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

Chapter 38 Buying a Dog
Chen Weidong counted the money and after deducting the money for bullets and cigarettes, he only had fifty-five yuan and thirty-two cents left.

This amount is considered a considerable sum of money in this era.

Chen Weidong planned to go to South Street in the county town to take a look, and then go to the supply and marketing cooperative on South Street to buy cloth and cotton to make cotton-padded jackets for his wife and the little ones.

Walk south along the street from the purchasing station, turn left at the fork in the road and you will reach South Street.

South Street is the largest market in Heishong County. Chen Weidong remembers that there were many dog ​​dealers selling dogs there.

Now that he had money in his hands, Chen Weidong certainly wanted to find a hunting dog for himself. You know, hunting dogs play a very important role in hunting.
A hunter without a hunting dog is like a toothless tiger. A good hunting dog can help its owner find prey, warn of danger and protect its owner.

Chen Weidong traveled through the streets of the county and soon arrived at South Street.

There were very few people on South Street during this time, and many people had already started packing up their stalls.

Chen Weidong remembered that the dog seller was often at the end of the street, so he went to the end of the street.

Maybe because we arrived too late, there were only two or three stalls selling dogs.

The stall owner at the front was a woman in her forties.
There was no shouting or hawking, but there was a backpack in front of him, and three big yellow dogs squatting beside him.

The three dogs in front of us are Northeast Hounds, also known as Heilongjiang Hounds, commonly known as Big Stupid Dogs (Big Stupid Dogs are used in contrast to wild wolves, pheasants, and partridges, not because they are really "stupid". Big Stupid Dogs are a type of Chinese rural dog, and their body sizes vary slightly depending on where they live.)
The Northeastern Hound is large, fierce, loyal, and adaptable. Its teeth are similar to those of wolves. It is large in size and has thick fur.

Smart, quiet, and with mastiff-like characteristics, the Northeastern Hound has a very strong ability to fight in a team.
Three hounds can drive off a black bear or a small pack of wolves, making them an excellent breed for hunting in a team.

These three Northeastern dogs all had scars of varying sizes, and some had new scabs! He glanced at Chen Weidong casually.
They all feel particularly fierce, giving people the feeling that they are about to bite you at any time!

Chen Weidong concluded that these three dogs were definitely specially used for hunting in the mountains, mainly because they were too similar to the hunting dogs raised by several hunters in the same village!
In fact, these days, Chen Weidong had planned to buy a hunting dog from the hunter in the village.

However, most hunters only keep one to three dogs, and hunters who specialize in hunting in the mountains rarely sell hunting dogs.

Because the elimination rate of hunting dogs is very fast, if you are unlucky and encounter a big claw or a local leopard, then all the dogs will be gone! !

In fact, in Northeast China, a hunting team normally has four to six dogs. Four is the minimum requirement, otherwise it will not be able to catch the prey! Most hunters keep one to three dogs.

It's not that I don't want to raise more, but I simply can't afford it! The appetite of hunting dogs is about the same as that of pigs! They are very gluttonous!

Only those hunters who can be called gunners or rich people with a certain amount of financial strength and ability can raise a dog gang on their own! !

Of course, not everyone can be a gunner. Only the top hunters can be honored as gunners.

Zhang Pao, Li Pao, Wang Pao, these are all respectful titles for hunters and a kind of honor.

Hunters want to sell their hunting dogs, unless they don't want to go into the mountains anymore, because going into the mountains means there may be danger.
Hunting dogs are the hunter's partners and can also save lives at critical moments. This is the basic understanding of every hunter.

For example, Chen Weidong's uncle originally had a big wolfhound at home.

The reason why Third Uncle was able to save his life from being attacked by the wild boar was because of Wolf Green’s loyal rescue. However, although Third Uncle survived, Wolf Green Dog was buried in the mountains.

Chen Weidong was a little excited and walked up to him immediately.

"Sister, are these three dogs for sale?"

Seeing someone coming to ask, the woman seemed very happy, pointing at the basket and said, "Brother, sell them, all three dogs."

"how much is it?"

"My husband said that the biggest dog is the leader, and the two smaller ones obey him! The big one is sold for 80, and the small one is sold for 60."

"which one you want?"

In Hesong County in Northeast China, the price of hunting dogs is indeed not low, ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred.

These three Northeastern Hounds are indeed worth the money!

But Chen Weidong couldn't afford it at this price. "Sister, I really want it, can you give me a discount?"

"Brother, my husband said these three dogs are really good dogs, but you don't know that I need money urgently.
My husband went into the mountains to dig out the black bears! The bullets misfired, and the black bears escaped, biting my legs and scratching my body. Two dogs died, otherwise I wouldn’t have come to sell them!”

Chen Weidong couldn't help but sigh in his heart! But sympathy aside, he still had six children to raise at home, so he had to bargain.
Originally, Chen Weidong knew that the woman was short of money and thought he could easily control her, but after haggling for a long time, the woman was only willing to give a few dollars lower.

There was no other way, Chen Weidong could only give up! Although the dog was important,
But wife and children are more important.

Although he had more than fifty yuan in his hand, he still had a lot of things to buy.

Then, under the woman's disappointed gaze, Chen Weidong continued to look at a stall.

These stall owners also have some good hunting dogs.
But they are also sensible people. Good hunting dogs are not cheap.
Chen Weidong didn’t have the chance to get a bargain, so he could only come back next time when he had saved enough money.

……

Chen Weidong walked back and headed towards the end of the street.

Just after passing the corner, I heard a loud noise.

"Have a bowl of noodles!"

"I want it with chopped green onions!"

"Less chili! I can't eat spicy food!"

……

Along with these sounds, there was also a strong smell of flour that went straight into his nose.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

The hunger that had been suppressed was also awakened.

These days, my stomach is full of too much food and no matter how much vegetables or rice I eat, I still feel hungry.

Although I had eaten in the morning, I had walked more than fifty miles in the whole morning, which was enough for even a strong man.

Then, Chen Weidong turned around and happily sat at the stall next to him and ordered a bowl of noodles.

A big bowl of noodles, ten cents is not cheap, but the portion is enough.

After adding chopped green onion and coriander, Chen Weidong picked up a large piece of food with chopsticks, blew on it twice, and then couldn't wait to put it into his mouth.

call!
hot!
But what follows is the aroma and satisfaction of fine grains rushing in your mouth.

Cool!
At this moment, I just felt that my soul was comforted.

These days, both men and women have much larger appetites than they did a few decades ago.

Because they are engaged in manual labor all year round.

Many women have as much appetite as men.

to be frank.

Such a bowl of noodles.

Chen Weidong felt that he could have two more bowls.

(End of this chapter)