Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"Can you...give me another chance?"

After Li Yunshan finished speaking, he looked nervously at everyone.

Despite Li Yunshan's sincere words, Gao Hongmei, with her fiery temper, let out a cold laugh and said sarcastically, "I've already said it, a leopard can change its spots, but a person can't change their nature. If you could truly repent, if you knew you were wrong, would you have violated Xiulan just now? Would you have thought of giving your own daughter away?"

"Where were you when there was no food at home? Where were you when Xiulan and Doudou were starving at home? You're asking for another chance? How many times have you said that? Do you even deserve to?"

Su Lihua also looked at Li Yunshan with an unfriendly expression.

"I...I don't know!"

Listening to Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua's words, Lin Xiulan shook her head in confusion, sinking into anguish.

"Xiulan, don't be afraid. With me and your older sister here, he won't dare to do anything to you."

Su Lihua hugged Lin Xiulan and comforted her.

"Ugh!"

Huang Zhifang sighed deeply, his finger trembling as he pointed at Li Yunshan: "Look at the mess he's made!"

None of the three former daughters-in-law were willing to believe Li Yunshan. Although Huang Zhifang was also disappointed in him, he was still her son, and she had to swallow her pride for his sake: "Hongmei, Lihua, Xiulan, no matter what, it's all my fault. I didn't raise this brat Yunshan well, and you've suffered because of it."

"For Mother's sake, please give him another chance. I'm begging you, even if it's just an old man like me."

But Lin Xiulan just held her daughter Dou Dou and sobbed, without saying a word.

Huang Zhifang had no choice but to turn her attention to Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua, but both of her former daughters-in-law remained silent.

Clearly, Gao Hongmei, Su Lihua, and Lin Xiulan have all lost faith in Li Yunshan.

She recalled how she had raised Li Yunshan with great difficulty, built a business for him, and helped him find a wife.

But this rascal has been doing terrible things all these years. He's married one wife and divorced another, and he's become the laughingstock of the village.

Thinking of this, Huang Zhifang felt a pang of sorrow. She grabbed a stick leaning against the wall and started hitting Li Yunshan: "How could I have given birth to such a bastard like you? Any one of these three wives is capable and knows how to manage a household, but you're the only one who's useless. You don't do anything productive and just laze around all day. What are you going to do with our family? Do you want to drive me to my death so I can go see my father in the afterlife sooner?"

The stick struck Li Yunshan again and again, and it really hurt. Li Yunshan grimaced in pain, but he did not dodge. He just let Huang Zhifang's stick hit him.

In his past life, his mother had also hit him like this, but he didn't understand why she hit him. He not only retaliated by hitting her with a stick, but also harbored resentment towards her.

Only now did he understand that his mother's love for him was deep, and her criticism was harsh.

Huang Zhifang hit Li Yunshan dozens of times until he was panting heavily before he stopped.

Su Lihua, Gao Hongmei, and Lin Xiulan were all surprised to see Li Yunshan endure dozens of blows from Huang Zhifang without uttering a sound or resisting.

Although they spent varying amounts of time with Li Yunshan, they knew him quite well. Li Yunshan was a scoundrel who, if provoked, would even turn against his own mother and brother.

How can I be beaten and scolded at will now?

"My son!"

It is said that when a child is beaten, the mother feels the pain. Seeing Li Yunshan grimacing in pain, Huang Zhifang clutched her chest and felt a piercing pain in her heart as well.

"mother!"

Li Yunshan quickly helped his mother up and knelt down, saying, "Mother, I was wrong before, and now I really know I was wrong. I was sorry to Lihua, Hongmei, and Xiulan before, and I will make it up to them in the future."

"From today onwards, I am no longer the Li Yunshan I used to be. I will work hard to earn money and support this family so that you can all live a good life."

"We're out of food at home right now, so I'll go hunting in the mountains and trade the game for food. I want Xiulan and the others to have enough to eat and meat to eat."

After saying that, Li Yunshan went to fetch a ladder and, following his memory, took down an oilcloth package from the roof beam inside the house.

He carefully unwrapped the oilcloth package and took out the Mosin-Nagant.

This rifle was used by his father when he went hunting in the mountains before his death. It looks old, and the rifling inside the barrel is almost worn down. When the bullets are fired, they become inaccurate at long distances. The key issue is that there are only fifteen bullets left.

In the early 1980s, gun control gradually tightened, and 7.62mm caliber bullets became increasingly difficult to obtain. Therefore, these fifteen bullets were becoming increasingly scarce, and it was difficult to find a place to replenish them.

But he has no choice right now; he only has so many bullets left at home, so he can only take it one step at a time.

After grabbing his bullets and carrying his gun, Li Yunshan also took a short knife before stepping out of the house, startling Huang Zhifang: "Yunshan, are you really going hunting in the mountains? You've hardly ever hunted before, so don't be reckless. As long as you repent and live a good life, even if you're poor, you can manage."

"I haven't really gone hunting in the mountains much before, but I have to take action. Otherwise, who will believe me if I just talk the talk? Mother, don't worry, I will come back safe and sound. I won't let Xiulan and the others remain widows."

Li Yunshan patted his chest and guaranteed it.

"Pah! You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. Who's going to keep you a widow?"

The fiery-tempered Gao Hongmei spat in annoyance.

Su Lihua remained silent, but she also agreed with Gao Hongmei's words.

Huang Zhifang originally wanted to scold Li Yunshan for his bad luck, but when he thought about the dangers he might encounter while hunting, the words of scolding turned into a word of advice: "Son, don't be reckless when you go hunting in the mountains, and never go into the deep forests."

