Chapter 23: Your wife's shock was not in vain
The screams pierced through the forest, and the black bear, which had been lying quietly on the tree, suddenly turned its head.
That huge body must have weighed at least four or five hundred pounds, yet it was so agile that it crawled under the tree in the blink of an eye.
Yan Xue was just trying to encourage and comfort them, but the situation suddenly changed. Finally, someone couldn't bear the fear in his heart anymore, screamed, turned around and ran away.
As long as there was one person taking the lead, the emotions that had been forcibly suppressed seemed to have a gap and quickly burst out. In just one or two seconds, most of the people around Yan Xue started running wildly.
"What, what should we do?" Liu Weiguo, the educated youth he was pursuing, asked Yan Xue tremblingly.
The families of these employees are all veterans of the forest farm. They have seen a lot of things and often run in the mountains to build up their physical strength. However, this is the first time for the educated youth from the city to encounter such a situation.
Seeing that the black bear had already rushed to the tree at a high speed, Yan Xue had no better idea. "Run."
"Ah?" The female educated youth obviously didn't react.
Yan Xue had already pulled her hand away, "Run! Run apart! Run as fast as you can!"
Seeing that there were still a few people standing there, she raised her voice, "Run! What are you still standing there for!" The people had already rushed out.
The few frightened people finally reacted and ran for their lives.
"Run separately! Don't gather together!" Yan Xue reminded without turning her head.
This was the limit of what she could do. She ran separately, ran faster, and at least as many people as she could escape would be saved.
The black bear was enraged by the screams, and she was actually risking her life by reminding it loudly.
Yan Xue didn't know which direction the black bear was chasing, and she didn't dare to pay attention to it. She ran so fast that her vision became a little dark. Someone ran towards her, "Where is the blind man?" The voice sounded a little excited.
She thought she had misheard, "Run! Why are you running this way?"
The man kept walking and had already passed her by. Then, the sound of a gun being loaded came from behind her, followed by a "bang" sound of a wooden barrel.
Great, this guy has a wooden warehouse!
This was the first thought in Yan Xue’s mind.
Could this person be Yu Yongzhi?
This was the second thought in Yan Xue’s mind.
She didn't dare look back, but the man carrying the wooden cart was indeed Yu Yongzhi.
As soon as Yu Yongzhi heard his second sister's scream, he rushed over and opened the wooden cage before the black bear pounced on Yu Cuiyun, but the bullet only grazed the black bear's back shoulder.
Black bears, like wild boars, can also wear armor. By rubbing pine oil on pine trees and rolling in muddy ponds, they have a thick layer of armor on their fur, which is difficult to penetrate, especially for adult black bears.
Unfortunately, this was the one they encountered. Yu Yongzhi's wooden barn attack didn't have much effect except for angering it.
The black bear slapped Yu Cuiyun with one palm, then turned around and rushed towards Yu Yongzhi who was opening the wooden warehouse.
That was a speed of thirty to forty kilometers per hour, and in a blink of an eye, the man and the bear were dozens of meters closer.
Yu Yongzhi tried to remain calm and wanted to fire another shot, but his hands had been shaking since the first shot didn't work, and he couldn't even pull the trigger.
This made him even more frightened. Seeing the black bear getting closer and closer, he turned around and ran away while holding Mucang.
When Yan Xue heard the noise, she was almost furious.
She was small and had difficulty running. The opponent missed the target and actually led the black bear towards her.
Yan Xue could only turn around temporarily, and in her haste she stepped on something and almost tripped.
It was because of this delay that Yu Yongzhi actually passed her and ran ahead.
The heavy footsteps of the black bear were getting closer and closer, and in a moment, they were only twenty or thirty meters away. Yan Xue had no time to think about it and rolled over on the ground. She could only bet that the black bear was angry because Yu Yongzhi opened the wooden warehouse and would not be distracted to chase her halfway.
Before anyone could settle down, they heard another sound of wooden jack.
This time the black bear's roar was obviously louder, and it sounded not far from Yan Xue, making her head feel dizzy.
She subconsciously looked up and found that the person holding the wooden basket had changed at some point.
Yu Yongzhi was empty-handed and still running for his life. Behind him, another figure stood with his legs slightly apart, his eyes narrowed and he kept an open/closed position. Who else could it be but Qi Fang?
The man probably ran over in a hurry and was still breathing heavily, but Duanmucang's hands were extremely steady and he quickly adjusted the angle of the opening.
