Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 359: Sending Buddha to the West, Nothing Can Be Faulted

The moon is bright in the sky, and fireflies are dotted everywhere.

On the steep slope on one side of Shuangfeng Ridge, there were three or five torches emitting flames, slowly moving down the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu went up the mountain. Soon the two sides met and greeted each other first. Then Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu took the ropes from Lan Guodong and Lao Han and pulled the sled down the mountain.

After Wang Hu finished talking about when he and Li Fuqiang arrived at Shuangfengling, Lao Deng, Lan Guodong and Lao Han nodded slightly. They thought to themselves that no wonder Xu Ning was able to get things done smoothly, there was nothing wrong when he arranged things, and Wang Hu and Li Fuqiang really got the job done when they heard about it, without any discounts. These were true brothers.

Everyone pulled the sled down the mountain. Wang Hu and Da Laba switched hands, and he ran to the fire and put it out.

Xu Ning and others came to the rear of the carriage, and several of them were lifting Hu Zhiyong on the sled into the car. He certainly couldn't sit in the car because there was not enough space, so he could only lie flat in the carriage.

Wang Hu stood at the rear and asked, "Uncle Deng, are you thirsty? There are thermoses, tea, and tiaozi cakes in the car."

"It's quite well prepared."

Xu Ning said, "Go get the teacup. I haven't had much water all day. Drink a little to moisten my throat."

"Eh."

Li Fuqiang covered Hu Zhiyong with the quilt in the car and said, "Uncle Deng, how is Hu Zhiyong? Is everything okay?"

"My hand was shattered when the gun exploded. My fingers fell off. My ankle and calf were slightly injured, but it's nothing serious..."

As long as I'm alive, it's not a big deal. Even if one hand is disabled, I still have the other one left. I can definitely do basic heavy work at home, it's just a little bit difficult.

Lan Guodong and Lao Han didn't say anything. They sat cross-legged in the carriage, next to Hu Zhiyong's sled. Lao Han took the teacup handed over by Wang Hu and took a big sip, then handed it to Lan Guodong...

The loud speaker said: "Now I don't know what the condition of Hu Zhiyong's feet is. Uncle Deng said his fingers were not frozen. He must have deliberately tucked his hands into his chest. When I entered the cave, I saw a lot of tree leaves inside, which must have caused a lot of trouble."

Lao Deng took the teacup and took a sip, then said, "Well, as long as my feet aren't frozen, it's fine. Oh... I don't know how to tell Lao Hu when I get back."

Old Han couldn't help but say, "What else is there to say? The fact is right in front of us. Whether we can accept it or not, it has already happened. What's the point of crying and howling? That's not what a gentleman should do."

"That being said, Zhiyong also has a wife and children..."

Old Deng handed the teacup to Wang Hu and said, "Okay, let's go home quickly."

"Okay, big brother, you drive, and let Huzi stop at the fork in the road and go home to report safety first."

Wang Hu jumped out of the car, turned around and looked at Xu Ning and said, "Second brother, I'll go with you."

"There are too many people. Don't go. Send Hu Zhiyong to Taiping and then go to the street clinic. If you don't go back and tell them, how can your aunt sleep well?"

"Oh, okay, will you and Brother Qiang come back in the evening?"

Li Fuqiang opened the car door and got in. He looked at Wang Hu who also got in the car and said, "You won't be back until late at night. Ask your sister-in-law to live with the children in the west room and cover the east room with a blanket. We will go to the east room to sleep when we get back."

Xu Ning sat in the passenger window seat, closed the door, and nodded: "Yeah, there's nothing wrong with this."

"okay."

Li Fuqiang stepped on the accelerator to drive the car forward. The road was a little bumpy, so he didn't drive fast. Xu Ning stretched his legs and relaxed.

After explaining how they found Hu Zhiyong, Xu Ning said, "Let's return the car tomorrow, and then the three of us will go into the mountains again."

Wang Hu's eyes lit up, "Second brother, have you found Hei Xiazi?"

"Brown bear!"

Li Fuqiang was stunned, and turned around and said, "Brown bear? Oh my god! Did you kill the one that Li Shan pounced on?"

"I don't know, but it was definitely a brown bear. I saw its fur... The brown bear chased Hu Zhiyong for more than ten miles, then turned around and went back, taking away the fish and pheasants that Hu Zhiyong and Li Ye brought, and went to the Xiaoshi River."

"You went to Little Stone River? Is there anything to eat there?"

Xu Ning said: "The two places are not far from each other. Li Ye said that there are still a few fish and glaciers hidden in Xiaoshi River. I guess the brown bear smelled the scent."

"That's unprepared."

Wang Hu said, "What should I bring tomorrow? I need to prepare it first. Can I call my brother Lei to come with me?"

