Chapter 152 Lin Heng hunting, the hawk behind [6k]
Mother Lin looked at Lin Heng and said, "Your grandmother is ill. Your uncle wants to send her to the city hospital for a thorough checkup."
When Lin Heng heard this, he roughly understood why.
His grandfather died early, six years ago, and his grandmother has always been in frail health. She is 81 years old this year. It is normal for her to get sick easily when the seasons change.
As far as she could remember, her grandmother died in the spring of next year, apparently due to cardiovascular disease.
"Then send it. If you don't have enough money, I have some here." Lin Heng said to his uncle and mother. His grandmother loved him very much, so it would be no problem for him to borrow money for the old lady's medical treatment.
But in fact, he doesn't really recommend sending people to the city for treatment. Old people are prone to chronic diseases, which cannot be cured in the city.
The roads to the city are all dirt roads, and the long journey might even make the condition worse. But what he said would definitely make his uncle suspicious, thinking that he didn't want to borrow money.
Mother Lin shook her head and said, "There's no rush to borrow money. We've already borrowed fifty from your uncle, and your second uncle also has some money. If it's not enough, we'll ask you for more."
Lin Heng asked again: "Has that person been sent away?"
"Well, your second uncle has asked someone to take you to the city on a motorcycle. I'll be going down in a while." Lu Honghai nodded and said.
Lin Heng thought for a moment and said to his wife, "Xiu Lan, go back and get another fifty yuan for my uncle."
"Okay." Xiulan nodded and went back to get the money.
Lu Honghai quickly stopped him: "It's enough for your father to borrow fifty."
"It's okay, uncle. There's no harm in taking more money. You can just take it back if you haven't used it all." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Soon, Xiulan took out the money and stuffed it into Lu Honghai's pocket: "Uncle, you can use it first, don't rush to pay it back."
"Well, okay." Lu Honghai nodded, his gratitude evident in words.
Then Lin Heng instructed to have the old man's cardiovascular system checked and buy some medicine for this purpose. Perhaps this could help the old man live longer in this life.
After chatting for a few more words, Uncle Lin Heng left in a hurry.
"Mom and Dad, you don't have any money, right? I'll get you some." Lin Heng watched his parents take out twenty yuan from their pocket and handed it to them.
"We are not sick and we don't need anything, so why do we need money? Just keep it for yourself. We will ask for it when we need it." Father Lin confiscated the money and shook his head.
Mother Lin took the money, put it into Xiulan's pocket and said, "Xiulan, take it. This kid likes to spend money recklessly. Keep a close eye on him."
Lin Heng: “…”
"Don't push it anymore. Just be willing to do it."
Before Xiulan could say anything, she was held down by Lin's mother and had no choice but to accept the money.
It was already past one in the afternoon. After chatting for a while, Xiulan took her daughter home to cook for Lin Heng.
"I have good news for you. Our total assets have exceeded 10,000 yuan. You are now a millionaire."
On the way home, Lin Heng said with a smile.
Xiulan was stunned: "Ten thousand yuan, that's a lot!"
"Of course." Lin Heng reported the bill to his wife with a smile.
After hearing the specific reimbursement, Xiulan couldn't help but sigh: "We actually already have so much money."
She felt a little dazed. At the beginning of the year, she was still worrying about a few dollars, but now she has become a millionaire, which she had never dared to think about before.
"You'll be even richer in the future." Lin Heng grinned. He was very satisfied with his wife's expression.
Xiulan looked at him and shook her head: "That's enough. We have enough food and clothes now. You don't have to work so hard."
"I'm not trying hard, I'm just looking forward to the future." Lin Heng said with a smile.
After entering the yard, he continued, "I'll see if I can make something bigger in the next two days, and then we can celebrate properly."
"Okay." Xiulan nodded and asked, "What do you want to eat for lunch?"
"How about some knife-cut noodles or some oil-splashed noodles? I'll help you." Lin Heng said after thinking for a while.
"Okay, then you just look after your daughter." Xiulan nodded and turned to scoop noodles to cook.
Lin Heng brought his daughter to help light the fire, and the two of them quickly finished the meal.
The oil-splashed sliced noodles with fried eggs are delicious, spicy and sour, and the noodles are chewy.
The fried eggs were so delicious that Xiaoxia ate one and a half by herself, and she ate half a bowl of noodles.
