Ye Genbao suddenly stood up: "Who?!"
The bushes swayed, and Du Jianshan returned, draped in dry grass, a grin on his face: "Did you pee your pants?"
"Damn it..." Ye Genbao cursed angrily, "If you keep pretending, I'm not going down the mountain with you tomorrow!"
"Haha, just kidding." Du Jianshan grinned and sat down, spreading out some hay. "We'll take turns sleeping. I'll lie down for a bit first, you keep an eye on things."
"Go to sleep." Ye Genbao said absentmindedly, "I really can't sleep... This mountain is too quiet, eerily quiet."
Du Jianshan closed his eyes and said in a nasal voice, "Quiet means there's no movement. Big noise is troublesome... You're overthinking it."
The firelight flickered in the still of the night.
Around three in the morning, Ye Genbao was so sleepy that he yawned and said, "Brother Du, it's your turn... I can't hold on any longer."
Du Jianshan rolled over, rubbed his eyes, and got up: "Okay, go sleep over there for a while, I'll keep watch."
Ye Genbao had only been lying down for a few minutes when he heard Du Jianshan whisper, "Shh—don't move!"
He jolted awake, sitting up abruptly: "What's wrong?"
"Listen!" Du Jianshan put his finger to his lips, his other hand gripping the hunting fork tightly.
From the other side of the forest, a soft rustling sound came, like a wild animal scratching at the ground.
"Holy crap... they're really here?" Ye Genbao's voice was strained.
Du Jianshan pulled a torch from his waist and flicked it sharply, sending sparks flying in the darkness and illuminating the surroundings with a "whoosh".
A pair of eerie green eyes flashed briefly at the edge of the firelight, followed by the rustling of the bushes as they fled.
"A wolf?" Ye Genbao grabbed the torch and looked around.
“Doesn’t seem like it.” Du Jianshan frowned. “It’s too small. I’d guess it’s a wild dog, or maybe a fox… It’s afraid of fire and wouldn’t dare to get close.”
He stuck a few torches around the perimeter, forming a semicircle, and added some more firewood: "Keep guarding. If it comes again, we'll open fire."
As dawn broke, the woods finally quieted down.
Du Jianshan nudged Ye Genbao: "Get up! It's almost dawn. Let's set off early and deliver the meat before the supply and marketing cooperative opens."
"Ouch, my back..." Ye Genbao grimaced as he got up from the ground. "I'm really risking my life for a meal ticket."
The two men separately tied up the pork, skin, and bones, then used two thick wooden poles to lift the pig's remains, gritting their teeth as they walked step by step down the mountain.
Along the way, they met two fellow villagers who were going up the mountain to collect firewood.
"Oh my—what's this? A pig? You slaughtered it?" one man exclaimed, his eyes wide. "This is worth a lot of money!"
Du Jianshan grinned: "I didn't sleep a wink all night, what a load of rubbish. We'll take half back to exchange for tickets and the other half to fill our stomachs."
The other person clicked his tongue in amazement: "You guys are really something. I heard that leopards were spotted on this mountain not long ago. Aren't you afraid something might happen?"
"There's nothing we can do about it," Ye Genbao said, panting heavily. "These days, if you don't go out and make your way in the world, where will you find food?"
After chatting for a few minutes, the three said goodbye and continued on their way.
By the time we returned to the village entrance, it was broad daylight, and there were already many people coming and going on the threshing ground.
As soon as Du Jianshan entered the village, he shouted loudly, "Slaughtering pigs! Our mountain herding team has a great start; we've brought back our first wild boar!"
It immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Where did it come from?
"This pig must weigh at least 200 jin (100 kg)."
"Oh my, look at that leather, so neat and tidy, how many cloth coupons would that be worth?"
While dealing with the crowd, Du Jianshan walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative: "Don't ask anymore, let the supply and marketing cooperative weigh it first. If anyone needs meat coupons later, I'll arrange for you to exchange them!"
Ye Genbao followed behind, looking exhausted, and muttered to himself, "I just want to ask one question—are we going again next time?"
Du Jianshan turned around and smiled at him: "Go ahead, what will you eat if you don't go?"
"Alas... my life is so hard."
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