Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 129 Wife, bear paws are not as delicious as you
"In the end, no one got in, but the old leopard was very brave and sneaked back into the village from somewhere!"

Chen Weidong shook his head. Bald Mountain was not small. With the help of hunters, they could only guard the main road leading to the mountain, but could not guard every place.

As long as people want to go around, they can definitely go into the mountains, and the same can be said of leopards.

"The old leopard was driven towards us by the gunfire of the hunters in the village. Fugui and I heard the noise and chased after it,"

Uncle Mancang was smoking gloomily with regret in his eyes.

"We relied on the guns we had and had been hunting for many years, so we didn't take the old leopard seriously."

Having said that, Chen Weidong immediately guessed what would happen next. It was very unwise to chase a leopard at night. Leopards have strong night vision and like to appear in the dead of night. They are good at waiting for opportunities and will always attack their prey at the most unexpected moment.

How many hunters have failed because of underestimating the enemy.

The Amur leopard, also known as the Far Eastern leopard, is a giant feline beast second only to the Amur tiger in the harsh northern region. Although it has a strong and vigorous body, every detail reveals its strength and majesty, as if it is a smaller version of a tiger.

However, the upper and lower limits of combat power of wild animals are very mysterious.

When it is weak, a jackal can snatch away the prey it has hunted with great difficulty. When it is strong, it can kill people with just a nod of its head.

But usually, leopards would only do some sneaky things when they entered the village, rarely hurting people, and their first reaction when they saw humans was usually to run away.

This may also be the reason why the two underestimated their enemy.

Uncle Mancang continued in a hoarse voice: "I was chasing him, and suddenly I felt movement behind me. I turned around and saw Yang Fugui being pounced on by a wild leopard. Before I could shoot, the leopard ran away!"

"When I came to Yang Fugui with the horsetail lantern, I saw that the snow around me had been dyed red and there was a smell of blood. Yang Fugui's neck had been bitten and he was gone!"

"I then wanted to carry Yang Fugui's body out on my back, but just as I turned around to carry it, the old leopard jumped out from nowhere, jumped high, and took advantage of the darkness to bite my head."

"Fortunately, I was on guard the whole time. When I heard the noise behind me, I immediately lay down and rolled to the side, then I fired back based on my instincts."

"I shot the old leopard in the tail in the dark. It roared and turned and ran away."

"Other people heard the gunshots and rushed over, but the old leopard ran too fast. The gunshot missed and the leopard quickly disappeared into the depths, leaving behind only a tail and Fugui's body."

Hearing this, Chen Weidong also felt that this leopard was ferocious and that it had probably hurt people before.

Ordinary leopards live in mountains and forests. Even if they encounter humans by chance, most of them will choose to avoid them, and at most roar a few warnings.

It is not uncommon for leopards to be killed by humans when conflicts arise between them. This is an advantage brought by humans’ weight and hands.

But there is another reason, which is that these leopards have little contact with humans, or even no contact at all, and have no idea how to deal with humans.

But it’s different when someone has been hurt.
These leopards know how to deal with this tall and burly-looking creature.

Stealth attack, bite the neck and head.

This is a common tactic used by leopards when attacking humans.

If you attack other parts of the body, you may be killed by humans, but biting the head and neck is extremely effective against humans.

Chen Weidong remained silent. Liu Xueting brought a bowl of water, which Chen Weidong handed to Grandpa Mancang. He then said seriously, "Grandpa, you came to see me because you want me to go to Bald Mountain with you to fight that old leopard?"

Uncle Mancang was silent for a moment, then he looked up at Chen Weidong and said, "I'm planning to search the mountain and I'm in need of manpower. I heard from Shengli that you're young but experienced, calm, and a good shooter. You even helped him kill a blind bear a while ago."

"The terrain of Bald Mountain is extremely dangerous, and the leopard only comes out of the thorn forest to hunt for food at night. Only an experienced hunter with a cool head and good marksmanship can deal with the cunning beast."

"Uncle Mancang, it's not that I don't want to help. You also know that I have six children who are counting on me!"

Chen Weidong naturally didn't want to go.

"I know. Come with me."

Chen Weidong followed Uncle Mancang to the west side of the village. At this time, two sheds had been built on the west side of the stone bridge.

Yang Fugui's two sons were holding a funeral outside the village. According to the rules in the mountains, people who died unjustly could not enter the village, so they could only set up a tent outside the village to hold the funeral.

I don't know when this rule was passed down, but it has become impossible to change until now.

If he entered the village, he would be the one to hang himself on his door, without anyone else.

Because many men had died in the mountains, their families begged desperately, with just one simple request, that their men be allowed to return home to hold the funeral.

However, even this simple request was ruthlessly rejected by the villagers.

There is only one reason for the refusal: according to the rules in the mountains, people who died unjustly cannot enter the village.

Yang Fugui's two sons are also filial. As soon as they see Uncle Mancang, they beg him to avenge their father!
There were about twenty people in the shed. They were people who had died in vain, so their funerals were kept simple. Apart from Yang Fugui's relatives, most of the people who came were hunters invited by Mr. Mancang.

