Jiang Cai’Er’s vacation had long ended. However, the heavy snow persisted, and the intercity buses still weren’t running. The school also felt it was unsafe, so they simply postponed the start of the semester and switched to online classes.

A Bounty Hunter Team needed at least three people. For the last member, Jiang Jianguo pondered for a moment before saying, "Let’s ask your Uncle Yucheng. He has experience hunting in the mountains, and he has plenty of dogs. We can get three Hunting Dogs from him easily."

Li Yucheng was one of Li Xiang’s grand-uncles on his father’s side. He had loved hunting in his youth and was skilled at setting traps, mostly catching rabbits and Yellow-skinned weasels.

In the north, perhaps no one would dare to mess with a Yellow-skinned weasel—they’re considered Yellow Immortals. But in some southern provinces, they were just another type of game meat.

Eating a Yellow-skinned weasel was certainly an acquired taste, but some people really liked it. Plus, their pelts could be sold for money. The hide could be made into clothes, bags, fur collars, scarves, gloves, and so on.

However, their hides weren’t worth much in the summer. Only pelts from after the start of winter, during the snowy season, were very valuable.

The fur, meanwhile, could be used to make brushes.

In the southern brush-making industry, the famous "Wolf Hair" brushes were actually made from the tail fur of weasels from the autumn and winter seasons. The fur grew especially well during this time—very soft, with resilient tips.

Although Yellow-skinned weasels were a protected species, if you secretly caught a few and no one reported you, no one would really investigate. Besides, according to the relevant laws, you’d only face criminal charges for illegally hunting twenty of them.

Some people would come to the countryside to buy weasel pelts for about 15-20 yuan apiece. It wasn’t much, but it was still money. If you were unlucky and got reported or caught by the police, you could only blame your bad luck.

Because regulations had become stricter in recent years and Li Yucheng was getting older, he didn’t go into the mountains much anymore. But his experience remained.

Li Xiang’s great-grandfather had five sons and three daughters. Li Xiang’s grandfather had four brothers and three sisters. By his father’s generation, Li Xiang had over thirty paternal and maternal cousins.

These thirty-plus people were all Li Xiang’s elders, but many of the families no longer kept in close contact.

It was understandable. If they all stayed in touch, the cost of social obligations would be immense. Who could afford that?

Currently, the only people Li Xiang’s family maintained close ties with were a few elders in the village they were on good terms with, Li Xiang’s paternal aunts, and the relatives on his grandmother’s and mother’s sides.

Li Xiang was an only child. When he had children of his own, they would have even fewer relatives.

Li Xiang didn’t bother Jiang Cai’Er and went straight with Jiang Jianguo to visit Li Yucheng.

When Li Yucheng heard the plan, he was quite intrigued, his hands itching for some action. He had been there the day they butchered the wild boar at Li Xiang’s house and knew that Li Xiang was a force to be reckoned with. On this trip to hunt wild boars, Li Xiang would definitely be the main force, with him and Jiang Jianguo providing support.

The three of them had a "secret meeting," finalizing the terms of their cooperation, their individual roles, and how they would divide the spoils after the mission.

Jiang Jianguo would be in charge of flying the drone and using its thermal imaging to find the boars’ tracks or dens. Li Yucheng would provide the Hunting Dogs and be responsible for setting traps.

He owned five Chinese Rural Dogs, and he chose three of them. They took pictures of the dogs to upload to the website later.

Li Xiang, on the other hand, would handle all direct confrontations and pursuits, since he was the strongest fighter—capable of decapitating a wild boar with a single strike. Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng would also assist him in cornering and intercepting the boars to prevent them from escaping.

In addition, Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng would build two large sleds over the next few days to transport the boars.

All final profits would be split, with Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng each taking a 20% share, and Li Xiang taking 60%.

Originally, Li Xiang had suggested a 3:3:4 split, but the two older men insisted that he was the main force. They were just going along to help out and couldn’t possibly accept so much.

The two elders were firm, so they finalized that ratio.

Afterward, the three of them went to find the village chief to tell him about their plan.

The village chief, of course, had no objections. He issued them a certificate of proof and wished them a bountiful return.

With the village’s certificate in hand, along with their ID cards, household registration booklets, and other documents, Jiang Jianguo drove the tractor. Li Xiang and Li Yucheng sat on the fenders on either side as the three of them headed to the town’s police station to get their no-criminal-record certificates. After a flurry of activity, they finally had everything sorted out.

Next, the three of them went to the county seat. Li Xiang bought a laptop, three power banks, a drone, an infrared camera, hunting traps, a military-grade knife, an iron cage, iron netting, protective gear, and some dry rations: Snickers bars, instant noodles, beef jerky, cookies, *guokui* flatbreads, self-heating meals, instant soup, bottled mineral water, as well as some emergency medicine, bandages, and so on.

He prepared medicine and protective gear not just for the men, but for the dogs as well. Wild boars were ferocious, and it was highly likely the dogs would get injured. Although Li Xiang was confident he could protect everyone, what if an accident happened?

So, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng were well aware of this, too.

Li Yucheng also understood why Li Xiang wasn’t bringing Er Huang and would only be taking his dogs. After all, Li Xiang’s dog Dahuang had already died a heroic death. If Er Huang died too, he wouldn’t have any dogs left.

Besides, Li Yucheng had plenty of dogs. Since he was a member of the team, he had to contribute something. Moreover, he was confident in his own dogs; they weren’t as bold as Dahuang and generally wouldn’t dare to face a wild boar head-on.

Dahuang had been, first, incredibly brave, and second, peerlessly loyal and courageous—he had been guarding the house. When they were out hunting, there was no such duty. The dogs just needed to run and dodge.

Li Xiang knew where to buy the drone and infrared camera. He went straight to the same shop as before. When the owner saw Li Xiang return so soon, he thought there was a problem with the product he’d sold and that Li Xiang was there for a return or exchange. But when he heard what Li Xiang wanted—’Hot damn, he’s buying so much more stuff! A big-time customer!’—he immediately treated him with great enthusiasm.

The shop had a laptop and control software that came with the drone. Since the laptop’s battery life was only so-so, the owner threw in a free power bank.

But Li Xiang figured one might not be enough, so he paid for two more.

As for the rest of the hunting gear, Li Yucheng was the expert. He took them to a specialized market, and after some browsing, they easily got everything they needed. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

On the way back, Li Xiang filled up Jiang Jianguo’s tractor with fuel.

Li Xiang was paying for all the expenses for the entire mission, including the rations and everything else. These costs would not be deducted from the final profits, which was another reason the two elders didn’t want to take such a large share of the pay.

It was nearly dark by the time they got home. They piled all the new equipment at Li Xiang’s house.

His grandmother had already finished cooking. The small hot pot on the table was lit, its charcoal glowing red. Steam puffed rhythmically from the edges of the lid, and a rich aroma filled the air. However, the two old women hadn’t eaten yet. They were sitting at the table, chatting and waiting for Li Xiang to return.

Jiang Jianguo and Li Yucheng greeted the two old women and then headed to their respective homes for dinner. Li Xiang had wanted to ask them to stay and eat, but they said their families had surely cooked for them already, so it was better to eat at home. Li Xiang didn’t insist.

"Grandma, Third Granny, if I’m late next time, please eat without me. You don’t have to wait," Li Xiang said as he sat down.

"It’s fine, we weren’t hungry anyway."

Grandma knew Li Xiang had a huge appetite, so the spread was quite lavish. There were a full six dishes, three of which were brimming hot pots, and she had steamed a huge portion of rice in the steamer.