Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 326: Fearing death and cherishing life, three people gathered together
In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun exuded brilliant colors. Xu Ning sat on a bench under the eaves, looking at the colorful sky.

Half a meter in front of him, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu were sitting on wooden stools, holding in their hands drills made of No. 10 wire, with six or seven pieces of fat and lean mutton skewers pierced on the drills. Wang Hu was sprinkling salt on the mutton skewers.

The two sheep that Lao Fang brought were not bled, because Da Laba brought them only one night after the sheep were killed by the old leopard. The mutton had a stronger smell.

In addition to the mutton skewers, Xu Ning also asked Wang Hu to cut some leopard meat and bear meat. Leopard meat has little fat, so he just brushed bear oil on the surface and sprinkled some cumin, sesame and salt on it. It tasted quite delicious!

Some people may ask, why is it said to be fragrant? Isn't leopard meat sour?

It is quite difficult to eat meat these days, especially leopard meat if you have never eaten it before. Once you try it, it is easy to accept it even if it tastes a bit strange.

For example, wild boar meat has a fishy smell. People who lack meat in their bodies will never say it is unpalatable after eating it, because being able to eat meat twice a year is considered a happy life. If they are picky about the meat after eating it, it means that they are not greedy for meat and are not lacking meat.

In the outer room, Yang Shuhua and Liu Lizhen were cooking and stewing, while Han Fengjiao was mixing cold dishes. Today's cuisine was a bit rich, with mutton, leopard meat, bear meat, roe deer meat and venison all stewed. As for wild boar, it didn't even qualify to be on the table.

At this time, Xu Laonian and Wang Erli walked quickly into the courtyard, saw Xu Ning and others grilling skewers, and immediately grinned, showing joy.

"Oh my god, what happened? I heard that you four were strangled to death by the old leopard?"

Several people turned their heads when they heard this, and Li Fuqiang said with a smile: "Yeah, uncle! How did you hear about it so quickly?"

"That's not good. As soon as I got off the car and entered the village, I heard people muttering, 'You four are quite capable! How did you get strangled to death by a leopard?'"

Wang Erli walked quickly into the house, turned around, stepped out of the door, and asked, "Where is the old leopard? Why can't I see it?"

"It's being roasted here! The leopard skin is hanging on the wall downstairs..."

Xu Laonian clapped his hands and said, "Oh! Erli, let's go look at the leopard skin later. Huzi, tell me quickly, how did the leopard strangle you to death? I've been thinking about it, but I still can't figure it out."

Then, Wang Hu handed the chisel in his hand to Guan Lei, stood up and narrated the whole story from beginning to end. During the period, Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei added frankly, which heightened the tense atmosphere to the extreme and highlighted that Xu Ning's brain was working quickly and he came up with the idea of ​​strangling the leopard to death with a rope.

After hearing this, Xu Laonian put his right hand on his waist, held a cigarette in his left hand and pointed at Xu Ning, "What did I say? You have no time to show off! The old leopard has been caught in the nylon net, you can just stab it to death with a knife, why do you have to strangle it to death, are you trying to show off your ability?"

Xu Ning stared into Xu Laonian's eyes and smiled, but Li Fuqiang said, "Uncle, it's not my brother's fault. He was also after the leopard skin."

"Well, uncle, go to the lower room and take a look. The leopard skin is very beautiful, without any scratches. My second brother said that it can be sold for a lot of money."

Xu Laonian nodded without saying anything. Wang Erli asked, "Are all four of you injured?"

"Nothing happened. It was really worthwhile to spend ten days guarding the old Fang family."

After Xu Laonian and Wang Erli went to the lower room and took a look at the leopard skin, they looked at each other silently and muttered, "Brother, how do you think Erning came up with this trick? If it were the two of us, could we hold down the old leopard?"

Xu Laonian waved his hand and said, "Forget it. We can't even touch the shadow of the leopard. With our two tricks...eh."

Although he sometimes didn't want to admit that his son was better than him, the fact was already there, and he had to admit it! What's more, Xu Laonian and Wang Erli were no longer thinking about running to the mountains to hunt. They were currently studying how to play...

After walking out of the lower room, Xu Ning turned around and asked with a smile: "Dad, second uncle, how is it? Does the leopard skin look good?"

Xu Laonian waved his hand, "That's all."

Wang Erli smiled and said, "It's really good. How are you going to sell it?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. I think my family is not short of money, so I'll just keep it at home and sell it when I need money."

Xu Laonian took the mutton skewer handed over by Wang Hu, took two bites, and said, "It's a bit bland. What about the leopard meat? Keep it for yourself."

"We can eat as much as we can and just try what it tastes like. I'm thinking of sending it out, mainly to my eldest brother, who just went to work in the city..."

Xu Laonian nodded upon hearing this, and had no objection to Xu Ning's arrangement. "That's fine. Send a pound of meat to Lao Jiang tomorrow and let him try it."

"Well, I'll take Wang Biao with me tomorrow, Second Uncle, don't worry!"

