Little Lingdang vaguely heard the words "kill the Black Bear." She was so startled that she turned and ran outside.
Meanwhile, in the inner room, Gu Yang looked up at the large clock on the wall and said to Zhang Yuanmin, "Brother Zhang, it's almost noon. I should be heading back."
"Ah!" Zhang Yuanmin sighed, clearly not ready for the conversation to end. He stretched his neck to glance out the window, then said to Gu Yang, "My wife... once she's out, she never comes back. Otherwise, I'd have her whip up a meal so we brothers could have a good drink."
"Some other day, Brother Zhang!" At that moment, Gu Yang felt a sense of regret that they hadn't met sooner. "After I poison this Black Bear," he said, "I'll cut off some meat and bring it over. Then we brothers can have a proper drink."
"That's great!" Zhang Yuanmin was delighted to hear this, but then he immediately asked, "Gu Yang, do you know where to find a Black Bear?"
"I do!" Gu Yang said. "It's Brother Jun's maternal uncle, Wang Qiang. A Black Bear got into his cornfield. All he thinks about all day is gambling, so he doesn't even care. The bear has almost completely ruined his field."
As he said this, Gu Yang slapped the pocket of his clothes that held the packet of poison. He continued, "The day before yesterday, I found a pheasant snare up north. It was an old one nobody was checking. It had caught a pheasant that had been dead for a long time—its belly was all bloated. I'll stuff this poison into the pheasant's stomach and tie it up at the edge of Wang Qiang's field. When the Black Bear comes, it's guaranteed to eat it."
CLAP! Zhang Yuanmin slapped his hands together, then separated them and gave Gu Yang a thumbs-up. "Why didn't I think of that before?" he praised. "Setting explosives in the field risks hurting people, but using poison won't!"
Hearing such an impressive person like Zhang Yuanmin praise him, Gu Yang chuckled. "Brother Zhang, my plan's pretty good, right?"
"It's brilliant!" Zhang Yuanmin first affirmed Gu Yang's idea, then raised a hand to stop him. "Gu Yang, from now on, don't say 'I have a move.' You should say, 'I have a stratagem.'"
"'I have a stratagem?'" Gu Yang repeated the phrase. He felt that saying it this way was indeed catchy and sounded impressive, even if he didn't fully understand why.
"That's right!" Zhang Yuanmin nodded, repeating, "I have a stratagem!"
"Alright, Brother Zhang, I'll remember that." Gu Yang said, getting up from the kang bed to take his leave.
But just then, Zhang Yuanmin suddenly called out to him, "Gu Yang, wait a moment."
"What is it, Brother Zhang?"
Zhang Yuanmin said, "I have a feeling you're going to have a bright future. I have a few books here. I'll lend them to you to read. They should be a great help."
As he spoke, Zhang Yuanmin turned, opened the kang cabinet, and took out a small wooden box made of elm.
The small wooden box was exquisite, constructed entirely with mortise and tenon joinery. The lid slid to the side to open.
Curious, Gu Yang leaned in and saw a red cloth bundle inside.
Zhang Yuanmin carefully took out the bundle. As he unwrapped it, he said to Gu Yang, "Take these home and read them carefully. I guarantee they'll help you."
Gu Yang listened, amazed. 'What kind of books could possibly have that much power?'
Suddenly, Gu Yang remembered his mother once saying that there used to be a book among carpenters called *Lu Ban's Book*, which was said to be incredibly powerful.
But over a decade ago, many of these books were destroyed, and their practitioners either died, fled, or were injured. *Lu Ban's Book* itself had also vanished without a trace.
Now, seeing Zhang Yuanmin's mysterious air, Gu Yang couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement.
But when Zhang Yuanmin opened the bundle, Gu Yang cried out in surprise, "Brother Zhang! Are these... comic books?"
"Ah!" Zhang Yuanmin grunted in acknowledgment, but then felt that wasn't the right response. He quickly said, "Gu Yang, don't you look down on these! This is *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. There's a great deal of knowledge in here!"
"Heh." The disappointed Gu Yang gave a cold laugh. Pointing at the comic books that Zhang Yuanmin cherished so dearly, he said, "Brother Zhang, aren't these for kids?"
"What kid could understand this?" Zhang Yuanmin picked one up, flicked the edge of the book with his thumb to open a page, and showed it to Gu Yang. "Look here. This is all about marching armies and devising strategies. You think a kid can understand this?"
At Zhang Yuanmin's words, Gu Yang fell silent. He sat back down on the edge of the kang bed to listen to his elder's teachings.
Zhang Yuanmin closed the book and said to Gu Yang, "Gu Yang, let me tell you, there's a lot of wisdom in these. The reason my brain works so fast is because I read these books. Now, do you think they're useful?"
Hearing this, Gu Yang nodded repeatedly.
Zhang Yuanmin continued, "The old-timers have always said that Black Bears are vicious creatures. But the moment we use a stratagem, that Black Bear is as good as dead!"
Gu Yang nodded even more vigorously. He, too, felt his plan was brilliant. He could poison the Black Bear without using a single knife or gun. 'This must be what Brother Zhang was talking about... the power of a stratagem!'
Seeing Gu Yang agree with him, Zhang Yuanmin took out three of the comic books and placed them in front of Gu Yang. He continued, "We don't have the kind of skill my brother Zhao Jun has. If we want to hunt a Black Bear, we have to rely on great knowledge, great wisdom, great cleverness, great..."
"...Big Pants!" a voice suddenly rang out from the outer room.
Zhang Yuanmin froze. 'Of all the times for this woman to come back,' he thought, 'she had to pick now!'
Gu Yang had been listening, completely absorbed. But "great wisdom" and "great cleverness" followed by "Big Pants"? The sequence didn't make any sense.
Just then, it dawned on Gu Yang. He turned his head and saw Yang Yufeng storming in. She marched up to Zhang Yuanmin, grabbed him by the collar, and raised a hand as if to strike him. "Just what are you teaching young Gu Yang?" she demanded.
It wasn't that Yang Yufeng was trying to embarrass Zhang Yuanmin. It was just that as she was returning from the market, she had seen Little Lingdang running frantically out of the village.