Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 769 Ma Liu is sick! Buying bear meat as a gift?

On the fifth day, after Sun Liansheng and Sun Lianxu left, Xu Ning led Chai Bing, Chai Baotong, Wu Haitao, and others to Nanshan again. However, their luck was a bit bad this day; under Qinglang's guidance, they only managed to hunt one wild boar. But on the way home, they got playful and broke through the ice and rocks in Xiaoshi River to catch some toads and crayfish. Since they didn't bring a net or a net bag, they could only watch as the small fish swam quickly upstream...

The dogs ran around the mountains for two days, their legs trembling slightly from exhaustion. Xu Ning then let them rest at home for a day. From the seventh to the ninth day of the lunar new year, they went up the mountain again for several days. The harvest during these days was considerable. They not only caught a roe deer, but also captured a lame deer that had fallen behind. The deer's hind leg was probably locked in a trap, and it injured its ankle while struggling. Although the deer escaped, the injury on its leg had not fully healed.

Once home, they skinned and butchered the game, and everyone enjoyed a delicious wild game feast. Yang Shuhua used plenty of seasonings, so the gamey smell wasn't very noticeable.

It wasn't until the tenth day of the first lunar month that Chai Bing, Sun Lianjun, and the others left. Even after they left, things didn't quiet down at Old Xu's house. People kept coming to visit. Anyone who knew Old Xu's family would take the time to come over for a chat. After all, it was still the first month of the lunar calendar, not yet the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, so the New Year wasn't over yet. It was always polite to come over whenever you wanted.

Yang Yusheng and Xu Long returned to work in the city on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Although they didn't get to eat roe deer or venison, Liu Lizhen was very thoughtful. She saved some good meat for them and stored it in a large vat in the lower room to freeze, intending to have Xu Ning deliver it to them when he had time.

In fact, Xu Ning also wanted to go to the city as soon as possible before the Lantern Festival, because he needed to make preparations for the future. He had to do a good job in social interactions. As a person of his status, the only thing he could offer was livestock meat. He originally thought that he would take advantage of the New Year holidays to run around the mountains more, preferably to get a whole black bear. Bear meat is much more precious than roe deer or venison.

Unfortunately, he hadn't encountered a black bear yet, so a few days ago he told the loudspeaker to have him and Li Feng search all over Qing'an. If anyone caught a black bear, they should let him know. He was willing to pay some money, and he figured they could just catch a few more black bears and come back.

Around nine o'clock that morning, Xu Ning was shoveling dog poop when Guan Lei suddenly returned in Yang Jun's car.

He jumped out of the car in a hurry, and before he even entered the house, he called out, "Brother! Brother!"

"Why are you back?"

Guan Lei, Liu Daming, Ma Liu, Zhao Shengmin and others returned to Lengchang a few days ago. Although they don't usually have much work to do, they can guard Lengchang to prevent things from being stolen.

"I, Uncle Ma, am sick!"

"...Come on! What's wrong? Are you conscious now? Can you speak?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning immediately threw down the shovel and rushed towards the door, asking questions as he went.

“He could talk. He just suddenly fainted. My uncle and I carried him into the house and laid him on the kang (a heated brick bed). He woke up not long after. I don’t know what happened, so I drove down the mountain to find you.”

"Let's go up the mountain first and then talk about it."

At this moment, Meng Ziyan came out of the plastic shed and asked, "What happened?"

Xu Ning turned around and said, "Tell Mom I'm going to the farm... Wait a minute, I'll go back to my room first."

He felt something was amiss. If Ma Liu became seriously ill, he would definitely need to go to the health center, and he couldn't do that without money in his pocket.

He walked over to Meng Ziyan and said, "Go get 200 yuan. Never mind, I'll go myself."

"What exactly happened?"

“It’s nothing serious. Grandpa Ma has a slight fever. I’m thinking of taking him to the local clinic.”

"Ah, there's money in the inner pocket of the leather jacket that your third sister-in-law bought for you in the west room. Just put it on and go."

Upon hearing the news, Liu Lizhen asked, "When did you get sick?"

"This morning, I don't know the specifics."

Xu Ning ran to the west room and took out a leather jacket from the cabinet. He didn't wear the leather jacket, but took out a wad of money from it. There were more than ten large ten-yuan bills, as well as five-yuan and two-yuan bills. He didn't count them and put them into the inner pocket of his cotton-padded jacket. He turned to Meng Ziyan and said, "Later, have Xu Feng go find Pan Xiao and have him burn the kang in the side room."

"I know, slow down, don't rush."

Liu Lizhen and the others also gave a few words of advice. After Xu Ning ran to the gate of the courtyard, he got directly into the car.

Guan Lei stepped on the gas and sped off across the small bridge like a lightning bolt, heading straight for Lengchang.

Upon arriving at Lengchang, Xu Ning hurried into the small shack and saw Lao Yang, Yang Jun, and Liu Daming, while Ma Liu leaned against his bedding roll, taking a couple of puffs of a cigarette.

"I told you not to let Leizi come down the mountain to find you, it's not a big deal!"

