Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 48 Partner
"Sir, we have to... be careful. I have a feeling that the black bear may... not have gone far!" Adro Papu Gomez, holding a matchlock gun, walked slowly and carefully along the fallen corn stalks, while turning his head to warn the people behind him.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Mo Tianhai followed behind, saying nonchalantly, "We have two guns, can't we take down the black bear? Damn it, the corn is almost ripe for harvest, and this black bear comes running over and nibbling it, clearly trying to steal our food. We must catch it today, no matter what, and then have a meal of bear bile, or stew a few bear paws to replenish our bodies!"

"Bear bile? This... is edible?" Gomez pushed aside a few corn stalks that blocked his way, paused for a moment, looked around vigilantly, and then continued to move forward.

"You're just ignorant, aren't you?" Mo Tianhai gave him a disdainful look. "Bear bile is a premium product, with many benefits, including clearing away heat and detoxifying, protecting the liver and promoting bile secretion. Furthermore, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it's said that bear bile can treat acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver swelling, jaundice, and bile duct and gallbladder diseases. It's a top-notch medicinal ingredient."

"Bear bile... is it a medicinal ingredient? Oh, then I don't like it. I'm not sick."

"Tsk! You country bumpkins don't know anything."

"Steamed buns?" Gomez was delighted when he heard it. "Steamed buns, I love them! You guys are amazing, wrapping meat and vegetables... in dough. ... Steamed, they're delicious!"

"Oh my god!" Mo Tianhai rubbed his forehead and sighed, "I'm talking at cross purposes! You Spaniards think a bun is incredibly delicious! When the time comes, we'll get some good chefs from the Ming Dynasty and prepare a full Manchu-Han banquet for you. Wouldn't you be so hungry? Oh, no, there's no such thing as a full Manchu-Han banquet yet. But it doesn't matter. Let the chef prepare a few dishes of Chinese delicacies for you, and you'll be so greedy!"

"Sir, do you... dislike me?"

"Hey, Old Mai, what you said makes me feel uneasy!" Mo Tianhai gave him a look of disgust. "Are you thinking about women? I'm warning you, don't have any dirty thoughts about me. ... Don't even think about it! I'm not interested in you at all!"

"No, sir, what I mean is..." Gomez didn't quite understand what he was saying, as he spoke so quickly and anxiously. His tone didn't seem very good, so he whispered, "Sir, why do you always want me dead? Dead? And... and you even want me to eat my own tongue? That's too cruel. Didn't the two directors keep emphasizing that we are all... a collective, a team, and everyone is a partner who can... rely on each other? If you don't want to see me, I'll stay away."

"I don't want you to die!" Mo Tianhai laughed immediately after hearing this. "Just now, when I said I'd make you die of greed and eat your own tongue, I was describing our Chinese cuisine. I think you'll love it!"

"Oh..." Gomez nodded doubtfully.

"Old Mac, your Chinese is considered relatively good among you Spaniards, but you still need to work on it! Otherwise, you won't even understand the meaning of what we're saying, and that could lead to a lot of misunderstandings."

"Okay, sir, I will try my best to learn your language." Gomez said, scratching his head.

Oh, damn, the Chinese language is really hard to learn. If I didn’t have some talent for languages, I would probably find it difficult to talk to them normally.

Suddenly, Gomez stopped and listened attentively.

"Is it a black bear?" Mo Tianhai also stopped and raised his musket.

"Shh! Don't talk..." Gomez waved his hands vigorously, raised the musket in his hand, and looked vigilantly at the depths of the cornfield ahead.

"In...front?" Mo Tianhai suddenly became nervous and looked in the direction he pointed.

"Wow..."

"Wow..."

All that could be heard was the sound of corn stalks breaking and falling, as well as the faint sounds of animals chewing and heavy breathing.

The two men looked at each other, immediately took out the fuse, and quickly lit it, then raised their guns and stood on guard.

Suddenly, the sounds of corn stalks being trampled and broken in front stopped, and then a low roar was heard.

Oh no, we were discovered by the black bear.

As we all know, North American black bears have a very sensitive sense of smell, which is 7 times that of dogs and 2100 times that of humans, and their hearing is also far superior to many animals.

Even though it was chewing corn seriously, it could still sense the presence of humans in the distance at the first moment.

This guy has very small eyes and poor vision, so he is called "Black Blind Man".

It can walk and sit upright like humans, but moves cautiously and slowly, rarely attacking humans. Its diet is varied, consisting of leaves, buds, fruits, and seeds, and sometimes small mammals such as deer, mice, and hares.