"Shout! This brown bear is pretty big. If we're lucky, we can knock it down with one shot. If we're unlucky..."

Xu Ning moved his shoulders and said, "Just look at Hu Zhiyong and you'll know. This brown bear has thick skin and tough flesh. If you miss or miss the target, when the brown bear counterattacks, we won't be able to react at all."

"I know. Large animals are much more difficult to deal with than small animals like jackals."

Why is this brown bear so difficult to kill? Mainly because it is a bear that walks on its back, not a bear that hides in a warehouse. It takes little effort to kill a bear that hides in a warehouse. You just need to wait for it to come out of the warehouse. If you have a strong psychological quality, you can kill it with a bullet to the head.

What about the black bear walking on a camel? You have to track it, observe the terrain and environment, and make sure not to scare it. Once you scare the black bear, it will turn around and run away. How long will it take to catch up with it?
After catching up with it, you have to repeat the previous steps, otherwise it runs away again. What should you do?

Still chasing? The black bear didn't feel tired, but the man was tired. When the black bear counterattacked, it would be impossible to defend against it.

The brown bear that Xu Ning hunted in the snail shell last time was the leftover of the jackals. They surrounded it and exhausted its strength, forcing the brown bear to find its death den. Otherwise, how could Xu Ning have killed it so easily in the snail shell.

Just look at Sun Jiye and the others, they chased in the mountains for several days and finally they were exhausted...

Li Fuqiang said, "Then I'll ask Lao Lin to go to Lengchang and give him a letter tomorrow."

"Okay, how about I give Lao Lin half a pork loin today?"

Li Fuqiang said with a smile: "What a joke! Before I even asked to borrow the car, he heard that you wouldn't be back until the evening, so he asked me to drive to pick you up."

Wang Hu nodded: "Yeah, Lao Lin is quite particular. My brother Qiang has been following him for a while, and his salary has not been reduced by a penny."

"That's great. When you have time, invite him to your house and let my sister-in-law prepare some food."

"Okay!" Li Fuqiang nodded. "I asked him about the tractor today, and he said I had to go back and ask because he seemed to have heard that the tractor was left at the farm machinery station on the street."

"Agricultural machinery station? Is there something wrong with this tractor?"

"I don't know! And he doesn't know the price either. I have to go back and ask before I can tell him."

"Well, there's no rush to buy a tractor. If you find a suitable one, buy it. If not, don't buy it."

The car slowly drove to the fork in the road. Li Fuqiang stepped on the brake. Wang Hu jumped out of the car with a thermos, a teacup and other things. He stood there and watched the car leave, and waved to Lao Deng and others who were sitting in the car.

When Wang Hu got home, Han Fengjiao was still awake. She heard the noise and went to the outer room. The two talked for a while, and then Han Fengjiao asked Wang Hu to go to Old Xu's house and tell Liu Lizhen.

It was nearly eleven o'clock. Liu Lizhen asked, "Have you told your sister-in-law?"

"Well, when I passed by, I saw the lights were still on in her house. After I finished speaking, she went into the house and turned off the lights."

"Go back to bed now."

"Auntie, my second brother said we have to go into the mountains again."

"Why do you still want to go?" Liu Lizhen frowned.

Wang Hu stood at the door of the outer room and said with a grunt, "Well... my second brother said it was a brown bear..."

When Liu Lizhen heard this, she understood what Xu Ning was trying to say. She waved her hand and said, "He hasn't been quiet all day. Why is he leaving so early? Can he come back tomorrow?"

"Yes, I will be back in the second half of the night. I don't know when I will leave."

"Okay, go back to your room and go to bed."

"Eh."

After Wang Hu left, Liu Lizhen walked into the house wearing a cotton-padded jacket. Xu Laonian tilted his head and looked up, asking, "What's the matter, what kind of evil do you want to do now, little jerk?"

"I see a brown bear, and I'm thinking about it."

Xu Laonian curled his lips: "There's not a single day of peace."

"Shut up! I'm telling you, hurry up and bring back the air rifle I bought for my old son. How long have you and Erli been playing with it? Do you think I don't know how to count?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Laonian didn't dare to say a word. He lifted the thick quilt to cover his head and then began to snore.

……

Taiping, Lao Hu’s family.

Old Hu's full name is Hu Lin. He was lying on the kang in the east room and couldn't fall asleep. He turned over and lay on the edge of the kang to smoke a cigarette. Hu Zhibin, who was sleeping at the head of the kang, pulled the light cord, and the light in the room suddenly lit up...

"Dad, didn't you go to see Mrs. Zhang? Didn't she say that there was nothing wrong and that we should just go to sleep?"

