Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 638: The Forest Farm Organizes a Large-scale Encirclement Campaign to Capture Pine Cones

In the afternoon, the autumn wind swept the fallen leaves. In the pine forest in the back garden of Nanshan, a group of dogs surrounded three people and lay there. They had eaten and drunk their fill, and now was the time to recuperate.

Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu sat around the fire, the three of them holding lunch boxes in their hands. On the box lids placed on the ground was the meat that Wang Hu had roasted. The meat was cut from the belly of a small yellow-haired pig, and its texture and taste were almost the same as those of a domestic pig.

"Brother, we have to figure out how to get it back. We can get back the five little yellow-haired pigs, but if we count the three old sows, it will be difficult to deal with three more people."

Wang Hu swallowed the barbecue and said, "Second brother, how about I go to the field to call for help and ask my brother Lei to bring some people over and take the old sow to the field directly?"

Xu Ning frowned and weighed the options for a moment, then said, "How about this, the three of us take the yellow-haired pig back first, and leave the remaining sow here. When we get home, you can go to the field to look for stones."

"Okay! Five yellow-haired guys weigh about 600 kilograms. The three of us can probably pull them. We can even pull them by riding on a donkey backwards."

Li Fuqiang put down his chopsticks and said, "What else is there to say? These yellow-haired guys are not heavy to begin with. I can pull two of them myself, and you two can pull three. Do we need the whole sled?"

"No, there are leaves on the mountain now, which can also act as lubricant..."

Wang Hu saw Xu Ning put down his lunch box and asked, "Second brother, have you eaten yet? Then shall the three of us pack up and leave?"

"go!"

Xu Ning stood up and stretched his legs, patted the loose dirt on his buttocks, and said, "It was a smooth mountain run today."

"It has to be good! Second brother, guess what happened? I think the reason why we had trouble running in the mountains before was because of that brown bear! Now that the brown bear has been killed by you, our luck has returned."

"Hahaha... There's nothing wrong with what Hu Zi said. I think it's possible that you met a little red skin and it went home to ask the Third Grandma to protect you."

Xu Ning grinned and said, "No matter what the reason is, as long as it goes smoothly, it's a good thing!"

Then, the three of them divided the work to pack up the things, and then tied the five little yellow-haired rabbits with ropes. Li Fuqiang pulled two of the yellow-haired rabbits and walked in front, while Xu Ning and Wang Hu pulled the remaining three yellow-haired rabbits and followed behind. It was basically effortless to walk downhill, but it took three people to pull together when going uphill.

Because there is a difference in the slipperiness of fallen leaves and snow, it is easy for one person to drag a 200-pound wild boar uphill in the snow, but it is extremely difficult to walk uphill on a slope covered with fallen leaves. Why? It has something to do with the thickness. There is only one layer of fallen leaves. Sometimes the wind blows away the fallen leaves, revealing stones and rotten soil...

The three old sows and the big egg-shoveling pig left in the back garden had to stay where they were. It wouldn’t be a pity if they were eaten by other livestock. It could be considered a contribution to nature.

Fortunately, there are no high mountains between the back garden and Shuangfengling. It is almost entirely gentle slopes and small downhill slopes. This forest is rich in various wild vegetables and mushrooms.

This year, mushrooms and wild vegetables are in great demand. Old Xu's cellar has already piled up two sacks of ox hair mulberry, which can be preserved for a long time after drying. In addition, there are various pickles...

At around four o'clock, the three men finally dragged the five yellow-haired donkeys to the west peak of Xiaofeng Mountain. Wang Hu and Li Fuqiang ran to the place where the car was hidden, pushed the donkey out, and then the three men threw the yellow-haired donkeys onto the car.

Xu Ning turned around and called Hualang, originally wanting to let it get in the car, but Hualang insisted on traveling with the Dog Gang, so Xu Ning ignored it.

It is normal for dogs to get injured when hunting livestock, and it is understandable for the owner to feel distressed. Some people may say: If Xu Erning really loves dogs, why does he let them run through the mountains?

After hearing this, Xu Ning's first reaction was to give a two-word evaluation, but he did not refute anything, nor did he even have the thought of arguing with him.

Dog hunting, dog hunting, what can we do without dogs? Some people say that good dogs should die in the mountains. There is nothing wrong with this, but dog owners certainly hope that their dogs can hunt big game and live to the end of their lives!
Two donkeys were riding upside down on the narrow road leading to Qing'antun, and a team of dogs were jogging behind them. Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang did not dare to drive too fast, not because they were afraid that the dogs could not keep up or they would get tired, but because there were more than 200 kilograms of weight in the truck bed, and it would be difficult to control the direction if they went too fast.

When we drove slowly to Qing'an, we saw a group of students with backpacks walking home in groups of three or five. I didn't need to look at the watch to know that it was almost five o'clock.

As soon as I turned in front of Old Xu's house, I heard Sun Lianfang's voice from inside the yard. She shouted, "Auntie! My brother and his family are back! Sister-in-law... Hey, you two wait for me."

