Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 357: The capable take over, the incompetent give way

Li Mazi helped to pull the two yellow-haired pigs, and Wang Hu pulled the old sow, and they walked towards the north.

The five dogs, including Hualang and Duyan, were not tied with a leash. They stood still on the narrow road and kept looking back at Xu Ning, as if asking him why he didn't leave.

Xu Ning hushed them twice, but the five dogs still refused to leave. Finally, Wang Hu had to tie them to the rope used to pull the pigs. Then they kept looking back every two steps, reluctant to leave. Xu Ning waved his hands, laughed and scolded them, then turned around and asked Da Laba and others to go to Shuangfengling.

Old Deng, carrying a medicine box and a cloth bag, said with a smile, "Your five dogs are quite familiar with people."

Xu Ning said: "The relationship is definitely different for those who were raised from childhood."

This is the truth. Although Qinglang, Heilang and other dogs recognize Xu Ning, if Xu Pao and Chang Danian stand in front of them, they will definitely pounce on them. This is the difference.

As they walked forward quickly, Old Han turned his head to look at Xu Ning and asked, "Xiao Xu, didn't you hear anything in the mountains?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "I didn't hear anything. We killed three pigs in the afternoon, ate there and went down the mountain."

Lan Dadan said, "Ah, you two are pretty good at hunting animals. If it were me, I would have to wander around in the mountains."

Old Han nodded but didn't say anything else, but the loud speaker asked, "Brother, where are we going?"

Xu Ning glanced at Lao Han and Lan Guodong, and seeing that they had no intention of saying anything, he said, "Didn't Li Ye and Hu Zhiyong encounter the brown bear when they were setting traps in the back garden? Then we can go directly through Dafeng Mountain and take the mountain ridge to get there."

Lan Guodong nodded: "It's a little quicker this way, but we have to hurry, or we won't be able to see you until dark."

Old Han said: "It has been quite warm in the past few days. The snow in some places in the mountains is almost melting. I saw a lot of pig tracks when I went into the mountains a few days ago, but they were intermittent..."

"Yes! If you look carefully, you can see some. The tracks in the snow are quite obvious, but the tracks on the ground are not so obvious."

When everyone arrived at Shuangfeng Ridge, they climbed up the ridge along the gentle slope on the west side of Dafeng Mountain. They walked very fast, and even the oldest one, Old Deng, did not lag behind.

The loud speaker said, "Brother, if we see a brown bear, you can kill it with one shot. I don't want the gallbladder, just give me some meat."

Lan Guodong turned his head and glanced at Old Han next to him. The two looked at each other and then smiled.

"Why didn't I realize before that Guoxing is so generous?"

The loud speaker turned around and said with a very realistic smile: "Don't you know what kind of person I am? I am also a person of different kinds."

"Hahaha..." Lan Guodong and Lao Han laughed twice.

Lao Deng followed Xu Ning and said, "I can't accept it either. I went into the mountains mainly to find Zhiyong. Other things have nothing to do with me. As long as I can find Zhiyong, anything is fine. Now that Xiao Li is gone, Xiao Xu is the only one left to track him down. So I'll listen to Xiao Xu and go wherever you go."

The loud speaker grinned and said, "Uncle Deng, you are so kind!"

"Haha, why am I giving you face? I'm giving face to Qing'an Xiao Xupao!"

"Oh my god, Uncle Deng, stop praising me." Xu Ning pretended to cover his face, pretending to be embarrassed.

Lan Guodong said: "Ever since Xu Pao went to the provincial capital, you have been the best hunter in Qing'an! You don't have to take care of my and Lao Han's feelings. How do you say it? What are the things that capable people can do..."

Old Deng laughed and said, "It seems to me that you haven't read Water Margin carefully. It says that the capable ones take the throne, the incompetent ones give way, and those who don't give way are killed!"

Old Han pretended to be surprised, "Oh my god, why do you want to keep me on the mountain?"

"Hahaha, Brother Han, I can tell from the looks of it that you're uneducated. Isn't this just the way animals survive in the mountains?" said the loudspeaker.

Old Deng glanced at the loud speaker and nodded, "Guoxing is a wise man."

"Oh my god, Uncle Deng, what do I know? It's just nonsense and bragging."

"Haha, then you can come up with a lot of great truths." Lan Guodong said.

Xu Ning didn't respond after hearing this. He just walked towards the back garden. In fact, there were only two reasons why he agreed so readily.

One is that Lao Hu went to Qing'an to find Du Shoucai, and then went to his house. Then, my mother would definitely agree for Du Shoucai's sake.

Secondly, he heard from the loudspeaker that Li Ye and Hu Zhiyong encountered a brown bear, and this brown bear was very likely the one that killed Li Shan, which made Xu Ning feel itchy.

Because it was Chinese New Year and his mother had said so, Xu Ning did not dare to go into the mountains to show off. He did not go into the mountains until the tenth day of the first lunar month with his gun. By then, the brown bear had already run away.

