The whole mountain is my hunting ground

Two minutes before eleven o'clock in the morning, Zhao Jun parked the jeep at the east intersection of Lao Ma's house.

After getting off the car, Zhao Jun walked forty meters and just arrived at the Ma family's east tent, he saw Ma Ling walking out of the yard.

When they came to visit in the morning, Zhao Jun and Ma Ling found an opportunity and secretly agreed to pick up Ma Ling at 11 o'clock in the morning, and then the two of them would go out for a ride.

It was too boring to stay at home during the New Year, and Ma Ling couldn't stand it anymore, so the couple decided to go out for a stroll along the river and visit the woods.

"Are you cold?" Zhao Jun asked this purely out of courtesy. Ma Ling was wearing a down jacket with a big sweater underneath, which made her very warm.

But in the face of Zhao Jun's concern, Ma Ling smiled with her big eyes and said, "It's not cold, huh?"

Seeing Ma Ling put the candy into the right pocket of her down jacket, Zhao Jun said to her, "Let's go."

"Wait a minute." Ma Ling said, took something out of her left pocket, handed it to Zhao Jun, and said with a smile: "This is for you!"

The girl was not wearing gloves. Her hands were tucked into her sleeves, revealing her slender, white fingers, which looked very cute.

Zhao Jun stretched out his hand, Ma Ling loosened her fingers, and five candies fell into Zhao Jun's hand.

The red candy wrapper is wrapped around a round, long candy block, with the edges of the candy wrapper curled inward, leaving pointed corners.

"Oh." Zhao Jun recognized it at a glance. It was shrimp crisps, but he had never seen this kind of candy in the store since his rebirth.

"My eldest uncle's eldest brother just left here." Ma Ling said, "He said this is crispy candy, and it tastes delicious."

Hearing what Ma Ling said, Zhao Jun looked at her and asked, "You didn't eat?"

As he said that, Zhao Jun handed the candy back to Ma Ling.

Zhao Jun knew Ma Ling's elder brother. He was a nice guy. He would buy some gifts every New Year and come to visit his aunts. He would give some gifts to each family, but not too much.

For example, this prawn cake is wrapped in butter paper with a weight of one or two kilograms at most. This candy weighs only a few pieces per kilogram.

Although Wang Cuihua would not treat her daughter harshly, the sensible Ma Ling would first give the food to Ma Yang and her nephew, no matter what was delicious, and then give it to Ma Dafu and Wang Cuihua, and sometimes she would even give in to her elder brother and sister-in-law.

"There are some at home." Ma Ling hid her hands behind her back and said, "Besides, there's that big handful of candy you just gave me."

After hearing what Ma Ling said, Zhao Jun accepted the girl's kindness. But just when the couple wanted to leave, they saw Ma Yang stumbling over from the west.

"What's going on?" Ma Ling took a look and hurriedly walked towards Ma Yang.

"This kid is everywhere!" Zhao Jun complained in his heart, then chased after Ma Ling.

"Little brother!" The moment Ma Ling held Ma Yang's arm, Ma Yang collapsed. Fortunately, Zhao Jun came and held him, otherwise Ma Ling would not be able to hold this young man back.

"Have you drunk too much?" Zhao Jun looked at Ma Yang, whose face was red and eyes were filled with tears, and thought that this boy had been drinking outside.

Ma Yang glanced at Zhao Jun, and the moment he turned to look at Ma Ling, all kinds of grievances surged in his heart.

“Ahhh…” Ma Yang howled.

His howl scared Zhao Jun and Ma Ling.

“Little brother!” Zhao Jun grabbed Ma Yang’s arm and shook it gently, saying, “It’s New Year’s Day, you can’t howl!”

Crying during the New Year is an unlucky thing, let alone howling?

If Ma Dafu saw this, he would slap Ma Yang in the face and order him to hold it back. If Ma Yang couldn't hold it back, Ma Dafu would make him howl to his heart's content.

But seeing that Ma Yang couldn't stop howling, Zhao Jun covered Ma Yang's mouth with one hand and dragged Ma Yang to the east with the other hand, while Ma Ling trotted after him.