Even though the black bear paused for a moment in pain and then pounced on him angrily at an even faster speed, his hands did not tremble at all, and he did not retreat even a bit.
"Bang!"
Another wooden warehouse.
This time the bullet hit the black bear's head directly. The black bear let out a deafening roar, then fell down and stopped moving.
This is... beaten to death?
Yan Xue was panting heavily, and for a moment she felt a sharp explosion in her ears, mixed with her violent heartbeat and residual roars and the sound of wooden warehouses.
Yu Yongzhi was the one who was being pursued directly. He reacted faster than her and ran for more than ten meters. His legs went weak and he fell flat on his face.
But after the fear faded, anger rushed to his head. Yu Yongzhi trembled and climbed up again, wanting to walk towards the black bear, "You damn beast, why don't you move? You were very capable just now..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard Qi Fang's cold voice, "The bear will pretend to be dead."
Yu Yongzhi, who had just stood up, fell back with a "bang", even kicking the ground with his feet, and retreated several meters in a panic.
The others who were about to breathe a sigh of relief also became more cautious after hearing this.
Qi Fang was not in a hurry. He aimed at the bear's head and opened the wooden bar again. Seeing that the bear did not move at all, he let go and said, "It's dead."
"thump!"
"thump!"
Several people sat on the ground in a row, and even Yan Xue felt her hands and feet go weak when her tense nerves relaxed.
In the silence, someone's sobbing could be heard, followed by a second sob, a third sob...
Yan Xue didn't cry, but she hadn't recovered from the danger just now. When she heard footsteps approaching, she trembled all over and subconsciously wanted to escape.
The owner of the footsteps seemed to have noticed something and stopped moving.
Yan Xue finally reacted and looked up, only to meet the familiar gaze of the man.
No one knew where Qi Fang came from. He didn't even wear a safety helmet. At this moment, he was holding a wooden warehouse in one hand, and there was a hint of solemnity in his coldness.
Seeing her come to her senses, he hurried over and asked, "Are you okay?"
The familiar, light voice sounded particularly reassuring at this moment.
Yan Xue quickly composed herself and said, "I'm fine, just a little scared." She got up from the ground.
As soon as she stood still, she found that the man had also reached out to help her, but his move was in vain because of her.
Yan Xue hadn't expected this. Just as she was about to say something, she heard footsteps approaching. "Where's Hei Xiazi? Is he dead?"
Liu Weiguo got a hunting rifle from somewhere and hurried over.
Seeing the black bear lying on the ground, dead beyond death, he was stunned for a moment and said, "Fortunately, it's already dead."
He didn't care who had beaten her to death, and went straight to the female educated youth, "Are you okay?"
The female educated youth was still lying on the ground with a dazed expression. When she heard someone ask her a question, she raised her head blankly and her eyes suddenly turned red.
Liu Weiguo was immediately flustered by the cry. He wanted to go over and help, but he didn't dare to reach out his hand. He could only squat down and whispered in a low voice: "It's okay, it's okay, Hei Xiazi has been beaten to death."
The female educated youth nodded with red eyes, but her tears still fell down as if she couldn't stop.
After a while, she tried to stand up, but fell back down again with a face full of embarrassment. "Um, can you give me a hand? I think I sprained my ankle."
Liu Weiguo had never seen her like this before, so he quickly agreed, "Yes, yes." He carefully extended his hand.
The female educated youth was pulled by him and finally stood up. On the other side, Yan Xue quickly regained her composure.
Although his face was still a little pale and his fingertips were shaking uncontrollably despite his efforts, at least his expression looked normal.
Qi Fang withdrew his hand, but after seeing that she had failed to remove the dead leaves from her chest even after pulling twice, he reached out to help her remove them and asked again, "Are you really okay?"
"Thank you." Yan Xue said subconsciously, and smiled at him. "I'm really fine. The bear is still 20 to 30 meters away from me."
But the fact was, the bear was only twenty or thirty meters away from her, and it would only take a few seconds to pounce on her, and she had no way to escape.
Qi Fang's eyes darkened. "No one asked you to smile at a time like this."
Yan Xue subconsciously wanted to say, "I didn't," but when she raised her eyes, she met the man's deep and displeased gaze, and swallowed her words back.
But she still didn't cry, nor did she ask for comfort from anyone. She was so strong that it seemed as if she was not the one who had just experienced a life-and-death crisis.
Qi Fang's eyes became even darker. Before he could say anything, someone else heard the noise and came over. It was Liu Daniu, the team leader of his work team.
