A sizzling sound left Liu Gang completely dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at Yang Hua, wondering if his own cousin had lost his mind. How could he side with an outsider to bully him?
"Yang Hua, I'll fuck your mom."
"You son of a bitch, helping outsiders mess with me, I'll tell—"
Before Liu Gang could finish, Yang Hua kicked him to the ground.
"Idiot, you guys drag him into the woods."
"Beat him up first, then drench him."
Three men immediately stepped out from behind, grabbed the wailing Liu Gang, and hauled him into the woods.
"Brother Zhu, are you satisfied now?"
Yang Hua leaned in, his face full of flattery.
Liu Tiezhu nodded. "Not bad."
"Brother Zhu, I want to borrow a few dogs from you," Yang Hua said.
Liu Tiezhu's face instantly darkened. "Borrow dogs? Yang Hua, what do you mean?"
Seeing Liu Tiezhu's displeasure, Yang Hua quickly explained, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not after your dogs."
"Yesterday, I passed by the sweet potato field in Liujia Village and found a bunch of wild rabbits there."
"So I thought I'd borrow a few of your dogs to try my luck in that field."
A bunch of wild rabbits?
Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up in unison.
"Lending you the dogs won't help; they won't listen to your commands."
"How about you lead the way, I'll bring the hunting dogs, and we split the catch seventy-thirty?"
Hearing this, Yang Hua nodded without a second thought.
After all, getting thirty percent for doing nothing was a great deal. Without Liu Tiezhu's hunting dogs, he wouldn't catch a single rabbit.
Seeing Yang Hua had no objections, Liu Tiezhu immediately went home to get the dogs.
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the sweet potato field Yang Hua had mentioned.
The field was bare, the sweet potatoes already dug up. But there were plenty of sweet potato roots, which served as food for the rabbits.
Holes dotted the ground everywhere, yet no rabbits were in sight.
"Brother Zhu, these rabbits only come out at night."
"Should we find a place to rest first?" Yang Hua suggested.
"No need."
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand and then gave a search signal to the lead dogs, including Taro.
Taro had barely taken a few steps when it started barking at the ground. The other hunting dogs rushed over, and within moments, they dug a large hole in the earth.
A wild rabbit burst out, only to be pounced on by the dogs before it could escape.
The rabbit weighed a good seven or eight jin, making Yang Hua and the others green with envy.
Just as they caught that rabbit, Cassava signaled another find.
In an instant, all the hunting dogs formed a circle and began digging.
"Yang Hua, you guys block the gap on the west side."
"If any rabbits jump your way, make noise to scare them back."
"Gouzi, we'll take the south side."
After giving his orders, Liu Tiezhu moved into action.
Yang Hua and his men didn't hesitate, positioning themselves three meters apart on the west side.
The remaining north and east sides were patrolled by five battle-axe hunting dogs running back and forth.
No sooner had they taken their positions than seven or eight rabbits burst out of the soil.
Dozens of hunting dogs swarmed in, and in a flash, the rabbits were pinned down.
Liu Tiezhu told Er Gouzi to keep a sharp eye, then went to bleed the rabbits.
At that moment, more rabbits, startled, erupted from the ground.
They came in droves, a good seventy or eighty of them.
The sight stunned everyone. No one had imagined such a small sweet potato field could hide so many rabbits.
Yang Hua and his men immediately clapped and shouted, driving back any rabbits heading their way.
"Gouzi, keep watch. I'm going to help Taro and the others."
Liu Tiezhu reminded him and quickly followed the dogs.
The hunting dogs were incredibly efficient, pouncing with near-perfect accuracy. Liu Tiezhu stayed behind them, continuously bleeding the catch.
An hour later, the sweet potato field fell silent.
All the hunting dogs gathered in front of Liu Tiezhu, wagging their tails.
The group counted the haul: a total of one hundred and twenty-five rabbits.
The largest weighed over eight jin, and the smallest were still more than six jin.
"Brother Zhu, we'll take thirty, and the rest are yours."
Yang Hua wasn't greedy, understanding the principle of steady gains.