After arriving at the intersection, Zhao Jun stuffed Ma Yang into the jeep, and then asked Ma Ling and Ma Yang to sit in the back seat.

As the jeep drove out of the village, Ma Yang gradually stopped crying under Ma Ling's comfort.

"What's the matter, little brother?" Zhao Jun turned around and asked while driving, "Who bullied you? Tell me."

“Ahaha, ahaha…” The howling just now exhausted his lung capacity. Ma Yang took two deep breaths before he could pronounce a name, “Li Ruhai!”

"Ah?" Zhao Jun was stunned. Just as they were leaving the village, he stopped the car, turned around and asked, "What happened? Did Li Ruhai hit you?"

When asking this question, Zhao Jun felt that it was impossible, because Li Ruhai was not good at fighting and would not be able to beat Ma Yang.

"He dares?" Unexpectedly, Ma Yang said, "If he hits me, I will kill him!"

Hearing what Ma Yang said, Zhao Jun and Ma Ling curled their lips. Ma Ling asked, "Little brother, did he scold you?"

Who in the entire forest area doesn't know that Li Ruhai is a powerful talker? Ma Yang is not good at talking, so he will definitely not be able to win the fight with Li Ruhai.

But Zhao Jun also felt that it was impossible, because although Li Ruhai could talk, the child seldom cursed.

“He dares?” Ma Yang said again, “If he scolds me, I will kill him!”

He said this again, and both Zhao Jun and Ma Ling laughed.

"So what's going on?" Zhao Jun asked Ma Yang again, "What did he do to you?"

“He, he…” Ma Yang hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"Don't bother talking about him!" Ma Ling was also impatient and pressed, "Just tell me now."

"He makes me angry!" As soon as Ma Yang said this, Ma Ling curled her lips and turned away from Ma Yang.

These days, few people spoil their children. When children get into fights and suffer losses outside, parents rarely intervene.

If Ma Yang was so angry that he cried and told Ma Dafu about it when he got home, Ma Dafu would definitely beat him up.

Young man, this is such a loss of ambition!

Ma Ling pursed her lips and said unhappily, "Young man, are you so useless?"

Zhao Jun thought it was interesting and immediately asked Ma Yang, "He made you angry, but you didn't kill him?"

Zhao Jun's words made Ma Ling laugh. Ma Yang stared at Zhao Jun with wide eyes, his chest heaving violently.

"Okay, little brother, I'm not angry anymore." Zhao Jun slapped him, and quickly handed him another sweet date, saying, "I'll go back and take care of him!"

What are you cleaning up? Zhao Jun was just doing a favor.

"Why are you punishing him?" Ma Ling glared at Ma Yang, then said to Zhao Jun, "He's a bad boy himself, who can he blame?"

As she spoke, Ma Ling glared at Ma Yang again.

"Ling'er, don't be angry." Zhao Jun persuaded Ma Ling, and then asked Ma Yang, "Little brother, how did he make you angry? Learn from us."

“I…” Ma Yang had no words to say and could only lower his head in silence.

Seeing him like this, Ma Ling became even angrier. She immediately threw her hands at Ma Yang and said, "If you don't say anything, no one will bother you. Go home quickly."

It’s not that Ma Ling doesn’t feel sorry for her brother, but she thinks boys should act like boys. He’s already fifteen years old during the Chinese New Year, how can he still make people cry?

Seeing Ma Yang trying to push the door, Zhao Jun hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Little brother, don't get out. Your face is painted, and my uncle and aunt will have to ask you about it when we get home. Well, let's take a walk outside, just for a stroll."

After hearing what Zhao Jun said, Ma Yang nodded without saying anything, and Ma Ling took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Ma Yang's face.

After taking a ride around and looking at the mountain and snow scenery, my mood inevitably improved a lot.

Seeing that it was already past twelve o'clock, Zhao Jun took Ma Ling and Ma Yang back.

When leaving the village, one exits from the east end of the village, and when returning, one goes through the west end of the village.

