Chapter 131: Night Hunt for Bamboo Partridges, Buying a Yellow Dun in the Afternoon

“Bamboo partridges?” Lin Heng was taken aback. He hadn’t gone hunting in a while and hadn’t been paying attention to such things.

He hadn’t been out hunting at night lately—he’d just been too busy.

Bamboo partridges, also known as mountain partridges, are birds that like to flock together. Their feathers are a flaxen color, with eye-like black spots on their bellies and sides, and a patch of green feathers under their necks.

They’re a very common bird in this region. The largest ones weigh only about five or six taels, with the average being just over four. But they have one notable trait: they like to group together. Spotting one usually means there are five or six more nearby.

“At least six or seven of them are roosting together. The calls are loud—we can go get them once it’s dark,” Li Baiquan whispered.

Once night falls, the birds like to huddle together on the same bamboo branch. One shot with a hunting rifle can mean a big harvest.

“We’ll need to borrow a hunting rifle then. I’ll go ask Tian Baishun and see if he’ll lend us his,” Lin Heng said after thinking for a moment. Coincidentally, Tian Baishun was also helping with threshing today.

He wasn’t officially invited—this old man was close with Lin Heng and knew the food at the Lin house was good, so he shamelessly came over in the morning to help and mooch a meal.

Bows and slingshots didn’t work well in the bamboo grove. What was needed was a hunting rifle loaded with small iron pellets. A single scatter shot could take down all the bamboo partridges at once.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Let’s go together,” Li Baiquan said with a grin.

Lin Heng nodded and went with his uncle to look for Tian Baishun.

When they asked around, someone said he had just carried a sack of grain home and was now heading back to the fields.

The two chased after him and hadn’t gone far before spotting the old man. He had a woven plastic sack slung over his shoulders and was chatting with Liu Lan.

Liu Lan happened to be squatting down picking vegetables. The old man’s eyes kept drifting to her collar. Maybe it was a hot day—she wasn’t wearing any undergarments.

Lin Heng chuckled to himself—this old guy never changes. He called out loudly, “Old Tian!”

Startled, Tian Baishun turned his head, annoyed. “What are you yelling for, Lin Boss? Can’t an old man get some peace?”

“What are you so jumpy for?” Lin Heng laughed. “Let us borrow your hunting rifle.”

“What for? Don’t you usually use a bow? Why a rifle?” Tian Baishun asked, curious.

“To hunt bamboo partridges. We found some,” Lin Heng replied with a smile.

“Bamboo partridges, huh? Nope, not lending it. But I’ll come along and shoot. Let me have a little fun—I won’t take the birds, you guys keep them all,” Tian Baishun grinned.

Lin Heng gave him a look. “Fine, that works too.”

The three made their plan and headed to the fields to help carry grain.

“You shameless old coot, aren’t you something,” Li Baiquan teased along the way.

Tian Baishun scolded back, pretending to be serious: “You’re thinking dirty thoughts. I’m not that kind of guy. Lin Heng, you believe me, right?”

Lin Heng just gave him a knowing look without saying anything.

“Even if I jumped in the Yellow River, I couldn’t wash the suspicion off…” Tian Baishun kept pretending.

By the time all the grain had been carried home, it was already 7:30 p.m., and Lin’s mother had dinner ready.

Tian Baishun went back to grab his rifle and gunpowder before returning to eat.

“You guys going hunting?” Lin’s father asked curiously.

“Just outside the door. My uncle spotted some bamboo partridges. We’ll go shoot them in a bit,” Lin Heng said with a grin.

“Lucky! Haven’t seen bamboo partridges near the house in a while,” Lin’s father said with a smile.

After a few words, they sat down to eat. Dinner was lavish—just the two meals they’d had made helping out worth it.

Lin’s mother had stir-fried the chicken with spicy pickled chili. Their home-raised chickens tasted amazing no matter how they were cooked.

As Lin Heng gnawed on a chicken leg, Xiongba sat beside him, licking his lips like he was saying, “Hey dumb human, don’t eat it all—save some meat for your best buddy.”

“Fine, fine, here, you greedy thing,” Lin Heng laughed, tossing him the rest.

“Awoo~”

Xiongba leapt up and caught it mid-air, happily chomping it down, then looked at Lin Heng for more.

By the time they finished eating, it was fully dark. Tian Baishun grabbed his hunting rifle and called out, “Let’s go!”

“You sure you’re okay? Not drunk?” Lin Heng asked with concern.

“This little bit of booze? Please, don’t insult me,” Tian Baishun waved him off.

“Good then.” Lin Heng nodded and went home to grab his bow—just in case.

