Chapter 147 The leopard died? Was it the tiger who did it?
The villagers gathered here include those from Hongfeng Village and Shimen Village.
Those who didn't know Lin Heng showed curiosity when they saw him. Who was this kid? He looked so majestic riding a horse up the mountain.
I was even more surprised when I saw the bow and arrow on him and the dog at his feet. Was he hunting?
"Lin Heng, are you here to pick chestnuts too?" A villager from Hongfeng Village recognized Lin Heng and asked with a smile.
Lin Heng took a look and saw that the person who was speaking was Liu Lan's father-in-law Liu Yong. Next to him was the beekeeper Wang Jin, and several other people from the village.
"Yes, Uncle Liu, what happened here?" Lin Heng asked curiously. He couldn't see clearly because of the people surrounding him.
"A leopard died here. I don't know what killed it, but it was bitten to pieces." Liu Yong said, pointing behind him.
"I think it was a tiger. What else could have eaten the leopard?"
"Couldn't the leopard have eaten it? Maybe a bear did it."
As soon as this topic was brought up, the group of people immediately started arguing again.
"The leopard died? It was eaten by a tiger?" Lin Heng was stunned. What was this talking about?
He remembered very clearly that the last tiger discovered in Qinling Mountains was in 1964. It was shot to death. The specimen is now in the provincial library.
Since then, there have been no more tigers in Qinling. How could there still be traces of tigers? After a moment of hesitation, he turned over and dismounted, and ran over in a few steps.
The leopard's body was found under a large chestnut tree.
This leopard has distinctive cloud-like markings on its back and sides; the base color of the fur is a uniform light blue to gray with large cloud-like patches on the sides.
It had small ears and a round head. Now only half of its body is left, and its internal organs and the back half of its body are gone.
There were obvious bite marks on the head and half of the body left at the scene.
It is indeed incredible to kill and eat most of a clouded leopard. After the extinction of tigers, clouded leopards are the top predators in this mountain range.
The only animals that are stronger than it are black bears and giant pandas, but it is difficult for both of them to catch clouded leopards, right? Could it really be a tiger?
Lin Heng's heart tightened. It would not be a good thing if there was such a thing. He would have to be extremely careful when hunting.
There have been precedents in the past where a certain animal was said to be extinct, only to reappear later. After all, a mountain range is too large to search its entirety.
But he also thought that perhaps the clouded leopard was injured in a fight or attacked by something else.
But I have to be more careful when I go hunting in the mountains in the future, so that if there really is something wrong, I will be on guard.
Looking at the remains of the clouded leopard on the ground, Lin Heng turned around and asked, "No one wants it?"
"It's all smelly and there's not much fur left. What's the point of having it?" Liu Yong said with disdain.
"Yes, none of us wants it. If you want it, just take it." The villagers were not interested in this thing.
It's not worth much, what can I do with it? "Haha, I won't be polite then."
Lin Heng smiled and said, although it stinks, it has not yet grown maggots, so it can still be used.
The remaining fur was still useful, but he planned to throw the remaining one or two front paws and the head into the water, wait for the meat to be eaten by insects and fish, and then make the bones into a skeletal specimen.
He took out a tempered steel dagger and peeled off the clouded leopard's fur bit by bit, enduring the stench.
Fortunately, the dagger was sharp enough, and the peeling process was not slow. Some villagers nearby watched for a while, and then dispersed to look for chestnuts.
It took Lin Heng about ten minutes to remove the remaining leopard skin. In order to get more fur, he even peeled the skin on the head cleanly.
"It's not small. It should be enough to make two gloves and a hat." Lin Heng smiled, quite satisfied.
The skin and fur that was peeled off was about fifty square centimeters. It didn't look like much on the body, but it was actually quite a lot.
After the skin was peeled off, Lin Heng found a puddle and threw the remaining rotten meat into it, pressing it down with stones.
If you wait for more than a month and come back to take it out, I guess only bones will be left.
This is the best way without mealworms. He once picked up a complete mouse skeleton in the stream in this way.
After scraping off the remaining rotten meat on the leopard skin, Lin Heng put it in a snakeskin bag and tied the mouth so that no smell could come out.
After I get home and process it, it will become a beautiful leopard skin. After tanning, I can let my wife make it into gloves.
