"Ah." Xu Changlin glanced around before speaking. "These dogs are pretty good. They’re not wary of strangers."
Hunting dogs and watchdogs are different. A watchdog has to be wary of strangers. Otherwise, if it doesn’t bite or guard the house when a stranger cos, what’s the point of keeping it?
But with hunting dogs, if you want them to recognize only one master, you can’t let them go into the mountains with anyone else. And after a successful hunt, you have to feed them yourself, just like Huang Gui does.
A dog like that, even if a stranger took it hunting on a leash, wouldn’t put in any effort once it was let loose. It might not run off, but it wouldn’t work hard.
But as for the dogs Qin Qiang and his group had, Xu Changlin could tell with a single glance that they weren’t wary of strangers. They were clearly the kind of dogs that had been taken hunting by whoever was free since they were pups.
With dogs like these, even if they get a new master, they’ll work their hearts out for them after just two or three days of being fed and taken hunting.
Just then, Zhao Guofeng wanted to speak again. He was about to ask Qin Qiang to take his n and dogs into the mountains to rescue Zhang Yuanmin.
But he had just opened his mouth, the words not yet spoken, when Xu Changlin cut in first.
The old man sighed, gazing at Gaojian Peak to the east. "A man gets old, he’s not much good anymore. I know where the Big Bear Dominator Den is, but I can’t go kill it myself."
Hearing this, the interest of Qin Qiang and his four n was instantly piqued. Qin Qiang asked, "Master Xu, you know where there’s a Big Bear Dominator Den?"
Xu Changlin glanced at Qin Qiang and answered with a question. "What’s this? You boys thinking of going after it?"
"Yeah!" Qin Qiang replied. He thought for a mont, then added, "Master Xu, you tell where that Bear Dominator Den is, and when I kill it, there’s a share of the Bear Gall in it for you."
Hearing this, the old man stared at Qin Qiang and smiled. "Qiangzi, how much can you give ?"
Qin Qiang was taken aback. He figured that once they killed the Xiong Ba, he would take the Bear Gall ho to air-dry it. Then, he’d be the one to go down the mountain and sell it, and whatever price he got would be his to report. How much he gave Xu Changlin would be completely at his discretion.
But since the old man had asked so directly, Qin Qiang knew he couldn’t weasel his way out of it. He said, "Master Xu, look, there are five of us, with guns and dogs. And we’ll have to see the quality of the Bear Gall after we get it."
At this point, Qin Qiang saw Xu Changlin’s expression darken and quickly added, "But don’t you worry, Master Xu. If we really kill it, there’ll be fifty yuan in it for you for sure."
"Fifty..." The old man pondered for a mont. Just as Qin Qiang and his n were growing impatient, he let out a heavy sigh and said, "Alright, fine. What can I do? I’m too old to hunt it myself. If I could, why would I need you? Qiangzi, let tell you..."
"That’s enough, Master Xu!" Seeing that Xu Changlin was about to ramble on, Zhang Laibao cut him off. "Fifty yuan isn’t a small amount. Just hurry up and tell us where the Bear Dominator Den is."
Xu Changlin shot Zhang Laibao a sideways glance but ignored him. He pulled Qin Qiang closer and pointed at Gaojian Peak. "Qiangzi, you go over the summit. On the way down is Jumping Stone Pond. There’s a big rocky outcrop there. It’s right under that."
"Got it, Master Xu. I understand." Qin Qiang replied and imdiately blew a sharp whistle.
At the sound of the whistle, the dogs scattered nearby all ca running to him.
"Qiangzi!" Just then, Zhao Guofeng suddenly spoke up, stopping Qin Qiang.
Towards Zhao Guofeng, Qin Qiang and his n wouldn’t dare be as casual as they were with Xu Changlin. Qin Qiang took a step forward and nodded. "Uncle Zhao, what can I do for you?"
Zhao Guofeng glanced at Xu Changlin. Seeing the smile playing on the old man’s lips, Zhao Guofeng gave him a ntal thumbs-up. To Qin Qiang, however, he said, "I hear that Xiong Ba thing is tough to deal with. How about I get you a semi-automatic?"
"Woah!" Qin Qiang had never imagined such a good thing could happen. Overjoyed, he quickly said, "That would be fantastic! Thank you, Uncle Zhao!"
’I should be thanking you,’ Zhao Guofeng grumbled to himself. He turned and walked into the Village Office, waving for Qin Qiang and the others to follow.
The n went into the Village Office with Zhao Guofeng. He took out a key, opened a large iron cabinet, and took out a semi-automatic rifle and a full pack of twenty-five bullets.
Zhao Guofeng handed them both to Qin Qiang. "Qiangzi, you be careful now."
Qin Qiang, beaming, took the gun and bullets. He passed the 16-gauge shotgun from his shoulder to Tao Dasheng and said, "Great Victory, you use my gun. With two guns, we’ll be on solid ground."
"Alright, brother-in-law." Tao Dasheng happily took the gun. What man doesn’t love guns? But his family only had one, and ammunition cost money. Tao Dasheng only had a few chances to practice, and on hunts, he had to let Qin Qiang do all the shooting.
Seeing this, Zhao Guofeng quickly said, "Great Victory can shoot too? In that case, I’ll get you another semi-automatic to use."
At these words, the smiles on the faces of Qin Qiang and his three brothers-in-law grew even wider. Qin Qiang asked with a grin, "Uncle Zhao, is that really okay?"
"Hah, why wouldn’t it be?" Zhao Guofeng said, pulling another semi-automatic from the iron cabinet. Before he could hand it to Tao Dasheng, he looked at Tao Ersheng, Tao Sansheng, and Zhang Laibao and asked, "Do you three need to take one too?"
This gesture from Zhao Guofeng made Qin Qiang and his n ecstatic. For so many years, in all of Yong’an Village, who besides Zhao Youcai had ever been able to borrow a gun from the Village Office?
Zhao Guofeng’s generosity today made Qin Qiang and his n mistakenly believe the Village Chief was giving them special treatnt.
But how could they have known? Zhao Guofeng’s reasons were threefold: first, to save a life; second, for the safety of the five n themselves; and third, to make up for Xu Changlin’s deception.
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