Chen Weidong took a quick glance and found that there were people from Jiuqu Village and other villages here, and Li Shengli was also here.

Uncle Mancang had no other intention in bringing Chen Weidong here, just to promise these hunters some benefits.
Whoever beats the old leopard will own the leopard skin, and the remaining meat will be divided equally among the others. In addition, the two Yang brothers will also give some money as a thank you for avenging their father.

Chen Weidong did not refuse this time because he saw a lot of people and learned from Uncle Mancang that the mountain search would be during the day. If they were going to catch leopards at night, Chen Wei would of course refuse without hesitation.

Moreover, if you kill a leopard, you can get a leopard skin. Besides, Lijiatun is very close to Jiuqutun. For the safety of your children, if you don’t dare to go there, why go into the mountains!
Of course, there are risks involved. As mentioned earlier, the bald area is home to dense, airtight thorny forests.

This also meant that hunting dogs could not enter the mountains, as they would be scratched if they did, and the dogs could not chase the old leopard in the thorny forest on the rocky slopes.
Not only could it easily lead to loss of life, but it would also scare the leopard away. This might be the reason why Uncle Mancang hired so many hunters to search the mountain!

After returning home, Chen Weidong told Liu Xueting about what happened.

After listening to this, Liu Xueting immediately shook her head.

"You'd better not go! There are so many people here and you won't be a big difference."

"Wife, I went there because there were so many people. It's safer with more people. And I'll only follow you during the day, so don't worry!"

"..."

Chen Dongwei used his eloquence and finally convinced Liu Xueting.

"Dani, stay at home and take good care of your sister. Don't go out to play at night!"

Chen Weidong reminded.

"We are all very good!" Wu Ni said in a baby voice.

"Okay, you're all good,"

"Xue Ting, the bear paws in the pot are ready. Don't forget to eat them at noon!"

After Chen Weidong finished speaking, he turned around and went to the east room, changed into clothes for going into the mountains, put on leggings, picked up the Hanyang-made rifle, pulled the bolt, and checked it. Then, he took out a handful of bullets from the box, took out the magazines from the backpack, and filled each magazine with bullets.

He took out his pistol again, removed the magazine, carefully checked the pistol, refilled the magazine with bullets, and then put it back into his waist.

Chen Weidong did not bring the black tiger and the white tiger, because as mentioned before, the bald man is quite special and there are many mountain thorns in the forest.

Then, with the sweet greetings from his daughters, Chen Weidong went directly to the home of Uncle Mancang in Lijiatun.
After a while, we arrived at Lijiatun.

After entering Uncle Mancang's house, Chen Weidong found that everyone had already gathered here, and hunters were coming one after another. Chen Weidong greeted Li Shengli and sat on a stool nearby. "Almost everyone is here. Let me clarify our goals and action plan again."

Uncle Mancang said in a deep voice: "We will go to Bald Mountain in a little while today, but we will spare no place and try to kill the murderous leopard."

"..."

"Let's listen to the instructions and slogans. We will split into two teams and go in and out together. Don't shoot randomly, be careful not to accidentally hurt your own people."

Uncle Mancang explained every precaution in great detail.

You have to know that in the past, when hunting wild boars, there were often hunters who were in ambush and mistook their teammates chasing boars in the woods for wild boars, and they shot and killed or injured them every year.

That’s why Uncle Mancang only looks for experienced old hunters.

"Finally, the most crucial point."

Uncle Mancang paused and said: "For everyone's own safety, if you find that man-eating leopard, just shoot it to death!"

Chen Weidong nodded and agreed with Uncle Mancang's overall plan.

They searched the mountain during the day, with eighteen or nineteen of them, nearly ten people in a group. If they really encountered a leopard, the leopard would have no choice but to run away.

Chen Weidong took a quick look and saw that most of them were holding guns, with hunting knives on their waists and magazines slung across their shoulders. They were all experienced hunters with good marksmanship.

Chen Weidong walked in the middle of the team and found that these hunters were holding all kinds of guns, including Type 56 and a half, old foreign cannon, semi-modified hanging barrel, modified hanging barrel, and even Type 38 rifle.

Following the rugged path, the group walked straight up in the snow, and under the leadership of Uncle Mancang, they slowly approached the thorny forest located halfway up the mountain.

Apart from the thorny dwarf trees with well-developed root systems and strong grip, and the occasional scattered shrubs, Chen Weidong could not even see any other plants along the way.
There were many leopard footprints on the snow. The leopard had been in Bald Mountain for a few days, which made it difficult to search through the footprints in the snow.

"This old leopard really knows how to pick a place!" Chen Weidong secretly complained. It had all the advantages of time and place, no wonder it couldn't be taken down at the beginning.

The teams were divided. Chen Weidong and Li Shengli were familiar with each other, so naturally they formed a team of two, with a total of ten people in their team.

