They say going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is hard.
This great mountain was undeveloped. The paths were all naturally ford, making them rugged and difficult to traverse.
The mountain path was difficult enough on its own, but with over a hundred pounds of pork on their backs, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had to repeatedly stop and rest on their way down.
At first, it was manageable. But by the end, they could barely walk for five minutes without needing to sit down and rest.
And so, the two of them walked from just after one in the afternoon until nearly six. In October, the sky in the mountains was already dark by then.
They had now reached the foot of the mountain. Another ten minutes or so of walking and they would be clear of the mountain.
Yong’an Village, where Zhao Jun’s family lived, had been built for the convenience of the employees of the Yong’an Forest Farm. The village was situated just a short distance from the foot of the mountain.
So, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu decided to take a longer rest there. They would gather their strength so the two of them could make it all the way ho in one last push.
This break lasted for over twenty minutes.
As they got up and Li Baoyu helped Zhao Jun hoist the gunnysack onto his shoulder, Zhao Jun suddenly said, "Baoyu, listen. When we get into the village, if anyone asks what we’re carrying, just tell them it’s mountain goods."
"Uh..." Li Baoyu imdiately understood what Zhao Jun was getting at.
But after a glance at the gunnysack by his feet, Li Baoyu looked troubled. "Brother, what we’re carrying doesn’t really look like mountain goods, does it?"
Zhao Jun laughed. "Don’t worry about it. Just say it and walk away. It’s not like they’d dare to rifle through our sacks to check, right?"
"No, they wouldn’t dare do that." Li Baoyu laughed too.
In those days, who didn’t want their family to have a little more at to eat? Other than your closest relatives or dearest friends, who would be willing to share their at with others?
With renewed energy, the two of them descended the mountain and entered the village.
It was nearly half-past six by then. The workers from the Forest Farm had already gotten off their shifts and gone ho. Those who worked in the fields had also packed it in for the day.
It was the ti of day when every family was busy cooking and eating dinner.
Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had tid their return perfectly. From the mont they entered the village until they reached their own front doors, they only ran into two people.
And both of them did indeed ask what Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were carrying. The boys just answered, "Mountain goods," and, ignoring their questioning looks, trudged on ho with the sacks on their shoulders.
By the ti Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu reached their hos, their dog had already beaten them there.
The two of them had taken the dog out and been gone all day.
At first, the adults at ho had no idea. Their fathers both worked at the Forest Farm and had left for their shifts right after an early breakfast.
As for Zhao Jun’s mother, Wang ilan, and Li Baoyu’s mother, Jin Xiaoi, they had left lunch for their children after breakfast and then gone off to work in the fields together.
When the two won returned, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Wang ilan got ho and noticed Zhao Jun wasn’t there. She asked her two daughters, but when they both shook their heads and said they didn’t know where their big brother had gone, she didn’t think much of it.
She wasn’t the only one; Jin Xiaoi wasn’t worried either.
It made sense, after all. What boy that age could stay put? They had probably just run off sowhere to play.
Besides, both Wang ilan and Jin Xiaoi were confident that the two boys would be back for sure when it was ti to eat.
But then it got to be past four, nearing five o’clock.
Li Baoyu’s father, Li Dayong, took the Forest Farm’s small commuter train down the mountain and got ho.
Li Dayong entered his yard and shouted over the wall, "Sister-in-law! You ho?"
At Li Dayong’s shout, Wang ilan and Jin Xiaoi both ca out of their respective houses.
"You’re back, brother?" Wang ilan greeted him casually. The two families were neighbors, separated only by a low wall, and were as close as family.
Li Dayong held up his right hand, revealing sothing wrapped in old-fashioned yellow paper and tied with hemp string in a cross-hatch pattern.
"Sister-in-law, your husband asked to bring back so dried tofu," Li Dayong said. "There are guests at the factory today. He said you and the kids should eat first and not wait for him."
