Chapter 82 Winter Arrival
The grassland, which was like a green velvet blanket in summer, turned into a pale yellow after a cold wind blew by.
In the vast and quiet morning, patches of white frost condensed on the tips of the withered grass. As the morning sun rose, its rays shone on the earth, like tiny diamonds shimmering with a cool, clear light.
The winding river in the distance is also surging in the summer heat, with a transparent hard shell quietly covering both banks.
On the watchtower, a border soldier wearing a dark red padded jacket stood on the city wall, stamping his feet and rubbing his hands, exhaling puffs of white breath as he breathed on his frozen, red hands: "Tsk~ Ha~ This winter is really cold, it feels a bit colder than in previous years."
Another border soldier on duty rubbed his hands and ears and said, "Who says it isn't true? It's just that the cold is a little better. The porridge we've been distributing lately has been getting thinner and thinner. People who are off duty are getting anxious because they're hungry."
The border soldier, who had been rubbing his hands together, suddenly became alert and looked at the group of people riding out of the city in the distance: "Who is this?"
Another glanced at them and then stopped looking: "Ignore them, it's Lin Qianhu, who was recently promoted, who went out hunting with a few men."
As he spoke, the border soldier exclaimed, "That guy is quite capable. In the battle two weeks ago, he single-handedly killed two Tartar generals. He's been in Daxing for less than a year and has already been promoted. He's very capable."
Another looked on with envy: "Commander Lin? I know him. His soldiers eat very well; they get meat every three days, and sometimes even eggs..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes and started to stream down her face.
Upon reaching the watchtower and hearing the guards talking, Commander Ma kicked the drooling border soldier in the backside: "What, did I fail to satisfy your appetites?"
The two men stood up straight in unison: "Reporting to Commander Qian, no!"
Commander Ma snorted coldly, but a thought crept into his mind. Changping had been working long hours lately, his dark circles under his eyes were quite pronounced, and that's why he occasionally brought back some meat to supplement the meals for his men. Of course, he didn't forget a few of them. You have to admit, this kid knows how to get things done. Wild game is hard to hunt in winter, and every time he comes back, he shares some meat with his colleagues. He hasn't neglected his command duties either.
No wonder he was valued by the commander and was promoted every time he was evaluated.
Commander Ma rubbed his hands together and snorted coldly: "A bunch of good-for-nothings, all they think about is food. Alright, don't say I don't care about you. After you finish your shift today, go to the cook and get a bowl of meat soup. Thanks to Commander Lin, the ten catties of wolf meat he brought back yesterday are already cooking in a big pot. Keep up your duty, and you'll be able to eat at noon!"
Upon hearing this, the two border soldiers looked at Commander Ma with delight and clasped their hands in thanks: "Thank you for your understanding, Commander! You are truly a benevolent and compassionate man who loves your soldiers like his own children!"
Commander Ma chuckled, "Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense. Who taught you all to be so pretentious? Get back to work!" Though he said this, Commander Ma was secretly pleased. As he led his guards to inspect the next watchtower, he laughed and scolded, "These lads, I don't know where they learned such glib talk, and they even know idioms now, huh."
Zhang Baihu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It's said that they learned it from Lin Qianhu. It seems to be about providing support or something to the superior?"
Commander Ma paused for a moment, then hesitated, recalling Lin Changning's close relationship with the commander, and asked, "Emotional value?"
Zhang Baihu nodded: "It seems so. I'm a rough man and don't quite understand it, but it roughly means flattery."
Commander Ma shook his head: "Among us, he's the most cunning. After all, he's a scholar, and his mind is much sharper than ours."
By this time, the quick-witted Commander Lin had already chased the herd of gazelles for several miles.
Hunting is becoming increasingly difficult in winter, and the traps we set are now catching fewer and fewer prey. With no other option, we have to risk going out once a week to set traps in places a little further away. The big yellow dog that Old Liu gave us is indeed a good hunting dog; it can lead us to places with plenty of prey just by following the scent.
The spot where Big Yellow stopped digging was practically the rabbit den in the area. Putting some fresh cabbages in the traps would always catch a lot of rabbits.
