In the Zhao Family Courtyard.
Zhao Jun sat on a four-legged stool, not bothering to stand as the visitor arrived. He just gave a faint acknowledgment, "Third Brother Qin."
This was the very same Qin the Third that Zhao Hong and Li Baoyu had mentioned yesterday. His name was Qin Qiang. He lived in the East of the Village and was the third of four brothers.
Qin Qiang smiled and nodded at Zhao Jun, then turned partway. Following the sound of barking, he glanced toward the storage shed in Zhao Jun's family yard, and his eyes immediately lit up.
When Qin Qiang turned back, he asked Zhao Jun, "Brother, that's a fine dog. Did my Uncle Zhao bring it back?"
"Mhm," Zhao Jun didn't say much, just grunted coolly.
Normally, for fellow villagers who lived so close, this was no way to treat someone who came to visit.
Qin Qiang had already sensed something was off. His brow furrowed slightly, but he smoothed it out in an instant, plastering a smile back on his face. "Are my uncle and aunt not home?"
But at this question, Zhao Jun didn't even bother to grunt. He just lifted his head and met Qin Qiang's gaze, his face expressionless.
A flare of anger shot through Qin Qiang, but he was here today to ask a favor of the Zhao Family, so he had no choice but to be patient and suppress his temper. The smile on his face, however, grew stiff.
"Brother, your Third Brother came over today to ask a small favor of your family."
As soon as Qin Qiang finished speaking, a voice came from the courtyard gate. "Eldest Brother-in-law, why aren't you out yet?"
As the voice arrived, two men walked into the courtyard, one after the other. They were also dressed for mountain hunting, but neither was carrying a gun.
The moment these two entered the yard, Daqing barked even more ferociously. After just one night, it already considered Zhao Jun's family home as its own.
But Hua Gou seemed to know these two men well. It still didn't bark; instead, it wagged its tail, looking quite excited.
Once again, Zhao Jun didn't answer. Qin Qiang's face fell even further, but thankfully, the two men's arrival in the yard helped ease his embarrassment.
"Yo, Xiaojun's home?" The one walking in front spotted Zhao Jun and greeted him casually.
Living in the same village, Zhao Jun naturally recognized them. They were both Qin Qiang's younger brothers-in-law, one named Tao Dasheng, the other Tao Ersheng.
Tao Dasheng casually asked Zhao Jun the question, but without waiting for an answer, he turned to Qin Qiang. "Eldest Brother-in-law, why aren't we leaving yet?"
Qin Qiang shot Tao Dasheng a look. Tao Dasheng paused, stunned for a moment. Then his eyes fell on Hua Gou, which was tied up to the side, and he instantly understood. He immediately turned to Zhao Jun with a smile. "Hey Xiaojun, how about you lend us your Huabiao for the day?"
The Huabiao he mentioned was Zhao Jun's family's dog, Hua Gou.
Whether it was Qin Qiang, Tao Dasheng, or Tao Ersheng, their purpose for coming to Zhao Jun's family home was obvious: to borrow the dog.
Zhao Jun ignored Tao Dasheng, his gaze locking onto Qin Qiang as he asked in an icy tone, "Third Brother Qin, do you understand the rules of hunting?"
"The fuck, how dare you talk like that, kid?" The moment Zhao Jun spoke, Tao Ersheng blew up, letting out a roar.
Just then, the door behind Zhao Jun was thrown open. Li Baoyu rushed out of the house, stood in front of Zhao Jun, and shot back at Tao Ersheng, "Tao the Second, who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"
They all lived in the same village and saw each other all the time; there was usually no conflict. But seeing Tao Ersheng go after Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu refused to back down.
This sudden appearance of a Cheng Yaojin gave the three of them—Qin Qiang and his brothers-in-law—quite a start.
Before the three could react, Zhao Jun stood up from his stool and pulled Li Baoyu to his side.
Then, Zhao Jun looked at Qin Qiang and asked the same question again, "Third Brother Qin, you don't understand the rules of hunting?"
"Zhao Jun, your Third Brother has been hunting for many years. You think I don't understand them better than you?" Though he didn't know why Zhao Jun was acting this way, Qin the Third finally lost his patience.
Northeasterners are known for their fiery tempers; how could he tolerate being treated so disrespectfully again and again?
"How many years have you been hunting?" Li Baoyu sneered from the side. "Whose yard do you think you're in, bragging like that? My Uncle Zhao killed a tiger twenty years ago!"
