Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 708 The Whereabouts of Andahan: A Decline in the Battle

January 6, 1985, the 16th day of the 11th lunar month.

The northwest wind howled fiercely, whipping up plumes of smoke that made it impossible for people to open their eyes.

Around 9 o'clock, Xu Ning, who was fast asleep on the kang (a heated brick bed), slowly woke up. Li Fuqiang sat on the edge of the kang smoking, glancing out the window from time to time. Guan Lei and Wang Hu sat at the end of the kang cleaning their guns; the three of them had only been awake for a short while.

The sound of a pot lid scraping against the wall came from the outer room, and you could tell it was Old Li's wife and two girls cooking. Sun Weimin's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

"The weather's not great today, so we have to be careful while we're working!"

Master Li led more than 30 people toward the mine pit. Sun Weimin turned around and went back into the house, asking, "Have Erning and the others woken up?"

Old Li's wife nodded and said, "She just woke up."

"Quickly get some hot water for them to wash their faces..."

After giving his instructions, Sun Weimin stepped into the room, lifted the curtain, and saw Xu Ning pretending to fold the quilt. He laughed and said, "Stop folding it. I can tell you don't fold quilts often. Just roll it up to your feet."

Xu Ning turned his head and laughed, "At home, my wife makes the quilts. Are the workers coming over to help?"

"Yeah, Old Li went down the mountain around 5 a.m. this morning to notify everyone, and that's how he got here! How did you sleep last night?"

"That's great. Shall we go to Xishan after dinner?"

Sun Weimin's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Okay! I'm ready to leave anytime. I've been waiting for you to say that."

Guan Lei laughed and joked, "Haha, Uncle Min, you're really addicted to this."

"Oh dear, usually no one is willing to lead me to hunt livestock, they all think I'm too big. Now that I've finally managed to get someone to help me, I have to be more proactive."

Xu Ning sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on his shoes. He said, "Uncle Min, to be frank, you have the physique of a man of good birth. Hunting livestock in the mountains is a poor man's job. You are definitely wasting your talents by doing that."

Upon hearing this, Sun Weimin laughed and slapped his thigh, saying, "My goodness, that's why everyone likes you. Just look at how hard you are!"

Immediately, Old Li's wife put the table down, and the two girls brought the food to the table one after another.

After Xu Ning and the others washed their faces, they went inside and sat down. Xu Ning turned to ask, "Uncle Min, won't you eat something else?"

"I'm not eating anymore. I just ate a little while ago, and I'm not really hungry yet."

"Let's eat a little less. We're going for a stroll in Xishan later, and we might not be back until the afternoon. We didn't eat until almost 10 o'clock, so we definitely can't eat lunch."

Sun Weimin listened to advice and sat down next to Xu Ning, saying with a smile, "Then I'll eat something too. When will I be back today?"

"That's hard to say. If we happen to find some livestock, we'll definitely be up all night. If we don't find any, it'll probably be past five o'clock by then."

"what……"

Xu Ning asked him in detail and learned that Sun Weimin had run in the mountains before, but no one guided him, so he often got lost. Later, he met Master Li, but Master Li only dared to take him to hunt small animals near Qingcaotang and dared not take him to hunt livestock. As people's desires grow stronger, Sun Weimin soon felt unsatisfied, so he asked Xu Ning to come over again and again.

Sun Weimin's marksmanship is so good that he can hit the target eight out of ten times, which means his marksmanship is definitely not bad, after all, he has been shooting at small animals for so many years.

"Uncle Min, why don't the people from the nearby villages take you hiking in the mountains?"

"Didn't I say before that you can tell by my big size?"

After putting down his chopsticks, Sun Weimin went back to the east room, took out a double-barreled shotgun and a bag of slugs from the cabinet, and also took two bags of steamed rice cakes. He strolled over to Xu Ning's room and said with a smile, "I'll take some steamed rice cakes to eat when I get hungry."

"Okay, Uncle Min, here are some leg wraps, hurry up and put them on."

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to put on my leg wraps too."

Sun Weimin took out two strips of cloth from his pocket. He struggled to tie the leg wraps, then reached into the pocket to take out a belt. However, because his belly was quite large, he had to punch the holes all the way to the end before he could barely tie it.

Xu Ning sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and held Sun Weimin's double-barreled shotgun in his hand. After disassembling it, he said, "Uncle Min, this gun doesn't have a firing pin..."

Sun Weimin laughed and said, "Yeah, the firing pin is in the cloth bag. Help me put it back in. I was worried that someone might use the gun to cause trouble, so I took it off."

“That’s very thoughtful.”

“There are many people and eyes in the mine. Usually, Lao Li has a gun, but I keep my gun in the cabinet and don’t usually move it.”

After Xu Ning attached the firing pin, he pried open the gun handle, glanced at the barrel, and said, "Let's leave after we're done. Is it far from Xishan?"

"It takes half an hour to drive here, the roads are not good."

"Is Master Li coming with us?"

