Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 328: Greediness is not a disease, it is a person

Before lunch, Xu Ning was unable to finish stacking the firewood. He and Wang Hu had chopped too much firewood in the morning. During that time, after Yu Kaihe came to visit, the two of them immersed themselves in the bullet bag belts, carrying guns, inserting knives, and loading bullets into the belts. They were having a lot of fun, so they delayed the work in the yard.

After the meal, Xu Ning did not dare to rest, for fear that his mother would give him two pestles, so he hurriedly called Wang Hu to the yard to continue chopping wood and stacking firewood, and he did not finish until after one o'clock in the afternoon.

The firewood chopped today is only enough to burn for half a month. Xu Ning thought that the weather was good in the past two days, so he planned to go to the old forest with Wang Hu tomorrow to fetch some firewood.

When living in a village, of course the more firewood you have the better, because in summer you can't go into the woods to find firewood.

At that time, the forest was full of dense leaves and mosquitoes, and it was quite difficult to walk through the forest.

Therefore, most families will pile up a full firewood pile before the spring, enough to burn throughout the summer.

For other families, they don’t need to burn too much firewood in summer. They just need to burn some bean shells and corn cobs, which are enough for cooking and steaming rice.

But Old Xu's family is different. They are always thinking about what to eat and drink, and the amount of firewood they use is two or three times that of other families, so they have to prepare more firewood.

After stacking the firewood, the two men went into the house to drink some water, and then came to the doghouse, where Wang Hu used a shovel to shovel the dog poop.

Xu Ning crawled into the doghouse, pulled out the torn cotton mattress and straw inside, shook it a few times, then used a hand rake to scrape the dog hair off the mattress, and then replaced the straw and torn mattress.

This job has to be done almost every week. Blue Wolf, Gray Wolf, Flower Bear and Flower Egg are all very clean.

The doghouse hasn't been cleaned for a few days, so they are all unkempt.

Before cleaning the doghouse, Qinglang looked at Xu Ning with a somewhat depressed look.

After the cleanup, all the dogs were lively again and lined up waiting for Xu Ning to comb their hair.

Xu Ning held the hand rake, patted the wolf's butt with one hand, and held the hand rake with the other hand, and scolded: "Get out of here, don't stand there and act like a bitch!"

The gray wolf stood up on all fours, turned his head, opened his mouth with his tongue hanging out, and panted heavily, with happiness almost written on his face.

After Xu Ning patted the gray wolf's butt and drove it away, the spotted bear walked over with its head down and eyes narrowed, then lay down at Xu Ning's feet, waiting obediently for Xu Ning to comb its hair.

During the grooming process, the bear was enjoying himself, with his head leaning forward, his neck tilted upward, and his tail swaying from side to side...

After Wang Hu finished cleaning up the dog poop, he went to clean up the kennels of Dahuang and his own Xiaohuang at the gate of the yard, and brought the two yellow dogs to Xu Ning.

Since the Blue Wolf and his friends have all received such treatment, then naturally the two heroes who guard the house cannot be missing. Dogs are very jealous. Just now, when Da Huang saw the two of them cleaning the doghouses for the Blue Wolf and his friends, he howled anxiously at the gate of the yard, causing Xiao Huang, who didn't know the truth, to scream as well.

After combing the big dog's hair, it is the turn of the five puppies of the wolf. They have to be made aware of the hierarchy and their own status, otherwise they will ride on the big dog.
Although a dog's personality is determined by its innate genes, it is also closely related to its upbringing.

The five puppies that Xu Ning brought back were all very impatient, but when they were raised with Qinglang and the four big dogs, they became much quieter and more sensible.

Why? Because they were misbehaving, and the blue wolf, as their father, was really not used to it, so he pressed their heads to the ground with his two paws and rubbed them.

A while ago, we had to fight two battles almost every day. These days, it’s much better. At least One-Eye and the three black dogs don’t dare to act cowardly with the four blue wolves anymore.

While combing the dog's hair, Wu Qiuxia and Yang Shuhua came to Lao Xu's house side by side.

Standing under the eaves, chatting with Liu Lizhen and Han Fengjiao, Xu Ning listened with pleasure.

