Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 745 The Twins' Real and Nicknames - Killing the Underground Warehouse
On Laba Festival, the Xu family invited families with whom they had good relations, and nearly 40 people gathered together. The atmosphere was naturally lively and extraordinary, but it also kept Liu Lizhen and others very busy. Although Chang Juan, Chang Lihong, Zhang Guifang and others came to help, they still had to prepare 10 dishes. Fortunately, they slaughtered a roe deer, which could be used for two dishes, otherwise Liu Lizhen would not have been able to think of any new dishes.

After the men had prepared the roe deer, Wang Hu and Guan Lei chopped it into pieces and threw it into a large pot to stew. Xu Ning, on the other hand, wandered around the rooms and chatted with everyone.

There were many reasons why the Xu family didn't have so many friends in the past. For example, the Xu family didn't have much food, so they couldn't afford to entertain so many people. But now they can afford it. And these people are all relatives and friends who have helped the Xu family a lot.

At noon, Xu Laonian, Meng Quezi, Chang Danian, Yu Kaihe and others sat at one table, drinking until they were completely drunk. Xu Ning sat at another table with Li Feng, Da Laba, Li Fuqiang and others, drinking and talking about their visions for the future. After hearing his ideas, everyone said that wherever he pointed, that would be their battlefield.

Xu Ning was not old, but he was a leader in this group because he was convincing in his conversations and work, and he had never harmed anyone.

The drinking session lasted until evening, culminating in dinner. Only then did everyone sit down to drink tea and chat idly.

"Brother, I heard yesterday that there's a dugout near Laoniugou. Shall we go kill some dugouts tomorrow?"

Xu Ning's eyes lit up: "Earth warehouse? Is it reliable?"

"It's not very accurate. This information came from an older brother in Yongfeng. His eyesight isn't very good, so he might have misread it. But I think we should take a look whether it's accurate or not. What if there really are black bears? We could make some money that way."

Xu Ning nodded: "Okay! We'll go tomorrow. After we finish fighting, we should go to Wangxing."

"Hey, if you're going to Wangxing, could you bring something to my older brother's house? Nothing expensive, just two pieces of meat and two pieces of clothing. I was thinking of going at the end of the year, but I've been so busy that I can't make it."

Da Laba has relatives in Wangxing, namely Huang Deli from Xingguantun, whose elder brother is Huang Guofu.

Xu Ning nodded, and Li Fuqiang said with a smile, "Brother, you're quite particular. You even remembered to get your uncle a couple of new outfits."

The loudspeaker laughed and said, "His family helped me out before, and now that I'm a bit better off, I should repay them."

At this moment, Meng Ziyan came over and waved. Xu Ning got up and walked over, asking, "What's wrong?"

"My dad is calling you..."

Xu Ning walked up to his father-in-law, sat down, and took a sip of tea. Meng the Cripple said bluntly, "Yan is less than three months pregnant. Don't let her go with you to Wangxing and cause trouble. What if something happens to her?"

Xu Ning paused for a moment after hearing this, then looked up and said, "Dad, we're not that far from Wangxing. She's been cooped up at home for quite a while. I'll take her out for a walk to help her relax."

"The snow is falling so heavily..."

Liu Fenfang said, "Ever since my daughter got pregnant, you've been worrying about nothing all day long. Is this something you should be concerned about?"

Liu Lizhen interjected, saying, "Originally, I didn't want our daughter to leave either, but I think she seems depressed staying at home. It's good for her to go out for a walk."

"That's right, she goes to the city for checkups every few days. Isn't the city much farther than Wangxing? Look at how much you worry about her, it's really annoying."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Haha, Mom, stop talking about Dad. He was just doing it for the sake of cigarettes."

Meng the Cripple lowered his eyes and sighed softly, "I'm not worried, but she's carrying two children."

"Alright, I'll make the decision. It was originally a trivial matter, but I don't know what you were thinking, treating it like a major issue and stopping me all this time."

"Alright, alright, if you two have nothing to do at home, make more baby clothes and toys. You'll love them after the baby is born, won't you?"

Upon hearing this, Meng the Cripple laughed and said, "Hmm, that's something to be proud of... Er Ning, have you decided on names for those two children yet?"

Xu Ning blinked, then quietly leaned close to his ear and said, "I've thought of two names, listen to them. For a boy, it's Xu Xiaoshuai, and for a girl, it's Xu Xiaomei. What do you think?"

Meng the Cripple rarely showed his displeasure, waving his hand and saying, "Stop talking nonsense! What kind of name is this? You're just making fun of me."

"Hahaha." Xu Ning laughed and said in front of everyone, "How about the boy's name is Xu Huaiyu and the girl's name is Xu Huaijin?"

Liu Lizhen exclaimed, "My goodness! This name sounds really nice. When did you come up with it?"

"I've been preparing for this for a long time. You know how much knowledge I have; I can speak eloquently without hesitation."

