Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

When Zhao Shanhe returned home, the courtyard was quiet.

Lin Xiu was feeding the chickens in the backyard when she heard a noise in front of her. She quickly wiped her hands and ran out. The moment she saw Zhao Shanhe's pale face with bloody mouth, and his military overcoat that was frozen stiff and smelled of gunpowder, her eyes instantly reddened, and her lips trembled as she dared not utter a sound.

"Don't be afraid, it's Old Xu's blood. The medicine has been delivered, and he's saved."

Zhao Shanhe reached out to rub her shoulder, but halfway up his hand, he saw the dark red grime between his fingers and withdrew his hand.

"Xiuer, make me some hot soup and boil some water. I need to get some sleep. Don't wake me up even if the sky falls."

He practically collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

He slept soundly for a long time. When he opened his eyes again, the sun outside the window was already setting in the west. Lin Xiu was watching over him in the room. Seeing that he was awake, she quickly brought him a bowl of hot soup noodles with two poached eggs.

Zhao Shanhe didn't say anything. He squatted on the edge of the kang and finished eating in a flash. He wiped his mouth, and the turbidity in his eyes finally cleared up completely.

He pushed open the door and shouted towards the corner of the yard:

"Black Dragon! Azure Dragon!"

Two dark figures suddenly darted out of the shadows.

Qinglong was an old hunting dog, as calm and collected as a piece of black jade. When he squatted at Zhao Shanhe's feet, his eyes still revealed a cold and sinister aura.

But the black dragon had indeed changed. In the past six months, Niu Niu had fed it so much that its fur was shiny and its belly had actually grown a layer of soft flesh. When it saw Zhao Shanhe, it shook its head and swayed its body.

Instead of rubbing its head as usual, Zhao Shanhe coldly pulled out a thin willow branch used for training dogs from his waist and snapped it in mid-air with a "snap".

"Crouch down!"

The black dragon trembled at the sudden, sharp shout, instinctively tucking its tail between its legs and looking at Zhao Shanhe with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Zhao Shanhe squatted down, reached out and touched its back, then pressed the soft flesh under its belly.

After a long pause, he sighed.

"It's because I haven't been able to take care of you lately."

Black Dragon couldn't understand, so he just stuck out his tongue and licked the back of his hand.

Zhao Shanhe paused for a moment.

He looked into the black dragon's eyes, which still held a hint of affection, and lowered his voice: "But old friend, we're going into the mountains to hunt a big one next."

"If you continue to be so lax, you really will die in the mountains."

At the entrance of the courtyard, Lin Xiu was standing there holding an empty bowl.

Upon hearing this, her expression changed slightly: "Mountains and Rivers."

"Are you going into the mountains again?"

Zhao Shanhe stood up and looked at her.

"Um."

"We have to go into the mountains this time."

Lin Xiu gripped the empty bowl in her hand tighter, her knuckles turning bluish-white from the force, and her eyes darkened.

"Is it that Soviet guy?"

Zhao Shanhe nodded:

"Ivanov."

Lin Xiu did not speak immediately.

She remembered the name and that the other party had mentioned the Siberian tiger before. Zhao Shanhe had refused without hesitation, but now he was taking the initiative to say that he wanted to go into the mountains.

Zhao Shanhe noticed the unease in her eyes and lowered his voice:

"Old Xu's arm was saved this time thanks to Ivanov's life-risking help. Without him, that box of medicine wouldn't have reached me. Old Xu would most likely have lost his arm."

He paused:

"I must repay this life and this debt of gratitude."

Lin Xiu glanced down at the black dragon, who was still panting and licking its hands, then looked up at Zhao Shanhe:

"So, what he really wants is that Siberian tiger?"

"Um."

Zhao Shanhe didn't hide it from her; this kind of thing couldn't be hidden, and there was no need to hide it.

"He wanted a tiger skin. I agreed. This was not only to repay a favor, but also to provide the experts with a stepping stone to enter the factory."

Lin Xiu's face turned noticeably paler.

She grew up at the foot of the mountain and knew better than anyone what the words "Siberian tiger" meant in the old forest.

That's the Mountain King, a beast that can drag even the most seasoned hunter to hell.

"Shanhe, that's a Siberian tiger."

Zhao Shanhe nodded and squeezed her cold hand:

"I know. That's why we're not going now. Old Sun just scolded me too, saying that Black Dragon and Green Dragon have been living peacefully for too long, and all their wildness from the mountains has vanished."

