As Li Long ate, he said to Meng Hai:
"Split that bear carcass in half and keep one half. I'll take the rest."
"Sure, sure." Meng Hai didn't stand on ceremony with Li Long. As he called people over to chop up the bear meat, he asked curiously, "Where did you find a bear?"
"I followed its tracks southeast for seven or eight kilometers and found it in the grass. No idea what it had been fighting, but its neck had been bitten through and its innards eaten. A shame the gallbladder was gone too."
"That's fine. Meat's all we need. We don't normally have any use for a bear gallbladder anyway. Besides, you found it for nothing." Meng Hai cheerfully consoled him. "Comrade Li Long, like I said, when something falls into our laps, we should just hurry up and eat it."
"Right, right. That makes sense." Li Long kept shoveling down his rice. Whether it was because yesterday's wild vegetables stir-fried with lamb offal had tasted good or for some other reason, the cook here had made another pot today, with rice again.
There didn't seem to be much left. Presumably everyone liked having lamb offal to eat.
It wasn't as good as Ma Xiaoyan's cooking, but it was pretty decent.
"Oh, and whatever ate that bear might have been a tiger. Be careful at night. Don't go out alone without good reason. Even if you're just going to the toilet, it's best to go in pairs and do it near the tents. Don't let something drag you off."
"We know, we know. I told them when we came into the mountains that the wild animals here are dangerous. Everyone's being careful."
Li Long finished his meal and went to the water to wash up. By then, Meng