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

Chapter 162 Grandpa and Grandma are arguing again
"Brother Weidong, are we going up the mountain to practice shooting tomorrow?" Shitou asked as soon as they returned to the village.

"No more training. Let's go to Laoyugou early tomorrow morning to have a look! I heard from the villagers that Zhou Daba from the next village killed a small wild boar there two days ago. Now the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, and wild boars also need to look for food. Who knows, there might be a group of wild boars coming."

Chen Weidong thought about it and then slowly spoke to Shi Tou.

"Okay then, Brother Weidong, I'll come to see you early tomorrow morning. Just the two of us? Should we call Bingzi and Brother Shengli?"

"Are you stupid, kid? Why are you calling Bingzi when he just got married? Brother Shengli has something going on at home these days. That place is not far away, let's go!"

Chen Weidong scolded with a smile.

"Yeah! I'll listen to Brother Weidong."

Shitou touched his head honestly.

"By the way, take all the traps from home with you when you leave tomorrow." Chen Weidong instructed: "When we go hunting, we can also set traps."

"Okay, Brother Weidong! I'll go back first." Shitou said, and walked home leading the big yellow dog.

~

"father!"

"Dad, Grandpa and Grandma are arguing again!"

When Chen Weidong got home and just put down his gun, he saw Sanni running towards him with her short legs, complaining in a baby voice.

"Your grandparents have been quarreling for a long time! I'm used to it, but you guys haven't gotten used to it yet?"

Chen Weidong smiled and touched the little girl's head.

"But grandpa and grandma quarrel so fiercely!"

"So fierce, so fierce!"

"Yeah, grandma is so fierce..."

"Grandpa is so pitiful!"

"..."

Several other little girls also came over and nodded their heads.

"Weidong, your parents are arguing, you should go and take a look!" Liu Xueting came over and said worriedly.

"Okay, I'll go down and see what's causing the quarrel."

Chen Weidong nodded, but he was not too anxious. In his memory, his parents had quarreled more than once or twice. It would not be a big deal as long as they did not fight. Besides, his eldest brother and his wife lived next door!

"Do you guys want to come with us?" Chen Weidong then looked at the six little girls and said with a smile.

"Grandma and Grandpa are arguing, we don't dare to go!"

"If we go, grandma will be even more unhappy. What should we do?"

"It is! It is!"

Except for Liu Ni who ran over and hugged his thighs to crawl, the other five little girls shook their heads like rattles.

Although Wu Xiuqin doesn't say much to the little girls now, and the little girls dare to go out and play, they are still not close to their grandmother, not to mention that they are quarreling now.

Wu Xiuqin's fierce look was deeply engraved in their minds. The little ones were not stupid. They ran over to get scolded! Not to mention them, even the eldest brother was the same!
"It seems that only the two of us dare to go!" Chen Weidong picked up Liu Ni from his feet.

"father!"

The little girl shouted in a baby voice.

“So tender!”

Chen Weidong kissed the little baby’s cheeks and went out with the child in his arms.

……

It was common for Chen Guangtian and Wu Xiuqin to quarrel and bicker with each other, but today the sound of their quarrel was louder than before.

Before Chen Weidong even got to the door, he heard the two of them bickering again. There was not even anyone watching at the door, which showed how tough Wu Xiuqin was! After all, there were few people in Jiuqu Village who could match her in a quarrel.

In the past, when Chen Guangtian and Wu Xiuqin quarreled, Chen Guangtian rarely fought back. He would only say a few words when he couldn't help it.

But now, he seemed to be speaking in a counter-argumentative manner in every sentence, as if he had been suppressing himself in the past and did not want to argue with Wu Xiuqin, but now he did not want to suppress himself anymore.

Wu Xiuqin is such a tough person, how could you possibly surrender?
As a result, the fight between the two became more and more fierce.

"Dad, Mom, what are you arguing about again?"

Chen Weidong walked in holding Liu Ni: "Are you bored today?"

Chen Guangtian said, "Your mother is really bored today after she just finished arranging Bingzi's wedding. She keeps talking about trivial matters all day long!"

Wu Xiuqin sneered, "You are the one who is always bothering me!" Then, she said to Chen Weidong, "I asked your father to go to the village to buy me some thread for mending clothes, but he kept pushing it away. Tell me, should I say something to him?"

Chen Guangtian retorted: "Didn't I tell you that I will buy the next episode?"

Wu Xiuqin: "The next big episode, you've already mentioned several big episodes!"

