The train driver in the courtyard

Li Aiguo didn't stay long at Zhou Dan's house, only drinking a bowl of water. Seeing that it was getting late, he suggested they set off.

"Brother Zhou, shall we head up the mountain soon?"

"It seems you were prepared all along. Very well, I'll go with you. If we can deal with those beasts, the village will be more peaceful in the future."

Zhou Dan had also packed his equipment: a wood-chopping knife and an old hunting rifle.

He whistled again, and a big yellow dog ran in from outside.

The dog was quite intelligent; it went straight to Zhou Dan, squatted down, and wagged its tail at him.

Zhou Ke, a dog lover, laughed and said, "This dog is nice."

Zhou Dan laughed and patted the dog's head, saying, "This dog is named Da Huang. He's my old buddy and often accompanies me up the mountain."

Well, that's quite a hasty name. Li Aiguo couldn't remember how many dogs he had seen named Dahuang.

Zhou Dan opened the door, carrying his hunting rifle, and got into the jeep with his dog.

Li Aiguo waved for Zhou Ke to sit in the back, and for Zhou Dan to sit in the passenger seat. Gouzi, Zhou Ke, and Yan Jiecheng sat side by side.

Nurse Xiao Zhou was worried that Zuo Dongfang's wound would reopen, so she took her medicine kit and went with him.

When Li Aiguo saw that a field nurse was being offered to him, he readily agreed.

Zhou Dan gave Li Aiguo directions, and the jeep, carrying the truck, went into the mountains along the winding mountain road.

The roads here are full of potholes, and some places are simply impassable. Luckily, we had a lot of people with us this time, so we had to push the car several times along the way.

The jeep went straight into the mountains, until it reached a place where there were no roads.

After Li Aiguo opened the car door, he opened the door for Zhou Dan, and the group got out and stretched their arms and legs.

Zuo Dongfang then carried a stick and walked forward for a while.

"This is where I was injured, and there's blood on it."

Li Aiguo went over to take a look and saw that the weeds and tree branches on the ground were broken, which was obviously the work of the black tiger.

"Everyone, get ready!"

Upon hearing this, the team members knew that their leisurely time was over and the hunt was about to begin.

Li Aiguo took an old rifle, loaded it with bullets, aimed at a large rock not far away, adjusted the scope on the rifle, and fired a shot, but missed.

After several adjustments, I finally calibrated the gun in my hand.

At this moment, the team members also jumped off the truck and loaded their bullets.

Zuo Dongfang and Zhou Dan also prepared ropes and hunting knives. Yan Jiecheng carried some of them, and Zhou Ke carried the rest.

The dog was still being led by Zhou Dan.

The group looked at each other and, seeing that they were all ready, headed into the mountains.

Zhou Dan led the charge, Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke were in the second group, and Yan Jiecheng and the other team members were at the very back.

Once inside the woods, no one spoke. Instead, they tiptoed around, looking for any trace of wild boars.

Although the mountain doesn't look very big, it's actually quite large, so finding wild boars there won't be an easy task.

They did see a few mountain birds on the way, but there wasn't much meat in them, so Li Aiguo didn't touch them.

"Wang Wang Wang"

Suddenly, Big Yellow's ears perked up, its nose sniffed incessantly, and it barked several times in one direction.

Zhou Dan loosened the rope, and Da Huang ran off in one direction. Li Aiguo and his men quickly followed.

Big Yellow ran to a big tree and stopped.

Li Aiguo raised his fist, ordered the troops to stop, took out his binoculars and looked, and saw a stream in the distance.

A dozen or so wild boars were playing in the stream. One of them, squatting by the stream, saw Li Aiguo looking at it through binoculars and actually grinned, revealing its tusks.

Well, this wild boar has actually become a spirit and has learned to scare people.

Actually, you can't really blame the wild boar. After all, it has more than a dozen good brothers. If an ordinary person rushed up against it, they would just be throwing their life away. How could it not be a little arrogant?

Zhou Dan took the hunting rifle off his shoulder and instructed, "These wild boars have thick skin and tough flesh. I'll set up a trap first and have Da Huang lure them over."

"It's too dangerous. Let's do it our way," Li Aiguo said.

"Your method?"

Zhou Dan found it strange; did these people also have a good way to deal with wild boars?

Li Aiguo was indeed not a hunter who specialized in hunting wild boars, but he had a method that could be used against all enemies: in the world of martial arts, only strength can overcome all obstacles.

He waved his hand and said, "Comrades, the culprit who has harmed our fellow villagers is right in front of us. Begin the operation according to the second battle plan."

