Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"Sanwazi, I know about this, but our village is so big, we can't just leave everyone out. How about this, I'll talk to Niu Dazhuang and if he catches a lot of wolves, he can give you two of them, okay?" Qin Youde really had no other choice but to try to bribe them.

Seeing that they were silent, Qin Youde continued, "It's settled then. Our village will send ten people, and you'll go into the mountains with Niu Dazhuang tomorrow. Xueyang, you'll lead the team this time. Niu Dazhuang is your brother-in-law, so communication will be easier."

Qin Xueyang is Qin Xueru's second brother. He had been drinking with his brother-in-law a few days ago, so it was no problem for him to be in charge of communicating with Niu Dazhuang.

The next day, Niu Dazhuang brought over a dozen young men from his village, each carrying a large woven basket on their back.

Qin Youde was already waiting for them at the brigade headquarters. He called Niu Dazhuang aside and whispered, "Dazhuang, you're the squad leader. These twenty-odd men are all in your hands. Fight as many as you can, safety first."

"Understood!" After saying that, he stood on the platform and shouted to the twenty-odd people below:

"As the captain just said, I'm the leader of this wolf-hunting squad. Let me make this clear: once we're in the mountains, we'll follow orders. Anyone who acts without authorization will be responsible for any problems that arise. Listen to orders, and I guarantee everyone's safety! Enough talk, get your weapons and ammunition, let's go."

The brigade's storeroom keeper opened the warehouse door, and about twenty men lined up to collect their rifles. Each man received fifty rounds of ammunition, but the M1 semi-automatic rifle was reserved for Niu Dazhuang, who also received twice as many rounds of ammunition as the other men.

The young people of Qinjiawa weren't lacking in courage to fight wolves, but they couldn't outmaneuver the "bandits" of Niujiazhai.

They put in the same effort and suffered the same toil, while watching others reap the rewards, so they lost their motivation.

Going into the mountains sounds easy, but once you leave the village, there's more than half a foot of snow, making walking difficult, let alone climbing.

There was a half-foot layer of snow. Just follow the wolf's tracks and chase after it. Judging what kind of wild animal it is by its tracks is an essential skill for an excellent hunter.

"Three of you, take five people with you, follow these footprints, I'll have someone replace you later." As soon as they entered the mountain, Niu Dazhuang began assigning tasks.

Those behind didn't need to be told what to do; they simply followed in the footsteps of those in front. The six people at the front were the trailblazers, and even after less than an hour, they were already struggling to keep up.

Niu Dazhuang had the people behind him take over, and they took turns leading the way. By noon, everyone was starving.

I found a sheltered, south-facing slope, cleared the snow from the surrounding area, and started a fire to cook.

Niu Dazhuang was the one carrying the iron pot. In those days, the leader was always the one who took the lead and did the work. This was the prevailing attitude from top to bottom.

As the squad leader, Niu Dazhuang naturally put the heaviest iron pot in his backpack.

On a snowy day, nothing feels warmer and happier than a bowl of hot meat soup when you go into the mountains.

The people of Niujiazhuang, each holding a bowl of meat soup, gathered together, chatting and laughing.

The people of Qinjiawa didn't have a very good standard of living. They could borrow an iron pot, but they couldn't borrow meat.

Melt snow to make water and start cooking vegetarian rice. First, bring the pot to a boil, put in a few cabbage leaves, then add a few bowls of rice. Once the rice grains have stretched out, the rice is cooked.

Qin Xueyang, carrying a bowl of rice and vegetables, approached Niu Dazhuang and said with a smile, "Brother-in-law, you don't have rice, and we don't have meat. Let's exchange them; it'll suit everyone."

"Second brother, normally I would make the decision myself, but not today. I need to discuss it with them."

"Brother-in-law, you're the squad leader of our entire wolf-hunting team, not just the squad leader of your Niujiazhuang village. Now that your team members are in trouble, aren't you going to try to help them?"

Niu Dazhuang never expected that his brother-in-law would say such a thing, and it seemed to make a lot of sense.

No wonder their ancestors were scholars; they were good at talking and using righteousness to coerce people.

"Second brother, even though I'm the team leader, I can't just do this so you can have meat soup."

"Let's just take the meat from Niujiazhai and exchange it with you. You can discuss it yourselves then. I won't help you from the other side." Who is Niu Dazhuang? He's a soul from a later era; he won't be held hostage by righteousness.

"Come on, everyone, squat down together. You can discuss it yourselves; I won't interfere."

Qin Xueyang represents Qinjiawa, while Niu Dachuan represents Niujiazhuang.

Everyone has their own uses. Although Niu Dachuan is as thin as a stick, he has his strengths. He has no flesh on his body, his legs are nimble, and he is one of the best at climbing trees and tracking prey by footprints. He is also thick-skinned and quick-witted.

After some haggling, Qinjiawa finally agreed to exchange two bowls of rice (about three jin) for one jin of wild boar meat.

Niu Dazhuang disliked the strong smell of wild boar meat; for ordinary people, having pork to eat meant a happy life.

After finishing their meal, each of them lit a cigarette, rested for a while, and then set off again.

This method of hunting is extremely tiring, especially in snow that is half a foot deep.

The sun was about to set, and we hadn't even seen a single wolf.

There are many caves in the deep mountains, most of which were left by villagers who hid in the mountains when the Japanese invaders were there.

We found a cave on the south slope to use as our place to rest for the night.

"Comrades, even though we've searched all day without seeing a single wolf, there's no guarantee that wild wolves won't come after us tonight. So, let's all work a little harder and gather more firewood. We'll take turns on watch in groups of three tonight," Niu Dazhuang began assigning tasks.

A bonfire outside the cave at night looked particularly bright in the pitch-black night.

The first half of the night was relatively peaceful, except for the occasional howling of wolves, which sounded quite far away.

In the latter half of the night, Niu Dazhuang, along with Niu Dachuan and Niu Sanhe, took the night shift.

The three of them chatted and joked around the fire.

It was exceptionally cold at dawn, and all three were feeling a bit sleepy: "Da Chuan, haven't you heard any wolves howling all day?"

Upon hearing this, Niu Dachuan immediately woke up from his drowsiness, picked up his gun, and said, "That's right, I'll go take a look." He then walked to the cave entrance, where there were still some embers from the fire outside. By the faint light, he looked around the cave entrance.

Without turning his head, he waved to Niu Dazhuang.

They were both seasoned hunters, so they naturally understood what he meant. Niu Dazhuang picked up the M1 semi-automatic rifle beside him and tiptoed to the cave entrance.

"Dazhuang, look right across from us, under that big tree, and in the pile of rocks on your left," Niu Dachuan whispered.

Following his words, Niu Dazhuang looked over and saw two glowing blue dots crouching under a large locust tree directly opposite.

On the left, among the jumbled rocks, are four points of light emitting green glow.