Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 728 Simple Hand Grenades: Listen to Little Xu's Orders!

It was late, around 5 o'clock.

The sky was dark, the moonlight was bright, the stars were shining, and thin clouds drifted by.

After the sun sets, the temperature drops by at least two or three degrees, but for Xu Laonian, who is about to go hunting livestock in the mountains, it feels like his whole body is on fire. He can't wait to rush into the mountains and swing a sledgehammer to chop pigs' heads. He drank half a cup of wine tonight, and his stomach was burning. He was so immersed in his own fantasy world that he couldn't pull himself out. Even when Xu Ning called him twice, he seemed to be deaf and didn't hear him.

Everyone at the table stared at him intently. Only after Wang Erli teased him a couple of times did he snap out of it, look up, and ask, "What's wrong? Why are you teasing me?"

Xu Ning turned his head and advised, "Dad, don't take the sledgehammer up the mountain. It's pitch black, and by the time you spot the pig, it'll be too late."

Upon hearing this, Xu Laonian frowned, somewhat displeased: "Why do you care so much? I can take whatever I want."

"I'm just worried about you getting into trouble."

"What could possibly happen? Stop muttering nonsense..."

Liu Lizhen put down her chopsticks and said, "My youngest son wasn't saying anything nice, was he? Otherwise, you shouldn't go. You'll only be a hindrance."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean you want me to be a burden? Back when we didn't have meat at home, wasn't it me who led Erli and Daming into the mountains to hunt livestock?"

"Hey, weren't you leading Erli? Wasn't Erli leading you?"

Xu Laonian snorted twice and turned his head away to indicate he was going on a hunger strike, his face contorted with rage as he declared, "I don't eat spicy food!"

"Eat it or don't, it's up to you..."

Xu Ning reacted quickly and said, "Dad, if you don't eat spicy food, then eat some pickled cabbage. This stuff isn't spicy at all, it'll just make you sour."

"Hahaha……"

"It has to be my brother, look at how well he's talking, haha..."

The group of people eating burst into laughter. Xu Laonian was a little embarrassed, but he still laughed and scolded, "Get lost, you're annoying..."

A lighthearted joke was enough to put the matter aside.

After everyone had put down their chopsticks, they decided to go back inside to pack their bags and equipment.

Xu Laonian suddenly dragged Liu Daming to the lower room, pointed to the sledgehammer standing against the wall, and gestured for Liu Daming to secretly take it to the car. Liu Daming was obviously in a bit of a dilemma, but he couldn't resist his brother-in-law's gaze, so he could only obediently comply.

As Xu Laonian watched his brother-in-law leave with a sledgehammer, a slight smile appeared on his lips. He hummed a tune from his throat, clearly in a very good mood.

Inside the house, Xu Ning, Wang Hu, Li Fuqiang, Guan Lei, and others were all ready to go. They pushed open the door and came out, followed by a group of old women.

Upon arriving at the courtyard gate, Liu Lizhen, still worried about Xu Laonian, deliberately nagged in his ear: "After we go into the mountains, you have to listen to my youngest son. Don't do anything reckless on your own, understand?"

Old Xu looked helpless and said, "Oh dear, how old am I? Why do you still treat me like a child? You know that!"

Seeing that he had agreed, Liu Lizhen felt less worried. She watched as everyone got into the car, and as the tarpaulin at the back was lowered, Xu Ning, who had already started the car, stepped on the gas and drove away.

At the forest farm, a number of people had already gathered in the canteen, including the three Li brothers, Lao Duan, the Chang brothers, Li Mazi, and others. They had all rushed home to change clothes and grab their things before hurrying back to the forest farm for a meal.

When Xu Ning arrived, Wang Hu counted the people; there were 34 in total, all from the 12 family villages in Qing'an. If all the people who ran the mountains and hunted livestock were called, the number would definitely be more than that. Most of those who came to the forest farm had some special skills: some were good marksmen, some were experienced, some were bold and meticulous, and some came simply because of the benefits offered by the forest farm…

The group wasn't dressed in bulky clothing; they had ropes slung over their shoulders, cloth bags on their backs, and carried sledgehammers or double-barreled hunting rifles in their hands, though some were empty-handed. Each person's expression was different: some were excited, some worried, some indifferent…

Upon seeing Xu Ning enter, people like Li Mazi, Lao Han, and the three Li brothers stood up to greet him and Xu Laonian. Others remained seated, as not everyone respected Xu Ning and there was no need for them to fawn over him.

At this moment, Zheng Yunlong, Guo Xingmin, and two deputy directors squeezed through the crowd to the center. Behind them followed Xiao Liu and two young men, who were carrying six sacks containing Type 56 semi-automatic rifles and military overcoats.

As soon as Zheng Yunlong raised his hand, the cafeteria fell silent.

All eyes were on him. He pursed his lips and said, "People from all 12 family villages in Qing'an have come. What does that mean? It means that Qing'an has united as one! When something happens, we'll really go for it. Good, very good!"

