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

Chapter 277 The Past of the Lu Family and Old Zhao, the Mountain Guest

Before the tiger could bark or the hunting dogs could move, Lu Zhiqiang was the first to rush forward with his halberd. He cautiously pointed the sharp tip of the halberd at the woods ahead and roared, "Just you wait! I told you it was a wild boar. Just a few of them? Our Lu family's general didn't take them seriously. I'll make sure they run away in terror."

Lu's second aunt and Lu Wenqian stood behind Lu Zhiqiang, worried and panicked. This was the first time the women had encountered wild animals in the mountains. Lu's second aunt patted her heaving chest and said nervously, "Thank goodness my nephew is here, otherwise we really wouldn't know what to do. Oh my god, it was so scary."

Seeing his second aunt's panic, Lu Zhiqiang felt his courage rise a bit.

Suddenly, an old man carrying a hoe emerged from the woods.

The old man was one of those people in the forest area who made a living by traveling through the mountains; they were commonly known as "mountain herders." These herders lived and ate on the mountains year-round, wandering around all day, supporting their families by gathering mountain produce. Life was hard and dangerous; they might not come down the mountain for days at a time. Every night, they would build a shack, light a fire, and sleep in the mountains.

The mountain dweller was called Lao Zhao. He was known to the villagers in the nearby villages. He was an old widower who had been taking care of his mother after his wife died years ago. Only after his mother passed away did he come to live alone in the mountains.

When Lao Zhao looked up, he saw a long halberd pointing at him, and Lu Zhiqiang glaring at him fiercely, shouting loudly that he was going to hunt wild boars.

The mountain hermit seemed used to it and ignored him, continuing to walk away with his hoe. This time, it was Lu Zhiqiang's turn to be embarrassed. Lu Zhiqiang awkwardly scratched his nose, feeling somewhat unable to back down: "Isn't this old man from the Zhao family? Why is he making such a racket like a wild boar? Second Aunt, look at this old man, he's strange."

Old Zhao turned and glared at him, shouting in a booming voice, "Get lost! You weren't even born when Grandpa was running through the mountains!"

Lu Zhiqiang fell silent, quickly put away his halberd, and chuckled, "Uncle Lu, you're here to collect herbs? Aren't you teaching at school?"

Old Zhao, a man from Laoshan, used to teach at his cousin's school. After his wife and mother passed away, he applied for early retirement and then came to live permanently in the deep mountains.

The Xingan Mountains are mountainous and densely forested, with abundant natural resources and a constant supply of mountain produce throughout the year. The basket on Old Zhao's back is filled with freshly picked, high-quality produce—natural, green, and nutritious, making it excellent food and medicinal material. There's plenty of bracken and daylily.

Aunt Lu peeked out and excitedly said, "These vegetables must have been picked from the Wild Boar Forest, right?"

Wild boars are most abundant in the Wild Boar Forest. The female wild boars are very aggressive and will often chase people. Every year, many hikers are attacked by wild animals. Hiking is a job that is both tempting and dangerous.

Some of these mountain products can be exported to earn foreign exchange, while others are rare in the world and command extremely high prices. As the saying goes, those who live by the mountains live off the mountains. Living near the mountains, the mountain people naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to travel in the mountains, a gift from heaven.

The group followed Old Zhao into the shed and sat down for a while.

This shed was built by Old Zhao from snow he scavenged. He didn't know which village he'd picked up the materials from, but he assembled it into a shelter that could at least provide some protection from the wind and rain. There was an extinguished campfire on the ground; Old Zhao would light it in this shed at night and spend the night by its flames.

Old Zhao recounted his past. He had taught at a school in his early years and was known as Teacher Zhao. Back then, jobs were assigned, and his first assignment was to teach at Hongxin Village School. He glanced sideways at Lu Zhiqiang and said, "I knew your grandfather back then."

Lu Zhiqiang was also puzzled and said, "My grandfather never worked at the school, so how could he know my grandfather?"

On Old Zhao's first day at school, it just so happened that Old Master Lu, who was out selling mountain goods, came into the school and started chatting with the principal, bringing a pheasant as a gift, trying to get his son into the school. Seeing that the principal didn't say anything, Old Master Lu, being very perceptive, rushed over to help Old Zhao carry his things and even cleaned the classroom.

Old Zhao was overjoyed, thinking that the Lu family patriarch also taught at the school. But when the bell rang, the Lu family patriarch followed the principal with a beaming smile into the principal's office. Only then did Old Zhao realize that the Lu family patriarch wasn't a teacher at the school, but a hunter who roamed the mountains. He had brought a pheasant and a half-pound of chicken to give the principal some meat, hoping to ask someone for a favor.

Old Zhao stared longingly at the pheasant in Old Master Lu's hand. Back then, meat was scarce, and meat coupons were even more limited. He thought to himself, how wonderful it would be to be like Old Master Lu, eating meat every meal and even having extra meat to give as gifts.

Later, Lao Zhao just coasted through his time at school and got to know the Lu family's children. He wanted the Lu family patriarch to teach him hunting so he could go into the mountains with him. So, risking being accused of favoritism, he always gave the Lu family's children a score of just over sixty on each exam.

The score was just right, 62 points, neither high nor low. If he gave it too high, the students might find out and report him; if he gave it too low, the Lu family would fail. But if it were exactly 60, that would be too much of a coincidence. So he consistently gave the Lu family's child 62 points.

Once all the Lu family children had graduated, he finally had the opportunity to visit the Lu family patriarch, hoping he could teach him hunting. Unexpectedly, the Lu family patriarch's face darkened, and he turned his back on him, saying, "Our Lu family is washing our hands of hunting. We're done. Don't even mention hunting in this lifetime. Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Old Zhao was deeply impressed by the resolute look on the old man's face at that time.

Old Zhao coldly stared at Lu Jinyang and Lu Zhiqiang, noticing their ugly revolver and Type 54 pistol, and snorted, saying, "Who said the Lu family descendants won't go into the mountains anymore? That's bullshit. If they can't go into the mountains, what's the point of these two guns?"

With the two guns in hand, Lu Zhiqiang got excited and sat down by the campfire, demonstrating how to use them step by step. He gestured excitedly and said, "These are the good things my grandfather left me. Look, they're very useful. They're accurate every time. They can even crack open a wild boar's head."

Lu Zhiqiang was showing off, his face full of smugness, but he didn't notice that Lao Zhao's expression was getting increasingly grim. He even pulled out a wire loop from his cloth bag and said with a smile, "See this wire rope? We can just use a fire to heat it up. Hey, that'll do it right away. Let's find some animal footprints nearby and set a snare."

Lu Zhiqiang lit a fire, burning away the smell of the wire ring. He then happily squatted down on the nearby ground, searching for the footprints of a jumping cat in the mud and the footprints of a pheasant under the bushes.

Spring has arrived, and food is plentiful, unlike in winter. In winter, he could probably find pheasant footprints by simply bending over and looking for grass seeds under the bushes, but in spring, pheasants can fly everywhere and there is food everywhere, making it harder to set a trap than in winter.

Old Zhao stared at Lu Zhiqiang, sneered, and said, "What do you mean by 'retiring from the game'? The Lu family is quite good at hunting."