1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

The mountains are covered in snow, and the deeper you go into the forest, the quieter it becomes.

Just before heading into the mountains, the group of people were chatting and laughing together, gossiping about village matters and making a lot of noise.

At this moment, all of them fell silent.

I don't dare to speak loudly now, especially in winter. The wild animals in this forest are very clever, and their hearing and sense of smell are much stronger than humans', so it's best not to startle them.

Everyone was carrying a gun, groping their way forward with uneven steps. They walked for more than five miles, spending most of the morning, and in the end, they only managed to shoot down two greyhounds (demon squirrels).

Unlike other wild animals, this little creature does not hibernate completely in winter. As long as it is a sunny and windless day, it will come out of tree holes and snowdrifts to forage for food.

Before long, the sun was at noon.

The group's legs were already sore from walking, so they found a sheltered spot.

They cleared a space and gathered up some dry branches to make a fire.

Everyone took out the dry rations they carried with them and roasted them by the fire. The cold, hard cornbread softened considerably from the smoke and fire, and they were finally able to bite into it and eat it.

Chen Gaoshan took out an empty tin can, filled it with the clean snow from the surrounding area, and put it on the campfire to cook.

The snow melted when heated and boiled into plain water.

Several people sat cross-legged on the snow, around a campfire, eating their warmed dry rations with warm water and pickled vegetables.

They went into the mountains together, and neither of them looked down on the other.

We took turns drinking water from the same can, one sip for you, one sip for me.

Ma Wanzhong ate the fastest, finishing his cornbread in just a few bites. After swallowing the last bite, he couldn't bear to waste it, so he swept all the crumbs from his palm into his mouth, picked up the can, and gulped down two large mouthfuls of hot water to calm himself down.

He exhaled a puff of white breath.

"We've been busy all morning, working from dawn till dusk, braving the cold, and all we've caught are two greyhounds. I reckon we'll be staying in the mountains for at least two or three days. If we end up going back to the village empty-handed, all this freezing weather will have been for nothing."

Liu Chunlei, who was standing next to him, immediately darkened his face and kicked him in the shin with a light kick.

"What kind of discouraging nonsense are you spouting! When you're in the hunting grounds of the mountains, it's the worst thing you can say such weak things! Once a person loses their spirit and energy, nothing will go smoothly."

Now that we're in this forest, we should just think positively and say auspicious things to cheer ourselves up. You have no self-control; if it were my eldest son, I'd slap him across the face and see if he dared to spout nonsense again!

Ma Wanzhong knew he had misspoken the rules; those entering the mountains should avoid being discouraged. He gave an embarrassed smile and dared not argue.

He quickly raised his hand and gently patted his mouth twice, spitting out two spittles.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! I was just talking nonsense without thinking. I'll slap myself a couple of times! Just pretend I didn't say anything, let it go, it doesn't count, it doesn't count!"

"That's more like it. Everyone's eaten enough, right? Once you've rested enough, we'll continue into the mountains."

"That's about it."

They used snow to extinguish the fire, then shouldered their rifles and set off.

Following the footprints of varying depths on the ground, the group continued their search for traces of wild animals.

Chen Gaoshan walked at the back of the group.

Remembering the taboos passed down from the older generation, he lowered his voice and gave instructions to the little button in front of him.

"In these mountains, if you get into trouble, you must not call out someone's name. You have to call out three times, like 'Hey hey hey,' or 'Hey hey hey.' If you just shout 'Ah!', no one will pay attention to you. Women will laugh, children will cry, and you can't turn around when you call out the name of someone you know."

Xiao Kouzi, holding a gun, immediately turned his head.

"Brother Shanzi, why are you doing this? Wouldn't it be easier to just call out names to find someone?"

"There's a reason behind it. It's like the old saying, 'One person shouldn't enter a temple, and two people shouldn't look into a well.' These are all rules for protecting your life. The taboos in the mountains have been passed down from generation to generation. If you follow them, you'll be safe. If you don't follow them, you'll suffer great losses and great dangers."

Xiao Button nodded emphatically, keeping these words in mind.

"I've got it. From now on, when I go into the mountains, I'll definitely abide by the rules!"

The four avoided the windy area and entered a low-lying ravine.

This ravine is five or six meters long, following the contours of the mountain. The terrain is sunken and the snow is thick.

The group worked together to create a large snow cellar that was more than two meters deep.

These snow cellars are specifically designed to deal with roe deer.

In winter, the snow accumulates to the top of the iceberg. Roe deer's limbs get stuck in the snow, making it difficult for them to jump. Once they fall into a deep pit, there is nothing to hold onto at the bottom. No matter how much they can jump, they can't get out and can only wait to die inside.

Once the trap was set, the group dared not be careless.

Mark the area around the snow cellar to prevent your own people from falling into the pit while retreating or getting dark.

With everything set up, the four of them put on snowshoes and stepped onto long planks, so they no longer sank into the thick snow.

Each person held their pre-prepared gongs and chimes, ready to officially begin the hunt.

Chen Gaoshan and Liu Chunlei were the best gunners in the village, with steady and accurate guns, capable of handling both near and far ranges.

Ma Wanzhong and Xiao Kouzi are not good marksmen; they can only hit close targets, and at a slightly longer distance, they basically just fire wildly.

Therefore, the hunting strategy has always been that experienced players camp out and kill, while novices chase after the enemy in the outer circles.

The group found the most densely packed area of ​​wild animal tracks in the forest. The ground was covered with roe deer hoof prints, both old and new, clearly indicating that this was a place where wild animals frequented.

Chen Gaoshan found a sheltered spot away from the snow and hid there.

The remaining three immediately dispersed, creating a large hunting circle.

Xiao Kouzi is young, fast, and has good stamina, so he is responsible for driving away the outermost circle.

He walked to his position on his snowboard, banged on the gong and the tree trunk, the banging sounds echoing through the forest, along with the sounds of several people rubbing and shouting, gradually driving the wild animals in the enclosure toward Chen Gaoshan's ambush point.

The entire forest instantly descended into chaos.

All the flying creatures fled, leaving only the ground animals running frantically, leaping desperately through the deep snow.

The commotion in the woods grew louder and louder.

Chen Gaoshan stared ahead.

In the blink of an eye, he saw seven or eight roe deer in a group, jumping frantically toward him. They were startled by the noise and scattered in all directions, rushing straight toward him.

A distance of more than 20 meters.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Several shots were fired in succession. To those who didn't know the intricacies, it was just the sound of gunfire. But for a gunner like Chen Gaoshan, who was used to being fed bullets, the sound of a gunshot told him whether it had hit or not.

The sound of hitting the prey is a thud, a sudden thud, followed by an echo, a soft slur.

There was no sound of hitting anything, just a soft thud and that was it.

Another point is that when the butt of the gun is pressed against the stock, the recoil sensation when the gun hits the shoulder is less than when the gun misses and the gun is not fired.

In reality, this is psychological. Once the bullet leaves the barrel, the recoil ends, and whether it hits or not does not change the recoil of the gun.