Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Chapter 79 Three Wolf Cubs
Yu Qiutang looked at Wang Haofeng awkwardly.

It seems that he helped everyone solve the poisoning problem, but he himself is stuck here instead.

Wang Haofeng was his best friend, and the two of them were in sync with each other and noticed the problem instantly, but the bastard turned around the first time and pretended not to see it.

"Eat it, it's sweet and delicious."

Seeing that Yu Qiutang didn't want to eat, the old lady took out a piece for him, stuffed it into his hand and stared at him, forcing him to eat. Yu Qiutang had no choice but to pick the side that was not moldy and took a small bite. Wang Haofeng was grinning smugly at the side.

"Feng, come here, eat too. Thanks to you for calling the doctor here. Sixth Grandma also wants to thank you. You eat too." The old lady grabbed Wang Haofeng and stuffed a piece into his mouth.

"Haha~" Yu Qiutang couldn't help laughing.

Wang Haofeng looked helpless and pitiful.

Seeing that both of them had taken the cake, the old lady put the remaining cake on the table, then tremblingly opened her outer clothes and took out a cloth bag wrapped with white thread from the pocket of her inner clothes.

You don't want to give money, do you?
Just as Yu Qiutang was thinking about it, he saw the cloth bag slowly unfolding, and inside there was actually a man holding a bracelet, which looked slightly yellowish and black in color.

The old lady looked at the bracelet silently for dozens of seconds, without saying much, and walked forward and tried to stuff the bracelet directly into Yu Qiutang's pocket.

"Ah, grandma, this won't do. How can I take this thing from you? Put it away quickly!" Yu Qiutang had no choice but to stand up again and avoid the old lady's hand.

"Take it, child. I have nothing else to thank you for. This is the rule passed down from our ancestors. If you don't take it, my old father-in-law, who has been dead for more than 30 years, will beat me with his shoe soles again."

The old lady is still stuffing it.

Yu Qiutang had no choice but to call Wang Haofeng, "You really don't care, right? I came here just for your sake. Tell the old man to put it away. I didn't put in any effort, so how can I use it?"

"I, Sixth Grandma, give it to you to thank you for your kindness. Just accept it. It's such a good thing, but you don't want it. I've never seen a person like you before."

Wang Haofeng was still joking, not afraid of getting into trouble, until Yu Qiutang came forward and was about to hit him, then he begged for mercy.

"Sixth Aunt, you keep it for yourself, he doesn't want it."

"Yes, why not? It's not like you want it for nothing."

"He can't have..."

"Of course I can take it. Why can't I take it? I have to pay a doctor for medical treatment. He saved my child's life. This thing is nothing. They are all material possessions. How can human life be worth more than that?"

The old lady is really persistent.

Yu Qiutang regretted coming with her a little. If he had known this would happen, he should have refused directly.

It's really hard to be a good person.

This was the kind of thing he couldn't stand the most, it made him lose his temper completely. The old lady was well-intentioned and she was old, but she was just stubborn and would not listen to anyone's explanation.

He simply ran out of the yard and left the problem to Wang Haofeng to deal with.

It is easier to explain to others when they are familiar with them.

Besides, he was the one who asked me to come here in the first place, so if I don't clean up the mess for me now, that won't do.

As soon as Yu Qiutang arrived in the yard, he saw the old lady's granddaughter holding a handful of grass in her hand. When she saw Yu Qiutang coming out, she smiled shyly, revealing her newly sprouted little teeth.

"The puppy was born."

"oh?"

Yu Qiutang watched her take the grass into the open shed next to him and was about to run over to take a look, but just as he reached the door, he suddenly heard a dog barking, which startled him.

Upon closer look, I saw that there was a black and yellow wolfdog tied in the shed. It was a rare large and fierce dog breed native to Northeast China and often used as a hunting dog: the wolfdog.

The Wolfhound is a ferocious large dog and a type of Chinese dog.

It is tall, ferocious, and protective of its owner. It is easy to tame, and once tamed, it will obey its owner's orders very well.

It can be said that it is like a gun. It will fire wherever its owner tells it to fire and it will never move a step if its owner tells it to.

In his previous life, Yu Qiutang worked as a ranger in a forest farm. He had two dogs with him, one was a Shaanxi Greyhound and the other was a Wolfhound.

In comparison, the Shaanxi Greyhound has stronger fighting power, but its loyalty and execution ability are not as good as the Wolfhound.

Therefore, if you let the greyhound go out to chase the smell, it is easy to attract wild animals back. If the wolfhound is exploring the way, it is often elusive and will never make a sound unless it is absolutely necessary.

"Don't bark, dog. You're a good person."