Later, Ma Liu heard that there were traces of a brown bear in the snail shell. He took Li Fuqiang, Guan Lei and Wang Hu there and found that the bear was not the one that killed Li Shan, but ran over from Sandaohe.

Xu Ning felt even more uncomfortable because he hadn't seen any trace of it. It could be said that this brown bear had it in its grasp and was constantly teasing his heart, like a roller coaster. Who could stand this?
For these two reasons alone, Xu Ning had to go into the mountains to track down the bear. Of course, saving people was the most important thing now, and the brown bear was secondary. But as long as it dared to show its head, Xu Ning would shoot it twice!
Just now, Da Loudspeaker brought up the topic because he was afraid that a few people would see a brown bear on the mountain. If Xu Ning shot it dead, the remaining Lan Guodong and Lao Han would probably feel uncomfortable. That brown bear is worth a lot of money. Don’t they want to get a share? So Da Loudspeaker took the lead and said that he didn’t want bear gallbladder...

Although the loudspeaker's approach will be disliked by the Blues and the South, isn't there a limit to the closeness and distance of everything?

Da Laba had finally managed to get into Xu Ning's small hunting gang, and he had made some money during this period. How could he not know who was far away and who was close?
After crossing several ridges, everyone arrived at the back garden.

But this was not the place to set the trap in the back garden. They walked two miles southwest along the ravine and along the red pine forest.

Xu Ning suggested that several people walk side by side at a distance of 30 meters, so that they could see the traces and would not miss any traces of Li Ye and Hu Zhiyong fighting with the brown bear.

The five of them stretched out for nearly 150 meters, and then they lowered their heads and searched forward. After about ten minutes, the loud speaker on the right side of the center shouted, "There are bear tracks here!"

Xu Ning walked towards him and said, "Uncle Deng, you guys keep going forward. I'll go over and take a look."

The loud speaker pointed at the bear's footprints in the snow and said, "This track is heading southwest. It's possible that we haven't reached the destination yet."

Xu Ning squatted down and gestured at the bear's tracks. The bear's paw was about the size of a palm, and the distance between the tracks was not far. It could be judged that the brown bear was not relaxed when walking this path, and its steps were neither fast nor slow. It was completely in a relaxed state.

"We haven't reached the destination yet. Let's go a little further southwest. Brother, you can ask Lan Guodong and Lao Han to load their guns with bullets and hold them with the muzzles pointing upwards..."

The loud speaker whispered, "The brown bear didn't go far?"

"No, I was afraid it was hiding nearby and would suddenly pounce on us, so I made preparations in advance just in case."

"Okay, let's switch sides. I'll go over and tell Lan Dadan."

"kindness."

After Da La Ba went to his position, Xu Ning raised his wrist and looked at the watch. It was now three fifty. He had to find the scene where Li Ye and Hu Zhiyong were attacked by the brown bear as soon as possible so that he could trace the missing Hu Zhiyong.

While he was tracking the bear, he was also paying attention to the situation around him, while holding the gun tightly in his hand. He didn't want to be suddenly attacked by the brown bear.

Lan Guodong and Lao Han also loaded their guns with single-headed bullets and asked Lao Deng to walk close to the loudspeaker. He had no weapons in his hands and had to be cautious. Five or six minutes later, Xu Ning saw the traces of the bear's den. Under a big red pine tree, he lowered his head and pinched the hair hanging on the bark, confirming that it was brown hair.

Looking at the bear's tracks again, the width of the bear's paws increased, and it was obviously running. After walking forward six or seven meters, Xu Ning saw human footprints.

"Found it! Don't move forward yet, come towards me."

Upon hearing this, Da Laba called out to Lao Han, Lan Guodong and Lao Deng. The four of them walked up to Xu Ning one after another and saw the footprints on the ground.

Xu Ning pointed at the brown bear on the ground, the scattered firewood, and the footprints of the man who had hurriedly turned back, and said, "After he saw the brown bear, he threw away the firewood in his hand, and the brown bear chased him forward for 30 meters..."

Following Xu Ning's footsteps, Da Laba and others saw the cloth bag thrown under the tree. Lao Deng picked it up, opened it, took out the rope from it and said, "This is the rope I gave to Li Ye. This should be his cloth bag."

Xu Ning squatted down and looked at the blood on the ground. He picked up a piece of blood ice, put it under his nose and smelled it, and said, "Why does it smell a bit like fish?"

Old Han said: "They came here with fish. I heard from Li Ye that they picked up a pheasant. When they were collecting firewood, they encountered a brown bear..."

Xu Ning nodded and pointed to another pool of blood behind the tree. "This blood should be Li Ye's. He fell and his gun fell into the snow."

Lan Guodong frowned and said, "There are no pheasants or fish here, but there are a few feathers. Were they taken away by the brown bear?"

Lao Han said: "It's unpredictable. There's nothing to eat in the mountains at this time. The brown bear has finally smelled the fishy smell. We can't just leave it there and walk away."

The loud speaker asked, "Brother, have you found anything else?"

