My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 306 Forest Ranger's Raid on Homes, the Prosperity of the Mountains and Forests

"Those bastards still hold a grudge. I was standing guard by the fire with a shotgun when that big-toothed pig suddenly charged at the fire under the cover of darkness..."

At Chen Dazhi's home, Chen Dazhi lay half-reclined on the kang (a heated brick bed) as he recounted the incident, still feeling lingering fear.

The origin of this incident can be traced back to a series of love-hate relationships between the villagers of Chenwangzhuang and the wild boars in the mountains.

From the beginning of autumn, when the corn has grown, wild boars will come down from the mountains.

When villagers discovered that wild boars were damaging their crops, they organized a group of people to chase, intercept, and kill the wild boars.

For several days, the attack caused considerable casualties to several groups of wild boars that had come down from the mountain, driving them back into the mountains.

Although the wild boars returned to the mountain in a sorry state, they harbored not only fear but also hatred towards the villagers below.

Everyone says pigs are stupid.

But wild boars do indeed hold grudges.

This time, Wang Lixian and Chen Dazhi led a group into the mountains.

They finally got their chance.

Wild boars have poor eyesight, but an extremely keen sense of smell. Once they smell the scent of their enemies down the mountain, they're eager to find an opportunity for revenge.

Chen Dazhi, who was on night watch, was the one who suffered.

"Uncle Dazhi, you saw a wild boar, why didn't you run away?"

A group of people sat around Chen Dazhi's bedside; everyone who had ever been there had come to visit him. At that moment, someone asked a question.

"Run? Makes it sound so easy. There were three of us keeping watch at night. In the middle of the night, the fire was about to go out, so two of us went to gather firewood while I stayed there to keep the fire going. Suddenly, that big-toothed pig jumped up the slope. There was no time to run..."

There's an old saying: "Don't hit a pig that's coming towards you."

The pigs that charge head-on are the fiercest; you can't fight them, you can only dodge them.

If someone unaware of the dangers were to take a pitchfork or a large hoe and attack this pig face-to-face...

You can break even a steel fork and a knife by charging at them.

If it were a big-toothed pig, it could not only break steel forks, but also kill people by ramming them and send them flying.

Chen Dazhi said he didn't have time to run, but he must have tried to avoid it.

However, he couldn't dodge it and his leg was injured by the big-toothed boar.

If it weren't for the dogs that rushed forward and blocked it, it wouldn't have been just a leg injury.

Apart from one group that went into the mountains, many people didn't see what happened with their own eyes.

But they all saw it last year when Chen Baoshuan let the wild boars root in the ditch.

That was incredibly brutal.

A shovel can knock a person unconscious with a single blow, but it's like tickling a wild boar.

Moreover, if they encountered a boar coming straight at them, there wouldn't be time to fire a shot.

"Don't go too deep into the mountains in the future. We've hunted quite a few wild boars this year. Hearing what Brother Dazhi said, these guys are holding a grudge. They'll gore anyone they see, and they've even killed a dog."

This year, quite a few families in Chenwangzhuang have made a fortune by hunting wild boars.

After hunting pigs for a long time, people may develop a certain odor on their bodies, but they can still recognize wild boars from the mountains.

Upon hearing this, Wang Lixian said, "Actually, there's no need to be as afraid of wild boars as you are of leopards. Now that there are no crops, they basically don't go out, and even if they do, it's only in the middle of the night."

Last year when we went hunting in the mountains, the old hunter from Kinmen Village got into trouble because he was taking a dump in the middle of the night. A wild boar took revenge on him and killed his tiger-headed yellow boar on the spot, smashing its head to pieces.

"These things happened in the middle of the night. During the day, go up the mountain as usual. Fugui has already dealt with the leopard; there's nothing else to fear."

This made everyone visibly relieved.

Chen Ling then said, "Take good care of yourself, Brother Dazhi. In two months, I'll pick out some good puppies for you, no worse than Tiger Head Yellow."

“It’s alright, Fugui. My family and Lixian’s family are among the few old hunting dogs left in our village. Now that there’s less hunting, it’s not fun for them to just loaf around in the village and wait to die. It would be their blessing to die in the mountains.”

