Sheng Xiping's master, Liu Changde, lived in the middle of Dajianchang Village.
Sheng Xiping was very familiar with the village and found the Liu family's house with ease.
Before Sheng Xiping even reached the Liu family's gate, the hunting dogs kept by Liu Changde started whining.
Yes, it's not barking like a dog; it sounds more like a baby cuddling with someone you're close to.
Because two of the five dogs belonging to the Liu family used to belong to Sheng Xiping, and the other three were also very close to him.
As for why the dog was put in the Liu family's house, it's mainly because a couple of years ago, for some reason, a trend of beating dogs started.
Especially in the forest farm, there is a special dog-catching team, and the leader is known as the "Dog King of Hell".
It is said that even dogs are so frightened by that person that they pee themselves.
The "Dog King of Hell" led a group of people who specialized in killing dogs.
Regardless of whose dog it was, he would lead his men there, block it in its kennel, and stab it to death with a single shot.
At that time, Sheng Xiping's family had three good hunting dogs. In order to avoid the "Dog King," Sheng Xiping had no choice but to give the dogs to his master, who would then take them to hide in the mountains.
The main industry in Dajianchang is ginseng cultivation. There are ginseng farms on the mountain, and dogs are needed to guard the ginseng.
Liu Changde took advantage of the opportunity to go up the mountain to check on the ginseng to take the dog with him, thus escaping a disaster.
This spring, the trend of culling dogs subsided a bit, so Liu Changde brought the dog back.
However, one of Sheng Xiping's big yellow dogs was killed by a black bear during a hunting trip, and the Liu family also lost two good dogs.
So Sheng Xiping didn't bring the dog back and left it with the Liu family for the time being.
It rained in the morning, so the Liu family stayed home instead of going to work in the fields.
The dog barked, and the people inside the house heard the noise.
In summer, the windows are all open. The Liu family also has a south-facing kang (heated brick bed). If you sit on the kang and look out the window, you can see people coming.
"Oh, it's Xiping! Come in quickly, I was just talking about you."
An elderly man in his fifties, with a vigorous spirit and a ruddy complexion, peeked outside.
Upon seeing that it was Sheng Xiping, he smiled and waved for him to come inside.
The person speaking was none other than Sheng Xiping's master, Liu Changde.
Back when the Sheng family had just moved from Shuguang Forest Farm, Sheng Xiping and a group of friends were playing by the river and made a bet to jump into the water.
Unexpectedly, there was a rock at the bottom of the river. Sheng Xiping dove down and was knocked unconscious.
If Liu Changde hadn't happened to pass by and rescued him from the danger, Sheng Xiping would have been dead.
Later, Sheng Liancheng led Sheng Xiping to Dajianchang Village with gifts to express their gratitude.
It was only after talking that I learned that Liu Changde had served in the army before.
Liu Changde's family didn't originally live here; they lived in Donggang.
He ran away from home at the age of eighteen to join the army, fighting against both the Japanese and the Nationalists. Later, after the liberation of Northeast China, Liu Changde asked for leave to go home to visit his family.
At that time, Liu Changde's father had already passed away.
Liu Changde's mother was a woman of little knowledge. Her son had been gone for several years and his fate was unknown. She was overjoyed that he had returned safe and sound.
So the old lady threatened suicide and refused to let her son go back, insisting that he stay with her to take care of her in her old age.
Liu Changde secretly left home to join the army back then, full of enthusiasm. He was not by his father's side when his father passed away, which was already unfilial.
Now that her mother was pleading so earnestly, she had no choice but to agree to her request and stay at home.
As a result, his original unit went south, and his comrades who returned to the unit at that time were later demobilized and became cadres.
Liu Changde served in the army for several years, risking his life, but was unable to return to his unit because his mother prevented him from doing so. In the end, he had nothing and remained a farmer.
Life's twists and turns are sometimes like that; Liu Changde could only sigh when he recalled those days.
When Sheng Xiping and his friends were young, soldiers were their biggest idols.
In addition, Liu Changde saved Sheng Xiping's life, so Sheng Xiping admired Liu Changde very much back then.
Upon learning that Liu Changde knew kung fu and hunting, Sheng Xiping insisted on becoming his apprentice.
To be honest, Liu Changde and Sheng Xiping got along quite well. Seeing that Sheng Xiping was a chubby-faced and energetic man, Liu Changde readily accepted him as his apprentice.
Afterwards, Liu Changde taught Sheng Xiping martial arts, how to shoot, and took him hunting in the mountains. The two got along very well.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve visited my master. I’m taking advantage of the rain and the day off to come and sit down.”
I didn't expect the dog to start barking before I even stepped inside.
As Sheng Xiping carried the things inside, the dogs whined even more loudly.
Seeing this, Sheng Xiping could only hand the things in his hands to Liu Changde through the window.
"Master, these are for you. I'll pet the dogs a couple of times first, otherwise they'll keep whining for ages."
Hunters all love dogs.
Not to mention, those dogs' tails were wagging so fast they were practically flying in the air. How could Sheng Xiping bear to ignore them and just go straight into the house?
"Look at you, you came all this way, but why did you bring anything? Do you think your master needs these things?"
The old man said that, but he did reach out and take the things.
Sheng Xiping hurried over to the doghouse.
He reached out and petted each of the dogs, rubbing their heads until they were happy.
"Master, Mistress, how are you two doing lately?"
Finally, the dog stopped barking, and Sheng Xiping stepped into the house.
Liu Changde and his wife Qin Qiuyan were sitting in the east room.
"It's all good, everything's good. Your master's wife can even practice two rounds of boxing every morning."
He could even punch me a couple of times if he's unhappy; he's got a really strong physique.
Liu Changde was quite pleased to see his apprentice and deliberately joked.
"Yes, that's good." Sheng Xiping smiled as soon as he heard that.
"Master's wife, please have some pity on my master, stop beating him all the time."
In fact, Liu Changde and his wife Qin Qiuyan were a perfect match.
The Qin family are old residents of Dajianchang. Qin Qiuyan's father, like Yu Erpao, was a hunter in these mountains.
Old Master Qin studied martial arts back in the day, and it's said he was a successor of some kind of boxing style. He was quite good at both fist and foot techniques, and his marksmanship was also excellent.
Old Master Qin and Yu Erpao were sworn brothers. He was the third son, so people called him Qin Sanpao.
However, when hunting in the mountains so often, how can one avoid making a mistake?
Once, Qin Sanpao and his friends went hunting in the mountains and encountered Black Bear. Qin Sanpao fired his gun and hit him with one shot.
Back then, hunting was done with old-fashioned cannons, which weren't very powerful.
Although the shot hit the bear in the head, the bear was not actually dead.
Qin Sanpao is a seasoned hunter, having weathered many storms.
When he saw that Hei Xiazi had fallen and was not moving, he did not dare to go forward directly. He fired another shot and waited for a while.
But who would have thought that the black bear was incredibly resilient and could even play dead?
When Qin Sanpao went forward to check, Hei Xiazi mustered his last strength and ripped off Qin Sanpao's scalp with a claw.
Fortunately, there were others who went up the mountain with him. They quickly shot and killed the bear, saving Qin Sanpao.
However, medical conditions were poor in those years, and Qin Sanpao was seriously injured and eventually passed away.
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