Early in the morning, a group of three or five-year-old children in the village canteen, wearing ragged clothes full of patches and straw sandals, attracted Ping'an's attention.
He opened his eyes wide with curiosity and watched the children fighting over food, crying, and quarreling. He listened to the adults scolding the children and the sound of adults slapping them hard.
All of this was too new for Ping An. He clung to the corner of the table, unwilling to leave. He stared intently at the place where the crying came from. Whenever the child stopped crying, his face was filled with unconcealable disappointment.
After breakfast, people gradually left. A large wooden plate was placed on the table in the cafeteria and the women began to make bean buns. The large vats in front of the yard attracted all his attention.
Seeing him quietly observing everything around him in Zhang's mother's arms, Zhou Jiao told him that she would go home first. Seeing him wave casually, she happily grabbed the corner of Zhang Guoqing's clothes and followed him out the door.
Last night, Zhang Guoqing lost to the beauty trap and had no choice but to make three rules with her.
The couple sneaked to the foot of the mountain. Zhang Guoqing didn't dare go to any dangerous places even with her on his back. He was secretly glad that Zhou Jiao was not familiar with the mountain. He deliberately took a detour and spent an hour.
At the appointed time, he escorted her back to the village. Zhang Guoqing, fully armed, began his solo ascent up the mountain. He had no idea what was happening there, so he carefully searched for animal tracks.
He stopped and walked along the way, and as he found more and more footprints, he lost interest in hunting. When the wolf's footprints disappeared outside the deep mountains, he stopped.
Looking at the dense forest ahead, which was fraught with danger, he finally thought for a long time and resolutely gave up the pursuit. Now that he had a wife and a child, there was no need to go through it alone.
On the way back, he saw pheasants and other small animals fleeing, but he didn't pay much attention to them. Now he was worried about the wolves in the deep mountains. Usually, no one was willing to go in unless they were absolutely necessary. He didn't know if the old hands like Mr. Wang would go in?
When he got home and saw Zhou Jiao sighing with relief, he didn't dare tell his wife the truth. He could only wait and see tomorrow.
Zhang Guoqing accompanied his wife as she made bean buns and steamed buns, and played with their son, as if nothing had happened. He had already decided to bring more medicine up the mountain the next day.
The next morning, Zhang Guoqing specially brought the precious dagger given by his father-in-law. After packing up, he said goodbye to Zhou Jiao and the children, and rushed to Kaoshan Village with the village elders to meet up with everyone.
The public canteen in Kaoshan Village had prepared some dry food. It wasn't much, but no one complained.
Two large trucks arrived at the drying yard one after another, and the people who jumped out were all armed. Zhang Guoqing took the wooden barn from his colleague, and without much chatter, everyone quickly formed a formation.
After Zhao Dashan and Zuo Lin discussed with Mr. Wang and the others, they still followed the old hunter's advice and followed behind to provide protection.
Soon, everyone entered the mountain in a mighty procession. On a small path not far away, comrades from the Public Security Bureau blocked the way for the villagers who were looking for fun and taking advantage of the situation.
Zhang Guoqing followed Zhao Dashan, watching the Wang elders cautiously exploring the path in the distance. Although he knew the cunning wolves were deep in the mountains, he didn't give any hints. The elders ahead were all skilled and should soon find a clue.
His attention was now focused on Zhang Dad. As an experienced hunter, his father and his three brothers were standing in front of him.
Those were deep mountains, and his father might not have even been there once in his lifetime. But seeing the three brothers' confidence, Zhang Guoqing sighed inwardly. What does it mean to refuse to accept old age? This is it!
Old Master Wang was indeed a recognized talent, the most outstanding hunter within a ten-mile radius. Soon, he led everyone into the outer reaches of the mountains.
At this point, everyone knew what to do next. They needed to talk it over and work out a good plan. Anyone foolish enough to go in would never have to go home.
We found a place, ate some dry food, sat down to rest, and waited for the results.
Soon, Mr. Wang was worried that there would be a white-hair wind in the weather, so he asked everyone to move forward a few dozen meters to see the situation.
Hundreds of people and wolfhounds acted together, and before they got far into the mountains, three or four wolves with gray and white fur appeared, baring their teeth and roaring at them ferociously.
As soon as the killing was finished here, another one ran out over there.
Nearly three hours later, more than a dozen wolves lay dead on the ground, ten feet away. Most of their heads had been blasted with holes, and some had their intestines ripped apart. The ground was stained a blinding crimson, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.
Old Man Wang watched and shook his head, sighing. He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, fearing it might offend anyone. Didn't he see that many people were already vomiting profusely? That was fine, who would still want to eat meat?
Several veteran hunters began to clean up the scene, using herbs to slightly reduce the smell of blood, and quickly led everyone away. The most dangerous thing on this mountain is not just the wolves.
For three days and two nights, the villagers living near the mountain often heard faint howling of wolves and the sound of wooden warehouses being opened.
Zhangjia Village nestles against the Daqing Mountains, and the howling of wolves is so clear it feels like you're right next to me. Children aren't allowed outside during the day, and even before dark, everyone closes their doors and dares not let their families leave. Even those who live within a short distance pile up firewood, just in case.
Zhou Jiao suffered day and night in this tense and anxious atmosphere. As time passed, she became more and more frightened, and she wanted to go up the mountain to see if Zhang Guoqing was safe.
What made her most painful and worried was the repeated assumptions from Zhang's mother that her son was crying for his father every day.
Zhou Jiao was so anxious that she was about to collapse. Finally, she saw Zhang Guoqing, who was wearing tattered cloth with brown bloodstains on it and looked in a miserable state. She couldn't help but burst into tears.
Zhang Guoqing ignored his parents and quickly picked up his son, hugged Zhou Jiao and took him home. He knew that he had frightened Zhou Jiao and that he had been careless. He had realized back in the mountains that he shouldn't have let them return to the village.
The howling of wolves all over the mountains, especially in the dead of night, was extremely creepy. He left his beloved wife Jiaer defenseless in the village. How foolish he was!
"Don't worry, I'm not hurt. I'm fine, really fine. Look, I have the things you gave me, so if anyone gets hurt, it can't be me. Jiaojiao, I'm hungry."
Zhou Jiao walked along, and the stone in her heart finally fell. When she heard him say he was hungry, she didn't hide it and directly took out a bowl of noodles, a bowl of dumplings, and a box of fast food...
Seeing that she was almost covering the entire kang, Zhang Guoqing quickly hugged her and patted her, "Don't be afraid. Look, I'm fine, really fine. Check it out. If there's a scar, you can do whatever you want. Okay?"
"Dad, I... Dad, and I..." Ping'an said as he squeezed in between the two of them.
Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily, "Yes, and we are safe. Let's hug as a family."
"Dad, Mom, don't cry anymore." Ping'an clapped his hands and cheered happily.
"Well, from now on, Daddy won't let Mommy cry, and we Ping'an will also listen to Mommy and not let Mommy cry, okay?"
Seeing her son nodding his head eagerly, Zhou Jiao patted his head and said, "Brother, eat quickly. Ping An, do you want to eat? If you want to, eat with your dad."
Seeing that the rain had finally stopped and the sky was clearing, Zhang Guoqing quickly stood up and took off his coat and trousers. Eating was secondary. If he didn't wash up now, he would probably be disliked by his wife and son later.
After a simple wash, Zhang Guoqing left a bowl of dumplings for his son and a bowl of noodles for himself, covering the child and winking at Zhou Jiao to take the things off the kang.
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