Chapter 099 Chapter 99
Compared to Ye Qing's apology, Liu Zhiqing was actually in a very happy mood.
Although he was bitten by a tiger and nearly lost his life, the experience of escaping from the tiger's mouth alone was enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life.
Moreover, following the village hunters into the mountains this time was definitely a great bargain, as Ye Qing's pack of coyotes helped in the hunt, and this time they had killed at least five or six thousand kilograms of prey. With so much meat, he and the other male educated youth who had come along to make up the numbers could at least get a few dozen kilograms.
When he thought about how much meat he would get, the educated youth Liu no longer cared about the pain from the stitches on his thigh. He just wanted to go down the mountain and have a good meal by stewing a big meat dish first!
Although the tiger injured someone, the hunters were not affected too much by it. They continued hunting in the mountains according to the plan they discussed with Wu Yongbing last night.
After working together for a long time, the villagers and the coyotes became more and more in sync, and they reaped a lot in just a few hours. By the time they finished work at noon, the cabin was almost full of prey.
Now everyone really had to go down the mountain. With so many prey here, the strong smell of blood would surely spread. On such a snowy day, other beasts would surely not be able to resist the temptation of prey and would choose to take risks to steal the food.
Although there are coyotes helping to guard the area and they have hunting rifles, so there should be no problem with safety, but it is better to avoid conflicts with the animals in the mountains if possible and bring the prey down the mountain safely as soon as possible. The New Year is coming soon, and returning home safely and healthily is more important than anything else.
With so many preys, Ye Qing was still worried about how to carry them down the mountain. She was thinking about whether she should use the same old trick and make another rattan sled and let the coyotes help pull it down the mountain. However, these villagers were not Gu Weidong. If she wanted to make a rattan sled, it would be a problem to find an excuse to use it.
As a result, before she could think of a countermeasure, Captain Wu and the old branch secretary had already divided the prey into more than 20 piles, and then gave a pile to each of the old hunters in the village. These old hunters took out hemp ropes and snakeskin bags and began to tie up and pack the prey into bags.
Then one of them swiftly carried a bag of prey weighing two or three hundred kilograms on his back, took heavy steps, buried in the waist-deep snow, and walked down the mountain panting.
This stunned Ye Qing.
"The snow is so deep and it's so far from the foot of the mountain... Can we carry it down like this?"
Ye Qing looked surprised and worried, but the old branch secretary couldn't help but laugh and said calmly:
"This is nothing strange. The farmers in the village are all good at selling their labor. Two years ago, when the commune didn't have tractors, how did every household pay the public grain? Didn't they rely on carrying it to the grain station? Let alone these two or three hundred kilograms, who in the village didn't have a man who could carry four or five hundred kilograms of grain at a time?"
Ye Qing was silent for a moment.
Having said this, she carefully recalled what she had seen during her time in the countryside, and it seemed to be just as the old branch secretary had said. People of this era were particularly strong. Perhaps because mechanization had not yet become popular, farmers' labor had to rely on manpower. Therefore, no matter whether they were men or women, there were many who could easily carry two or three hundred kilograms of things.
People say that children from poor families grow up early. Rural children have to help their families from a young age. They need to do farm work within their ability when they are a few years old. They have to go to the fields to earn work points when they are in their teens. If they want to have enough food, they have to sell their labor. After years of training, they become stronger and stronger.
"Okay, you don't have to worry about moving the things. Xiaoye, you and Wei Nan just follow behind."
As for the injured educated youth Liu, the old branch secretary and the other educated youth took turns carrying him, and the group slowly walked down the mountain.
The snow-covered mountain road was not easy to walk on, but because everyone started early, even though we stumbled and swayed all the way, we still arrived at the foot of Kaoshantun Mountain around six or seven in the evening.
The group returned to the village, and the families closest to the foot of the mountain naturally heard the noise.
But the hunting troop had only been in the mountains for less than two days, and the people in the village thought they would not be back for at least a week. So when they heard the noise, no one realized at first that the hunters had gone down the mountain. When these families ran out of the house to investigate, they were all stunned to see that everyone was carrying so many prey.
"Oh my God, they have only been in the mountains for a few days, how come they have killed so many prey?"
"How come they came back so quickly this time?"
"It seems that another educated youth was injured. What happened?"
A group of villagers gathered around and started talking about the matter. A few clever children immediately ran to the village, almost beating gongs and drums to spread the news, going from house to house to tell the villagers that the hunting team had returned.
By the time the educated youths from the Youth Academy received the news and rushed to the drying ground to gather, several bonfires had already been lit in the huge drying ground, and several large pots were also filled with hot water. The entire ground had already been surrounded by villagers from Kaoshantun. In the middle, a dozen hunters were holding butcher knives and slaughtering the prey, skinning, deboning and cutting the meat, and they were busy in full swing.
The old branch secretary and the accountant were weighing the prey and compiling the specific data. So much meat piled on the thatched mats in the threshing ground was a spectacular sight, making all the villagers in the village excited and thrilled.
