Chapter 10 Chapter 10 The Mysterious Wooden Sign

"The mountains are covered with red flowers blooming towards the sun, the people in the village are happy, and they sing the praises of the commune, hoping that happiness will always exist and spring will always be here!"

From the distant mountain mist came the sound of singing, and the people at the foot of Nanshan Mountain cheered up: "You're back!"

Yesterday, the forest ranger reported finding what appeared to be tiger paw prints on the outskirts of the old forest. Even though his family reassured him that Da Huang was still there to protect him, the old Party secretary was terribly worried and couldn't sleep all night: Da Huang was a wolf, but a lone wolf wouldn't be strong enough to defeat a tiger.

"What's going on? Is anyone hurt?"

"Two of them were slightly injured, but they're fine!" Huang Dazhuang, carrying a roe deer and two pheasants tied to his waist, shouted back, "We've got a huge harvest! They're still on the hill. Someone from the village needs to go up and get them!"

The brigade accountant stopped, pulled out a suona from his waist, and played a song "Singing Happiness All Over the Hill" towards the sky.

Women in the distance immediately heard it, took out gongs from their homes, and ran towards the village while beating them: "The autumn hunting team is back!" Almost all the boys in each family jumped out and ran towards Nanshan.

By the time the members of the commune welcomed the autumn hunting team into the village wheat field like heroes, it was already dark. No one was stingy at this time, and they rushed to contribute their torches, lighting up the wheat field brightly: "Wow! It's only the third day, how come we've caught so many?"

Wang Huzi sat on the ground beaming with joy. "We wiped out an entire herd of wild boars, including their den! We got so much that we almost couldn't get any back!"

"How can they be so powerful! There are more than ten of them!"

"Seventeen! There are five little pigs," the duck-voiced boy cried out. "I counted them three times!"

Wang Huzi was both proud and relieved. He looked at Lin Xinghuo, who for the first time in front of the educated youth directly called her "Little Fairy" and said, "It's a good thing that Little Fairy came with us into the mountains this time, otherwise it would have been dangerous!"

Grandma Wei and Wei Chunfeng, who were pulling Lin Xinghuo to see if he was hurt, asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

Huang Dazhuang gulped down a full porcelain jar of water and wiped his mouth with his sleeve: "There are tigers in the old forest..."

Three days ago, twenty-one people went up the mountain before dawn and entered the old forest in the afternoon. They first cleared out the wild cave that served as a temporary base, just like in previous years. After that, the team members were divided into groups and acted in the surrounding area. On the first day, they only hunted pheasants and rabbits, and would slowly go deeper in the next few days.

Wang Huzi and Cen Dazhu were assigned by Huang Dazhuang to follow Lin Xinghuo around. Lin Xinghuo's purpose of going into the mountains this time was to explore the way and pick some herbs.

The old forest is rarely visited by people. The endless mountains behind Nanshan are a branch of the Buxian Mountains to the east. The terrain is diverse and the resources are rich. Before dark, Lin Xinghuo put together a prescription. Wang Huzi and the others not only protected Lin Xinghuo, but also shouldered the task of finding and observing animal traces. Cen Dazhu found traces of wild boar in a small swamp beside the ravine. At that moment, the two did not dare to go any further and persuaded Lin Xinghuo to go back. After the three of them returned, Cen Dazhu told them about his discovery. Huang Dazhuang also felt that the situation was difficult. He immediately blew the whistle to call back all the team members, ordering everyone to stay together and be on high alert.

After exploring the swamp, Wei Chunxing confidently said, "The wild boar's stench has faded. It's been gone for at least five or six days. But there are other animal scents, especially faint ones. They might be from hunting."

"Can you smell what it is?"

Wei Chunxing shook his head. After discussing it, everyone concluded that a lone wild boar had been targeted. Wild boars love to roll in mud puddles, but this one was too small, and the scratches on the nearby trees definitely didn't look like a herd. After all, for the autumn hunting team, a herd of wild boars was more dangerous than a leopard.

But Lin Xinghuo couldn't help but feel something was wrong when he saw Da Huang scratching his nose with his claws.

The next day, everyone deliberately avoided the direction where the trail disappeared, heading deeper into the old forest from the other side. This time, Lin Xinghuo was so focused on vigilance that he didn't even pick the copper grass right at his feet. Dahuang seemed a little anxious. He kept circling and sniffing, as if he was a little confused and a little afraid.