Meng the Cripple wasn't very educated, but he repeated the name twice, finding it more and more pleasant to hear. He looked up and smiled, saying, "I think it's good! Does the name 'Yan' sound good?"

Liu Fenfang scoffed and said, "They're a young couple, how could they not know?"

Meng Ziyan blushed slightly and said, "Yes, we've discussed it."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Mom and Dad, now that we have a formal name, we need Grandma and Grandpa to come up with a nickname. Could you two please help us choose one?"

Meng the Cripple was in a bit of a predicament. Neither he nor Liu Fenfang were particularly literate, and coming up with a nickname out of the blue was more tiring than doing carpentry work.

"Forget it, let my older brother and sister-in-law get up instead."

Liu Lizhen said, "You two can come up with the names. The nicknames were all chosen by Grandma and Grandpa."

Meng the Cripple pondered for a while, muttering to himself. Liu Fenfang then said, "We don't ask for anything else, we just hope the two children can be safe and sound, and that our whole family can be reunited..."

"Pingping and An'an? Oh my god, these names are such a mouthful."

Liu Fenfang glanced at Meng the Cripple and said irritably, "Call them Tuantuan and Yuanyuan! What do you know?"

"Ah, this name is good, sister-in-law, what do you think?"

"Sure, I think it's great."

Meng the Cripple turned around and called over Xu Laonian: "Brother, brother! Come here, something's up."

After Xu Laonian came over, he told him the child's formal name and nickname. Xu Laonian frowned and said, "Such an important matter as naming the child, how come I'm always the last to know?"

"Oh, you're actually finding fault with me. Well, when I asked you to name it, you couldn't come up with anything either. So just tell me if it's okay or not."

"I didn't say anything. The names are alright, Xu Huaiyu and Xu Huaijin have a bit of a scholarly feel to them, and Tuantuan Yuanyuan is also nice..."

Thus, the names of Meng Ziyan's twins were decided. These were names that Xu Ning racked his brains to come up with. All the names he had thought of before had been rejected, and in the end, he felt that these two were the best.

After everyone left, Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan crawled into bed and whispered to each other for half an hour before going to sleep.

Meng Ziyan is currently in good health and past the early stages of pregnancy, so she is able to have some loving care with Xu Ning. However, Xu Ning has to go up the mountain to hunt livestock tomorrow, and Meng Ziyan is holding back for his health. She has reached a care agreement with him, which is to deliver grain every few days, otherwise she will not do it. Besides, Aunt Qu told her that loving care is also beneficial to the baby's development.

The next day, morning.

Xu Ning got up, washed his face, and then left home with his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle and a cloth bag. After meeting Wang Hu and Guan Lei, he went straight to Li Fuqiang's house.

Big Horn had only just arrived and was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) smoking when Yang Shuhua brought out the food and said, "I've stir-fried some cabbage and some radish balls for you."

"Great, sister-in-law, get some more barbecue seasoning, and put it in a bag."

Yang Shuhua nodded and went out, while they ate heartily inside. After finishing their meal, they hurriedly packed their things and boarded the old Dongfeng truck parked outside.

They drove south and stopped at the northeast fork, then headed straight for the back garden and arrived at Laoniugou. It was already past 10 o'clock when they arrived. During their journey, they only caught a few animal tracks, all of which were fresh. Because of the heavy snowfall a couple of days ago, the snow in the mountains was now up to their calves, and there was a thick layer of snow underfoot.

"Brother, where is this 'earth warehouse' you're talking about in Laoniugou?"

The loudspeaker announced, "He said it was next to two crooked linden trees..."

"That's hard to find."

The loudspeaker shook his head: "It's not hard to find. I've been to that place before, so I have a rough idea of ​​where it is."

"Then you can lead the way, but watch your step."

"Alright, let's go one more turn southwest."

"If we can't find it in half an hour, then let's just keep cooking over a fire on the spot."

After Xu Ning finished speaking, he followed the loudspeaker and walked forward. After passing two clumps of weeds, he saw two small ponds. Li Fuqiang said, "There are small ponds here. They can't be hiding under the ice, can they?"

"No, it's too damp down here."

By winter, the water in the small ponds has long since dried up, the top is frozen into ice, and the bottom is hollow. There is a small chance that livestock might hide underneath.

Xu Ning emptied the Type 56 half-magazine magazine, pulled the bolt more than 10 times in a row, and said, "The springs in the gun are almost frozen. It seems colder today than yesterday."

"Yeah, it's dropped at least three degrees... Hey, bro, it looks like it's right up ahead, look at those two linden trees, that's it!"

Xu Ning glanced up and said, "Let's split into two groups and go through. Stone and I will go from the right, and the three of you will go from the left. Keep your steps light and slow. There is a difference between the earthen granary and the heavenly granary. The black bear with its sharp ears can hear us as we go through while it lies on the ground."