"As a representative of the forest farm, I hereby promise that as long as the matter is completed and done well, everyone who comes tonight will receive a bonus of 10 yuan!"

The people surrounding him grinned upon hearing this, their smiles genuine and heartfelt.

Zheng Yunlong raised his hand and continued, "This mission is a bit difficult because there are more than 100 wild boars over at Snail Shell. So with so many of us here, it's necessary to choose a leader. During the meeting this afternoon, someone suggested that Xu Ning be the leader. Xu Ning has fought jackals, tigers, leopards, and bears. You could say he's fought all the livestock in the mountains. He's very experienced in this kind of situation. What do you all think?"

Li Fuqiang clenched his fist and raised his hand: "What else is there to say? He has to be the leader!"

"Xu Pao is perfect for the role of leader, I'm convinced."

"Yeah, don't let his young age fool you..."

In a few words, everyone agreed that even if some people objected or disagreed, the minority had to obey the majority. Besides, these words came from the forest farm leaders, so the minority couldn't be so naive as to not have any sense of propriety. They had to give face to the forest farm.

Zheng Yunlong nodded upon hearing this and said, "Before we go hunting livestock, our forest farm will give everyone a coat to keep warm."

Xiao Liu and one of the young men took action. The two of them pulled out overcoats from the sack and stuffed them directly into the hands of the group. They couldn't help but grin as they held the overcoats, turning them over and over to check them, their fingers stroking the fabric.

Actually, these coats are no different from the ones they redeemed with points during the last fishing trip, so why are they so happy? The reason is that these coats are free; they were given to them before they even started working.

After all the coats were delivered, Zheng Yunlong asked, "Er Ning, because of the tight schedule, we only managed to collect 20 Type 56 semi-automatic rifles. What do you think is the best way to distribute these guns?"

Xu Ning tilted his head and whispered, "It would be best to have each village select two people with good marksmanship and give them Type 56 semi-automatic rifles to use."

Zheng Yunlong nodded, finding it quite reasonable. He then ordered the village to immediately select two men, give them 20 rounds of ammunition, and instructed them, "Now you've completely upgraded. Including the two Type 56 semi-automatic rifles Xu Ning and Xu Chunlin have, you have a total of 22 semi-automatic rifles and over 400 rounds of ammunition. You should be able to handle 200 wild boars, let alone 100..."

"Hey, I won't say anything unprofessional. Anyway, let me give you a couple more instructions. It's cold in the mountains now, so everyone must take care to keep warm and don't catch a cold! When hunting livestock, follow Xu Ning's instructions. Do exactly what he says. Don't underestimate him just because he's young. If anyone disobeys and gets into trouble in the mountains, the forest farm won't be responsible!"

This statement is suspected of supporting Xu Ning, but Zheng Yunlong had to say it because Xu Ning is good in every way, except that he is too young. If he were in the system, that would be fatal, and it would also be a drawback in large-scale events.

None of the people present objected. They weren't exactly familiar with Xu Ning, but they weren't strangers either. His stories were so legendary in the Qing'an area that they could fill a book. So, everyone was willing to give it a try. If they saw with their own eyes that Xu Ning was truly capable, then no one would find fault with him.

Wang Linhai shouted, "Isn't Xu Pao going to say a few words?"

Xu Ning laughed and said, "What am I saying? Since it's a task assigned by the forest farm, they're not only giving us money, but also clothes, guns, and bullets. So let's figure out how to hunt more livestock! Each village can form a group. I'll call it Taiping, so that's the Taiping Group..." "Those of us who run in the mountains know that the situation in the mountains is quite complicated, so let's wait until we get into the mountains before we decide how to fight."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Plans can't keep up with changes; no matter how well you plan, unexpected events can happen.

Then, Xu Ning and the others walked out of the cafeteria. Apart from the Xu family who had a car, no one else had one. However, one car could fit everyone, though it was a little crowded.

Zheng Yunlong, Guo Xingmin, and the two deputy directors saw them off at the rear of the car. Only after the car lights disappeared did they turn around and return to the rest room. Guo Xingmin and the two deputy directors did not plan to go home; they had to wait with Zheng Yunlong at the forest farm for everyone to return with a full load.

Xu Ning drove to 19 Lengchang and headed south from the back of 19 Lengchang. They deliberately avoided Xiazigou because the road conditions in Xiazigou were complicated and it was easy to twist an ankle if they went in in the dark.

It wasn't until 7:30, almost 8 o'clock, that the group arrived at the ridge on the north side of the snail shell. As soon as they stepped onto the top of the ridge, they could faintly hear the calls of wild boars. The grunting and squealing sounds rose and fell, getting closer and closer.

Xu Ning frowned and gazed into the distance, but all he could see was darkness. Only when the thin clouds drifted across the sky and the moonlight shone through could he vaguely make out some dark figures.

Immediately, the loudspeaker gasped, "Holy crap!"

