Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

Brother Zhang rubbed his hands together, his face showing some embarrassment at having to ask for help.

"Brother Zhang, just tell me what's wrong, and I'll definitely help if I can."

Seeing Zhang Sange's embarrassed and awkward expression, Li Yunshan thought that there was some difficulty in his family. He knew that Zhang Sange's wife was weak and sickly and could not do any heavy work. Especially in winter, when it was freezing cold, she would fall ill if she went out and caught a cold.

Besides, Zhang Sange has several children to support, and the burden of making a living falls almost entirely on his shoulders.

Although being a hunter is a tough and dangerous job, as long as their family members are healthy and safe, they live a much better life than the average villager.

Like Uncle Zhou, who raised five children and rebuilt five new tile-roofed houses early last year; his eldest brother Li Yunshi's house was also newly built three years ago.

But Zhang Sange still lives in the old house from thirty years ago, passed down from his father's generation.

The house was dilapidated, drafty in winter and leaky in summer.

Why?

It's all because his wife has been sick for years. He used almost all the money he earned from hunting, except for raising his children, to pay for his wife's medical treatment.

If it weren't for his wife's illness, Zhang Sange might have already built a new tiled house.

"Yunshan, it's like this, look at this ox-horn bow of mine, it's been used for quite a few years. Speaking of which, this bow and arrow was passed down from my father."

"This morning, I went out to use the outhouse after I woke up and found tiger footprints in the yard. It scared me half to death."

"I inherited my father's skills and have been a hunter for many years, always using this bow and arrow. To be honest, hunting with a bow and arrow is not as good as using a hunting rifle. This morning, after seeing the tiger's paw prints in the yard, my wife and I went back inside and started thinking that I should buy a hunting rifle too."

"You know my family's situation. I've made some money hunting, but almost all of it has gone to raising my children and paying for my wife's medical treatment. Over the years, I've saved up more than 170 yuan by living frugally, but it's still a bit short to buy a Gongnong brand hunting rifle, so I was thinking of borrowing some from you."

"Don't worry, I won't borrow too much, just twenty yuan, enough for me to buy a Gongnong brand hunting rifle."

Zhang Sange spoke first.

At that time, the cheapest Worker-Peasant brand shotgun cost 180 yuan, and it was not a double-barreled shotgun, but a single-barreled shotgun, which could only be loaded with one bullet at a time.

The price of the Gongnong brand double-barreled shotgun is slightly higher, at 210 yuan.

In the village, apart from those who use bird guns and bows and arrows, all the hunters who use shotguns, whether they are Gongnong brand or Hutou brand, basically use double-barreled shotguns. They never use single-barreled shotguns to hunt in the mountains.

As anyone who goes hunting in the mountains knows, although double-barreled shotguns are more expensive than single-barreled ones, they can hold one more bullet, giving them a natural firepower advantage.

Imagine a hunter shoots a prey that is only wounded and not immediately killed, and then charges straight at you. A double-barreled shotgun can fire the second bullet in the barrel immediately, while a single-barreled shotgun can only be fired after reloading.

Don't underestimate the difference in just one step. It may only take three to five seconds to load a single bullet into a single-barreled shotgun, but those three to five seconds can determine a hunter's life or death.

Therefore, whether it was Uncle Zhou, Li Yunshan, or Li Yunshi, they all used double-barreled shotguns. Even Gao Hongmei, who had only been hunting for a short time, was influenced by Li Yunshan and herself, and after she had money, she bought a Tiger Head brand double-barreled shotgun.

Simply put, a double-barreled shotgun can naturally hold one more bullet than a single-barreled shotgun, allowing for a second firing, and that's enough.

But Zhang San had saved up more than 170 yuan, and only asked to borrow 20 yuan from him, enough to buy a single-barreled shotgun. This shows that he probably really only had that much money, but he didn't want to trouble others too much, so he only lent 20 yuan.

"Brother Zhang, the twenty yuan you asked me to lend you, plus the money you've saved, is only enough to buy a single-barreled shotgun. This thing has to be reloaded after each shot, which isn't very practical. I suggest you buy a double-barreled shotgun instead. After firing one bullet, there's still one left in the barrel. If the first bullet doesn't kill the prey, it will save you the trouble and time of reloading and allow you to fire a second shot."

After analyzing the situation for Zhang Sange, Li Yunshan offered his sincere advice.

But Brother Zhang looked bitter: "Sigh, how could I not know? It's just... don't laugh at me, but I'm terrified of being poor, I dare not borrow money recklessly and spend it recklessly!"

As a hunter with extensive hunting experience, Zhang Sange knew all too well that a double-barreled shotgun was better than a single-barreled shotgun. The fact that a double-barreled shotgun could hold one more bullet made it superior to a single-barreled shotgun.

