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Li Guorong was covered in sweat, as if she had been pulled out of the water. She touched her abdomen, which was completely unharmed. Could it all just be a dream? She then pinched the inside of her upper arm, which made her gasp in pain.
She lit a candle in the dark. The calendar showed the 25th, which meant she was going to collect Panax notoginseng tomorrow. She lay down, but a dull, throbbing pain in her abdomen made it hard for her to fall asleep. She decided to take a walk around.
A few unpleasant meows caught her attention. She went into her second brother's residence and saw several people lurking around, plotting something. She approached with a candle in hand, and the people jumped up in fright.
It's Mancang and his gang!
Her heart was pounding. The others kept complaining that she was terrifying, but she didn't respond. She returned to her room in a daze. Tomorrow morning was cornbread. Her eldest sister would look grim and hesitate to speak. She took the candle, blew it out, and sat quietly on the bed, keeping her eyes open until the first light of dawn.
Li Guolan was busy in the kitchen in the morning. "Hiss." She gently blew on the burn on her hand, and her unease gradually grew.
Li Guojian got up, picked up a steamed bun and put it in his mouth, "Big sister's cooking is still the best. It's so good to eat this so early in the morning."
Li Guolan turned sideways to inspect the basket on her back, and said casually, "I still feel uneasy. Why don't you two go another day?"
Li Guojian said dismissively, "Big sister, you're just a coward. I've gone into the mountains twice, both times deep in the mountains, and I didn't get into any trouble. I even earned more than 100 yuan."
The eldest sister opened her mouth and closed it again, then turned and went into the house to see if Li Guorong was ready.
Li Guolan was startled when she entered the room. Li Guorong was sitting on the bed, staring straight at her.
Li Guolan said, "Little sister, what's wrong? If you're not feeling well, I'll go into the mountains for you."
Li Guorong simply asked, "Is it corn cake?"
Li Guolan nodded in confusion.
With a blazing fire burning in his eyes, Li Guorong pressed his hand to his burning chest and ran out of the house like a whirlwind.
Li Guolan called out from behind, "You haven't eaten yet, where are you going?"
Li Guorong ran from the west end of the village to the east end and banged loudly on the village chief's door.
The village chief's wife rubbed her eyes and opened the door. "Why are you knocking on the door so early in the morning? If you can't sleep, why aren't you gathering pig feed?"
Li Guorong shouted loudly, "I have something to say to Uncle Village Chief."
The village chief put on his coat and hurried out. "What's wrong? Is it your father?" he asked, a sad look on his face.
Li Guorong shouted, "Pah, that's not true. Outsiders came up the mountain to kill pandas and even got wolf skins. They have guns and they know kung fu."
The village chief laughed heartily after hearing this, "Little girl, you can't tell the difference between dreams and reality, can you?"
Li Guorong said, "On the day I went to rescue my father, I saw with my own eyes that they skinned the wolf and said that foreigners wanted to buy pandas."
Upon hearing this, the village chief frowned. This was a serious matter involving foreigners, especially guns. He told his eldest son to ride his bicycle to town to call the police, and his second son to contact several skilled hunters and retired veterans in the village, and to bring their hunting rifles.
Regardless of whether Xiao Ni's words are true or false, we must go deep into the mountains to take a look. Even if there are no poachers, it would be worth it to gather so many skilled people to hunt down two wild boars.
The village chief instructed, "Go home quickly and don't join the fun."
Li Guorong nodded and hurried back.
Li Guojian paced anxiously back and forth at home. Before long, it was getting light. Where had Li Guorong gone without saying a word? Hearing footsteps in the distance, Li Guojian, carrying a basket on his back, shouted, "Where have you been? It'll be too late if you don't go up the mountain now!"
Li Guorong reached out and grabbed Li Guojian's left ear, shouting, "You good-for-nothing who eats home food and pees in the wild, you're not going today!"
Li Guojian brushed Li Guorong's hand away and whispered, "At worst, I won't ask them to go. Don't forget, Dad is still waiting for the medical expenses."
Li Guorong said, "You can't go now. There are poachers in the mountains, and they even have guns. If you go up there, you'll be asking for death. The village chief has already led people up the mountain to arrest them."
Li Guojian's face turned pale. He hadn't expected that gathering herbs would be so dangerous. He had been planning to mark the spot so he could lead others to gather herbs in the future.
Amidst the billowing mist, the tall man carefully examined the panda's droppings, a hint of a smile appearing on his usually indifferent face.
In the cabin where the tall man and the short man stayed yesterday, the village chief and his hunting dogs carefully sniffed the remaining scents. The hunter picked up a gray hair, which shone in the sunlight, and nodded.
Inside the small hut were three hunters, two veterans, three hunting rifles, and the village chief with two dogs. The village chief said, "It seems that what the little boy from the Li family said is true."
Hunter Lao Li said, "If we can catch the poachers, our village can be rated as an advanced village." The others were also invigorated when they heard this.
The hunting dogs seemed to be infected as well, barking loudly. The hunter patted the dogs on the back, and they stopped barking and dashed off, with several men chasing after them.
The tall and short men hid behind a rock at the windward side, observing the panda mother and cub from a distance. The mother panda licked her cub, while the short man held up his hunting rifle, the three of them in a straight line.
"Woof woof woof." The urgent barking alerted the giant panda, which picked up its cub and quickly disappeared into the bamboo forest.
The short man's face was contorted with rage, while the tall man, holding a sharp knife, stood up menacingly, ready to teach the dogs a lesson.
The short man picked up his gun, aimed it at the dog's head, and a cruel smile appeared on his face.
