Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

Chen Wenfeng, Chen Youwei, and Accountant Wang chatted until after 10 p.m.

In the city, 10 p.m. might just be the start of the nightlife, but in Chenjiazhuang at that time, in winter, on the mountain, it was already late at night.

Chen Youwei naturally settled down at Jiming Mountain. He was very meticulous when it came to serious matters, but he was also adaptable. He had eaten and drunk his fill, and most importantly, he had discussed the important matters. That was enough for him.

Accountant Wang hesitated. He wanted to go home that night, but he felt that the road at night would be difficult to travel.

Chen Wenfeng noticed Wang's hesitation and said:

"Uncle Wang, it's cold and late at night, and the road is difficult to travel. Why don't you stay overnight on the mountain? There are four houses on the mountain, and each one has a kang (heated brick bed). Not to mention these four houses, even the chicken coop, though smelly, is habitable."

Accountant Wang hesitated, frowning as he thought.

Chen Youwei drank some more wine and got a little drunk. Feeling sleepy, he stopped caring about other things, patted Accountant Wang on the shoulder, and went to sleep.

"Wenfeng, find me a flashlight. I'm planning to go back. I didn't tell your aunt I was staying here."

"All right!"

Chen Wenfeng guessed what Wang was thinking from his expression, so he didn't press the matter. However, he still felt it was a bit unsafe for him to return to the village from the mountain alone, so he called Niu Da, Niu Er, and Zhou Zhiming over and asked:

"Uncle Wang is going down the mountain, who among you will escort him?"

Zhou Zhiming rarely stays on the mountain, and he was planning to stay here today anyway. He had eaten quite a lot in the evening, so he was feeling drowsy and didn't respond.

Niu Er has been going out to deliver goods lately and always comes home, while Niu Da has been coming down the mountain less often.

Niu Da said:

"Brother Feng, I'll go with Uncle Wang. I haven't been back for a few days."

Accountant Wang stubbornly insisted, saying:

"I can go back by myself, no need for anyone to take me, it's no problem."

Chen Wenfeng stopped wasting words with Accountant Wang. He found two flashlights, replaced the batteries in both, and gave one to Accountant Wang and one to Niu Da.

Niu Er found a thick coat for Niu Da to wear over his clothes and stuffed his slingshot into his pocket.

Niu Da put on the rabbit-skin gloves and gave Niu Er's gloves to Accountant Wang. Chen Wenfeng gave Niu Da a few instructions, and the two of them went down the mountain together.

The road back was indeed difficult.

The night wind blew constantly along the way; it wasn't strong, but it was extremely cold.

The withered grass rustled along the road, and the beam of the flashlight tore a hole in the night, illuminating the area where the two of them were.

In the night breeze, there were occasional eerie, mournful cries of some unknown animal.

Accountant Wang felt like the hairs on his body were standing on end.

Even the occasional dark shadow of a blade of grass or tree filled him with dread.

Accountant Wang was glad that Chen Wenfeng insisted on Niu Da seeing him off; otherwise, he estimated he would have had to turn back after only a few steps.

If that's the case, it would be too embarrassing. Oh well, embarrassing is better than losing your life.

The woods were very dark, while the sky above them was a deep blue.

The moon appeared and disappeared intermittently through the swaying clouds.

Accountant Wang glanced at Niu Da from time to time, but Niu Da remained calm and composed.

This young man is even better than me, he couldn't help but secretly admire him.

Actually, Niu Da was a little scared, but when Accountant Wang walked with him at night, he became much braver.

As one grows bolder, one's eyes and ears become more sensitive, and with a slingshot in hand, one's heart begins to itch to play.

The bird, awakened by the wind, hovered and flew among the treetops. Niu Da aimed with his slingshot and whooshed!

A mud ball flew out.

Accountant Wang was startled by the rustling of leaves overhead. When he turned around, he saw Niu Dazheng intently aiming his slingshot at the deep blue night sky.

swoosh~

Swoosh~

As several mud pellets flew out, a whooshing sound came from above. Accountant Wang felt his scalp tingle, and then a dark shadow fluttered at his feet.

One, two...

But Niu Da had already put away his slingshot, and using a flashlight, he picked up two birds from the ground.

Accountant Wang was astonished by Niu Da's move and praised him:

"Niu Da, your slingshot is pretty accurate."

"Not very accurate either, only two out of four shots hit."

It's so dark and so high up, it's already quite impressive.

The two continued walking back, and when they passed Chen Wenfeng's watermelon patch, Niu Da suddenly shoved the two birds he was holding into Accountant Wang's hands and whispered:

"Uncle Wang, please take this. I saw pheasants on this plot of land yesterday. Let's try our luck today."

Before Accountant Wang could speak, he felt a weight on his hand and grasped a hard, cold bird's claw.

The woods to the south of the watermelon field were sparse, allowing the moonlight to filter through. At this moment, there were no watermelon vines in the field, only some withered grass.

Accountant Wang thought Niu would quietly go and catch pheasants, but unexpectedly he picked up stones from inside and kept throwing them into the ground.

With a thud, a plump pheasant wriggled its rear end and clumsily took flight.

Taking advantage of the moonlight, Niu Da drew back his slingshot and shot it at the fat shadow.

With a flutter, two more pheasants flew away...

Niu Da continued to aim and fire...

This time, Niu Da shot very quickly; he fired more than a dozen mud pellets at two pheasants in an instant.

Niu Er had given him not many mud balls to begin with, but when he reached into his pocket again, there were only two or three left.

All three pheasants were shot. Niu Da used a flashlight to find two of the pheasants out of the grass, but he couldn't find the third one no matter what he did.

Accountant Wang also searched for a while, but couldn't find it either.

"It's dark today, I'll look for it again when I go back up the mountain tomorrow morning."

Niu Da muttered to himself.

Seeing that Niu Da was somewhat downcast, Accountant Wang said:

"It's cold now, and the pheasant will probably be frozen solid by tomorrow, so it won't get lost."

Niu Da was very competitive when it came to slingshots. Heeding Accountant Wang's advice and remembering that Brother Feng had asked him to accompany Accountant Wang down the mountain, he couldn't forget his mission and said:

"Uncle Wang, let's go back quickly, it's getting colder and colder."

The two walked across the stone bridge.

Entering the village.

Niu Da insisted on taking Accountant Wang to his doorstep and gave him a pheasant as a gift.

Although Accountant Wang was a little embarrassed, he still accepted it because Li Cuie liked to eat wild game.

Niu Da went home.

Yang Xiuhua, the mother, had already gone to bed, but when she heard the howling wind outside, her heart started pounding.

Although the conditions on Jiming Mountain were very good, she still missed her two children.

Since she couldn't sleep, she got up and pulled the light cord by the kang (a heated brick bed).

Then she heard a knock on the door.

So late...

"Who is it?"

"Mom, it's me, Niu Da."

When Yang Xiuhua heard that her son had returned, she quickly opened the door.

Niu Da, flashlight in hand and carrying pheasants and wild birds, grinned at her...

Accountant Wang stood at his door and peered through the crack in the door. He noticed that the lights were still on inside. It was so late. He wondered what Li Cuie was doing.

Or perhaps, she...

Accountant Wang hesitated for a long time before finally knocking on the door...

......

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