"Okay! Once we get there, we'll have to find out where the underground storage is, right?"

"We're not in a hurry, let's just keep going. We've loaded all the guns, so if anything happens, we can just fire."

"okay."

Xu Ning and Guan Lei slowly moved to the bottom of the hillside on the right, while Da Laba, Li Fuqiang, and Wang Hu went to the left. The five of them walked up the mountain in basically the same time, scanning their surroundings as they went, afraid of missing Di Cangzi.

At this point, they were much more composed when hunting livestock than before. They used to be a bit flustered, but now they were taking things one step at a time and cooperating very well.

After walking uphill for about five or six minutes, Wang Hu suddenly raised his hand and pointed to a spot ten meters to his left. Da Ba and Li Fuqiang glanced over and their pupils immediately contracted. Xu Ning also noticed the three men's expressions and movements. He raised his hand and waved it down, signaling the three men to take two steps back.

Because the granary was already parallel to the three people, the entire granary entrance could not be seen from this angle; they had to step back a few steps to see the entrance.

Xu Ning and Guan Lei moved slowly, and after walking six or seven meters, they finally spotted the entrance to the granary. The granary was angled to the southwest, and the entrance was covered by heavy snow. They could only see two air vents about the size of fists. Fortunately, Wang Hu had good eyesight, otherwise they would have missed it.

Xu Ning frowned as he walked to the entrance of the warehouse, bent down and peered inside. It was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

The loudspeaker said softly, "You can't run away now, can you?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "When did that guy from Yongfeng take a liking to this underground warehouse?"

"Just before the heavy snow, he said if we could catch some bear meat, we'd give him some..."

Li Fuqiang asked, "Brother, is it inside?"

“It should be placed inside, but this storage room is a bit deep. It’s not a hole dug by livestock, but a crevice in the rocks.”

The loudspeaker announced, "Stone Warehouse? This is going to be difficult. If it burrows down five or six meters, no matter how much we call for it to come out, it won't be able to."

"Can't come out? I don't believe in that nonsense."

Li Fuqiang turned around and rummaged through the cloth bag, taking out two firecrackers. His eyes gleamed as he said, "Brother, let's blast them out!"

“Blowing it up will cause it to react to stress. Let’s do it the old way and call the warehouse first. Hu Zi used a shovel to clear the snow around the warehouse entrance. I’ll go check out the surrounding environment.”

"Okay!"

Wang Hu took off the cloth bag and took out a small shovel from it. This thing was probably used to remove ashes from the furnace. Later, Wang Hu made a handle out of ash wood and straightened the shovel. It could be used to clear small areas of snow, or to scrape red charcoal and serve as a support for roasting meat.

Xu Ning wandered around the area and found a bare tree to the southeast. He brushed the snow away and saw the dry bark, which meant that there were indeed black bears in the area, and that they had come this autumn.

When he returned to the front of the warehouse, Wang Hu had already cleared the snow from the warehouse entrance, while Da Laba and Guan Lei had cleared a space on both sides large enough for people to stand in.

"Brother, are you going to hit the tree with a stick or the rock?"

"Tap the rocks inside, or if that doesn't work, use firecrackers."

Li Fuqiang found a piece of wood as thick as an arm. He looked up at it and said, "You guys find a spot, I'll call the warehouse."

The loudspeaker announced, "I'll take the role of assistant gunner."

Xu Ning nodded: "Okay, brother, let's work together. Shi Tou and Hu Zi go down the mountain and stand under those two oak trees."

"Got it."

"Brothers, be careful."

Wang Hu said, "Second Brother, shall I knock it together with Brother Qiang?"

“No need for a group. When you hear any noise, Big Brother will run down the mountain. Then you can knock on the tree to make some noise, otherwise I’m afraid the bear will run around randomly.”

Immediately afterwards, Wang Hu and Guan Lei went down the mountain, Li Fuqiang stood at the entrance of the underground warehouse, Xu Ning stood on the left side of the underground warehouse with his gun pointed downwards, and Da Ban squatted on the right side of the underground warehouse with his gun pointed upwards.

"all!"

Li Fuqiang silently swung a wooden stick and struck the stone wall inside the cellar. The clanging sound was somewhat crisp, making Li Fuqiang's palms go numb.

He knocked more than 20 times, but there was no sound from inside the cellar. This puzzled Xu Ning. Based on his experience, there must be a black bear in the cellar, because he could hear its breathing even when he was squatting at the entrance.

"What should we do, bro? We're just knocking and there's no response."

The loudspeaker announced, "Qiangzi, let's switch, you can rest for a bit."

Li Fuqiang waved his hand: "No, this thing vibrates when you tap it twice. I don't want it to make your hands too sore to hold the gun. I'll do it."

Xu Ning turned around and glanced at the entrance of the warehouse, saying, "Brother, find a rock to smash it, and put on your glove."

"Row."

(End of this chapter)