When Sun Lianfang turned around, Meng Ziyan and Guan Hua had already rushed to the door. When they saw Xu Ning and Wang Hu, they immediately grinned.

"Oh my god! What should we do with these yellow-haired guys?" Sun Lianfang ran over and exclaimed when she saw the yellow-haired guys in the truck bed.

Wang Hu bared his teeth and said, "The more of these things the better, right? These four yellow-haired guys were all stabbed to death by my second brother with a spear, and this one was killed by Brother Qiang..."

Sun Lianfang curled her lips and said, "You're the only one who didn't hit anything. What did I tell you last time? You have to move forward! Animals are afraid of people. The more powerful you are, the more afraid they are..."

Xu Ning said: "Hu Zi used his old pickaxe to kill two old sows."

"Oh, I told you, Hu Zi has definitely improved. He can hunt two old sows by himself now, so he will definitely be able to hunt black bears by himself in the future!"

Sun Lianfang was a very talkative person. She kept chattering before the donkey stopped riding. However, her chattering was not annoying. Instead, Wang Hu enjoyed listening to her. After all, he had to call Sun Lianfang sister-in-law.

Besides, Guan Lei was in charge of the Lengchang and could only go home every few days. It was boring for Sun Lianfang to be alone at home. Meng Ziyan and Guan Hua both had their husbands to accompany them, so she was the only one who stayed alone in the empty room...

Of course, when Guan Lei lived in Lengchang, Sun Lianfang came to Lao Xu's house and lived in the same room with Wang Shujuan, so the two of them had company.

Wang Hu looked at Guan Hua and smiled foolishly. Seeing her fiery eyes, he felt warm in his heart. He had heard Xu Ning say before, how to get along well with old women? The first element is that the man must be able to make money, and the second is to let the old women admire themselves, because every old woman has a strong mentality, even a strong woman likes a man who is stronger than herself.

Liu Lizhen and Han Fengjiao stood under the eaves and said with a smile: "You three are quite capable. You got rid of five yellow-haired guys just after entering the mountains?"

"There are still three old sows and a large egg-digging goat that have not been brought back. I will ask Hu Zi to go to Lengchang to look for stones. Let him lead the workers of Lengchang to find them in the mountains, and then bring them to Lengchang to improve their food."

"Okay! Three old sows should be enough for them. Are you three hungry? Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

"I'm already too hungry, I can eat later..."

Then, Meng Ziyan and Guan Hua turned around and went into the house to get them some water, while Sun Lianfang went to the lower room to find a tarpaulin, took it and spread it on the ground, and then she and Wang Hu and Li Fuqiang threw the yellow-haired boy on the tarpaulin.

After Xu Ning tied up all the dogs, he stood up and said, "Brother, split the two ends and give half to Lao Wei and the others later."

"Got it."

Wang Hu said, "Second brother, shall I go find Brother Lei now?"

"Why rush? Wait until you finish your meal."

Li Fuqiang replied, "I'll go with you then, brother. You two should go inside and wash up first..."

"No need to wash it. Wash it after delivering the meat. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time to wash it twice."

After Li Fuqiang split the two yellow-haired beasts in half, Xu Ning and Wang Hu lifted them onto the cart, and then they rode out on their donkeys.

First, half a fan was given to Lao Wei and Chang Danian, and then half a fan was given to Du Shoucai and Yu Kaihe. Why Lao Wei? Because Lao Wei and Yu Kaihe helped Xu Ning recruit people for Lengchang. Besides, when Lao Xu's family was building a house, the two of them were also busy and put in a lot of effort.

When Old Wei saw Xu Ning sending him half a pig, he was happier than having a meal at Old Xu's house. This showed that he had some personal connections with Old Xu, and it was no longer Old Xu's family that supported his family. "Hey, I heard Qiangzi is going to the mountains to pick pine cones. When is he going? I want to go get some pine cones, too."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Uncle Wei, it is quite dangerous to hit pine cones. My eldest brother mentioned this today, but I didn't let him go..."

"Well, then ask him to lend me his pine cone. I heard from others that pine cones are quite expensive this year. I think the loose seeds are two cents."

"If you want to make money, go to Lengchang and let my brother Jun arrange a job for you."

Old Wei said, "I saw Yang Jun a few days ago, and he asked me to go to work in the field, but I think that we are all from the same village, and we are quite close. If something goes wrong in the field, it will hurt our relationship."

"That's true. If you really want to pick pine cones, you'd better find a few more people. If you run into the forest guards in the mountains, come back to me."

"Okay!" Old Wei nodded with a smile.

After Wang Hu brought back a pork leg and ribs to Pan Xiao, the babysitter hired by Yang Jun, Xu Ning said goodbye to Lao Wei and left.