Chen Guangtian said, "I'm busy with Bingzi's wedding. If you think I'm slow, then go by yourself! You know where the money is!"

Wu Xiuqin: "You knew I couldn't buy it, but you still asked me to go to the village by myself. Aren't you deliberately causing trouble for me?"

Seeing that Chen Guangtian was about to retort, Chen Weidong quickly stopped him and said, "Okay, I understand. You guys are really too idle. You can argue for a long time over trivial matters."

"Mom, if you're too free, help me take care of the kids! I'll leave all six of my kids at your house first!"

Chen Weidong carried Xiaoliu in his arms and came to Wu Xiuqin.

"Dad, Dad,"

Xiaoliu kicked her legs hard and screamed loudly. It seemed that she was also afraid of Wu Xiuqin.

As soon as Wu Xiuqin held her in her arms, Liu Ni burst into tears!

Wu Xiuqin couldn't coax the girl well, nor could she hold her. As soon as she put her on the ground, the little girl didn't look for Chen Weidong, but ran out!

Chen Weidong was amused by the speed at which the little guy ran away with his short legs!

"Forget it!"

Wu Xiuqin said embarrassedly.

"Bingzi just got married, and you two are arguing here today. People who don't know would think you have some objection to his marriage! Go ahead and argue if you want! Don't wait for Auntie San to come over! The three of you can argue together!"

Chen Weidong said unhappily.

Dad and Mom have been arguing for decades, and Chen Weidong is used to it. Most of the time, Chen Guangtian hides from them, but a few of them are like this...

However, as long as Chen Guangtian and Wu Xiuqin didn't fight, Chen Weidong wouldn't intervene. The old couple wouldn't feel comfortable if they didn't let them quarrel, and they would calm down after the quarrel. If he was biased and helped one of them, then...

This is also why my elder brother and his wife next door didn't come. It has nothing to do with filial piety.

Then Chen Weidong brought up Bingzi's marriage, gave them both fifty lashes, and left without waiting for them to say anything! But after Chen Weidong left, the two of them quieted down.

"Dad, how are grandpa and grandma?"

Before I got home, I saw five little girls waiting for me.

"No more noise!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The little ones shouted happily, as if Chen Weidong had won a great victory. "Why is Xiaoliu crying?"

At this time, Liu Xueting came over holding Liu Ni.

"Dad, bad!"

At this moment, Xiaoliu's little head was lying in Liu Xueting's arms, complaining in a baby voice!

Chen Weidong smiled and said, "What else? I think my parents are just too idle to quarrel. They quarrel over trivial matters. I'll let mom take care of these little guys!"

"Dad, I don't want grandma to take care of us, I want mom!"

"do not want!"

"father!"

When the little ones heard Chen Weidong's words, it was like a bolt from the blue and they cried out in excitement.

"Why don't you want grandma?"

"Grandma is so fierce!"

"Alright, the meal is ready. Hurry up and wash your hands and eat. Your dad was just trying to scare you!"

Liu Xueting smiled.

"really?"

"real!"

"Woo woo~ Daddy is such a bad guy!"

"Bastard!"

"Bastard!"

Xiaoliu learned another word, and when Chen Weidong wanted to hug her, she quickly turned her head away and lay in Liu Xueting's arms.

"Wash your hands and eat!"

Then the little ones rushed to the kitchen, and after eating, there were no steamed buns left in the house.

So Chen Weidong took two bowls of flour, kneaded them into dough, added old dough, and added some of the remaining honey at home to one of the bowls, and made steamed buns with honey. Ever since Chen Weidong tried adding honey to the dough, the buns tasted very sweet and the little ones liked them.

But there was no honey left at home as we had never found a honey nest. The only honey left was what Liu Xueting didn’t give to the little ones because she wanted to make steamed buns. Otherwise, the six little girls would have drunk up all the honey long ago!
The next morning, Liu Xueting and Chen Weidong got up and steamed some buns.

For breakfast, Liu Xueting and Chen Weidong simply made some noodles, poached two eggs, and ate some steamed buns with pickles.

"Brother Wei Dong!"

Chen Weidong had just finished eating when Shitou came with Dahuang.

"Shi Tou is here! Have you had dinner? If not, eat at your sister-in-law's house." Liu Xueting greeted with a smile.

"No need, sister-in-law. I've eaten."

"Then take two steamed buns and eat them on the way into the mountain."

"Thank you sister-in-law!"

Liu Xueting brought over the steamed buns, and Shitou was not polite this time.

Chen Weidong tied his leggings, put on his Hanyang rifle, a pistol, a wooden clip, and a backpack, and came to the yard.