Thirty rabbits were enough for him to live on for a month.
Liu Tiezhu handed forty rabbits to Yang Hua.
"Yang Hua, we've come to know each other through this fight."
"Without you leading the way, I wouldn't have caught so many today."
"These forty rabbits are yours by right."
"Next time you come across any game, let's work together again."
Hearing this, Yang Hua grinned.
Liu Tiezhu's proposal was exactly what he wanted. He was good at fighting but a novice at hunting.
If he could partner with Liu Tiezhu, he wouldn't have to go hungry anymore.
Just as the two were sealing their deal, a large group of people burst out from the west side of the sweet potato field.
Leading them was Liu Yanhai, followed by Liu Yusheng and over a dozen villagers from Liujia Village.
They came prepared, carrying hoes and pitchforks.
"What the hell? Who said you could hunt in my sweet potato field?"
"These rabbits are mine. If any of you dare take one, I'll skin you alive."
Liu Yanhai's face darkened, a smug grin spreading across it.
Yang Hua cursed, "I'll fuck your mom, do you think I'm an idiot?"
"When did these rabbits become yours? Are you messing with me?"
"That's right, I am messing with you."
"So what? If you don't like it, let's settle it."
Liu Yanhai nodded, laying out his intentions.
With seventeen of them, each armed with hoes and the like, they had no fear of Yang Hua and Liu Tiezhu's group.
Besides, this was Liujia Village's turf. If a fight broke out, the village would send reinforcements, and Yang Hua's side would be the ones to suffer.
Seeing the meat snatched from his mouth, Yang Hua couldn't swallow the anger. He immediately pulled out a machete.
"What the hell, let's settle it then."
"Any bastard who's not afraid of death, come on. I'm not leaving this world today."
Seeing Yang Hua's move, Liu Yanhai and the others laughed.
Liu Yusheng also drew a machete and said to Yang Hua, "Idiot, you think waving a broken knife scares me?"
"Like I don't have one. If you don't leave these rabbits, you're not leaving Liujia Village."
The other Liujia villagers also pulled out machetes from their waists and surrounded Yang Hua.
They weren't about to let go of several hundred jin of rabbit meat.
Seeing the situation, the five men behind Yang Hua immediately backed off without a word.
"So you're planning to rob us outright?" Liu Tiezhu stepped up beside Yang Hua, addressing the Liujia crowd.
"Yeah, I'm robbing you, you idiot. So what?"
"We've got a score to settle, and today's the day."
Liu Yusheng said arrogantly.
Er Gouzi cursed, "Fuck your mom, Liu Yusheng, if you're a man, come fight me one-on-one."
"Don't hide in the crowd yapping, you disgrace to men."
One-on-one?
Liu Yusheng laughed. "Idiot, what era is this for one-on-one?"
"I'm just bullying you because you're outnumbered. If you're so tough, take on all of us."
"Screw your grandpa, you idiot."
Er Gouzi pulled out a compound crossbow, ready to shoot Liu Yusheng.
Liu Tiezhu, quick-eyed, pulled him down.
With the enemy outnumbering them, even with the crossbow, a fight would leave them worse off. A chaotic brawl could easily turn deadly.
He also had over a dozen hunting dogs, key to survival, and couldn't risk them.
After a moment's thought, Liu Tiezhu gave Yang Hua a signal to retreat.
"Brother Zhu, we're giving up the meat?" Yang Hua asked, reluctant.
"It's just a few hundred jin of meat. Let them have it. We're going back."
Liu Tiezhu said, giving the dogs a signal to leave.
Er Gouzi and Yang Hua, though unwilling, followed Liu Tiezhu.
Liu Yusheng was about to block them, but Liu Yanhai stopped him. The old man had achieved his goal and didn't want trouble.
"Brother Zhu, are we just letting this go?" Er Gouzi couldn't help asking after they'd walked a distance.
Liu Tiezhu's face was cold. "Of course not. A few hundred jin of meat—do you think I'll let them swallow it so easily?"
"Just wait. I'll make them pay."