After dinner, Lin Heng took out a set of purple clay tea sets he had just bought and brewed a pot of tea to relieve his greasiness.
Drinking tea and lighting some incense with the scent of dendrobium, I spent a very pleasant afternoon.
At around three o'clock, Lin's father and eldest brother came over to help move the insulation cotton.
Because I have to go to Hongfeng Mountain to harvest soybeans in the afternoon, it would be a good opportunity to bring some along on my way there.
Lin Heng walked over carrying a bow bag and holding thermal insulation cotton. Although the thermal insulation cotton was large in size, it was not heavy and he could carry a lot of it at one time.
After a few trips, they all moved to Hongfeng Mountain.
"Why don't we just nail it up now? What if it gets stolen at night?" Father Lin looked at the insulation cotton piled in the house with a little worry.
Lin Heng shook his head: "No one should steal it if it is placed here. We can just come and install it tomorrow."
"I also think there is no problem. It should be fine for one night." Lin Yue also said.
"Then let's go down and pick the soybeans. That will then help us dig the pond." Father Lin nodded.
On the way down the mountain, Lin Heng and his companions met Tian Baishun who was carrying a hunting rifle.
Lin Heng asked curiously, "Old Man Tian, where are you going hunting? Have you caught anything recently?"
"I heard a golden rooster crowing in the woods on Houliang yesterday, so I came to take a look today. I just shot a pheasant recently."
After Tian Baishun responded, he extended another invitation: "Do you want to join us? I feel like we can find a golden hen's nest today."
Lin Heng was a little tempted. It was just like when you just bought a new fishing rod and someone told you there was a fishing spot for catching big fish.
"If you want to go, go ahead. Dad and I can pick all the remaining soybeans." Lin Yue patted his shoulder and said.
"Yes, go ahead and be careful." Father Lin also nodded and said, "Then I'll go. Dad and brother, you wait for my good news." Lin Heng said with a smile, and ran away with Old Man Tian.
"Are your bow and arrows in the bag?" Old Man Tian asked curiously as he looked at the hard bow bag that Lin Heng was carrying.
Lin Heng grinned: "This is my new equipment, a modern compound bow. It's no problem for me to shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away. I'll show you how to use it later."
"Modern compound bow? What does it look like?" Old Man Tian was very curious. He had never seen this new thing before.
"It's not convenient to take it out now. Wait until you see the golden rooster. You won't be allowed to see it without the golden rooster." Lin Heng smiled mysteriously.
Tian Baishun blew his beard and glared, "You kid, do you still think that I am deceiving you? Today I will definitely help you to catch the Golden Rooster."
Lin Heng grinned without saying anything, and began to look around, looking for prey.
He didn't bring Xiongba out today, so he had to rely on himself to hunt.
They were heading southwest, toward a beam that Tian Baishun had mentioned was covered with acorn trees.
After walking for a long time without finding any trace of prey, they arrived at a valley.
“Chichichi!!”
Lin Heng was about to ask how far away it was when a hoarse cry came from the opposite ridge, and it sounded like someone was saying "hurry, hurry, hurry".
"It's the place where the golden rooster crows. It's only two miles away." Tian Baishun said.
Lin Heng nodded and walked in front. After walking a few hundred meters, he found a man in his forties, also carrying a shotgun.
Lin Heng recognized him. This was another hunter in the village, Wang Kaidian. He had been a soldier and was very skilled in hunting.
His eyes were looking at the opposite bank. Lin Heng followed his gaze and saw a red-haired golden rooster foraging under a chestnut tree on the opposite bank.
"It's too far. I can't fight."
He pointed at the Golden Rooster on the other side of the river and whispered that his hunting rifle was better than an ordinary gun, but its range was only seventy or eighty meters, so shooting would be a waste of ammunition.
The distance was already about 110 to 20 meters, which was why the golden rooster on the other side did not run away when it saw people, as it felt there was no danger at all.
If Lin Heng and others walked to the other side, it would definitely flap its wings and fly away immediately.
"Uncle Wang, if you don't want to fight, then I'll give it a try."
Lin Heng whispered that Wang Kaidian had a good relationship with his father.
Wang Kaidian was a little surprised to hear this, he looked at him and said: "If you want to fight, fight, whoever you can hit is yours. I remember you used a bow and arrow, I'm afraid there is no hope at such a distance."
