Wang An, Wang Li, and Huang Zhong had been waking up at the crack of dawn and staying out late these past few days to stake out the deer herds in the mountains; everyone in the family knew about it.
What the entire family never expected, however, was that Wang An and the other two would actually drive the deer herd straight into their own courtyard!
This was truly an unprecedented event.
Of course, even Wang An himself hadn't expected that, through a series of coincidences, the deer herd would take the initiative to come to his home.
One must understand that before the sika deer entered the courtyard of their own accord, Wang An had already prepared for the worst—which was losing a portion, or perhaps all, of the sika deer.
Who could have predicted it? Not only was not a single deer lost, but it took absolutely no effort; they didn't even have to catch them, as the deer walked right into the house.
Consequently, this sudden and extreme reversal left Wang An in an exceptionally good mood—absolutely fantastic—giving him a feeling of pure, exhilarating bliss.
Thus, while Wang Dazhu and the others were still stunned, Wang An bragged with a face full of pride
"Look, everyone look! How about this herd of sika deer? Hahaha... I'm telling you, we didn't even have to catch them; we drove them straight home. Isn't that something? Isn't it awesome? Isn't it impressive? Hahahahaha..."
After speaking, Wang An couldn't help but burst into laughter again.
He couldn't help it; at this moment, Wang An found it impossible to suppress his excitement, which felt like it was about to explode. If he didn't have a good laugh, he feared he would burst from the tension.
Once Wang An finished, Liu Guilan was the first to snap out of it. She spoke with a face full of joy
"Yes, it's too awesome! My eldest son and these two nephews are truly something else, driving the deer herd right home, hahahaha..."
Although Wang Dazhu looked happy, he asked with a face full of skepticism
"Xiao An, did you really drive these sika deer back just like you'd drive a flock of sheep? Did they not run off in all directions along the way?"
Anyone who has raised sheep knows that, normally, a flock of sheep will not split up while moving, and regardless of what the lead sheep does, the others will follow.
If the lead sheep jumps off a cliff, the others will follow and jump as well, without even blinking.
If the lead sheep jumps into a river, the others will jump in without hesitation, even if they see their companions struggling violently in the water; the sheep on the bank will still jump in.
This behavior of sheep is truly baffling to people!
After Wang Dazhu asked, Wang An said with a smile
"Deer are not the same as sheep. We fired our guns quite a bit along the way; otherwise, this herd of sika deer would have scattered and run long ago."
Wang Dazhu nodded, eyeing the deer with a face full of delight while saying with a chuckle
"Impressive, too impressive. I've lived half my life and this is the first time I've seen sika deer being driven home, hehehehe..."
After Wang Dazhu finished, Wang An shifted his gaze toward Mu Xueqing. His meaning was obvious: "It's your turn to praise me."
Living with Wang An every day, how could Mu Xueqing not know what he was thinking? She gave Wang An a look of amused exasperation and praised him helplessly
"You're amazing, you're just so amazing. None of the hunters in the surrounding villages can compare to you; you're the most amazing of all. Happy now? Hehehe."
After speaking, Mu Xueqing couldn't help but laugh.
It was unclear whether she was laughing because the sika deer had been driven home, or because of Wang An's behavior in actively soliciting praise.
Regardless of why she was laughing, Wang An didn't care. He turned his head and fixed his wide eyes on Shen Wei.
Shen Wei was startled by the look, then, completely bewildered, she pointed a finger at her own nose and said in great surprise
"Me? I... I have to praise you a few times too?"
Shen Wei's words immediately made everyone burst into laughter. Even with Wang An's thick skin, he was momentarily made a bit embarrassed by the laughter.
Fortunately, Wang An's skin was thick enough. His old face reddened slightly as he shot Shen Wei a glance and said
"You woman, are you trying to make me lose face in public? You know what I meant, so why do you have to say it out loud?"
As soon as Wang An spoke, the laughter grew even louder.
Being lectured in public by Wang An as if she were his own wife, Shen Wei's pretty face also flushed.
Shen Wei tilted her head slightly and stole a glance at Mu Xueqing. Seeing that Mu Xueqing didn't take the matter to heart at all, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Wang An's family was truly good to Shen Wei and treated her as one of their own, regardless of everything, Shen Wei's position was not officially recognized. Therefore, she usually paid close attention to Mu Xueqing's reactions.
After the laughter subsided, Wang An looked at the deer herd and said to Wang Li with a smile
"I'll give you 6 of these deer, 2 for Xiao Zhong, and I'll take 8. No problem with that split, right?"
Hearing this, Wang Li immediately laughed happily
"I get that many? Hehehe... No problem, not a single problem, hehehehe."
According to the old rules, Wang Li would only get thirty percent, which would be 5 sika deer. Being able to get 6 now naturally made Wang Li very happy.
The reason Wang An divided them this way was primarily because, with Huang Zhong's current ability in the mountain-hunting trade, he was still only considered an apprentice.
Whether it was marksmanship, knife skills, strength, or tracking, he was far from the level of experienced hunters like Wang Li and Mu Xueli. His role was mainly to do odd jobs like running errands and delivering messages.
Therefore, the fact that Wang An gave him two sika deer could be said to be quite generous.
As for Wang Li, although his various abilities were now similar to Wang An's—and he often did more work than Wang An after entering the mountains—he still couldn't carry the burden of leadership alone.
Thus, as long as he continued to follow Wang An into the mountains, he would inevitably receive a bit less than Wang An whenever the spoils of labor were distributed.
Seeing that Wang Li had no objections, Wang An pointed to the herd and said
"Alright then, let's drive the deer into the deer pen first. Then you pick yours first, and the two of us will split the rest."
Hearing this, Wang Li said
"These deer are all pretty much the same. I mainly want two bucks; otherwise, breeding my deer at home will be a big problem."
Just as humans are divided by age, height, and weight, sika deer are the same.
Sika deer with loose skin, dull fur, and white hair on their backs are certainly those that have lived longer—the old deer. However, in a herd, the number of such deer is very small.
The reason was simple: animals that are too old and weak are always the first to be eliminated in these great mountains.
Not just sika deer, but all other animals are the same. (End of Chapter)