The little girl walked over, hugged the female wolf's neck, put her face on the dog's head, and gently patted the dog's face. The female dog's eyes gradually became gentle, and she gently licked the little girl's palm with her tongue.

"Here, eat grass."

The little girl fed the grass she had just pinched to the wolfdog's mouth. The wolfdog turned its face away, but the little girl chased after it and fed it to it again. A helpless expression appeared on its face, so it had to take the grass and chew it slowly.

"Be good, let me see the puppy."

She waved to Yu Qiutang, who was also very interested in the puppy in the bamboo basket next to him, so he tried to move closer slowly.

The wolfdog stared at him for a while, the vigilance in his eyes slowly faded away, and he gently wagged his tail and lay down beside him.

Yu Qiutang, who was familiar with dogs, knew that this was because the wolfhound basically accepted him and was willing to let him get close. But he still tried to stay as far away from the wolfhound as possible and slowly moved in along the wall.

It is said that dogs will turn their backs on their owners. The more loyal a dog is to its owner, the less it likes others to approach it.

Miahong's family used to have a wolfhound. One time, when the dog was eating, their child tried to tease the dog by taking the dog bowl. The dog bit his child on the face, and half of his nose was bitten off. Although it was stitched later, a deep scar was left on his face.

Yu Qiutang doesn't want to repeat the same mistake.

He was prepared for defense, just in case the dog suddenly went crazy, he could kick it away. With his current strength, if he kicked the dog in the waist, the dog would definitely not be able to bear it and would be half dead on the spot.

Dogs and wolves belong to the same family, Canidae, and are very similar in many ways. For example, their buttocks and heads are very strong, so it is difficult to kill them if you attack them from these two positions. However, their waists are as fragile as tofu, and will break immediately if you touch them even a little.

So in the past few years, people guarded against wolves by poking the wolf's waist with a stick. Just one poke would cause the wolf to bark in pain and instantly lose its fighting power.

Fortunately, this wolfdog is very gentle.

Standing next to the little master, without showing too much of a ferocious look, Yu Qiutang was able to look down from above and see the seven puppies in the basket.

It is not common for a dog to give birth to seven puppies in one litter. In most cases, there are about five. The more puppies a dog gives birth to, the more likely the smaller ones are to die. It is better to give birth to fewer puppies and raise them all, which is more economical.

If there are too many puppies, they may be easily crushed to death by the mother dog, or even bite the puppies to death if the mother dog is in a bad mood.

Especially for older dog mothers, their interest in raising children will decrease and they are most likely to bite their children.

At the moment, the seven puppies, which looked less than a month old, were furry and in various colors, sleeping soundly in the basket. As she was watching, the old lady came running over again, holding the bracelet in her hand, followed by the helpless Wang Haofeng.

Yu Qiutang gave his brother a look that told him to commit suicide.

What a good brother! You are useless even if I give you the chance.

Yu Qiutang thought that if it really didn't work, he could only talk to the old lady in a stern manner. He couldn't really take the bracelet away.

Seeing how the old lady treasures it, the bracelet has even turned a little black in color. It is obvious that it has been treasured for a long time, perhaps several decades or even a hundred years old.

He had no intention of taking away what others liked.

"Wang Wang!"

At this moment, the wolf next to her suddenly barked, attracting the old lady's attention. She yelled at the wolf, "Didn't I just feed you? Why are you barking? Can't you see there are people here?"

"woohoo"

The wolf cub immediately lay down feeling aggrieved. In fact, she might just want to say hello to her master, which was a sign of intimacy.

however.

When Yu Qiutang heard the wolf's cry, he suddenly had an idea.

He said to the old lady, "Grandma, I really can't take your bracelet, but if you really want to thank me, can I get a few puppies from you?"

"Dog boy?"

The old lady was slightly startled, she looked at the puppy, then at the bracelet, "How much is this worth? The puppy is my own child, and it's not worth much, what do you want it for?"

"To be honest, my children love dogs, and I often go into the mountains to do things, so I thought I'd take a few smart dogs with me so I can be alert and safer. So, can I hold a few dogs?"

The old lady seemed unwilling to give up and shook the bracelet again, "You really don't want this?"

"I really can't take it. It's too expensive, grandma. I really can't afford it. Look, if you really feel bad, just give it to two or three puppies. Otherwise, I don't want anything."

"That's it."

Hearing this, the old lady slowly wrapped the bracelet in a cloth bag and put it back in her pocket. She then leaned over to the basket and looked at the puppies inside. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "If you really like them, go catch a few."

"Are you willing to do so?"

The old lady agreed, but Yu Qiutang felt a little embarrassed, as if he had taken advantage of the opportunity.

