Zhang Guoqing took his hunting equipment, including a hunting caddy, bow and arrow, and secretly slipped out through the back door with a bamboo basket on his back. He avoided pedestrians along the way and quickly headed towards Daqing Mountain.

He had no idea how long the Daqing Mountains stretched. Peak after peak stretched, some with villages nestled between them. He had been climbing the mountains since he was five, following his grandfather from the south to Laohugou, where he could still see the distant peaks to the south. From the north, he could still see the smaller hills, reaching Linxian. The Daqing Mountains didn't belong to their county; the neighboring county was also at its northernmost point. "Live by the mountain, live by the mountain; live by the water, live by the water." Every household living near the mountains has relied on the Daqing Mountains for generations.

Zhang Guoqing headed north, remembering a small mountain peak in the direction of Linxian County, where there was a valley. The valley was very large, with a dense forest and a large stream not far away.

Several times, he'd spotted a herd of pigs foraging in the woods. A sow would often play with her piglets by the stream. At the slightest noise, they'd run into the dense forest. A herd of wild boars was easier to deal with than a lone pig. If a lone pig were to appear, he'd have to consider whether it was worth it. The saying "one pig, two bears, three tigers" perfectly captures that lone pig.

Thinking of that lone pig weighing eight or nine hundred pounds, its long tusks, and its aggressive nature, ready to charge at people and animals, Zhang Guoqing felt a little daunted. He had gone up the mountain to hunt wild boars this time, hoping they would be easier to deal with. He secretly rejoiced at the thought of the pigs' fondness for roaming out at dusk.

Zhang Guoqing walked lightly, keeping a constant eye on his surroundings. The trees grew thicker and thicker as he approached his destination. With fewer hunters in recent years, the trails had gradually vanished. Now overgrown with weeds and thorns, Zhang Guoqing used a hatchet to clear a path. Along the way, he saw common medicinal herbs everywhere. Even in the damp, dark areas, he could find wild mushrooms, wood ears, and a variety of wild vegetables on the ground.

Zhang Guoqing, deeply feeling the scarcity of material things in the future, secretly regretted not bringing Jiaojiao with him. If he had her space, he could store things there at any time, and wouldn't be worried about getting too much to take back.

The thought of the mountains being closed to snow until the beginning of spring, of eating radishes and cabbages every day with no green vegetables, and of frozen meat and dried game every day, made him lose his appetite. He couldn't help but slow down his pace, paying attention to his surroundings, secretly noting down landmarks. He planned to bring Zhou Jiao here next time. Besides mushrooms and wild vegetables, there was a thick layer of fallen chestnut fruit under several chestnut trees, and ripe pears hung from the wild fruit trees not far away.

Seeing his destination, Zhang Guoqing stretched his arms and legs, gathered his tools, and then walked lightly towards the stream.

Perhaps because this area is close to Lin County and nestled on a small mountain, it's less frequented. The prey are much less alert. Before even reaching the stream, he'd already shot a few pheasants and a few fat rabbits. He'd certainly encountered more than that, but time was short, and his target was the wild boar, so he let go of any smaller animals he encountered along the way.

He found it particularly easy to walk in the forest. His hearing was more sensitive and he had a premonition of danger. It was as if he was born to be a hunter. He had never hunted personally since he traveled through time. Now he understood why he felt so happy when he arrived in the forest.

He was used to his own strength now. He'd grown accustomed to the force of his hands, no longer shattering pheasant and rabbit heads and breaking their scalps like he had in the past. His prey was bloody and horrific. Now, with a single blow of the stone, the skull shattered, leaving no skin broken and no blood gushing out. The bow and arrows he'd brought with him seemed useless.

"Autumn rabbits, winter ducks, spring pheasants"—mountain dwellers are extremely particular about hunting. Autumn rabbits are at their fattest, twelfth-month ducks are at their juiciest, and spring pheasants are incredibly tender.

Zhou Jiao was recently in confinement after childbirth, and pheasant was just the right thing to nourish her. Zhang Guoqing didn't care about these details anymore. As long as it was nourishing, the taste would come later. He then used a small stone to hit a few pheasants, letting most of the rabbits go. He even ruthlessly stole clutches of pheasant eggs, finally giving up because he was afraid too many would break.

The sound of animals came from the grassland in the distance. Zhang Guoqing had sharp ears and heard the heavy breathing and movement - it was a wild boar.