That's not entirely wrong; once a hunting dog is trained, it will yearn for the mountains.

In the past, it was an honor for an old hunting dog to die in the mountains, just as it was for an old general to die on the battlefield.

We chatted for a while.

Wang Lixian then asked, "Fugui, are you sure you want to come with us into the mountains this time?"

"Well, I haven't had anything to do these past few days except wait to harvest the sunflowers. I'd like to go somewhere..."

"Okay, we're relieved that you can come along."

It's true that Chen Dazhi was injured by Big Tooth Pig.

But this did not dampen everyone's enthusiasm for going into the mountains.

Professor Han and the others gave a lot; the medical expenses they paid for Chen Dazhi's injuries just now were also a considerable sum.

It's very enviable.

The money was quite substantial, and they paid it generously, so everyone felt it was worth the risk of going.

At that time, for ordinary people, earning one or two hundred yuan a month by working instead of farming was considered a lot.

Older workers on the construction team, like Wang Lixian, only earn around 400 yuan.

Moreover, there isn't always work available all year round.

These days, you can get 150 or 200 yuan just for leading a team into the mountains if you have experience. Even if you're a young person without much experience in the mountains, you can get at least 50 yuan if you can shoot. So why don't they all want to go?

That's certainly true for other people.

But it's a different story for Chen Ling.

Wang Lixian felt that Chen Ling shouldn't risk his life for such a small amount of money, and thought he would refuse to go like he had the previous two times.

Little did he know, Chen Lingyi was indeed after the wild boar.

He had planned to go into the mountains to hunt wild boars, since he would also be affected if the wild boar infestation was left unchecked.

There just hasn't been a suitable opportunity yet.

Secondly, when Han Ninggui and the others were here just now, they heard them say that leopard tracks had been discovered in the mountains again.

He was planning to find a female leopard to pair with the one in the cave, and he didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Hearing this, Chen Ze and the others were also happy and said, "With you leading the dog, we and Brother Xian will go to Jinmen Village this afternoon to call Uncle Guangli, and we'll go into the mountains together. This time we won't be afraid of anything."

……

Wild boars are definitely among the most overpopulated species.

They usually roam and hide in the mountains and forests unnoticed. By the time people really notice that there are more wild boars, they have already become a plague.

If a plan were implemented to leave wild animals in the mountains with surplus, every wild boar family would be left devastated and penniless due to fines.

"Today, I, the forest ranger, will be acting as a family planning officer."

Chen Ling, carrying a gun and a knife, riding an eagle, and accompanied by two large black and yellow dogs, strode confidently at the head of the group, constantly shouting, "Anyone who dares to damage the forest will have their home ransacked!"

Along the way, the birds and small animals in the mountains were startled and flew and jumped around in panic.

Seeing Chen Ling letting loose a bit, Han Ninggui joked, "You don't look like a forest ranger, Fugui, you look like the Japanese invaders. Look how scared these little creatures are."

As he spoke, he picked up a shivering little squirrel that had fallen to the ground and put it back on the tree.

"I have to say, having Fugui come along with his dog makes me feel more confident."

Chen Ze glanced at the pack of dogs running beside them. "These dogs are different now that Heiwa and his two companions are leading them."

Among these dogs were those brought from the village, as well as dogs belonging to several hunters from Kinmen Village.

No matter where the dog is from, it immediately bows down when it sees Heiwa and Xiaojin.

"These two big dogs have become more and more intimidating after a year apart." The old hunter from Jinmen Village looked at the two big dogs following Chen Ling and sighed with emotion and envy.

They also keep good hunting dogs.

But when they encounter Heiwa and Xiaojin, they automatically recognize them as their leader.

With the lead dog in front, the other dogs became mere lackeys and dared not easily step forward.

“Fugui, don’t walk so fast. Let the dog go ahead. Come here and tell us how you caught the leopard…” Liu Guangli shouted.

"There's nothing to talk about, Uncle Guangli. You've seen it all, what's so special about a leopard?" Chen Ling waved his hand behind him and strode ahead with the two dogs.

"Haha, don't call him anymore. Fugui hasn't been to the mountains properly since he had a child. He's been cooped up for so long."