A dozen well-trained team members quickly formed a net and surrounded the wild boars, holding rifles and machine guns, and some even took out hand grenades.

Seeing that the wild boars seemed to have sensed the situation and were about to emerge from the stream, Li Aiguo shouted, "Attack!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The team members pulled the triggers one after another, and gunshots rang out.

Then Zhou Dan witnessed a scene he would never forget in his life.

In the past, wild boars weighing three or four hundred pounds and covered in thick resin and mud could only be injured if their vital parts were hit.

Now he didn't even have a chance to react; he fell beside the stream amidst a hail of bullets.

Two of them managed to escape, but they were terrified and tried to turn and run away, but two grenades landed precisely beside them.

"boom!"

With a violent explosion, the two wild boars were thrown to the ground, their hooves thrashing about before they could get up again.

The battle lasted less than five minutes, from the moment Li Aiguo fired his gun to the moment the last wild boar fell.

Not only Zhou Dan, but even Zuo Dongfang was stunned.

You should know that he had just fought with these wild boars not long ago and almost lost his life.

These team members were far less skilled than him, and they used common rifles, yet when combined, they produced an incredible effect.

"Master, times really do seem to have changed." Zuo Dongfang was starting to doubt his master's words; things were completely different now than before.

Li Aiguo had anticipated this scene.

In the past, when we didn't have enough manpower, we had to devise tactics and rack our brains to deal with these wild boars.

Now that we're strong and healthy, if we still work like that, wouldn't all our hard work over the years have been for nothing?

"I really didn't expect it. We won so easily this time. There's nothing left for us old folks to do from now on."

Zuo Dongfang took out his pipe, squatted down, and watched as Zhou Ke and Yan Jiecheng, led by the team members, went to deal with the wild boars. He said to Li Aiguo very seriously, "Once my injuries heal, I want to settle down in the Northwest."

Li Aiguo, holding his hunting rifle, said, "Brother Zuo, your excellent skills can't go to waste. We have to find a way to pass them on. The work that Master Wang Wu didn't finish still needs you to complete."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Dongfang looked at Li Aiguo with some surprise.

Li Aiguo continued, "The Armed Forces Department of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is short of an instructor, and I think you are quite suitable."

Li Aiguo had mentioned this to Zuo Dongfang before, but was directly rejected.

This time, Zuo Dongfang neither immediately refused nor agreed; he simply smoked his pipe and watched the busy team members.

A dozen or so wild boars were dragged over, each weighing three or four hundred pounds. With the bullets on their bodies, the weight was even greater.

"What do we do now?" Zhou Ke wiped the bloodstains from his hands.

“We need to find bait to lure the little thing out.” Li Aiguo used “little thing” to refer to Black Tiger.

Li Aiguo had talked to Zhou Dan about Black Tiger's situation.

Zhou Dan had encountered the black tiger in the mountains several times and had reported it to the commune.

According to him, Black Tiger is very intelligent, even intelligent; it will run away as soon as it hears its name mentioned.

Li Aiguo felt this was a misconception, since animals were not allowed to become spirits after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

However, considering the need to adapt to local customs, they gave Black Tiger a code name: Little Thing.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Dan immediately grabbed a machete, cut open the belly of a wild boar, and sliced ​​off a large piece of meat from its abdomen.

He found a hemp rope, tied the meat to it, and planned to have someone pull it around the mountains.

The wages of avarice is death.

The smell of fresh meat and blood will surely lure the black tiger out.

Li Aiguo hadn't yet decided who to send to pull the rope.

Yan Jiecheng watched from the side, completely bewildered. They had already dealt with the wild boar, so why were they still making moves?

However, he also knew that he hadn't done anything significant, and he definitely wouldn't get much meat when it came time to divide it up.

Little thing. It doesn't sound dangerous. Maybe it's a fox.

Thinking of this, Yan Jie immediately raised his hand: "Brother Aiguo, I'll pull the rope and be the bait."

Li Aiguo was stunned: "Jiecheng, this is quite dangerous."

Yan Jiecheng patted his chest and said, "I'm not afraid of danger. Besides, this is to rid the villagers of a scourge. Even if there is danger, I'm willing to do it."

Li Aiguo stared at Yan Jiecheng quietly for a while, then suddenly reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Good comrade!"

Zhou Ke also gave Yan Jiecheng a thumbs up.

Yan Jiecheng raised his head high.

He was very proud.

*
*
*
In the woods of the small hill, it was so quiet that only the chirping of birds could be heard.

Yan Jiecheng pulled a piece of wild boar meat along the rugged mountain path, walking slowly. He would stop from time to time to look around.

