The next morning, Zhao Jun got up from the heated brick bed to find his father, Zhao Youcai, cooking in the outer room.

"Dad, are you going hunting again?" Still groggy, Zhao Jun really couldn’t process what he was seeing.

In his memory, the only time Zhao Youcai would ever wake up early to cook was before heading into the mountains to hunt.

Like before he hunted the Pig God, or when he went after the lynx two days ago.

But he was still in trouble. How could he dare go hunting now?

"Get outta here!" Zhao Youcai looked up and cursed at Zhao Jun. He was holding a small porcelain bowl, having just dumped the sliced wild boar meat from it into the pot. Hearing his son’s words, he raised the bowl in his hand and feigned hitting him.

Zhao Jun just smiled without saying anything, silently tucking away this observation.

Breakfast was a stew of frozen tofu, napa cabbage, potatoes, and vermicelli, with plenty of sliced wild boar meat mixed in.

A full basin was brought to the table, the contents drizzled with a layer of chili oil. Eating the hot, soupy dish on a cold winter morning was exceptionally comforting.

"Mom," Zhao Jun said after taking a bite of a sticky rice bun. His mother, Wang Meilan, had just put two slices of boar meat on his plate. "No wonder Dad’s the real chef. This is delicious. You just can’t compare to him."

"How can I compare to your father? He’s so amazing," Wang Meilan said. "I’ve worked my entire life and never managed to save up two thousand yuan."

The passive-aggressive words tumbled out of Wang Meilan. Nearby, Zhao Youcai froze for a moment, then quickly lowered his head and focused on the food in his bowl.

"Hey, sis." Zhao Jun leaned over toward Zhao Hong and asked, "Who do you think is the better cook? Dad or Mom?"

"Dad’s is better!" Zhao Hong answered without a second thought. It was a question that didn’t require any thinking; if Wang Meilan’s cooking was better than Zhao Youcai’s, she would’ve long since stopped being a farmer.

Zhao Jun had said it, and now he’d made Zhao Hong say it too. Realization seemed to dawn on Wang Meilan, and she chimed in, "Fine, if everyone says your dad’s cooking is so good, then he can be the one to get up early and cook for you all every day. I’m done. It’s not like I enjoy waiting on you people anyway."

Hearing this, Zhao Youcai’s chopsticks, which were in the middle of picking up some vermicelli, paused in midair. He then buried his head even deeper into his bowl.

After finishing his meal, Zhao Jun went back to his room. He rested for a bit, then changed into clothes for going out.

He was just going visiting today, so he didn’t bring his gun. When he came out of his room, he found Zhao Youcai actually washing the dishes.

This was probably the first time Zhao Youcai had washed a dish since he got married.

"Dad, Mom, I’m leaving!" Zhao Jun called out.

Zhao Youcai, preoccupied with the dishes, didn’t answer. From the inner room, Wang Meilan said, "Go on, son. Be careful on the road."

Zhao Jun left his house but didn’t see Li Baoyu outside. He didn’t go to the Li Family home to look for him, though.

He had a feeling that Li Dayong wasn’t having an easy time at home either. If he showed up at their door right now, it might put the older man in an awkward position.

So, Zhao Jun waited in his yard. A few moments later, Li Baoyu came out of his house. The two of them left the village together, heading west.

Yongfu Village was west of Yong’an Village. The two were separated by about four miles, and at Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu’s pace, the walk took just over an hour.

Upon entering Yongfu Village, they stopped a passerby. Instead of asking for Yang Mantang’s address first, Zhao Jun asked where the village’s general store was.

After getting clear directions, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu headed to the store.

The shopkeeper was taken aback by the two strangers, but Zhao Jun immediately asked for two Peach Cans.

As the shopkeeper turned to get the cans, Zhao Jun asked him where Yang Mantang lived.

The shopkeeper understood immediately—they were here to visit friends or family.

Once they got the directions from the shopkeeper, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu headed for Yang Mantang’s house, carrying the cans.