"Mother, I understand."

Li Yunshan nodded and prepared to go hunting.

But when he reached the doorway of the main room, he stopped, turned around, and said, "Xiulan, you... take good care of Mother, and wait for me to come back."

After saying that, he left home without looking back.

"Ugh!"

Watching Li Yunshan's figure disappear through the courtyard gate, Huang Zhifang sighed deeply, turned to look at Lin Xiulan and the other two women, tears welling in her eyes: "Our Li family has let you down, and Yunshan has let you down so much!"

"I only ask one thing of you now. If Yunshan is truly willing to change, please give him another chance for the sake of this old man, okay?"

"This..." Su Lihua, Gao Hongmei, and Lin Xiulan looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Mother, if Yunshan is really willing to change his ways, I can give him a chance for DouDou's sake."

After a long silence, Lin Xiulan spoke first.

But she only said that she was willing to give Li Yunshan a chance for the sake of her daughter Dou Dou, not that she was giving Li Yunshan a chance.

He didn't make any definitive statements, but he also didn't say anything absolute.

Su Lihua and Gao Hongmei simply chose to remain silent.

They have already divorced Li Yunshan, so what right do they have to forgive him?

But Huang Zhifang could tell that they were heartbroken because they had been hurt too deeply by Li Yunshan in the past.

Once your heart has grown cold, it's hard to warm it up again.

……

After leaving the village, Li Yunshan plunged headlong into the deep mountains and forests.

It was already early November, and the vegetation in the deep mountains and forests had long since withered, with heavy snow blocking the mountains.

Li Yunshan, gun at the ready, lay prone on the thin layer of snow, his eyes fixed on a dark figure before him.

A wild boar with two long tusks was seen using its snout and tusks to root up the grass roots buried in the snow.

He has been lying there for two hours.

After wandering around the vast forest for half a day, Li Yunshan did find several groups of pheasants and rabbits, but he only had fifteen bullets, which would be a waste of his talents to use them to hunt pheasants and rabbits.

Good steel should be used where it's needed most. These last fifteen bullets should be used to take down those big guys in the mountains.

So Li Yunshan had no choice but to continue searching. As it was getting dark, he finally found a string of wild boar footprints in the snow. He followed the footprints, crouching low, for almost two miles before finally finding the wild boar.

"This wild boar must weigh at least 300 jin (150 catties)."

Li Yunshan hid himself behind a large rock, peeked out for a moment, and was extremely excited.

At the same time, he slowly raised the gun in his hand, aiming the muzzle at the wild boar fifty meters away.

Wild boars may seem harmless, but when they go berserk, they can be incredibly destructive. They have well-developed muscles in their head and neck, which can even knock down a wall, yet they seem unaffected.

If it hits someone, the sheer force of the impact can break bones and tendons. If you get stabbed by the beast's two fangs, you're guaranteed to have two more bloody holes in your body.

However, Li Yunshan was fifty meters away from the wild boar at this moment, so he was not afraid of being charged by the wild boar. He only needed to set up his gun, aim carefully, and pull the trigger. The bullet would give him the answer.

Li Yunshan quickly aimed at the wild boar's head and pulled the trigger.

With a "bang," the bullet was fired from the barrel and hit the wild boar in the head.

The wild boar, which was leisurely munching on grass roots, didn't even see its hunter before it was shot in the head and fell to the ground with a thud. It twitched a few times and then went still.

Li Yunshan emerged from behind the large rock where he was hiding, loaded another bullet into the chamber, and cautiously ran toward the wild boar lying on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, a pool of pig's blood was visible on the ground; the wild boar was completely dead.

He ejected the bullet he had just loaded: "I never expected that my first hunting trip in the mountains after being reborn would result in such a large wild boar."

The place he is currently in is called Bear Gully, which is said to have been a black bear den in the past.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a nationwide campaign to hunt tigers was launched. In their area, black bears were also targeted, so now black bears are rarely seen in Xiongxiazigou.

The absence of natural predators like tigers and black bears has actually led to a significant increase in the populations of animals such as roe deer, wild deer, and wild boars.

Wild boars, in particular, can reproduce at eighteen months old. The key is that they can have two litters a year, with each litter producing 12 to 25 piglets.

However, in the vast forest and snowfield, animals such as roe deer, wild deer, and wild boars will not stand still and let themselves be hunted, so finding traces of these prey depends on luck.

Most of the time, hunters may spend a day, or even two or three days, in the mountains without finding any trace of their desired prey; and even if they do find prey, whether they can actually shoot it is another question.

But Li Yunshan was an excellent hunter.

In his previous life, before his divorce from Lin Xiulan, his hunting skills were indeed quite poor.

But after the divorce, he needed money to party with his friends and play cards and mahjong.

In order to make money to live a carefree life and gamble, Li Yunshan picked up a gun and plunged into the deep mountains and forests.

After going into the mountains to hunt many times, Li Yunshan learned how to hunt.

He can set traps, lay snares, identify prey by footprints, track prey, and is a marksman... He knows it all.

"It's so big, how are we going to get it back?"

We hunted such a big wild boar; even if we ate meat every day, it would be enough to feed our family for more than a month.

However, the wild boar was too big, and it would be difficult for him to carry it back by himself.

But it was getting dark, and there wasn't enough time to go back to the village to ask my older brother for help.

Li Yunshan was worried that the wild boar might be taken advantage of by wild animals in the mountains if he left it here to guard it, but he was also afraid that his mother and wife would worry at home.

After thinking it over, he drew his short knife and gutted the wild boar...