Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 718 Why are you trying to reason with me by beating around the bush?
Xu Ning followed half a step behind Ma Liu, turned his head to look at his aged profile, and felt a pang of sadness. Ma Liu's first half of life could be described as glorious, but his second half was lonely and miserable. If it weren't for the fact that he and Ma Liu became close friends despite their age difference, Ma Liu would have surely died of old age in the underground cellar in Dongshan.

Now, Ma Liu has laid out all his assets and handed them over to Xu Ning, which feels a bit like handing over an inheritance. However, Ma Liu's steps are light. He no longer needs to overthink things. He just needs to live in the present. His current physical condition is quite good. He has walked this far with Xu Ning without getting red in the face or out of breath. As long as he doesn't get seriously ill, he can live for another 10 years or so.

Xu Ning outwardly accepted Ma Liu's gifts with great joy, not because he coveted their value—even though the five bear gallbladders were worth over ten thousand—but because he was deeply worried that Ma Liu might suddenly disappear one day.

Earlier, Ma Liu talked about ambition, and Xu Ning knew why he said that. In Ma Liu's eyes, Xu Ning was still a child. Xu Laonian was careless, and Liu Lizhen was a woman. Without the guidance of predecessors, how could successors overcome obstacles in the fastest way?

Ma Liu was afraid that after Xu Ning fought off the jackals, tigers, leopards, and bears, his family would become increasingly well-off and he would lose his ambition!

To be honest, Xu Ning did have a period where he couldn't muster any enthusiasm for anything, but when he encountered livestock in the mountains, he ran faster than the livestock.

Back at the camp, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu took the items from the two men and threw them into the car. Wang Hu wanted to ask what was going on, but Li Fuqiang gave him a disapproving look.

Xu Ning escorted Ma Liu into the shack, then said goodbye and left. After getting into the car, Wang Hu couldn't help but ask, "Second Brother, why did Grandpa Ma give you all his possessions?"

“He said there was no use in keeping it, so he took it out for me to buy clothes for the two children during the Chinese New Year.”

"My goodness, how come this old man is so generous? What will he spend his money on in the future?"

Xu Ning laughed and said, "I'll pay him. Besides, he's quite old, and he usually enjoys having a little drink and a couple of cigarettes..."

Li Fuqiang stepped on the gas and drove down the mountain, saying, "I think Grandpa Ma's back is straighter than before."

Wang Hu laughed and said, "How could it not be tough? Before, he just lived a simple life in Dongshan by himself. Now that my second brother is backing him up, who dares to show off to him?"

"That's for sure..."

The car swayed and bumped as it drove to Qing'an Village. Just as it was about to turn into the North Road, it ran into the three members of the Huang family.

It was Huang Xiaomei's father, Huang Liguo, and his two older brothers. The three of them were pulling two sleds, which carried three burlap sacks, two ice picks, a net, and other items.

Huang Liguo waved when he saw that it was Lao Xu's car. Li Fuqiang stopped the car, and Xu Ning pushed open the car door and jumped out.

"Just got back from Lengchang?" Huang Liguo asked.

"Oh, you guys went fishing?"

"I had nothing to do, so I dug up three bags of fish. You take one bag home; it's full of small, miscellaneous fish and some loaches. When you get home, pick out the ones you like and stew them with some tofu—it'll be delicious."

"Oh, okay, haven't you been out working lately?"

"What work are you doing? Everyone's just sitting at home doing nothing. Hasn't your uncle come down the mountain yet?"

"No, there's too much work to do at the farm. If he comes back at night, he has to go up the mountain again in the morning. If something happens, we can't do without someone. What do you think of my uncle? Then let him come down the mountain to have a drink with you when he has time."

"Okay! I noticed you weren't home the other day, there's something I need to talk to you about. It was last week, I think..."

Huang Dazhuang added: "Six days ago."