Wang Erli chewed the mutton and laughed, "Why should I worry? It's all nonsense! This little brat hasn't even graduated yet, and he's always daydreaming. I think he deserves a light beating!"

"Hahaha……"

In the evening, four groups of people gathered at Old Xu's house and set up two tables. They prepared three kinds of staple food: rice, sticky bean dumplings, and bear meat and sauerkraut dumplings.

The dishes were even more sumptuous, including grilled lamb skewers, leopard and bear meat skewers, mutton soup, braised lamb chops, fried leopard meat, stewed venison, roe deer meat, etc. Looking at the table full of meat, everyone had an expression of happiness that was difficult to express in words. They just raised their glasses to drink, and the house was filled with laughter.

Xu Ning was obsessed with the mutton skewers, lamb chops and lamb soup, and his mouth was drooling with oil. Today he really satisfied his craving.

Even though Old Xu's family was well off, they didn't dare to eat and drink as much as they wanted, because mutton and beef were really expensive, and there were many of them. A meal would cost at least 20 yuan, or if they bought less, it wouldn't be enough. Each person only ate one bite, and how could they enjoy it? It was like filling up the gaps between their teeth, so it was better not to eat at all.

My mother sat on the kang and picked up the wine glass again. She had drunk two glasses of wine today, which was enough to show how happy she was.

Xu Laonian said, "Qiangzi, you and Leizi will come with me tomorrow, and I will send Leizi to the forest farm when we get there."

Li Fuqiang said, "Well, uncle, I'll come here to eat tomorrow morning."

"Of course we have to eat here. We all come here for breakfast. There are some leftovers from tonight. If we don't clean up, can we just eat the leftovers?"

Liu Daming turned around and said, "Brother-in-law, I won't come tomorrow."

Xu Laonian was a little drunk from drinking, and said, "You can come or not! What's the matter? You are special."

"Hey, Guoxing and I will go for a walk in the mountains tomorrow and won't be back until the afternoon."

Normally, Liu Daming only dared to stroll around East Mountain and the mountainsides of South Mountain, such as Shuangfengling and Ximaduozi West Peak, and he did not dare to go deep into the mountains alone.

Why? Cherish life, fear death!

This was not a shameful thing, because every year there were people who went into the mountains alone and disappeared, and Liu Daming had a family, so Xu Laonian had warned him before not to go into the mountains alone, in case something happened and there was no one to take care of him.

So are there people who go mountain running on their own? Yes, and there are many.

For example, Lao Jiang, Da Laba, Lan Guodong, Lao Han and others, they just go hiking by themselves. Although this is not very safe, the gains are relatively large, and they don’t have to share with others… Wang Erli was stunned when he heard this, and raised his glass to ask: "Guoxing? Who is that?"

"That's Da La Ba! Didn't the three of them come to our house for lunch this afternoon? My second nephew suggested it, and I thought it was a good idea. You guys don't have time to stroll in the mountains, and it's really boring for me to wander around the East Mountain by myself."

Xu Laonian suddenly realized it, turned to look at Xu Ning and asked, "Is it going to work?"

"Well, I've had a few experiences with him, and I feel he's quite decent. Apart from his bad mouth, he's pretty good at doing things."

Xu Ning said: "Last time in Shetanggou, I didn't really save his life, but he still remembered it. It's better than the two brothers from the Chang family."

"That's fine!" Xu Laonian took a sip of wine and said, "Daming, sometimes you talk too directly and touch people's hearts. When you are with a loud speaker, don't say everything out loud, okay?"

"Brother-in-law, I can't talk nonsense, just rest assured."

Xu Laonian nodded: "Then let your sister prepare some food for us to eat in the mountains tomorrow."

"Eh!"

"I heard that Da Laba is from Dagouwei. Can you follow him?" Wang Erli asked.

Liu Daming said, "The dog was just bought not long ago and can't do anything. Isn't he waiting for Erning to help him tow the dog? We will go to Shuangfengling tomorrow and maybe catch some fish or something."

"what."

……

Ten days have passed since Xu Ning and others strangled Old Leopard to death. During this period, Xu Ning did not go anywhere and just lay at home to recuperate. Now his arm has recovered as before and he no longer feels tearing when he swings the axe to chop firewood.

The story of the four of them strangling a leopard was still circulating in the village, and it had basically become a topic of conversation among the villagers after dinner. As for the incident of Chang Beifeng being beaten, the discussion only lasted for two or three days before it died down, because the villagers were already accustomed to Chang Beifeng's experience.

Some people even said that Chang Beifeng, an old man, seemed to enjoy being beaten by his wife. He must have some kind of problem, otherwise how could he look so enjoying it when being beaten?

That evening, Chang Xifeng returned home and saw his younger brother with a bruised face and nose. He was so angry that he pointed at his nose and cursed him. Chang Beifeng and his wife did not dare to show any signs of violence, but he dared to show his fangs to his eldest brother. The two brothers almost came to a fight, otherwise Chang Beifeng would have taken action if Zhang Yan gave the order.

Chang Xifeng pointed at him and said angrily: "You are only as capable as me!"