Sun Weimin shook his head: "He's not going. He has to stay at the mine. When we get to the village at the foot of West Mountain, I'll find someone to lead us into the mountains, how about that?"

“Okay! This arrangement is good. We’re not familiar with the mountains around here, so we need to find someone who is.”

Afterwards, everyone carried cloth bags and guns and headed outside. Old Li specially came over to greet Xu Ning and secretly said to Sun Weimin, "Er Ning, my boss is panting after just a few steps. You can take him for a walk in the mountains and then come back down. Just don't go too deep into the mountains."

"I know, we're just going for a stroll today. Don't worry, we won't go deep into the mountains."

Master Li smiled and nodded: "Okay, go and come back soon."

Xu Ning got into the car and started chatting with Sun Weimin about Master Li. They had known each other for five or six years. Before, Master Li owned no house and no land. Later, they met on the way and Master Li went back to the mine with Sun Weimin. However, Master Li was not immediately assigned to work. Instead, he was sent to work in a factory that made iron gates at the foot of the mountain for a while. Xu Ning felt that Master Li was a good person, so he was transferred back to the mine.

"Old Li is good at everything, except he's a bit lacking in interpersonal skills. He also knows about feng shui. Isn't that strange?"

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Capable people all have strange tempers."

"No problem, Old Li is indeed capable..."

Half an hour later, the old Dongfeng truck arrived at Daliugou Village at the foot of Xishan Mountain. Sun Weimin, sitting in the passenger seat, pointed the way and said, "It's that house up ahead without a wooden fence..."

The car stopped, and Sun Weimin opened the car door and called into the house, "Is Lao Kuai home?"

An elderly woman with a full head of white hair, leaning on a cane, took two steps forward and called out, "Who are you looking for?"

"Old Kuai! This old lady is deaf, Old Kuai! It's me, Sun Weimin!"

At this moment, a middle-aged man rushed out of the house. He looked honest and simple. He saw Sun Weimin, smiled and waved, and then helped the old lady into the house.

When he went out again, he was carrying a basket on his back. He smiled and said, "Brother Min, going up the mountain?"

"Well, the person I found isn't familiar with the mountains around here. Could you show them the way?"

"Okay, I'll go to the mountains and pick some Awooojia."

"Get on the train, there are still people in the back carriages."

"Eh……"

Old Kuai ran to the back of the truck, saw Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu, and Guan Lei raise their hands to greet him, and then the old Dongfeng truck drove towards Xishan.

After the four men in the back introduced themselves, Li Fuqiang asked, "Brother, do you often drive in the mountains?"

"Yeah, I go for a walk almost every day. My mom has trouble walking, so she goes into the mountains to pick some wild herbs and black sesame seeds..."

"You're not going to hunt livestock?"

Old Kuai replied, "I'm just using the snare. How can I hunt livestock if I don't have any tools in my hand? I run away as soon as I see any livestock."

"Even a snare will do, or even just a couple of pheasants. We can stew some potatoes when we get home, and that's still meat, isn't it?"

"Absolutely." Around 11 o'clock, the old Dongfeng truck stopped at the foot of West Mountain, about two miles from the summit.

After they got off the bus, they gathered together. Old Kuai explained, "This mountain is called Laopingding. There aren't many trees here; the villagers have cleared all the land. There's a forest behind the mountain, and we usually set traps there."

Xu Ning asked, "Didn't you say there were wild boars, roe deer, and deer? Where are they?"

“Oh dear, that’s a long way. We have to walk six or seven miles down the mountain to find a few pig tracks. I saw a trail yesterday, but it’s been quite a while. It’s too late to catch up now.”

Sun Weimin said, "Let's take a short walk into the mountains, and look around as we go. Just treat it as a leisurely stroll."

Old Kuai nodded: "Then let's head up the mountain."

This mountain should be called Old Bald Top, because the slope they climbed only had a few scattered trees, and as far as the eye could see, it was all covered in white snow.

Fortunately, people often walk on it and have already trodden out a path, so going up the mountain is not difficult.

Even this little bit of activity made Sun Weimin pant heavily. Xu Ning heard him panting but didn't stop, continuing to walk up the mountain on her own.

Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu, and Guan Lei exchanged glances. They could guess what Xu Ning was thinking: he simply wanted to discourage Sun Weimin and make him back down.

However, Sun Weimin was very stubborn and walked silently to the top of the mountain without saying a word about turning back.

Old Kuai and Xu Ning walked ahead. The two stood on the mountaintop. Old Kuai pointed down the mountain and said, "See that slope over there? That's where the traps are set. There are pheasants and jumping cats there."

Xu Ning pointed to the distant mountain peaks and asked, "What's that mountain called?"

"Erxian Mountain."

"Was there an old immortal among them?"

“I’m not too sure either. Anyway, that’s what it’s called since I can remember. When my dad was alive, he said that Erxian Mountain was evil and that we shouldn’t go there. I was young then and didn’t listen to him at all. After going to Erxian Mountain, I came back with a high fever.”

"That's really weird... Can we go now?"