"Let me try." Lin Heng smiled, put the bow bag on the ground, opened it, and took out a modern compound bow painted black.
"Is this a bow and arrow made of iron?" Wang Kaidian was stunned. He had never seen this kind of bow and arrow before.
Lin Heng didn't say anything. He took out an ordinary carbon arrow without a modified shotgun head and put it on the bowstring. Any arrow would do.
There was no wind in the valley at this time. Lin Heng held the launcher in his right hand, took aim, and shot an arrow.
I saw this beautiful sharp arrow draw a graceful curve in the air, and with a "whoosh" sound, it pierced through a pair of golden roosters on the other side of the river.
"Awesome, your new guy is really that powerful!"
Old Man Tian widened his eyes, shocked by the strange-shaped lump of iron in Lin Heng's hand. This thing was actually so powerful.
"It's so accurate. Your equipment is amazing."
Wang Kaidian gave a thumbs up. He always felt that apart from guns, everything else was rubbish.
But I didn't expect that this iron bow and arrow is even more powerful than a hunting rifle.
"This is a modern compound bow, the absolute king of cold weapons." Lin Heng grinned. This bow was a pleasure to use.
"Can I take a look?" Old Man Tian was very curious.
"Okay, but you can't pull the bowstring empty-handed." Lin Heng said, handing the bow and arrow to Old Man Tian.
"It's lighter than I thought, but why can't I just pull the bowstring without any movement?" Old Man Tian asked curiously while playing with it.
"Without an arrow, all the force from pulling the bowstring will go to the bow, making it easy to damage it," Lin Heng explained.
It's the same no matter what bow it is. Pulling it empty is equivalent to putting energy into the bow, which can easily damage the bow.
Modern compound bows are more powerful, and the damage caused by an empty pull is also greater.
Tian Baishun took a look at it and handed it to Wang Kaidian. Both of them had envy in their eyes. No hunter would not want a weapon with a long range and high accuracy.
Although Lin Heng's compound bow is not as powerful as a gun, it does have unique advantages on this mountain.
It has a much longer range than the homemade shotguns they have, and it makes no sound when fired.
"How much does it cost?" Wang Kaidian wanted to practice archery. He thought it should be no problem if he practiced with his basic skills.
"These are all imported items. They are not produced domestically. This bow costs more than three hundred yuan. But Uncle Wang, you have a rifle, why don’t you use it?" Lin Heng asked with a smile.
Bows and arrows have another advantage, which is that they are always legal and cannot be confiscated.
"There are no bullets. That stuff is expensive and hard to buy. Besides, a single shot at a golden rooster will rot it straight away and it's impossible to eat it." Wang Kaidian shook his head.
As gun control becomes increasingly strict, bullets are expensive and hard to buy. It is not as practical as this kind of hunting rifle with gunpowder and ball bearings.
This is also the reason why almost all hunters in the village use matchlock rifles. Gunpowder and ball bearings are cheap and easy to make, and can be used to hunt large and small prey.
"Do you want to go to Liangshang together?" Old Man Tian asked Wang Kaidian.
"You guys go, I'll go look somewhere else." Wang Kaidian shook his head. He liked hunting alone.
After Wang Kaidian left, Lin Heng packed up the compound bow and turned to pick up the golden rooster.
"It's amazing! This golden rooster didn't even react." Old Man Tian looked a little envious.
"You can get a rifle." Lin Heng laughed.
Old Man Tian waved his hand and said, "I'm not crazy. If there were as many black bears here as in the Greater Khingan Range, I would still be interested in getting one. I'd just like to shoot a deer or a wild boar. It would be a waste to use a rifle."
Lin Heng was carrying the golden rooster and asked curiously as he walked, "You have been hunting for more than ten years, right? Have you ever seen a tiger or a black bear?"
"I've never seen a tiger, but I saw two black bears. I ran away from them a few hundred meters away. I didn't dare to provoke them. They were too scary and my gun couldn't kill them." Tian Baishun shook his head.
Lin Heng told Tian Baishun about the leopard he encountered a few days ago.
"I've heard about that too. It feels like leopards eat leopards. The tiger will probably eat them all and won't leave any. But it's hard to say for sure." Tian Baishun analyzed, shaking his head.