Lin Xinghuo didn't know what Dahuang was afraid of, but Dahuang's abnormality had already infected the wolves hiding and tracking behind.

Strangely, the three fox cubs showed no reaction at all. They were actually more intelligent than Da Huang, so it didn't seem like they'd encountered a natural enemy. Da Hu had even discovered his natural talent as a herb-gathering fox. Whenever he smelled the same herbs as those in Lin Xinghuo's basket, he'd run over and meow, as if calling Lin Xinghuo to go gather some.

By noon, everyone had successfully caught several pheasants and rabbits, without encountering anything unusual or dangerous. They then rested for a while at a fallen red pine tree. "When the dead wood dies, all new trees grow." Here, a patch of sunlight shone through. Everyone cleared a small patch of brush and weeds and took out some dry food. One team member remarked, "It's still more fun to shoot rabbits with a gun! It's much better than a crossbow!"

Wang Huzi laughed and scolded: "Get lost, it's fun when you're shooting, but how does it feel to spit out iron sand when you're eating!" The guns they brought were all homemade shotguns. They were not very accurate but had a wide range of hits. They could hit rabbits accurately, but they would leave countless holes.

"If you're going to fight, fight something big!"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Xinghuo suddenly stood up, listened attentively for a few seconds, and immediately said, "Get up the tree! Everyone, get up the tree!"

Da Huang let out a long howl and rushed out first.

Before they reached the top, Wei Chunxing, his face pale, shouted, "Lots! Lots of wild boars!"

The captain cursed inwardly. He climbed fast and could already see the trees and bushes in the distance moving violently. They were heading towards them.

The wild boars were incredibly fast. Almost the next moment, a particularly strong one rushed out from the bushes and hit the crossbar hard. In an instant, splinters of wood flew everywhere. But the wild boar seemed to be fine, shook its head, and continued to rush forward.

Everyone was clinging to the nearby trees, hugging the trunks and branches, not saying a word, even their breathing slowed down.

A tiger roar was heard in the forest.

At this point, everyone realized that the tiger might be hunting wild boars, which had startled the herd and caused them to run into it head-on. The team members could only communicate with each other through eye contact, praying in their hearts that these deadly creatures would leave quickly.

But the more you fear something, the more it will come.

After a herd of wild boars, large and small, emerged from behind the leader, the leader, for some unknown reason, turned back. Sniffing and charging, it rushed directly to the trees where they were hiding. The wild boars, frightened by their predators, grew restless once they stopped, but gathered around them, seemingly forced to obey the leader.

The agitated wild boars spotted them and, led by the leader, began ramming their way into the trees.

Even a thick red pine tree cannot withstand the charge of wild boars, not to mention that in order to climb trees quickly, they subconsciously choose trees of ordinary thickness that are easy to climb.

"Fight!" shouted retired soldier Hong Zhong.

Everyone aimed as best they could, but their positions were awkward, and after a round of strafing, they only injured two wild boars, which instantly became even more violent. Just then, a team member in the tree to Lin Xinghuo's left lost his grip on the trunk while reloading, and was knocked off the tree by a wild boar's impact. Another team member in the same tree roared and jumped down, struggling to wave away the wild boar below with his rifle.

The comrades in the nearby trees were extremely anxious, but they couldn't shoot in that direction.

"Da Huang!" Lin Xinghuo shouted.

Seeing the wild boar take a few steps back and prepare to charge, Dahuang rushed out from behind and stood in front of the two men.

There was a lot of blood on Dahuang's mouth. Wolves and pigs were howling not far away. It was obvious that Dahuang had just led the wolf pack to stop some wild boars for them.

"Hurry up the tree!"

Da Huang was incredibly ferocious, and with a few leaps and pounces, he had already torn open the wounds on the wild boar's body from the shotgun wound. The wild boar howled. The first boar, which was about to hit the red pine tree where Lin Xinghuo was, stopped, its small black eyes glancing from Da Huang to Lin Xinghuo.

Lin Xinghuo pressed the purse hidden in her lapel with one hand. Could it be this strange wooden sign that attracted them? But Da Huang and the other wild boars didn't seem to react in any particular way.

The pig rubbed against the base of the red pine, removing a large piece of bark as if marking its scent. Finally, it suddenly charged at the rhubarb.