Liu Daniu was clearly more experienced than anyone else in handling this. He first confirmed that the bear was dead. Once he was certain it was beyond dead, he immediately asked, "Is anyone injured?"
Everyone subconsciously looked around, and after a while, someone choked up and said, "Yes, Yu Cuiyun was photographed by Hei Xiazi."
It was Captain Lin’s wife Cheng Yuzhen, but she was obviously running separately from Yu Cuiyun, and was still dozens of meters away from the other.
Yu Yongzhi, still slumped on the ground, finally remembered his second sister. Liu Daniu also hurried over and saw that Yu Cuiyun's cotton coat had been torn, with several deep bloodstains running from her left shoulder to her chest. Because she was wearing thick clothes, the extent of the injury could not be seen for the time being, but she kept complaining in pain, so it was probably not serious.
Liu Daniu immediately ordered: "Go find someone to find the production dispatcher and ask him to call Motoka down the mountain."
The secretary and the director are not always on the mountain. The main person in charge of the camp is the production dispatch director.
He wanted to call his son, but when he glanced over, he saw that his son was talking to a young girl with his head down and was not looking at him at all.
Liu Daniu paused, and Qi Fang said calmly, "I'll go."
Yan Xue didn't know if it was an illusion, but she always felt that his voice was colder than usual. She looked up and saw that the man had already handed the wooden warehouse to Liu Daniu and walked away with his long legs, leaving only a tall and slender figure moving away quickly.
Liu Daniu continued to look at the others, "Is anyone else injured?"
"Yes!" This time Liu Weiguo raised his hand. "This female comrade sprained her ankle."
Not to mention Liu Daniu, the woman herself blushed and waved her hands quickly, "I'm fine, just a little twisted."
Liu Daniu finally couldn't help but glared at his son, turned his head away and ignored him.
Not long after, Qi Fang came back, bringing not only the production scheduler but also several stretcher bearers.
Everyone hurriedly lifted Yu Cuiyun onto a stretcher. When the production dispatcher saw that these people had pale faces and weak legs, and were obviously very scared, he simply gave them a day off and let them go down the mountain early to go home and rest.
After saying that, he called Liu Daniu aside, and the two of them talked in low voices.
Liu Weiguo wanted to see the young woman off, but now that everyone was gathered together and there were other people who were more familiar with her dormitory, the young woman also realized it and started to feel embarrassed. He couldn't find a chance, so he turned back, looked at the black bear on the ground, and asked Qi Fang: "Why don't you clean it up quickly? It will be stuffy soon."
Qi Fang said "hmm", looking uninterested.
Liu Weiguo didn't care. "I know your wife is frightened. You stay with her and I'll take care of it."
Are you scared?
Qi Fang raised his eyes and looked not far away. Yan Xue was helping a few family members who were too frightened and exhausted to pack up their things in a gentle tone.
She clearly still has the heart to take care of others.
Qi lowered his eyes and didn't want to talk much. Liu Weiguo was busy over there and suddenly said "Wow", "Good stuff!"
Not only Yan Xue looked over, but the production dispatcher and Liu Daniu who had just returned from speaking also stopped and took a look.
What Liu Weiguo picked up was a bear gall. It was not too big, but it was a beautiful golden color and transparent and shiny like amber.
Even though Yan Xue had never sold bear gall in her previous life, she could tell that this was indeed a good thing, not to mention Liu Daniu. "It's actually a golden gall. It seems that this is indeed a bear that just came out of the warehouse and hasn't eaten much."
The quality of bear bile is largely related to whether the bear eats.
Black bears are omnivores, and they mainly eat various fruits. Once they start eating in large quantities, their bile will turn grass green, which is the worst quality grass bile.
Once the animal enters hibernation and stops eating, the concentration of bile will increase significantly, becoming an inky paste called ink gall or iron gall, and is of medium quality.
Yan Xue and his team encountered this one because it had just woken up from hibernation and had not started eating yet, and was also irritated. The quality of this gallbladder was the best gold gallbladder, also known as copper gallbladder.
This kind of bear bile is not as bitter as ordinary bear bile. It tastes bitter at first but then becomes sweet. It has excellent medicinal properties and naturally the price is very touching.
Liu Weiguo handed the bear gall to Qi Fang, "Just this gallbladder alone will make your wife's shock today worthwhile."
Qi Fang didn't comment and didn't look very happy.
Liu Weiguo immediately changed his words, "I was wrong. Even if you give me a hundred guts, your wife shouldn't be frightened."