I held my breath and moved forward cautiously. I saw two big wild boars and their piglets foraging for food, drinking water, and playing together on a large meadow with a stream.

Zhang Guoqing found a spot out of the wind. He chose a good position. He aimed his arrow at the largest wild boar, then picked up the axe and placed it on his right hand. With a slight pull, he aimed the arrow directly at the largest wild boar. His shot was perfect, and the largest wild boar's skull shattered and fell to the ground with a thud. The other three wild boars were so frightened that they ran aimlessly towards the dense forest not far away. Zhang Guoqing immediately picked up the axe and swung it, knocking down another one. The remaining two piglets ran into the dense forest. He looked at them and didn't plan to chase them. He had already achieved his goal.

The two fallen wild boars weighed a combined 600 kilograms. The largest boar weighed 300 to 400 kilograms. If it were to parade through the village, someone would surely see it. He didn't bother to pay attention to other people's gossip.

Seeing it was getting late, Zhang Guoqing immediately dragged the wild boar away to the stream. He untied the bamboo basket, grabbed a sharp butcher knife, and set to work quickly. With a swift movement, he split the boar in half, not even removing the bones or ribs. He left the head, discarding all but the edible offal. He gave it a rough rinse in stream water and tied it with hemp rope, to avoid anyone noticing. Before tying it up, he placed some dry branches and straw around the boar, then tied it into a ball with hemp rope.

After packing up, he took advantage of the daylight, carried the wild boar on his back, carried the bamboo basket, and walked out quickly. After leaving the outer area and waiting for darkness, there were few people walking on the road. He immediately avoided everyone and returned home safely.

He kept his spirits tense all the way, carrying a wild boar weighing nearly 500 pounds on his back. Because of his great strength, Zhang Guoqing felt a little tired when he relaxed suddenly.

Everyone in the Zhang family's kitchen gathered to watch and help. Lin Lishan, having heard Xizi's news, also rushed over to see what was happening. She'd heard Zhang Guoqing was incredibly strong, but she hadn't expected him to return with two wild boars after only a few hours. You know, in the military, hunting wild boars without a barrel, it takes three or four men to kill one.

Even though he was exhausted, Zhang Guoqing asked his mother and sister-in-law to put the iron pots on the stove and boil water in two pots at the same time. He quickly poured water over the blackened skins of the four wild boars. He then cut the skin while the hair was still hot and quickly scraped it clean.

After boiling countless pots of water, he removed the hair from the four wild boars. He first cut out the spine and ribs, then separated the pig's head, tail, trotters and elbows one by one, and then took out the pig's leg bones. The rest was meat.

Wild boar meat is mostly lean, but there is still some fat, and it just so happens that I don’t have any oil at home.

Zhang Guoqing asked his mother to find a clean sand basin and remove half of the fat from the pigs and put it in the basin. The fat from the two pigs could make a lot of oil, enough for Zhang's mother to use for a year, so there was no oil on the food at home.

Zhang Guoqing put four pieces of ribs, eight pork elbows and the pig's head together, and cut the rest into pieces and put them into four bamboo baskets.

When Zhang's mother saw her son finally finished his work and saw the meat, her heart started pounding. She quickly asked him, "Xiaowu, when did you go out? How did you get so much meat? These are two wild boars."

Lin Lishan also asked him: "You didn't go there just for me to go back to Beijing tomorrow, did you? It's dark now, it's so dangerous. That's Old Lin, you're not going to kill yourself. You're really too brave, kid."

Seeing everyone was excited and worried, Zhang Guoqing hurriedly comforted them, "Don't worry, we've seen no danger before, so we haven't had time to go up the mountain. Look, my mother-in-law is going back tomorrow, and wild boars only come out in the evening to look for food. I figured there's no danger, so I didn't hunt anything else and just went straight to the place. There were four of them, and two of the small ones ran away. We'll hunt them when they're older, and we'll keep them as pets. We should have come back a long time ago, out of the woods, and only came back after dark when there were no people around. Haha, it's really okay, I've hunted wild boars so many times."

Everyone was relieved after hearing this. He wasn't a random person. Since he'd checked there was no danger before, and he came back so quickly, it must have been planned in.

Mother Zhang asked the eldest son's family to clean up the offal, the second son's family's braised pig head, pig tail, pig's trotters and two pig elbows, and she herself took two knives of meat and some bones to deliver to Uncle Zhang and Uncle Zhang's homes.