“That’s right. That day, the three of us went for a walk in the mountains. We thought we’d go deeper into the mountains. When we got to the bottom of the Woshan Aogou, east of Shetanggou, we saw a lot of tracks. It was a huge track. I think there were about 30 wild boars. They went towards Baishilazi.”

"More than 30 wild boars? They've joined a group, haven't they? Have they been looking for the big cat?"

"No, there were no wild boar tracks everywhere. We stayed in the mountains for one night and went home the next day. We didn't dare to go any deeper."

Huang Liguo's route was to Baishilazi. Perhaps he was going to pick up some big croaker, or maybe he was going to get something else. Otherwise, why would he wander into the deep mountains in the freezing cold?

Li Fuqiang offered cigarettes to the three members of the Huang family, and Xu Ning said, "It's too far away, otherwise we would definitely have to go into the mountains to cut them down."

"Yeah... We came back late that day and saw Old Tang's nephew arguing with the two sons of Old Zhao's family in Nantun. They probably saw us, so the three of them didn't fight. Otherwise, they definitely would have started a fight."

"Why?" Wang Hu asked curiously.

Huang Liguo laughed and said, "They caught two badgers in the mountains. Maybe they didn't share the money equally. Who knows? I didn't tell Lao Tang about this."

Xu Ning was puzzled. Why was Huang Liguo telling him this out of the blue? It had nothing to do with him.

Huang Er took a puff of his cigarette and said, "The main problem is that the two Zhao brothers said a few words to you. Just as we were about to go over, the two brothers ran away."

Li Fuqiang frowned: "What did they say about my brother? Did they insult my brother?"

Huang Liguo remained silent, while Huang Er said, "It's mainly because they're not convinced. We're all hunters who run in the mountains, so who can be convinced by whom? That's why they said a few words."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Go ahead and say it. I'm not some saint. As long as you don't say it to my face, it's fine."

"Ah, that's fine! I was worried you wouldn't be happy, so I didn't tell you directly. I only thought of mentioning it now that we're face to face."

Huang Liguo opened his mouth and smiled as he finished speaking, and Xu Ning then said, "Wait until my uncle comes down the mountain and I'll have him come find you."

"Okay, you guys take this bag of fish."

Xu Ning nodded: "Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Okay."

Everyone in the village knew that the Huang family was dishonest, but Xu Ning never expected that Huang Liguo would go to such lengths to report on him behind his back, implying that the two Zhao brothers were talking badly about him...

If Xu Ning hadn't known beforehand that the Huang and Zhao families had children, he might have gone to confront the two Zhao brothers.

Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu threw a sack of fish into the carriage, and then Xu Ning and Huang Liguo said goodbye and went home.

When Liu Lizhen saw the three of them enter the house carrying deer penis, bear bile and hide, as well as a sack of fish, she widened her eyes and said, "My goodness, where did you find all this?"

Xu Ning truthfully explained the origin of the items, and Liu Lizhen frowned and said, "Why didn't your uncle keep some for himself? He gave it all to you, and you just took it? How can you be so spineless?"

"Oh dear, he'll get angry if I don't take it, so I have to take it to avoid making him angry."

"Stop talking nonsense... Now that you've got it back, you'd better find a place to put it, and you'd better treat your grandpa well from now on!"

"I know, you don't need to tell me such a small thing."

Liu Lizhen rolled her eyes, pointed to a sack of fish and asked, "Old Huang didn't say what it was about?" After learning that Huang Liguo had given it to her, she tilted her head and asked, "Old Huang didn't say anything about it?"

"I told them, but I pretended not to notice and ignored them..."

After recounting the events that Huang Liguo and his two sons had mentioned in a roundabout way, Liu Lizhen laughed and said, "That's how Old Huang does things. Before, when his daughter Xiaomei had a high fever, your father borrowed a donkey cart from the production team to take her to the clinic, and Old Huang brought her 5 cents back."

Xu Ning waved his hand: "I know, otherwise why can't I get along with his family? Only my uncle is a bit silly."

