Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Yu Qiutang felt in his pocket but didn't find anything good.

In the past, when he visited relatives, he was used to putting some candy in his pocket, and if he met a child, he would just grab some.

But recently, because of what happened to my fourth uncle, many of my habits have been temporarily affected, so I stopped doing that.

I might as well wait for Dujuan to put down the gun, give her a dollar, and let her use it to buy food for herself and her sister.

There aren’t many varieties of snacks sold in stores these days.

Basically it's just a few cents, and a dollar is a huge sum of money. As long as you spend it sparingly, you can buy a lot of things.

After entering, I saw my second sister cleaning the house.

"Is everything arranged there?"

"Okay, it's still early, let's wait until the evening. My brother-in-law hasn't come back yet?"

"No, look at the mess in this house. I must have been too busy to clean it up. If I don't come back soon, I'm afraid this place will become a rat's nest."

Yu Qiutang smiled.

My second brother-in-law Bai Dawei is exactly who my second sister described him to be.

In his own words, he is lazy at home and hardworking outside.

I am too lazy to do much housework, but when it comes to things outside involving my children, I care more than anyone else.

Fortunately, Yu Chuntao is also a teacher and can understand his feelings.

If it were an ordinary person, the quarrel would have turned out to be disastrous.

Yu Qiutang sat down on the anti-inflammatory table and said, "He shouldn't have gone. The child was bitten by a wild boar, and it was the family's responsibility. What does it have to do with him? Once this matter is involved, others may not be willing to let it go."

Yu Chuntao said: "You can't blame him for this, he must be worried about the children. Your brother-in-law just likes children and treats all the children in the school as his own.

Now that the child has been bitten by a wild boar, he must be feeling heartbroken.

If he can be cured, it's fine. But if he becomes disabled, I can tell you, he will suffer for half his life."

Yu Qiutang couldn't understand.

He himself likes children and can empathize with them, but he still doesn't understand his brother-in-law's feelings.

Can people really have such strong love for children who are not relatives?

Just like when he saw Du Juan, they all liked her, because she was his niece and they had a natural affection for her.

If not, then you must look good.

If he meets a strange little girl on the street who is very pretty, he might like her, but if she is just average looking, it would be against his will to say he likes her.

Also, Yu Qiutang is not like other people of this era who more or less favor sons over daughters. He came back from the afterlife and only wants to have two daughters with Miali in the future. As for sons, let nature take its course.

But human birth is a very accidental thing. Even for Miali, she doesn't know whether she can have both a son and a daughter like in her previous life.

Well, no one can tell.

“Qiu Tang, you volunteered to help solve the wild boar problem this time. I’m actually very worried. You said you are very capable, but I remember you didn’t have this ability before. Could it be that you have killed a few rabbits and pheasants and thought that wild boars are as easy to kill as them?
If that’s the case, you’d better not try it. Last time, we hired two old hunters but they couldn’t do anything about the wild boar…”

"Didn't I say last time that I would definitely find a way? I'm not here to join in the fun because I have nothing better to do. I just feel sorry for you and don't want my second sister to worry all the time.

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't care about the wild boars here. Even if they were eaten by the wild boars, it wouldn't have anything to do with us, right?"

Yu Chuntao smiled bitterly, feeling that what Yu Qiutang said was merciless, but at the same time she felt comfortable listening to it, thinking that he was not like this before, and now he has grown up and has become much more tactful in his words.

"Anyway, you have to be careful. If anything happens to me, I'll be finished. I won't be able to explain to my family!"

"Don't worry, I'm not fighting with wild boar."

As they were chatting, footsteps were heard outside the door. Bai Dawei walked into the main room with an air conditioner on, saying as he walked: "Taozi, I saw a motorcycle outside. I heard it was..."

When he was halfway through his words, he saw Yu Qiutang. He first looked at him carefully, then smiled and asked, "Qiutang, it turns out to be you. I haven't seen you for a long time. You seem to have grown up a lot."

Bai Dawei is six years older than his sister. He is already thirty-five this year. Perhaps because he works too hard, the hair on his temples has turned white.

He was about 1.7 meters tall, not much taller than my second sister. He was wearing a blue Zhongshan suit that had been washed to a grayish color, and a woolen coat with fluffy fur all over it.