"Let's go."
After finishing all this, Lin Heng climbed onto his horse and continued walking up the mountain.
My father and his friends should be on the top of the mountain. After searching for a while, we found them under a big chestnut tree.
"Mom and Dad, how many fights have you had?"
Lin Heng walked over leading the horse and asked, it was impossible to ride in this forest.
It’s not that the horse can’t walk, but that he can’t stand it. He will be hit in the face by branches after taking a few steps.
There were four people on Lin's father's side. In addition to Lin's father, Lin's mother and eldest brother, Lin Heng's second nephew Lin Tao also came up with his father.
"We've picked about 70 to 80 kilograms. There are a lot of chestnuts on this tree, and we're harvesting them now." Father Lin pointed to the snakeskin bag next to him and said with a smile.
"That's not bad." Lin Heng said. It's only half past ten and the harvest is quite good.
"Did you see the dead leopard on the way up here? I don't know what killed it and ate the remaining bit."
Lin Yue, who was picking chestnuts on a tree, asked.
"Not only did I see it, I also cut off the fur." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Is it still useful if it stinks?" Lin's mother gave him a suspicious look.
"Of course it can be used. It's the meat that's smelly, not the fur." Lin Heng said.
"Get out of the way, I'm going to shake the tree." At this time, Lin Yue on the tree also climbed to the right position and shouted.
Lin Heng and the others hurried away, and Lin Yue on the tree also put on a straw hat.
Generally speaking, no one shakes the hairy chestnut trees. They are everywhere and you can just pick them up from the ground.
But there are relatively few chestnuts, so if I find a tree, I will try to pick all of them.
As the branches swayed, there was a bang, bang, bang sound like it was raining, and most of the chestnuts fell down, with a small number of chestnut bags also falling down.
Lin Heng took advantage of this time to go find some horse grass for Hongzao, mainly a kind of tree leaves and the leaves of Guotiao vine.
When the shaking is almost done, I take the bag and pick up the mushrooms on the ground, one here and one there, just like picking mushrooms, which is quite fun.
“Ouch~”
Xiongba also wagged his tail, took a bite and handed it to Lin Heng to join in the fun.
"Don't pick them up. Go look for mushrooms and prey." Lin Heng patted its head.
All this guy picked up was saliva, it was impossible to eat.
"Woof~"
Xiongba saw that Lin Heng disliked it, so he let out a dissatisfied cry and ran away to play.
Lin Heng picked chestnuts silently, and when he finished picking chestnuts from this tree, he went to the next one.
At this moment, the mountain is full of people picking chestnuts, so there is no hope for hunting. The bow and arrow are for emergency use.
Also, when I pass by Red Maple Mountain on my way back, I will teach the rabbits there a lesson.
Before he knew it, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. Lin Heng had picked up more than 30 kilograms of chestnuts, 10 kilograms of which were large chestnuts, and the remaining 20 kilograms were raw chestnuts.
During this period, apart from encountering people, there was no other discovery, and it seemed that the prey did not exist at all.
After all, the entire Chestnut Mountain is full of people, and any prey would be scared away, so how could they dare to come out?
Father Lin asked about the time and said, "Let's go and find a place by the stream to eat."
"Okay!" Lin Heng went back to lead the horse, and the others carried the chestnuts they had picked today and walked towards the stream.
The trees beside the stream were much shorter and there was a lot of grass. Lin Heng placed the red dates there and let them graze on their own. He and his parents went to eat under the shade of the trees.
"What do you want to eat?" Lin's mother opened the bag, which contained steamed corn bread, rice cakes, and white flour buns.
"Let's have a Jiangba pancake." Lin Heng took a Jiangba pancake, dipped it in some fermented bean curd and chili and ate it. It tasted pretty good.
There are many people eating by the stream, and they all bring dry food. It is three or four kilometers from here to the foot of the mountain, not to mention going home.
"Lin Heng, would you like some roasted corn?"
Someone was shouting from below, and Lin Heng looked and saw that it was Yang Zhaotao, Li Caifeng, and a few young men from the village who were about his age.
They built a fire and roasted corn and steamed buns.
"Thank you." Lin Heng didn't hesitate and walked over to get a roasted corn.