Wu Qiuxia said helplessly: "Sister, your brother is so greedy. He just brought back the roe deer and he started clamoring to eat the meat. I thought Shuhua would not be bothered after just two days of rest, but he insisted on eating the meat. I really had no choice but to find Shuhua."

Yang Shuhua said with a smile: "Uncle, it's alright. I have nothing to do anyway. It won't take much time to cook the whole pile of meat. Just boil the meat, chop it into pieces and press it overnight."

Liu Lizhen curled her lips and smiled, "There's no one in our family who doesn't crave something. Erning even said at noon that he wanted to eat cabbage with vinegar. Oh, there's really nothing we can do. Then let's prepare less food in the evening. When will Daming deliver the meat?"

"You have to come soon. Guoxing just arrived and is chatting with Lao Jiang in the room."

"Ah, the three of them seem to be getting along pretty well these days, right?"

Wu Qiuxia shook her head: "No, they are getting along well. The three of them like to drink a little wine together, so they can chat a lot. I have seen him smile more recently than usual."

"Of course I would like to have more. I didn't have any companions when I went hiking before. This time, I'm sure it will help me to relieve my boredom. It will be fun to do anything in the mountains."

"Not good!"

A few days ago, the No. 8 Lengchang was short of people, so Liu Daming heard the news and led Da Laba and Lao Jiang to the Lengchang to work for three days, and each of them earned 2 yuan.

When they got home, Da Laba and his wife showed off, which made Zhang Guifang so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. Since Da Laba and Liu Daming started hiking together, the number of quarrels between the couple dropped sharply.

The first one, Da Laba, was running in the mountains or working all day long, and never had a day off. When the second one came home to get money or meat, Zhang Guifang would naturally greet him with a smile.

Xu Ning patted Sanhei's butt and drove him away, then stood up and said with a smile: "My uncle is so loyal. You can be greedy if you want. Besides, greed is not a disease. Sister-in-law, let's make some pickled cabbage tonight."

"Hahaha……"

The old women burst into laughter.

Liu Lizhen pointed at him and said with a smile: "Look, I knew he had a bad mouth! How greedy! Make some pancakes and stir-fry some shredded potatoes that evening, wouldn't you be happy to make some pancakes?"

"Oh, I know my mom loves me!"

Xu Ning threw the hand rake at the foot of the wall and raised his hand to hug his mother's shoulders, but his mother slapped him away with one hand, "My new clothes, your hands are full of dog hair, how can you not know how to clean them? Go!"

At this time, Liu Daming's voice was heard at the gate of the courtyard. He was holding a cloth bag in his hand and a loud speaker was beside him. The two of them walked into the courtyard while chatting.

The loud speaker raised his head and waved to greet Liu Lizhen and the others. Liu Lizhen greeted them with a smile, "Come in quickly, Guoxing, why are you here so late?"

Dababa said, "I originally wanted to come over this afternoon, but my wife said that we haven't heated the kang for Xu Pao's family for six or seven days, so I went over to heat the kang this afternoon."

The kang is quite difficult to heat these days because of the way it is made. If it is not heated for a week it will easily become clogged. It’s not that the chimney is blocked, but the smoke does not go inside and gets blocked at the head of the kang, making the end of the kang cold.

Therefore, the kang that has not been heated for six or seven days must be heated thoroughly with a high fire. This is a long and tiring task.

If it is a new house, there will be no such trouble. The technology of making kangs in new houses has been improved, mainly because the materials used have been upgraded. Therefore, it is okay if the kang in the new house is not heated for half a month in winter.

"Juan, don't prepare the tea. I just finished drinking it at home."

Liu Daming reminded her, and Da Laba also said that his stomach was full of water and he couldn't drink it, so Wang Shujuan didn't make tea.

Liu Lizhen said, "Then you guys can chat, I have to go out and get some meat."

"Sister, prepare all the meat, and give some to Guoxing and Lao Jiang when the time comes."

Liu Lizhen turned around and said, "Why did you only take so little meat? Take more."

