Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Tree Exploded

When Zhao Jun heard Zhang Yuanmin say he’d lost the chainsaw, his expression changed. He strode in front of Zhang Yuanmin and asked, "How could you lose the chainsaw? What were you guys doing? Wasn’t the plan we worked out yesterday solid?"

To be honest, the method Zhang Yuanmin came up with yesterday was a bit crude, but it was definitely foolproof.

The Black Bear was sleeping inside a tree hollow. The plan was to fire a shot inside. It would only wake up after it was hit and felt the pain.

Even though reloading a 16-gauge shotgun was a hassle, the Black Bear still had to climb its way out.

There would be more than enough time to reload twice while it was climbing out.

This way, they could kill it inside the tree hollow with absolutely no danger to themselves.

After that, they’d use the chainsaw to fell the tree. It was a bit of a hassle, but it was the only way.

Of course, if felling the tree took too long, a small part of the gall might be lost, but again, the most important thing was safety!

So, Zhao Jun just couldn’t figure out how Zhang Yuanmin and his partner had messed up.

Messing up was one thing, and from the looks of it, Zhang Yuanmin wasn’t seriously hurt. But the crucial part was that he’d lost the chainsaw.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin had none of yesterday’s confidence. Sniffling, he recounted to Zhao Jun the near-death experience he and Chen Dalai had gone through today.

Chen Dalai’s real name was Chen Qiming. He was a few years older than Zhang Yuanmin but was from the same generation as Zhao Youcai. Zhao Jun had no idea why he had that nickname.

But the man’s marksmanship was decent. With his 16-gauge, he bagged quite a bit of game each year.

When Zhang Yuanmin went to find Chen Dalai yesterday, Chen Dalai initially refused.

And it wasn’t just Chen Dalai who refused; even his wife didn’t want him to go.

The reason was simple, the same as what the Zhao Family thought.

Rich or poor, personal safety was the most important thing. Besides, it was almost the New Year; no matter how tight money was, it wasn’t worth this risk.

But once Zhang Yuanmin explained his "genius" idea, Chen Dalai agreed on the spot, and the Chen Family no longer objected.

After all, truth be told, hunting it the way Zhang Yuanmin described was indeed completely safe.

So safe, plus they could get bear meat and a share of the Bear Gall. What was not to like?

So, early the next morning, Chen Dalai shouldered his gun, left the village with Zhang Yuanmin, and took the commuter flatbed cart to the Forest Farm.

In those days, the commuter vehicle wasn’t a bus, but a flatbed cart.

A tractor cab pulled a single flatbed with no cover or railings, and the commuting road maintenance workers just sat on top.

What are road maintenance workers?

The Forest Farm had logging roads used specifically for transporting timber from the mountains down to the farm.

The Forest Farm had one truck and two Dongfanghong tractors. Other than that, everything was hauled down by horse-drawn sleds.

But in the dead of winter, the roads were covered in snow. With trucks and sleds going back and forth, the snow became compacted and the surface grew extremely slick.

This was fine for wheeled vehicles, but the sleds would slide sideways, which was dangerous.

So, the Forest Farm hired over thirty road maintenance workers specifically to go into the mountains in winter and build fires in pits. They’d thaw the frozen earth, then scoop the dirt and spread it on the logging roads so the sleds wouldn’t slide.

This flatbed could hold over forty people, but there were only thirty-five road maintenance workers in total, so there was some extra space.

Zhang Yuanmin and Chen Dalai both climbed onto the flatbed. When they got on, some people who didn’t know them cast curious glances their way.

Just then, someone who recognized Zhang Yuanmin shouted, "Zhang Big Pants, what are you doing on our commuter cart?"

"Fuck, stop fucking calling me by my nickname," Zhang Yuanmin retorted, but he still had to explain himself. What if they kicked them off?

So, Zhang Yuanmin said, "I’m heading to the Forest Farm to see my uncle about something."

"Your uncle?" The man was taken aback. They all lived in the same village, and he’d never heard that Zhang Yuanmin had an uncle.

Zhang Yuanmin said, "Master Chef Zhao from your Forest Farm cafeteria."

Woah!

The Forest Farm had two cafeterias, Cafeteria One and Cafeteria Two. Between them, there were over sixty workers, but only one person held the title of Master Chef: Zhao Youcai.