Han Ninggui laughed.

"This kid, I knew it..." Liu Guangli shook his head, thinking to himself that he was just a young lad after all.

"Uncle Han, have you found anything that requires another trip? Didn't you say you didn't find that banana leaf thing?"

Chen Ling walked ahead for a while and came to a ravine. In autumn, the water flow had decreased, making the ravine appear deep.

They released the eagles here, paused, and waited for them to follow.

"You'll find out soon enough. By the way, I'd also like you to take the dog and the eagle and look for that plant for us again."

Han Ninggui hadn't even reached Chen Ling when he said this, but suddenly paused, pointing behind Chen Ling.

Chen Ling turned around and saw a large flock of cranes flying in from the distant sky, white, gray, and black and white, numbering in the hundreds.

They flew and cried as they went, quickly flying diagonally over the heads of the crowd, leaving only a series of cawing sounds.

"Look, look! Of the eight species of cranes in China, six are found here this year. Just think about the crested ibises in that nearby county; we have to come here to take a good look!" Han Ninggui said excitedly.

"Six kinds of cranes, that's so many! But why are they flying together like this?"

Chen Ling looked up, but he couldn't distinguish much, only recognizing the red-crowned crane and the white crane.

“There’s a pretty big wetland in the mountains where no one disturbs them; they live there.”

As Han Ninggui spoke, he walked over and pointed to the sand dunes, explaining to Chen Ling that apart from the red-crowned cranes, the rest could be summarized as "three whites, two necks, and gray sand dunes."

The three white cranes are the white crane, the white-naped crane, and the white-headed crane.

The two necks belong to black-necked cranes and red-necked cranes.

The gray dunes are home to the grey crane and sandhill crane.

They currently have red-crowned cranes, white cranes, white-naped cranes, white-headed cranes, common cranes, and sandhill cranes.

That is to say, apart from black-necked cranes and red-necked cranes, they have all the other species here now.

"There are so many cranes, I can't tell them apart," Chen Ling murmured, gazing at the sky.

The two dogs also looked up at the flock of cranes in the sky, whimpering softly. They didn't have a very good impression of these flying creatures that could peck at people.

"They will fly back to the wetlands when it gets dark. I'll take you there to see them and help you recognize them. You'll then know how beautiful these cranes are; they're no less beautiful than red-crowned cranes."

Feng Yi then said with a smile.

"Old Han and I just saw the red-crowned cranes here. We thought they were just a pair of lost birds. We didn't expect to find such a large flock of cranes near the wetlands so soon after we entered the mountains. And the variety of species is so complete. This is very rare."

A lost bird is a bird that gets lost on its journey.

Getting lost or injured are the most common occurrences for migratory birds, and are not surprising.

However, the local situation is clearly not one of the two scenarios mentioned above.

Although the red-crowned crane was also injured.

As they talked about the flock of cranes they had just seen, Liu Guangli said, "Over the years, we have often gone into the mountains, but we have never seen red-crowned cranes here. Apart from the white cranes in Qingzhuang, we have not seen many other cranes."

Chen Ling then looked at some photos of cranes, and the more he looked, the less he could tell them apart.

He returned it to Han Ninggui and continued to lead the way.

In fact, he was constantly having the two dogs explore the distribution of wild animals in the vicinity.

As long as they don't bark or raise their tails, there shouldn't be any problems.

Judging from the reactions of Heiwa and the other two, there are no noteworthy wild animals in the vicinity, including those near the Wolf-Duck Rock.

However, the longer we stayed in the mountains, the more wild things appeared. Mountain birds and small animals ran and jumped around everywhere. This vibrant feeling was obviously better than last year.

The prosperity of the mountains and forests filled Chen Ling with a sense of pride.

"Cack cack cack..."

Suddenly, a pheasant crowed, and a brightly colored pheasant rushed out from under the bamboo grove. It ran wildly for a while before taking flight in a panic and fleeing.

"Wow, Uncle Han, look! What kind of pheasant is this? Its tail is so long!"

Pheasants aren't anything to be curious about, but this pheasant has very beautiful feathers, and its tail is probably over a meter long, almost two meters long, which is very eye-catching.