"It's not worth much, so why be polite?" Yang Zhaotao said with a smile.
"It's not easy to carry it on your back." Lin Heng smiled and sat aside, eating corn and chatting.
The roasted aroma of roasted corn is more attractive than the sweet taste of boiled corn. Yang Zhaotao has good skills in roasting corn. He roasts it until it is browned but not black or carbonized.
It is quite joyful to eat corn and listen to them telling dirty jokes to each other. There are not many entertainment activities in the countryside, so when people get together, they are bound to tell a few dirty jokes.
But he wasn't very interested in this and didn't respond.
Some women couldn't stand what was said and started to fight, throwing water, throwing mud, and having bad intentions.
Yang Zhaotao took a bite of steamed bun and asked with a smile: "Lin Heng, when are you going to dig a fish pond again?"
"We have to wait until the soybeans are harvested, which will be the end of October in the Gregorian calendar." Lin Heng said casually.
"Don't leave me behind when the time comes." Yang Zhaotao said with a smile.
"Add me too." someone else said.
"No problem. We need a lot of people this time. You can just sign up when the time comes." Lin Heng nodded with a smile.
He knew that many people in the village now wanted to help him dig fish ponds. They could earn money in their own village, and everyone wanted this job.
After eating the corn, Lin Heng also got a few chestnuts, cut them with a knife, and threw them into the fire to roast.
Even if a hole is opened, rapid heating will make a muffled popping sound, and when it is taken out, the inner and outer skin can be easily peeled off, leaving only the golden chestnut meat.
It was soft, sweet and delicious when put into the mouth. After eating one, Lin Heng couldn't stop eating it. He ate a big handful before he felt satisfied.
After saying thank you, he ran off to pick chestnuts.
I picked chestnuts by the stream this afternoon, and there are a lot of them around here. You can never finish picking up all the chestnuts. Even if you have carefully picked the land once, you can still pick up a lot again. Some of them fell from the trees, and some were missed by people.
Not long after picking, Lin Heng found a wild lily under the woods and asked his mother to get a small hoe to dig it up.
The lilies on these slopes don't grow very deep, so they can be dug out with just two hoes. They're not very big, only about three or two taels.
"Awoo!" Xiongba walked over and sniffed, feeling a little curious.
Lin Heng smiled, broke off a piece and fed it to the dog.
“Bang!”
Xiongba took just two bites and spat it out, glaring at his master fiercely, thinking that he was more like a dog than himself.
Then it ran to the stream to drink water and wash its tongue, which almost killed it.
"Ha ha."
Lin Heng was very happy after playing a trick on Xiong Ba. He looked around and found two more lilies.
This thing will be very bitter if it is not processed after being dug out, especially this wild lily with white flowers.
Lin Heng was digging when his father suddenly said, "Oh my god, this yam vine is so thick. Lin Heng, bring the hoe over here."
"Wait a moment." Lin Heng used two hoes to dig out the lilies on his side, and came to his father with the hoe.
"Look, this yam vine is quite thick, as thick as your little finger." Father Lin said with a smile while pulling the yam vine.
The yam vine is dark red with vertical lines. The leaves are triangular and feel thick.
Generally, a yam vine as thick as a normal data cable can produce three or four kilograms of yam. It is not uncommon to produce more than ten kilograms from such a thick vine.
"And this is growing on a slope, so it's much easier to dig. I'll try to dig it all out." Father Lin took the hoe and said.
"Then you try it, I'll help you." Lin Heng nodded.
At this time of year, the yam can still grow for another one or two months, and it is best to dig it in October of the lunar calendar or December of the solar calendar.
But it’s okay to dig it in advance if you see it, it’s just a little less.
Although he said he was helping, Lin Heng just watched from the side as his father continued to dig.
About thirty centimeters deep, you can see the main body of the yam. The yam is as thick as an adult's forearm, and further down it may be as thick as an adult's calf.
"This yam is really big. It will be delicious if we dig it up and stew it with pork legs." After digging out some, Father Lin grinned.
Lin Heng was also a little surprised: "Yes, it's not forked, it's really a good yam."
Many yam vines look thick, but once you dig them down, they split into a large bunch and are completely useless.
