Chapter 287 The Magical Horned Lord
The next day, after breakfast, Brother Shuichun said goodbye because of something.
Sister Yu said, "The place I'm taking you to today is a true paradise, with mountains and water, and the scenery is incredibly beautiful."
Nanxi said: "It must be your hometown."
Sister Yu was startled and asked, "How do you know it's my hometown?"
"You looked like a young girl when you said that."
Sister Yu shook her head. "Big data leaves people with no privacy, and even with you, there's no privacy either. By the way, I'm going to take you to meet my dad. You can just call him Jiaoye. He's a big shot in the local area."
I was startled. Hadn't her parents passed away long ago? Since she said so, I didn't point it out. I just said, "Since it's a character, it must be legendary."
"Yes, help me decipher it."
This piqued the interest of Nanxi and I. After dinner, we urged Sister Yu to leave quickly.
Sister Yu said, "I won't drive anymore. It's lonely driving alone, so I'll sit here and chat with you guys."
After that, she asked Aixia to come out with the bags, and I opened the trunk. She stuffed it full.
I drove, Nanxi sat in the passenger seat, Xiaolin and Yujie sat in the back seat, set the route, and drove all the way to "Shupitan Village".
"Why is it called Bark Beach?" I asked.
Sister Yu explained: "The river in my hometown is called the Danshui River, a tributary of the Shangjiang River. Long ago, people cut down large trees from the mountains and built rafts along the riverbank. These rafts would travel from the Danshui River to the Shangjiang River and then be delivered to the timber distribution centers downstream."
Over time, people nearby began to make furniture and farm tools to sell by peeling the bark off the trees by the river, and the place was called Bark Beach.
"Oh, I see. Your place used to be quite prosperous, but it's probably not anymore. Land transportation is booming, but water transportation is declining."
Sister Yu smiled and said, "It was bustling in the past, but now it's quiet. However, the mountains and rivers are beautiful."
Nanxi said: "First, tell me why your father is such a character."
Sister Yu started talking:
She said that 90% of her village's surnames were Liu, with the rest being a mix of surnames: Zhang, Li, Hu, and so on. Although it was a mixed bag, each surname had at least several households, except for hers. They had been a single-line family for three generations, and more than three generations had been from the Northeast.
I said, "First, I'm from another place, and second, I'm the only one with the surname Lu."
Sister Yu said, "That's right, so my great-grandfather was always bullied. My father learned martial arts since he was a child and was not afraid of death. He learned hunting from a hunter. It wasn't because he wanted to learn, but because he had a hunting rifle in his hand, others were afraid of his revenge and didn't dare to mess with him."
Nanxi said: "Other people also have hunting rifles."
Sister Yu shook her head. "Back in the day, when water transport was bustling, everyone sailed. Hunting in the mountains was too tiring, and the income wasn't much. Only my father and his master hunted. And that master was also from out of town, he left after living there for two years."
My father is the only hunter left, and he has a terrifying skill. He can sit at home and count on his fingers to know how many wild animals he has caught that day.
Nanxi asked: "Do you know how he calculated it?"
Sister Yu shook her head and continued, "He said he had opened his third eye. Since he could calculate the number of wild animals he'd harvested while sitting at home, he could also predict other things about other people. That's why people were afraid of him."
Nanxi likes to get to the bottom of things: "What else can you do after opening your third eye?"
"My father sometimes talks about seeing a wandering spirit one night. It was about this age and height, male or female. Not long after that, someone died in the village, and it was pretty much the same as he described.
Everyone is afraid of death, afraid that if they reveal the next wandering soul, it will look like them. So they are very afraid of him, not only do they not tell others to bully him, but they also stay away from him when they see him. They are afraid that they themselves are a wandering soul.
Everyone laughed.
After driving 50 kilometers, which took an hour and twenty minutes, we finally came into view of the Tamsui River. It was a wide river, but like the Li River in autumn, the water was shallow, and the pebbles on the bottom of the water were clearly visible.
After walking three or four miles along the river, we saw houses standing in a row, the sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking. Sister Yu pointed with her finger and said, "We're here."
There was a stream ahead, and after crossing the bridge, there was a beautiful little Western-style building. A yellow dog lay lazily in the yard. The car stopped, and Sister Yu got out first. The yellow dog circled around her, wagging its tail.
A man came out of the house and Sister Yu called out "Dad". I was startled. The man looked to be only about 50, while Sister Yu was 37.
After we got off the car, Sister Yu introduced us to each other. I said, "Your father looks really young."