"Almost no one goes there, but quite a few deer and roe deer go to Erxian Mountain. I don't know if they're alive or dead."

Sun Weimin, panting heavily, came up behind the two and said, "Er Ning, what do you think? Is the mountain around here alright?"

"That's good, Uncle Min, why don't you take a rest?"

"No need to rest, this is just the beginning. Old Kuai, just say so if you're hungry, I have some steamed rice cakes in my pocket."

Old Kuai laughed and waved his hand: "I just finished eating at home, why are you still carrying things? Hurry up and give them to me, throw them in my basket..."

Sun Weimin laughed and said, "Then I'll trouble you."

"Oh, what's the trouble? It's just that my mother has been a little confused these days, otherwise I would definitely be working at the mine."

Xu Ning asked in surprise, "You work in the mine too?"

"Yeah, Brother Min treats me well, my salary has never been bad..."

"Of course, you work for me, how could I treat you badly? Shall we keep going? We've only walked a few steps."

"Okay, let's go down the mountain and take a look at the old forest."

The scenery at Laopingding is quite nice. Looking up, you can see layers upon layers of mountains covered in snow, with forests of trees standing among them.

The path down the mountain was compacted by footsteps, so Xu Ning and the others didn't walk on the path itself, but instead stepped on the snow crust by the roadside. Why? Because the snow, once compacted, turned into ice, and since they were going downhill, it was easy for people to slip.

Xu Ning told Wang Hu and Guan Lei to keep an eye on Sun Weimin, lest something happen to him as soon as he got up the mountain, that would be a real mess.

After finally reaching the bottom of the mountain, they had to climb a slope again. Sun Weimin was panting heavily and covered in sweat, but he still didn't make any move to turn back.

"Second Brother, there's evidence here!" Wang Hu exclaimed in surprise.

Sun Weimin hurriedly turned his head and asked, "Where is he?"

As soon as Xu Ning turned around, Wang Hu said, "Jumping Cat Tracks."

"Damn, are you kidding me?" Sun Weimin was speechless. He thought he had spotted the livestock as soon as he entered the mountains, and couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Xu Ning laughed and said, "This area is full of traps, so it's normal to see cats jumping around. Let's walk one more turn."

Old Kuai nodded and said, "The area ahead is called Big Willow Tree. There are mushrooms and wild vegetables on this mountain in spring and autumn."

"Let's go straight for the trail, bro. You're experienced, so we'll go wherever we see a trail."

"That's quite a distance. It's about 10 miles into the mountains from here. It's not like spring or autumn now, when the livestock are active on the edge of the mountains. Once winter comes, they all run into the mountains."

"I know, let's keep moving forward."

At this moment, Sun Weimin said, "That Er Ning, why don't we just call it quits for today?"

Xu Ning turned around, stunned, and said, "Uncle Min, we haven't found any trace of them yet. By the time we find them, we'll have to herd the livestock..."

Forget it.

Sun Weimin waved his hand and continued, "My physique is getting worse every year. Last year I could walk quite far, but this year I can't breathe as soon as I enter the mountains. How about this, next autumn when I go back to Sandaohe, you come to Sandaohe then, and we'll go into the mountains together again."

Xu Ning smiled wryly and said, "Uncle Min, shall we go back today?"

"Let's go back, I really can't take it anymore. This guy is so tired, my ankles are about to break."

Xu Ning nodded and said, "Then let's head back. It's a little past 1 p.m. now, and we'll get home around 4 p.m."

Sun Weimin turned around and said, "I'm sorry, Qiangzi..."

"Oh, Uncle Min, don't say that. We'll just consider it as going into the mountains with you to exercise."

Xu Ning chimed in, "Uncle Min, I'm not kidding you. You are indeed quite plump, but you need to control it, otherwise you won't even be able to catch any small animals."

"Yeah, I'll control my mouth from now on!"

While they were chatting, Lao Kuai didn't interrupt. After Xu Ning fell behind by two steps, Lao Kuai whispered, "I've been into the mountains with him and Lao Li several times. We used to turn back halfway up Laopingding. Today, we've gone quite far with you guys."

"Haha, I knew he couldn't go far, brother. Have you seen that big nose in these mountains?"

Old Kuai turned to look at him and nodded: "I did see it. It was less than fifty meters away from me. I was halfway up the mountain, and it was walking in the ditch..."

Xu Ning was a little excited and hurriedly asked, "When did this happen? Where did you see it?"

"It was only a matter of ten days or so. It was around 2 p.m. when we set up shop in Eagle's Beak in the Northwest!"

"How far is it from here?"

"Oh dear, it must be almost thirty li away."

Xu Ning's mood immediately sank. It was about 30 li away from here, which is 15 kilometers. In addition, it happened more than 10 days ago. By now, this elk should have gone far away.

But Xu Ning had high hopes, so he asked a question that showed a lack of experience and common sense, "Brother, do you think it's still on the eagle's beak?"

Old Kuai shook his head: "He's definitely gone. That guy would wander around whenever he had nothing to do, sometimes covering dozens of miles a day..."

(End of this chapter)