Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu got back early today, arriving home just after two in the afternoon. They were right on time for dumplings tonight.

That afternoon, the sound of mincing meat could be heard from both the Zhao and Li households at the same time.

For the next three days, both families ate well. They had a rotating menu of roe deer, wild boar, and Black Bear.

Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu didn’t go up the mountain during those three days, spending their time at home eating and drinking.

On the morning of the fourth day, Zhao Jun was at home eating breakfast.

His breakfast was no simple affair: a whole plate of pan-fried roe deer dumplings.

In the winter, Northeasterners have a habit of making frozen dumplings. They’d prepare a batch, freeze them solid outside, and when it was time to eat, just take them out and boil them straight from frozen in cold water.

No need to make them fresh; it was convenient.

The filling for these dumplings was primarily roe deer leg meat, with plenty of chopped scallions added by Wang Meilan.

When mixing the filling, Wang Meilan didn’t add water. Instead, she used bone broth, stirring it into the meat a little at a time.

And that bone broth had been simmered from a wild boar’s shoulder blade.

These dumplings were almost pure meat. They burst with broth with every bite, and once you slurped up the juices, all that was left inside the wrapper was a little meatball.

Biting into one filled your mouth with meat—incredibly satisfying!

Despite such a fine meal, after eating them for three mornings straight, Zhao Jun was already complaining he was tired of them.

Just a moment ago, when the freshly boiled dumplings were served, Zhao Jun had insisted that Wang Meilan pan-fry them.

Wang Meilan doted on her son. Besides, oil wasn’t scarce at home right now. The rendered fat from the Black Bear meat Zhao Jun had hunted all winter was enough to last both their families until spring.

In fact, they had to eat as much as they wanted; otherwise, it would last them until summer.

Zhao Jun was sitting on the kang eating when Li Baoyu suddenly pushed the door open, a small basin cradled in his arms.

A plate was covering the basin to keep the food inside from getting cold in the frigid air outside.

As soon as Li Baoyu entered, he took out the basin and placed it on the stove counter.

He lifted the plate, set it aside, then picked up the basin and presented it to Wang Meilan, saying, "Auntie, my mom made these steamed buns. Eat them while they’re hot."

The small basin held about twelve or thirteen steamed buns.

There was no need for formalities between the two families. Wang Meilan took a bun and started eating right away.

Li Baoyu then carried the basin into the room. He ignored Zhao Jun at first, instead bringing the basin to Zhao Hong and Zhao Na, who were playing by the edge of the kang.

The two girls weren’t very interested in the pan-fried dumplings, but the moment they saw the steamed buns, they grabbed them and started eating.

"Be careful, they’re hot," Li Baoyu reminded the two girls before finally placing the basin of buns in front of Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun, in turn, grabbed a bun with one hand and pushed the plate of pan-fried dumplings toward Li Baoyu with the other.

Li Baoyu said nothing, simply reaching out, pinching the edge of a fried dumpling between his thumb and index finger, and popping it into his mouth.

As for Zhao Jun, he broke a bun in half with both hands, eating the filling first, then the bun itself.

Steamed buns from the Northeast are different from those in the Southern Region. They aren’t soup-filled; they just have a moderate amount of broth.

Just like with dumplings, the broth is mixed into the filling.

Moreover, Northeastern buns have to be made with leavened dough. After being steamed, the broth from the filling is absorbed by the dough, making the bun itself flavorful even when eaten alone.

Zhao Jun polished off three buns in one go, and Li Baoyu finished the remaining half-plate of his dumplings.

After popping the last pan-fried dumpling into his mouth, Li Baoyu brought his thumb and index finger to his lips in turn, sucking clean the oil the dumpling had left behind.

Just then, Zhao Jun spoke. "Let’s rest a bit, then we’ll head up the mountain."

"Sounds good! We’ve been cooped up at home for days!" Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu jumped down from the kang. "Brother, you don’t need to pack any food. I’ll go home and grab a few buns for us to roast for lunch."

"Okay..."

Before Zhao Jun could finish, Li Baoyu was already up and gone.

Zhao Jun shook his head and asked Wang Meilan to find him the smallest aluminum lunchbox. He filled it with a few spoonfuls of soybean paste and fished two pickled cucumbers out of the pickle jar to pack alongside it.

’This will go well with the roasted meat buns for lunch. A good mix of meat and vegetables.’

By the time Zhao Jun was fully dressed, had his leggings tied, and had thrown on his white overcoat, Li Baoyu pushed the door open from outside, also wearing a white overcoat.

Seeing the two of them dressed like this, the two dogs still recovering indoors shot to their feet in unison. They had also been cooped up for days, but their injuries hadn’t fully healed, so there was no way Zhao Jun would take them along.

"Let’s go!" Zhao Jun took his gun from behind the door, then went outside to tell Wang Meilan he was going up the mountain today. After listening to her nag for a few sentences, they left the house, passed through the village, and entered the great mountain.

As they walked along the mountain path, Li Baoyu, who was in the lead, looked around for a long time before suddenly turning to Zhao Jun. "Brother, you have to let me take a few more shots today."

"No problem," Zhao Jun agreed without hesitation.

Just two days ago, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had each traded a roe deer leg to Zhao Jinshan for a full hundred rounds of ammunition.

With these hundred rounds, Zhao Jun also wanted Li Baoyu to get some proper target practice.

That way, if a situation ever arose where he was truly needed, Li Baoyu could step up immediately.

The two of them crossed a ridge and discovered a series of small footprints. Li Baoyu even squatted down to get a closer look.

"What is it?" Zhao Jun asked, walking over.

"Honey Dogs," Li Baoyu said, his excitement growing. "Brother, why don’t we go after them?"

"Oh, forget it," Zhao Jun immediately shot down the idea. "Why would you chase after those little things? You can’t eat them, and you can’t sell them."

"I was just thinking of taking a couple of shots at one," Li Baoyu said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. He was itching to shoot at a living target, but if they ran into a wild boar or a Black Bear, that would be no joke, and it definitely wouldn’t be his turn to shoot.

"Alright!" Zhao Jun took the gun off his back and handed it to Li Baoyu. He then gestured toward an open area below them with a grand sweep of his arm. "Shoot! Just pretend there are seven or eight dens of wild boar up ahead. Let loose!"

"Seven... eight dens... alright then..." Li Baoyu took the gun, chambered a round, raised it, and fired.

Ten shots in a row. Li Baoyu emptied the entire clip. Just as he was about to turn and say something to Zhao Jun, he heard someone shout, "Don’t shoot! Stop shooting!"

"Someone’s there?" Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu quickly scanned the area in front of them, but it was wide open with no cover. There couldn’t be anyone there.

Otherwise, Zhao Jun would never have let Li Baoyu shoot in that direction.

Just then, a voice drifted down from the ridge to their left. "Who’s firing a gun down there?"

"Fuck!" Li Baoyu cursed under his breath. ’What’s wrong with this guy? I’m shooting down there, what’s it to you? If you’re fine, what are you yelling about?’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

But he didn’t dare curse out loud. What if it was an elder?

Zhao Jun turned to look and saw three people coming down the slope. When he got a clear look at their faces, he couldn’t help but frown.

When Li Baoyu turned to look, his eyes went wide, and he cursed out loud, "Fuck! You two damn scumbags!"