When they were about to reach the village, they saw four people walking out of the village entrance.

We are all relatives in the village, so we can't be too particular. Zhao Jun didn't honk the horn, but just pulled the car over to the side of the road in a low-key manner and slowed down the speed, which would not affect pedestrians at all.

Cars pass on the left and people walk on the right.

When the jeep passed the four people, Ma Yang, who was sitting on the right side of the back seat, held the bottom of the window with both hands and stretched his neck to look at the pedestrians outside the window.

Then the boy turned around and looked back.

Ma Ling didn't react much because she didn't know those four people.

But at this moment, Zhao Jun turned around and winked at Ma Ling. Ma Ling was startled, followed Zhao Jun's line of sight, and glanced at Ma Yang next to her.

Ma Yang was just turning around when he heard Ma Ling say, "Who was that just now? Why was his face so blurry?"

"Ah, isn't that who?" Zhao Jun said, "The four people from the old Hu family from Yongfu Village."

"The Hu family?" Ma Ling was stunned, then she heard Zhao Jun say, "Have you heard of Hu Guanglai? My uncle and his family were in the same workshop."

"Ah..." Ma Ling blinked and listened to Zhao Jun continue: "He and my Aunt Zhou, and my classmate who didn't have that classmate last year, they all have relatives."

After saying this, Zhao Jun paused for a moment before continuing, "His daughter is a classmate of Ru Hai and me."

Hearing this, Ma Ling turned to look at Ma Yang, only to see her usually cheeky brother blushing.

Ma Ling clicked her big eyes, and she understood something.

Ma Yang lowered his head and said nothing, thinking about what Hu Lina said to him.

The person I think about day and night, I finally meet today, but I speak harshly to him.

But the little girl did nothing wrong. You, Ma Yang, are already in junior high school. You beat the second-grade kid, but you still won't let him go. If the adults don't say anything, it would be strange if my sister didn't come to find you.

The jeep stopped outside the Ma family's yard. After the Ma siblings got off the car and went home, Zhao Jun drove back to his own home.

When he entered the house, the diners had all arrived and his sisters had also returned.

There are also two meals today, and the last meal will start at four in the afternoon.

It was not even one o'clock yet, and Wang Meilan was in no hurry to cook. Everyone was crowded in the east room, eating melon seeds and chatting.

When Zhao Jun entered the room, he happened to see Zhao Hong and Li Xiaoqiao complaining.

They sued Li Ruhai, saying that Li Ruhai was a traitor and a traitor.

Li Ruhai did not make any distinction and just sat there listening with a smile, as if the two girls were not talking about him.

None of the adults took it seriously. It was just a child playing, so what did it matter if he won or lost.

After listening to the little girls' complaints, Jin Xiaomei glanced at Li Ruhai and said with a smile, "Don't blame your two sisters for saying that. You are not even as good as Ma Yang."

Jin Xiaomei just said it casually, but as soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Hong said, "Well, if it wasn't for Brother Xiaoyang today, we would have beaten that guy!"

As soon as Zhao Hong said this, Wang Meilan, who was smiling a second ago, suddenly changed her expression. She grabbed Zhao Hong's palm and slapped it directly.

Zhao Hong screamed in pain, and then Wang Meilan pointed at her and said, "Don't scream!"

Zhao Hong covered her hands and looked at Wang Meilan with tears in her eyes.

At this time, the women stopped Wang Meilan, and the old lady even hugged Zhao Hong in her arms.

Then, Wang Meilan said to Zhao Hong: "Why did you hit him? He won and you lost, so you hit him? You are really outrageous!"

"Hong, tell your mother quickly that we don't want to do this anymore!" The old lady gently pushed Zhao Hong, but Zhao Hong pouted and said nothing.

"You really caught up with Uncle Tun?" Wang Meilan looked at Zhao Hong and said, "If you go out again, and someone doesn't move you, you can't fight them!"

After saying that, Wang Meilan asked sternly, "Did you hear that?"