Old Hu turned his head and glanced at his eldest son, saying, "Do you think I'm like you? I have a really big heart! Your little brother was attacked by a black bear, and you don't know whether he is alive or dead... You should just die! I see why you are so angry!"

Hu Zhibin stood up and put on his clothes, saying, "Dad, no matter what happens, we have to accept it. What's the point of overthinking it?"

"You've only been in school for a few days, and you're already educating me? You've become more capable." "Oh, Dad..."

Usually, Old Hu sleeps alone in the east room, but since he had something to do today, Hu Zhibin's wife asked him to come over and keep him company. Hu Zhibin's wife, Hu Zhiyong's wife, and their three children live in the west room.

Old Hu waved his hands: "Zhiyong has lost his mother since he was a child, and his father also died early. I have raised him as my own son these years, you know? How was your uncle treated to me before he was alive? He always asked me to have the delicious food. Your grandparents died early, and our whole family is said to be short-lived..."

"Dad, this thing is to believe when you should, and not believe when you shouldn't."

Old Hu smoked a cigarette and shook his head: "Do you know where Zhihua is? He is not far from the battlefield, eh!"

"Dad, stop thinking about it. Why do you keep thinking about it?"

At this moment, a flash of light appeared outside the yard and then welded to the outside of the door.

When Old Hu saw the light, he quickly got out of bed, stepped into his shoes, and said, "They must be back! Xu Erning is really reliable."

In the evening, after Li Fuqiang and Wang Hu sent Lao Lin off, they drove back and passed by Taiping. They took the opportunity to say something to Lao Hu, asking him to rest assured. When Xu Ning heard about this, he turned around and went into the mountains with Lao Deng, Da Laba and others without saying a word.

When Lao Hu heard this, he was extremely surprised. He didn't expect that Lao Deng and others would meet Xu Ning halfway, and Xu Ning agreed so quickly, which showed that Xu Erning had good intentions!
"I said Zhiyong must be alive! Dad, put on some clothes."

Why did Hu Zhibin say this? There are two reasons. First, the fact that the car carrying Hu Zhiyong could enter the village was enough to prove that Hu Zhiyong was still alive, because if he was dead, he would not be able to enter the village and would only be parked outside the village waiting to be taken away.

The second reason is naturally that they didn’t find Hu Zhiyong, but if they didn’t find him, why did they come to Old Hu’s house?

"Just stay alive, just stay alive!"

Old Hu's heart ignited with hope. He put on his clothes and ran out of the outer room with Hu Zhibin. Hu Zhiyong's wife in the west room was not asleep either. She heard the noise and also lifted the quilt and put on clothes...

Outside the door, a car stopped at the gate of the courtyard, and Li Fuqiang, Xu Ning, Lao Deng and others jumped out of the car one after another.

Old Hu also ran to the courtyard and shouted at the figure, "What's going on? What's going on?"

Old Deng turned around and said, "We found it! Old Hu, we have to go to the street clinic now. Do you know anyone there?"

Old Hu was stunned when he heard this: "What's the injury? Is it serious?"

"It's not fatal. I don't have much medicine left at home. I sewed him up on the mountain, but it still needs to be disinfected, otherwise the wound will become inflamed and infected, and then it will be incurable."

Hu Zhibin said: "I know Director Wang from the health center! But I don't know if he is on duty."

At this time, Xu Ning said: "Call the health center now."

"Xu Er... Ning, Er Ning! I'm Hu Zhibin, you can just call me Brother Bin."

"Brother Bin, this is my eldest brother Li Fuqiang..."

After greeting each other, Lao Hu stepped into the carriage and saw Hu Zhiyong lying on the sled. He was stunned to see that his hand was wrapped in gauze.

Old Deng said behind him: "When the black bear chased him, his gun exploded and his fingers were broken."

Lao Hu was silent at first, then he said, "...It's good enough to be alive, big brother, thank you."

"Don't say that, my Li Ye..."

"Brother, don't say that. Two kids were in the mountains and met a black bear. Neither of them ran away first, and neither of them abandoned the other. There's nothing wrong with that!"

Xu Ning stood at the back of the car and said, "Uncle Hu, please go into the house and get your things. My brother and I will drive you to the street. This car is borrowed and must be returned tomorrow morning. You need to take the washbasin and other things..."

"Okay, Erning, thank you very much for this."

"Don't be polite, whoever heard of this can do it."

At the side, Hu Zhiyong's wife got into the car, saw Hu Zhiyong's miserable state and started crying. She wiped her tears and said, "I will never be greedy again. Zhiyong, it's all my fault..."

Hu Zhibin's wife stood at the back of the car and said, "Fang, stop crying. Let's go into the house and pack our things first. You can follow me to the street later. I'll stay at home to look after the children."