Yan Jiecheng wasn't worried about the wild animals stealing meat; he was afraid that Li Aiguo and the others hadn't caught up.

If he were to encounter another wild boar and mistake it for the one that killed his companion, Yan Jie would be finished.

After wandering around for a while and seeing no movement, Yan Jiecheng grew bolder and started humming a little tune.

This job is so easy.

If we fish that little thing out later, we can at least get a big piece of wild boar meat.

"Is this kid any good?" Zhou Ke asked, hiding behind a large tree in the distance. Although he had never seen Black Tiger, he knew that the creature was not to be trifled with.

"Don't worry, Yan Jiecheng may not have any other skills, but his ability to escape is top-notch."

Li Aiguo chose Yan Jiecheng not because he volunteered, after all, the team members were eager to be bait.

Yan Jiecheng was known for his speed, which was well-known in the locomotive depot.

Despite trusting Yan Jiecheng, Li Aiguo still instructed his team to prepare their weapons, including guns and net guns, in case the bait was actually swallowed by Black Tiger.

I spent the whole morning wandering around in the mountains, and nothing happened.

By noon, seeing that everyone was panting heavily from exhaustion, Li Aiguo decided to call a halt to the baiting operation. He found a clean rock, set up a campfire, and had a barbecue.

Before he could speak, a commotion suddenly came from afar.

Li Aiguo raised his fist, called a halt to the troops, and picked up his binoculars to look.

The shadows moved without wind, and the outline of a giant object seemed to undulate in the dappled light and shadow.

Good heavens! A black tiger emerged from the bushes in the distance—no, not just one, but another one followed behind.

The two tigers were as big as calves, their black fur gleaming coldly in the shadows of the trees.

"Don't move! Set up the net guns, and no one is allowed to fire first!" Li Aiguo shouted in a low voice, and the team members instantly held their breath.

The two tigers had stopped, their amber eyes fixed on the wild boar meat at Yan Jiecheng's feet, their tails swishing slowly like steel whips.

As Yan Jiecheng hummed "Today we drink to celebrate our victory," the birdsong in the woods suddenly ceased. A cold wind swept up fallen leaves, and from the distant bushes came the crisp sound of snapping branches, startling flocks of birds fluttering across the treetops.

He instinctively turned around, and the dappled shadows of the trees swayed violently. Two black tigers, each the size of a calf, burst out of the shadows, their amber pupils gleaming coldly in the darkness.

The tune he was singing stopped abruptly, and the rope in his hand fell to the ground.

"Old tiger? Or two?" His blood rushed to his head, and his eardrums pounded with the roar of his heartbeat.

As the tiger's claws crushed the fallen leaves and approached, a sudden heat surged in his groin, and warm liquid mixed with cold sweat soaked through his trousers.

Is this the "little thing" that Patriot Brother was talking about?!
Yan Jiecheng was stunned and stood there dumbfounded when he faced the tiger. Zuo Dongfang was terrified and grabbed a machete to rush out.

Li Aiguo pressed down on his shoulder: "Don't go, or the tiger will be scared away!"

"You just watched this kid get eaten by a tiger?" Zuo Dongfang asked incredulously.

"Don't worry, we're ready." Li Aiguo waved his hand, and the two team members behind him set up net guns. Together with Li Aiguo's gun, there were three net guns in total, all aimed at Yan Jiecheng's location.

This is what a real bait should be.

Yan Jiecheng finally realized what was happening and scrambled down the slope to hide.

Just as he rolled away, the two tigers pounced on him.

"Now!" Li Aiguo suddenly shouted.

Two large nets with barbs flew out from behind the bushes with a "whoosh," one covering the tiger that was pouncing on Yan Jiecheng, and the other blocking the tiger's way.

The tiger caught in the net had clearly never seen anything like it before. It immediately bristled, stood up abruptly, and tore at the net ropes with its sharp claws. But the more it struggled, the more the net pulled back.

The tiger that wasn't caught in the net jumped back in fright and turned to run away, but then another net fell from the sky and trapped the tiger.

The one who fired the shot was Li Aiguo.

The whole process looks complicated, but it actually takes less than half a minute.

Yan Jiecheng's pants were only partially wet when he saw the two tigers covered, so he quickly clamped them back up.

Zuo Dongfang was so shocked that his mouth hung open.

In the past, he probably would have needed at least a dozen fellow disciples to have the courage to fight these two tigers, but it was resolved so easily.