They began searching on Bald Mountain. The ten people climbed up the concave stone slope for another five or six minutes, and finally arrived at an impenetrable thorny forest.

Chen Weidong looked around. This thorn forest was indeed very large, occupying half of the hilltop.
Moreover, these thorny trees grow short and densely, so it is difficult for a leopard to even get in, let alone catch one.
Your face and body will inevitably be pierced and scratched by those thumb-long black thorns.

Nineteen people may seem like a lot, but in front of this vast thorny forest, they are not enough.

There are also various piles of rocks, and if a leopard hides in them, it would be really hard to find it.

Fortunately, there were some footprints on the snow that provided some clues. The group set out at around ten o'clock and searched the mountain until dark. They had searched almost half of Bald Mountain, but the wild leopard seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

The group had no choice but to go down the mountain before dark. However, not long after they went down the mountain, they heard the ferocious and rough roar of a leopard coming from the Bald Mountain not far away.

The sound was so loud that everyone present leaned over to look up.

Chen Weidong's brows suddenly frowned slightly.

If the roar is low like a motorcycle, it means the leopard is warning, driving away, or preparing to attack, but this kind of bright and penetrating roar is purely marking territory, declaring sovereignty, and showing off its military power.

Does it think that no one can do anything to it and is planning to use the thorny forest as its home base?
Apparently, other hunters also realized this and their faces turned very unhappy.

To them, Old Leopard's behavior was a naked provocation!
But the group couldn't do anything, after all, they didn't know where the leopard was hiding!
After going down the mountain,

Although they got nothing, Uncle Mancang still treated them to dinner. Because, although they would not go into the mountains, they would still have to take turns guarding the village.

At about nine o'clock, there was no movement in the village, so Chen Weidong went back with several hunters from Jiuqu Village.

When he returns,
Chen Weidong found that his mother Wu Xiuqin and his father Xu Guangtian were both warming themselves by the fire in their home.

"Dad, Mom, why are you here?"

"Can we not come? You've only been hunting for a few days, and you want to follow the old hunter to hunt man-eating leopards!"

"Is that something you can handle?"

"Who is Yang Fugui? He was hunting wild boars in the mountains every day before you were born. Such a powerful man was killed by a leopard. Why do you think you can deal with him?"

Chen Guangtian smoked his pipe one after another, his brows furrowed.

Wu Xiuqin glared at her wife and said, "Why don't you talk to your husband properly so that your life will be better? Why do you want to provoke that wild leopard?"

"Mom, what does it have to do with Guan Xueting? I went there to have fun. Besides, I've killed bears before, so what's a wild leopard? Besides, there are so many of us, and we went up the mountain during the day, so what can happen? Don't worry about it."

"No, this is too dangerous. We can't control you when you go up the mountain. Look, Yang Fugui is still standing at the entrance of the village!"

"Mom, stop worrying about it and go back to bed! It's so late."

"Dad, please take my mom back!"

"Forget it, Xiuqin. The child is grown up now and has his own ideas!" Chen Guangtian sighed.

"You kid..."

After finally seeing his parents off, Chen Weidong took a deep breath, came to Liu Xueting and said, "The children are all asleep, right?"

"Well, you should take a shower and go to bed. I'll go get you some water." Liu Xueting splashed water on Chen Weidong's face, and then she washed his feet personally.

Chat while washing.

“Is bear paw delicious?”

"The little girls all said it was delicious, so I saved some. If you want to eat it, I'll stew it for you now."

"It's so late, why are you still eating bear paws? Bear paws are not as delicious as you!"

Liu Xueting: "Uh..."

A night of spring supper.

The next day, Chen Weidong joined the mountain search team again. What made everyone wonder was whether the wild leopard was not in Bald Mountain during the day, because they searched almost the entire Bald Mountain but did not find any trace of the old leopard.

However, due to the village hunters taking turns to watch at night, the old leopard never came at night.
Two days passed in a flash. The old leopard did not escape the hunter's plan after all. A beast is always a beast. The old leopard went down the mountain just to find food. The hunters searched the mountains and guarded the village these days, and the old leopard basically did not eat much.

Moreover, Uncle Mancang used two live sheep as bait and set traps on the snow around the sheep. The old leopard was smart enough at first to not be fooled.

But after all these days, he couldn't resist the temptation and was shot six or seven times on the spot, and his leopard skin was torn to pieces.

Chen Weidong also learned about this from Li Shengli later, because he went back home at around nine o'clock that night, and the leopard sneaked over at around one o'clock in the morning. This also shows how smart the leopard is.

Of course, although Chen Weidong did not participate in hunting and killing leopards, he was not busy in vain for a few days. After all, as long as the hunters who participated in the mountain search killed a leopard, they could get some leopard meat.

Chen Weidong shared about three or four pounds of leopard meat. Leopard meat is also a good thing. It can nourish the kidneys and strengthen yang, nourish blood and strengthen the body, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, strengthen the spleen and digestion, and relieve wind and pain...

(End of this chapter)