Old Han said, "Judging from the situation, there are indeed more than 100 of them. They are not moving forward very fast, as if they are looking for a place to roost."

Xu Ning's gaze swept across the area. The herd of pigs stretched for a hundred meters and was fifty or sixty meters wide. They varied in size and all had their heads down as they walked, turning over the snow. Some of the pigs even had bloodstains on their lips and chins...

"Chief Xu, how should we fight? Judging from the situation, if we fire a shot, there will definitely be chaos."

Xu Ning replied, "Let's play it safe. Shengfeng, Beitun, and Nantun go to the left side of the hill, Taiping, Taihe, Tai'an, and Yongping go to the right side. The rest of you stay where you are and wait for me to fire. If the pigs run away, we'll chase them for a while, but not more than three miles. At most, we'll chase them to the southernmost part of the snail's shell."

"to make!"

"This job is easy, you can go home right after you're done?"

"Earning 10 yuan for firing two shots, that's great!"

"..."

Everyone was quite satisfied with this, firstly because the guns and bullets weren't theirs, and secondly because after scattering the pigs, they could go back into the mountains the next day and hunt a few more wild boars, which would also be theirs.

Old Xu frowned and said, "Is chasing them away all you want? What if they regroup? If you ask me, we should just kill them all."

"Brother, it's really hard to fight in the dark. If our formation gets messed up, bullets don't have eyes. If someone gets hurt, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"

Liu Daming nodded: "Let's break them up first, and then go up the mountain to chase them tomorrow. It's not hard to get meat if we want it, is it?"

"No problem..."

Xu Ning raised his hand and said, "Let's do it the way I just said. What do you all think?"

"Alright! Let's do it this way. I'll come back again tomorrow. What, why don't we beat up two pigs?"

"Absolutely right, Xu Pao's arrangement is spot on."

Why are people so willing to obey? Mainly because there are benefits involved, for the same two reasons mentioned above: the pigs we hunt tonight belong to the forest farm, but the pigs we hunt tomorrow belong to us!
Xu Ning didn't want to cause any more trouble. Since Zheng Yunlong wanted to play it safe, there was no need for him to take any risks, especially since his wife was pregnant with twins.

Xu Laonian glanced at Liu Daming and whispered, "I'll fire first, and when we're about to chase the pigs, you give me the sledgehammer."

"Okay, brother-in-law, you'd better be careful. This is a herd of wild boars, not just two or three..."

"I know, do you need to tell me?"

After saying that, Xu Ning waved for everyone to find their own places.

This method of hunting livestock is quite simple, much like a sniping operation. You just need to find a high place to stand, aim your gun down at the livestock, and fire. When the livestock hear a noise ahead, they will inevitably run away.

Just as Xu Ning and the others found a good spot to squat down, three people behind the pigs were already getting restless. The three of them were Lao Zhao, Zhao Guofeng, and Zhao Guoqing.

Old Zhao and his two sons had already gone into the mountains. They found the group of wild boars half an hour earlier. Old Zhao led his two sons directly to the side of the boar herd, and only after the herd had moved forward a hundred meters did the three of them follow behind.

Zhao Guoqing had four bottles hanging on his body, filled with gunpowder, sawdust, sugar, and iron nails.

"Dad, we're almost out of the snail's shell. Are Xu Er and the others coming or not? If not, let's just go for it."

"What are you doing? What are you here for? Stop talking nonsense, don't you have a brain?"

Zhao Guoqing scoffed and said, "Why are you scolding me? Just talk to me properly."

Old Zhao said earnestly, "I'm telling you this so nicely, but you don't take it to heart. I've told you eight hundred times: you have to focus on what you're doing. You can't just do things haphazardly. What will that make you? You won't get anything done."

Zhao Guofeng said, "Dad, what should we do later?"

"What else can we do? I think your brain isn't even as big as Guoqing's. What's that grenade hanging around your neck for? When the gun goes off up ahead, the three of us will just throw it into the pigs and then climb up a tree, understand?"

"understand……"

Old Zhao instructed, "Before you throw the grenade, you two need to check the trees next to you to see if you can climb them. Don't wait until the pigs rush over and you two are still standing there like idiots!"

"Okay, I got it."

At this moment, Xu Ning and the others focused intently on the front. When the herd of pigs was only 40 meters away from them, Xu Ning's finger was on the trigger. He then pointed the gun at one of the large pigs in front of him and pulled the trigger.

Bang bang!

The bullet shot out from the muzzle, like a fiery serpent in the darkness, and pierced straight into the head of the man who had been scrambling for eggs.

When the large egg-scraping pig fell to the ground, the pig herd immediately fell into chaos. Just as they were about to turn around and run away, a group of people holding Type 56 semi-automatic rifles fired their guns in unison.

Thud! Thud! Thud thud...

Gunshots rang out continuously and deafeningly, and screams of agony filled the air as the pigs turned their heads and fled backward or to the sides.

(End of this chapter)