He also handed each of them a strong flashlight he’d bought in the city—rechargeable ones.

Much brighter than the old silver aluminum flashlights that took D batteries.

As soon as they were turned on, they emitted a bright white light. Tian Baishun couldn’t help showing his envy. “How much did these cost?”

“Rechargeable, not cheap—five yuan each,” Lin Heng grinned. They were way pricier than normal flashlights, and he had only bought three.

“So expensive! I’ll stick with my battery one,” Tian Baishun said, discouraged.

Even Li Baiquan, who’d been about to ask for one, bit his tongue. Plus, they needed charging—and the village didn’t even have electricity yet.

They arrived at the bamboo grove and began shining their flashlights upward to search for bamboo partridges. These birds don’t fly even when the light hits them.

Xiongba trotted around the bamboo grove with Lin Heng. The grove covered about half an acre, so it wasn’t easy to search.

Lin Heng kept his eyes on the canopy and didn’t watch his step.

Suddenly, in the dark, Xiongba burst forward and pinned a black shadow to the ground. Lin Heng heard squeaking and quickly shined his flashlight over.

His eyes went wide. “Damn! That’s one fat bamboo rat!”

Xiongba had already bitten its spine and dropped it in front of Lin Heng. He picked it up—it must’ve weighed five or six pounds.

“Nice one, Xiongba.” Lin Heng patted the dog’s head. What a pleasant surprise.

After a whole summer of eating, the bamboo rat was round and fat.

“Over here! The partridges are over here!”

Li Baiquan suddenly called out.

“Old Tian! They’re over here!” Lin Heng shouted.

“Got it!” Tian Baishun replied, following Lin Heng to where Li Baiquan was.

“Look—seven or eight of them!” Li Baiquan said, sweeping his flashlight’s outer beam over the bamboo.

On one bamboo branch, seven or eight birds were huddled together, each curled into a little feathery ball.

“You two back up a bit,” Tian Baishun said, setting up his rifle, loading the powder, and double-checking everything.

Lin Heng and his uncle stepped back a few meters, keeping their flashlights dim.

Bang!

With a sharp crack, a red flare burst through the darkness. The gunpowder carried the red-hot pellets in a wide scatter.

BOOM!!

A loud blast rang out. Birds fluttered away in panic, and even Xiongba trembled at the sound.

Then came the sound of birds thudding to the ground.

“How many did we get?”

Ears still ringing, Lin Heng and his uncle rushed over with flashlights and a basin to collect the fallen bamboo partridges.

The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. The chairman’s desk even had holes blasted into it by iron pellets, emitting a faint scent of burnt charcoal.

Lin Heng picked up a bamboo partridge. Much of its feathers had been scorched, giving off a smell like burnt fingernails.

“Lin Heng, how many did you get? I got four,” Li Baiquan asked with a grin.

“I got three,” Lin Heng said as he walked over with the bamboo partridge in hand.

“Old man, how was my shooting?” Tian Baishun chuckled smugly.

“Still bragging? If you can’t hit them from less than five meters, you might as well go home and herd cattle,” Li Baiquan teased.

Tian Baishun huffed and retorted, “Hah, what do you know? Even at five meters, taking down all the bamboo partridges still takes skill, alright?”

“Uncle-in-law, take three of these bamboo partridges. Old Tian and I will split the rest, two each,” Lin Heng said as he divided the spoils.

“I don’t want them. After all that work cleaning, there’s barely any meat,” Tian Baishun shook his head.

Li Baiquan shook his head as well. “I don’t want them either. You take them and eat them.”

“I’ve also got a big bamboo rat that Xiongba caught,” Lin Heng said, lifting up the bamboo rat. He hadn’t hunted in a while, and tonight was a lucky night.

Tian Baishun still refused to take any, so Lin Heng forced three partridges onto his uncle-in-law.

Back home, all the guests had left. Only Lin Heng’s eldest and third uncles stayed behind to help finish threshing the remaining rice before heading back.

“Lin Heng, we’re heading off. In a few days, I’ll bring down some blasting caps and we’ll go blow up some fish,” Li Baiquan said. He had to go home that night.

His aunt warmly invited Lin Heng to visit her place when he had time. Lin Heng smiled and agreed, walking the two of them to the road.

Back at home, Lin Heng held up the bamboo partridges and the bamboo rat to show his wife. “Big haul tonight—there’ll be meat tomorrow too.”

“I already boiled water for you. I had a feeling you’d come back with something,” Xiulan said with a smile.

“Daddy is amazing!” Xiaoxia piped up, her voice crisp. Seeing the bamboo rat and partridges, she knew it meant meat again and reached out to grab the rat.

