1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

As dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, the group of people all got up and set off, putting their strength into pulling the sled. The roe deer had been frozen solid in the snow and ice all night.

Chen Gaoshan walked in the lead, turned sideways to get close to Liu Chunlei, and whispered something to him.

"Uncle Chunlei, we're just wasting our energy wandering around like headless flies. The mountains are covered in snow, and no wild animals are bothering to come out of their burrows to forage."

In my opinion, either we should all scatter and try our luck, or we should just follow the ridge. These bastards are as cunning as monkeys; they only choose the easy and quickest paths, and they're all definitely heading towards the ridge.”

He yanked off his dog-skin hat, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and pulled the heavy sled through the snow, a truly strenuous task.

Liu Chunlei thought about it and felt that what he said made sense, so he nodded.

"Stop and catch your breath, don't scatter. If we suddenly run into a bear, the two of us won't be able to hold out, we won't even be able to load the ammunition and control the gun."

That thing is tough and strong; you can't dry it unless you shatter its bones. So, we'll follow your lead and carry it along the ridge in a bit.

Chen Gaoshan nodded in agreement.

Everyone found a sheltered spot to rest for a while and recover from their fatigue. Then they walked up the ridge. Once they reached the ridge, the path became much smoother and easier to walk on.

As they walked forward, the sharp-eyed Xiao Kouzi spotted a dense patch of footprints on the snow and called out to the others.

"Hey! Brother, Uncle, come quick and take a look! There's a huge pile of footprints here!"

Liu Chunlei took a few steps forward, bent down, and squatted in the snow to examine it closely.

"These footprints don't look like they were left by a large wild animal, and there's more than one kind of wild animal. Let's go and follow the tracks."

As they walked, Xiao Kouzi pulled the sled with one hand while talking to Chen Gaoshan.

"Bro, you're really sharp! From now on, I'll listen to whatever you say! We just stepped onto the ridge and found the trail; our electrons are already up there!"

Chen Gaoshan wanted to give him some pointers.

"You just think it's a good idea, you only see footprints, but can you figure out anything from those footprints?"

After pondering for a while, Xiao Kouzi answered honestly.

"It looks like a mess. To me, it looks like wild rabbit tracks, and it also looks a bit like the tracks made by a badger."

"Remember this: when you go hunting in the mountains during the dead of winter, don't get carried away by your small prey and lose your sense of direction. Otherwise, you might get ambushed from behind by a wild animal lurking in the shadows and suffer a great loss."

Xiao Kouzi was a sensible person. He knew that Gao Shan was genuinely trying to guide him, teaching him the rules and ways of the mountains and hunting skills step by step, without holding back or being pretentious.

He truly felt that he had chosen the right person to follow.

"I've got it all figured out, Brother Shanzi. Don't worry, I've got you covered. Nobody can mess with you from behind!"

As they walked behind, they heard a gunshot ring out from ahead.

Chen Gaoshan jolted, loosened the rope in his hand, nimbly took the old gun off his back, stuck it against his shoulder, and chased after them.

Upon closer inspection, good heavens! Uncle Chunlei's shot earlier had completely missed!

The badger missed its mark entirely; instead, the gunshot startled it so much that it pawed the ground and charged frantically toward them, its eyes bloodshot.

"My god, this little bastard is really tough! He's not afraid of anyone at all!"

This shot not only failed to bring it down, but it also completely unleashed the beast's wild nature.

Ordinary wild animals would have scurried away at the sight of people, but this badger became ferocious, charging straight at them with its head down, clearly intending to bite and fight!

"Wan Zhong! It's heading your way! Hurry up and deal with it! This thing is insidious; once it bites someone's mouth, it won't let go, it's incredibly difficult to deal with!"

Chen Gaoshan raised his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger from a distance.

In the blink of an eye, the ravenous badger's teeth were almost touching Ma Wanzhong's trouser leg.

Another muffled thud!

The bullet struck precisely, and the charging badger fell heavily to the ground, its body twitching twice before it lay motionless.

"Look, is it really dead yet?"

Ma Wanzhong looked down at the badger lying paralyzed at his feet.

"Holy crap! This scared the hell out of me! A couple of years ago, one of these things gnawed at my leg! Isn't that weird? Even after I beat it to death, its mouth was still clenched tightly on my flesh. I had to pry it open with a knife in the end, and the pain kept me from getting out of bed for half a month!"

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Chen Gaoshan.

"Shanzi, your marksmanship has really improved! To take him down from this distance is truly impressive!"

Chen Gaoshan leaned forward and took a look.

This badger was round and sturdy, looking a bit like a honey badger. It had a strong, pungent stench that irritated the nose.

"Judging by its appearance, it must be a badger. It must weigh about 20 pounds, quite a big one."

Ma Wanzhong drew his hunting knife from his waist, stepped forward and delivered a final blow, before finally reaching out and lifting the badger up.

"That's right! A badger weighs at most ten pounds, and it's long and thin. Look at this thing, its nose is bright red, that's a hog badger! The one with the black nose is a true badger. Don't underestimate this thing, it's a treasure from head to toe! The most precious thing is badger oil. If anyone gets a bump, bruise, or burn, just apply a little badger oil, and it works wonders!"

The two were squatting on the ground chatting when Uncle Chunlei, who had just fired a shot and disappeared, suddenly came back carrying a badger.

Liu Chunlei casually picked up the prey that had been bled.

It was thrown onto the sled with a thud and tied up with hemp rope.

"Alright, stop dawdling. Let's keep strolling along this ridge and see if any more wild creatures wander out."

"I don't know what's wrong with those two bastards. They should be hibernating in their burrows, so they only dare to come out and cause trouble because the weather hasn't completely frozen over yet. Once it gets even colder and there's a heavy snowfall, we won't be able to find them at all."

"I'll take care of every badger I see! Their ability to ruin crops is no less than that of wild boars! They gnaw on peanuts, and in the fall they wreak havoc on corn cobs, leaving the crops in the fields in ruins."

Last year, your Uncle Long Hair's two laying female leopards were killed by this wretched rascal who sneaked into their nest and mauled them to death!

"Once it's completely frozen over, they'll all burrow into their holes to hibernate. Then we'll carry long iron hooks into the mountains and dig them out of each hole! As for meat, it has to be badger meat—it's so fragrant! This hog badger is no good; it has a strong earthy and pungent smell, which is a bit off!"

Chen Gaoshan looked at the two dead badgers on the sled.

"Uncle Chunlei, these two daredevils can run around like that in broad daylight, they must be somewhere close to their den, there's definitely a badger burrow nearby. Who knows, there might even be a litter of baby badger hiding in that burrow!"

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