Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 532: Something is behind the lampstand, making me nervous
At noon, the sun was hanging high in the sky, and rays of light shone through the towering pine forest, forming beams of light. Due to the high humidity in the forest, a six-color rainbow was reflected in places where the scorching sun could fully shine. The higher the humidity, the more uncomfortable people felt in the forest, and the stuffy feeling made people feel uneasy.

The one who suffered the most was Li Fuqiang, who was lifting the mallet. He knelt on the ground with his back hunched and his butt sticking out. He carefully used a deer-bone chisel to dig out the main root of the mallet. Every time he did so, he had to use his hands to dig the cleaned black soil behind him.

His face was covered in sweat, with beads of sweat dripping down his chin, making a small hole in the soil. He didn't have any extra hands to wipe the sweat, nor did he dare to, because it was his first time lifting ginseng, and he tried not to make any unnecessary movements.

Xu Ning stood by and watched, while observing the surrounding environment. In this windless forest, he could respond immediately to any disturbance.

However, he, Xu Laonian, Liu Daming, and Wang Hu were much more relaxed. At least they could move their bodies, drink some water, or smoke a cigarette. The three of them were standing next to Li Fuqiang with a corrugated lid, watching his operation. Sometimes Xu Ning would remind him how to use the tools and how to lift the ginseng quickly and steadily...

Time passed slowly, and Li Fuqiang was doing the final work. Xu Ning reminded him to be more careful because he had done it perfectly before and not to make any mistakes at the last minute.

Then he called Xu Laonian, Liu Daming and Wang Hu to go to a pine tree two meters away, and explained in front of the pine tree how to take the bark and chop the head, which is the simplest step in carrying ginseng.

After Xu Ning directed Wang Hu to cut a knife on the bare tree, he asked Wang Hu to find moss. Soon Wang Hu came back and found a lot of moss nearby.

After handing the bark and moss to Li Fuqiang, he placed the mallet on the moss and sprinkled some soil from the original pit, and the whole process of lifting the mallet was completed.

"Don't worry about the knots and bows, just tie it like this, wrap it around, that's it..."

Li Fuqiang tied the extra red string inside, and then handed the bark to Xu Laonian, saying, "Uncle, take it. It's really rare."

"Haha, Qiangzi still understands me. I appreciate that..."

Xu Laonian gritted his teeth as he took the bark and weighed it carefully. It weighed about three pounds, and the palm-sized mallet was as heavy as a earthworm, not even as long as a large, long earthworm.

Xu Ning asked, "Just now my elder brother was carrying ginseng, you all watched him, right? Next time he sees the hammer, you can try to do it yourself."

"Okay, okay! I'll definitely not embarrass you." Xu Laonian patted his chest and promised.

Liu Daming said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, can you hold back a little? Why didn't you ask my second nephew if he was happy to be flattered by you?"

Xu Ning grinned and said, "I am happy to listen to it! But it is only for leisure in the mountains. When I go back home, I won't be able to listen to it anymore."

"That's not possible. I will see things through to the end." Xu Laonian said.

Li Fuqiang smiled and asked, "Brother, what should we do with Miao Sanhua?"

"Let it stay here. We can come back and get it when we are fifty or sixty years old."

Xu Laonian was stunned and said, "Wait for you guys to be fifty or sixty? Then I'll... what! Are you kidding me? If it doesn't work, take it out and put it somewhere else."

Xu Ning waved his hand and said with a smile: "Forget it, Dad. You have to learn to be content with what you do and not lose the big picture for the sake of small gains. If you take this Sanhua seedling away and plant it somewhere else, how much time will it waste? Our home is too far away from here, and we can't take care of it at all. Besides, this place is not a sparsely populated place, and the Ginseng Gang often comes here to hang out..."

"There are often gang members hanging around? Why didn't they notice it?"

"Let's go back first, don't let Shitou wait anxiously."

Then, the five of them packed up their things and headed towards the camp.

Xu Ning went on to say: "Why didn't I see anything? There are many reasons. One is that I was unlucky. I didn't see anything after pulling the cart once. The other is that the stem of the mallet was broken, for example, it was stepped on by livestock, or it was crushed by branches, or it was due to the weather..."

Although Xu Laonian was unwilling, after hearing Xu Ning's words, he actually felt much more at ease, and said to himself: This kid knows a lot.

"We are so lucky!" Liu Daming was in a good mood, clapping his hands and beating the clappers.

Li Fuqiang smiled and said, "It's mainly because my uncle got a hold of the key to the Miao Mountain Opening, which is a good start!"

"Hahaha……"

Liu Daming laughed. Now he could give an explanation to his wife when he got home. It wasn't in vain that he followed his second nephew into the mountains to collect fortune. At least he had paid something.

"Hey, stop showing off so much, or you'll attract the black bear." Xu Laonian rolled his eyes.

Xu Ning said: "If we really want to see the black bear, wouldn't that be even better? We just don't have any meat to eat."

"Not good!"