Lao Hu said, "Stop crying and wake the child up! You two should go into the house and clean up."

Hu Zhibin's wife pulled her out of the car, and the two sisters-in-law went into the house and started packing.

Outside the courtyard gate, Lao Han took the cigarette Lao Hu handed over and said, "We don't need this, so we'll go home first."

"Come back. I'll call you guys over for a drink when I have time."

Lan Guodong and Lao Han nodded, then walked past Xu Ning with their guns and cloth bags on their backs, and said with a smile, "Xiao Xu, we're going back first."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Okay, after we avenge Hu Zhiyong, I'll send you two some meat. Don't refuse it when the time comes."

Old Han waved his hand and said, "Can you please accept the meat? Okay, let me know if you need anything later."

"Got it."

After the two men left, Da Laba glanced at Lao Hu in the car. Just as he was about to pick up the old handle, he was stopped by Xu Ning.

He whispered in the loud speaker's ear: "Send the Buddha to the west, be a good person to the end, understand?"

"Ah..." Loudspeaker suddenly realized and said doubtfully, "I'm just afraid of causing more trouble."

"Why are you making trouble? Don't do anything. Just stay here and keep me company."

Daba nodded calmly, then he crawled into the carriage.

At this time, Lao Deng stood in the carriage and said to Lao Hu, "I have to go back and pack up, and I have to call Li Ye to go to the street to check together."

Old Hu nodded: "Okay! This is a good way to put Li Ye's mind at ease. He stayed with me until about nine o'clock that night. The kid was also feeling very upset."

After Lao Deng jumped out of the car and left, Hu Zhibin approached Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang.

"Erning, you two come into the house for a while. I'll ask your sister-in-law to prepare some tea. Are you hungry? Shu'e, hurry up and prepare some food!"

Hu Zhibin pulled Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang to the courtyard and shouted to Liu Shu'e who was packing bedding, washbasins, thermoses and other things in the outer room.

Liu Shu'e turned around and said, "There's food simmering in the pot. Put the food on the table first so the two brothers can have a bite."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "I'm actually a little hungry."

Li Fuqiang nodded: "Me too, I didn't eat much at night..."

Hearing that they were not being polite, Hu Zhibin grinned and said, "Oh my god, I was afraid that you two were pretending. I feel relieved when I hear this. Otherwise, I don't know how to thank you. Come and sit down! Erning, have a cigarette..."

"What are you thanking me for? Don't mention it again. Brother Bin, I don't smoke."

Li Fuqiang took it with a smile, not embarrassing Hu Zhibin, "Brother Bin, I smoke."

Hu Zhibin was stunned, then smiled and said, "Erning has really changed. Before, when I heard your name, it was all stories... It's still stories now, but they're all good stories!"

"Hahaha, isn't this something you've learned well?"

Hu Zhibin turned around, grabbed the table and put it on the kang, and said, "After you learned well, all I heard was praise for you. Hey, do you know Lao Qian from the county compound?"

"Old Qian? The father of Qian Shude, the manager of the supply and marketing cooperative?"

"Yes, isn't he the gatekeeper of the county compound? I talked to him a few times and he said you brought a lot of good things to his family and that you and Qian Shude are good friends."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Yes, Qian Shude and I are buddies, but I really didn't know his father was guarding the gate of the county compound..."

"Isn't his father retired? His father and the deputy secretary of our county compound are comrades-in-arms."

"Ah, that's what happened."

Xu Ning certainly didn't know that Qian Shude's father was a gatekeeper at the county compound, because his father took the job last fall. However, Xu Ning knew that Qian Shude had a lot of connections in the county, otherwise how could he have become the manager of a supply and marketing cooperative in his thirties?
This is also the reason why Qian Shude is fearless when meeting small thugs.

By building relationships, Hu Zhibin became much closer to Xu Ning.

After Li Fuqiang finished smoking the cigarette in his hand, Liu Shu'e brought two dishes, sauerkraut stewed with vermicelli and cabbage stewed with tofu.

Liu Shu'e brought two bowls of rice and placed them in front of the two men, saying with a smile, "Brothers, you two can just eat something first, and when we get to the street, Brother Bin will treat you to a meal!"

Hu Zhibin smiled and nodded: "Yeah."

When he saw the figure outside the courtyard gate, he was stunned, "Hey! Is Brother Guoxing staying outside with our dad?"

Liu Shu'e looked outside and said, "Oh, that's right! What were you thinking? How could you let Brother Guoxing get left behind?"

Hu Zhibin walked out in a hurry, saying, "I didn't see him just now. He might be staying in the car with our father. I'll go call him now. Hurry up and serve a bowl of rice."

Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang picked up their bowls, picked up the dishes with their chopsticks, looked at each other and smiled.

(End of this chapter)