What's left are some bear skin, bear paws, and bear meat. This is an adult male bear, and judging from its size, it must weigh more than 400 pounds. Even after removing the bones and skin, a lot of meat can be obtained.
Yan Xue could already sense the envious looks from the people around her, and whispered to Qi Fang, "We can't finish all this, how about we share it with everyone? After all, we've all been frightened."
Qi Fang had no objection, "Whatever you want."
Yan Xue turned around and told everyone about it, "Come to my house later to get it. Five pounds of meat per family. Everyone present today will have a share."
Hearing that there was meat to be had, everyone's faces finally brightened up a bit, and they had to hold back on their grudges about the bear's gall. After all, the bear had been killed by someone else, so it was no problem for them not to share any of it with you.
Seeing Qi Fang's bad face, Liu Daniu thought for a moment and asked him to go back with him. "You don't have the heart to work here. Go back and take a day off. Come back to work tomorrow."
Qi Fang never asked for leave, so he was silent for a moment before nodding, "Okay."
On the way back, Yan Xue was surrounded by people. Some praised her for her calmness and quick reaction in the face of danger, some praised her for knowing a lot, and some praised her for her good taste in finding men.
"Thanks to your Xiao Qi, otherwise, with Yu Yongzhi's two moves, wouldn't all of us be caught in it?"
"Yeah, I saw him carrying a wooden barn all day and thought he was so awesome, but this is all he got?"
"Xiao Qi is still steady. He holds the wooden warehouse without shaking his hands at all."
Everyone was talking to each other, as if no one was concentrating on escaping, but was staring at Qi Fang to see how he opened the wooden warehouse.
Someone else asked Yan Xue, "Did your Xiao Qi also learn this wood storage method from Old Man Liu? I think he's pretty accurate in shooting, and he can hit the head wherever he wants."
To be honest, Yan Xue didn't know either. Before she got married, she always thought that the other party was an honest man with good looks and a job.
It turns out that Qi Fang is not only good-looking, but he can also repair things, open a wooden warehouse, and seems to have a particularly good memory.
The key person is not honest, but very smart. If the information on both sides were not consistent, she would have suspected that she had found the wrong person.
When they returned to the forest farm, someone helped the two of them carry the black bear back and took the meat with them.
I didn't expect that Aunt Guo, who seldom goes out, was not at home. Fortunately, although the forest farm has padlocks on the doors, they are actually not locked and can be opened directly with a twist.
Later, more people came to get the meat. Of course, there were also some who never showed up, such as Lang Yue'e and those educated youth. After all, it was useless to ask for meat if they didn't cook it themselves.
By the afternoon, when no one came, Yan Xue and the others were left with four bear paws, two bear legs and a bear head with little meat on it.
Yan Xue brought one of the bear paws into the kitchen and said, "We're going to eat this today, braised bear paw." She seemed to be taking this as revenge.
Qi Fang didn't say anything, but just took the things and helped her deal with them.
Yan Xue thought of the bear skin she had peeled off. "It looks pretty good to me. I'll ask someone to make a bear skin mattress for you to take with you up the mountain. It'll keep you cool, and the conditions up there are really terrible."
This time the man looked up at her and still said nothing.
Yan Xue was certain that the man was indeed unhappy, and she didn't know where she had stepped on his minefield again.
Could it be because of what happened this morning? A bear wasn't something she wanted to encounter...
Originally, the other party saved her, and she had some inexplicable feelings in her heart. Now she was a little annoyed and simply stopped talking to the other party.
The small and a half rooms fell into silence, making the sounds coming from the yard outside seem particularly clear.
"Wait a minute, I'll go and open the door first." It was Aunt Guo.
Yan Xue walked to the door and took a look, and found that not only Aunt Guo was there, but also Guo Changping and Guo Changping's wife were behind her, and Guo Changping was carrying someone on his back.
She opened the door and greeted him, "Is Chang'an discharged from the hospital?" She helped Aunt Guo, who was a little slow, to open the door.
Seeing this, Aunt Guo stopped being anxious and said, "Yes, I was discharged from the hospital today. You and Xiao Qi were busy, so I didn't tell you."
"You're quite good at picking a day. We both happen to be home today." Yan Xue held the door open for Aunt Guo and asked, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
Qi Fang washed his hands and soon followed out.
"You're really at home?" Aunt Guo was a little surprised, but still said, "No need, we have enough people here."