In the camp, Guan Lei held his old stick and stared at the back of a tree. He always felt that there was something behind the tree, but due to the overgrown weeds and dense branches, his view was completely blocked.

He carried two kettles and fetched water three times in the morning. He also used a shovel to dig a reservoir five meters away from the camp stove. The reservoir was the size of a washbasin and covered with a layer of plastic sheeting. It was just enough to store water for washing hands and faces, so Xu Ning and others didn't have to walk a long way to the river to wash.

At this moment, Guan Lei had already prepared the meal, but he waited and waited but Xu Ning and the others still did not come back. He finally understood the anxious mood of the cook waiting for the diners. In addition, he always felt that there was something behind him, so he was a little panicked now. Even with a gun in hand, everyone would feel scared when facing the unknown fear.

If he really looked at the animals in the mountains, even if they were black bears or big cats, he would not be panicked, because he had a clear idea in his mind and there were only two possible outcomes.

At this moment, he heard footsteps. He turned around and saw Xu Ning and his four companions. He relaxed his whole body, put away his weapons and turned around to meet them.

"Oh my god, brother, why did you come back just now?"

Xu Ning said, "You're late for carrying another batch of saplings. What are you looking at with your gun?"

"I always feel like there's something behind me. After you left this morning, I went to the river to get some water. I heard something behind me at that time. Just now when I was cooking, there was some movement..."

Xu Laonian held the 56-and-a-half and said, "Are you looking for anything?"

"I just didn't see it. If I had seen it, it would be great... I still don't dare to move forward. What if a big cat jumps out? I won't even have a chance to run away."

Xu Ning slid the gun belt down to the crook of his arm and consoled him, "It can't be a big cat. If it was a big cat, we could hear the noise from three miles away, and you wouldn't even have a chance to fight back with your old pike. Let's go ahead and take a look."

Li Fuqiang grabbed the spear and walked in front of Xu Ning, but was pulled back by Xu Laonian, "Why are you holding the spear and moving forward? Stay behind! People say that fathers and sons fight together in battle, so we should stay in the front."

"Oh, my uncle is so domineering when he talks!" Li Fuqiang smiled.

Xu Ning walked forward and said, "My dad is holding a 56-and-a-half, so he must be confident. Why don't you try changing it to a old jue-handle one?"

Xu Laonian winked in an extremely flattering manner: "If it were Lao Juebazi, Dad would have to stand in front of you too!"

Several people moved forward, pushing away the branches and weeds, but saw nothing. However, the careful Xu Ning lowered his head to glance at the plants on the ground.

"Something has definitely been here." Xu Ning squatted down and pushed the bent stalks aside, saying, "It looks like an animal has stepped on this. It must be a roe deer..."

Li Fuqiang said, "Brother, it can't be the one we bumped into just now, right?"

Liu Daming was puzzled: "No way, it has to take care of the little roe deer, how can it run so far?"

"I can't be prepared."

Guan Lei said: "I was thinking about what to do, and you kept following me..."

"You go with me to carry the ginseng in the afternoon. When it's time to eat, let Huzi come back with you to cook."

Guan Lei waved his hand and said, "No need, I can come back by myself."

"There are all kinds of things in this mountain, so you better be careful. What are we going to have for lunch?"

Guan Lei said with a smile: "There's not enough pickles left in the half box, so I put them in the porridge. There are some wild vegetables in the porridge, so it probably won't taste very good."

"It's okay, as long as we can eat enough. We didn't come into the mountains to enjoy ourselves."

When dealing with younger people, Xu Laonian behaves like an elder and knows how to chat with them.

Xu Ning put away the 56 and a half and was stunned when he saw the water tank. He said, "You still have a whole basin? It looks quite nice." "I see you have to go to the river to wash your face in the morning, so I thought it would be more convenient to wash your hands in the whole pool."

“It’s done very well!”

Afterwards, everyone washed their hands in the pool, and the water soon became turbid. However, as long as they waited for sedimentation, the water would become crystal clear again, and even the mud and sand could be seen clearly.

They poured the wild vegetable and pickled vegetable porridge from the big pot into lunch boxes and drank and chatted. Guan Lei was surprised to hear Miao slapped him again. He didn't expect their luck to be so good.

He had heard in Wanye before that it was not easy for the Ginseng Gang to go into the mountains to find ginseng, and sometimes they wouldn’t see any hair of Bangchui for five or six days in a row…

After the meal, Xu Laonian and others smoked cigarettes, while Guan Lei and Wang Hu went to the river to wash the pots and fetch water.

Liu Daming picked wild vegetables and said, "It would be great if Leizi could make vegetable buns. We can make some buns tonight and stew some monkey leg mushrooms..."

Xu Laonian scolded, "You are making things difficult for the child. It's good enough that he has something to eat. Why are you so picky? Where do you think this is at home?"

"I just said that. If it doesn't work, I'll give it a try..."

"Just calm down!"

