My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 210 Pulling Back the Gate

The skills of Heiwa and Xiaojin in tracking prey need no further explanation.

With thick snow everywhere, any bloodstains or hoofprints left on the snow are very easy to spot, and even ordinary hunting dogs can easily catch up.

Chen Ling was right; the wild boar hadn't run very far.

Not far from the mountainside, behind a scree slope, which is very steep, two huge rocks jut outwards, and beneath these two rocks is a dark, large hole.

The wild boar's hoofprints and bloodstains disappeared there, and two dogs were barking fiercely at the entrance of the cave.

"Is this a wild boar's den?"

Chen Ling was taken aback when he saw it.

"It's not a wild boar's den. This guy was injured and had nowhere else to hide, so he temporarily crawled into it for refuge."

Chen Dazhi wiped his sweat, he was tired from running back and forth twice, and then handed the homemade shotgun he was carrying to Chen Ling: "Here, take the shotgun. This is a big boar. After we lure it out, we should either retreat to a distance or stand on high ground and shoot down. A big boar is not easy to deal with if it is injured."

"Yeah, you can use this gun, Dazhi. I have a bow and arrow."

Chen Ling pushed him aside and then pointed to the surrounding gravel slope, saying, "This wild boar is hiding in the wrong place. Let's move some stones and block its entrance, just like we do with ground squirrels in autumn. After we block the entrance, we'll put out smoke to suffocate it. When it can't hold its breath any longer and comes out, and it pries open the entrance, you fire your gun and I fire my arrows. We'll give it a good beating."

He left in a hurry, taking only a pitchfork, a bow and arrows, and an axe with him.

Chen Dazhi had taken the sprayer from his house when he passed by it earlier.

It doesn't look like much stuff, but actually all you need is a shotgun.

When dealing with wild boars, shotguns are more effective than rifles at close range, and their lethality is greater.

Chen Dazhi used to run around in the mountains quite often.

Although he is not as shrewd as Wang Lixian, his insight and experience are unmatched by ordinary people.

They are especially skilled at setting traps.

Hearing Chen Ling's words, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're really full of bad ideas. You not only smoked it out, but you also blocked the hole. Are you afraid that the wild boar will die too slowly?"

"What do you mean by 'bad'? Wild boars have such a powerful charge. Blocking the entrance to the burrow with rocks won't stop them, but it will give us a chance to aim."

Chen Ling smiled.

Moving targets are much harder to hit than stationary targets.

We need to limit the speed at which the wild boars charge.

This gives the person time to aim, which greatly improves accuracy.

After all, as long as the wild boar wasn't dead, they couldn't just block the entrance and wait to shoot it; there were too many unforeseen circumstances.

We should move further away.

Wild boars are incredibly ferocious; those who haven't encountered them can hardly imagine it. The more injured a boar is, the more cautious you should be.

In short, it's never too much to be careful.

“That makes sense. Your steadyness is comparable to Li Xian’s. With more training, you’ll definitely be a good hunter.”

Chen Dazhi gave him a thumbs up, then he went to find dry branches to start a fire, while Chen Ling went to move stones to block the hole.

The two of them then got busy with something.

First, put the firewood pile into the hole, then block half of the hole with stones, and then light the firewood pile.

The branches and leaves, damp from the snow, soon emitted plumes of bluish-green smoke with a crackling sound.

As the firewood gradually caught fire and the smoke grew thicker, the two men completely blocked the opening to prevent the smoke from escaping.

Having done all this, the two men retreated far away with the dog, one holding a bow and the other a gun, aiming at the cave entrance and waiting for the wild boar to come out.

After that, it only took about two or three minutes.

A series of "coughing" sounds came from inside the cave, followed by a rumbling noise. The rocks at the cave entrance were violently pushed open, and a dark figure appeared amidst the billowing smoke.

It was indeed a large boar, not much smaller than the one Chen Ling and his group had hunted in the mountains before, except that its hair was much longer.

Now, with one of its hind legs lame and the cave entrance blocked, its movement is greatly hindered.

Therefore, unlike normal wild boars that charge out recklessly, their movements are somewhat sluggish.

Chen Ling and his companion naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.

"Whoosh..." "Bang..."

With two strange noises, blood gushed from the wild boar's belly, and an arrow was lodged in the shoulder blade of its foreleg.

"Grunt, grunt, grunt..." The wild boar, wounded and in pain, immediately let out a series of angry cries.

Amidst the thick smoke, it somehow managed to pinpoint Chen Ling and the other person's location, and with its eyes red, it charged towards them.

However, it was injured and limped, lacking the ferocity of a normal wild boar.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling immediately waved his hand, sending two dogs up to hold back the big guy.

"Wang Wang Wang..."

The two dogs barked and split up to meet them from two different directions.

They are incredibly fast.

Xiao Jin, in particular, gets even more excited than Heiwa when he encounters an enemy. He rushes towards it, and just as he's about to collide with it, he suddenly leaps up and easily jumps onto the boar's back, opening his mouth to gnaw at it.

