Chapter 3

"An iron gallbladder—and a heavy one, too. Must be around six liang. Once dried, it’ll still weigh over a liang. Not bad at all, not bad." Grandfather Chen De'an muttered as he tied off the opening of the bile duct. For a brown bear, an iron gallbladder was already a top-tier harvest; finding a prized gold gallbladder was entirely a matter of extreme luck. He then pulled out his small hunting knife and carefully scraped away the outer layer of fat wrapping the gallbladder. Taking a piece of dry, coarse cloth from his breast pocket, he wiped off the blood and mucus, wrapped the gallbladder tightly in clean cloth, and tucked it into a palm-sized pouch sewn into the inner lining of his waist—a trick used by veteran hunters. Looking at the bear gallbladder nearly the size of his palm, Chen Xiangyang felt the dark cloud hovering over his heart dissipate. The heavy stone weighing on his mind finally hit the ground. He had changed his fate: his grandfather and Cangyun hadn’t died, he hadn’t been crippled, and everything had turned out differently. Working swiftly, the grandfather and grandson finished harvesting the gallbladder and immediately gutted the bear. They hung the intestines, lungs, and other offal on nearby tree branches—hanging lanterns to honor the Mountain God. Chen Xiangyang used his hunting knife to slice the bear’s heart in two, tossing half to Cangyun, who was wagging his tail beside him. Dogs possessed human-like intelligence; during the hunt, Cangyun hadn't barked a single time. As the old saying went, eating a heart built courage, ensuring the dog wouldn't flinch the next time it faced a bear. The remaining half was kept for dinner back home. Next, they packed the liver, spleen, and kidneys into the back basket. Then came the skinning, butchering of the four limbs, and cutting out two large slabs of ribs along with the thick loin meat. The top-grade right front paw, the three secondary bear paws, the bear nose, and the kneecaps were all placed separately in the back basket—these were all high-value items. After disassembling the four-hundred-pound female brown bear, Grandfather Chen De'an looked up at the sun and said to Chen Xiangyang, "Let's go. We'll build a sled and head back through the night." "Grandpa, sit down and rest for a bit. I'll make the sled." Chen Xiangyang complied. Making a simple sled wasn't difficult: two runner beams and three crossbars. He laid out the runners, bound the crossbars tightly with hemp rope, spread branches over them to increase weight capacity, and reinforced both ends. "Grandpa, let's head out. The woods aren't safe at night. If we hurry back, Mom can stew us some bear meat for dinner." Chen Xiangyang handed the back basket to his grandfather while taking the rope to pull the sled himself. The female brown bear had weighed nearly four hundred pounds. Without the offal, it was still over three hundred pounds. The four paws, kneecaps, heart, and liver were in the basket, leaving the fatty bear hide—weighing around sixty to seventy pounds—and the meat and bones on the sled, totaling about two hundred pounds. After the first snowfall, the mountain was covered in loose, fluffy snow that hadn't packed down. Pulling a sled through it was grueling work. The old Chen Xiangyang would have struggled, but today, the task felt surprisingly light. "Grandpa, put the basket on the sled too." Without waiting for a refusal, Chen Xiangyang took the basket and set it on the sled. Even with the total load reaching around three hundred pounds, he walked as lightly as if he were flying. "Slow down. Don't push yourself." "Grandpa, I'm fine," Chen Xiangyang replied in a clear, energetic voice. The remaining journey was straightforward. The two walked from two in the afternoon until past seven at night. By the time they reached the edge of the village, pitch darkness had fallen. Along the way, Chen De'an kept looking at his eldest grandson with an odd expression. He couldn't figure out when the boy had developed such incredible strength. People back then were superstitious, especially in the Northeast, where folk traditions like spirit mediumship, guardian deities, and the Mountain God were widespread. As an old hunter, Chen De'an naturally believed in such things. He was already thinking that once they got home, he should ask Auntie Chen from the east side of the village to come over and check if his grandson had been possessed by something. Completely unaware of his grandfather's shifting thoughts and suspicious glances, Chen Xiangyang was immersed in the physical changes occurring within his body, feeling an endless surge of energy. The moment he caught sight of the village, Chen Xiangyang's tense nerves relaxed completely. They had returned safely. It was past seven, and thanks to his enhanced physique, they had made good time; otherwise, they wouldn't have reached home until nine or ten. Mountain trails at night were treacherous, and unless guided by an experienced veteran hunter, entering the woods after dark was extremely dangerous. Before sunset, Chen Xiangyang had taken the lead, but after nightfall, his grandfather had taken over. At this time of night, every household was hunkered down for the winter. By 1983, the household contract responsibility system had been implemented. Chen Xiangyang's family was allocated two large mu of food plots per laborer. His father, Chen Wenshan, worked at the forestry station; though he had retired due to an injury, he was still registered under the forestry station's collective household status rather than the village, so he didn't receive land. For the food plots, Chen De'an, Chen Xiangyang, and Lin Xiuxiu counted as full laborers, receiving two mu each. The twins, Chen Xiangmin and Chen Xianglan, born in 1968, were fifteen years old and qualified only for half-laborer allocations. However, considering their grandfather was a veteran of the Anti-Japanese Joint Army, the twins were granted full-laborer shares as well, totaling ten mu of food plots. Additionally, responsibility land was allocated at three mu per person. For five people, that meant fifteen mu. In total, the Chen family farmed twenty-five mu of land, all of which was subject to grain quotas, except for their small private vegetable plot. In his past life, only Chen Xiangyang—crippled—and his younger siblings had been left behind, making it impossible to farm twenty-five mu alone. Fortunately, the Chen family had plenty of relatives within five generations in the village, offering ample manpower. Furthermore, the Yu clan—a major family that made up half the village—helped out. After fulfilling the grain quota, the harvest was split 80/20 in the Chens' favor. This treatment was reserved for close relatives and went far beyond the typical 70/30 split in the village, largely thanks to quiet support from the Yu clan. Pulling the sled, Chen Xiangyang followed close behind his grandfather. Just as they arrived at their front gate, two beams of light hit them. It came from a flashlight—one of only four home appliances the family owned, alongside a radio and the wristwatch on Chen Xiangyang’s arm. "Oh, thank goodness you're back! It's pitch black out. Your father and I have been waiting at the gate for almost two hours!" Clutching an old iron-cased flashlight, his mother, Lin Xiuxiu, hurried to open the courtyard gate to welcome them in, her words filled with lingering fear. She walked up to Chen De'an, inspecting him from head to toe. Relieved to see no injuries on the old man, she turned to Chen Xiangyang, gave his back an affectionate smack, and finally looked down at the sled. "My goodness, such a huge brown bear!" Her voice trailed off, and she began to sob softly. She knew all too well why her father-in-law and son had risked their lives going into the mountains. Beside her, sitting on a wooden bench, Chen Wenshan had a dark, sullen expression, filled with self-blame. Chen Xiangyang was about to reply with a smile when he caught sight of his father's grim face out of the corner of his eye. Realizing his father was feeling useless for letting his elderly father and young son risk their lives to cover his medical expenses, Chen Xiangyang squatted down next to him and said with a smile: "Dad, the trip went really smoothly. Don't sit there feeling down. Grandpa and I went out to hunt this bear because your son is getting married soon, and I needed a bear to use as a betrothal gift! Plus, we brought back the kneecaps and bones to soak in liquor for you. Don't feel like you're a burden to the family—you've got your woodworking skills! Now that your son is getting married, shouldn't you build us a set of new furniture?"