Lin Heng quickly lifted the bamboo rat higher. “You can look, but no touching.”

“Oh!” Xiaoxia nodded slowly twice and stood by to watch Lin Heng and Xiulan process the bamboo rat.

Bamboo rats can be skinned or scalded in hot water to remove the fur. Lin Heng chose to skin it so he could keep the pelt. Whether to sell it or turn it into gloves or something else, it would be useful.

“This bamboo rat, we really owe it to Xiongba,” Lin Heng praised the dog, who was crouching nearby watching.

“Awwooo~”

Xiongba stuck out his tongue, clearly pleased.

All the bamboo rat and partridge innards were boiled as a feast for Xiongba, who ate so much his belly bulged.

The next day was the 26th day of the seventh lunar month—market day. Lin’s father and the others were threshing rice, while Lin Heng went to the town by himself. He still needed to check in.

Just in case Liu Qicheng tried some new trick, Wang Zhou might not be able to handle it.

It was only 7 a.m. when Lin Heng arrived in town. Wang Zhou was already up and sweeping. He took his job seriously, not only keeping the place spotless but also inspecting the mountain goods brought in every day.

“Brother Lin!” Wang Zhou greeted him with a smile.

“Everything alright the past couple of days?” Lin Heng asked with a smile.

Wang Zhou shook his head. “Nothing much, just business is slow. Only got ten jin of epimedium, and only sold two packets of salt and a pack of cigarettes.”

Lin Heng wasn’t surprised. “That’s normal—people only come on market days anyway.”

After a pause, he asked, “What about Liu Qicheng? Any movement on his side?”

Wang Zhou replied, “He’s apparently looking to rent a place but hasn’t struck a deal yet. Got into an argument with someone too.”

“Then it looks like there’s no threat today either,” Lin Heng chuckled. He had expected Liu Qicheng to try that move.

He stepped into the shop and greeted Old Man Gao, then checked the account book. Wang Zhou kept the records very clearly and had a serious work ethic.

Suddenly Wang Zhou remembered something. “Oh right, Brother Lin—you said before you wanted to buy a horse. Uncle Li came by yesterday and said he found one. Someone’s selling a yellow dun, just over two years old, very gentle.”

The “Uncle Li” he mentioned was the tractor driver surnamed Li.

Lin Heng put down the account book, interest piqued. “A yellow dun? Where’s the horse? Far?”

He’d been wanting to buy a horse for a while. Walking all the time was tiring and slow.

He originally had 9,200 yuan. After shopping and stocking the store, he’d spent about 1,700 and kept 500 cash for sourcing goods.

Without counting his withdrawals, there were still 7,000 yuan in his passbook. But he didn’t want a motorcycle. That money was for building a fish pond—he couldn’t squander it. He knew well what to spend on and what not to.

It might seem like a lot of money, but it really wasn’t. Whether raising fish or shrimp, feed costs a fortune.

“It’s in their village—Liwan. Only two kilometers from town. Not far,” Wang Zhou said.

“Alright, once we’re done here, we’ll go take a look this afternoon,” Lin Heng nodded.

“Sounds good,” Wang Zhou replied.

Soon, customers started arriving one after another. News had spread from last market day that a new acquisition station had opened, and mountain goods prices had gone up quite a bit. So many sellers came today.

Liu Qicheng hadn’t come up with any counter-strategy, so all the business went to Lin Heng.

Even while doing business, Lin Heng didn’t forget to spread the word that he was looking to buy a horse.

This puzzled Wang Zhou. “Brother Lin, didn’t Uncle Li already find one?”

That driver uncle had been really helpful, and he wanted to close the deal for him.

“Doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing. It’s not bad to compare a few options,” Lin Heng shook his head. A 400–500 yuan item wasn’t something you should just buy from the first person.

The two of them were busy for hours, collecting four to five times more goods than last time. Lin Heng made over 100 yuan in profit from mountain goods alone that day. Even with funds from the convenience store cycling back in, he still had to withdraw 300 yuan from the credit union.

“Brother Lin’s really getting rich,” Lin Wei joked when they tallied up in the afternoon. They’d collected 500 yuan worth of mountain goods, with a profit of around 150 yuan. The convenience store also brought in another 30–40 yuan in profit.

“Nothing to be too happy about. We bought a lot today, which means less next time,” Lin Heng said, shaking his head.

Once the accounts were settled, Lin Heng and Wang Zhou went to find the driver uncle to go check out the horse.