As soon as they heard Zhang Yuanmin say his uncle was Zhao Youcai, the man sitting next to him actually scooted over and said amiably, "Brother, move over here. Make yourself comfortable, make yourself comfortable."

Who was Zhao Youcai?

Not only was he the Master Chef of Cafeteria One, he was also the father-in-law of the Forest Farm’s second-in-command. In the entire Yong’an Forest Farm, how many people would dare to cross him?

Every single road maintenance worker on this flatbed had to greet Zhao Youcai with a big smile every day when getting their food at the cafeteria.

Zhang Yuanmin stretched out his legs without a hint of modesty. But then someone from the side asked, "How are you and Master Zhao related as uncle and nephew?"

The person who spoke didn’t know Zhang Yuanmin. But since he’d heard someone call him Zhang Big Pants, his surname must be Zhang.

And Zhao Youcai’s surname was Zhao. With different surnames, they couldn’t possibly be blood-related uncle and nephew. But for Zhang Yuanmin to dare call Zhao Youcai "uncle," there had to be some special connection.

"Ah!" Zhang Yuanmin didn’t hide it. He said bluntly, "I’m sworn brothers with his son."

...

When the commuter cart arrived at the Forest Farm, everyone got off and ran toward the main compound.

They weren’t in a hurry to work; they were just too cold.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been this cold even if they had walked up the mountain, but sitting on that flatbed, their feet were about to go numb from the cold.

Zhang Yuanmin and Chen Dalai ran all the way to Cafeteria One. Zhao Youcai knew they were coming and had borrowed a chainsaw from the logistics department early that morning.

"Uncle!" Zhang Yuanmin greeted Zhao Youcai as soon as he walked in.

Zhao Youcai was taken aback. He had no idea where Zhang Yuanmin got off calling him "Uncle," but he didn’t say anything else, just two words: "You’re here."

After speaking, Zhao Youcai pointed at the chainsaw by his feet.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuanmin added, "It’s alright, Uncle. We’re not in a hurry. We’ll warm ourselves by the fire first."

Then he and Chen Dalai huddled by the stove to warm up.

Seeing the two of them shivering from the cold, Zhao Youcai even poured each of them a cup of warm water, telling them to warm up a bit before drinking.

Actually, as a person, Zhao Youcai was very easy to get along with, as long as you didn’t get on his bad side.

But if you did get on his bad side, that was a different story entirely.

Zhang Yuanmin and Chen Dalai were eager to hunt the Black Bear, so they didn’t stay long. Once they were warm, Zhang Yuanmin shouldered the chainsaw, said goodbye to Zhao Youcai, and left the cafeteria. They departed from the Forest Farm and headed deep into the mountains.

The two walked until almost eleven o’clock before they reached the Black Bear’s Den.

This Black Bear lived inside a large linden tree. The tree was about three meters tall, and the den’s entrance was two meters off the ground, facing south.

Chen Dalai stood before the tree, looking at the den’s entrance. Seeing the white frost around the tree hollow, he knew there had to be a bear inside.

But then he looked at Zhang Yuanmin and asked, "Brother, should we build a fire?"

"No need!" Zhang Yuanmin, with the chainsaw slung over his shoulder and a Large Axe in one hand, waved his other hand forward. "Just shoot it! What’s there to be afraid of?"

Chen Dalai thought about it and agreed. ’The hollow is about two meters up; it’ll take the Black Bear a while to climb out. In that time, I could get three shots into it. What kind of bear wouldn’t die from that?’

At this thought, Chen Dalai’s mind was put at ease. He smiled at Zhang Yuanmin and said, "Alright, brother, we have a deal then. I’ll handle the shooting, you handle felling the tree."

"No problem," Zhang Yuanmin said nonchalantly. "Brother Chen, once the shooting’s done, just watch me work!"

"You got it." Chen Dalai raised his gun and, calm and composed, aimed the muzzle at a spot half a meter up from the base of the tree.

If he fired this shot and didn’t hear the Black Bear roar, it would mean that part of the tree was solid. In that case, he’d just move the muzzle up another ten-plus centimeters and fire again.

He would keep firing until the Black Bear inside howled.

BANG!

It took just one shot!

With one shot, a roar came from inside the tree.

Hearing the bear’s cry, Chen Dalai hurriedly broke open the shotgun. But before he could even pull the spent shell from the chamber, he heard a CRACK.

The tree... had actually exploded!