"Don't move." Six burly men suddenly jumped out of the woods. Three hunting rifles were pointed directly at two of them, and two others were holding large knives, looking menacing. It was obvious that their hands were stained with blood. Only an old man in the middle was hiding at the back with a rake in his hand. The old man said, "Put down your guns, and you still have a chance to make amends."
The tall man's expression changed slightly. It seemed unlikely that he would escape unscathed today. He lowered his eyelids and carefully watched the short man's movements.
The short man stood facing off with a gun, his eyes darting around.
In a flash, the two men took cover behind a rock. A bullet struck the rock where they had just been hiding. The two men stared at each other, a sinister glint in their eyes.
The tall man ran ahead into the dense forest, when a burning pain suddenly spread from his ankle. He turned around in disbelief to see the short man. "You..."
The short man laughed, "Better you die than me! I'll take care of your son." He then rushed past the tall man into the dense forest.
Suddenly, a hunting dog pounced from the side and bit the short man's gun-wielding hand. The short man, in pain, released the gun, slashed open the dog's mouth with a knife, and the dog yelped in pain. The dog then let go of the gun, and another dog picked it up and ran towards its owner.
Two veteran soldiers with knives tied the tall man up tightly. One of them stayed behind with the village chief to guard him, while the rest chased the short man into the dense forest.
Under the stream, [name omitted] and his brothers looked around, startled by the distant gunshots that made them drop their handkerchiefs.
Wang Qiang, the eldest brother, turned pale and gave Guo Jian a meaningful look.
Li Guojian shook his head tremblingly. He dared not offend this devil now. He touched his prematurely bald head, sneaked closer to Qian Mancang, and whispered, "Fourth brother, try to persuade Guorong."
Qian Mancang looked up and saw Li Guorong holding a strip of cloth wrapped around a wooden stick, looking fierce and menacing. He quickly shook his head and said, "You're her second brother, and even you don't dare to mess with this tigress."
Li Guorong opened his eyes and unfolded the cloth strip, revealing an old-fashioned hunting rifle inside. Several men quickly bent down and dug at the sanqi (a type of medicinal ingredient), not daring to look at Li Guorong.
The woods rustled softly. Li Guorong squinted, staring intently at the trees.
A short, injured boy rushed out of the woods. He was bleeding and asked honestly, "Which way down the mountain, little brothers? Little sister, be careful not to accidentally fire this. It's not a toy."
After speaking, he narrowed his eyes slightly and walked silently toward Li Guorong.
With a "bang," Li Guorong easily pointed his index finger, and the bullet pierced the short man's flesh.
"Ahhhhhh"
"Ahhhhhh"
Li Guojian and his friends screamed, "Little sister, you've killed someone! Don't kill us!"
The short man clutched his stomach, looking at the little girl in disbelief at her cruelty. "Why?" he cried, collapsing to the ground.
Li Guorong screamed, "Shut up, put the Panax notoginseng in the basket, and go home to wait for me."
"Woof woof woof." The barking of dogs grew louder as they approached.
The village chief saw the short man lying unconscious in a pool of blood, Li Guorong hiding to the side crying, and pig feed scattered all over the ground. He asked in surprise, "Did you do this? Li family's little girl."
Li Guorong cried, "He said he was going to kill me, so I shot him."
The village chief said angrily, "Didn't I tell you not to go up the mountain!"
Li Guorong shouted, "I need to sell pigs to raise money for medicine, so I want to cut more grass to increase the weight."
The veteran standing nearby stopped the village chief from speaking and praised, "This is truly a daughter of Mengshan!"
Several men tied up the tall man and the short man and carried them down the mountain. The village chief gave Li Guorong a stern warning not to go deep into the mountains, and then took the wolf skin and the criminals into the county town.
Li Guorong returned home in a disheveled state, and several people gathered around to check on her. She was covered in sweat and remained silent.
Li Guolan said, "Let the village doctor take a look at my younger sister."
Li Guorong shouted loudly, "Stop making noise!"
She was going to town to sell herbs, to earn money to save her father, and to thank that person.
A light drizzle fell over the town, carrying with it endless sorrow and unspoken worries.
Several people were exchanging glances behind Li Guorong, but dared not speak. Li Guorong knocked on the dilapidated wooden door.
A young man opened the door; he was Lin Shaocheng's cousin. He quickly ushered them inside.
Under the trees in the courtyard, Lin Shaocheng was reading a book, exuding a reserved and noble air. He was wearing a printed t-shirt, loose jeans, and a motorcycle jacket, with a mechanical watch on his wrist, bringing a touch of Hong Kong fashion to this small town that was still dominated by gray and blue.
Qian Mancang looked at Lin Shaocheng's outfit with envy; it was the kind of fashionable attire only seen in movies.
Li Guorong waited quietly while Lin Shaocheng examined her. He moved smoothly, was physically strong, and had a chivalrous personality. Only then did she realize that there was an insurmountable chasm between them.
Lin Shaocheng took out the money and said, "There are 20 catties of Panax notoginseng in total, and the quality is very good. Here is 2,400 yuan. Please keep it."
His voice was clear and bright, neither too loud nor too soft, like a mountain stream.
Li Guorong placed the money in her calloused hands with her fair, well-defined knuckles. She looked deeply at Lin Shaocheng, as if she had a thousand words to say, but she could only say with a slight sob, "Thank you, Brother Cheng. I will never forget you in this life or the next!"
After saying that, she turned and ran. Li Guojian and a few friends quickly chased after her, calling out, "Little sister, little sister!"
Li Guorong stopped, turned around, and expressionlessly took out 400 yuan. "This is for you. If you try to bargain, I'll shoot you."
Li Guojian quickly distributed the money to his brothers, caught up with his younger sister, and boarded the last bus into the city.
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