Pan Xiao is a good housekeeper. She changes Yang Yi's clothes almost every day, and the food she cooks is also quite to Yang Yi's liking. She cleans the house inside and outside to make it shiny and new, cleaner than when he lived in Old Wang's house. After seeing this, Yang Jun felt that it was worth the money to hire a nanny. No wonder the wealthy families in the past all had maids. It was such a luxury...

Xu Ning and Wang Hu walked around the village and returned home just in time for dinner. They quickly washed up, then sat down and picked up the dishes.

Xu Laonian sipped his wine and said, "The forest farm has set the date for hunting. It's the third day after the first snowfall, but this year is a little different from previous years."

"What's the difference?"

"During the meeting, Secretary Zheng said that we must not let the hunters' efforts go to waste, nor should we let other families reap the benefits."

Xu Ning nodded and said, "Nothing wrong."

"There's really nothing wrong with that. What he meant was to give hunters some extra compensation, such as clothes and cotton shoes, or some financial subsidies."

Li Fuqiang said with a smile: "Secretary Zheng is quite honest."

"It's really true. He and your uncle Guo did the research together. I was in the office at the time."

Wang Hu asked, "Uncle, what does it mean that other families cannot reap the fruits of others' labor?"

"We must not let them eat for free. We must let them do some work, such as going to the mountains to collect firewood for hunters..."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "This was something my uncle Guo came up with, right? Zheng Yunlong brought it up at the meeting."

Wang Erli nodded vigorously and said, "That's not bad, Erning. Your uncle Guo is really quite capable. This newcomer Zheng Yunlong seems to be taking advantage of your uncle Guo."

"It's okay. This is all accumulation. It will be fine when my uncle Guo takes another step up in the future. Besides, my third uncle should have tacitly agreed, otherwise Zheng Yunlong wouldn't have done this."

Xu Laonian took a sip of his wine and said, "I think so too... Hey, your third uncle asked you to make a specimen, did you succeed?"

"Last time we killed a brown bear, but we three couldn't drag it down the mountain, so we unloaded it right there. Today we killed wild boars. The city museum doesn't want small pigs, only big ones weighing more than 800 kilograms."

Wang Erli leaned back and said, "Where can we get them an 800-jin wild boar? I've heard about it since I was a child. Brother, do you remember when we went to Dongshan to rob bird nests when we were young? Didn't my dad and one of my uncle's comrades-in-arms encounter one in Dongshan? But they chased it for two days but couldn't catch any trace..."

"We were only a little kid at that time, about eight or nine years old. That old man was very tough. He ate snow when he was thirsty and hungry in the mountains in the ice and snow, and he managed to hold out for two days! He was still cursing when he finally ran out of the mountain..."

Xu Ning asked: "Why haven't I heard you talk about this before?"

"We've been through a lot, how can I tell you everything?"

Liu Lizhen said, "Don't be sarcastic after just a few words. Can't you talk properly?"

"Look, I didn't say anything. This is just a normal chat!"

"..."

Wang Hu and Li Fuqiang quickly finished their rice bowls, put down their chopsticks, took their 56-and-a-half and cloth bags, and rode their donkeys to Lengchang.

The two men rushed to the field and found Guan Lei and told him about the three wild boars. It happened that Yang Jun drove to the 28th field to load walnut wood, and he had to go to the city to deliver the goods to Zhang Jinbao the next day.

"Three old sows? How many pounds do they weigh?"

"Two weigh more than 200 kilograms, and one weighs more than 300 kilograms!"

"Hey, this time we can satisfy their cravings, so let's quickly call a few people and drive over there."

Li Fuqiang said: "Cars can't enter the back garden, they can only be pulled out by manpower. If you drive, you have to park at Shuangfengling."

"Okay! Let's go now. We have to load the truck when we get back."

Wang Hu nodded: "Then let my brother Lei go and call for help."

While Guan Lei was calling for help, Wang Hu and Yang Jun said, "Brother Jun, your nanny is really good at cleaning. She cleaned the yard very well."

"It's not a big deal. The money was not wasted! I feel more at ease knowing someone is looking after Baozhu. Did you go there today?"

"Yes, send some yellow-haired meat to Baozhu. My second brother asked me to do so."

Yang Jun grinned and said, "He is my brother. He always thinks of his nephew when he has any good things."

After Guan Lei brought Pan Yan, Dazhi, Feng Ye, Zhang Chunsheng and others over, everyone got on Yang Jun's car.

It was already dark at this moment, and with the lights of the cars illuminating the way, the car was driving more steadily and faster.

After parking the car at Shuangfengling, Li Fuqiang did not let Yang Jun follow him into the mountains. He had to go to the city in the second half of the night, so he had to catch up on some sleep.

Several people rushed to the back garden and saw that the three sows were not eaten, so they quickly tied them up, and then two of them worked together to pull a pig. Since Pan Yan, Dazhi and others were going into the mountains to pull animals for the first time, it was a bit difficult at first. After Wang Hu's careful teaching, they also found a way to save effort in pulling animals.

(End of this chapter)