Old Yang said unhappily, "You've fainted, who else can we talk to if not Erning? Erning, tell me about your grandpa, he almost stuck his head into a pile of wood just now. Luckily there was a pile of snow nearby, otherwise his head would have been cracked open!"

Xu Ning frowned and said, "Sir, just tell me where you feel unwell."

"Oh dear, it's really nothing serious. You're so quick to believe anything you hear. Do you think I don't know my own body?"

"Then stop dawdling and hurry up and pack your things to go to the local clinic for a checkup. It's not enough for you to say you're fine, and it's not enough for me to say I'm fine either. The doctor has to say you're fine! Hurry up..."

Yang Jun also advised, "Uncle Ma, why don't you go to the health center with Er Ning for a check-up? You really scared us just now."

Ma Liu waved his hand: "Oh, I'm really fine..."

Seeing that he was stubborn and unyielding, Xu Ning glared at him and said, "Hurry up! No matter what I say to you, you don't take it to heart. If you keep acting like this, you can't stay here anymore. The kang in the old house down the mountain is already heated up. You should go back to the village to live."

Ma Liu was also unhappy when he heard about going back to the village. He stood up and said, "What? I'm quite comfortable here. I'm not going back to the village. Are you trying to kick me out?"

“I’m not trying to chase you away. You’re already this old, who will take care of you up on the mountain? If you come down the mountain and back to the village, I can help you if needed.”

Ma Liu's expression softened, and he said, "You... then just talk properly, why are you yelling at me like that?"

"I'm trying to reason with you, but you won't listen. Hurry up, it'll be noon soon."

Liu Daming said, "Let's go to the local health center with Erning. Whether there's something wrong or not, it'll be better to have a professional check-up so we can have a clear idea of ​​what's going on."

"You're absolutely right, Lao Ma. If you ask me, you're just taking your blessings for granted..."

"What's it to you? Wait for me to come back and then we'll go to Huolazi Mountain again."

Xu Ning was taken aback: "When did you go to Huolazi Mountain?"

Old Yang said, "I went there yesterday afternoon and didn't come back until midnight. It's because you wanted to send a gift to the black bear, so your uncle thought of going to find Cangzi."

Xu Ning felt a warmth in his heart, but forced a smile and said, "Why are you worrying about my affairs? What if something happens to you?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get out of here!"

Xu Ning found the two old men quite interesting and said, "Uncle Yang, why don't you go and get checked out too? It's good for someone your age to get checked out, Brother Jun..."

"Okay! I'll drive the four of us."

"No need, I'll take them there. You go ahead and do what you need to do. If you don't have anything else to do, go back to the village tonight and stay there. You can wait at home tonight."

Yang Jun nodded, and Guan Lei said, "Brother, I'll go down the mountain with you. Tell me to get the car when we get home, and also tell my aunt." "Let's go."

Immediately afterwards, Xu Ning and the other three drove down the mountain, dropped Guan Lei off at the east entrance of Qing'an Village, and drove straight ahead, arriving at the local health center a minute and a half later.

Although it was the first month of the lunar calendar, there were still doctors on duty at the health center. Zhou He, whom Xu Ning knew, was not on duty, but his apprentice and Lao Deng's apprentice in the orthopedics department were.

After exchanging a few words with him, Xu Ning led Ma Liu and Lao Yang to the internal medicine department for examination. The doctor on duty drew blood, measured their blood pressure, and took their pulses.

The doctor said, "This Mr. Yang is fine, he's in good health. Let's take another look after the blood tests. This gentleman also doesn't have any major health problems, mainly low blood pressure. His fainting this morning was caused by low blood pressure. Does he smoke and drink regularly? Did he do some strenuous work a couple of days before he fainted?"

"Yeah, he went hiking in the mountains and didn't come back until midnight."

Ma Liu remained silent with a stern face. After listening to Xu Ning's words, the doctor shook his head: "You can't do it this way, brother. You're not young anymore. How can you let the child worry about you?"

"Yes, I didn't think it through. So, do you think low blood pressure can be cured?"

The doctor laughed and said, "Brother! This illness doesn't need treatment. As long as you listen to me, you won't even need to take any medicine..."

This was clearly meant to comfort people, as some elderly people are afraid of causing trouble for their children. So when Ma Liu heard that he didn't need treatment, his face regained its color and his smile returned.

"This isn't a serious illness, but you need to pay attention to some lifestyle habits. For example, you need to control your smoking and drinking, and you also need to be careful about your diet. Eat less potatoes, sweet potatoes, and tofu, and it's best not to go for walks in the mountains or overexert yourself. Otherwise, the illness will get worse. Brother, I'm not trying to scare you. You're fine now, but if you don't listen to me, something bad could easily happen."

"Ah, I understand, I understand, it means smoking and drinking less, I know."

Xu Ning said, "It's not about smoking and drinking less, it's about not overworking yourself. Just stay here in Lengchang and don't go for walks in the mountains. If you don't listen, you'll stay in the village."