"I heard it." Zhao Hong answered weakly, and at this time Jin Xiaomei also pulled Li Xiaoqiao over to teach her a lesson.

There is no other way. I have to ignore it any longer. How can a child be so domineering?

"Ouch!" This was the cry from Li Tongyun. She covered her leg and asked Lin Xue, "Mom, why are you twisting my thigh?"

Such a pretty girl, but she smells like corn when she opens her mouth.

"You must not be so rude in front of your sisters in the future!" Lin Xue said so. Li Tongyun felt so wronged that she said, "How can you blame me?"

As he said this, Li Tongyun's eyes drifted towards Xing San.

Coincidentally, the old man also cast his gaze over at this moment.

The old man and the young man, the moment their eyes met, they saw a tacit understanding in each other's eyes.

"Well... Dazhi's wife." This was the first time Xing San took the initiative to talk to Lin Xue. The old man said, "Don't talk about my daughter. I've only been here for a few days. These brats can't have learned it from me."

"That's right!" Li Tongyun said, "I just taught them to study. Who taught them to fight?"

Then, Li Tongyun added: "I have to say that these children learned it from Aunt Sun."

I swear to God, the last time the Zhao family hosted a dinner party, Li Tongyun blamed Xing San for Zhao Hong and the others' violent behavior.

"That's what I said last time!" Xing San slapped his thigh and said, "That old lady Jie is so domineering!"

After hearing what Xing San said, Li Tongyun nodded heavily, while the people around him looked at each other.

It’s no wonder that Xing San and Li Tongyun put the blame on Jie Sun. In matters like this, whoever is absent will suffer.

…

Today is the fifth day of the New Year, which is an unusual day, but the Zhao family’s meal is simpler than usual.

Elbow meat dipped in mashed garlic, pork skin jelly, twice-cooked pork ribs stewed with dried potatoes, and twice-cooked chicken stewed with vermicelli. These four dishes are served every day and I’ve basically had enough of them.

The small river fish that Zhao Jun and his team caught yesterday was cut into two, one half was coated with flour and batter and fried, and the other half was fried with fish sauce.

Today we are eating pickled vegetables, not only fried fish sauce, but also fried egg sauce.

But there were no greenhouses in those days, and no dandelions, lettuce, stinky vegetables, or radishes in winter, so the Zhao family used pickled cabbage hearts, fried frozen cabbage, and fried dried radishes with dip in sauce.

Fried frozen cabbage and fried dried radish are the names used here. The frying here does not mean deep-frying, but blanching.

The meal that the Zhao family had today was two kinds of rice. The two kinds of rice here are made by stewing rice and millet together.

Zhao Youcai and his friends drank wine when they had food, while Zhao Jun and Li Ruhai each held two large bowls and shoveled food into their mouths.

They were not picky about meat, so they used chopsticks to pick up some egg sauce and put it on the rice. Then they picked up two slices of frozen cabbage and two pieces of chopped green onion, and put them into their mouths like this. Zhao Jun finished two large bowls of rice in one breath.

After eating and drinking, the women cleaned up the mess and everyone crowded in the east room to watch TV.

After eight o'clock, the diners went home. At this time, Zhao Jun took out the five pieces of shrimp cakes that Ma Ling gave him from his pocket and gave them to Wang Meilan, Zhao Hong, Zhao Na, Xing San and the old lady, but he and Zhao Youcai did not have any.

Zhao Youcai didn't complain about this matter at all, and he also thought that there was nothing wrong with Zhao Jun's division.

Although Zhao Jun had little education and was not a good student at school, he, like most poor students, would work hard for a few days every time a new semester started.

The first lesson Zhao Jun took in junior high school was about a family of four, three generations of a family, going out to play. On the way home, the man carried his elderly mother on his back, and the woman carried her young son on her back.

Zhao Jun remembers it very clearly. At that time, Liu Yunfeng told them that the article ended by saying that middle-aged people should have a sense of responsibility to connect the past and the future.

Zhao Jun didn’t understand what this was at the time, but now he has unknowingly developed that sense of responsibility!