Even if the prey weighs only the gross weight, after skinning, removing bones and internal organs, there will still be nearly five thousand kilograms of meat.
According to the regulations of previous years, if someone from a family went into the mountains to hunt, the majority of the meat would be distributed, and the rest would be distributed to each family.
There was so much meat this time that the team leader and the old branch secretary discussed and decided to give an extra 30 kilograms of meat as a reward to all members participating in the hunt. In addition, the large bones, fur, and internal organs that had been removed would be given priority for selection by the hunting members.
As for Ye Qing, who made a special contribution this time, the captain waved his hand and directly rewarded Ye Qing with 100 kilograms of meat, and Ye Qing could have priority in choosing any meat she wanted.
The team leader did not hide this decision from the members in the village. He announced it in front of everyone.
Naturally, some villagers were suspicious and dissatisfied, and immediately asked why the land was divided like this.
Then, without the captain's explanation, the hunters who participated in the hunting in the mountains took the initiative to help explain, and told the story of Ye Qing going into the mountains this time and bringing the coyote pack to assist the large group in hunting.
After hearing this explanation, everyone suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the hunting activity in their village ended so quickly this time. They caught so many prey in just two days. It turned out that Ye Qing had invited some "external help".
Those hunters who hesitated before entering the mountain regretted it so much that their intestines turned green.
If they had known that this hunting would be so easy, they would not have hesitated and would have followed the coyotes into the mountains long ago. If they had followed, not only could they hunt with the coyotes, but they could also get an extra 30 kilograms of meat when they came back. Where else could they find such a good opportunity?
But knowing this earlier is priceless. Now that most of the troops have returned, it is too late for these people to regret.
However, after hearing these hunters describe their experience of the hunt, the hunters who did not go into the mountains with them this time all felt anticipation and yearning. They silently made a decision in their hearts that if Ye Zhiqing went into the mountains again for the hunt next year, they would actively sign up and go with him to broaden their horizons!
Knowing that most of these prey were hunted with Ye Qing's help, the people in the village were now convinced and no longer had any objections to Captain Wu's way of distribution.
These villagers are not stupid. They know how to choose between eating meat once and eating meat every year.
Ye Qing could get the coyotes to help her hunt, so would she still be short of meat? If she really wanted to eat meat, she could just give an order and the coyotes would eagerly carry the prey to her.
Therefore, this time of hunting, it was clear that Ye Qing was intentionally trying to help the villagers in the village improve their food.
People don't care about the hundred kilograms of meat, but if the captain's decision to reward Ye Qing with a hundred kilograms of meat makes people in the village dissatisfied and directly blocks it, Ye Qing will definitely feel uncomfortable.
If they piss people off this time, they won't go into the mountains next year. Without the help of the coyotes, their hunting activities will certainly be full of risks and uncertainties as in previous years. Don't even think about catching so many prey easily.
So the villagers knew exactly how to weigh the pros and cons. Not only did no one object, but they all came forward to show their courtesy to Ye Qing. Not only did they happily help Ye Qing pick out the best meat, they also eagerly helped Ye Qing send the meat home, fearing that any slowness would make Ye Qing unhappy.
Ye Qing was also amused and confused by these people's flattering behaviors, especially many hunters who came up to her and asked her to select animal furs. They were willing to help Ye Qing tan and sew them, and gave Ye Qing various tips, telling her which furs made leather coats warm enough to wear and which furs made blankets comfortable to cover herself with.
Ye Qing really didn't care much about the 100 kilograms of meat that the captain rewarded her with. After all, she hadn't been embarrassed during the few months she had been in the countryside.
Not only did the coyotes, foxes and black bears in the mountains send her prey from time to time, but Captain Zhao from the farm next door would also often give her some meat tickets, or simply have the orderly driver secretly bring her some delicious food.
She also has a fishing cheat device with her, and now that the health station in the village has opened, patients from other villages who come to see a doctor sometimes bring a few eggs or an old hen or something, so there has never been a meal without meat on her table. After a few months of eating well and getting enough nutrition, her little face has gradually become rounder, and her height has increased visibly.
But she also expressed her understanding of the villagers' little thoughts.
In this era of material scarcity, when every household was short of oil and food, if there was someone who could allow his family to eat a few more pounds of meat during the New Year, every family would definitely worship that person as a living Bodhisattva.
Not to mention the rural people, even the workers and even officials in the city would rush to curry favor with the emperor when they encountered such a good opportunity.
Moreover, Ye Qing and his companions had gone hunting quite a lot in the mountains this time, and there were only about 300 households in the village. Even if the rewards for the hunting members were distributed in advance as requested by the team leader, if the remaining meat was divided equally, each family would still be able to get more than ten kilograms, which was enough for everyone to have a good New Year.
So everyone was very satisfied. Even though it was pitch black outside and the temperature was minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, excitement and joy were visible on everyone's face, and the corners of their mouths were almost stretched to their ears.
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