Heiwa is not as good as Xiaojin in this respect, but it has gone into the mountains twice and fought the wolves head-on twice. Now it has learned to be smart. It opened its mouth and grabbed the boar's ear, then twisted its strong and powerful body as if it wanted to bite off the boar's ear.

The boar screamed in pain and charged towards Chen Ling and his companion, but when its ears were pulled, it instinctively turned to the side and crashed down the mountain with a thunderous roar.

The reason for such a strong reaction is that the ears of wild boars, like those of domestic pigs, are a weak point.

In the past, hunters in the mountains used dogs to hunt wild boars, and many dogs would bite the wild boar's ears.

This not only caused the wild boar pain, but the hunting dogs also got very close to the boar's body and bit its ear...

Whichever direction the wild boar went, the hunting dog would bite its ear, walk alongside it, and follow in that direction.

The hunting dogs will then be protected from wild boar attacks.

Most importantly, it held back the wild boar's attack, giving its companions the opportunity to swarm in.

This method of a hunting dog biting an ear is similar to how a wolf bites a domestic pig's ear, and it also has a special name: "hanging pincers".

When hunting boars.

If there are three or more hunting dogs, as long as two of them can put pincers on the wild boar, the remaining dogs and hunters will rush in and the boar will basically be taken down.

……

Meanwhile, the wild boar, attacked by two dogs, ran down the mountain, and Chen Ling and Chen Dazhi followed with their weapons.

Little Jin had already jumped off the boar's back. The wild boar's back armor was too thick, and its neck bristles were thick and long, making it difficult for Little Jin to bite.

It jumped down, stared at its hindquarters, and bit down on the boar's testicles that were swinging back and forth between its legs.

The boar immediately let out a terrified squeal.

"Aw~ow~"

In pain, the boar was like an ant on a hot pan, anxiously circling and turning, trying to shake off Little Gold.

But Little Jin wouldn't let go, biting its big testicles, while all four of its legs were flung off the ground by the big boar.

The dog was actually tossed around in a circle by the boar.

During this process, Xiao Jin continued to exert himself, biting the wild boar's testicle sac with his mouth, like a baby sucking on a pacifier, constantly biting the meat and sucking it into his mouth.

Therefore, the more meat they bite, the more they get, and the harder they bite. This is something they learned from wolves: to bite with deadly force.

Blackie is biting its ear in front, and Little Goldie is biting its testicles behind.

A series of sharp pains shot through the two vital areas, causing the boar to let out a bloodcurdling scream. Its injured leg, still clamped, could no longer support it, and it collapsed onto the snow beside the mountain path with a thud.

"Whoa, it's lying there already?!"

After seeing the results of the two dogs' battle, Chen Dazhi exclaimed in surprise, "It's really your two dogs that are effective! Otherwise, with the injuries we two sustained, we would have had to run for at least another two miles to get rid of them, and they would have been covered in so much sticky discharge. We would have used up all their strength before they were done."

Both "sticky" and "sticky" mean "blood".

When hunting in the mountains, you have to speak in code. It's not that you're being overly particular; every trade has its own rules.

This is out of reverence for the mountains, for fear that hunting would offend the mountain spirits. Not only can blood not be called blood, but weapons such as hunting knives and guns cannot be called by their original names.

Shotguns are called "sprayers," shot knives are called "wrist clips," and other things also have their own names.

"Brother Dazhi, don't go over there yet. That boar is strong; be careful it doesn't pull you back..."

Seeing Chen Dazhi chuckling and rubbing his hands together as he was about to go over and deliver the final blow, Chen Ling quickly stopped him.

Sure enough, just as Chen Ling finished speaking, the boar lying on the ground, its eyes red with pain, shook its head and launched a desperate counterattack against the two dogs.

As a result, its exertion did not cause any harm to the two dogs, but instead caused Heiwa to bite off its ear.

Then Little Gold ripped off its testicles by the root, leaving only the lone pig gun.

Blood immediately gushed from these two spots, like a faucet that couldn't be turned off, with hot blood gushing out incessantly.

The boar, howling and screaming in agony, charged forward a little further...

Then it completely stopped.

Lying in the snow, it cried out pitifully and miserably, its voice growing weaker and weaker, no longer as vigorous as before, its strength slowly deflating like a deflated balloon.

"Damn it, this boar is really hard to deal with. Even after all this, it still managed to pull us back from the gate."

Chen Dazhi touched the cold sweat on his forehead, feeling a wave of fear wash over him.

The most dangerous thing is being pulled back by the large prey.

Pulling back the gate is the opposite of fixing the gate.

When hunting with dogs in the mountains, once prey is encountered, the dogs and prey will mostly fight as they chase each other, engaging in a continuous battle until the prey stops. This is called "fixing the stop".

If the prey escapes after a checkpoint is set, the checkpoint is called a "fixed empty checkpoint".

It means to have emptied out.

But if the hunting dogs can force the prey to stay still, either by cornering it or by having the pack of dogs knock the prey down, this is called a "dead end".

Whenever the prey is cornered, that's when the hunter steps in to finish it off.

The situation just now seemed like a hopeless trap, but the prey still had the ability to resist, and could strike unexpectedly or escape when no one was looking. That's what we call a comeback.