Then he opened the dog pen, walked in, tied up the two dogs, Black Tiger and White Tiger, with leashes, and fed the two dogs half full.

After leaving the village, the two headed towards Laoyugou.

"Brother Weidong, the steamed buns in your house are so delicious!" Shitou said with a grin while eating the steamed buns.

"How can it not be delicious? White flour buns with honey!"

The two of them rushed to Laoyugou. On the way, even if they didn't reach Laoyugou, Chen Weidong and the others would set traps when they came across a suitable location.

When they arrived at Laoyugou, they had almost put out all the dozen or so clamps they brought with them, with only two left. Then they looked around for a while to find a suitable location.

Suddenly, he saw a birch tree beside a mountain path with a piece of bark cut off and some rolled up birch bark. Chen Weidong grabbed Shitou and said, "Let's not go this way!"

"What's wrong, Brother Weidong!"

Shitou asked curiously, haven't we been to this place before?
"There's someone ahead!"

Chen Weidong smiled and said, "That's a birch tree beside the mountain road. Someone cut it with a knife and peeled off a piece of its bark, which was rolled up. It's a fresh mark and the location is also very conspicuous."

This is the mark left by hunters who go up the mountain to hunt, which is also called "bark hunting" in the Northeast.

Shitou, who was reminded by Chen Weidong, also noticed: "Is there someone hunting here?"

"Ok!"

Chen Weidong nodded. In the past, many old hunters went into the mountains to hunt. The first thing they did when they entered the mountains was not to hunt animals, but to remove tree bark first. Removing tree bark is not easy, it has extremely important significance!
This is a rule formed by hunters and also a reminder and warning.

You know, hunters rely on mountains for their livelihood. In the same mountain, you come here, I come here, and we all fight for prey together.

Without careful planning, it is easy for both hunters to hunt the same prey at the same time. This can easily lead to enmity between hunters. In addition, hunters all have weapons in their hands, so serious conflicts may even threaten lives.
In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts, hunters invented a plan to divide the hunting grounds.

When hunters are going into the mountains to hunt, experienced hunters in the team gather together and mark out an area, using a method called "barking".

Hunters divide the territory according to the order in which they enter the mountains.

After each hunting team enters the mountain and determines their hunting range, the old hunters begin to "bark the trees".
What is barking? Actually, it means cutting off the bark from a tree, about two feet long.

Then he rolled it into a roll and stuck it on a tree beside the road leading into the woods.

The subsequent teams, when they saw the bark, knew that this was someone else's "territory" and they had to remain silent and move on.

Of course, in other seasons, some hunters also incorporate their own code words into "bark beating", making it a "guidepost" rich in information.

When old hunters roll up the bark, they sometimes insert wild flowers on it. The types of wild flowers are naturally diverse, and they don’t care about the variety, after all, it’s not for ornamental purposes, but the direction of inserting the wild flowers is very particular.

If the bark stuck on the tree is a signpost, then the wild flowers inserted into the bark are direction indicators.

The position of the wild flowers on the bark implies three different "code words".

If wild flowers are stuck inside the bark rolls, it means the hunters are "hunting" from the inside out;
If the wildflowers are planted outside, it indicates to others that the hunting team is "chasing the battle" from the outside to the inside;
If wild flowers are inserted in the middle of a bark roll, it implies that a bilateral "battle" is being carried out based on this roll.

This is a rule that has been passed down from a long time ago, but these days, there are too many guns.
Anyone with a gun can go hunting in the mountains, so this rule has gradually faded away and is usually only used by some veteran hunters.

Since the other party had cut the bark, in addition to not wanting anyone to enter, they might also have set some traps on the road.

Moreover, if you rush in rashly and are ambushed and accidentally injured as prey, you will suffer untold hardships.

This is also the reason why Chen Weidong called Shitou.

Otherwise, not only will you fail to catch prey, but you may also mistakenly enter other people's territory, be accidentally injured by other hunting teams, or even encounter wild beasts, and you may lose your life.

"A layman sees the excitement, an expert sees the door."

"Could it be Uncle Mancang?" Chen Weidong couldn't help but think. Chen Weidong knew that he liked to pick tree bark when he was hunting!
Chen Weidong collected mountain products in his previous life and often came into contact with hunters. He knew the meaning of this sign.

"Brother Weidong, where are we going now?"

Stone asked.

"Let's go! Let's look to the south!" Chen Weidong turned and left. He had no intention of entering this hunting ground covered with bark.

(End of this chapter)