He didn’t bring a single cent with him. His passbook was left at the store. It wasn’t safe carrying cash into an unfamiliar village. If the deal went through, the seller could just come back with him to Huangtan Town to get paid.

When they met the driver uncle, Wang Zhou quickly explained the situation.

The driver uncle looked at Lin Heng and said, “Boss Lin, this horse is a good one. Tall, strong, with bright eyes—and most importantly, it’s gentle and easy to ride.”

“Let’s go see it first,” Lin Heng said indifferently. He didn’t put much stock in those descriptions.

This wasn’t a place known for good horses. There were no bloodlines to speak of. His requirements were simple: healthy, strong, gentle, and obedient.

“Alright, I’ll lead the way,” the driver uncle nodded and led Lin Heng and Wang Zhou toward Liwan Village.

In just over ten minutes, the three of them arrived at Liwan Village. Under the driver uncle’s lead, they reached the home of a man surnamed Li.

“Li Gui, this is Boss Lin I told you about who wants to buy the horse,” the driver uncle said to a middle-aged man a bit younger than himself.

This middle-aged man had a pair of mung bean-sized eyes—at a distance, it was hard to tell whether they were open or shut.

He was a bit surprised that Lin Heng was so young, and smiled as he asked, “Boss Lin, want to see the horse directly?”

“Let’s go straight to the horse,” Lin Heng said, not wanting to waste time.

“Then come with me.” Li Gui led Lin Heng and the others to a stable in the back.

There were three horses in the stable, all of them yellowish-brown. Their coats were average, and their builds were relatively balanced. Their shoulder height was about 1.2 meters by eye. All in all, they were nothing special—definitely not as majestic as the driver uncle had bragged.

“These two horses here are a male and a female. The male is two years old, the female is three. I’ve trained both. Whether for riding or pulling carts, no problem,” Li Gui said, pointing to the two outer horses.

The one he didn’t mention was clearly the mare that had given birth.

Lin Heng walked up and patted them. The two horses were fairly docile, without any noticeable emotional reactions.

The stallion looked sturdier, about ten centimeters taller than the mare, but Lin Heng felt the stallion was a little too docile.

“You’re only selling the stallion?” Lin Heng asked Li Gui.

Li Gui shook his head. “No, they’re both for sale. But the mare is a bit pricier—she hasn’t given birth yet.”

Lin Heng nodded and examined them more closely. These were both Mongolian horses, big-headed and thick-necked, nothing like pedigree horses. He mostly focused on checking whether they were healthy, if there were any minor issues.

He didn’t know much about horses, but he did know that good horses had strong lungs and muscles. The stallion’s nostrils were clearly a size larger than the mare’s, its chest was muscular, and the distance between its legs was wider.

Compared to the stallion, the mare looked more balanced and obviously more gentle.

He also checked their eyes and hooves—nothing major there either.

After a thorough inspection, Lin Heng asked, “Can you ride them for a few laps so I can see?”

“Don’t worry, Boss Lin, the horse is perfectly fine,” the driver uncle chimed in with a laugh.

Lin Heng shook his head. “Nope. Gotta see them run a few laps. Otherwise, how would I know what I’m buying?”

Even if he wasn’t an expert, you could still tell a lot about a horse by how it ran.

“Sure, I’ll run a few laps for you,” Li Gui agreed. He led the stallion and started to ride.

After a few hundred meters, Lin Heng already noticed something was off—the stallion’s breathing was a little too labored.

He looked at the two and asked, “Has this horse ever been sick?”

“Nope, it’s just like this. Totally normal,” Li Gui said, shaking his head.

The driver uncle nodded in agreement. “Getting a bit winded from a few sudden laps is totally normal.”

Lin Heng glanced at them but didn’t press. Instead, he said, “Then please ride the mare for a few laps too.”

Li Gui rode the mare for a few hundred meters. Lin Heng listened closely—her breathing was clearly much more even.

Lin Heng chuckled to himself. This stallion had definitely been sick before and was still dealing with aftereffects.

He might not have raised horses before, but he had raised pigs, cows, and sheep, and he knew a fair bit of veterinary knowledge. Not that easy to fool him.

More importantly, he’d heard that stallions were naturally wild and fiery, but this one was way too tame.

Under normal circumstances, a horse that’s both strong and gentle would be a great catch. But he didn’t believe he’d luck into such a great deal so easily.

Carefully listening to its breath again, he could tell something was off.

“How much for the mare?” Lin Heng asked directly, not bothering to expose the lie.

Li Gui and the driver uncle kept neutral expressions, but inwardly they were shocked. How is this Lin Heng kid so young and yet so sharp?

(End of Chapter)