Sister Yu smiled and said, "He doesn't look young, but he's strong and walks briskly. Some people say he's only 50, but he's actually 59."
I shook my head. "Sister Yu, you can't say 59 anymore. All ages with a 9 should be said as 'entering'. 19 should be said as 'entering 20', and 59 should be said as 'entering 60'."
"Why?"
"Nine is the largest yang number, and every time it happens, change will occur."
Jiao Ye stood aside and laughed. He waited until we finished speaking before saying, "I heard you were coming, so I prepared some delicacies."
“Delicacies from the mountains and rivers”, when I heard it, I knew that Jiaoye was not a simple hunter.
Sitting down in the living room, Sister Yu proudly explained that her mother had gone to Harbin to take care of her brother's children, but her father was the one who prepared the meals. Even when her mother was at home, it was her father who would cook.
Sister Yu made tea and we sat down. Jiaoye said, "Hunting in the mountains and fishing in the river are my two main pursuits. I set a trap on the mountain last night and I'm going to get some mountain produce now."
"Is it far?" Xiaolin asked.
“Not far.”
Xiaolin said, "I want to go see you get some mountain products."
Nanxi said, "I'll go too."
I stood up and said, "Let's go together."
Sister Yu said, "Xiao Lin, change into a pair of flat shoes." After that, she took out a pair of shoes and gave them to Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin tried them on and said, "It's okay. A little big, but it's okay."
Sister Yu stayed behind to guard the house, and we followed Master Jiao toward the mountain stream behind the house. The big yellow dog jumped out and rushed ahead like an arrow, and disappeared in a moment.
I said, "Master Jiao, your daughter said you can calculate how many prey you can harvest each time. Can you calculate how many prey you have today?"
Jiaoye said: "Three."
Everyone was interested. They just walked along the way and talked very little, just wanting to see if there were three of them.
Jiao Ye said he had set up three traps and two bird nets by the pond in front.
Xiao Lin asked, "Why is it located next to a mountain pond?"
Jiao Ye laughed heartily. He explained, "There are two things a wild animal needs: food and water. So, I'm putting out some bait by the pond, setting traps, and hanging some nets on the branches."
When it goes to drink water, it triggers the trap, and when the bird goes to peck at food in the tree, it sticks its head in and can't get out. It's similar to the principle of a fishing net."
As we walked and chatted, we arrived at the edge of the pond. Jiaoye led us through the five traps and indeed, we had caught three rabbits. The two nets were empty.
We were all very surprised.
At noon, Jiao Ye prepared a sumptuous meal, including wild rabbit, pheasant, small river shrimp, big blue carp, and seasonal vegetables. There were not many varieties, but the quantity was large, and each serving was two large bowls.
The taste was indeed good. I joked, "Master Jiao, the Chinese Chefs Association owes you a special chef certificate."
When he heard this, his face broke into a smile.
Sister Yu said, "The reason why I'm so tall is because my father cooks well and I have a good appetite."
After lunch, we took a short rest and Sister Yu called a boat to take us on a tour of the Tamsui River.
The river is clear and rippling, and the mountains meander eastward.
Nanxi said: "This place is similar to Guilin. In fact, it can be developed into tourism. People can paddle bamboo rafts on the river and sing folk songs."
I shook my head: "Big tours are not possible, but small tours can be done a little bit."
Nanxi asked: "Why?"
"Copying others won't work. Tourism requires a lot of investment, and you can't make money with just a few bamboo rafts. The mountains don't have any unique characteristics."
Sister Yu said, "There's not much history or culture here, or any unique mountains or caves. But it's good like this now. At least we can travel freely."
Nanxi changed the subject and asked Sister Yu, "Your father will definitely be able to count. Can you ask him to pass on this secret to me?"
I smiled and said, "Brother Nanxi, you've learned it. When someone says they can't find the key, your divine eye opens and you say, 'It's in the second drawer of your cabinet.' When someone finds it, they come back, bow to you, and say, 'I used to call you Master Chang, but now I call you Tianshi Chang.'"
Everyone laughed. Sister Yu had laughed enough and said, "If he didn't teach me, he probably won't teach you either."
After swimming for four or five miles, I headed back home.
After returning to Sister Yu's house, we prepared to set off, but Nanxi was missing. She came out after a while and got in the car. We said goodbye to Jiaoye.
I knew Nanxi had gone to ask Jiaoye for the secret, so I asked, "How is it?"
He looked shy and shook his head slightly.
I laughed out loud and thought to myself that I had to have a good talk with Nanxi when I got back.
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