The fox cub in the basket shifted uneasily. Da Huang narrowly dodged the attack. The wild boar's sharp tusks plunged straight into the tree behind it. The leader pig tossed its head, sending sawdust flying. It stamped its hooves and suddenly began to grunt.

The two wild boars flanking Dahuang charged at him, while the one behind him retreated fiercely, ready to attack as well. Worst of all, the lead boar, with all its might, rammed and rammed the tree Dahuang was protecting, cracking it in half. The lead boar then stopped at the base of the tree. The two men who had just climbed back up dared not move. Even Lin Xinghuo could tell the tree was starting to shake slightly.

"Da Huang! Come here!" Lin Xinghuo quickly pulled the purse out of his collar.

Da Huang was quite clever. He dodged two attacks and jumped left and right to the red pine tree, whimpering softly.

Lin Xinghuo slapped the tree trunk to attract the wild boar's attention, while taking off the backpack with his hands and hanging it on the half-broken branch.

"Xiao Lin!" Huang Dazhuang couldn't help but shout. What did she want to do? She was the only one on the tree, and there was no way to hold her back. Huang Dazhuang gritted his teeth and tiptoed down.

Lin Xinghuo was now terribly focused: she slowly and slowly climbed down the tree, her eyes fixed on the pig. The pouch on her chest opened a little, and the cold smell of pine after the snow became a little more noticeable...

The two hated people were still gathered together, and the wild boar, being impulsive by nature, charged forward furiously.

It happened so quickly that Lin Xinghuo used his hands and feet to jump up again in two whooshes. He half-hung on a branch with one hand like a monkey, then kicked the tree trunk hard, freed his hands to hold the hatchet, and jumped straight down from the height!

The white light reflected from the blade dazzled everyone's eyes—

The long and sharp blade chopped straight into the center above the pig's eyes!

The pig, with its powerful momentum, didn't even have time to grunt before it fell down instantly, and inertia caused its huge body to roll forward.

To dodge, Lin Xinghuo had no choice but to abandon her hatchet and roll to the side to dissipate the force. This wasn't the move she'd planned! She'd intended to strike, then sheath her knife and stomp on the pig, then jump up and do a hawk-like flip to land behind the wild boar.

As a result, I was too nervous and used too much force, and the knife got stuck in the pig's skull.

*

"You don't know how fast the little fairy is. Before we could react, she did this... that..."

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, she climbed up the tree, and our team leader threw the hatchet to her. She chopped it down... She climbed up the tree again and chopped again, and each time she hit the spot right in the center of the wild boar's forehead!" But the team member pulled back the knife.

"It's amazing! The remaining pigs were scared to death. Let's go down together and hit the vital points like the little fairy did!" The two slightly injured ones were scratched while chasing the pigs.

The members of the commune and the educated youth glanced with strange eyes at the wild boars neatly arranged in the field. Some of them had no wounds except a knife wound in the middle of their eyebrows, while the other parts had all kinds of wounds on their bodies from knives and bullets. There were countless knife marks on the pigs' faces. They couldn't keep them secretly as offerings during the New Year. Which god wouldn't despise them?

"..." Only Lin Xinghuo rubbed her knuckles and couldn't feel proud - that was why only her hatchet was still stuck in the pig's head and couldn't be pulled out no matter how hard she tried.

The monkey children were still looking at the knife in awe.

"What's going on with the tiger? Did you really see a tiger?"

"I saw it," Hong Zhong said. "It's a bit strange. The tiger had a young wild boar in its mouth. It had clearly been successful before, so why was the herd still fleeing? And tigers usually only attack solitary boars. There were only twenty or so of them in this herd, so how could a single tiger force them into that state?" Wild boars are naturally prone to rage and anger, so it's only natural for them to attack the autumn hunting team with the same reckless abandon they did. Furthermore, they spent so much time dealing with the herd, and the tiger didn't emerge. Instead, it emerged with its prey after the boars had fallen, took a brief look, and then slowly wandered off.

The warrior's intuition told him that the tiger was looking at Lin Xinghuo.

Could it also be this wolf named Dahuang?

The person next to him exclaimed, "More than twenty!"

Cen Dazhu plucked up the courage to touch Dahuang's stiff back fur and said: "Thanks to Dahuang and the wolves who stopped half of them for us!" After the battle, the captain also moved a few wild boars to the wolf pack, but the wolves didn't want them and left two suckling pigs on the spot.

