Chapter 946: No Matter How Sinister, It Still Fears Bullets

Once Wang An made the decision to enter the mountains, he stopped agonizing over it.

Still curious, Wang An asked Liu Guilan with a grin

"Mom, why didn't you stop me this time? That's a grey-furred black bear; I reckon there's a ninety percent chance it's a Human-Bear."

Liu Guilan also knew about Human-Bears. To be precise, basically everyone of her generation had heard of them.

After all, compared to now, there were more mountain beasts in the past, and there were far more strange tales about mountain beasts becoming spirits in the deep mountains than there are today.

Hearing this, Liu Guilan gave Wang An a sidelong glance and said

"What's the use in stopping you? How could a mother not know what her own son is like? Your heart is already itching to go; do you think I can't tell?"

Wang An was momentarily stunned. He had to admit that the saying "no one knows a son better than his mother" was absolutely correct.

After speaking, Liu Guilan said with some concern

"Are you sure you can handle it? Don't try to be a hero. Your grandfather saw one of those things before he passed. He said Human-Bears are just like people, and they're incredibly sinister."

Although Wang An didn't feel entirely confident, he said nonchalantly

"It's fine. No matter how sinister it is, it's still afraid of bullets. I don't believe that if I blast a hole in its head, it'll just spring back to life on the spot."

Wang Li had also eaten lunch at Wang An's house today, so hearing this, he chimed in from the side

"Exactly! I'm telling you, Auntie, no bragging here—with the marksmanship of me and Fourth Brother, unless that black bear refuses to show its head, it's guaranteed to be dead."

It was clear that Wang Li was very confident in his and Wang An's shooting skills.

Just then, Mu Xueqing suddenly said to Wang An

"Xiao An, why don't you invite Xueli to come along when you enter the mountains tomorrow? If the three of you are together, you can look out for one another."

Wang Li shook his head upon hearing this

"Brother Mu is super busy right now. When I went to borrow grain from Xiuyu's house the other night, Brother Mu said the house renovations should be almost finished in a couple of days. He wants to wrap it up quickly so he can go haul ginseng with Fourth Brother."

As soon as Wang Li finished, Mu Xueqing said

"Haul ginseng? Your Fourth Brother said he's not going this year; he'll wait a couple of years."

Hearing this, Wang Li forgot to chew the food in his mouth and looked directly at Wang An with a confused expression.

Wang An looked at Wang Li and nodded

"Yeah. Even if we hauled the ginseng back, it would just sit there. The three of our families have enough ginseng for our needs, and besides, we aren't short on money. Let's just go in a couple of years."

Hearing Wang An's words, Wang Li finally nodded and said

"Yeah, that makes sense. Going two years earlier or later is all the same."

Despite saying this, it was evident that Wang Li was more or less disappointed that they couldn't go dig for ginseng this year.

After all, wild ginseng is something that can be converted into cash immediately; having wild ginseng is essentially the same as having money.

But there is a world of difference between wild ginseng growing in the mountains and wild ginseng sitting at home, because no matter the time, money is all about "security once it's in the pocket."

After speaking, Wang Li turned to ask Wang An

"If we aren't going, Brother Mu probably doesn't need to rush the house renovations. Should I go tell him this afternoon?"

Wang An looked at Wang Li with a half-smile

"Why do I feel like mentioning Brother Mu is just a cover? You mainly want to see your Xiuyu, don't you?"

As soon as Wang An finished, the family eating at the table was stunned for a moment, followed by a burst of loud laughter.

To be fair, the little scheme Wang Li displayed was actually quite amusing.

Having his secret exposed so ruthlessly by Wang An, and hearing the teasing laughter from Wang An's family and Shen Wei, even someone as thick-skinned as Wang Li couldn't handle it.

With a red face and a flushed neck, Wang Li hurriedly explained

"Don't listen to Fourth Brother's nonsense! I'm mainly doing it for Brother Mu; seeing Xiuyu is just a side effect."

Unfortunately, it would have been better if he hadn't explained; his explanation only made everyone laugh harder.

However, except for Wang Yi and the two little girls, everyone in the room was an adult, so they were very understanding of Wang Li's longing for his future wife.

After the laughter subsided, Liu Guilan teased

"Fifth, look at you, acting like a fool. It's not embarrassing to miss your wife, what are you afraid of?"

Mu Xueqing was also beaming, though her words were somewhat pointed

"Exactly. It's your own wife you're thinking of, not someone else's. It's fine, just be open about it."

Hearing this, Wang An pretended not to hear and continued eating his food as usual, while Shen Wei appeared a bit unnatural.

And so, amidst laughter and joy, everyone finished the relatively lavish all-fish feast.

After the meal, noticing Wang Li's restlessness and itching desire—as if he couldn't wait another second to see Li Xiuyu—Wang An said speechlessly

"Alright, Fifth, stop tossing and turning here. The sidecar motorcycle keys are hanging on the wall in the east room. Make sure you're back by around 3 PM, then come help me cast a few more nets."

Wang An's fish pond was not only dug deep but also quite large in area, totaling over 4 mu, which is more than 2,500 square meters.

The north-south length was about 100 meters, and the east-west span was about 25 meters.

The main reason it was shaped this way was simply for convenience.

Yes, for convenience, because a bulldozer is fastest when pushing in a straight line.

Of course, another reason was that the west side of the pond was not far from the courtyard wall, and west of the wall was the forest.

In other words, this fish pond also served as a moat.

A tiger's leap is roughly 20 meters, and the pond's width was 25 meters, meaning even a tiger couldn't jump across it.

In summary, 400 catties of fish were nothing for Wang An's pond.

At the very least, ten thousand catties of fish would be appropriate for a pond of this size.

Hearing Wang An's words, Wang Li immediately jumped up from the sofa chair and said excitedly

"Got it, Fourth Brother! I'll definitely be back before 3! Hehehehe..."

Perhaps realizing he was too excited, Wang Li laughed awkwardly after speaking.

Looking at Wang Li's pathetic state, Wang An rolled his eyes and said crossly

"Don't just think about your wife; grab more fish from the tank and send some to Brother Mu's house. Also, those turtles—give a big one to Xiuyu's family and send the two small ones to Brother Mu."

Although turtles are highly nourishing, Mu Xueqing could not eat them because she was pregnant, so Wang An simply decided not to cook them. Giving them to his father-in-law wasn't a waste.

Hearing this, Wang Li agreed once more and went to the east room to get the keys.

(End of Chapter)