Lin Heng nodded: "I think so too."
The two chatted and soon came to the beam where the golden rooster was crowing.
It’s just that the leaves are just beginning to turn yellow and haven’t fallen yet, so it’s difficult to find them.
We walked away from old man Hetian and soon heard the call of muntjacs on the opposite hill.
Lin Heng gave up after just taking a look. It seemed that the road was not far away and it would take another 30 to 40 minutes to walk there. By the time he got there, the deer had already run away.
“Chichichi!!”
At this time, the golden rooster began to crow again. When Lin Heng heard it, he immediately slowed down his pace because the golden rooster that had just crowed was closer to him.
It was already late in the day, it was dusk, and the golden roosters were all going to climb up the trees to rest.
Lin Heng searched stealthily for more than ten minutes and finally found the location.
Under a large acorn tree, two golden hens were foraging for food.
The female golden rooster is small in size and gray in color, without the beautiful feathers of the male.
Lin Heng's position was not very good, about two hundred meters away, with a wide field of vision in front.
After taking a look at the high slope on the left, he quietly stepped back, took out his compound bow, and slowly approached along the slope.
Approaching from the high slope, it is only thirty meters away from Jinji, which is very close.
Lin Heng now missed the hunting rifle a little. One shot would kill both hens, and he could only choose one of them.
Killing two birds with one stone requires the right time, right place and right people, but now the two golden hens are two or three meters apart, which is obviously unrealistic.
Picking the one closest to him, Lin Heng half-knelt, drew his bow and shot the arrow.
With a whoosh, under the full pull of forty pounds, the arrow flew at an extremely terrifying speed and flew over almost instantly and nailed it into the ground.
“Chichi!!”
The other golden rooster was so frightened that it rolled and flew away.
“Chiu!”
At this moment, Lin Heng suddenly heard a very sharp eagle cry and quickly looked up.
Suddenly, a huge eagle swooped down from the top of a tall fir tree in the distance, captured the golden rooster in the air, and brought it high into the sky.
"Goshawk!" Lin Heng was stunned, fearing that the goshawk had already noticed the two golden pheasants. The snow-white striped feathers on the goshawk's belly were extremely obvious.
This creature often steals hens and chicks, and there is no rural person who doesn't know it.
However, it is too alert and usually rests on the top of a tree, making it impossible to hit it even if you want to.
Shaking his head, Lin Heng went to pick up the dead hen.
I'm lucky to have followed Tian Baishun today. There are indeed a lot of golden chickens in this place. This old man is quite capable.
After picking up the golden rooster and the arrow, Lin Heng continued to search around.
It was getting darker and darker, so he stopped going up and prepared to go down the ditch and go home.
These two catches today are quite good. They can be considered as a blessing for my newly bought compound bow.
"Bang!"
Just after walking a few steps back, a gunshot was heard not far away.
Lin Heng followed the sound and walked over, shouting as he walked: "Old Man Tian, did you hit him?"
"Hehe, I shot three with one shot, it feels so good." Not long after, Tian Baishun ran down with things in his hand, and laughed at Lin Heng.
"Damn! The hunting rifle is so cool." Lin Heng was speechless. One shot equaled all his afternoon's catch.
"A homemade hunting rifle is not expensive, why don't you go buy one?" Tian Baishun said with a smile.
"No." Lin Heng likes to use bows and arrows.
Then the two men turned around and walked back. All the golden roosters and pheasants in the area flew away after the shot just now.
On the way back, we could hear gunshots from time to time. In those days, many people used rifles to hunt. There were about thirteen or fourteen hunters in their village, some very professional, and some just shooting blindly with guns.
When Lin Heng returned home, it was completely dark. Xiulan and Xiaoxia had finished their meal and were waiting for him.
"How is it? Is it amazing?" Lin Heng walked into the yard, holding two golden roosters and said with a smile.
"Awesome!" Xiaoxia raised her hand and praised.
Xiulan smiled and said, "I know you can definitely hit it. I've already boiled some water for you to make chicken soup."
"What if I don't hit him? You're not going to make me kneel on the washboard, are you?" Lin Heng asked deliberately.
"Then I'll just say it's boiled bath water." Xiulan winked playfully.
Then she took the golden chicken and said, "Go and eat, I'll give you the soup chicken."
"good."
