"They're back! They're back!" someone shouted excitedly.
At their makeshift campsite, around a roaring fire, Zhao Wangquan and his group were discussing who could hunt how many rabbits, even making guesses. But now, they added a wager: they started betting on alcohol.
I didn't bring many cigarettes. The alcohol was even more precious. Meat without alcohol is unbearable. And now, someone has actually gambled away their share of alcohol.
In the distance, a figure was walking towards them. It wasn't very clear, and someone in the crowd immediately shouted.
The results of this first small hunt are about to be revealed, and even those who didn't participate are so excited. They're all looking at the newcomers.
"Zhang Guodong? Brother Zhang? Bu Zhang?"
As the returning people drew closer, everyone finally recognized the first person to arrive – Zhang Guodong. This surprised and astonished everyone.
The three sharpshooters, Zhao Qiang and his two companions, were nowhere to be seen, nor was Zhao Laoliu, who was known for his exceptional marksmanship. Surprisingly, the newcomer Zhang Guodong was the first to return.
Should we give up?
Giving up is more in line with the identity of a newcomer!
"Uncle Quan, I think you're going to lose!"
"Wait, something's not right! Zhang Guodong is carrying something—a large wild rabbit!" But as Zhang Guodong approached, someone finally realized that he hadn't returned empty-handed. He had an air rifle slung over his shoulder, and in his other hand, he was holding a large wild rabbit upside down.
Unbelievable!
Even Zhao Wangquan was surprised. They really caught one? What incredible luck!
To be honest, the reason he made the bet was just to have some fun and give Zhang Guodong some face; he didn't actually think highly of Zhang Guodong. Hunting in the mountains is vastly different from target practice in a specific location. Without familiarity with such an environment, you might not even be able to hit a deer, let alone a rabbit.
But Zhang Guodong did something completely unexpected; he actually caught his prey!
The facts are the facts. Zhang Zaidong did indeed hunt a large, fat rabbit; one was worth two. Enough for at least two people to have a meal. Rabbit meat, after being prepared, is very delicious.
"Brother Guodong, you've really put everyone in a lot of trouble!" Old Dou, the old man, said to Zhang Guodong as he walked over, with a helpless expression.
Zhang Guodong was a little puzzled. Although he had heard what was said, he wondered if anyone had been harmed.
He casually put the rabbit down, and placed the air rifle beside it, the bullets already unloaded. For him, even if there was danger at night, having this air rifle or not made little difference; having extra bullets in the gun, however, was unsafe for ordinary people.
"Brother Dou, what do you mean by that?" Zhang Guodong sat down and asked with a smile.
"Haha, Xiao Zhang, you don't know, do you? These guys have been eyeing my cigarettes. Now that you've caught your prey, not only will they not get any, but I'll also make a lot of money off cigarettes. Oh, and some wine too!" Zhao Wangquan laughed heartily in a good mood.
The more he laughed, the more miserable the others looked. They were really embarrassed. Out of ten people, nine lost and only one won; Zhao Wangquan was the only winner.
Old Dou wore a wry smile. The others did too.
After figuring out what was going on, Zhang Guodong found it amusing.
"Uncle Quan, you guys made a bet, but I won so much. How about we split it 50/50 and give me half?" Zhang Guodong chuckled.
"Good lad. You actually dared to set your sights on my land? Fine! No problem!" Zhao Wangquan said with a laugh.
Among this group, he held the highest prestige, so it was perfectly normal for him to joke and exchange a few words with the younger generation. Seeing this, Zhang Guodong gradually integrated himself into the group.
The cigarettes were out of the question. But they were given three bottles of liquor, Xifeng liquor. The cigarettes weren't anything special, but the liquor was excellent. Zhang Guodong unceremoniously took the liquor, only to see the others staring longingly. The scene was quite amusing, and Zhang Guodong was barely suppressing a laugh.
To be honest, he hadn't really drunk much Xifeng wine. Come to think of it, the vintage Xifeng wine that Zhao Sanshun had hidden away was his first encounter with this wine, but upon tasting it, he found it quite good. Moreover, as a native of Xiqin, it was indeed a bit of a pity that he hadn't tasted Xifeng wine, a famous local wine and one of China's top ten wines. Today was a good opportunity to try it.
The sky grew even darker. The path was barely visible, and the hunt could no longer continue.
That's visibility. If you can still catch prey, you're a true marksman. Locating by hearing?
There have been gambling gods in movies. To be able to judge the dice rolls by ear and have marksmanship to this level is truly astonishing.
Sure enough, Zhao Qiang, Uncle Xigui, and Xiaofeng returned together soon after. But Zhao Laoliu was nowhere to be seen.