Today, Li Feng has moved into the newly bought house with Chang Lihong and the children, Sun Cuiping and Li Tong.

This house is located right in front of Old Meng's house. The roofs of the east and west rooms are leaking and the windows are drafty. It was originally the house of a 70-year-old man - Old Dong.

His eldest son lives in Qing'antun, and his second son has settled in Nantun. Why doesn't Mr. Dong go to live with his eldest son in his old age?

It was obvious that he didn't have a good relationship with his eldest son because his wife had passed away, so they split up the family property...

Such things happened in almost every village. Some brothers even fought with knives and guns. Xu Ning remembered a pair of brothers in Beitun. Because of the division of the family, the five brothers had not seen each other for eight or nine years. Later, because of a piece of land, the fifth brother picked up a shovel and beat the third brother to death.

But this kind of thing would never happen in the Xu family, because Xu Long and Xu Ning would never do such a thing. Xu Long is a very patient person and very tolerant towards his brothers, while Xu Ning is a person who can read people's expressions and understand the ways of the world. In summary, these two brothers are very sentimental and are not cold-blooded animals.

On Sunday, Xu Ning, Wang Hu, Wang Biao, and Liu Tianen went to Lao Jiang's house carrying two kilograms of leopard meat. Lao Jiang's leg injury had healed, but he was not in a hurry to go hiking. Instead, he stayed at home for a while.

Old Jiang was quite surprised when he saw the leopard meat. He didn't expect Xu Ning to give him leopard meat. Jiang Qiu'er was also quite surprised. She looked at Wang Biao repeatedly, thinking that Wang Biao had said something at home, so Xu Ning and others came.

At that time, Xu Ning bluntly said that it was his father who asked him to send it, so that Lao Jiang would not think too much. He was a person who could not accept too much help from others. In other words, he just didn't want to owe others too much because he was afraid that he would not be able to pay it back.

"Uncle Jiang, let me talk a little. I don't recommend you to buy yellow leather. This animal is a bit annoying. It's easy to get sick after buying it. Think about it, how many leather have you bought in these years? But have you saved any money? Something happens every now and then, and all the money is spent..."

Old Jiang pointed at Wang Biao and Liu Tianen and asked them to go out and play with Jiang Qiuer. Only after the three of them left did he open his heart.

"Erning, you have seen what our family is like. If I don't get Huangpizi, how will Qiuer go to school? Do you know how much I owe these days? Your father paid for my medicine and left me 20 yuan. Your family has been bringing me food these days... I still owe Lao Liu 30 yuan. If I don't get Huangpizi, how can I pay for my hunger?"

Every family has its own difficulties, and Xu Ning certainly knew that. His purpose in bringing up this topic was to get Lao Jiang to change his way of making money.

"Uncle Jiang, this is what happened. You can see it now. My father and second uncle rarely go into the mountains for a stroll. My uncle himself doesn't dare to go deep into the mountains.

A few days ago, I asked him to team up with Taiping’s Dababa. It’s quite comfortable for them to run in the mountains together, but sometimes when they encounter problems, they can’t make up their minds...”

"I was thinking that if you could team up with my uncle and Da Laba, wouldn't it be safe for the three of you to go hiking in the mountains?
We all know each other well, so we definitely can't quarrel over money. We should decide how to divide the shares before we become partners. This way, Jiang Qiu'er can rest assured. Otherwise, she will be studying in school and thinking about you all the time.

Just tell me how close you were to being chased by the old leopard last time. You were lucky, otherwise what would have happened?"

Hearing this, Lao Jiang frowned and said, "I am a well-known person. If three of us go hiking together, who will listen to whom?"

"Uncle Jiang, it doesn't matter who you listen to. The three of you have your own strengths. Da Laba is good at hunting dogs, my uncle is good at tracking and fighting, and you are good at putting traps and using guns. The three of you complement each other! Isn't it right?"

Lao Jiang lit a cigarette, was silent for a moment, then looked up: "That's right, then... when you go to the street someday, you can buy the leather for me."

"Oh, no hurry."

"Listen to me first. I'm thinking of inviting them to my house so that the three of us can chat together. So I have to prepare some food, right?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "What kind of meal do you want? My uncle has already arranged it. If you agree, you and my uncle can go to Taiping Da Laba's house for lunch tomorrow. Bring two bottles of wine with you."

Lao Jiang asked, "Do your uncle and Da Laba know?"

"Then why don't you know?"

This story begins with the first time Liu Daming and Da Laba went hiking together. At that time, the two of them wandered in the mountains for half a day. Although they saw the traces of a deer, they did not dare to chase it because their marksmanship was average. Then, because of a small matter in the mountains, the two of them could not make up their minds, so after Liu Daming came back, he told Xu Laonian about this.

After hearing this, Xu Laonian asked Xu Ning to come find Lao Jiang. He thought that if the three of them could work together, they would be able to deal with most of the livestock in the mountains and would have someone to take care of them if anything happened. That's how Xu Ning mentioned this to Lao Jiang.

"Oh, that's fine..."

(End of this chapter)