Even though he had a connection through Zhang Yuanmin and Yang Yufeng, Zhao Jun still brought a gift.

They hadn’t walked far before they arrived outside a fenced yard. When they were still a few yards away, they heard dogs barking incessantly from inside.

Yang Mantang clearly kept more than one dog. With all the barking, the people inside were sure to hear them.

A moment later, the door opened, and a man walked out.

The man saw Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu and froze in the doorway. Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were also startled to see him.

They knew each other—or to be more precise, they had met before.

The man who had come out of the house was the same one who had been selling Bear Gall when Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu sold their Lynx Fur two days prior.

Zhao Jun spoke first, calling out, "You must be Brother Mantang, right?"

"Ah." Yang Mantang snapped out of it and hurried to the yard gate. Smiling at the two of them, he asked, "Which of you is Brother Zhao Jun?"

"I’m Zhao Jun." He stepped forward to shake Yang Mantang’s hand, then gestured to Li Baoyu beside him. "This is my younger brother, Li Baoyu."

Li Baoyu reached out and shook hands with Yang Mantang.

While still shaking Li Baoyu’s hand, Yang Mantang said to them both, "Brothers, it’s cold out here. Come on in."

With that, Yang Mantang led the two into the yard.

As they entered the house, they saw a mattress pad spread on the floor of the outer room. A black mother dog was lying on it, with three small puppies nursing at her belly.

Hearing them enter, the mother dog lifted her head. Seeing strangers, she bared her teeth and let out a threatening growl.

All three men knew she was just being protective of her pups.

Yang Mantang smiled at Zhao Jun and said, "Don’t worry, brother, she won’t bite. Take a look at these three pups. See any you like?"

Zhao Jun asked, "Brother, are any of them female?"

"You want a female?" Yang Mantang walked over, gently pulled a nursing puppy away from its mother, and held it up in his cupped hands for Zhao Jun to see. "Brother, this is the only female in the litter. What do you think? Will she do?"

Zhao Jun knew how to judge a dog, but they had to be a bit older. ’What can I tell when it’s this small?’

But he remembered that Black Dragon was supposed to have been born in February of this year. If this was the only female in the litter, then this had to be the one.

"Brother, this is the one, then. I was hoping for a female."

"Alright, you can take her with you in a bit." As he spoke, Yang Mantang placed the puppy back with her mother.

Just then, the sound of children’s voices came from the inner room. Yang Mantang called for them to come out and meet the guests.

Zhang Yuanmin had claimed that Yang Mantang’s ability to have children was all thanks to his "deer goods." Zhao Jun didn’t know if that was true or not.

But Yang Mantang did indeed have a son and a daughter—the boy was eight, and the girl was five.

When the two children called him "Uncle," Zhao Jun gave Li Baoyu a look. Li Baoyu took one of the cans out of his pocket.

"Brother, you shouldn’t have. Why’d you buy something?" Yang Mantang said. "You’re Yuanmin’s brother, so you’re no stranger here."

"Hey, Brother," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "I didn’t bring much of anything, just a can of fruit for the kids to have a little treat."

Since Zhao Jun put it that way, Yang Mantang didn’t refuse again. He just invited the two of them into the main room and said he wanted them to stay for a meal.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu didn’t decline. However, only Yang Mantang and his two children were home; his wife was nowhere to be seen.

The three of them sat on the heated brick bed and chatted. Yang Mantang asked about the two Lynx Furs Zhao Jun had sold the other day. When he heard that the old Cannon Shooter, Xu Changlin, had only wanted the lynx heads, Yang Mantang frowned. "What kind of weird ritual is that old man up to?"

Just as Zhao Jun was about to answer, a loud bang came from the doorway, and a person burst in.

Zhao Jun initially thought it was Yang Mantang’s wife and was about to stand up and greet her. But then a man rushed into the room, saw Yang Mantang, and burst into tears, wailing, "Brother-in-law! My older brother... he’s gone!"