Wolves are harder to catch in winter. Almost all wolves form packs in winter. Last week, when they came here to set up traps, they ran into a pack of wolves, a group of brown-furred beasts. They almost bit his dog, Dahuang. In the end, Lin Changning killed five or six wolves before the pack of wolf cubs stopped. The wolf king let out a long howl and ran away with the rabbit in her trap.
Fortunately, a few wolves made some gains, so it wasn't a loss.
While setting up traps today, she unexpectedly encountered a herd of migrating gazelles. Excited, she immediately led her men to surround and block the herd.
However, the gazelles darted around so fast that the remaining horses, except for Mo Yun, couldn't catch up with them at all.
The startled gazelle herd scattered and fled. Lin Changning rushed to the front, quickly drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The bow was full and the arrow flew like a shooting star. With a whoosh, a large gazelle in the herd rolled and lay down on the grass.
"You guys gather the prey! I'll hunt!"
After Lin Changning finished speaking, he chased after the antelope again, and when the opportunity arose, he fired another arrow. This time, the arrow struck the antelope squarely in the neck. The antelope, now wounded, leaped high into the air, bounced a few times, and then fell to the ground.
Lin Changning fired several more arrows, and all but one hit their mark.
As the herd of gazelles grew further and further away, Lin Changning gestured a few times to make sure she couldn't hit them from that distance. She then slowly reined in her horse and stopped. Turning her head, she saw that she had shot a total of six plump gazelles. Big Yellow had a wild rabbit in its mouth and was standing not far away, watching her.
Lin Changning smiled and was in a good mood. There were so many prey, enough to eat for half a month. He would keep one for his own family, give one to the commander, keep two for his team, and give the remaining two to his colleagues. It was just right, so everyone could have some meat and save two meals of food.
Wan Jin pulled out the arrow, and the others dismounted to prepare the game. Everyone had a happy expression on their face. However, before they could finish preparing the gazelles, a wild wolf suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed a smaller gazelle, and tried to run away.
Wan Jin grabbed his knife, mounted his horse, and gave chase, but Lin Changning called him back. Da Huang, like a yellow lightning bolt, sped off after him.
Lin Changning drew his sword and gave chase. He hadn't gone far when the wolf stopped. A wolf with a gazelle couldn't go far. Lin Changning dismounted, drew his sword, and prepared to deal with the wolf.
Suddenly, several wolf cubs emerged from a burrow not far away, howling and running towards the wild wolf. The wild wolf dropped the gazelle in its mouth, bared its teeth, and stood in front of the three skinny wolf cubs, growling at Lin Changning.
Big Yellow also stood in front of Lin Changning, barking and confronting the wolf.
Lin Changning picked up the gazelle in front of the mother wolf and sneered, "So it's a mother wolf. I was wondering why she was so bold as to come and steal my food."
He sighed as he looked at the mother wolf's guarding posture: "Big Yellow, bring me the rabbit you caught."
Dahuang can understand Lin Changning's commands. Upon hearing this, it ran back to where it had been, picked up two rabbits, and ran back. Lin Changning took the rabbits from Dahuang's mouth and threw them in front of the mother wolf: "Eat up. Luckily, we had plenty of prey today, otherwise you and your little wolf cubs would have ended up in our bellies."
After saying that, she patted Big Yellow's aggrieved head and said, "Let's go, Big Yellow."
The mother wolf sniffed the rabbit, watched Lin Changning sheath his sword thoughtfully, and after a while, she carried the rabbit back to the cave entrance and began to feast on it.
"What a strange day! I actually encountered a mother wolf with her cubs. It's already winter, yet there's a mother wolf with her cubs."
Wan Jin glanced at Lin Changning who had returned and cupped his hands in greeting: "Commander, everything is ready."
Lin Changning nodded. Wan Jin glanced at the dejected Da Huang and knew what Lin Changning had done. He hesitated and said, "Chief, the mother wolves that bring wolves in winter usually give birth late. They give birth to wolf cubs in the autumn. Food is scarce in winter, and it is difficult for a mother wolf to raise her cubs without the protection of the wolf pack."
Lin Changning glanced at Wan Jin with a half-smile. This kid was saying that even if she left the prey for the wolf, the mother wolf wouldn't be able to raise the cubs, so there was no need to waste the prey.
"Wan Jin, do you know the story of 'draining the pond to catch all the fish'?"
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