Needless to say, Zhou Dan was also safe. Hunters who went up the mountain were most afraid of tigers, and if they encountered wild boars, they would be fine as long as they stayed far away.

If you encounter a tiger, even if you survive, you'll still get injured.

The town had considered going up the mountain to deal with the tiger, but firstly, it was difficult to find, and secondly, the black tiger was the mount of the mountain god, so no one dared to make a move.

Now, in less than a short while, he was dealt with by this junior leader from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

The world seems to have really changed.

The two of them were stunned and stood there for a moment.

At this moment, Li Aiguo rushed over in three strides and squatted down by the net. He then turned around and shouted, "Quick! Get some rope! Tie their claws and mouths together. This net won't last long!"

Zuo Dongfang finally snapped out of his shock, quickly pulled out the thick hemp rope from his backpack, and ran over to help the other two team members set up the net.

The tiger, trapped in the net, was still struggling frantically. Its black fur was covered in mud and grass clippings, and its amber eyes were staring fiercely at people. With each struggle, the net sank a little deeper.

"Be careful! Don't get too close!"

Li Aiguo grabbed a teammate who was trying to get closer to the net, while he found a spot with a large mesh and swung the rope in, accurately ensnaring the front leg of one of the tigers. "Pull hard! Tie the legs together!"

After a long while, Yan Jiecheng was finally able to stand up.

But when he saw the tiger in the net again, he quickly shrank back, muttering to himself, "Damn it, if I had known it was this job, I wouldn't have come even if you gave me a whole wild boar!"

"Come on," Zhou Ke said, pulling hard on the rope while trying to strike up a conversation. "If it weren't for Brother Aiguo's excellent marksmanship, I would have been reporting the news to your family on behalf of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot!"

Yan Jiecheng wanted to retort, but when he thought of the thrilling scene just now, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

If it weren't for Li Aiguo, he might not have made it back alive this time.

Even the fiercest tiger is afraid of a rope.

Li Aiguo and his men had already tied up the two tigers securely with seven or eight ropes.

Zuo Dongfang and Zhou Dan chopped down several poles with machetes. The tiger was hung on the poles like a big fat pig and lifted up by four team members, then transported to a truck parked in the distance.

Li Aiguo then led his men to load the remaining wild boar meat onto the truck.

"go back!"

With a clear whistle, the truck slowly started and drove down the mountain.

Down the mountain, the commune leaders had already heard the news that Zhou Dan had led people up the mountain, and they all frowned.

"This Zhou Dan is outrageous. He's supposed to be an experienced hunter, doesn't he know how terrifying tigers are?"

"Yes, if something happens to the comrades from the city, our commune will also be implicated."

"How about we send someone up to take a look?"

The commune leaders were planning to organize some militiamen to go up the mountain when shouts came from outside.

"Report, Zhou Dan has returned with those comrades from the city."

"Was anyone killed?" a leader asked.

"No."

"Thank goodness nothing bad happened." The leader had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the commune member say, "They killed more than a dozen wild boars and captured two black tigers."

"Huh?!" The leader's eyes widened.

Chenjiayu was just a small commune, usually very quiet, but now it was as chaotic as if it were Chinese New Year.

When the villagers learned that the tiger in the mountains had been captured, they all dropped their hoes and baskets and ran to the roadside.

"Tsk tsk, it really is a Black Tiger, its head is huge."

"These guys are really something!"

"We won't be afraid to go up the mountain to collect wild produce anymore."

Wherever the truck went, cheers erupted, and the commune members clapped wildly.

When the truck arrived at the commune gate, the commune leaders came to greet it.

Seeing the young man walking slowly towards them, the commune secretary knew that this was the leader.

He grasped Li Aiguo's hand tightly and said, "Comrade who fought the tiger, I am the Party Secretary of the commune, surnamed Chen. On behalf of the people of Chenjiayu, I thank you for eliminating this scourge for the people."

The title of "Tiger-Slaying Hero" seems pretty good.

Li Aiguo smiled and shook hands with Secretary Chen: "Secretary, we came here to hunt uninvited, so please forgive us."

"You're too kind, you've helped us!" Secretary Chen didn't even glance at the truck, his face still beaming with smiles.

Seeing this, Li Tiechui said, "We're going to take those two tigers with us and send them to the zoo in Beijing. As for these wild boars, we plan to keep two of them and distribute them among the villagers. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Secretary Chen felt somewhat embarrassed: "This, this is so embarrassing, it was you who called."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Li Aiguo didn't take the wild boar seriously. Besides, the harvest this time was indeed plentiful.

Secretary Chen and the other commune leaders actually wanted to keep some wild boars, but they were too embarrassed to say so.