It's okay if it's divided into two or three, they're just a little smaller. The worst thing is if it's divided into five or six small ones, growing inside the rocks and completely squeezed and deformed. It would be a waste of effort to dig them out.
My father dug for a while. Then Lin Heng took over and after a few diggings, he broke the yam skin and exposed the white flesh.
"I'll do it, you just watch." Father Lin was speechless. He took the hoe and decided to do it himself.
He has obsessive-compulsive disorder and can't stand digging up the yam.
Lin Heng could only watch. His father was really patient. He dug for an hour and a half, dug a big hole, and finally dug out the yam intact.
"This must be more than ten kilograms." Father Lin smiled.
"Awesome!" Lin Heng gave a thumbs up. He couldn't do this kind of work even if he was reborn.
This complete yam is more than one meter long and as thick as an adult's calf. It is perfect.
Father Lin took a knife and cut it into three sections and put it in a bag. He sat beside it and had a good rest. He was exhausted.
Lin Heng handed the water he hadn't drunk to his father, then picked up chestnuts and looked for wild lilies with a hoe.
During this period, he also found some Schisandra chinensis and wax gourd, which he did not let go of and picked all. The ripe Schisandra chinensis was dark red in color and tasted sour and sweet, and was very delicious.
No one picked many chestnuts in the afternoon. It was not until after six o'clock that Lin Heng picked up thirty kilograms, and including the ones picked in the morning, it was only sixty kilograms.
Father and Mother Lin picked up 100 kilograms in total, and with the pick-ups from the morning, the total was a little over 200 kilograms.
The total amount of weight that my eldest brother Lin Yue eats in the morning and afternoon is about 100 kilograms.
Rural people often carry things, so they can estimate the approximate weight quite accurately.
"Let's go down the mountain." Lin Heng said, and walked in front carrying the things on his back and holding Hongzao's hand.
The way down the mountain is not suitable for riding a horse, but it is not difficult for people to walk.
When they got to the road, they handed the chestnuts to Ma Tun and felt a lot more relaxed.
When they were almost at Hongfeng Mountain, Lin Heng gave the horse to his father, and he took the bow and arrow and took Xiongba to Hongfeng Mountain by a detour.
Going to see if there are any wild rabbits and teach them a lesson.
Around six or seven o'clock is when these guys come out to eat grass.
The man and the dog tiptoed to the soybean field at the foot of Red Maple Mountain.
As soon as I reached the edge of the field, I saw traces of chewed soybeans, which were obviously caused by the rabbit's three-lobed mouth.
"No?"
What surprised Lin Heng was that after walking around several acres of soybean fields, he didn't find any trace of rabbits.
In desperation, he went to take a look at the fish pond. The water quality was now very stable and a lot of grass had grown on the slope of the fish pond.
This is a good thing. A shrimp pond needs to have a lot of grass. It is difficult to raise shrimp without grass.
After thinking about it, Lin Heng decided to put the grass carp fry in his home into this first fish pond in a few days.
Under normal circumstances, one acre of pond can only support about one thousand fish. He had about seven or eight thousand surviving grass carp fry, which should have required seven or eight ponds.
But the fry are still small now, so you can keep them first. When they grow up and weigh half a pound next year, you can divide them into ponds.
"But we have to pick a good day." Lin Heng said to himself, turned and left.
However, as he never returned empty-handed, he couldn't return empty-handed. The pink hibiscus and golden chrysanthemums on the ground were quite attractive, so he picked some and made a bouquet to take away.
As soon as we got back to the main road, we heard a gunshot from the top of the mountain.
After taking a look at him, I stopped paying attention. As autumn gradually approached, many hunters began to go up the mountain to hunt.
He planned to wait until the weather got colder and the leaves started to fall, and then organize a long hunting trip to Taibai Mountain.
Seeing Lin Heng coming back, Lin's father said, "I just heard someone shoot guns in Hongfeng Mountain. I guess all the rabbits have run away."
"Yes, we can only wait until tomorrow morning." Lin Heng spread his hands. He guessed that this was the case, otherwise it would be impossible not to encounter any.
After returning home, Lin Heng unloaded his chestnuts from the horse's back and took them home. His father would feed the horse and send it to the stable later.
"Lin Heng, why don't you take some yam back to eat?" asked Lin's father.
