Chapter Twenty: Hunting the Gray Wolf in Changbai Mountain

Sitting by the window, Wang Lin closed her copy of *Dream of the Red Chamber* and covered her face, a blush lingering on her cheeks that refused to fade.

From the courtyard came the cheerful laughter of Doudou. As she pushed the window open, a flurry of goose-down snowflakes, as if tugged by invisible threads, danced onto her face. Her husband and the two little girls had already shaped the beginnings of a snowman.

"You lot build it yourselves!"

Seeing his young wife poke her head out, her face still flushed with a rosy tint, the man patted the snow from his clothes and dashed into the room, followed quickly by a shy, surprised gasp.

It was a long while before the room finally grew quiet. The man and woman sat side by side by the window, watching the two little girls chasing and playing in the yard.

When darkness fell, Hua Ling hurried over, carrying away the reluctant little Ya, along with four boiled eggs.

The cold Changbai Mountain night was silent, save for the soft rustle of snow falling from pine branches.

Two figures ventured into the mountains under the cover of night.

Tie Zhu, clutching a long wooden staff, followed behind Zhang Huacheng. He carried a brand-new bamboo basket on his back. A sudden howl of a wolf in the distance brought them to a halt.

"We're close."

Zhang Huacheng immediately checked his Type 38 Arisaka rifle and chambered a round.

They were here to hunt wolves tonight.

The wolves of the Changbai Mountains were gray wolves, the largest subspecies—fierce in temperament, astonishing in weight, and equipped with thick, resilient fur that allowed them to move freely through the bitter cold. They were the apex predators of these mountains.

After searching the snow for over ten minutes, Zhang Huacheng finally spotted his target: a massive brown-gray wolf, currently feeding in the snow. It appeared to be eating a wild hare.

Wolf howls echoed from nearby; clearly, the pack was hunting in a scattered formation.

The wolf caught their scent, lifted its head to look at Zhang Huacheng as he raised his rifle, and let out a low growl, its face contorting into a menacing attack posture.

"Bang!"

The crisp gunshot shattered the silence of the mountain forest. The wolf’s body shuddered, and it immediately turned and fled.

"Chase!"

Zhang Huacheng knew he had landed a hit. In the snow, streaks of blood stained the white powder—a stark, piercing sight.

The two men pursued the wounded wolf across the snow at high speed. The wolf, pierced by the bullet, fled for several hundred meters before stopping, stumbling to hide beneath a rock. When it saw Zhang Huacheng and Tie Zhu approaching, it let out a low, warning growl.

Tie Zhu didn't hesitate, rushing forward to deliver several blows with his staff. The wolf collapsed in the snow, twitching. Faced with human weaponry, its sharp fangs, speed, and raw power were rendered useless.

"Brother, we got it! What a huge wolf!"

Tie Zhu dragged it out from under the rock. It was a massive adult male, weighing probably sixty or seventy kilograms.

Zhang Huacheng stepped forward to inspect the carcass. To avoid damaging the pelt, he had aimed for the neck. The wolf had been remarkably tenacious.

He drew his Swiss Army knife and skillfully gutted the animal, tossing the entrails into the snow and stuffing the empty cavity with snow. The processing took less than two minutes.

The howling continued; the pack was clearly closing in.

"Brother, the wolves are coming. Should we fight them?" Tie Zhu asked, gripping his staff and looking around warily.

"Let's head back."

Zhang Huacheng listened intently. There were at least six or seven adult wolves nearby. If they were surrounded, a single rifle would be dangerous. He immediately loaded the heavy carcass into the bamboo basket on Tie Zhu's back.

If there had been only two or three, he wouldn't have left with his gun in hand. But with seven or eight, while he was confident he could escape unscathed, Tie Zhu might not be so lucky.

In these times of limited medicine, a wolf bite was a serious matter. Even without biological toxicity, bacterial infections could be fatal.

By the time they safely returned to Chentang Sanliqu, the adult wolves had reached the hills behind the village, pacing and howling.

The howls woke many of the villagers from their sleep.

Wang Lin watched as her husband skinned the wolf, listening to the faint howls in the distance. She felt a tremor of anxiety and kept glancing out the window, terrified the pack might come knocking.

"Don't worry," Zhang Huacheng said with a reassuring smile, seeing her fear. "Wolves are clever; they won't rashly cross into territory that isn't their own."

He removed the pelt in one clean, perfect piece, and had Tie Zhu scrape away every bit of flesh and fat from the underside.

"Tie Zhu, sleep in the next room. We have to head out early tomorrow morning, so don't bother going home tonight." Zhang Huacheng handed him a heavy coat.

Tomorrow morning, the rumors about Chen Qiuyang sleeping with a widow would erupt throughout the brigade. He needed to be back early to resolve the issue; he wouldn't let things play out as they had in his previous life.

"Alright, Brother. I'm going to sleep then." Tie Zhu took the coat and left.

The *kang* was heated, and with the coat, he wouldn't be cold.

There were several kilograms of fat on the wolf, concentrated around the shoulders and abdomen. Zhang Huacheng carefully scraped it off. Wolf oil was a precious commodity; if rubbed on cracked frostbite, it could effectively soothe and heal it, and it held various medicinal values. It was truly a treasure.

"Is this edible?" Wang Lin looked at the small basin of fat, which looked distinctly different from wild boar fat.

"It is, but it would be a waste to eat it. Wait until I render the wolf oil tomorrow, and you'll see what it’s good for." Zhang Huacheng glanced at the frostbite on Wang Lin’s hands.

In these days, no one—adult, child, or elder—went through winter without frostbite on their hands, many of which were cracked and bleeding.

The wolf would yield about a hundred pounds of meat. Combined with the half-carcass of wild boar hidden in the snow, he could make over a hundred yuan just by selling the meat tomorrow.

Moreover, wolf meat tasted good and had medicinal properties, making it far superior to wild boar. In the Northeast, wolf meat was quite renowned.

As for the pelt, he didn't plan on selling it yet. Though it might fetch thirty yuan, he wanted to see if he could find a good tailor to make a wolf-fur coat for Wang Lin. It was a top-grade pelt; selling it would be a shame.

"Linlin, let's go have dinner at Mom and Dad's tomorrow night." After settling the marriage issue tomorrow, he wanted to celebrate properly. It had been a long, long time since he had sat down for a meal with his family.

He looked forward to the reunion dinner.

"Mm," Wang Lin replied, snuggling into his arms.

"Eat meat..."

Perhaps triggered by a keyword, Doudou mumbled in her sleep, making both Zhang Huacheng and Wang Lin burst into quiet laughter. The little girl had nothing but food on her mind.

The howling gradually faded; the pack had evidently returned to the mountains. Zhang Huacheng only hoped they wouldn't go too far—he wanted to hunt a few more to earn some extra money.

What dishes should he prepare tomorrow? Should he bring a few bottles of liquor and have a good drink with his father?

As he pondered, sleepiness washed over him, and he drifted off. In his arms, a pair of bright eyes watched him in the dark, the corners of his wife's mouth curving into a gentle smile.