Seeing that Li Aiguo persisted, he shouted loudly to the villagers outside.

"The tiger-fighting hero from the city is going to share some pork with us, shouldn't we all cheer?"

Hearing that they could get wild boar meat, the commune members became even more excited.

There was warm applause.

There were seventeen wild boars in total, and Li Aiguo had three of them carried down.

Seeing this, Yan Jiecheng felt a pang of heartache and his lips twitched: "These are three large wild boars, more than a thousand catties of meat. Brother Aiguo is too generous."

Zhou Ke glanced at him sideways: "What do you know, kid? This mountain is the commune's territory. You went hunting in someone's home. What, shouldn't you leave something behind?"

Yan Jiecheng was speechless.

Zhou Ke continued, "Besides, Chenjiayu is relatively close to Beijing, so we might be able to train there again next time."

If Yan Jiecheng could figure out the first point, he was stunned for a moment before he understood the second one.

"I didn't expect Brother Aiguo to have considered things so far ahead."

"You think you're like me? Your eyes can only see half a meter ahead, and you're just staring at that wild boar going into the water." Zhou Ke looked down on Yan Jiecheng.

On the way back, this guy kept whispering in Zhou Ke's ear.

He's done a great job, so he should get a bigger share of the meat. He's getting married and needs to prepare a wedding banquet, so he should get more offal.

It was nearly evening by then. Li Aiguo shook hands with Secretary Chen, chatted for a few more minutes, then got into the jeep and drove back to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot with the trucks roaring along.

When Section Chief Xing of the locomotive depot learned that Li Aiguo had taken his team to the countryside for training, he didn't pay much attention, assuming that Li Aiguo just wanted to relax.

When he learned that they had actually brought back wild boars and tigers, Section Chief Xing was still a little incredulous.

"tiger?"

"It's a live tiger, and it's black," Yan Jiecheng reported.

"Let's go, let's go take a look."

Section Chief Xing was a veteran section chief who had seen a lot in his life, but this was the first time he had ever heard of the Black Tiger.

He led the section leaders to the station yard, where a crowd had already gathered, including train drivers and staff who had come to see what was going on.

"Patriotism, this really is a black tiger!" Section Chief Xing circled the truck and asked a crucial question: "What are you planning to do with this tiger? You can't just kill it and eat it, can you?"

If it were an ordinary tiger, its penis would definitely be cut off and soaked in alcohol to drink.

But this is a black tiger, which is considered a rare animal.

The two black tigers, despite their great skills, were trapped in the net and were already quite frustrated, so they squatted on the truck in a daze.

Upon hearing Section Chief Xing's words, Du's anus tightened, and he tilted his head to glare at him angrily. This old man was quite wicked.

Li Aiguo also noticed this, it seems that this black tiger is indeed smarter than an ordinary tiger.

"Section Chief, I plan to contact Chen Sanyun and send these two black tigers to the zoo," Li Aiguo replied.

"Chen Sanyun?"

"Ah, he's the deputy director of the People's Zoo. I used to raise giant pandas, and later the pandas were sent to the zoo. We keep in touch."

First he caught a giant panda, and now he's caught two black tigers. This kid has a real knack for animals.

Section Chief Xing also remembered that Li Aiguo had brought back giant pandas, and nodded: "We'll do it your way. What about the wild boar meat?"

"We divided it up by the number of people. Each team member who participated in the operation got a piece, and the rest were sent to the logistics department's cold storage. We'll keep the rest for later."

This is the most common way for the Qianmen Locomotive Depot to distribute spoils of war, which can both improve the enthusiasm of employees and safeguard the collective interests.

Section Chief Xing nodded again: "I'll leave this matter to Aiguo. I have a meeting at the ministry later."

After assigning the tasks, Section Chief Xing glanced at his watch and, seeing that it was getting late, hurriedly left.

Could it be that the higher-ups have made some decision regarding the Russians' request to purchase computer technology? Li Aiguo felt a little strange, but he didn't ask any further questions.

He called over the young men from the rescue team, hung the wild boar on a pole, and prepared to cook it.

There weren't many people in the locomotive depot who knew how to slaughter pigs, so Li Aiguo sent Yan Jiecheng back to the courtyard house and summoned Zhang Gangzhu to handle the wild boars.

After making the arrangements here, Li Aiguo contacted the People's Zoo.

"What? A black tiger? Or two of them?"

After confirming that he hadn't misheard, Chen Sanyun exclaimed with delight, "Aiguo, you wait, I'll contact a group of experts right away."

(End of this chapter)