Chapter 945: Deciding to Enter the Mountains

Sun Dafu also knew that asking hunters to go into the mountains during this season was simply asking for the impossible.

Because no matter how great your hunting skills were, you couldn't utilize much of that ability in the lush, dense forests.

Thus, seeing that Wang An didn't agree immediately and seemed inclined to decline, Sun Dafu didn't press further. Instead, he sighed and said

"Alright then, Xiao An, I'll head back first. You get back to your business."

Hearing this, Wang An hurriedly greeted Sun Dafu with a smile

"It's already noon, Grandpa Sun, why go back now? Just have a bite here. The three of us just prepped a big sturgeon for lunch. Once my father and the others get back in a bit, I'll have him drink with you, hehehehe."

Sun Dafu glanced at the half-butchered sturgeon and exclaimed

"This fish is truly not small! You three brothers are actually quite capable, to have caught a fish king this size."

Wang An said with a smile

"It was just luck. We only realized how big it was after we hauled it up, hehe..."

Locally, catching a fish as large as this sturgeon was difficult, but catching big fish weighing dozens or even over a hundred pounds wasn't exactly a rare occurrence.

Therefore, Sun Dafu merely expressed a simple admiration and waved his hand

"I won't eat at your place. My family's meal is ready too. You three brothers get back to work."

As he spoke, Sun Dafu turned to leave.

Wang An quickly said

"Wait a moment, Grandpa Sun. We caught quite a lot of fish; please pick a few of the big ones to take home."

This time, Sun Dafu did not refuse.

Mainly, fish weren't considered a scarce resource in the local area. Just as "mountain treasures" weren't meant to be enjoyed alone, sharing a bit was normal, and it didn't even require a formal exchange of favors.

As he spoke, Wang An picked out a mountain loach weighing about five or six pounds and a Zheluo fish weighing four or five pounds from the pile.

Quickly grabbing a piece of rope to thread through the gills, Wang An handed the fish to Sun Dafu.

Following that, Wang An took a piece of already partitioned sturgeon meat, poked a hole in it with a knife, and similarly threaded it with rope before handing it to Sun Dafu.

Sun Dafu took the fish and meat, thanked him with a smile, and then turned to walk toward the gate.

After seeing Sun Dafu off, Wang Li couldn't help but ask Wang An

"Fourth Brother, are we still going to hunt that black bear?"

Wang An thought for a moment and said

"Let's see first. I'm worried that black bear is a 'man-bear.' If Da Hei and the others can't hold it down, there's an eighty percent chance we won't even get a chance to fire a shot."

The reason Wang An said this was because he hadn't made up his mind.

His true desire was to go, but rationally, he felt he shouldn't. Thus, Wang An was currently quite conflicted.

However, whether he went or not, the idea of "contributing to the villagers" was not within Wang An's scope of consideration.

How could a person like Wang An risk his dogs being injured or killed, or even risk his own safety, just to create a safe environment for the villagers to pick mushrooms and dig wild vegetables?

If the villagers couldn't find mushrooms or wild vegetables, what the hell did that have to do with Wang An?

Then again, if Wang An risked everything to kill that black bear, would the villagers give him some of the mushrooms and vegetables they found?

In any case, Wang An was absolutely not that noble.

Wang Li was startled upon hearing this and said in disbelief

"A man-bear? Holy shit! If it's a man-bear, then we're in big trouble."

Hearing the conversation between Wang An and Wang Li, Wang Yi asked with a face full of curiosity

"Big Brother, what's a man-bear?"

Without looking up, Wang An replied

"An old black bear that's lived for twenty-some years and still hasn't died."

Hearing this, Wang Yi asked in total confusion

"If the black bear is that old, what's there to be afraid of?"

Wang An and Wang Li were both stunned by this, instinctively glancing at each other.

From each other's eyes, they seemed to simultaneously see the same sentence

"Xiao Yi has been made stupid by his studies."

Clearly, neither of them expected Wang Yi to come out with such a remark.

One had to admit that the old saying "ignorance is bliss" (the fearless nature of the ignorant) was absolutely correct.

Before Wang An could speak, Wang Li said

"No matter the animal, the older they get, the craftier they become. The older they are, the better their brains work. If you want to hunt them, you have to put in a hell of a lot of effort."

Wang Yi nodded, wearing a thoughtful expression.

As the three brothers chatted and worked, the large sturgeon was dismantled into pieces of meat.

After finishing with the sturgeon, Wang An held two pieces of meat and instructed Wang Li and the other

"I'm going inside to cook. You two set aside a few of these fish; I'll take them when I come out. Then divide the rest and hurry up and deliver them to our relatives, otherwise, this many fish will all go bad."

In this season, the most annoying thing about dead fish was that they couldn't be kept; they would spoil within a few hours, and soaking them in water didn't help.

This was very similar to shrimp, which begin to rot quickly once dead.

Naturally, this was the origin of the phrase "rotten fish and stinking shrimp."

After speaking, Wang An turned and went into the house, while Wang Li and Wang Yi began working according to his instructions.

When Wang An entered the room, Mu Xueqing had already started the rice. Seeing the sturgeon meat in Wang An's hand, Mu Xueqing immediately asked

"Xiao An, how do you want to prepare this meat?"

Seeing Mu Xueqing's hesitant expression, Wang An asked back with a smile

"I'll give you a chance. How do you want to eat it? I'll make it however you like."

Mu Xueqing stared at the fish meat, pursed her lips, and said

"I want to eat boiled fish (Shuizhu Yu), but I'm a bit afraid our mother will say we're being wasteful before she gets back."

Hearing this, and noticing the longing look in Mu Xueqing's eyes, Wang An waved his hand generously

"It's fine. If you want boiled fish, I'll make it for you. Don't worry about our mother; let her say whatever she wants. When I have time, I'll bring back more soybean oil, and then she won't say a word."

Eating boiled fish in this era was indeed a bit too luxurious, mainly because the dish is essentially poached in oil.

As he spoke, Wang An leaned in and gave Mu Xueqing's small lips a quick peck.

Actually, this feeling of kissing whenever they felt like it was quite wonderful.

Wang An efficiently finished the boiled fish, then made sweet and sour mandarin fish and stewed sturgeon head, and finally a braised catfish in soy sauce, essentially creating a makeshift "all-fish feast."

Just as the food was finished, Wang Daliang and his wife, along with Shen Wei, returned from the fields.

During lunch, the matter of the grey-furred black bear inevitably became a topic of discussion for the family again.

However, for some unknown reason, Liu Guilan unusually did not stop Wang An from hunting the bear this time; instead, she wanted Wang An to give it a try.

Consequently, Wang An stopped hesitating and decided to go into the mountains tomorrow to meet that black bear.

(End of Chapter)