Lin Heng put the bag on the counter and went to the kitchen to bring out the meal.
“It’s actually a soft pancake.”
Lin Heng was a little surprised. The soft pancake was spread with fermented bean curd and chili, and then rolled up with spicy and sour potato shreds. It was so delicious.
He ate four of them in one go. The pancake was soft, the shredded potatoes were sour and appetizing, and the fermented bean curd and spicy sauce had a special aroma and taste. It was a real pleasure to eat them together.
By the time he finished eating, Xiulan had prepared two cups of golden chicken soup, and Xiaoxia was waving the flashlight around.
"Let me do it."
Lin Heng took out a knife and cut open the chicken's intestines. Except for the chicken heart, liver and gizzard, he simply processed the rest and fed it to Xiongba tomorrow morning.
After killing the chicken, Xiulan thought for a moment and said, "Why not braise one? The braising broth from last time is still here."
As long as the stew is filtered well and heated up every two days, it will become more fragrant the more you use it.
"Then we can stew the big one and fry the small one. Let's invite our parents and big brother over tomorrow and celebrate."
Lin Heng nodded and hung the processed golden rooster on the kitchen wall.
"Hey, was this bathtub delivered by Liang Muliang?"
When going to the backyard to take a shower, Lin Heng found a long wooden barrel with half a bucket of water in it.
"Yes, I gave him five dollars, but he only took four." Xiulan's voice came from the house.
After looking at the wooden tub for bathing, Lin Heng was quite satisfied. After taking a bath, he went back to the room and read a bedtime story to Xiaoxia.
This time he went to the city to buy a new storybook. Xiaoxia listened to it very enthusiastically and didn't want to go to sleep.
Lin Heng had no choice but to set a rule for her that she could only tell three stories every night.
After coaxing his daughter to sleep, Lin Heng went to bed and hugged his wife.
The next morning, after Lin Heng had his breakfast, he took his tools and couldn't wait to build his own cabin.
Lin's father and eldest brother also came to Hongfeng Mountain with a diesel saw and tools.
"Today, we will install the insulation in the house first, and then put up the wooden boards, doors and windows inside."
Lin Heng smiled and said, the maple leaves have gradually turned red, and the forest is becoming more and more beautiful, so we must hurry up.
"This is not difficult. I estimate it will be done in half a day." Lin Yue said with a smile.
Saw the wooden board to the desired length, press the insulation cotton onto the wall and nail it.
The three men nailed the walls all around in one morning.
In the afternoon, the roof insulation was installed and nailed with wooden boards.
"Do you want to push the boards of the doors and windows?"
When making doors and windows, Lin's father asked, they brought handmade wooden pushers.
"No, this wild style is great." Lin Heng shook his head.
The wooden door does not need to look good, just nail it with boards and it just needs to be strong enough. The door handle is made of a tree knot.
The job of installing doors and windows was given to his father and eldest brother, and he went to paint the wooden house with waterproof paint.
He used brown water-repellent paint, and after painting, the appearance of the entire wooden house immediately elevated to a higher level.
With the wooden doors and windows in place, the cabin is considered to be completed.
The remaining wooden boards were painted and dried here, and will be laid around the floor in two days.
Lin Heng plans to use wooden stakes as supports just like the wooden house, 30 centimeters off the ground, which can effectively prevent the wooden boards from rotting.
"Let's go back, Dad. Xiulan has already prepared the meal and is probably waiting for us."
Lin Heng said as he looked at his father who was preparing to saw wood boards to make a table.
"Okay then, let's wait two days before doing it." Father Lin nodded.
"The crops at the foot of the mountain have been harvested. When are you going to start digging the fish pond?" asked the eldest brother Lin Yue on the way back.
"The day my dad will find someone to look at it is another day, and then we'll start work." Lin Heng said. He estimated that this time the work would take one or two months to complete.
But it doesn't affect his hunting, his father and elder brother just need to watch over him.
When she got home, Xiulan had prepared a table full of food, with a ripped braised chicken in the middle. She could smell the familiar aroma as soon as she entered the door.
"The food today is so rich. It's worth it to help you, brother." Lin Yue said with a smile.
Lin Heng laughed: "That's delicious, there are many delicious foods in autumn."
* * * ps: It’s still 6,000 words, please give me monthly votes, friends
(End of this chapter)
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