A double-barreled shotgun carries one more bullet than a single-barreled shotgun, which is equivalent to having an extra shot. In dangerous situations, this can be life-saving, giving hunters an extra chance to live.

However, most of his hunting income over the years, apart from raising his children, has been used to treat his wife's illness.

The 170-plus yuan he had painstakingly saved was the result of years of frugal living.

A fake Gongnong brand double-barreled shotgun costs 210 yuan, which is 30 yuan more expensive than a single-barreled Gongnong brand shotgun.

Don't underestimate these thirty yuan; it would take him a year to save up that much.

Because there are many expenses at home and it's difficult to save money, even though he's thought about replacing his equipment over the years, Zhang Sange always puts off the idea of ​​buying a hunting rifle whenever he thinks about the many other expenses at home.

However, when he went to the outhouse this morning, he found tiger paw prints in the yard, which made Zhang Sange suddenly realize that he needed to have a hunting rifle.

With a hunting rifle in hand, he could fight even fierce beasts like tigers and bears; and as for wolves, as long as they weren't in packs and were within the effective range of his rifle, he could easily take them down.

With a hunting rifle, the accuracy of hunting is definitely better than that of a bow and arrow, and the killing power is also greater.

This reminded Zhang Sange of a time when he went hunting in the mountains. He shot a deer with a bow and arrow, but after the arrow flew dozens of meters, its penetrating power was greatly reduced. It only pierced the deer's skin and failed to cause any real damage, so he could only watch helplessly as the deer escaped.

If only I had a hunting rifle back then...

Zhang Sange couldn't help but think that he certainly wouldn't let that deer escape so easily.

In addition, there's Gao Hongmei from the same village.

She had only been hunting in the mountains with Li Yunshan for a short time when she used Li Yunshan's hunting rifle to hunt a fully grown wild boar and a red deer. Not only did she successfully pay back the money she borrowed from Li Yunshan, but she also saved up money to buy a hunting rifle herself.

If Gao Hongmei, a woman, can hunt large animals like wild boars and deer with a hunting rifle, then what can't he, an experienced hunter, do?

However, Zhang Sange had a concern: what if he couldn't catch any decent, high-value prey?

Because, in addition to relying on one's accumulated hunting experience, luck is also a very important factor in hunting.

Like Li Yunshan, he used to be idle and did nothing proper, but once he started hunting, good luck came one after another.

He and Uncle Zhou had been hunting for so many years and had never encountered a tiger or a bear, but Li Yunshan did, and even killed the tiger and the bear.

Therefore, Zhang Sange did not dare to ask Li Yunshan for more money to buy a better double-barreled shotgun.

But after listening to Li Yunshan's analysis and suggestions, Zhang Sange thought about it carefully and also felt that what he said made sense.

"Then... lend me fifty yuan, that's enough for me to buy a Gongnong brand double-barreled shotgun."

Zhang Sange said.

However, when the offer to lend fifty yuan came up, Brother Zhang couldn't help but swallow hard.

As soon as he said that, he was burdened with a debt of fifty yuan.

"Okay, no problem."

Li Yunshan immediately nodded in agreement, then took out some money from the inside pocket of his cotton-padded coat, counted out five ten-yuan bills, and handed them to Brother Zhang: "Brother Zhang, take this money first. You can pay me back when you have more money."

"Yunshan, thank you."

Zhang Sange took the money from Li Yunshan and thanked him repeatedly.

Li Yunshan waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to thank him.

Actually, even if Zhang Sange didn't borrow money from him, he would have borrowed money from his elder brother.

Because Zhang Sange, Zhou Wushu, and his elder brother Li Yunshi usually go hunting in the mountains together.

If you really want to trace the relationship between the three families, you can go back to his grandfather's generation, and then it was passed down to his father's generation.

However, his father and Zhang Sange's father have passed away, and now only Uncle Zhou is left.

None of Uncle Zhou's children were willing to go into the mountains with him to learn hunting.

Therefore, Li Yunshan lent money to Zhang Sange for two reasons: first, because of their fathers' friendship, and second, because Zhang Sange was an honest and reliable person.

If other hunters asked him for money, Li Yunshan might not lend it to them.

"Hey, Yunshan, Brother Zhang, come here quickly."

Just then, one of the hunters walking in front looked back and saw that Zhang Sange and Li Yunshan were far behind the group, so he quickly waved and called out.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Li Yunshan responded and then he and Zhang Sange jogged over quickly.

After catching up, Uncle Zhou called all the hunters in the village together.

"Everyone, please share your thoughts on how we should deal with that tiger."

Uncle Zhou spoke up on Friday.

Last time a bear came into the village, it almost tore the old hunter's head to pieces.

Since then, the old man fell seriously ill, and Uncle Zhou, the oldest and most experienced hunter in the village, became the backbone of the hunters.