HLM – Chapter 802 The Rich Aroma of Meat on the Mountains

Worried that something might have happened to his classmates, Wang Bo didn’t bring the reindeer with him right away and instead ran back to check first.

When they got back, they found a group of people gathered around something, and Wang Bo thought there’d been an accident. But when he squeezed his way through, he realized they were all surrounding a reindeer.

“What’s the big deal, Old Wang? Haven’t you ever seen a deer before?” Song Jiashu joked.

Wang Bo sighed in relief. “I thought something happened to you guys. Turns out you just hunted a deer.”

Zhao Xiaohui explained, “We were digging for gold earlier, and suddenly a whole herd of deer came running by. Uncle Bing fired and brought one down. Why are you back?”

“I heard the gunshot and thought something might’ve gone wrong,” Wang Bo said.

“You could’ve just called, you know?” Song Jiashu laughed as he looked at Zhang Rui and Zhou Haojie, who were both panting hard from running back. “Damn, Old Zhou, are you serious? You ran for just a few minutes and you’re already about to pass out?”

“Get lost!”

“Seriously, why didn’t you just call?”

Wang Bo groaned. “Old Zhang just bolted, and I was thrown off by his reaction!”

Zhang Rui looked embarrassed. “I just panicked because I was worried.”

“Worried? Oh? Who exactly were you worried about?” Hou Haibo asked teasingly.

His girlfriend chimed in with a grin, “And what’s wrong with that? Zhang Rui’s still single, and there are plenty of unmarried ladies here. What’s so strange about him caring a bit too much?”

Wang Bo joined in the teasing. “Exactly! Old Zhang, you ran faster than anyone else—clearly you were really worried. Come on, who were you worried about?”

Zhang Rui wasn’t much of a talker, and his face turned red. He waved them off. “Cut it out already. Let’s go drag that deer back. Didn’t you shoot one too?”

Wang Bo blocked his path. “That deer’s already dead; it’s not going anywhere. First, tell us—who exactly were you worried about?”

Zhou Haojie threw an arm around his shoulder. “Comrade Zhang, come clean. Is there something you’ve been hiding from the organization?”

Zhao Xiaohui stepped forward gracefully. “Alright, enough. It’s normal for him to worry about his classmates. Stop teasing him.”

Wang Bo gave her a knowing look. “Oh-ho, Miss Zhao seems a little defensive. Are you perhaps planning to become Mrs. Zhang?”

Girls were never easy to beat in a verbal spar. Zhao Xiaohui smirked. “Whether I want to be Mrs. Zhang is beside the point. But I do know someone who wants to be Mrs. Wang. She’s quite smitten with you, actually. Any thoughts?”

Wang Bo chuckled. “You mean Eva? What can I say? I just do as she tells me.”

Fan Dong jumped in to back him up. “Don’t change the subject, Mrs. Zhang. What’s the story between you and Comrade Zhang?”

Caught off guard, Zhao Xiaohui blurted out, “He was just being caring, what else could it be?”

Fan Dong grinned wickedly. “I said Mrs. Zhang, not Miss Zhao.”

Zhao Xiaohui froze for a moment, then sighed helplessly. “Fan, you’re still as sly as ever.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Wang Bo had already suspected something anyway—last night, when they were drinking, Zhao Xiaohui had been sitting next to Zhang Rui. When Zhang Rui got drunk, she was the one who helped him up, and from the way she did it, it was clear there was no awkwardness between them.

“You two hid it well,” Song Jiashu remarked.

Zhang Rui rubbed his hands together. “We weren’t really hiding anything. I just started pursuing Xiaohui recently. Anyway, did you guys find anything? We caught a chicken and a rabbit.”

Smart move—he’d changed the subject. Cao Bo’s eyes lit up as he stepped forward. “You two missed out on something amazing. Look at this!”

He opened a small pouch on his belt and pulled out a rock about the size of a child’s fist. Zhang Rui took it, and his hand trembled. “Holy crap, it’s heavy!”

Wang Bo’s eyes widened. “You got lucky. That’s a high-quality gold ore. If you find a rich collector who likes raw gold stones, you could probably sell it for a hundred thousand.”

“Seriously?” Cao Bo said, eyes gleaming.

“Look at mine! Check this one out!”

“I’ve got a huge one too!”

“I found several pieces myself!”

The lure of gold was irresistible. Zhang Rui and his friend immediately put down their guns and ran off to hunt for more stones.

“Alright, alright,” Wang Bo said, waving them off. “I’m not an expert, I only know a bit. Pack up your rocks. When we head back, we’ll find someone professional to appraise them.”

He pushed through the crowd and turned to Uncle Bing. “Take a few people and drag the reindeer back. We won’t bother going anywhere else for lunch—let’s just eat here. I’m guessing everyone still wants to dig for gold afterward.”

“Of course! If we can make a hundred thousand in an hour, we’re basically Ma Yun!” Cao Bo shouted excitedly.

Zhu Fang hesitated. “We’re cooking here? We didn’t bring any pots or seasonings, did we?”

Wang Bo grinned. “Don’t worry about that. There’s everything we need in the car. I’ll handle it, you all wait here.”

Of course, there wasn’t actually anything in the car—but he could always grab what he needed from the castle.

He gathered all kinds of seasonings into pots and pans and brought them out. The others came down the mountain too, with the reindeer happily trotting behind. On the way, it even caught another rabbit.

Between the two reindeer alone, there was over two hundred jin of meat—far more than they could eat. Uncle Bing led a few people to a nearby stream to process the deer and rabbit.

The stream’s current was too weak to wash everything away, so they had to dig a pit to bury the heads, innards, and hooves.

Wang Bo chopped up the rabbit and stewed it into soup. For the turkey, he marinated it with cooking wine, stuffed its belly with herbs, potatoes, and onions, and put it into the oven.

“This oven actually works? Isn’t it electric?” Su Dongdong asked curiously.

Wang Bo opened the door of the Predator vehicle, pulled out a socket, and said, “See? Power supply right here.”

The venison couldn’t be oven-roasted—it had to be grilled over charcoal.

Wang Bo dug a fire pit in the ground, built a small barrier around it for safety, lit the fire, and laid out slices of venison to grill.

Uncle Bing took over the cooking. Roasting venison required skill with heat, and Wang Bo didn’t want to ruin it by charring the meat.

Before long, the pressure cooker began releasing steam. Fan Dong, who was playing cards nearby, sniffed the air and said, “Wow, that smells amazing! Does rabbit meat really smell this good? I’ve had it at restaurants before—it wasn’t anything special.”

“It’s different,” Wang Bo said. “These wild rabbits run a lot and eat grass and wild herbs—never junk food. Their meat isn’t fatty, but it releases a strong aroma when cooked.”

Some of the venison was done first. It wasn’t seasoned—just plain grilled. You had to dip it in spices to eat it. Wang Bo mixed salt, cumin, and chili powder in a plate, dipped a piece, and took a bite. Hmm, not great—a bit tough.

But everyone else ate it eagerly. Wang Bo was used to fine venison from the ranch, so ordinary wild deer meat didn’t impress him much.

By the time the pressure cooker started hissing again, he turned it off, let it rest, and then opened it. The rabbit soup was thick and fragrant.

New Zealand’s rabbit stew was a delicacy—you couldn’t add too much water. The resulting soup was sticky and rich, with a layer of shimmering oil on top, perfect for dipping bread.

Wang Bo had also brought a few sticks of rustic bread from the castle. He dipped one into the soup, alternating bites with the reindeer beside him, both eating heartily, wolfing it down with pure satisfaction.