a cloth bag full of wolf meat with him and went out.

He had just stepped out of the courtyard when he saw the Lin family's house not far away. He slapped his forehead and thought, "Why don't I bring some wolf meat for Lin Mei too?" Although wolf meat is not as good as pork, it is still meat and can be rendered into fat. He had eaten so many meat buns from Lin Mei; it wouldn't be right not to bring some meat with him.

He had just turned a corner when he saw Lin Mei wearing a floral-patterned jacket, embroidered cotton boots, and two neat, thick ponytails, coming out of the Lin family's courtyard and heading in his direction.

The two bumped into each other, and a hazy, romantic atmosphere enveloped them.

Love in that era was reserved and subtle, creating a sense of mystery that fueled the passionate and romantic excitement. Later generations, however, embraced love openly and completely, seeking only what they needed, not a lifelong commitment; love in those times was like plain, uninspired water.

Li Ju'an opened his mouth as if to say something, but when he saw Lin Mei's shy blush and lowered eyes, he hesitated and remained silent, completely captivated by her beauty.

Lin Mei brought the items specifically to see him, feeling both eager to see him and afraid of actually seeing him. Now that the person she wanted to see was standing right in front of her, her heart was pounding faster, and she lowered her eyes shyly, unable to utter a single word.

Neither of them spoke, but it seemed as if they had said everything.

Li Ju'an led her to a secluded spot and asked with a smile, "Have you missed me lately?"

The two sat under the snow shelter chatting and whispering to each other. In those days, young men and women were reserved and shy, and they were content just to sit together and chat.

Lin Mei lowered her head shyly, handed over the movie tickets she had been carrying for a long time, and said, "My brother has been working as an apprentice at the Workers' Village Cinema these past few days. He managed to get two movie tickets on the side of Shima Road."

Li Ju'an immediately understood; this was an invitation to go to the movies together. Back then, only people in the county town would occasionally go to the cinema, as going to the movies was a relatively luxurious affair at the time.

Back then, even couples going to the movies together wouldn't dare go before the movie started; they'd go in after it had begun. After the movie, they'd leave separately, afraid of being seen; holding hands was out of the question.

Having been reborn, Li Ju'an was much bolder. He took Lin Mei's hand and gently caressed it, feeling the softness of her small hands. He looked at the owner of the hand with her lowered eyes, her shy cheeks exuding a delicate beauty.

A sudden impulse struck him, and he grabbed her hand, slowly drawing closer to kiss her. The girl before him felt her heart pounding, her eyes filled with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, and she remained motionless.

Suddenly, an old man next to him coughed loudly. It turned out that Old Man Zhang had secretly arranged to meet someone in the snow shed to play cards, and had just stumbled upon the two of them talking intimately.

The old man stood to the side, staring at the two of them with a scrutinizing gaze, as if to say: Let's see how you do something outrageous!

How can anyone date under these circumstances?

Lin Mei jumped up with a startled cry like a frightened rabbit, shoved a movie ticket into Li Ju'an's arms, covered her face shyly, and ran away. Li Ju'an chased after her, calling, "Take some meat home with you." He insisted on stuffing a piece of wolf meat from his cloth bag into her hand before watching her run home, her face flushed.

He looked at the movie ticket in his hand, a smile creeping onto his face. The movie was showing next week; going to the movies was great, he hadn't been in a long time. Song Desheng had complained to him about how shameless his brother-in-law was, constantly instigating him and his wife to fight. In comparison, his future brother-in-law was quite filial, knowing to bring him movie tickets.

He thought of Lin Mei's younger brother, Lin Jiadong, from his previous life. Lin Jiadong was an apprentice at the Workers' Village Cinema. After working there for a few years, his master retired early due to injury, and Lin Jiadong took over as a full-time employee. He couldn't help but feel happy. It seemed he would be going to the cinema more often from now on. In the past, he and Lin Jiadong hadn't had much interaction, but in this life, they would probably run into each other frequently.

Grandpa Zhang stared intently at him, as if checking for any wicked thoughts. Nothing out of line could escape Grandpa Zhang's sharp eyes.

Li Ju'an found it amusing and deliberately kissed the movie ticket, saying, "What can you do in broad daylight? If you're going to do something, you can't do it during the day."

Mr. Zhang is in his early sixties. His wife has disliked his snoring since he was young, and even insisted on sleeping in a separate room from him when they were younger. Now that he's older, he's becoming increasingly impotent and hasn't been with a woman for many years. Besides playing cards, he seems to have no other hobby.

Now that he heard Li Ju'an deliberately trying to shut him up, he was so angry that his beard stood on end. He stopped playing cards, turned around, and left.

Li Ju'an felt relieved and satisfied after arguing with the old man. He carefully put the movie tickets away, carried the remaining meat in the cloth bag, and continued on his way to the Tao family's old house to buy a dog.

Besides him, there were a few familiar faces at the entrance of the Tao family's old house: Wang Guochang's son, the brothers Lu Zhiqiang and Lu Jinyang, and Sun Weimin.

Wang Guochang, an elderly hunter from Niubeitun, was seriously injured and transferred from the clinic to a large hospital in the county town for further treatment.

His son, Wang Xudong, advised his father to stop going into the mountains, saying that he was too old to hunt anymore and that it was too dangerous, leaving him with a host of health problems. Rheumatism and arthritis, in particular, are occupational diseases common to hunters in the mountains; they cause great suffering in old age, not fatal but very debilitating.

Wang Guochang was attacked by a pack of wolves this time, and was seriously injured and transferred to another hospital. The hospitalization and suffering really changed his temperament a lot. He had no choice but to agree to his son's filial piety and stop going into the mountains to hunt. He told his son to lead the family's six dogs to help him.

"Transferring" means giving one's own dogs to another hunter. "Selling separately" means breaking up the pack and selling them individually.

Wang Guochang would never agree to help a regular hunter who came to buy his dog. He felt sorry for the dog and could only help people he knew well, such as Dog Commander Lao Tao.

Now, following his father's wishes, Wang Xudong led his six dogs to the home of Lao Tao, the famous "Dog Commander," hoping to give his six dogs to Lao Tao.

Unexpectedly, Lao Tao flatly refused him: "No."