"Haven't you three seen Lao Liu?" Zhao Wangquan asked with concern. He hoped nothing bad had happened.
But the three of them didn't notice this at all and shook their heads.
"Ah! I know why Sixth Brother hasn't come back!" Zhao Qiang suddenly exclaimed with a look of realization.
“Let’s go take a look. Sixth Brother must have had a great harvest. It’s really hard to manage one person alone!” Zhang Guodong said with a smile.
The two walked towards Zhao Laoliu's direction. They hadn't gone far when they saw that Zhao Laoliu was covered in things, so many that a piece could easily fall off.
"Sixth Brother, I was just saying you had a great harvest, is this really true? How many did you get this time?" Zhao Qiang asked in surprise upon seeing the catch. He quickly took some of the spoils.
That bundle of wild rabbits seems to contain quite a few.
Zhang Guodong also received some. The three of them divided the items among themselves.
"Six, not one more," Zhao Laoliu said in his honest voice.
"Six isn't enough? Good heavens. Sixth Brother. You alone have more than all four of us combined, and you're still not satisfied?" Zhao Qiang exclaimed, somewhat amused and exasperated.
This made Zhao Laoliu a little embarrassed. He chuckled and scratched his head.
It seems that one person's gains are usually greater than the combined gains of several people. Of course, this is only in the early stages. In the later stages, the effectiveness of traps diminishes considerably, but that's a story for another time.
After bringing the six wild rabbits back, everyone became excited. It seemed they would have enough game for lunch tomorrow.
"The potatoes and meat in the pot are all cooked through, it's ready to eat!" Zhao Wangquan picked up a spoon, scooped up a few pieces to look at them, and the rich aroma of the meat, rising with the steam, made everyone's mouths water.
After expending most of their energy, people ate with increasing relish. Everyone brought their own lunchbox and chopsticks, which Zhao Wangquan distributed. However, the haphazard stew in the deep pot was enough to feed fifteen people.
After dividing the stew, there was still a little bit left.
Zhang Guodong also received a portion. He also received two more steamed buns. These buns were cold, though, because they had been steamed in the early morning. So they weren't dry.
Zhao Wangquan opened several bottles of Xifeng beer, attracting most of the people around. Although he had lost the bet, some still wanted to join in. After all, one person couldn't drink that much.
Seeing that so many people were sharing three bottles, Zhang Guodong gave two of them. He kept one bottle for himself and joined Zhao Qiang and Zhao Laoliu for a meal and drinks.
These steamed buns and stewed meat were quite delicious, despite the large chunks. I guess they put some kind of seasoning in them? The rich aroma whetted everyone's appetite.
Taking a small sip of baijiu (Chinese liquor) now and then. There seems to be no more enjoyable way to eat.
"Uncle Quan's cooking is excellent! Sixth Brother, Qiangzi, how much wild game can the fifteen of us eat in one meal? How long will the food we brought last us?" Zhang Guodong exclaimed in admiration.
He realized that the meal for fifteen adults—ten wild rabbits—was quite substantial. It was only enough for everyone to eat in one meal. Naturally, there was no extra for any one person to keep.
In previous years, only the surplus prey after the initial hunt was considered a large portion for each individual, with the rest being divided equally among everyone else.
"Hehe, you've noticed this problem too? This is only the first hunt, just an appetizer. The real main event is the hunt for the game later. With what we've already caught, it's impossible to bring back any game for everyone!" Zhao Qiang laughed. "Generally, fifteen people can only carry enough food for three days. Any more and it will spoil, and too little and the consumption of game will be too great."
"Besides, today's rabbits are just wild rabbits. If we could hunt larger ones, that would greatly alleviate the food shortage!"
Animals like takin, serow, wild yak, blue sheep, and gazelle can be seen occasionally in the mountains. However, many of them are nationally protected animals, leaving very few large animals available for hunting.
For example, an adult carrying its young or a wild boar are considered large wild game.
Compared to the relatively small number of young boars, wild boars are much more common. Therefore, Zhao Qiang's—no, it should be said that Zhang Guodong's team's ultimate goal was to hunt enough wild boars, and then bring back some rabbits, various pheasants, doves, and the like.
Upon hearing these introductions, Zhang Guodong was not disappointed; on the contrary, he was somewhat tempted.
Ordinary people would naturally not dare to hunt these protected animals. But he is different; he has a paradise space. If some animals are released into the world of mountains and rivers and properly developed, a small group can emerge.
"What if we don't hunt enough game? Wouldn't we go hungry?" Zhang Guodong said.
"It's usually enough every time, and I haven't encountered the situation you described yet. But sometimes it takes a little more time and more bullets!" Zhao Qiang smiled and shook his head as he spoke.