Three huge pots were set up in the wheat field—remnants of the communal dining era—now the common property of the brigade. The fires were blazing, making the villagers' faces flush. The old branch secretary loudly announced: "According to the old rules! One part will be handed over to the commune, and the remaining nine parts, five of which will be distributed internally by the autumn capture team, and four will be distributed collectively according to the number of people! Everyone, work hard to clean up the meat, and each household will bring basins and buckets to distribute the meat all night long!"

Autumn hunting team members can still receive their collective share, but the team's share is different from the collective share and is divided according to effort and merit.

Forget about pheasants, rabbits, and roe deer meat. Just the wild boars. Huang Dazhuang gave a large pig and two suckling pigs directly to Lin Xinghuo, leaving the last suckling pig to Dahuang.

This time no one died in the old forest, all thanks to the little fairy. Huang Dazhuang also explained to Lin Xinghuo: "Ordinarily we should have given more, but wild boar meat is not easy to prepare and not tasty." It would be better to give more grouse and rabbits to the little fairy.

"I..." Lin Xinghuo pointed at the pig with the hatchet stuck in its head that was surrounded by the fox cubs. "I want that one."

Wang Huzi quickly squeezed over and said, "Little Fairy, this pig is not good to eat. It has a strong fishy smell!" Aren't the foxes raised by the Little Fairy the cleanest? When did they get close to her?

Lin Xinghuo smiled and said, "I am useful."

"Okay!" Huang Dazhuang called out, "First, clean up these three pigs for the fairy girl, and also clean up the one for Dahuang."

Many uncles and aunts came forward and rolled up their sleeves.

At that moment, Lin Xinghuo keenly sensed that everyone's attitude towards her had changed again: from the initial friendly, seemingly curious attitude, to the affection and affection she received when she treated the livestock, and now, after she had chopped the wild boar with a knife, it seemed to have turned into respect and admiration. A kind of respect with a sense of distance.

——This can be seen from the fact that the captain obeyed her without hesitation.

It is like a fairy boy who has walked down from the altar and is reverently placed on the altar by believers again.

After a moment of distraction, Lin Xinghuo stopped him again: "I only want this one. There's no need to pick up Dahuang's one, just take it back to me." She thought for a moment and added: "I need the hair of this pig to be useful, so I have to get it myself."

Wei Chunfeng opened her mouth to try to persuade someone, but she didn't say anything.

Five or six strong men brought the wild boar, weighing about five hundred pounds, back to Lin Xinghuo's house on a cart and laid it out neatly on the floor of the main hall. Huang Dazhuang, despite his fatigue, followed in person and said at the end, "Little Fairy, we'll bring you the grouse and rabbit tomorrow."

After they left, Lin Xinghuo felt a little melancholy, but also seemed to have gained something. His internal energy began to circulate rapidly without any need for any control, and it did not calm down until after a small cycle.

Lin Xinghuo nodded at the fox cubs still surrounding the pig: "They're not afraid of the smell."

Even so, she turned around and quickly closed the main door. She felt like something was watching her from the dark. In fact, Lin Xinghuo had had this feeling when she was on the mountain, and she even saw a mountain cat-like shadow running away.

The empty courtyard was extremely quiet under the light of the torches. Suddenly, something slapped the fence, and a sesame-like pattern flashed by.

The author has something to say:

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I have exceeded the word limit again, I was so excited about writing that I didn’t want to end it.

Da Huang said: What does that smell like? It doesn’t taste like a cat or a rabbit! It seems... a little scary?

The fox cubs pointed at Da Huang: Fool - Hey!

Beast: My pig!

Note: "The whole mountain is covered with red flowers blooming towards the sun, the people of the village are happy, and they sing the praises of the commune, hoping that happiness will always exist and spring will always be here!" - "Please Come to Our Village"

"Please Come to Our Villa" and "Singing Happiness All Over the Hill" are very representative farmers' songs from the 1960s, which were extremely popular at the time.

In addition, "the Siberian tiger poses the greatest threat to wild boars, as wild boars make up the largest portion of their prey. Adult Siberian tigers track wild boars by scent, then defeat them one by one, ultimately wiping out the herd." — Scientific Curiosity: How Wild Boars Survive the Winter