At Li Baoyu's words, Qin Qiang was speechless. He suddenly remembered that when it came to hunting, even though these two kids were rookies, their families were anything but ordinary.
Qin Qiang fell silent, but Tao Dasheng on the side wasn't having it. He pointed at Li Baoyu and shouted, "Li Baoyu, have I been too easy on you?"
The moment Tao Dasheng's voice fell, a black shadow flew in from the side, landing precisely at Li Baoyu's feet.
"What the hell was that?"
All five people in the courtyard were startled. They looked down and saw a poplar wood club as thick as an arm.
Just then, Li Ruhai's voice came from the top of the wall between the Zhao and Li family homes.
"What's up? You wanna go a round with us three brothers?"
Everyone looked toward the wall and saw Li Ruhai, club in hand, vaulting over it.
It's true what they say: in a fight, you count on your own brothers.
No matter how the two of them argued yesterday, if there was a fight today, they would stand shoulder to shoulder.
Even though the youngest of the opposing trio, Tao Ersheng, was older than Zhao Jun, the Li Brothers showed no fear.
"Ruhai," Zhao Jun called out to stop Li Ruhai. He then put his foot on the club in front of Li Baoyu before turning back to Qin Qiang. "Third Brother, you've borrowed my Hua Xiao quite a bit these past two years, haven't you."
Qin Qiang glared at Zhao Jun and replied stiffly, "My uncle and aunt are generous. They never had a problem whenever I came to borrow the dog."
Qin Qiang's words were clearly barbed, but Zhao Jun was unfazed. He just retorted, "So when you made a kill on your hunts, did the lead dog not get a share?"
As Zhao Jun's words fell, Qin Qiang, as well as Tao Dasheng and Tao Ersheng who were facing off against the Li Brothers, all froze on the spot, utterly speechless.
Zhao Jun asked again, "You've borrowed my Hua Xiao for two years and never shared a single bite of meat. Is that because my Hua Xiao never helped you land a kill? If so, its work must be shoddy. Why are you here borrowing it again?"
Qin Qiang, Tao Dasheng, and Tao Ersheng all stood there awkwardly, unable to even open their mouths.
Zhao Jun pressed, "But if you *did* land kills, then for more than a year, almost two years, my family hasn't seen a single piece of meat from you. Third Brother, tell me, do you really understand the rules or not?"
Qin Qiang's face instantly flushed red. This wasn't the red of anger, but the red of shame.
When Zhao Jun's gaze swept over them, Tao Dasheng and Tao Ersheng also lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes. All of their earlier bluster was gone.
It came back to the same point: hunting has its own rules.
According to the teachings of the elders, when a few brothers go hunting in the mountains together, it's a bond forged by fate.
To successfully land a kill and to ensure everyone returns safely, men's hearts must be united and horses' harnesses must fit—everyone must work together as one.
But in hunting, the thing that most affects unity is dividing the spoils.
Here, "dividing the spoils" meant dividing the meat.
In a large-group hunt, the division is determined by rules; it's not as simple as giving one share per person.
Because it's not just the people who get shares—the dogs do too.
Auxiliary dogs might not be counted, but the Big-headed Dog must receive a share.
Because without a Big-headed Dog, just finding the prey is difficult. How could you even talk about dividing meat then?
After a successful hunt, once the kill is gutted, the very first thing is to feed the dogs. They risked their lives for this hunt, so you have to let them eat their fill.
The Big-headed Dog's share isn't part of the meat it eats on the spot.
You must let all the dogs finish eating first, and only then do you divide the rest of the meat.
When dividing the meat, the Big-headed Dog's share is given to its owner. Whoever owns the dog gets that share.
Besides the Big-headed Dog, if a gun was used, whoever brought the gun also gets an extra share for it.
It's not that Qin Qiang's family didn't have dogs; they had four hunting dogs. Right now, all four were outside the courtyard, held by his third-youngest brother-in-law, Tao Sansheng.
But his family's lead dog had a poor scenting ability, making it hard to find prey. Sometimes they would wander the mountains for a whole day without finding so much as a wild boar's bristle.
That's why, for the past two years, every time Qin Qiang went hunting in the mountains, he came to borrow the Zhao Family's Hua Gou.
But, from beginning to end, he had never given Zhao Jun's family a single piece of meat.