"It's quite a lot. I shaved off all the bones, and all I got is pure meat, more than 40 kilograms."

"Ah, I thought it was the bones, so that the meat can be chopped up! Guoxing, come to the room and chat."

"Hey! Auntie, just go do your thing."

After the old ladies had gone to the outer room, Xu Ning looked at the loud speaker and said with a smile: "How are you these days? It's fun to run in the mountains with my uncle, right?"

Da Loudspeaker clapped his hands and said, "It's really fun! Hey, it's much more fun to run in the mountains with a group than to walk alone. If I had been alone, I would have been wasting my time when we ran into that group of roe deer yesterday. The three of us got close to them and fired two shots, killing two of them directly!"

Liu Daming said, "Yeah, Guoxing jumped up and ran forward."

Da Laba recounted how Liu Daming took him to work in Lengchang. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

He stayed at home and boasted to his wife for several days, saying that they would soon have a good life. Zhang Guifang was also smiling, and the change in her hand loosened.

He actually stuffed the money into the pocket of his bell-bottom trousers and said that men should carry some money in their pockets in case something happens. He couldn't just get caught in the act.

"Hahaha……"

Xu Ning and Wang Hu laughed heartily as they listened to Liu Daming and Da Laba telling about yesterday's roe deer hunting experience.

Since Liu Daming and Dalaba are both carefree and cheerful people who usually enjoy making people laugh, naturally there will be many jokes during the mountain running.

But Lao Jiang is a serious person. When the three of them work together, Xu Ning always feels that things are going well!
"Uncle, brother, let me say a few words to pour cold water on you.

If you three go hiking together, our three families all support it. But if you encounter any problems in the mountains, don't be impulsive, like I did when Wangxing encountered such a problem.

There are three big cats right in front of us, and another one in the distance. If they pounce on us, let alone four 56-and-a-half rifles, we won’t be able to stop them even if we have a machine gun, right?”

Da Loudspeaker nodded: "I see! I've talked to my uncle and Lao Jiang about this."

Liu Daming waved his hand and said, "Do you think we are like you? The three of us have families to support, how can we not be more careful. Erning, my brother-in-law has warned you several times before you said this, and he also used the big cat as an excuse to slander you."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Hey, that's all he can do to rubbish me. Why didn't he talk about the time when he was carried to the sky by a wild boar?"

"Hahaha……"

After a pause, the loud speaker said, "Brother, I heard from my uncle that your arm is better now?"

Xu Ning was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Ah, you want to go into the mountains to drag the dog?"

"Yeah! I'll just wait until your arm is better."

"Okay, let's go tomorrow...Will Lao Jiang go?"

Originally, Xu Ning's plan was to go to the old forest with Wang Hu to collect firewood tomorrow, but he didn't expect that Da Laba would come today. It really seems that plans cannot keep up with the rapid changes.

However, Xu Ning had not been in the mountains for more than 20 days, and he had been anxious for a long time. Moreover, the dog gang was not very well behaved. When he was combing their hair just now, the blue wolf kept humming, and it must have been itching to do so.

"Go! He wants to see how you drag the dog."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "What else can we do? Let the dog roam freely in the mountains."

The loud speaker said: "That's what you say, but most people won't do that. Dogs should have intelligence. Just beating and scolding them won't make them good dogs..."

Xu Ning nodded and said, "We have to borrow Black Wolf tomorrow. Green Wolf can't drag eight dogs by himself."

"Oh my god! It will definitely save a lot of trouble if we bring Qing'an's two most awesome dogs with us!"

"OK."

Da Laba sat on the edge of the kang and chatted with Xu Ning and others for another half an hour. After deciding on the departure time for tomorrow, he stood up and said, "I'm going back first. I'll wait for you at the fork in the road tomorrow."

"You can eat here tonight. My dad has been nagging for the past few days. He has always wanted to chat with you."

The loud speaker was stunned and said with a smile: "Oh, my uncle wants to chat with me? Oh my god, I really can't be polite then!"

In the outer room, Liu Lizhen lifted the door curtain and entered the room. "Why are you being so polite, Guoxing? We'll have dinner here tonight. We don't have any delicious dishes. Just make some pancakes and some potato shreds."

