It was midsummer, and the sky was already bright at four in the morning. The Daqing Mountain, which was originally shrouded in white mist in the morning light, gradually revealed its true appearance.
After passing the mountain trail and reaching halfway up the mountain, weeds and mosquitoes began to increase, and danger was everywhere. Zhang Guoqing knew something was wrong when he saw the surprised looks on his two younger sons' faces.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are many trees in the old forest. There are naturally many wild fruits as well. Especially after walking a little further, apart from the mountain stream, there are rows of big trees and clusters of blooming flowers. The scenery is breathtaking.
But hunting in the mountains is not romantic and is very dangerous.
He has not been back to his hometown in the past few years, and naturally he has not been to Daqing Mountain again. However, he also thought that as the older generation of hunters are getting older and there is enough food at the foot of the mountain, the Daqing Mountain is now different from what it was in previous years.
Are there many wild animals in the deep mountains and hills?
Of course!
The mountains are full of musk deer, roe deer, hares, and grouse! But they're also home to coyotes, tigers, leopards, black bears, wild boars, poisonous bees, and pheasant necks. These are no jokes; if you encounter them, you'll die!
There was no need to worry about not having the best and most authentic teaching materials in the mountains. Zhang Guoqing first checked his sons' long sleeves and long pants, and then checked the insect repellent powder they carried with them.
Then he tied up the two youngest sons one in front and one behind, and cleared the way with a hatchet, "Keep an eye on your mother, and don't throw stones at me on June 15th."
"Okay, Dad, I want to pick flowers for Mom." Even at this time on May Day, he still didn't forget to sprinkle candy.
But some people just love this, "Good son, play on the way home." It has to be said that they are a magical father and son pair.
On the way up the mountain, Zhang Guoqing did not seek efficiency, but began to explain each place as he walked. This scene made Ping An feel familiar and at ease.
Once upon a time, he also grew up listening to these in his father's arms.
The closer you get to the wooden nest, the more you can see pheasants flying in the forest, squirrels jumping on the trees, and roe deer scurrying underground. After years of recuperation in Daqing Mountain, you will encounter this family of "bandits" again.
There is a kind of luck that no one can envy. Once the lucky doll arrives, it seems that even good luck follows Zhang Guoqing. As soon as he arrives at the wooden nest, he actually sees a group of silly wild deer playing by the pond.
If Zhang Guoqing had not been familiar with every plant and tree, animal habits, etc. in Daqing Mountain, he would have suspected that he was dazzled and had taken the wrong path.
Before he could sigh, the "accessory" hanging on his body had already raised the small stones and fired them continuously. The result was, of course, nothing. The little guys were too impatient and the distance was too far.
He was safe on the other side. He then pulled the bow and arrow steadily and hit the two running creatures in succession.
"Wow...Brother is so awesome!"
Being stared at by his two younger brothers with stars in their eyes, Ping An, who was waving his arms exaggeratedly and grinning widely, pretended to be unconcerned with his dimples, "It's just okay."
"Brother, I want to learn."
"Yes, brother, you teach us."
Zhang Guoqing, who was watching the fun, smiled helplessly at his wife's teasing look. If his son is not inferior to his father, isn't it also his father's credit?
"Idiot! I learned everything from dad, why don't you go to dad?" Ping An was quite disappointed. How could his younger brother be so ignorant and not know how to read the mood?
Wuyi immediately hugged Guoqing's neck, not forgetting to glance at the small cloth bag filled with small stones in his hand, and kissed him hard on the face, "Dad, I love you the most, you have to teach me everything."
Liu Yi behind him also nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, Dad is the best."
When Zhou Jiao, who was working as the set designer, looked speechlessly at her three sons who were making witty expressions and talking nonsense, and then looked at the silly man who was laughing non-stop, she really wanted to say that she didn't know him.
"Wife, take your son here and prepare. Ping'an, protect Mom. Don't kill the two deer until I bring your brother back from the mountain."
Ping An nodded in understanding, "Dad, be careful and come back soon."
After Zhang Guoqing left with his two sons on his back, the boy knew to drag them to the wooden den first, pulled out his bow and arrow, gathered a handful of grass to cover the bleeding area, and then went out to keep watch.
"Baby, there's no need to be so troublesome."
"Mom, it's better to be safe than sorry. While my brothers are away, I'll take you fishing and bring some back for my grandparents to try."
"..." Watching the little person looking around cautiously, Zhou Jiao felt both proud and helpless. It was really not fun to have a child grow up.
"Are you unhappy about not going with your father?"
Ping An smiled and shook his head. "No rush, let my brothers get familiar with it first. Mom, I'll collect some more things with you and hide them. The management is stricter now. Any prey you kill must be handed over to the government when you come down the mountain."
As the mother and son walked hand in hand toward the pond, Ping An said, "Do you know why my brothers said my cousins were selfish yesterday?"
"Oh, tell me about it."
"Just now, grandpa took us to the mountains to collect herbs. You know how lucky my brothers were. They found a small wild ginseng in a ravine halfway up the mountain. It wasn't big and was only about twenty years old. But that day, my brothers actually wanted to split it equally. The three of us brothers were in a dilemma at that time."
"Another time, it was in the county town. We were playing near the supply and marketing cooperative. On June 1st and May 1st, we found some money again. There were more than 50 yuan worth of banknotes wrapped in oil paper, and some miscellaneous tickets.
The three of us saw that the handkerchief wrapped outside was very worn, and wondered if anyone had lost money and would come looking for it. We waited and waited, but in the end, only Brother Shitou stayed, and the others left first, saying they had something to do.
You know, I'm only ten, my brothers are only five, and Brother Shitou is only in his teens. What if someone comes and deliberately pretends to claim our things and tries to snatch them from us kids?
Zhou Jiao didn't say that no one in the county dared to rob your things. It's not that she didn't want to explain for her nephews, but what her son Ping'an said made sense, and of course she favored her own children.
"I was thinking, these aren't real brothers, what's the difference? If it's Children's Day or May Day, no matter how old or powerful they are, I'll be there first. What if something unexpected happens, don't you think?"
"Later, when there was no one around, Liuyi told me that although his aunt smiled, she didn't really care about him. She kept asking him and Wuyi to learn from her sons. Humph, what a joke! No matter how capable his son was, without the support of my grandfather and my father, how could he get into a good unit?
Wuyi also said that her aunt made milk powder for her little cousin, but she didn't think of making a cup for him and Liuyi as well. But if I were there, she would not do that, thinking that they were too young to understand.
He remembers that you and my dad sent two bags of milk powder to his family before the Chinese New Year. We weren't greedy for that little bit of profit, we just thought it was meaningless."
Zhou Jiao sighed softly, stopped, and hugged her son. She never thought that these details would hurt the children and that they would be wronged.
"Baby, you can't force things. Our family is all out of town, and we'll be back home less often in the future. Just maintain some semblance of friendship."
"Yeah, that's what I told my brothers too. Don't offend anyone, don't try to please anyone, just be filial to grandpa and grandma, and that's all. As for other people, if they're nice to us, we'll remember them, but if they're not nice, we'll stay away from them."
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