Li Yuemin saw the villagers' reactions and smiled to himself, knowing his "hunger marketing" strategy had worked. He immediately turned back, grabbed another ten strings of field rat meat and a pound of soybeans, and announced:
"Since everyone is so eager for a taste, I’ve decided to make a sacrifice and contribute the portion I’d set aside for my own family. If anyone else wants some, you’d better hurry. Once this opportunity is gone, it’s gone for good."
"Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!"
Because they had missed the first round of bidding, the second round had the villagers even more fired up. They scrambled and jostled, none willing to give way to another.
...
"Twenty-two pounds of cornmeal and twenty-five eggs! Hahaha! No one is going to outbid me this time. These field rats and soybeans are mine!"
The one who shouted this last was Sun Fugui, the village's biggest chicken farmer. He had arrived a step too late and missed his chance earlier, forced to watch helplessly as Zhang Guilan devoured the meat. Seeing her mouth glistening with grease had filled him with resentment. So, the moment Li Yuemin opened the second round of bidding, he hiked his price up, determined to get his hands on the meat and beans.
"Listen up, everyone. Twenty-two pounds of cornmeal and twenty-five eggs. Does anyone offer more?"
Li Yuemin finished speaking and scanned the crowd. Seeing no one respond, he handed the food over to Sun Fugui.
"Brother, why are we giving all the field rats away? I haven't had enough yet!"
Watching Sun Fugui devour the food, Li Yuejin looked wronged. He had only managed to eat two rats; Li Yuemin had auctioned off the rest.
"Silly kid, what your brother is doing is the smart thing to do."
Zhang Chuntao, standing nearby, patted Li Yuejin on the head. "This field rat meat is tasty, but it doesn't fill your stomach. If we trade it for grain, it’s enough to feed our family for several days! Look, your brother just traded two pounds of soybeans for all this. We still have over forty pounds of soybeans left; we won’t go hungry anymore."
Having said this, Chuntao looked at Li Yuemin beside her with a gaze full of admiration and affection.
"But, but..." Li Yuejin lowered his head, still feeling slighted. "But sister-in-law, I just wanted to eat meat. The rats are all gone now; who knows how many months or years it will be before we can have it again!"
"Hey, who said that?" Seeing Li Yuejin looking so pathetic, Li Yuemin ruffled his hair. "These few rats were just an appetizer. Next time, I’ll hunt you rabbits, wild pheasants, and badgers. I’ll make sure you have meat at every meal, how about that?"
"Really?" Hearing Li Yuemin's words, Li Yuejin broke into a joyful smile. He began happily helping Li Yuemin put away the eggs and cornmeal, saying, "Brother, let’s save these eggs for Mom to eat. Her health isn’t good, and if she eats them, she’ll surely—"
"Stop eating! Everyone stop eating! The black bear has come down the mountain!"
Before Li Yuejin could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a voice full of urgency. Turning around, he saw a militiaman stumbling toward them from a distance. Close behind him were the village chief, Zhang Wanshan, and a group of village officials.
Seeing that most of the villagers were gathered there, the chief scanned the area, then spoke with a grave expression:
"I’ve just received news. While patrolling the mountains, the Mountain Guardian, Zhuzi, was suddenly attacked by a large bear. His arm was bitten off, and he is currently undergoing emergency surgery at the county hospital. Because the village is now at risk of being attacked by the black bear, we must select a new Mountain Guardian to go up the mountain and hunt it. Is there anyone here willing to take on this heavy responsibility?"
"This..." As soon as the chief finished speaking, silence fell over the crowd. The villagers looked at one another, but no one volunteered.
*The Mountain Guardian? This is a good opportunity,* Li Yuemin thought, his eyes lighting up. He had actually considered this before; secretly hunting in the mountains wasn't a sustainable solution. He needed the official status of Mountain Guardian. With the current one injured, it was the perfect time to step in.
Thinking this, Li Yuemin almost stepped forward to volunteer. But looking at the silent villagers, he held back, thinking to himself:
*In my past life, Zhuzi had his arm bitten off by that bear. His younger brother, Shuanzi, volunteered to go into the mountains to hunt the beast in order to avenge him. Unexpectedly, he ended up in the bear's maw, leaving behind a widow and two children who struggled for every meal. Those heartless villagers not only refused to help but bullied the mother and children. By the time my father-in-law, the village chief, discovered them, all three had already starved to death.*
*Now that I’ve just married, I can’t follow in Shuanzi's footsteps. I have to secure a safety net for myself. As the saying goes, 'Under a heavy reward, there must be a brave man.' My father-in-law will surely increase the benefits for the Mountain Guardian under these circumstances. I'll just keep quiet for now. It won't be too late to step forward once the conditions are to my liking. Besides, with my level of marksmanship, even if other villagers try to compete, I have nothing to fear.*
"Fellow villagers, I know hunting a bear is extremely dangerous. If any of you are willing to become the Mountain Guardian and kill this bear, I, on behalf of the village, will reward you with ten pounds of cornmeal!"