Da Loudspeaker turned his head and looked at Liu Lizhen, saying, "Okay! Then I'll eat here tonight."

Liu Lizhen was in a good mood because she hated people who acted pretentiously. Only real people like Da Laba could get along well with the Xu family.

Xu Ning looked up at the clock and said, "It's not even four o'clock yet. I'll go find Master Chang and bring Black Wolf back."

"Brother, I'll go with you. I haven't seen Master Chang for a long time."

"Okay, uncle..."

Liu Daming stood up and said, "Guoxing and I will go to the east end to guard. Your little brother will be out of school soon. When the time comes, keep an eye on Huang Lin and ask him to go home and tell his mother."

The loud speaker laughed and said, "Uncle is very thoughtful!"

"Stop praising me, you're good at insulting people, and even better at praising people. You've been praising me to the sky these days."

"Hahaha, isn't that the truth? I'm not praising you blindly. Besides, I've praised Lao Jiang a lot. After all, the three of us are working together. How could I insult you two? That would be asking for trouble."

As they walked out to the outer room, Xu Ning said, "Fortunately you didn't hurt Lao Jiang, otherwise he would have definitely taken action."

Da Laba was slightly stunned, because the meaning of Xu Ning's words was a little different from the Lao Jiang he knew.

"Ah? I think Lao Jiang has a good personality. Although he doesn't like to laugh, he still makes people laugh when he needs to."

Xu Ning talked to his mother in the outer room, then walked out of the house and said, "Old Jiang has a strong personality. You will know it after you get to know him for a long time."

Liu Daming nodded: "Yeah, I remember about six or seven years ago, Lao Jiang was pulling firewood in the woods and had a quarrel with Lao Dong. Lao Dong's two sons came to the door and just after a few words, Lao Jiang picked up the pickaxe and started digging. Fortunately, Lao Dong's two sons ran fast, otherwise they would definitely have to lie down."

Hearing this, Daba blinked his eyes and said, "It's what he deserves. The two of them have bullied him to the door. How can he not pick up a weapon and fight him? If you ask me, Lao Jiang is a man who should not be provoked. He is very particular about doing things. If you provoke him, you will definitely get nothing good!"

Xu Ning put his arm around Daba's shoulder and said, "Brother Huang is very good at judging people."

"Of course!" Big Trumpet grinned.

The four of them separated at the door of Lao Chang's house, and Xu Ning and Wang Hu turned left and entered Lao Chang's house.

As soon as he entered the door, Xu Ning saw Chang Danian feeding the dog and asked with a smile: "Uncle, why are you feeding the dog at this time?"

"They have become thinner recently. I was thinking of feeding them four times a day to make them fatter. You two go inside first..."

Chang Juan pushed the door open and came out, saying with a smile, "Erning Huzi, come in quickly! Xiaobao was just nagging you."

Xu Ning didn't say anything polite. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Chang Xiaobao standing on the threshold of the east room. He stared at Xu Ning and shouted, "Uncle Xu! Uncle Wang!"

"What are you mumbling to me?" Xu Ning walked over, raised his hand and rubbed Chang Xiaobao's head.

"My grandfather asked you to take me into the mountains to hunt animals!" Chang Xiaobao said in a sonorous and powerful voice.

Xu Ning laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha..."

At this time, Chang Danian came into the room carrying a dog basin and said, "Stop listening to his nonsense. It's all his mother's fault. This kid may be annoying now."

"Grandpa, my parents have told me!"

Chang Danian had no choice but to hold him by the back of his neck, "Hey, stop bothering me..."

After entering the east room, Xu Ning asked, "Why isn't he in school?"

"I get a stomachache as soon as I go to school. But it stops when I get home. Do you think there is any way to treat this?"

Xu Ning smiled, thinking that he was just speaking lightly.

But he certainly couldn't say this, because Chang Danian spoiled his eldest grandson the most, and Li Baoquan had never beaten the child. It was just that Chang Juan would scold him sometimes, and Li Baoquan would slap him on the buttocks when he got angry.

(End of this chapter)