Chapter 215 The Dog Wants to Go Up the Mountain

"Xiping, what are you doing? We've been waiting for you, why aren't you leaving yet?"

Wang Jianshe and Chen Weiguo waited for Sheng Xiping in front of the department, but he never came, so they went to Sheng's house to look for him.

As soon as he entered the gate, he saw Sheng Xiping surrounded by four dogs, which were making all sorts of noises.

"Oh dear, what happened?"

"They got anxious when they saw me going up the mountain. They insisted on following me," Sheng Xiping sighed helplessly.

"Oh, if you want to come along, go ahead. Taking them with you is fine too. If we encounter any powerful wild beasts, at least we'll have some noise."

Over there, Chen Weiguo looked at the dog's pitiful appearance and couldn't bear it, so he spoke up to plead for the dog.

Sheng Xiping thought about it and agreed. The situation in the mountains was complicated, and he didn't know what kind of situation he might encounter.

Numerous herbivores surround Nuanquanzi, making it a paradise for predators. Who would dare say there's only one lynx over there?

What if there's something else? Bringing the dog along might be useful.

"Oh, then you all go inside and wait for me for a bit, I'll go feed the dog."

Sheng Xiping hadn't originally planned to bring the dogs up the mountain, so he only heated up his own food and didn't feed the dogs.

But if you take them up the mountain, you have to feed them at least half full, otherwise, if something happens, where will the dogs get the strength to fight wild animals?

"Okay, we're not in a hurry, let's wait a bit." Wang Jianshe and the others didn't say anything and went straight into the house.

Sheng Xiping quickly added some firewood to the bottom of the pot, then found some potatoes and pumpkins, chopped them into pieces, poured them into the pot, added water, and started cooking.

While cooking, they also added cornmeal.

These days, even people don't have much to eat, let alone dogs.

In ordinary households, people would cook potatoes and pumpkins to feed their dogs; very few families would feed them cornmeal.

Unlike later generations, where there's even special dog food for dogs.

Sheng Xiping felt sorry for the dog, so he would always add some cornmeal to it.

The potatoes and pumpkin were chopped up, boiled in a pot, and then mixed with cornmeal and a little salt. The dog food was then ready.

However, I was in a hurry today and put in a bit too much cornmeal, making the dog food a little too thick.

When scooping food out of the pot, it would stick to the spoon, so Sheng Xiping would tap the spoon against the rim of the bowl to clean it.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

Zhang Shuzhen and Sheng Liancheng were inside, chatting with Wang Jianshe and the others. They were just preparing dog food, which Sheng Xiping could handle, so Zhang Shuzhen didn't come out.

Upon hearing a sound of a spoon hitting a basin in the outer room, Zhang Shuzhen quickly came out to check.

"I was in a hurry and put in too much cornmeal, so it sticks to the spoon."

Sheng Xiping smiled sheepishly; it was rare for him to give the dog some food, and he'd even made it thick.

"Isn't there a basin on the stove? That's the broth from the wolf meat stew we made the day before yesterday."

I don't know what that thing is for, but I just put some in when I feed the dog.

"Pour the soup in, stir it, and it'll become thinner." Zhang Shuzhen pointed to a basin on the stove.

The dog ate wolf meat. That day, when they were butchering the wolf, they gave some bones with meat on them to Erlang Shen and the others, who gnawed them clean.

Zhang Shuzhen felt sorry for the dog, but she didn't know what the soup from the boiled wolf meat could be used for, so she kept the soup and poured some into it every time she cooked the dog's food. The dog ate it with great relish.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping thought it was a good idea, so he quickly poured the soup from the basin into the bowl, stirred it, and the dog food became a bit thinner, making it easier to serve.

Once the dog food is ready, take it outside and let it cool down a bit before bringing it to the dog's kennel.

During the Chinese New Year, the dog's standard of living also rose sharply. Even if he couldn't eat meat, he could still have meat soup.

Dogs have sharp noses, and as soon as Sheng Xiping came out with the bowl, the dogs could smell what was in the dog food.

Now the dogs barked even louder, wagging their tails and shaking their heads, looking extremely anxious.

Sheng Xiping carried the bowl and filled each dog's food bowl with food. The dogs lowered their heads and licked the food with gusto.

The dogs raised by the Sheng family are all very good. They are particularly good eaters and will eat whatever they are fed, good or bad.

The dog food is served at the perfect temperature, with a good balance of salt and broth, so how could it not eat quickly?

Before long, the dog food bowl was empty. The dogs were still hungry and turned to look at Sheng Xiping.

"That's all. Come with me in a bit, we're going up the mountain." Sheng Xiping had already brought the rest of the food into the house.

When taking dogs into the mountains, you can't feed them too much, because if they're full, they won't work. So you should only feed them until they're half full.

The dog wasn't full and wanted more, but when it heard about going up the mountain, it stopped complaining.

So Sheng Xiping went back into the house, slung his gun over his shoulder, and packed bullets, medicine, dry rations, and other supplies into his shoulder bag.

Wang Jianshe and the others followed, untied the ropes binding Erlang Shen and the Black General, and were about to leave.

Unexpectedly, the leopard and the fat tiger got upset and started howling.

Both of them are descendants of Erlang Shen, and their physiques are similar to Erlang Shen's.

I've been at the Sheng family's house for half a year now, and I've probably been eating well, so I've grown quite fast. I'm currently weighing forty or fifty pounds.

Despite its large size, this dog is not yet an adult and is still a puppy.

Sheng Xiping originally planned to take them into the mountains in the autumn, but the two of them kept barking.

Sheng Xiping thought for a moment and decided to bring them along. Even if they couldn't do anything, they could at least get familiar with the environment in the mountains.

And so, the group of six, with two large and two small dogs, left the forest farm and headed straight for the place where the traps had been set the day before.

On the way, the dogs were quite excited. Leopard and Fat Tiger looked around, sniffing the ground from time to time, and then looking up at the air to sniff.

Sheng Xiping was overjoyed when he saw the two puppies' behavior.

This little dog is so small, yet all it does is sniff around. Looks like it's got a knack for smelling things.

Who knows, these two little guys might really take after Erlang Shen (a Chinese deity), and they might become big shots in the future.

Wang Jianshe and his companions didn't know much about hunting dogs, but seeing the two puppies so lively going into the mountains, they found it amusing.

And so, the group of people, with their dogs on their leashes, chatted as they traversed the snowy forest, searching for the snares they had set earlier.

I used those snares yesterday, but today's catch was so-so. I only caught a few pheasants and rabbits. I didn't manage to catch anything with the snares or wire snares.

Sheng Xiping and the others were not discouraged. This is how it is when you go hunting in the mountains. What you will encounter and how many there will be are all unknowns.

Many people go into the mountains for a whole day and don't encounter anything, which is normal.

If everything were like the day before yesterday and yesterday, wouldn't all the animals in the mountains have been wiped out long ago?

"Looks like that's all for today. Let's take a walk in the mountains for a bit, and if we don't find anything, we'll head back."

Sheng Xiping put away the wire sheath and addressed the crowd.

We each brought home so much meat yesterday, enough to last us for quite a while. It's not like it's our first time hunting, so we're not that worried about losing anything.

Since there wasn't much there, they decided to head back.

When we came here, we had to take a roundabout route into the woods to hunt the snares. But we weren't really in the mood to go back, so we thought we might as well take a shortcut.

As they walked, Erlang Shen suddenly sniffed and started calling out towards the east.