Li Yuemin gave a cold snort:
"Donating grain was just responding to the village head's call—who among you actually did it willingly? As soon as you saw I hadn't bagged a bear, you turned around and scrambled to take your grain back, terrified of losing even a crumb! To burn bridges like this and still have the nerve to stand there and cry injustice?"
Li Yuemin paused deliberately, his cold gaze sweeping across the villagers standing around him, before continuing:
"This bear meat was earned with my life; I have the right to distribute it as I see fit. If anyone dares to stir up trouble again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"This..."
Li Yuemin’s words were sharp and powerful, leaving the greedy villagers speechless. They could only swallow their saliva and watch, wide-eyed, as Li Yuemin distributed the bear meat that they had previously considered "theirs" to others.
"Old Lady Liu, this large piece is for you."
"Second Uncle Zhang, this is yours. Thank you for all your help!"
"And this bear leg is for Brother Zhuzi—his arm didn't get broken for nothing!"
...
Because very few villagers had left their grain with him, Li Yuemin’s share of the bear meat was gone in an instant. Seeing there was none left for them, the onlookers shook their heads in disappointment and began to head out of the yard.
"Everyone, wait!"
Unexpectedly, Li Yuemin shouted, calling the departing villagers back.
"If anyone wants to eat bear meat, it’s not impossible."
"What does that mean? What is this kid playing at?"
"Who cares what he means? As long as there’s meat to eat!"
"Li Yuemin, then tell us, how can we get some bear meat?"
Li Yuemin turned and pointed to his dilapidated adobe house:
"You can all see that the house I'm living in now is drafty on all four sides. If anyone can help me rebuild it or provide building materials, anyone who participates will get a bowl of bear blood soup or a piece of bear meat!"
"Really? Is that true? Yuemin, my family has lumber for building houses—can I trade that?"
"I’m a mason. If I help you build the house, how much bear meat can I get?"
Once Li Yuemin said this, he received an enthusiastic response from the villagers. Everyone was incredibly proactive and eager to help. Some brought wooden planks, others brought blue bricks, and some even moved their own furniture over! The group worked with such fervor that in less than half a day, his small, cramped courtyard was packed tight.
"Uncle Li, this is yours; Aunt Zhang, this is yours. Make sure you hold onto it."
While Li Yuemin was busy repairing the house with the villagers, Zhang Chuntao was cooking the bear blood soup with great care. She poured water into the pot, brought it to a boil, and slowly added the bear blood. Before long, the blood solidified into tender, bouncy chunks. She sprinkled in a little salt, and instantly, a rich, savory aroma filled the air, so mouthwatering it was impossible to resist.
Chuntao first filled a bowl for Blind Granny. Once she saw her finish it, she served another bowl to Yuejin.
"Sister-in-law, this bear blood soup is delicious! I want to drink a big bowl of this every day!"
Li Yuejin sat in the yard, drinking the soup and eating roasted bear meat, feeling incredibly happy. He rarely had enough to eat and was used to going hungry; he had never experienced such treatment before. He wasn't the only one—the villagers queuing up for the soup felt the same. They reasoned that this soup was both delicious and filling, and they could get it just by helping out with a little labor. Why wouldn't they?
In truth, this sense of satisfaction among the villagers was all part of Li Yuemin’s calculated plan. At first, the villagers thought they could get meat just by donating a little grain. If Li Yuemin had refused them then, citing the poor quality of the grain, he would have been branded an ungrateful wretch, and he could have forgotten about getting any support from the villagers for future hunting trips.
Instead, he had intentionally let them take their grain back and then staked his claim to the meat with a gun. By doing so, he completely extinguished their sense of entitlement. Once they realized they could earn precious bear blood soup by helping him out, they were surprised, delighted, and deeply grateful, happily volunteering their labor. After all, "he who eats another's food becomes soft-mouthed," and since they were all enjoying the soup, they naturally began to shower Li Yuemin with praise. Some even went to the village head, Zhang Wanshan, to brag that he had chosen a capable son-in-law.
"Big-headed Liu, make sure you build a wall around this courtyard for me—the higher, the better."
"Li Dazhuang, look, the roof still seems to be leaking. Lay those tiles down properly."
Unlike Li Yuejin, who was busy eating and enjoying himself, Li Yuemin only gulped down a single bowl of soup after working for half the day. Without pausing to rest, he wiped his mouth and went right back to work with the villagers. Ever since the day he married Zhang Chuntao, he had sworn to improve their lives and ensure she lived well. Now, he was using nothing more than some bloody scraps and leftovers to get the whole village to fix his roof and build his walls. This arrangement—a mutually beneficial exchange where everyone got what they wanted—was a winning deal.
However, the only one who felt disgruntled was probably Li Guolin, who had come away with nothing. The position of Mountain Guardian he had been coveting had been snatched away by Li Yuemin’s expert marksmanship. He had hoped for Li Yuemin to die on the mountain, yet the man had returned as a bear-hunting hero. He had clung to a final shred of hope, thinking the villagers would mob Li Yuemin and humiliate him, but the kid had pulled a trick to win the villagers over, getting them to work themselves to the bone fixing his house.
Seeing everyone else get soup, Li Guolin was practically green with envy. Not wanting to do any work himself, he racked his brain until he caught sight of Huzi eating meat in the yard. He marched over, tapped the working Li Yuemin on the shoulder, and demanded righteously:
"Li Yuemin, can you honestly say that half the credit for this hunt doesn't belong to my Huzi? On that basis alone, I should be entitled to some bear meat, shouldn't I?"
"Oh, right, right, right. How could I have forgotten that?"
Li Yuemin cut a piece of meat and handed it to him. Li Guolin weighed it in his hand and immediately looked displeased:
"Li Yuemin, this meat looks smaller than what everyone else got. Does my cousin really only hold this much value in your eyes?"
Li Yuemin nodded:
"Li Guolin, you have quite a bit of self-awareness. That is exactly what you're worth!"
"Let’s go, Huzi, come with me to the edge of the village to grab something."
After saying this, Li Yuemin gathered his things and headed out of the yard with Huzi.
"Stop right there!"
Li Guolin was incensed at the natural way Li Yuemin commanded his dog.
"Huzi, go home? Li Yuemin, is this even your dog?"
"Li Guolin, if you aren't sure if it's my dog, why don't you try calling it and see?"
"Of course it's my dog!"
With that, Li Guolin confidently whistled at Huzi:
"Huzi, come here."
"Woof!"
To his surprise, Huzi just barked at him in a friendly way and showed no intention of following him. Li Guolin grew anxious and charged toward Huzi in a huff:
"Fine, Huzi, you little beast! I’ve raised you for nothing all these years! You... you damn mutt, you're siding with the enemy!"
Seeing the dog he had raised for years betray him, Li Guolin was so furious he could practically see smoke coming out of his ears. He grabbed a broom from the yard and swung it at the dog, cursing:
"You little beast! You’ve gone rogue, have you? Daring to talk back to me? Haven't beaten you in a while, so your hide is itching for a thrashing, is it?"
"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"
Perhaps due to the constant beatings he had endured from Li Guolin in the past, Huzi’s pent-up rage exploded. After letting out a low, guttural snarl, it lunged forward like a mad dog and bit down hard on Li Guolin’s backside.
"Help! Help!!! Li Yuemin, this isn't over! You just wait, I’ll settle this with you another day!"