Back to my 1980s

"Why are you giving this to me?" Song Zhiqiang asked curiously when Zhao Hua handed him the flashlight.

Zhao Hua looked around, his hand still outstretched, and smiled, saying, "I have some experience catching fish, but I'll leave catching pheasants to you; I'm not very good at it."

Hearing Zhao Hua say this, Song Zhiqiang felt a little smug. He took the flashlight. He had felt a little inferior when he heard Zhao Hua occasionally mention how much money he could make catching fish. Now he finally felt that he had something he was better at than Zhao Hua.

Seeing Song Zhiqiang take the flashlight, Zhao Hua thought for a moment and asked, "Why don't you catch some pheasants to sell? They have a lot of meat on them, they should be worth quite a bit, right?"

Song Zhiqiang turned on his flashlight and paused, stunned. He hadn't really thought about this problem. After hesitating for a moment, he slapped his thigh. Zhao Hua looked at him with pain, but then he heard him say, "Hey brother! But have you thought about who I'd sell it to? The people in my village wouldn't buy it, and I'm too scared to sell it in the county. Besides, I don't even have a flashlight! I always have to borrow one from others, okay? I might be able to catch someone by setting a trap, but do you think I'm the kind of person who goes to check things out often? If I go too late, someone else will just pick it up!"

Zhao Hua chuckled at his rambling complaints and thought for a moment, "Leaving him the flashlight? That would be a good idea."

But the reason he was able to get along with me so quickly was because I gave him two cans of food when we first met, right?

What if you leave him the flashlight and he starts catching pheasants every day and no longer wants canned food? Investing in canned food and building a good relationship with him shouldn't be a big problem. Just keep him busy and prevent him from developing a spoiled attitude and getting into trouble later.

Thinking about this, he lost some of his desire to leave the flashlight to him, deciding to wait until the relationship was more stable before making any decisions.

So he chuckled and chimed in, "That's true, we wouldn't have dared to sell them before."

Song Zhiqiang grinned, picked up a flashlight, turned it on, and the flashlight shone a dim yellow light. He led Zhao Hua along the field where the wheat had just been harvested, making a crunching sound underfoot.

He slowed his pace, afraid of startling the wild animals. Zhao Hua followed at a leisurely pace beside him, his eyes searching along with the beam of the flashlight.

Song Zhiqiang's hand holding the flashlight was quite steady, and the beam of light swept across a wide area. Only when he encountered piles of wheat straw and weed beds along the edge of the field did he carefully search inch by inch.

The two of them moved very quietly. At night, a flashlight could be used to spot a pheasant, but only if they could get close enough to touch it.

It is almost blind at night, but its ears are very sensitive, and it is easily startled and flies away if you make any sudden movements.

The two of them held their breath and crept forward a few dozen steps, one in front of the other. Song Zhiqiang's beam of light swept back and forth across the stubble field, passing over two or three empty grass clumps, but there was no movement at all.

After walking forward quietly for a while, Zhao Hua suddenly reached out and gently tugged at Song Zhiqiang's arm, lowering his voice to say, "Shh, to the left, shine the light over there, be quiet."

Song Zhiqiang paused slightly, then gently turned the flashlight in the direction Zhao Hua had indicated. The dim light moved only a short distance, sweeping across a clump of withered wheat stalks, before illuminating a pheasant lying nearby.

Song Zhiqiang excitedly waved his hand, handed the flashlight in his hand to Zhao Hua, pointed at the pheasant, and mouthed to Zhao Hua that he should go forward and catch it.

Zhao Hua nodded, took the flashlight, and stood aside, pointing it at the pheasant's eyes. Song Zhiqiang tiptoed around to avoid blocking the light, then suddenly pressed the shutter, excitedly shouting, "Got it! Got it! We can have meat again tomorrow!"

The pheasant kept flapping and clucking in his hands. Seeing that it was making a fuss, Song Zhiqiang bent its neck and grabbed it by the wings, and the clucking stopped abruptly.

Zhao Hua stepped forward with a cheerful smile, and by the dim beam of his flashlight, he looked down at the colorful pheasant in Song Zhiqiang's hand and said with a smile, "Not bad, I caught one not long after I came out. I'm pretty lucky, but it doesn't look very big."

"Hmm, I'd estimate it's just over a pound. Wild pheasants are all like that; they're not as plump as domesticated chickens, but the meat is firmer and chewier." Song Zhiqiang weighed the pheasant in his hand and handed it to Zhao Hua, saying, "You take it? Shall we go look for more?"

"Okay, I'll take it. You go ahead, and we'll look for it again." Zhao Hua reached out and took the chicken, then handed the flashlight back to him. The pheasant in his hand was warm and fuzzy.

The last time I ate pheasant was around the year 2000. I haven't eaten it since, and I rarely see pheasants anymore; it's like they've disappeared.

Song Zhiqiang took the flashlight and led the way, making a great start right from the beginning.

He was so tired of catching any more that he didn't even want to. If it weren't for the fact that one wasn't enough to eat, he would have wanted to drag Zhao Hua home right now. Running around all night was so tiring; it would be so much more comfortable to stay at home, since there was already enough to eat.

"Hey! Brother!" Song Zhiqiang called out softly from the front.

"What's wrong?"

"Watch your step, once the wheat is harvested, those snakes will be scurrying around everywhere."

Zhao Hua looked down at his clothes; he was still wearing the trousers he had worn when he came over.

He was wearing the same black cloth shoes he had come in, and shook his head, saying, "It's alright, there shouldn't be anything poisonous. If something poisonous bites you, I'll carry you to the county town overnight. Anyway, it's not that far from here to the county town, it'll only take an hour or two."

"I'd rather carry you on my back!" Song Zhiqiang said with a laugh as he turned around.

"Keep your voice down. Hurry up and see if you can still catch him and take him home. Your little sister is still waiting at home. I don't know if she's asleep or not. If you get home too late, she'll scold you."

Song Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "It's okay, just wake her up if she's asleep. What's the big deal about opening a door?"

Zhao Hua pursed his lips and followed Song Zhiqiang with his head down. The two searched around the field ridge for a while, and could vaguely see lights sweeping in their direction from afar.

However, it was too far away, so I could only vaguely see a small beam of light.

The two searched for more than two hours and found two more, but one of them was accidentally startled and flew away, so they only caught one.

Only when the flashlight beam started to dim did Song Zhiqiang turn to Zhao Hua and say, "The flashlight is almost out of power. I forgot to buy some spare batteries. Two should be enough for now. Shall we head back?"

"Okay, let's go back. It's getting late. The lights for those people watching the threshing ground have all been turned off. I used to see them huddled together chatting like that."

"Okay, let's go home!" Song Zhiqiang said.

The two of them were carrying one each on their way home.

The night wind, carrying the dry, hard scent of wheat stubble, blew against their faces. The ridges of the fields were uneven and full of potholes. Both of them were in a hurry to get back.

Even the barking of dogs in the distant village had become scarce, with only the soft crunch of wheat stalks underfoot. The flashlight beam grew weaker and weaker, dimly illuminating only a few steps ahead before turning into complete darkness beyond.