Chapter 288 - 215: Target Found
Zhao Wendong and the others found some clean snow, packed it directly into their mess tins, and placed them on the fire to boil. Then, they ate some of the cornmeal rations they had brought, washing them down with the hot water. This was lunch. They were eating a bit later than usual because they had set out late. After everyone replenished their energy, they fed Dahuang and the other dogs and let them roam freely nearby. With Dahuang to keep them in line, the three dogs wouldn’t wander off, and Zhao Wendong wasn’t worried about them.
Once they’d eaten and drunk their fill, the four brothers began to pull up the first net. As it neared the surface, everyone felt a little disappointed; they could clearly feel it wasn’t as heavy as before. Zhao Wendong, however, was quite content. ’We’ve fished here so many times and can still get a haul like this,’ he thought. ’That means the pool is very deep. We don’t have to worry about emptying it and can make this a long-term fishing spot.’ When the net was fully pulled up, a rough estimate put the catch at at least one hundred and fifty pounds.
"Haha, not bad," Zhao Wendong said. "We still have some time. Let’s cast the net one more time. We won’t fish here again before spring; we’ll let them recover."
"Alright."
Everyone agreed in unison. After packing up the fish they had caught, Zhao Wendong and the others cast the net into the pool again.
"Big Brother, Er Gouzi, you two wait here," said Zhao Wendong. "Second Brother and I are going to check on the two traps we set earlier."
Zhao Wendong remembered the two traps he’d set. He had Zhao Wenjun and the others watch the net, and he didn’t take Dahuang or the other dogs, planning for a quick round trip. He and Zhao Wenwu followed the markers they had made and found the two traps. They had been sprung—there was fur and blood on them, but the prey was gone, likely eaten by other wild animals.
"Third Brother, should we set them again?"
Zhao Wenwu looked dejected. They had clearly caught something, but to come away with nothing felt as bad as losing money.
"No, let’s not set them here again. We don’t come this way often. Let’s just take them back."
Zhao Wendong planned to set the traps around their cave base. This would warn any passing hunters that the area was occupied and could also prevent the cave’s stone door from being forced open by large animals like wild boars.
When the two of them returned with the traps, they saw only Zhao Wenjun sitting on the ice. Zhao Wendong’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked him.
"Big Brother, where’s Er Gouzi?"
"He’s over there with Dahuang and the others, chasing pheasants."
"Oh."
Zhao Wendong finally relaxed. Er Gouzi was very clever, and his marksmanship had improved by leaps and bounds to the point that his accuracy had already surpassed Zhao Wenjun’s. As for Zhao Wenwu, he was probably more accurate throwing rocks than shooting a gun. Zhao Wendong was satisfied as long as he didn’t hit one of their own.
"Didn’t catch anything in the traps?"
"We did, but something else got to it first."
Zhao Wenjun shook his head with a hint of regret but didn’t say anything. These things were normal; even in winter, there was no shortage of animals in the mountains. Before long, Zhao Ergou returned, carrying several pheasants. A whistle hung around his neck.
It was one of the whistles Old Zheng had given Zhao Wendong. Now, whenever they split up in the mountains, each of them carried one to send messages. Zhao Wendong had even designed a simple code: one long blast meant all clear, three short blasts meant danger, and two short blasts meant regroup. They waited an exceptionally long time for the second net, not having the brothers pull it up until it was nearly dark and they were ready to head back for the night.
This haul brought in less than a hundred pounds of fish. ’That’s about it,’ Zhao Wendong estimated. ’It’s not worth coming back again anytime soon. We should let this pool recover for a while.’ He called for his brothers to pack the fish, gather the net, and start heading back. Just as dusk fell, Xiaojin returned right on schedule. It brought back a wild rabbit, but there was still no information about any other discoveries.
Zhao Wendong and Xiaojin’s teamwork had become increasingly seamless, and he had figured out its patterns. Xiaojin generally only scouted the area around him, with a patrol radius of roughly two miles from his position; it would definitely not go beyond three. Perhaps it was afraid of getting separated from Zhao Wendong. The fact that it hadn’t spotted the White Wolf recently suggested that the wolf and its pack—the ones Zhao Wendong wanted to eliminate—had likely moved on and were no longer active in the area. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to evade Xiaojin’s Hawkeye for so long.
After all, the White Wolf and its pack had already run into Zhao Wendong’s group three times nearby, suffering losses on every occasion. Given the White Wolf’s intelligence, Zhao Wendong figured it had chosen to avoid a direct confrontation. But even if the wolf wanted to run, Zhao Wendong had no intention of letting it go. The debt for his brother and sister-in-law from his past life, and the debt for the Guan Brothers in this one, were both waiting to be settled with that wolf.
On the way back to the base, they encountered a few more pheasants and two Flying Dragons. For a mountain delicacy with such limited flying ability, an encounter with Dahuang and the other two dogs was a death sentence. Dahuang’s pack rarely failed when chasing pheasants. A large pile of pheasants and Flying Dragons, on top of the two hundred-plus pounds of fish from the pool, made for a decent day’s haul.
Upon returning to the cave base, Zhao Wendong first set the two traps on either side of the entrance, marking their locations clearly before heading inside. When he entered, Er Gouzi and the others had already put a pot on the fire and lit the torches. The cave was bright and very warm. ’The craftsmanship of the Japanese was really something else,’ he thought.
Everyone was still tired; they hadn’t rested enough, mainly because they were all exhausted from foraging at the coast the night before. So, they didn’t bother with an elaborate dinner. After a simple but filling meal, the four brothers turned in early for the night.