He was wearing black-framed glasses. The left leg of the glasses might have been broken, so it was wrapped with a black cloth. But because it couldn't be completely aligned, the glasses were uneven on both sides, making it look as if his two eyes were one bigger than the other.

At this timeline, Yu Qiutang and his second brother-in-law were not very familiar with each other.

We met twice, at our wedding and when we visited our parents' home. After that, we met once or twice a year at most. Every time they came back, there were so many people at home that it was difficult for the two of us to say a few words.

So it is limited to knowledge.

But I'm not really familiar with it.

"Brother-in-law."

"Please sit down and talk. Do you want some water? I'll pour you some."

"No, I'm not thirsty."

"still……"

"You two chat, I'll go get you some water."

Yu Chuntao dropped what she was holding and went back to the kitchen to pour some hot water.

Yu Qiutang got straight to the point, "Brother-in-law, how is the child?"

Bai Dawei's face changed slightly. "It's very distressing, but I'm lucky that it wasn't completely bitten off. The doctor said it can be reattached, but whether it can be restored to its original state depends on luck."

He added: "But the scar will definitely remain on your arm, so it will be impossible for you to join the army in the future."

After saying this, he let out a long sigh.

Yu Qiutang nodded, "It's really pitiful. Last time at the market, I heard from my second sister that you found the hunter, and I thought that the matter should be almost resolved, but I didn't expect that there would be such a situation later."

Bai Dawei smiled bitterly.

"Speaking of this, I'm also very angry. When you two came, you boasted to me that you had traveled far and wide and had seen everything. Bears and tigers were no problem for you, let alone a few wild boars..."

Yu Qiutang was stunned. "This is definitely bragging. Forget about the other things, let alone tigers. There are no tigers here. It's hard to even see lynxes."

"That's right. I was desperate at the time and wanted to invite the person back to get rid of those pig eggs as soon as possible.

Who could have thought that the two men, who had been treated to good food and drink by our village, turned out to be useless. Not only did they not catch the wild boar, but they almost got themselves into trouble.

If the wild boar that injured him had not been frightened by the shouting, I think one of them would have had his kidney pierced, and if he had been bitten on the face, he would have been dead. "It turned out to be so thrilling." Yu Qiutang echoed.

I thought they must be some half-baked hunters who were ambushing wild boars in the mountains, not realizing that the hunting methods for wild boars in the village were completely different from those in the mountains.

"By the way, I heard someone say that a man on a motorcycle came to the village to help hunt wild boars. Could it be you?"

Before Yu Qiutang could answer, Yu Chuntao came over with a thermos bottle and said, "If it's not him, then who else? I was just saying that he said he could do it."

"We can't do this recklessly," Bai Dawei waved his hands hastily. "We must seek truth from facts when doing anything. We will do what we can. If we can't handle the wild boar, we will think of other ways."

Seeing that Yu Qiutang didn't take it seriously, he smiled and said, "I can't let my brother-in-law get involved if the wild boar is not dealt with."

Yu Qiutang also smiled and said, "How do you know if you don't try? When it comes to teaching and educating people, I'm definitely not as good as my brother-in-law. When it comes to competing with wild animals, my brother-in-law probably can't catch up with me even on horseback.

We have already explained this matter to the village chief. Just wait and see. We guarantee that your worries will be solved once and for all, so that you can be a good teacher as long as you are content. "

"This one……"

Seeing Yu Qiutang's certainty, Bai Dawei didn't know what to say. He subconsciously looked at his wife, thinking, "You should at least persuade your brother not to act rashly."

A professional hunter came and nearly lost his life. How could a half-grown young man like him succeed by being reckless? It was a joke to say that he would sacrifice his life. If something went wrong, it would be too late for him to regret.

Yu Chuntao understood what her husband meant, but she had discussed it with Yu Qiutang before, and Yu Qiutang had no intention of changing his mind, so she had no choice but to smile bitterly and shake her head.

"Okay, I just came to see you. I have to go to work now. Just listen to the announcements on the village loudspeaker."

Yu Qiutang didn't want to continue listening to his second brother-in-law's nagging, so he went to the village committee with a gun.

That is, there are two small houses, one is a meeting room and the other is an office.

There were all kinds of things piled up in a mess inside. When Yu Qiutang went there, the village chief and several people were standing anxiously at the door of the village committee waiting. After asking carefully, he learned that the other people were all village cadres.