Xu Ning stood up and stared at the fleeing footprints on the left, as well as the brown bear walking towards the Xiaoshi River. He frowned and said, "Hu Zhiyong should have run into the red pine forest. There are traces of him falling. This long snow mark should be that of Lao Juebazi, and his gun is also stuck in the snow..."

Old Han muttered, "Li Ye and Hu Zhiyong are really unlucky. Both guns are filled with snow. At most two more shots can be fired, otherwise the barrels will definitely explode."

At this time, Xu Ning looked up at the trail and said, "Let's hurry up and chase him. Hu Zhiyong might still be alive.

The brown bear came back and took away the fish and pheasants, so Li Ye was fine, which meant that the brown bear came back after he left. According to Li Ye's description, it was probably less than four o'clock at that time.

From noon to four o'clock, it was only about four or five o'clock, Hu Zhiyong could not run far, and the brown bear came back to take fish and pheasants, which meant that it did not eat Hu Zhiyong..."

The loud speaker clapped his hands and said, "That's right! There's nothing wrong with what my brother said."

Old Han said: "Little Xu Pao is really good."

Lan Guodong said with a smile: "Well, let's talk about it. These analyses are quite thoughtful. So let's move on?"

Old Deng looked at Xu Ning and asked, "Xiao Xu, we'll go the way you say."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Just keep going forward and follow the trail. This is the best and simplest way, but we have to line up in a row, for fear of losing our way halfway. Besides, it's getting dark soon. If we see pine torches, we can cut a few and use them as torches to light the way."

"Okay! Xiao Xu, there's nothing wrong with the arrangement."

Neither Lan Guodong nor Lao Han felt that there was anything wrong with the way Xu Ning handled things. On the contrary, it was very smooth, which made them feel comfortable.

If it was Li Mazi who tracked the person, he would have to go around in three circles. It's not to disparage Li Mazi, but because he is indecisive and a bit timid.

"Are the guns loaded?" Xu Ning asked.

"Pressed."

"Then let's go, brother. You and Uncle Deng look around. If there's any situation, shout out."

"Eh!"

Then, Xu Ning lowered his head and walked forward, following the trail. During the walk, there were indeed two places where the trail was missing, because there was no snow on the ground and it was covered by fallen leaves blown by the wind.

However, after walking another fifty or sixty meters, we saw bear tracks. The span of the tracks was still very large, indicating that the brown bear was trotting forward all the way.

There were also two places where the traces turned back. Xu Ning judged that it must be Hu Zhiyong who fired the gun, which scared the brown bear, but for some reason, the brown bear turned around and continued to chase forward.

Old Han shook his head and said, "Why doesn't Hu Zhiyong climb up the tree? He can't outlast the brown bear if he keeps running forward."

Xu Ning said: "There is no time to climb a tree. The distance is only five or six meters. Before Hu Zhiyong could climb two meters, the brown bear would stand up and slap him down."

"Ah, what if a brown bear chases you at close range?"

Xu Ning pointed to a thick red pine tree in front of him and said, "Run around the tree, reload the bullets while running, turn around and shoot at the bear's head, then hold the fire..."

"Oh my god, brother, do you think everyone is as steady as you? When that black bear was chasing me from behind, I was scared. Remember the last time we ran into Shetanggou? It was more than 30 meters away, and the black bear stood up and pounced on the north wind. My head was buzzing!"

Lan Guodong said with a smile: "I dare to turn around and shoot it, but I'm afraid it will fire a blank shot if it turns its head away!"

"Not really! Not everyone dares to try this."

The setting sun casts a rosy glow, and the afterglow embellishes the dusk.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Lao Deng started to make arrangements to light a fire and have a meal. After all, they had been walking since they left the village at noon, and Xu Ning had eaten his lunch in the mountains, so he was definitely not full. He had been silent until now, as he was afraid of being criticized. So Lao Deng, as the oldest, spoke first.

"Okay, let's light the fire quickly. I think this person is heading towards Heixiazigou."

Da Laba, Lan Guodong and Lao Han picked up two bundles of firewood on the spot, lit them and squatted beside the fire to warm themselves.

Old Han said, "My son Hu Zhiyong is still alive. The brown bear must have chased him for about five or six miles. If they went into Heixiazi Valley, it must have been at least ten miles!"

Lan Guodong nodded: "I feel the same way. Didn't Xiao Xu say that after we left the red pine forest, the brown bears slowed down their pace and were not chasing us so urgently?"

Old Deng held his pipe in his mouth and asked, "Xiao Xu, how do you feel?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "It's hard to say. The temperature in the mountains is several degrees lower than our village. If he hadn't been injured, he would have returned home long ago. Since he didn't go home..."

He didn't say anything else. Everyone present understood that since he didn't go home, he must have been injured. If it was an arm injury, it would be easy to deal with, but if it was a leg injury, it would not be easy to get out of the mountains.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, the loud speaker said, "The food should be ready. Let's eat quickly. This will help relieve some of the burden."

"Eat, and then look for it later..." Old Deng nodded.

(End of this chapter)