He turned to look at the Azure Dragon squatting to the side, then at the Black Dragon who was still acting foolishly:

"I haven't seriously ventured into the old forest for a while. I'll take the dogs there these next few days and let Old Sun train them. Let the dogs test their instincts and their courage. The dogs need to regain their wildness, and we need to rediscover our connection to the mountains. I won't go to my death until I'm fully prepared."

At this moment, Niu Niu poked her little head out of the house, looking at Zhao Shanhe expectantly:

"Father, I fed Black Dragon all of this... Please don't hit him."

Zhao Shanhe looked at her. Niu Niu clung to the door frame, her little face still showing a hint of fear, but her big eyes never left Hei Long.

When Black Dragon heard Niu Niu plead for mercy, its short, thick tail instinctively tried to wag, but as soon as it moved its rear end, it was frozen in place by Zhao Shanhe's icy gaze. It was so frightened that it stopped moving abruptly and could only steal glances at Niu Niu out of the corner of its eye, letting out two aggrieved whimpers.

Zhao Shanhe's facial expressions softened slightly, and he waved to Niu Niu:

"come over."

Seeing Niu Niu slowly move closer, he reached out and tidied the stray hairs at her temples, lowering his voice to say:

"Dad won't hit it. Dad just needs to help it lose some weight, otherwise it won't even be able to catch a wild rabbit when we go into the mountains, and people will laugh at us for that."

Niu Niu paused for a moment, looked down at Hei Long's round belly, then at Zhao Shanhe, seemingly trying to understand the meaning of "shameful," and whispered in defense of Hei Long:

"Black Dragon runs very fast. Last time I was chasing a hen in the yard, it pounced on her in an instant."

Zhao Shanhe chuckled and ruffled his daughter's hair with his large hand:

"What kind of skill is it to chase chickens in the yard? Once you get into the mountains, the grass is taller than you, and the slopes are so steep you can't even slip. If you step on the snow and mud, a rabbit will dart away, and after chasing it for a couple of steps it'll be panting heavily, leaning against a tree. That would be a disgrace to our Zhao family."

Niu Niu turned to look at the black dragon. The black dragon seemed to understand that Zhao Shanhe was mocking it; its ears drooped even lower, and its tail was completely tucked into its crotch, looking like it had done something wrong.

Zhao Shanhe glanced down at it and snorted coldly:

"Did you hear that? Stop playing the victim. Every time Niu Niu picks up her bowl, you sit there staring at her with those eyes wide open like you're demanding a debt. You're a hunting dog, not a beggar."

Seeing Heilong's cowardly appearance, Niu Niu finally couldn't help but giggle out loud:

"It's just greedy. Last time, I had just taken a bite of the pancake when it jumped up and snatched it away from me."

Even cravings should be kept in moderation.

Zhao Shanhe's voice softened, but his tone remained firm:

"It has been guarding you and this home for the past six months, and I know that. But deep down, it's a hunting dog, a brother who will risk its life for me. If we're going into the mountains, we have to act like we're going into the mountains."

Niu Niu bit her lip, looked up and asked:

"Will it get hurt if it stays with Dad?"

Zhao Shanhe's fingertips trembled, and after a long silence, he slowly said:

"That's why Dad wants to take it to Old Sun's place to train first. Only when it develops real skills and its skin and flesh become strong will it be less likely to be bullied when it goes into the mountains."

Niu Niu tilted her head and thought for a moment, then finally nodded emphatically:

"Then I'll feed it less meat from now on. Dad, I'll make sure it runs from now on."

"It's not that we won't feed them, it's that we have to feed them according to the hunter's rules."

Zhao Shanhe squatted down and extended his little finger:

"When it comes back from the mountains after doing its job, Dad will let you open a big can of meat for it yourself, and we'll have a nice meal together."

Niu Niu's eyes sparkled, and she quickly reached out to hook her little finger with Zhao Shanhe's, responding loudly:

"Pinky promise, for a hundred years, never to be broken!"

Black Dragon watched the father and son make their pinky promise, its tail tip carefully sweeping across the muddy ground twice.

Zhao Shanhe glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and cursed irritably:

"Squat down properly! If you move again, you'll have to run five miles first thing tomorrow morning."

The black dragon immediately straightened its spine and obediently squatted down like a black stone.