Ma Liu glanced at Xu Ning and curled his lip. Old Yang laughed and said, "Old Ma, just listen to Er Ning. Would he harm you?"

The doctor smiled and said, "That's right. Xu Pao is quite a big shot in Qing'an. Brother, just listen to Xu Pao."

"Wow, this kid's reputation's pretty strong in Qing'an?"

"It's quite solid; it's been in the newspapers twice. Anyone who can read has heard of it."

Xu Ning grinned and said, "I told you we should keep a low profile. There's no benefit to becoming famous at a young age. Look at Uncle Liu praising me a couple of times, and I'm practically looking up at the sky."

"Hahaha……"

After chatting with the doctor for about twenty minutes in the examination room and learning that Ma Liu didn't have any major problems, Xu Ning said goodbye and took his leave.

However, they cannot go straight home because the blood test process is not yet complete. Even if they know someone to cut in line, it will still take three or four hours to get the results.

Xu Ning then led Ma Liu and Lao Yang to the Grand Hotel. At that time, the head chef of the Grand Hotel had already resigned, and the current head chef was Yang Liguo's second apprentice.

Before they even got out of the car, Ma Liu and Lao Yang shook their heads, saying they absolutely refused to eat at a fancy restaurant.

"Just buy two big flatbreads to tide you over, why waste money?"

"Since we're already here, why not go in and have a bite? It won't cost much."

Ma Liu waved his hand: "Go ahead and eat if you want, but neither of us are going."

Xu Ning couldn't persuade the two old men, so he had no choice but to turn the car around and find a small restaurant on the street.

"How about we go to a small restaurant and order a couple of dishes? It won't cost much for the three of us."

Ma Liu and Lao Yang exchanged a glance and nodded: "That makes more sense. Let me tell you, no matter how much money you make, you have to save where you can. It's not that we don't want to go to fancy restaurants, it's just that we feel it's unnecessary. The money you save can be used to flatter the lower-level leaders. What's the use of flattering us two old men?"

Xu Ning frowned and turned his face away: "Uncle, I don't like hearing that. Taking you two to a fancy restaurant is also a way of showing respect. I'm not a profit-driven person."

"Oh, I know, I'm just telling you what money you should spend and what money you shouldn't spend."

"I'd be happy to spend as much money as I could on you two, but don't ever say that again."

Ma Liu glanced at Lao Yang, pointed at Xu Ning with his finger, and laughed, "Look at him, giving me attitude again. He may be a petty person, but he's got a big temper."

"Haha, capable people are always hot-tempered."

Xu Ning ordered two dishes at the restaurant. He didn't buy them any alcohol, but just ate the food to fill their stomachs.

Ma Liu put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and said, "Do you know why Lao Yang and I didn't get back to Lengchang until so late yesterday?"

“Didn’t you go to Huolazi Mountain? Even at my pace, it would take me six or seven minutes to walk back and forth, let alone the two of you.”

Ma Liu waved his hand: "Stop talking nonsense! I'll just tell you directly. We saw a line of bear tracks at the foot of the mountain at the west end of Huolazi Mountain, which is near the Xima Road. We followed the bear tracks all the way to Huolazi Mountain, but it was already dark by then. We decided to go back to Lengchang instead of spending the night in the mountains."

Old Yang added, "The main problem was that we didn't bring any bedding, and we'd run out of food. Otherwise, we definitely would have been able to track down this bear!"

Xu Ning's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he asked, "When were those bear tracks made? Judging from the footprints, was the bear large?"

“We don’t have your eyesight, so we can’t tell how big they are. They’re definitely two sizes bigger than my palm. We followed them all the way to the end, and we found them in a red pine forest on the south side of Huolazi Mountain. I tied some strips of cloth to the trees. If you want to go for a stroll, you’ll see them when you get there.”

Xu Ning clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Alright! I'll go take a look tomorrow."

Ma Liu looked at Lao Yang and laughed, "What did I tell you? He definitely couldn't resist!"

He turned his head and said solemnly, "You can go find the black bear, but you have to be prepared to track it for a long time. Since this black bear can walk like a camel, it must have been halfway through its journey in the barn and was hungry, or something else must have happened, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to leave the barn."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, there are still a few days until the Lantern Festival. I'll come back on the fourteenth."

Ma Liu nodded and said nothing more. Xu Ning's name had spread throughout Qing'an. The name Xu Pao was imprinted on his forehead. It could be said that no one in Qing'an was as good at hunting as him!

After sitting in the small restaurant for about an hour, Xu Ning led the two old men for a stroll in the street. There wasn't much to see in the street. To be honest, apart from the shops near the crossroads, the rest of the street was all single-story houses, with no scenic spots, parks, or other places.

After wandering around for a couple of hours, when they returned to the health center, they saw Zhou He's apprentice waiting in the corridor. He went to greet them as soon as the three of them entered.

"Brother Xu, these two gentlemen are both in good health. Doctor Liu gave the same instructions as before..."

"Okay, thanks. Let's have dinner together when we have time."

Xu Ning exchanged a few polite words with him, then took the test results and left with the two old men.

(End of this chapter)