Since planting over 300 acres of corn in Shixing Fort, black bears have been frequenting the area. Especially during the recent corn season, they've been constantly emerging from the woods, diving into the cornfields, devouring and trampling them.

To this end, the decision-making committee organized personnel, divided them into several groups, equipped them with muskets, and took turns patrolling the cornfields to protect the fruits of the upcoming harvest.

A week ago, a patrol team successfully killed a black bear and scared away two others, which greatly deterred these food thieves.

The black bear that was hunted was a female bear who was more than two months pregnant. She must have been in urgent need of nutrition to raise her unborn cubs, so she rashly jumped out of the forest and ran to the cornfield to feast on the food.

After all, munching on corn cobs is more satisfying than munching on leaves, pine nuts, acorns, and berries.

Unexpectedly, after all these days, the black bear in the forest hadn't learned its lesson and had returned to destroy the cornfields in Shixing Fort. The two men paused for a moment, but neither saw the black bear approach nor heard it leave. It must have been standing still, like them, cautiously "observing" its surroundings.

After looking at each other, they both held their matchlock rifles, took light steps, and searched in the direction where the black bear might be.

If this guy heard the noise and knew what to do, he would have to run away quickly.

Otherwise, we'll have a big fight and someone might die.

"Ow..."

Pushing aside a few corn stalks in front of him, a black bear with a huge body, black hair and ferocious eyes suddenly appeared in front of him.

As it let out a low roar, it revealed its sharp teeth, as if it was going to choose someone and tear the other person into pieces.

Mo Tianhai's mind trembled, his heart pounded uncontrollably, a sense of silent fear arose, and a strong instinctive impulse drove him to turn around and run away.

But his remaining sanity told him that he couldn't run.

As long as you leave your back to the black bear, it will definitely catch you and tear you to pieces.

"Old Mac, you... shoot first, and I'll... shoot later." Mo Tianhai's mouth trembled as he whispered.

Although Gomez was scared to death, he did as he was told. He held the matchlock in his right hand and lit the gunpowder, then raised the matchlock gun and aimed directly at the black bear.

Perhaps sensing the threat from the two humans in front of it, the black bear suddenly stood up, slapping its chest vigorously with its two front paws, showing its strong emotions and aggressiveness.

"Bang!" The musket finally fired, and a cloud of smoke rose up, immediately filling the space between the two men.

"Awoo..." With the black bear's roar, a huge figure pounced towards Gomez quickly.

"Ah!" Gomez could already feel the strong wind in the air caused by the black bear's high-speed attack. His legs instinctively stepped back in an attempt to increase the distance between the two sides.

However, after being hit by the musket, the black bear was extremely furious due to the pain. It ran to him at lightning speed, with its bloody mouth wide open and its heavy paws about to swing at him.

"Oh, God!... Save me!" Gomez's legs were weak and he closed his eyes in pain, waiting for the final outcome.

"Ugh..." Suddenly, a huge force came from the side of his waist, kicking him sideways.

The black bear passed by him like a huge rock, bringing up a fishy wind.

"boom!"

A burst of musketry sounded, and the black bear's back was hit by a sledgehammer, knocking it to the ground immediately.

It tried hard to prop up its four paws, trying to stand up its huge body again, but the two heavy blows caused extremely fatal damage to its internal organs. After trying a few times, it fell to the ground again, breathing heavily.

"Oh, God!... We killed it!" Gomez got up from the ground, picked up the musket that flew out after he fell, and held it tightly in his hand.

"Damn it, it should be killed, right?" Mo Tianhai was frantically reloading his musket while nervously looking at the black bear lying on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his body.

"Sir, you just... saved me!" Gomez suddenly thought of something, turned his head, grabbed Mo Tianhai's arm, and looked at him with gratitude.

"Stop being so hypocritical! ... Reload your ammunition!" Mo Tianhai shouted loudly, "If another black bear shows up, we'll both be dead here. Add two more piles of good fertilizer to this cornfield!"

"Sir, you... saved me!" Gomez immediately released his arm upon hearing this, quickly took out the ammunition and loaded it quickly.

"Shut up!" Mo Tianhai glared at him angrily, holding his musket and looking around constantly, fearing that another bear would jump out of the cornfield.

"Sir, I owe you a life." After reloading his musket, Gomez stood back to back with Mo Tianhai.

"We are now partners who eat from the same pot, so it doesn't matter whether we owe each other or not."

"Partners?" Gomez was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily, "Partners! We are...partners!"

(End of this chapter)