As they were talking, Guo Changping had already walked in carrying his younger brother. Compared to the last quick glance he had seen on the mountain, Guo Changan had lost a lot of weight. Although his hair and beard were well-groomed, his eye sockets were sunken and his eyes were empty and lifeless.
At first his eyes were half open, but he closed them when he saw Yan Xue and Qi Fang coming out. When he passed by Yan Xue, he turned his head to the other side.
This was somewhat impolite. Aunt Guo looked at Yan Xue, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.
Yan Xue didn't care. She smiled and shook her head to indicate that it didn't matter.
Although she had not suffered the same blow, she could understand Guo Changan's psychology to some extent.
He didn't want to be seen, didn't want to be noticed, afraid of receiving strange looks, even if it was just sympathy, especially at the beginning. In his previous life, his father had been able to stand up quickly because of her. When others noticed his empty trouser legs, he always felt uncomfortable and even wanted to hide them.
She didn't look over there for long. "If you don't need anyone here, I'll go back first."
Seeing Auntie Guo nod quickly, she went back and brought back a piece of bear meat. "I found it in the mountains. It won't keep for a few days even if the weather warms up."
"This... How can I bear to eat your food all the time?" Aunt Guo looked embarrassed.
"We didn't eat your pickled cabbage? Or was it you who helped Qi Fang get those pants?"
Yan Xue doesn't know how to use a sewing machine, so when her clothes get torn she can only mend them by hand, and the mending is not as good as what Qi Fang did before.
After putting her things down, she went back. A little later, Guo Changping came out from the inner room and asked Aunt Guo, "Is she a nice person?"
"It's pretty good," Aunt Guo said. "You often send food to our house, and you often help me when you are not at home."
Guo Changping could still tell whether his own mother was sincere or just trying to cover up. "That's good, at least those things weren't wasted."
He was referring to the furniture prepared for Guo Changan's wedding, and he had helped make several of the stools.
Aunt Guo also knew this, and her eyes couldn't help but darken. "I hope that if I meet a good person now, my luck will turn and I'll encounter more good things in the future."
As soon as the good man Yan Xue finished making the braised bear paws, Liu Weiguo came over and smelled the aroma. "I was wondering why it smelled so good, it must have come from you guys."
"Now that you're here, why not sit down and have something to eat?" Yan Xue greeted him.
"I dare not eat too much, just give me a bite to taste it."
Liu Weiguo obviously still remembered how stingy Qi Fang was before. He only ate one bite, which was equivalent to three bites.
After he finished eating, he explained his purpose. It turned out that Liu Daniu had discussed this with the production dispatcher, and they all agreed that the black bear had been startled out of the warehouse early by the noise of logging machinery. He went back to discuss this with Secretary Lang, and decided to have Old Man Liu bring the security department and a few skilled marksmen to conduct another round of inspections.
Qi Fang was also singled out for his performance today. "Secretary Lang said that my salary will be paid as usual, and I'll get an extra two yuan a day as a bonus."
It doesn't matter whether you pay more or less, it's still one day. Qi Fang raised his eyes and looked at Yan Xue without expressing any opinion.
After finishing his words, Liu Weiguo left. Before leaving, Yan Xue stuffed a bear paw into his mouth and said, "Go back and ask Aunt Liu to make it for you too."
"Okay, you are still open-minded." Liu Weiguo ran away with the bear paw in his pocket.
As soon as he left, Qi Fang and Yan Xue were the only ones left at home. Neither of us spoke, and we ate in silence for the whole meal.
When the lights are turned off at night, let alone exercise before bed, there is not even the common late-night chat between couples.
Unexpectedly, not long after Yan Xue closed her eyes, she was back to the woods she had been in during the day. The wind was still as cold and the scene was still as chaotic. But this time, she was the one being chased.
When she was tripped by a branch, the big black bear stood up, its sharp claws and bloody mouth less than a meter away from her...
Yan Xue woke up with a start, gasping for breath.
Qi Fang didn't know whether he was awake or was woken by her, so he immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
Yan Xue subconsciously said, "It's okay, I just had a nightmare."
The person next to her didn't know whether she was asking casually or had fallen asleep again. After she said this, she didn't say anything for a long time.
Yan Xue didn't care. She turned over and tried to calm her breathing and heartbeat.
She had just been awakened by a nightmare and she didn't dare go back to sleep right away.
Yan Xue wanted to turn over again. At least she could stare at the ceiling for a while to stay awake, but she was afraid of disturbing the people next to her.
While I was daydreaming, someone turned over impatiently.
Then a warm body came up and held her in his arms.
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