But in fact, dogs were not valuable in this era. This kind of cross between wolfhounds and other dogs could still be sold for a little bit, but many local dogs were given away as gifts, but basically few people wanted them.

In an age when people can’t even get enough to eat, who has time to keep a dog?

Even the leftovers were used to raise chickens or pigs. Anyway, every household was poor and there was no urgent need for a guard dog, so keeping a dog at home was purely a consumable.

"It's not that I'm reluctant, baby, I'm just afraid that my puppies will be caught and not raised properly. You seem to be an honest and kind-hearted child, so I have nothing to worry about. Just catch as many as you want, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qiutang subconsciously looked towards the basket.

There is a skill in choosing a hunting dog.

The first is the body.

Unlike ordinary domestic dogs, which only need to have a strong body, when choosing a hunting dog, you should try to choose a dog whose length is greater than its height, with a thin waist, a broad chest, and well-developed muscles. This way the hunting dog will have power when running and will not be so fat that it cannot reach the front for a long time.

Here is a trick. When choosing a dog, you can grab the dog's fur. It should not be too loose, and the skin should be close to the meat but not look thin. This is a very good hunting dog.

The second thing is the dog's limbs. The limbs should be slender, and the toes should be close together, which is also called garlic hoof. The front legs should stand like an arch from the front. If they are too close together, they will not be able to pounce on prey, and if they are too far apart, they will not run fast. The same is true for the hind legs, but they should be slightly closer than the front legs and slightly tilted forward.

As for teeth, the most important thing to pay attention to is the canine teeth, which should be sharp and slender. The best hounds have one or two more canine teeth on each side of the upper and lower canines. When the mouth is open, the canine teeth are tilted inward like barbs, and when biting, they cross like scissors. As a head hound, you must choose a dog with this kind of teeth, at least a scissor-like bite.

In addition, there is a series of observation methods such as nose, tongue, eyes, ears, etc.

For example, the dog's head and face do not necessarily give people a majestic feeling, but they must be fierce. There should be a deep and long groove in the middle of the forehead, which is the so-called "bad road". The longer the better, it is best to extend from the tip of the nose to the back of the head. This kind of dog has a keen sense of smell.

Of course, the above is just an idealized state.

When actually choosing a dog, it is often difficult to meet all the factors. Generally, ten factors are considered, including body, limbs, teeth, tongue, mouth and nose, eyes, ears, tail, head and face, as well as personality. If it can meet three of the excellent factors, it can be a usable hunting dog.

If you can pass six items, you can become a main hound.

If you have more than eight items, you can definitely be a hound.

As for the legendary decathlon, it is almost impossible to encounter one. It often only appears in the fantasy of hunters. In reality, you may not encounter one in your entire life.

With the old lady's promise, Yu Qiutang carefully observed the seven puppies and immediately took a liking to three of them, especially a little one with brown fur all over its body. From its nose, face shape, erect little ears, and grinning mouth, it seemed that it passed at least five or six criteria.

So Yu Qiutang asked the old lady to take out the few that he liked.

He didn't dare to take it himself.

Firstly, he was afraid that the mother wolf cub would fight with him. Secondly, wolf cubs are very intelligent, no less intelligent than German Shepherds. Taking her child away in front of her would make her sad.

Yu Qiutang had been without a mother since childhood, and he hated to see such scenes, even if the other party was just a dog.

Whether in his past life or this life, he never simply regarded the dog as an animal, but as a friend and relative, especially later when he wanted to become a hunter, the dog became his partner in life and death.

Dogs are needed to explore routes, guard, and drive away predators, and even to bite at critical moments. It can be said that sometimes in the mountains, dogs' loyalty is much greater than that of humans.

Why hunters don't easily team up with strangers, or even people they don't have a good relationship with, to go into the mountains to hunt together? It's because they don't trust each other.

In the mountains, if you come across a good treasure, it will often induce people's malice. Once you have bad intentions, it is really hard to guard against, and you may end up being killed.

After killing someone, the body is buried somewhere and may never be dug out.

In the early years, people had an unwritten rule when hunting. If they killed prey, they had to share some with anyone they met when they came back. This was the so-called "peace meat", and it was also a way to accumulate popularity.

If I eat your flesh today, if you encounter any trouble in the future, at least I can help you. Otherwise, even if you are not harmed by anyone, if something happens to you in the mountains, people who happen to pass by may not necessarily pay any attention to you.

Not many people are willing to walk with a wounded person in the mountains. Wild animals have a keen sense of smell and can often smell blood from several kilometers away.

In comparison, dogs are obviously more loyal.

At critical moments, they are even willing to fight to protect humans, even at their own expense.

(End of this chapter)