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Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang laughed at each other, and then Guan Lei and Wang Hu came back. After putting down the kettle and the big pot, Xu Ning turned around and said, "Hang up the food and other things with ropes, and put the big pot on the tree branch."

"okay."

Li Fuqiang stood up to help. The three of them prepared everything. Xu Laonian said, "That roe deer can't come over and dig up our tent, right?"

"It's okay. It can't be taken away even if it's dug up. Just hang it up with some food and it will be fine."

Then, the six people went to the red pine forest again, carrying cloth bags and backpacks and holding rope sticks.

As they walked deeper into the area, they took the time to pick up some wild vegetables.

Xu Ning did not take the same route twice, because he had searched all the routes he had taken before. Their main goal was the club, and all actions must be centered around the club!
It was not until after three o'clock in the afternoon that they found a lampstand under a red pine tree.

"Bang-hammer, bang-hammer!"

“How many batches of leaves?”

"Three batches of leaves!"

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

The six people coordinated and chanted out the process of shouting, receiving, and congratulating.

When everyone saw the lampstand, their breathing became lighter, tears seemed to well up in their eyes, and the excitement in their hearts was indescribable.

Xu Ning personally locked it with a red rope, then turned around and said, "Dad, you try it."

Xu Laonian raised his hands and wiped the sweat on his palms, saying, "Can you trust me?"

"Take your time. If you lose your whiskers, I'll deduct half of your salary..."

"Ouch! Stop putting pressure on me. I'm shaking a little now!"

Everyone looked at each other and smiled.

The three leaves of this plant are in the shape of a Chinese character "品", with three large leaves and five small leaves. In the middle of the three branches, there is a stem more than ten centimeters high, with a lump of red fruit on the top. It is the ginseng seed, and the mountain people call it the red hammer.

"This red hammer is so beautiful."

Xu Laonian's expression was somewhat obsessed. After all, he had never seen Erjiazi or Bazhang before, so he knew in his heart that this lampstand with a red hammer on it was different from Erjiazi and Bazhang. To put it bluntly, it was more valuable!

"Look at how your uncle lifts it."

Guan Lei was stunned: "Ah, then..."

Wang Hu said from the side: "Brother Lei, we will all have the opportunity to lift the mallet in the future. My second brother asked us to learn something, which will definitely be useful."

"it is good."

As Xu Laonian slowly operated, the main root of the mallard tree had been exposed, and the roots were spread flat on the black soil, while Wang Hu and Guan Lei had already peeled off the bark and taken the moss, and placed it not far from Xu Laonian.

Xu Ning took out an empty can from his cloth bag, squatted down in front of Xu Laonian, picked up the scissors, and cut off the red hammer directly, frightening Xu Laonian so much that he shrank back, "What are you doing? You scared me!"

"You go ahead and do your thing." Xu Ning took the red hammer in his hand, plucked off one and threw it on the grass beside him. He then dug some soil with his hands to cover it, and then put all the remaining ginseng seeds into a can.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"Take the rest home, the one you planted is the rule."

"It's very particular!" Li Fuqiang smiled.

Logically, this red hammer should be sown in the soil, because the germination rate of ginseng seeds is extremely low. Why is there a red hammer in this red pine forest? One reason is environmental factors, and the other is that the birds that ate the ginseng seeds acted as sowing machines, and the seeds germinated in the birds' stomachs.

Birds can spread ginseng seeds because there is temperature in their stomachs and intestines. If this kind of ginseng is artificially cultivated under-forest ginseng, it is called flying seeds. If it germinates and grows naturally in the wild without human intervention, it is called wild ginseng!
Wang Hu said with a smile: "Second brother, you have planned this in advance. You want to take the house and scatter it in the hills behind the new house?"

"Well, the contracting procedures for the back mountain are a bit confusing. I haven't told Uncle Guo about it yet. Let's wait until the new secretary of the forest farm arrives before we discuss it."

Xu Laonian muttered, "The new secretary won't be here until October..."

"I know, don't worry."

Xu Ning raised his arm and glanced at his watch, saying, "It's almost 4: now, let's go back and prepare some food."

Guan Lei nodded: "Okay, then Hu Zi and I will go back first."

"Huzi, stay here. Let's go back."

Wang Hu said, "Second brother, Brother Lei and I will go back."

"No, I'm thinking of going back to take a look at that roe deer."

"Ah, that's okay."

Before leaving, Xu Ning instructed: "After carrying it out, hurry back and don't stay here. Brother, you take the 56 and a half and keep an eye on the surroundings. If there is any movement, let me know."

"Yeah, don't worry." Li Fuqiang nodded.

Liu Daming said: "Leizi, stir-fry some wild vegetables with animal oil in the evening. I have been drinking porridge for the past two days, and my mouth has no taste."

Xu Laonian was digging at the black soil with his head down, and said, "Why are you so nosy?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Don't say my uncle is greedy for meat. I am a little greedy too. Aren't you greedy too, Dad?"

"greedy……"

(End of this chapter)