Now everyone in the village knows that a hunter has come and is ready to kill those harmful wild boars, and they are all waiting for the village to make arrangements.

"Young man, you must be Dawei's brother-in-law, but I don't even know what to call you?" asked the village chief.

"Call me Yu Qiutang."

"Oh, Cousin Qiu, we have already asked everyone to fry the beans as you instructed. What should we do now?"

Yu Qiutang kicked the poisonous hemlock under his feet and said, "Chop this into pieces. I will need it later."

"This is poison hemlock, don't touch it, it will give you diarrhea."

Yu Qiutang nodded, "It's not for people to eat, just do as I say."

Yu Qiutang didn't want to explain everything clearly, otherwise it would take who knows how long, so he simply kept a calm expression to avoid these people asking questions.

Hunting is a technical job after all. It's not something you can learn just by being taught the tricks.

Without long-term training and experience, it is impossible to become an excellent hunter.

These people ask so many questions, and even a clear explanation is meaningless.

The best way to get a group of people moving in the same direction is not to tell them why they should do so, but to try to say nothing.

Just tell them that whatever is at the end is fine.

The village chief was indeed a village chief, and he had a keen eye. He saw at a glance that Yu Qiutang didn't want to say anything, so he smiled and asked, "What else do we do now?"

"After chopping the poison hemlock, mix all the beans together and bring them all here to gather. Then the village will arrange 20 strong men. We need real strong men who are brave and healthy. Scholars are not allowed to come."

"That's no problem, young man. We have plenty. What else?"

"Everyone prepare a torch. If you know how to make a torch, just find some old cotton wool or clothes, tie it to a wooden stick, tie it tightly with wire, and then soak it in kerosene and keep it ready for use when the time comes."

"Don't worry, we can do it. We often go to the mountains at night, and we need torches."

"That would be best, and then..."

Yu Qiutang felt that something was missing, and suddenly he saw a big drum in the corner, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"That drum, will it work?"

"Yes, of course it can be used. This is the big drum that we use for our Zhenyue community fire. It is made of genuine cowhide and is very useful. The sound can be heard ten miles away."

"Okay, this big drum will be used later. Prepare two drummers. Take turns beating it. The sound of the drum cannot stop."

"That's no problem, we have a candidate."

Yu Qiutang smiled slightly, "Your village has a good configuration. This is enough. I promise to help you get rid of the wild boar."

The village chief smiled and said, "Then we're counting on you, Brother Qiu. We really can't do anything about those dogs and pig eggs. You said there are young men in the village, but you can't keep watching and chasing them. It's too dangerous with too few people. We're worried about problems. If there are too many people, they will run away.

As soon as you disperse, they will come back immediately. We all have things to do and we can't keep chasing them.

It really makes people's heads explode.

It would be a great help to our village if you could get rid of those wild boars."

Yu Qiutang nodded, thinking of something, and then continued: "I just came here and saw that woman talking about my brother-in-law. Your village committee should handle this impartially. My brother-in-law takes care of students and loves them more than his own children.

He sincerely wants your children to learn something, gain more knowledge, and get out of the mountains in the future. You must not let him down.

If our brother-in-law becomes cold-hearted and doesn't care about the students here, you won't be able to find a good teacher like him and my sister even if you search with a lantern."

The village chief nodded quickly, "That's right. We all have eyes, right? We all remember who Teacher Bai and Teacher Yu are and how they treat us. Don't worry, we have our own scales in our hearts and will not disappoint the two teachers."

Yu Qiutang nodded. He was very satisfied with the attitude of the village chief.

No matter what you do, if you can get some positive feedback, you will feel much better.

I am afraid of those people who lose their sense of gratitude and think that they can solve all problems by paying some money.

"Okay, just follow what I said and implement it quickly. Also, let everyone eat early. It will be dark in less than three hours. Those who are ready should be in place in advance."

"no problem."

The village chief and several village committee cadres immediately went down to make arrangements. Yu Qiutang checked the area again and, while there was still time, he went up the hillside west of the wheat field to compare several positions in order to choose the best shooting position.

Not long after four o'clock in the afternoon, it was dark. The village chief gathered all the spare people at the door of the village committee, and each of them held a ready-made earthen torch in his hand.

Two strong and sturdy young men also carried out the village committee's big drum.

Everything is ready, just waiting for Yu Qiutang to arrange it. (End of this chapter)