It had to be admitted that Wang An's four spotted dogs were indeed very poor; one could even say that in every aspect, they failed to meet the standards of proper mountain-chasing dogs.
Setting aside comparisons with lead dogs like Da Hei and Xiao Hei, even when compared to supporting dogs like Er Hei and San Hei, they were the type where "two couldn't hold their own against one!"
Yes, two couldn't hold their own against one. The facts and the truth were just that cruel.
However, if they were used as house dogs to guard the yard, they were qualified. After all, for a house dog, any random Chinese rural dog would do.
But then again, no matter how poor or pathetic they were, they were dogs that Wang An had painstakingly raised, and he had successfully trained them into genuine mountain-chasing dogs.
For dogs that Wang An had worked so hard to raise to be repeatedly mocked and despised by Mu Xueli, and even discussed as negative examples, it would be strange if Wang An gave Mu Xueli a friendly face.
Consequently, amidst Mu Xueli's pleas for mercy, Wang An pinned Mu Xueli's head down and gave his back a thorough thrashing.
While pummeling Mu Xueli, Wang An continued to scold him
"I'll teach you to talk nonsense! I'll teach you to look down on my dogs! I'll teach you to talk nonsense! I'll teach you to look down on my dogs!"
After landing an unknown number of punches, Wang An finally let go of Mu Xueli. As he released him, Wang An pointed at Mu Xueli's forehead threateningly
"I'm telling you, Little Xueli, if you dare to endlessly badmouth my dogs again, I'll beat you again."
To a hunter, hunting dogs are both comrades-in-arms and more like one's own children. After all, the lifespan of a dog is already short, and that of a hunting dog is even shorter.
And how many parents in this world would abandon their own child simply because that child wasn't as good as someone else's?
So, although these four spotted dogs were poor, Wang An had no choice; their ceiling was simply there, and it was no longer something that could be intervened with by human effort.
After giving Mu Xueli a harsh lesson, the frustration Wang An had accumulated because there was no one to raise the bear cubs finally vanished completely.
Whether one liked it or not, Mu Xueli, the attention-seeker, had happened to become Wang An's punching bag.
However, Mu Xueli didn't care at all about Wang An's fists or threats. After tidying his clothes, he said with a grin
"Brother-in-law, look at you, why did you get so worked up? I was just talking, don't take it to heart, okay? By the way, brother-in-law, when you have time tomorrow or the day after, could you help me go check out how those dogs are doing?"
Wang An rolled his eyes at Mu Xueli and said irritably
"I got it. We'll slaughter these two big hanging sheep tomorrow, then I'll head to the county town first. We'll talk about it the day after."
A long time ago, Zhang Shuya and Sun Nian had mentioned that they wanted to get some hanging sheep blood to treat the chronic injuries they had sustained during various training sessions and battles.
Therefore, after slaughtering the hanging sheep tomorrow, Wang An's first priority was to deliver the blood to Zhang Shuya and Sun Nian.
Aside from his own family and his two younger brothers, Wang Li and Mu Xueli, Zhang Shuya could definitely be considered one of the most important people to Wang An.
As for Sun Nian, although to her, Wang An was merely a substitute, and it was unknown who she would eventually marry, regardless, Wang An was the one who had taken Sun Nian's "first blood."
Thus, as far as Wang An was concerned, as long as it was something that could help Sun Nian, he would do it without reservation.
While hanging sheep blood was precious and rare, if it was for these two, Wang An was completely willing to part with it!
Hearing this, Mu Xueli immediately asked
"Brother-in-law, what are you going to the county town for tomorrow? Take me along, I want to go too."
Wang An gave Mu Xueli a sidelong glance and said with a face full of disdain
"I'm going to handle some business. What would you do there? Just stay home and be quiet; you're not needed anywhere."
Despite being looked down upon, Mu Xueli remained unfazed and continued to negotiate with a grin
"Then it's a deal, brother-in-law. I'm just worried that if those dogs turn out to be like those spotted ones... hehehehe..."
Noticing that Wang An's expression was about to change again, Mu Xueli quickly cut himself off and gave a dry laugh.
Wang An ignored Mu Xueli and turned to ask Wang Li
"What about you? Do you have a target yet? Have you set your sights on anyone's dogs?"
Wang Li replied
"I heard from my mother that many households in my grandmother's village raise dogs. I'm thinking of going there to take a look."
Pausing for a moment, Wang Li scratched his head and added
"I'm also afraid that the dogs I bring back will be useless junk, so I was thinking of asking Fourth Brother to help me check them out."
Wang An nodded, thought for a moment, and said to the two of them
"Let's bring Old Great-Uncle along the day after tomorrow. Old Great-Uncle is accurate when judging dogs. Once we finish dealing with these two big sheep tomorrow, Old Fifth, you go to Lin Family Village and see if Old Great-Uncle is heading into the mountains these few days. If he has time, ask him to come with us to take a look."
Wang Li subconsciously nodded and said
"Mm-hmm, then I'll go find Old Great-Uncle tomorrow."
Regarding the purchase of mountain-chasing dogs, Wang An was now extremely serious.
Mainly because what Mu Xueli said was indeed correct; for the three of them, whether they spent a lot or a little money on dogs didn't really matter.
What they feared most was spending immense effort to train a dog, only to discover in the end that the dog was as useless as those four spotted ones. That would be a truly frustrating affair.
They sped along without any delay, but by the time the four of them reached the fork in the road, it was already past 6 PM.
At the fork, Wang An and the others began to quickly redistribute the spoils of this trip into the mountains.
The entire black bear was divided into three portions—one large and two small. Wang Li and Mu Xueli each took a small portion home, while Wang An kept the large portion for himself, accounting for two-thirds of the total.
It couldn't be helped; there were too many people in Wang An's household, and Huang Zhong's family also needed meat. If he didn't keep more, there wouldn't be enough to eat.
However, to compensate Wang Li and Mu Xueli, Wang An didn't keep any of the four large bear paws, letting Wang Li and Mu Xueli take two each.
As for the leopard cat pelt and the bear gall, the money would be divided after they were sold.
Regarding the hanging sheep, Wang An didn't intend to sell them. So, after slaughtering them tomorrow, he would simply split the large hanging sheep—which weighed over 90 pounds—and give half to Mu Xueli and half to Wang Li.
After all, capturing these four hanging sheep and the leopard cat was entirely the credit of the four eagles and two lynxes. Wang Li and Mu Xueli's role had merely been helping to carry the sheep down the mountain and skinning the leopard cat.
These were tasks that any mountain dweller could do, so their contribution wasn't particularly significant.
Wang An had his own considerations when it came to dividing the spoils.
Of course, Mu Xueli and Wang Li weren't the type to be unreasonable. No matter how Wang An divided things, they had absolutely no objections.
If Wang An hadn't brought them along, they would still be just two poor boys. To have a net worth of over 200,000—not even counting the gold? They'd be dreaming!
One must remember that this was a net worth of over 200,000 in the 1980s!
As they parted, Wang An didn't forget to remind Mu Xueli
"Come over early tomorrow, okay? I'm in a hurry to get to the county town."
Mu Xueli waved his hand and agreed
"Yeah, I got it, brother-in-law."