It roughly means that they can get into a fight with people and easily make them suffer.

"Yes, this boar is too violent and ferocious. As long as it has a breath left before it dies, you have to be careful..."

Chen Ling grinned, his eyes constantly observing the wild boar's condition.

Wild boars are too fierce. If one were to strike you before it dies, you wouldn't be able to withstand it.

The boar now has arrows stuck in its front legs, a bloody hole in its belly from a shotgun blast, a limp hind leg, and its ears and testicles have been bitten off and are bleeding.

Seeing that he was exhaling more than he was inhaling, Chen Ling picked up a pitchfork, stepped forward, and stabbed the pitchfork hard into the wild boar's chest.

The skin here is much thinner and softer.

Amidst the splattering of hot blood, Chen Ling stabbed four or five times in succession.

Then the big guy started convulsing, and his hot, bright red blood quickly melted into a pool of glaring red on the snow.

The wild boar was successfully captured.

Both men breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll feed the dog and offer incense first. Brother Dazhi, go back and bring a cart over. It's too big for the two of us to carry back."

After catching his breath, Chen Ling said.

He was strong, but the pig had lost too much blood. If he carried it back, the cotton-padded coat his wife had just made for him would be ruined.

"Okay, then I'll go get a cart."

Without saying a word, Chen Dazhi left the blaster with Chen Ling and went down the mountain with his axe.

After that, Chen Ling was left alone.

He first mixed pig's blood with pig's internal organs, arranged them into a pile, placed it on a stone beside the mountain path, and bowed in worship.

This is an offering to the Earth God after hunting prey.

Further west to Fenglei Town is the place to worship the Mountain God, it's the same principle.

As for their place, some people say that the Great Mountain Goddess of Qinling didn't send a mountain god, while others say that the mountain god ran away.

In short, Chen Ling only started feeding the dogs after he finished worshipping the local earth god.

He gave no orders, and after the two dogs finished hunting the pig, they just sat in the snow without coming any closer.

Only after he spoke did they come over and lick the pig's blood off the ground.

These are the rules that Chen Ling taught them.

He was reluctant to discipline the two dogs harshly, just like a doting father who couldn't bear to hit or scold them.

But after the first wolf incident in the village, he changed his mind.

The two dogs get excited whenever they encounter wolves. That time, there were many wolves outside the village, and he charged out without giving any orders. This not only worried him, but also put the villagers in a passive position. They wanted to shoot the wolves but couldn't, for fear of hurting the dogs.

Fortunately, they performed exceptionally well that time.

However, after returning, Chen Ling made up his mind to set some rules for them, otherwise things would go wrong if they were too carefree in the future.

The two dogs' intelligence and good behavior did not disappoint him.

After being taught a few times, they will know what they should and shouldn't do.

"Keep the pig's stomach and gallbladder; the rest of the offal is yours. Start eating!"

The two dogs immediately got down to their prey and began to wolf down their food.

This is the reward given to the hunting dogs after a hunt.

After getting used to it, they will gradually yearn to go up the mountain, eager for the harvest and rewards after a successful hunt.

If you don't reward the hunting dogs, their enthusiasm will be worn down, and over time, even a good dog will be ruined.

Although Chen Ling's dog is an exception, it possesses intelligence beyond the ordinary.

But the appropriate rewards must be given.

……

At noon on the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chen Ling and Chen Dazhi brought the whole boar back home.

When he passed through the village, he attracted a large crowd of villagers.

"See? What did I tell you? Bao Shuan and the other two are such good-for-nothings. Fu Gui and Da Zhi can take down a wild boar in just two, but these three are all young and strong kids, and they can't even take down a wild boar. And they still want to pick up traps? It's not even embarrassing enough."

"Yeah, if you encounter a wild boar, just grab a shovel and a knife and start hacking at it. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Hey, there's no point in saying that. They're just cowards. If it were me, I would have stabbed them to death."

"..."

The villagers were making a ruckus, each one talking at once.

Some people say this on purpose.

Some younger people genuinely don't know how dangerous wild boars are.

Of course, most of them are intentional.

They were simply eyeing the few guns in the brigade's armory.

With wolves and wild boars appearing in the last two days, some people are starting to get itchy fingers again.

With the mountains blocked by heavy snow, having a gun would be a great opportunity to go up the mountain, have some fun, and hunt some game before the New Year.

Now that they've made such a fuss, people are immediately taking the bait.

They say wild boars are incredibly powerful; their hide is so tough that even an axe can't cut through it, let alone a knife. Don't believe me? Try it yourself.

The other party said, "Try it then. If you can get a gun from the brigade, I'll go patrol the mountain with you. Who's afraid of who's a coward?"

Ignoring the chaotic thoughts of these people, after bringing the wild boar back, Chen Ling gave Chen Dazhi twenty catties of meat and a pig's head. Then he disassembled the various parts of the pig's body at home, hung them up with hooks, and waited for the snow to melt so that he could go into the city and sell them in the county town.

As for eating, he doesn't eat the meat of this big boar. It has a strong smell and is difficult to prepare. It doesn't taste as good as the small wild boar he raises himself.
(End of this chapter)