Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

After Wang An finished speaking, Liu Guilan hesitated for a while, then, as if suddenly remembering something, said with a serious expression:
“Then you have to stay past 1 a.m. before you leave. You have to let midnight pass.”

In these mountains, people have a habit of avoiding walking at night, but if they must go out at midnight, they try to avoid the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM).

The so-called "Zi Shi" refers to the period from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The reason for trying to avoid this time period is somewhat mystical.

The most common saying is that "the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM) is the extreme Yin, and the hour of Wu (11 AM - 1 PM) is the extreme Yang."

In other words, midnight is the time of day when yin energy is at its strongest, and all sorts of demons and monsters travel and do things at this time. For example, the so-called "ghost soldiers borrowing the road" and "ghost soldiers passing by" basically all happen during this period.

If a stranger were to witness this, it would be bad for a person's mental and physical health.

Of course, these are all rather superstitious beliefs. If explained scientifically, it simply means that people should be sleeping and resting at this time, instead of running around aimlessly.

If "noon is the time of extreme yang," then it's the opposite; that is, the yang energy is strongest at this time.

In ancient times, criminals were executed during this period. It is said that ghosts and spirits during this time dare not show their faces, and the ghosts of criminals after death are quickly cleansed by yang energy.

As for why most of them are set at "noon three quarters", it is because this is the time of day when the yang energy is the strongest.

After Liu Guilan finished speaking, Wang An readily agreed:
"Yeah, we definitely have to wait until after 1 a.m. to leave. There's no point in going early. It was pretty cold before midnight."

Liu Guilan nodded and didn't say anything more. Although she was still worried, she seemed a little relieved.

At this moment, Mu Xueli, unaware of what was going on, suddenly interrupted and asked Liu Guilan:

"Auntie, why do you avoid midnight? Is there some special significance to midnight?"

Liu Guilan was taken aback by these words. Just as she was about to speak, Mu Xueqing, who was sitting next to her, slapped Mu Xueli on the back of the neck and said with a look of annoyance:
"Even eating can't shut you up. You ask about everything. Where did all those things come from?"

Mu Xueli was jolted awake by the slap, but she dared not show any dissatisfaction with her elder sister's authority.

There was no way around it; having been beaten by her older sister since childhood, Mu Xueli had deeply ingrained this bloodline pressure into her bones, forming an instinctive fear.

So, Mu Xueli only glanced at Mu Xueqing secretly, then smiled awkwardly and said:

"I just asked casually, hehehe. Actually, I don't really want to know."

After lunch and tea, Mu Xueli rode her motorcycle home, saying she would go home first to tell her family and then come back at dusk.

After Mu Xue left, Wang Li reminded Wang An:
"Fourth Brother, why don't we send the money to Zhang Tiegang and Niu Dalin? That way, they won't ask us about it if we run into them someday. We don't want to owe them money, so there's no need to drag it out. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Wang An thought for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Alright then, let's go there now. First, we'll go to the old courtyard to ask Xiao Zhong for the money, and then we'll deliver it."

As he spoke, Wang An stood up and led the way outside.

When they arrived at the old courtyard, Huang Baoguo's family had already finished eating. Wang An didn't waste any time and directly explained the plan that Wang An and Wang Li had previously made: to give Zhang Tiegang and Niu Dalin's group 200 yuan each, and then Huang Zhong would need to give 50 yuan.

Upon hearing this, Huang Baoguo immediately took out 50 yuan and handed it to Wang An without even asking any questions. The Huang family's life is now completely different from before. The money Huang Zhong received from Wang An, plus the wages that Huang Baoguo and his wife earned at Wang An's house over the past two years, totals about four thousand yuan.

This is why Huang Baoguo had the confidence to buy land, settle down, and build a house in Kaoshantun.

Wang An took the money and led Wang Li toward Zhang Tiegang's house.

It was mealtime, so Zhang Tiegang happened to be home.

After a brief greeting, Wang An went straight to the point:
"Brother Zhang, we caught that herd of sika deer. You've probably heard about it. But according to the rules in our mountains, we can't keep the spoils to ourselves. We certainly can't keep them all to ourselves."

"That's right. Not only did you guys see those sika deer, but Niu Dalin and his brothers also saw them. After you left that day, Niu Dalin and his group went over. Anyway, if there's a group, then there's a group."

"After we three brothers discussed it, we decided to give you and Niu Dalin 200 yuan each, and that's settled then. What do you think?"

Zhang Tiegang seemed very pleased after hearing Wang An's words.

After all, the saying "mountain wealth should not be enjoyed alone" was somewhat effective before the land was distributed to individual households, but now it has long lost its binding force.

The main problem is that everyone is just living their own lives, so who the hell is going to share with you?

Why should I share the prey I risked my life to hunt with you? Who do you think you are?

Moreover, when Zhang Tiegang and the other two left, Wang An did not mention any benefits for them if they caught the deer.

Therefore, even if Wang An didn't give Zhang Tiegang and the others a single penny, at most they could only gossip about Wang An behind his back, and that was all they could do.

Although Zhang Tiegang was very happy, he did not immediately agree, but instead said with a smile:

"How about I call Deshu over and we can talk it over together? When it comes to money, it's not right for me to do it alone. If it's too much or too little, it'll be hard to explain later, won't it?"

Wang An thought it made sense, so he nodded and then said:

"Don't bother going to call them, let's go together. After you're done here, we still need to find Niu Dalin and the others."

And so, Wang An, Wang Li, and Zhang Tiegang turned around and went to Lü Deshu's house.

When they arrived at Lü Deshu's house, Lü Deshu was very happy to hear that Wang An had come to bring them money. He hurriedly invited Wang An and his brother into the house and insisted on cooking two more dishes, saying that he would have a drink with the two brothers.

Having already eaten, Wang An and his companion naturally declined.

The main reason was that although they all lived in the same village, they didn't usually interact much, and Wang An didn't want to drink with them.

Wang An handed over 200 yuan to Zhang Tiegang and Lü Deshu, and didn't care how the three of them would divide it.

However, when Wang An and his companion were leaving, Lü Deshu suggested that if they ever found any large animals, such as herds of deer, sheep, or wild boars, and they could only handle a few, not all of them, could they ask Wang An and his two companions for help?

If any game is caught, it will be distributed according to the rules for entering the mountains. (End of Chapter)