"This is a red-crowned long-tailed pheasant, a pheasant unique to the Qinling Mountains."

Han Ninggui casually remarked, then laughed, "Look at Heiwa and Xiaojin, it's not surprising. You haven't been going into the mountains enough this year."

Well, he really didn't venture deep into the mountains much this year. When he did gather herbs, he would only stay for half a day before returning, which hardly counts as going deep.

“In the past two years, there have been far fewer people hunting in the mountains. Leopards and other wild animals are jumping out of the mountains one after another. Chickens and cranes, which the older generation has never seen before, are also jumping out.”

As Liu Guangli spoke, he asked Chen Ling, "Fugui, what do you think we should do when we get there? Should we chase the wild boars down on them first, or should we check their dung trails first?"

"Let's scout out the manure path first, and find out the size of that pig herd," Chen Ling said without hesitation.

Find the trails that wild boars frequently take, and there are many ways to subdue them.

However, they hadn't yet reached the campsite where Han Ninggui and his men had camped the day before, the same place where Chen Dazhi had been injured by the wild boar.

Blackie and Little Gold spoke up. Chen Ling looked ahead and saw that the two dogs had already run away barking and disappeared from sight.

"Have you spotted a wild boar?" Han Ninggui asked.

Liu Guangli shook his head: "It's definitely not a wild boar. If there were something wrong, a good hunting dog wouldn't make a sound so easily. It must be something else."

Chen Ling walked ahead without hearing what they were saying. He then gestured behind him and quickly followed the two dogs.

There was another ravine here, but it was shallower than the previous one. Two dogs were guarding a strangely shaped prey, wagging their tails and begging for a reward.

When Liu Guangli, Wang Lixian, and the others caught up from behind, they exclaimed upon seeing it, "Good heavens, this is a porcupine!"

Porcupine, also known as porcupine.

Like a large hedgehog, it is about a meter long, with its back covered with sharp black and white thorns. The thickest thorn is as thick as a chopstick, and the longest can be several tens of centimeters long.

However, unlike hedgehogs, they have fewer spines on the front half of their bodies, with only a layer of bristles remaining on their backs, one of which extends to the back of their heads.

This thing has a head that looks like a big rat, two bulging cheeks, short and thick limbs, a fat body, and a fat tail.

They look quite adorable, but you can't be careless when you encounter a porcupine.

When this thing encounters danger, it shakes its thorns with a rattling sound, and those long thorns, as thick as chopsticks, can even shoot people.

Wang Cunye had suffered before.

The old man was shot three times in the leg by a porcupine, all three arrows hitting his thigh. The pain was so intense that he almost couldn't go home.

"With so many porcupine quills, how did your dog even manage to bite it?"

Someone in Han Ninggui's group asked curiously.

Chen Ling carefully turned the porcupine over and pointed to the area below its head, which resembled a large rat. This was the connection between the head and the body, and there was a bloody gash there.

"This guy is so fat he has no neck. If he bites here, he'll be killed in one bite."

Porcupines are not very common, but hedgehogs are more common. Heiwa and Xiaojin have experience dealing with hedgehogs, especially Heiwa, who is not afraid of being pricked. When he was little, besides lying in the yard eating leaves, he liked to carry hedgehogs around.

The team members gathered around for a while and then exclaimed, "Impressive! Next time we hunt wild boars, we'll have to see your two dogs unleash their power!"

Chen Linghun didn't care and waved his hand: "We'll talk about that later. Let's deal with this porcupine first. This will be our lunch."

Hunting wild boars is secondary.

After filling his stomach, he still needs to find a leopard.

----

PS: This chapter is an extra update for today. Thank you to the following brothers for their crowdfunding support: "一条江上", "余晖Q", "先昇", "烤鸡翅喜欢吃", "淡茶晽香", and "匿名道家".

In addition to various supplementary monthly passes, there are also 75 chapters.

My operations manager, "Light Tea Fragrance," keeps saying I haven't given him special thanks. Actually, I've always wanted to thank him last, so I've been adding extra chapters for several days in a row.

Because he has the most extra chapters to add, there's nothing I can do about it.

(End of this chapter)