After Wang An finished speaking, Liu Guilan hesitated for a while longer. As if suddenly remembering something, she said with a serious expression
"Then you must leave after 1:00 AM. You've got to let the Zi hour pass."
In these great mountains, people had a habit of avoiding night travel whenever possible. But if one absolutely had to go out in the middle of the night, they would try their best to avoid the Zi hour.
The so-called Zi hour was the time slot from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM.
The reason for avoiding this period was somewhat metaphysical.
The most common saying was, "The Zi hour is extreme Yin, and the Wu hour is extreme Yang."
In other words, the Zi hour was the time of day when Yin energy was at its heaviest, and all sorts of demons and ghosts came out to conduct their business. Things like the so-called "Ghost Soldiers Borrowing the Path" or "Ghost Soldiers Passing Through" basically happened during this time slot.
If a living person happened to encounter them, it would be bad for their mental and physical health.
Of course, these were superstitious beliefs. If explained scientifically, it simply meant that people should be sleeping and resting at this time, rather than running around wandering aimlessly.
As for "the Wu hour being extreme Yang," it was the opposite; it meant the Yang energy was at its peak.
In ancient times, death penalties were executed during this time slot. It was said that ghosts would not dare show their faces during this period, and the soul of the executed criminal would be quickly cleansed by the Yang energy.
As for why most were set for the "third quarter of the Wu hour," it was because that was the moment when the Yang energy of the day was most concentrated.
After Liu Guilan finished speaking, Wang An readily agreed
"Mm-hmm, we'll definitely leave after one. There's no point in going too early; it's still freezing before midnight."
Liu Guilan nodded and said nothing more. Although her face was still full of worry, she seemed a bit more relieved.
At this moment, Mu Xueli, who was clueless about the situation, suddenly interrupted and asked Liu Guilan
"Auntie, what's the deal with avoiding the Zi hour? Is there some kind of story behind it?"
Liu Guilan was stunned for a moment. Just as she was about to speak, Mu Xueqing, who was sitting next to him, swung her hand and smacked Mu Xueli on the back of the neck, saying crossly
"Even eating can't plug your mouth. You ask about everything. What 'stories' are there?"
Mu Xueli shuddered from the blow, but he didn't dare show any dissatisfaction toward his elder sister's authority.
There was no helping it; having been beaten by his elder sister since childhood, Mu Xueli had this bloodline pressure deeply engraved in his bones, forming an instinctive fear.
Thus, Mu Xueli only stole a glance at Mu Xueqing, then gave an awkward smile and said
"I was just asking, hehehe... actually, I don't really care to know."
After eating lunch and drinking tea, Mu Xueli rode his motorcycle home, saying he needed to let his family know first and would return when it got dark.
After Mu Xueli left, Wang Li reminded Wang An
"Fourth Brother, why don't we go deliver the money to Zhang Tiegang and Niu Dalin's group? That way, if we run into them some day, they won't have to ask. It's not like we want to cheat them out of money; there's no need to drag it out. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Wang An thought about it and nodded
"Alright then, let's head over. We'll go to the old courtyard first to get the money from Xiao Zhong, then we'll go deliver it."
As he spoke, Wang An stood up and led the way outside.
Arriving at the old courtyard, Huang Baoguo's family had also finished their meal. Wang An didn't waste time and directly explained the plan he and Wang Li had discussed: giving 200 yuan each to Zhang Tiegang's and Niu Dalin's groups, and that Huang Zhong needed to contribute 50 yuan.
Upon hearing this, Huang Baoguo didn't even ask a question before pulling out 50 yuan and handing it to Wang An.
The life of Huang Baoguo's family now was completely different from before. Between the money Huang Zhong received from Wang An and the wages the couple had earned working for Wang An's family over the last two years, they had accumulated around four thousand yuan.
Because of this, Huang Baoguo had plenty of confidence to buy land, register his household, and build a house in Kaoshan Village.
Taking the money, Wang An led Wang Li toward Zhang Tiegang's house.
At this time, it was mealtime, so Zhang Tiegang happened to be home.
After a brief greeting, Wang An stated his purpose directly
"Brother Zhang, we caught those sika deer. You've probably heard about it. According to the rules of the mountains, mountain wealth cannot be enjoyed alone; we certainly can't keep it all for ourselves."
"The thing is, not only did you guys spot those deer, but Niu Dalin and his crew saw them too. After you left that day, Niu Dalin's group went over. Either way, if a group was involved, they have to be counted as a group."
"So the three of us discussed it and decided to give you and Niu Dalin's group 200 yuan each. That should settle the matter. What do you think?"
Zhang Tiegang seemed very pleased after hearing Wang An's words.
After all, the saying "mountain wealth cannot be enjoyed alone" had some utility before the land was divided into individual households, but by now, it had long since lost its binding power.
Mainly, everyone lived their own lives; who the hell would share with you?
Why should I share prey that I risked my neck to hunt? Who do you think you are?
Moreover, when Zhang Tiegang and the other two had left originally, Wang An hadn't mentioned that there would be any benefit for them if the deer were caught.
Therefore, even if Wang An hadn't given them a single cent, the most they could do was gossip about him behind his back; they couldn't do anything else.
Although Zhang Tiegang was happy, he didn't agree immediately. Instead, he said with a smile
"How about I call Deshu over so we can chat together? This involves money; if it's just me, it's not quite right. Whether it's too much or too little, it's better to have it clear so there's no bad blood later, right?"
Wang An thought that made sense and nodded, then added
"Don't bother going to call him; let's just go together. Once we're done here, we still have to find Niu Dalin and the others."
And so, Wang An, Wang Li, and Zhang Tiegang turned and headed to Lyu Deshu's house.
Upon arriving, when Lyu Deshu heard that Wang An had come to give them money, he was also very pleased. He hurriedly ushered the two brothers inside and insisted on frying two more dishes, saying he wanted to have a few drinks with the young brothers.
Having already eaten, Wang An and his brother naturally declined.
Mainly, although they lived in the same village, they didn't have much interaction normally, and Wang An didn't want to drink with them.
After handing the 200 yuan to Zhang Tiegang and Lyu Deshu, Wang An didn't concern himself with how the three of them would split it.
However, as the two were leaving, Lyu Deshu suggested that if they discovered any "big hauls" in the future—such as herds of deer, sheep, or wild boars—where they could only handle a few and not the whole group, could they ask Wang An's trio for help?
If they caught prey, they would distribute it according to the rules of the mountains.