Chapter 44 Haoshan Reservoir

Returning home, Tang Jiancheng made some preparations, informed Liu Fangfang and his daughters, kissed little Jiu's pink and tender cheek, and then set off into the mountains for hunting with Tang Linbao.

Setting out a bit late today made it somewhat rushed to go to Dachun Mountain to hunt wild boars.

Besides, twenty-one wild boars had been hunted in that area just yesterday, and the remaining ones would surely have fled. It was impossible to know how long it would be before they returned, so going to Dachun Mountain today might result in returning empty-handed.

"Grandpa Jiancheng, where are we going hunting today?" Tang Linbao asked in a low voice.

Tang Jiancheng retorted, "Where do you usually go hunting?"

Tang Linbao replied, "I only learned hunting from my brother-in-law for two months in the first half of this year. His luck isn't very good either; he doesn't bag many game animals over the course of a year, and I'm even worse. Ever since it started snowing, I couldn't catch a single prey in two or three days, so I simply stopped going. Therefore, I'm not really very familiar with the conditions of the surrounding mountains."

"Then how about we go to... Hao Mountain?"

Tang Jiancheng had actually planned all along to go check out Hao Mountain today.

Hao Mountain was famous for two things.

One was the Hao Mountain Reservoir. It was the largest reservoir in the entire Sanchong Township, and the fish inside were big and fat. However, the reservoir was so vast and deep that no one dared to catch them.

Using fishing nets didn't work either.

Because the bottom of the reservoir was covered with stones of varying heights and sizes, which would easily tear fishing nets apart.

At most, a few fishing enthusiasts would angle from the bank, but the fish in the reservoir never lacked food, so catching a large number of fish that way was impossible.

The other was the wild Chinese bayberries of Hao Mountain, which were large, dark, and sweet!

Quite a few people had coveted these wild bayberries in the past, secretly transplanting them to their doorsteps or fields, only to find that the bayberry trees quickly withered and could not be kept alive at all.

Tang Jiancheng also had designs on these wild bayberries, but he was not going to dig them up just yet because he was not fully prepared. Otherwise, bringing them back would only lead to the same fate as those before him—death for the trees.

"Hao Mountain? Grandpa Jiancheng, why are we going there? Apart from the reservoir and the wild bayberries, there's nothing particularly famous about the game there," Tang Linbao said.

"When hunting, you shouldn't always fixate on rare game. Hares, pheasants, squirrels, and the like are quite good, and even bagging a few sparrows is fine," Tang Jiancheng said. "The most important part of hunting is experiencing the process, not pursuing the result."

These very words were what Tang Linbao had used to lecture Tang Jiancheng in their past life. Hearing them spoken back to him now, Tang Jiancheng felt a secret thrill.

Indeed, the mighty river shifts eastward for thirty years, and then westward for thirty years; no one should mock anyone else!

Otherwise, retribution would come sooner or later!

"Grandpa Jiancheng, you're right. I was being superficial."

Tang Linbao nodded repeatedly.

If anyone else had said this to him, he would have retorted fiercely, but coming from Tang Jiancheng, he didn't dare. Are you kidding me? The man was a sharpshooter who never missed; could he talk back? Did he dare?

The two soon arrived at Hao Mountain.

Hao Mountain did not refer to a single peak, but rather was a place name.

Surrounding the Hao Mountain Reservoir, there were dozens of hills of varying heights. Tang Jiancheng remembered that in his past life, someone had hunted several wild oxen deep within these mountains!

Wild oxen were far more valuable than wild boars!

Not only was the meat more expensive, but the hide and horns could also be sold for money, and if there happened to be gallstones inside the gallbladder, it would be worth even more!

However, wild oxen were much harder to find than wild boars.

Part of the reason was that wild oxen did not reproduce as quickly as wild boars; another reason was that the moment a wild ox appeared, it would immediately draw out hunters from every surrounding village. At best within a day or two, or at worst within three to five days, that wild ox would be hunted down.

Therefore, bagging a wild ox in the mountains relied purely on luck!

Tang Jiancheng did know there were wild oxen here, but he wasn't entirely clear on which specific mountain they inhabited; he only vaguely remembered it being near a mud pond amidst a patch of brambles.

The key was finding the mud pond!

Everything was covered in white snow now, so a mud pond would stand out clearly.

"Grandpa Jiancheng, look at how cold it is this year. Even the water in the Hao Mountain Reservoir has frozen over!"

Tang Linbao suddenly pointed at several children skating on the reservoir and said.

"Frozen?"

Tang Jiancheng was startled. How could he have forgotten about this?

In his past life, around this exact time, the Hao Mountain Reservoir had also frozen thick, and many people were skating on it. Suddenly, someone accidentally broke through the ice layer and fell straight in.

That scene frightened many people terribly.

However, before anyone could go into the water to rescue the person, they witnessed an even more astonishing sight: the fish in the reservoir all began frantically leaping out through the opening.

Many people didn't understand what was happening. An expert later explained that because the reservoir was frozen, the water lacked oxygen, causing all the fish to gather beneath the ice layer. Once the ice broke, they immediately leaped outward.

Tang Jiancheng couldn't remember the exact date, but he clearly remembered hearing about the incident on the Laba Festival because that was the day he returned from drinking away his sorrows in the township, and his mother had specially boiled a very unique bowl of Laba porridge for him.

That bowl of Laba porridge had been brewed with chili peppers, and since he was already dizzy from alcohol at the time, his throat hurt for days after drinking it!

Therefore, he remembered it very clearly.

"Linbao, how much longer until the Laba Festival?" Tang Jiancheng suddenly asked.

Tang Linbao was stunned. "Grandpa Jiancheng, why are you suddenly asking about the Laba Festival? Do you want some porridge?"

"Just tell me, how much longer?"

"Today is the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth of the eleventh lunar month, right? There are still... a dozen days or so until the Laba Festival?"

"A dozen days?"

Tang Jiancheng nodded. That meant the event hadn't happened yet, and everything was still in time!

With a definitive answer, Tang Jiancheng stopped dwelling on the matter and led Tang Linbao at an accelerated pace, searching through the mountains one by one.

After searching for a full two hours, nearly approaching lunchtime, they still hadn't found the mud pond.

"Grandpa Jiancheng, are you looking for something specific? Why don't you tell me, and I can help you look? Two people searching are better than one, right?"

Having tramped through the mountain woods for so long, Tang Linbao finally realized something was amiss. Tang Jiancheng hadn't come hunting today at all; he was here to look for an object.

He had encountered game several times already, yet he hadn't even glanced at them. Even when running across wild boars, he had simply rushed past them without any intention of stopping to hunt.

"A mud pond," Tang Jiancheng said.

"Why look for a mud pond?" Tang Linbao was utterly baffled.

Given his personality, had Tang Jiancheng's achievements yesterday not been so glorious, he would have already started complaining, but for now, he could only suppress it bitterly.

"Don't ask so many questions, let's find it first!"

Tang Jiancheng offered no explanation. After taking a brief rest, he continued moving forward.

Tang Linbao rolled his eyes fiercely, feeling constantly as though Tang Jiancheng was toying with him. Yet, he also felt there was no reason for Tang Jiancheng to do so; even though he used to mock him, he had been calling him grandpa all day today—surely any past grudges had been resolved?

"Linbao, come quick, I found it!"

Suddenly, Tang Jiancheng's surprised shout came from ahead, and Tang Linbao hurriedly sprinted over.