"Let's not talk about that. You'll see when the time comes. The government is protecting these mountains now, and the people in the surrounding villages are also deliberately protecting them, so they've multiplied quite a bit in recent years. As a result, we can't bring back too many each time, so we don't dare to hunt too many!"
So that's how it is.
Zhao Laoliu, standing to the side, simply buried his head in his food. He had a good appetite, eating four small bowls of noodles and a bowl of potato and pork stew, occasionally sipping his wine. Then he listened to the two men's conversation and gave them a simple, honest smile.
"Come on, let's drink. It'll be night soon, so we need to hurry up with our meal and drinks! We need to rest more and recharge. We have to be out by five o'clock tomorrow!" Zhao Qiang reminded him.
"So early?" Zhang Guodong nodded, somewhat surprised.
But if it's early, we can cover more distance, that's true. Besides, once the sun is up, traveling is just torture. He thought about it and understood.
After dinner, everyone chatted for a while before crawling into their makeshift tents and falling fast asleep.
Zhang Guodong has his own tent, which he carries with him, so he lives alone. However, before going to sleep, Zhao Qiang found some mugwort leaves and powder somewhere. He crushed the mugwort leaves and sprinkled them around his tent to repel mosquitoes. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains; if you're not careful, you'll probably have hundreds of welts all over your body the next day. The powder was probably for repelling insects and snakes; it had a faint scent of realgar.
"With these mosquito-repelling mugwort leaves and insect-repelling powder, I don't have to be afraid to let the air out at night!"
Zhang Guodong had prepared some insect-repellent and mosquito-repellent herbs, but now they're useless. Although insect-repellent and mosquito-repellent herbs might be more effective, traditional remedies passed down for thousands of years are not simple either.
Nothing was said that night.
At five o'clock the next morning, Zhang Guodong and the others on the mountain ridge were yawning and starting to pack their things. The mountain ridge was very quiet all night, but in the forest below, the howls of wild animals could be heard in the distance. Anyone who was not used to it would definitely be too scared to sleep all night.
But Zhang Guodong slept well. He was an exception.
"I thought you were asleep and didn't know anything. Turns out you slept quite well, hehe, not bad!" Zhao Qiang was quite surprised to see Zhang Guodong appear so energetic.
To be honest, Zhang Guodong surprised him several times.
He didn't complain at first, and seemed to easily persevere as he trekked up the mountain with everyone else. When they reached the ridge to hunt, everyone thought Zhang Guodong might return empty-handed, but unexpectedly, he only fired one shot and hit the rabbit in the head, achieving the same result as them.
And how come I slept so soundly last night?
"Qiangzi, that's not very nice of you! You guys aren't afraid of ghosts howling at night, so why should I be? Didn't we say that the tall ones are always at the front, so there's no reason for me, who's behind, to be afraid!" Zhang Guodong laughed.
“Then be prepared to continue to suffer. We’ve only covered less than a fifth of the distance. The next few days won’t be as comfortable as we are now, so don’t complain!” Zhao Qiang said heartily.
"Then you're probably going to be disappointed!" Zhang Guodong said.
After everyone finished packing their things, Zhao Wangquan gave a signal, and everyone went out again.
"We'll reach Shuiliangou around noon. Everyone is familiar with this area, so I won't say more. Be careful, be extra careful. There might be wolves in this area, and snakes in the forest too. I don't need to elaborate on the dangers! Qiangzi, you continue to take good care of Zhang Guodong and stay in the middle of the group!" Zhao Wangquan said solemnly.
"out!"
Zhang Guodong originally wanted to stay at the very back of the line, which would give him more freedom. But that's clearly not possible now.
"I'm not that weak, am I?" Zhang Guodong muttered.
"It's never a bad thing to be careful. These mountains aren't just beautiful; there are plenty of dangers, any one of which could be fatal!" Zhao Qiang said with a slight sigh.
Walking through the forest reminded him of his days in the army. Several times a year, the troops would conduct live-fire exercises, parachuting into the forest. The soldiers had to face dangerous and complex survival environments.
During the training exercise, some soldiers were eliminated due to the dangers of the forest. If each soldier hadn't been secretly equipped with a tracking device, allowing them to be easily removed from the helicopter if any problems arose, many would likely have died.
"Qiangzi, what kind of place is Shuiliangou?" As the group moved forward, Zhang Guodong felt bored and started chatting.
In the middle of the squadron, Zhang Guodong felt much less pressure and had time to chat. Those in front and behind him, armed with guns, remained on guard.
"It's a place with water. We usually replenish our freshwater there, and we can also wash and prepare our prey there!" Zhao Qiang said briefly. But there seemed to be some complicated emotions in his words.
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