"Get out of here. Your uncle is wise beyond his years. He'd rather suffer a loss himself than let Lao Huang suffer a loss. After all, Lao Huang is the one leading him to make money." Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu went to the north kitchen and found two large basins. They poured out all the small fish from the sack and then picked them out while squeezing their bellies.

Liu Lizhen pointed to the loach and said, "We should stew this in soy sauce tomorrow noon, then freeze it outside. We'll fry the small flatfish later."

Xu Ning asked, "How many dishes should we prepare for lunch tomorrow?"

“How about 10 dishes? Your Uncle Wu and his family don’t come here often, so how can we neglect them when they do? I was thinking of getting a sauerkraut hot pot too. There’s still some pork belly left from the one you bought in the city last time.”

"Then let's do it, put some bear meat in the sauerkraut."

Wang Shujuan walked over and said, "Mom, there are still two large salmon in the cellar. We'll have to prepare three tables of food tomorrow, won't we? Two won't be enough."

"Then chop it up twice, instead of putting the whole thing in the pot. We can serve it in three plates and eat it all the same."

Xu Ning sat on the sofa watching Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu squeeze the fish. Li Fuqiang turned his head and said, "Auntie, doesn't my uncle have to accompany us for drinks tomorrow noon?"

"We don't even need to tell him, he has to ask for leave himself. Hey! Old man, didn't you leave some tiger blood wine for your Uncle Wu and the others?"

"We'll keep it. How can we not keep it? There's still half a jar of tiger blood wine, about 20 jin. We'll give them some when they leave, and we won't drink it at home."

Liu Lizhen is a worrier; she has to think about everything, big or small, in the family, otherwise she won't feel at ease.

In the evening, after dinner, when Lao Jiang, Li Feng, and others came over for a visit, Xu Laonian invited them to come over for lunch the next day. However, Lao Jiang, Li Feng, and Da Laba all waved their hands and said they couldn't come because they had to deliver goods to the street the next day. Two restaurants had ordered 50 jin of venison.

Big Horn took a sip of tea and said, "Brother, do you know what happened between Old Tang's nephew and the two Zhao brothers from Nantun? Back then, Old Tang's nephew used a move called 'Eagle Catches Chicken,' and the two Zhao brothers felt a pain in their groins and were scratched."

"Holy crap, why? Didn't I hear they went hiking together a few days ago?"

"It all started when they went hiking together! I heard it from Tang Eryizi. He said they picked up two pheasants, but didn't give either to Tang Hao, and that's how they started fighting."

Li Fuqiang laughed and said, "We ran into Old Huang and his two sons on the way today. They said they also ran into Old Zhao and Tang Hao on the mountain a few days ago, and they almost got into a fight back then."

The loudspeaker clapped his hands and said, "Look at this! This is what happens when people don't trust each other. They can't keep all the treasure they find on the mountain to themselves. The Zhao brothers are really outrageous."

Wang Hu asked, "Didn't Tang Er go up and scratch the Zhao brothers?"

"Oh my, he can talk even more than I can. If he were here, he'd be the one getting beaten up."

"Hahaha……"

That night, after Meng Ziyan washed her feet and got into bed, Xu Ning hugged her cold little feet and massaged them. She wasn't showing yet and could move around freely, but eating was a little uncomfortable for her.

These days, Liu Lizhen has been making her some red date, yam, and lotus seed soup, and she has also eaten radishes for two meals to help her digestion. However, it is obvious that her face and body are fuller than before she got married. Lying in bed, Xu Ning said that she is about to have a second growth spurt, and in order for her to develop well, he can only use external force to help her.

"When I got home today, my mom had already made the baby blanket. Oh my, it's so thick! She's worried that her grandson's bones will hurt when he sleeps..."

"This shows that Mom treats her eldest grandson like a treasure. What kind of mattress did we sleep on when we were little? It was just a thin layer, stuffed with oak leaf scraps. When these two little rascals are born, I'm going to make them suffer a bit!"

"Oh dear, why are you so mean?"

