bookrebus Chapter 225 Running through the mountains to guard against livestock also requires guarding against
Chapter 225 Running through the mountains to guard against livestock also requires guarding against
Some members of the Chen family found Sun Hao, this chubby little boy, quite interesting. Although they were terrified, they still pretended to be fearless.
Uncle Chen teased Sun Hao, saying, "Did you see that just now? How did the wild boar get killed by its shell?"
Sun Hao stared wide-eyed, still reeling from the shock, but despite his small stature, he was shrewd and determined not to be underestimated. He shouted, "You didn't see it! Brother Li grabbed his big axe and cleaver and charged straight at the pigs!"
The Chen family immediately sensed something was amiss. A wild boar weighing over 700 pounds, covered in mud and grime, could actually be stabbed by an axe and a knife? Even 7.62 millimeters couldn't penetrate its skull. They continued to tease Sun Hao, asking, "Your brother Li was so far away from that wild boar, how could he possibly stick the axe in? It's still too far to reach!"
Sun Hao blinked and said seriously, "Brother Li is so strong, he chopped the wild boar until it screamed, and then ran over and rammed it with all his might."
The Chen family burst into laughter, saying, "We don't believe it. Is that pig stupid? Standing there letting Brother Li chop it up again and again with his axe? How many times would that take?"
Sun Hao was indeed struggling, supporting himself with his hands. He got anxious and said, "Brother Li didn't just chop it up. He threw the axe over and chopped it while it was flying. He even threw the guillotine and stabbed it while it was flying. That killed the pig carcass in one go."
The Chen family laughed loudly, urging Uncle Chen to quickly remove the 50 yuan reward. The wild boar had been shelled; it was time to spend the reward money.
Li Ju'an took the 50 yuan, counted it carefully, and then divided it with Lu Zhiqiang and Lu Jinyang on the spot. They divided it into three portions, one for each person.
At first, Lu Jinyang felt embarrassed. He and Lu Zhiqiang rushed ahead, and the hunting dogs had lured the wild boar to its den, but the two of them ended up rousing the boar from its den, much to the chagrin of the lead dog.
"Li Ju'an, let's divide the shares according to the rules. You've brought a dog with you."
Li Ju'an had a dog, a pack of dogs, and a hunting rifle. He was also the foreman who had taken on the job, so logically he should have received two shares of the money. Li Ju'an said, "When we're out working, we don't distinguish between dirty and hard work. We share the profits based on our efforts. We're all brothers, so let's not talk about how many shares we get. We've been through thick and thin together since we came into the mountains."
These words moved Lu Jinyang deeply, and his eyes even reddened. The brotherhood was so strong. He had decided in his heart that Li Ju'an was a good brother, and that they would go into the mountains together, back to back, and he would entrust his weakest point to Li Ju'an. They were brothers who had been through thick and thin together, and it was all about human kindness.
This wasn't the first time Lu Zhiqiang had heard this. He knew Li Ju'an, and without a word, he started gutting the wild boar, hanging the intestines on a tree while keeping the heart, liver, lungs, and other internal organs. Ha, didn't he know Li Ju'an well enough? If he didn't put in the work, just wait and see; Li Ju'an would have plenty to nag him about, from the moment they entered the mountains until they left.
With everyone's combined efforts, they chopped the 700-pound wild boar into pieces.
Everyone had helped out and received a piece of pork as a token of goodwill; otherwise, it wouldn't be right for everyone to have put in so much effort and let others just stand by and watch. Li Guaizi fastened his leg wraps, bandaged his wounds, and then slowly stood up and waved.
Uncle Chen thought he was going down the mountain, but Li Guaizi shook his head and said to Li Ju'an, "There's definitely something wrong with these traps getting away. Take a look at the footprints on the ground."
Under the bushes with grass seeds, Li Ju'an set four or five pheasant traps.
Lu Zhiqiang was puzzled. He remembered clearly that he had set up these traps in this area, following Li Ju'an's example. How could so many traps have disappeared?
"It was dragged away by a wild boar, wasn't it?"
Uncle Chen felt quite relieved to see the wild boar dead from its shell. It's common for people who run through the mountains to set traps and end up with greyhounds or silly dogs that get snatched away by wild animals. He squatted down and shoveled through the snow, examining the animal footprints. He wondered what had taken the pheasant, but there wasn't a single footprint left.
His expression turned serious, and he looked up at the sky: "Zhao Paotou of Yingtun has a falcon. Damn it, how can there be such a person who uses a falcon to steal other people's things? Isn't that outrageous?"
Li Ju'an ran up the gentle slope of the hill and found that some of the traps were empty and still in place, only the ones that had caught something were missing, and there were no footprints on the ground. The group looked at each other and thought, "Oh ho, repeat offenders. It must have been someone who stole it."
"They must be bastards from Eagle Village, they're really cunning."
"We've met all sorts of people, but we haven't seen many of them."
"Exactly! When you go into the mountains, besides guarding against livestock, you also have to guard against people. It's so frustrating."
Li Ju'an ran to three posts and ditches to collect the traps. Besides finding two jumping cats and one red fox caught in one, all the other traps with prey were gone. The red fox had just been caught; its hind legs were trapped, yet it was still making sharp struggling sounds, desperately trying to escape, its jaws biting its hind legs.
Lu Zhiqiang's eyes lit up: "Foxes are good things. This fur is really beautiful."
The red fox's fur is thick and glossy in winter, making it the most beautiful time of year and fetching a good price. Fox meat isn't tasty, but its fur is valuable.
He tied the red fox tightly, gagged it with hemp rope, and tossed it into the woven bag. Then he stuffed in two dead juvenile crickets. He turned the bag around again; after three days of setting over 200 traps, he had only managed to catch two juvenile crickets, one red fox, and one pheasant whose neck had just been snapped. To be honest, even when he was out hiking in the mountains, he'd never experienced such a frustrating experience.
The Lu brothers' faces were so sour, almost as sour as a ditch.
Suddenly, Lu Zhiqiang pulled the red fox out of the woven bag, threw it on the snow, and then crouched down in the bushes, saying, "Today, Grandpa will squat here and watch, see which damned, hairy beast comes and takes this thing away. Later, I'll beat up a few of the people from Eagle Village together."
When he said this, Uncle Chen laughed first and said, "You're such a big guy, squatting here, you smell like urine. Even if there are eagles flying in the sky, they wouldn't dare to come down. Besides, the eagles in Eagle Village can catch even black shriveles. You think you can go against an eagle? If one talon comes down, your scalp will be scratched open."
He's right. A well-trained falcon can easily spot all prey within a 3-kilometer radius, and its sharp talons can tear through the prey's fur. Previously, Hua Er had been lifted high by a falcon and thrown heavily to the ground. Lu Zhiqiang is heavy, but shooting from below, with his marksmanship, whether he can even hit the target is questionable.
The Lu brothers fell silent.
What else can we do? Someone's stealing our prey. We can't just sit here and swallow this insult, can we?
Li Ju'an spoke up, saying, "Let's take the wild boar back to the village first. This matter needs to be resolved. We need to think about it and discuss it further."