"Keep it for me, and I'll kill two pheasants and stew them." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Carrying chestnuts and a bouquet of flowers, Lin Heng knocked on the door.
"for you."
When Xiulan opened the door, Lin Heng smiled and gave her the bouquet and the small bag of wax gourd and schisandra chinensis.
Xiulan took it and blinked her eyes, which were full of tenderness, and said with a smile: "You have a good harvest today, you got so many chestnuts."
"Yes, there are not only chestnuts, but also lilies and wax gourds, a little bit of Schisandra chinensis, and a small piece of leopard skin."
Lin Heng put the things on the table and leaned on his waist for a while.
"Dad, I want to eat this." Xiaoxia said, pointing at the wax melon.
"Have this." You handed her a bunch of Schisandra chinensis. She couldn't eat the wax gourd, so she couldn't eat too much.
"Leopard skin?" Xiulan was surprised. "Did you kill a leopard this afternoon?"
"I didn't shoot it, I picked it up. There's a leopard lying dead on the ground."
Lin Heng told his wife the whole process.
"I told you, you scared me and I thought you had killed a leopard." Xiulan patted her chest.
Then he added: "Is there really a tiger? If there is, it would be too dangerous."
"I think it's unlikely." Lin Heng shook his head. After thinking about it carefully, he still felt that it shouldn't be a tiger.
"Then you'd better be careful. Just in case there really is something wrong, you'd better be prepared." Xiulan said. People are afraid of tigers just by mentioning them.
"Got it. I'll go deal with the leopard skin." Lin Heng nodded.
Xiulan smelled the flowers, took a blue and white porcelain bottle bought by Lin Heng, filled it with water, put it on the cabinet, and went to the kitchen to cook with a smile on her face.
Lin Heng went out with the stinky leopard skin, first made a frame to lift it up, and then used a bamboo to carefully scrape off some fat and minced meat that might be left on the skin, making sure to clean it up.
After doing all this, he went to get some quicklime, poured it into a wooden basin, added water to make a lime solution, threw the smelly leopard skin in, and soaked it with stones while pressing it down.
This step needs to be soaked for at least one night.
After finishing, Xiulan's meal was also ready. In the evening, she made white flour steamed buns, three dishes and a soup.
While eating, Xiulan said: "My sister-in-law asked me why our chickens are so willing to lay eggs, so I told her the feeding method you taught her."
"Just say it, it's nothing." Lin Heng said, and then ate the steamed bun with big mouthfuls.
Cut the steamed bun, spread some fermented bean curd and chili peppers on it, then put some fried bacon with shredded pickled radish in it. It tastes so good that I don’t want to say anything.
Lin Heng ate four steamed buns in a row before he stopped, feeling full.
Now I had time to chat with my wife and tell her what happened in the woods today.
Xiulan also talked about what she did at home today. It was all quite ordinary. The only surprise might be the flowers that Lin Heng brought home.
After dinner, coax the child to sleep as usual and go to bed as usual.
The next morning, Lin Heng got up and went to look at his leopard skin.
I added some boiling water into it, removed all the grease and dirt with my hands, took it out and cleaned it, and there was no trace of odor anymore.
At this point, the first step of fur tanning is completed.
Xiulan mixed alum, salt and water to make the original solution for tanning fur. There has always been a tradition of tanning fur for making clothes in rural areas, so the corresponding proportions are naturally very clear.
Throw the leopard skin into a wooden basin, add some of the original liquid and soak it. Gradually increase the concentration every day for the next seven days. After seven days, the fur will be tanned and can be taken out to dry and softened, and then used to make clothes, hats and the like.
"Wife, make breakfast. I'll take Xiongba to visit Hongfeng Mountain."
The leopard skin has been processed, Lin Heng looked at his wife and said.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded in agreement.
Lin Heng took Xiongba to Hongfeng Mountain. His parents were picking corn today and did not go to pick chestnuts.
Lin Heng had just arrived at Red Maple Mountain and hadn't even reached the soybean field when he made an unexpected discovery and quickly squatted down.
It was such a surprise that he encountered such a thing here, and he felt a little out of control for a moment.
Today it’s still 6,000 words. I haven’t adjusted yet and I haven’t been in good shape recently.
(End of this chapter)
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