As expected, Zhang Wanshan proposed a reward. Not only that, but to boost morale, he called on the entire village to donate grain: "Furthermore, hunting the bear is a major matter for the safety of our village. I propose that every villager should also offer some rewards to this brave hero. What do you say?"
"I agree! Whoever goes out and kills that bear, I’ll give a pound of cornmeal!"
"I’ll give two eggs!"
"I’ll give half a pound of white flour!"
Since hunting the bear was directly tied to the safety of the village, Zhang Wanshan’s request received an enthusiastic response. In less than five minutes, the total reward had ballooned to eighty pounds of cornmeal, ten pounds of white flour, over fifty eggs, plus peanuts, red dates, and more.
Seeing the substantial amount of food, Zhang Wanshan was satisfied. He scanned the crowd and confidently asked a second time: "Now, is there anyone willing to be our Mountain Guardian?"
...
Silence again. The villagers who had been so eager to donate were now quiet, glancing at each other.
Seeing this, Li Yuemin felt it was time. He was just about to speak, but before he could open his mouth, he heard a familiar voice shout out:
"Village Chief, I have the ability to hunt the bear! I volunteer to be the Mountain Guardian!"
Li Yuemin turned to see Li Guolin walking over boldly with Song Mengyao. As it turned out, Li Guolin hadn't gone far after his failed attempt to get meat; he had been observing everything in the courtyard from nearby. Seeing Li Yuemin trade field rats and soybeans for forty pounds of grain and fifty eggs, he had been so jealous he could have ground his back teeth to dust. Now, seeing that becoming the Mountain Guardian would net him so much grain, the calculating Li Guolin had immediately cooked up a scheme.
Though he knew how to use an air gun and had some strength, he was a coward who valued his own life and had no intention of actually risking it. He had already planned his escape: once he became the Mountain Guardian, he would find a hidden spot in the mountains, dig a hole, and have a good sleep. After the storm blew over, he would simply claim he had scared the bear away. He would gain both the grain and the title of "Bear-Hunting Hero"—a perfect deal.
"Li Guolin, hunting a bear is no child's play. Are you sure you have the ability?" Zhang Wanshan looked him up and down with suspicion. In his mind, Li Guolin had always been a lazy, cowardly person. He struggled to even kill a chicken during the holidays; how could he possibly hunt a bear in the mountains?
"Of course, Chief! Don't look down on me!" Seeing Zhang Wanshan's distrust, Li Guolin puffed out his chest and boasted, "I may look thin, but I have plenty of skill. Hunting in the mountains and fishing in the river are nothing to me. Last year, I even caught a female sable in the mountains! If you don't believe me, look at the sable fur scarf my wife is wearing!"
He pulled off the scarf he had previously given Song Mengyao and showed it to the chief to prove his point.
"Oh! It seems I misjudged you!" Feeling the soft fur in his hands, Zhang Wanshan’s doubts vanished, and he nodded. "Alright then, since you have the ability, I will entrust the heavy responsibility of our village's Mountain Guardian to you. You must—"
"Entrust it to him? Father-in-law, if you hand it to him, just wait for the bear to slaughter our entire village!"
Before he could finish, Li Yuemin, who had been hiding in the crowd, stepped forward. He lifted his chin and said confidently, "Father-in-law, I also want to run for Mountain Guardian. If Li Guolin isn't convinced, he can compete with me on the spot."
"You?" Li Guolin’s nose was almost crooked with anger seeing Li Yuemin challenge him again. However, he didn't panic. He knew that at this point in time, Li Yuemin hadn't been recruited into the army yet and was just a clueless kid. He himself had lived a past life and had spent years fiddling with air guns; even if his skills weren't top-tier, he was a hundred times better than the current Li Yuemin.
Thinking this, Li Guolin snorted, glanced at Li Yuemin, and said, "Fine. Hunting in the mountains is all about marksmanship. Let's have the chief find someone to draw up some targets on the spot and see who can hit the ten-ring first. Well? Do you dare?"