Second Uncle shot a glare at Er Gouzi, who was gloating, and pulled out his belt. "Eat your damn food. Keep yapping, and I'll whip you, believe me." "Those people had it coming—they brought it on themselves. We can't kick them while they're down."
After scolding Er Gouzi, Second Uncle turned his gaze to Liu Tiezhu. "Zhu, your wedding with Yulan is set for three days from now. I checked the calendar—it's an auspicious day for marriage. I've discussed the arrangements with Shanzi and Haitian. Shanzi, fill Zhu in on the details."
Liu Tieshan picked up the thread: "Let's start with the betrothal gift. I'm thinking sixty-six yuan and eighty cents. For the banquet, Brother Tian said not to bother—just have both families sit together for a lively meal. Zhu, is there anything you want to change?"
"Big brother, Second Uncle, I have no objections." Liu Tiezhu spread his hands, acting like a carefree boss. Through their time together, he'd found Yang Yulan decent. She wasn't stunning, but she was smart and knew how to run a household. In critical moments, she gave him sound advice—a true helpmate.
"If you're fine with it, Shanzi and I will finalize things tomorrow. Also, we need to pick good fabric for the wedding dress—can't shortchange Yulan," Second Uncle reminded. They'd been broke before, with no choice. Now that they had money, they couldn't be stingy.
"I'll handle the wedding dress fabric. I'm going back to my parents' place tomorrow anyway," Sister-in-law Huang Xiumei said.
"Big brother, go with her tomorrow and bring two hundred catties of meat. Don't come back too late—the villages aren't safe these days." Liu Tiezhu reminded him, pulling out one hundred and twenty-three yuan from his pocket and handing it all to his brother. "This is the leftover money from the last meat sale. Don't refuse, brother—use it to arrange my wedding and give the rest to sister-in-law. She's had a tough time over the years; it's time she lived well."
Liu Tieshan initially wanted to refuse, but upon hearing this, he accepted it. "I'll keep it safe for now. If you need anything, just tell me."
Liu Tiezhu said nothing. Everyone knew he wouldn't take it back. Seeing the brothers united and considerate, Second Uncle felt deeply gratified. "Zhu, I'm giving you an early red envelope."
With that, Second Uncle pulled out a rolled-up piece of red paper and handed it to Liu Tiezhu. Inside was thirty-eight yuan and eighty cents—half of Gouzi's savings handed over to him. "You have to take this, or you're looking down on your uncle."
"Second Uncle, we're family, you—" Second Uncle waved him off. "Exactly because we're family, you have to take it. Otherwise, I'm moving back home tomorrow."
Liu Tieshan chimed in, "Zhu, take it. Don't let Second Uncle down."
Liu Tiezhu sighed helplessly and accepted the red envelope. They discussed more details about Liu Tiezhu and Yang Yulan's wedding before heading to their rooms to rest.
The next day, heavy snow fell again. Huang Xiumei got up early and cooked breakfast. After the meal, Second Uncle took the betrothal gifts to Yang Haitian's house to formally propose on Liu Tiezhu's behalf. Big brother and sister-in-law, along with Yaoyao, drove the mule cart to her parents' home. That left Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi as the most idle people.
Liu Tiezhu went to the cellar and emerged half an hour later. From his count, they'd consumed over five hundred catties of meat in the past month, including food for over a dozen dogs. At this rate, the meat in the cellar wouldn't last three months.
Just then, Er Gouzi followed him in. "Zhu-ge, with this heavy snow, can we skip combat training today? Look at the bruise on my face—it hasn't faded yet. What if I end up scarred?"
Liu Tiezhu nodded. "Take a day off. Go get the compound crossbows."
Hearing this, Er Gouzi scurried off to grab the gear. Liu Tiezhu went to the kennel and released all the dogs. After this period of training, they all understood commands. He told them to sit, and they immediately obeyed, wagging their tails.
Er Gouzi got excited. "Bringing the dogs—are we heading into the mountains?"
Liu Tiezhu said, "Hell no. Without the mules, we'd be in trouble going in there. Remember that big cassava field next to the thorn forest? With all the commotion last time, there's bound to be something in there."
Er Gouzi replied, "Right, right, right—I forgot about that. Not just the cassava field; we haven't hunted in the thorn forest for a while, so there's probably game hiding there too."
"Let's hit the cassava field first, then the thorn forest," Liu Tiezhu said.
After deciding, Liu Tiezhu gave a command to the lead dog, Big Potato. Big Potato barked, and all the dogs immediately stood up and followed. Twenty minutes later, the two men and the pack of dogs stopped in front of the cassava field.
"Big Potato, Taro, Cassava, Red Bean—split into two groups and search. Signal once you detect prey. War Flag 1, War Flag 2, War Flag 3, War Flag 4, War Flag 5—flank and encircle, assist Big Potato and the others. Banner Spear 1, Banner Spear 2, Banner Spear 3, Banner Spear 4, Banner Spear 5—cover the rear and bite down. Battle Axe 1, Battle Axe 2, Battle Axe 3, Battle Axe 4, Battle Axe 5—guard the perimeter and prevent escape."
As Liu Tiezhu spoke, he gestured. The hunting dogs quickly split into four groups, arching their backs in attack stances.
"Charge!"
Liu Tiezhu lowered his hand, and Big Potato's four dogs shot forward. As the lead dogs, they were the fastest in the pack but had average stamina. The assisting War Flag dogs had good endurance but couldn't match the lead dogs' speed—that's where coordination came in. The five War Flag dogs followed Big Potato's trail, widening the search area. Once they left, the Battle Axe dogs set out, tracking the War Flags to expand the encirclement further. The Banner Spear dogs, as the biters, went last. They had strong endurance and powerful jaws but were the slowest, usually waiting for other dogs to corner the prey before moving in.
"Zhu-ge, can these hunting dogs actually catch anything?" Er Gouzi asked, still skeptical.
Liu Tiezhu wasn't sure either. "We'll find out soon enough."
Though well-trained, this was the dogs' first real hunt. He had no idea if they could find and capture prey.
"Woof, woof, woof..."
A few minutes later, Big Potato's signal came from the cassava field, followed by the pack converging. "Banner Spear, attack!" Liu Tiezhu ordered, and the five "heavy hitters" rushed in.
"Gouzi, looks like these dogs weren't raised for nothing. Let's follow and see what it is." Liu Tiezhu pulled out a short knife and hurried after the Banner Spear dogs.