Wang ilan walked over to the wall and took the package. "Alright. Hey, brother, why don’t you take so of this dried tofu back with you?"
"No need." Li Dayong grinned and held up his left hand, revealing a similar package. "You think my big brother would forget about ?"
"Alright then, I’ll head back inside," Wang ilan said with a smile, and went into her house with the package.
anwhile, in Baoyu’s house’s yard, Jin Xiaoi walked up to Li Dayong, took the package from his hand, and smiled. "Perfect. I’ll stir-fry this with a few small peppers later. You and the boys love it that way."
Li Dayong said nothing and strode into the house. Once inside, he climbed onto the kang without taking off his shoes, leaning his body against the wall with his feet dangling over the edge.
Then, Jin Xiaoi could be heard from the outer room, telling her younger son to pour so water for Li Dayong.
Li Dayong had two sons and a daughter. Li Baoyu was the eldest son, the second son, Li Ruhai, was thirteen, and he also had a seven-year-old daughter nad Li Xiaoqiao.
After a long day’s work, Li Dayong felt exhausted. He took the enal mug from his second son, and as he leaned against the wall, his head felt fuzzy. ’I should take a nap before dinner,’ he thought.
But then he realized he hadn’t seen his eldest son since he got ho. He casually asked Li Ruhai, "Where’d your brother run off to this ti?"
Li Ruhai chuckled. "My big brother went up the mountain with Brother Zhao to hunt wild boar and Black Bears."
"Hmph..." Li Dayong had only asked offhandedly and gave a noncommittal grunt. But as Li Ruhai’s words registered in his mind, a jolt went through him. He shot upright, and the enal mug in his hand slipped from his grasp, crashing onto the kang.
CLANG... DANG, DANG, DANG...
The enal mug rolled and clattered across the kang.
Li Dayong’s eyes were wide as saucers. He glared at his younger son and barked, "What did you just say?"
Li Ruhai, startled, froze on the spot.
"What’s wrong? What’s going on?" Hearing the commotion from the inner room, Jin Xiaoi, who had been cutting the dried tofu in the outer room, imdiately dropped her knife and rushed in.
"Speak!" Li Dayong swung his legs down and jumped off the kang. He shoved Li Ruhai, making him stumble, and roared, "I said, speak!"
"What do you think you’re doing?" Jin Xiaoi didn’t know what was going on, but a mother’s instinct to protect her child kicked in. Afraid that Li Dayong would hit Li Ruhai, she imdiately shoved him back toward the kang with both hands.
Li Dayong stumbled back, the backs of his knees hitting the edge of the kang, and he collapsed into a sitting position on it.
Li Dayong was furious. He roared at Jin Xiaoi, "You have the nerve to ask ? What kind of mother are you? Has our boy ever even been deep in the mountains before? And you just let him go hunting with Little Zhao?"
"Hunting?" Jin Xiaoi rolled her eyes at Li Dayong in annoyance. She pointed a finger at him a couple of tis and scoffed, "What are he and Zhao Xiao going to hunt? Catch a wild duck? Shoot a lynx? At most, they’d dig a badger out of its hole."
If she hadn’t said that, it might have been fine. But her words made Li Dayong even more furious. He cursed, "You damned woman! You reckless fool!"
Gritting his teeth, Li Dayong pointed at Li Ruhai and snarled at Jin Xiaoi, "Go on, ask this little brat here! He said our boy and Zhao Xiao went into the mountains to hunt wild boar and Black Bears!"
"What?" Jin Xiaoi’s mind went blank, and an icy chill shot through her entire body.
She had grown up around the Forest Farm. From a young age, she had followed the adults to the outskirts of the forest to forage for schisandra berries, mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and other mountain goods. She knew full well how dangerous hunting could be.
Running into a wild boar was one thing. But if they ran into a Black Bear—the kind Li Ruhai and Li Dayong were talking about—then her precious, reckless boy might never co back from that mountain.
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