Xu Ning grinned: "There are even worse tricks I haven't used yet, hehe."

"Shall we get together? I've been really thinking about it these past couple of days."

"That won't do. Go to sleep now, you have things to do tomorrow."

Meng Ziyan pouted and said, "No way! Why are you trying to train me? It's annoying!"

Xu Ning didn't dare to say a word. It wasn't that he was afraid, but he really couldn't mess things up. If he messed things up, he would be in big trouble.

The next day, Guan Lei did not go to Lengchang with Yang Jun, and he didn't even come over for breakfast. He and Sun Lianfang stayed on the kang (a heated brick bed) until 9 o'clock before finally arriving at Lao Xu's house.

Meng Ziyan chatted with Guan Hua and Sun Lianfang for a bit. Sun Lianfang blushed and shyly hid in the second room on the west side. Xu Ning and the others sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) playing cards until after 10 o'clock when they heard the sound of a car outside the Xu family's courtyard and got off the kang.

Yang Jun jumped out of the car, walked to the passenger seat, and helped Bao Zhu out of the car. Then he helped Sun Cuiping out of the car with one hand, while Wu Haitao helped Pan Xiao at the back of the car. Pan Yan and his two underlings didn't say anything when they saw this, after all, they had already tacitly agreed to it in private, and Wu Haitao had been calling Pan Yan "big brother" for quite a long time.

"Hey, Cuiping, girl, come in quickly!" Liu Lizhen greeted them warmly.

Pan Yan greeted Xu Laonian, Wang Erli and others, but when he saw Xu Ning, he called him Boss Xu.

Xu Laonian chuckled, "Why are you calling me Boss Xu? I was thinking of calling me by my nickname. You're older than him, so you can call me Erning or Brother. Come on in, this is our own home, no need for formalities."

Xu Ning nodded: "Go inside. Haitao will lead your brother-in-law inside. Your parents will have to wait a while before they arrive."

Wu Haitao turned his head and said with a smile, "Brother, my mom will be counting on you later."

"It's no use asking me about this; you need to talk to your sister-in-law."

Wu Haitao looked at Sun Lianfang with a grin: "Sister-in-law? Please, I'm begging you."

"Don't beg, your sister-in-law will take care of it for you!"

Upon entering the room, the group dispersed and sat on sofas, stools, and wooden stools, each holding a teacup in their hands. This teacup was bought by Xu Ning at the supply and marketing cooperative; it was entirely made of porcelain, about 8 millimeters thick, and of very good quality.

Pan Yan and his two younger brothers were a little reserved. Although it was their second time here, they still felt a sense of unapproachability. Wu Haitao joked around and made the Pan brothers and sisters feel very comfortable.

Because there were many people in the house, they split into two groups: one group, who were familiar with the Xu family, watched TV in the west room, while the other group chatted in the living room.

Liu Lizhen and the others were busy cooking in the north kitchen. The big pot made a sizzling sound from time to time, along with the popping of firewood. The temperature inside the room was getting higher and higher, so they took off their coats and hung them on the coat rack at the base of the wall.

Pan Yan's clothes were rather worn out, with a sweater and thermal underwear with torn collars and cuffs, but this was the best outfit the three Pan brothers could put on and serve as their public image. In addition, his hair was a bit long, making him look somewhat sloppy.

Xu Laonian suggested giving the three brothers a haircut, and Liu Lizhen found the clippers and comb, so they went to the plastic shed.

Pan Yan sat on the stool, feeling a little moved. Xu Laonian's behavior was just like that of a father. In the past, when the three brothers' hair grew long, it was always their father who cut it with scissors. Who would have thought that the Xu family would receive such treatment?

"Uncle Xu, your haircut is really good."

"That's alright? My little brat doesn't even want me to cut his hair... How old is your dad?"

"If I were still alive, I would be fifty-three this year."

"Oh, then it's perfectly fine for you to call me Uncle Xu."

(End of this chapter)