bookrebus Chapter 222 Many hands make light work; how to escape with 200 traps?
Chapter 222 Many hands make light work; how to escape with 200 traps?
Everyone burst into laughter. After the Lantern Festival, the weather will warm up, the ice and snow will melt, and spring will slowly appear in the village. The new year will then begin amidst wonderful blessings.
Li Ju'an came to the Lu family's house to call Li Xiao home for dinner. He also invited Lu Zhiqiang, as they would be heading into the mountains to hunt traps after the fifteenth of the lunar month. They had set over two hundred traps, and in the past few days, they were sure to have a bountiful harvest.
Aunt Lu was rocking her nephew to sleep in a cradle. This cradle is one of the three strange things in Northeast China; it's an old artifact that's rarely seen in modern times.
The old lady of the Lu family was sitting on the earthen kang (a heated brick bed) weaving thin hemp rope, while Lu's mother was sewing shoe soles under the lamp. It was a scene full of everyday life.
When Lu's mother saw Li Ju'an arrive, she smiled and greeted Lu Zhiqiang, asking him to fetch some corn stored in the dugout for Li Ju'an to take with him. The dugout also had a kang (heated brick bed), and the floor was very damp. The dugout, which was warm in winter and cool in summer, was very down-to-earth, but the high humidity inside meant that the Lu family used it as a warehouse to store vegetables and fruits, essentially a cellar.
Li Ju'an took a few bundles of corn and saw that the chubby little boy Sun Hao was staring at the corn in his hand. He smiled and said, "The chubby little boy Sun is very greedy. Come to my house for a bite sometime."
Sun Hao stared longingly at the corn in his hand; its bright orange color looked delicious, soft, sweet, and fragrant. He smacked his lips, wanting some roasted corn. The child, though young, was quite sensible and knew not to take things for free, saying, "Brother Li, if there's anything you need me to do, just ask. I won't eat for free."
These words sounded very mature, just like Sun Quande's composed and confident demeanor, which made the Lu family burst into laughter.
The more the old man of the Lu family looked at the chubby boy, the more he liked him. He actually took a handful of fruit candies from the drawer, handed them to Sun Hao's hand, and said, "Tell your grandpa to come and play cards with me when you have time."
Sun Hao smiled broadly and obediently replied, "Okay, I understand, Grandpa Lu."
The Lu family sisters-in-law preferred the chubby little boy from the Sun family. He was so young, yet his words were so sweet; he was so endearing. He was completely different from that troublemaker from the Sun family.
Sun Hao grinned even more, sticking close to Li Ju'an and wanting him to take him into the mountains to play. Li Ju'an deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Kids should go into the mountains by themselves. Sly foxes love fat kids and will rush over and snatch them away."
He deliberately used the story of the lost child in the mountains to scare Sun Hao. Sun Hao was taken aback and was genuinely scared, but then he thought for a moment and said with a grin, "My uncle at my age already goes into the mountains with my uncle to catch cats. If Brother Li doesn't take me, there are plenty of other people who can take us in."
No one in the Lu family wanted to deal with this troublesome matter. Sun Hao waved his little fist and said he was going to find Uncle Li Guaizi and ask him to take him into the mountains. Then his aunt got angry.
Sun Hao was dragged away by his aunt by the ear. He grumbled and whined as he returned to the Sun family home, plopped down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and suddenly his eyes widened as he discovered that an old hen had entered the house and was hatching several chicks on the kang. He became playful and started poking at the chicks on the kang, but then he heard his mother calling him. He stood up and accidentally stepped on one of the chicks, which he guessed wouldn't survive.
Hearing the commotion, Sun's mother came in and her face turned green. She quickly started banging a water ladle on the ground, trying to wake the chicks. But the chicks didn't respond.
Sun Hao was beaten that night, and Sun Weimin was also beaten that night.
The uncle and nephew racked their brains but couldn't understand it. It was just a chick, why was it such a big deal? Why were they beaten for no reason?
Sun Weimin shouted in frustration, "You little brat, why are you dragging me into this?"
Sun Hao disagreed and said, "Just say that you occasionally ask me to go chop ice, and that's it."
Sun Weimin stared wide-eyed: "When did I ask you to go chop ice?"
"Huh? Uncle, you said last time that if you can't stay at home, you should go out for a walk, you can do anything, like ice skating."
Sun Weimin covered his face in anguish. It was just a joke he made to fool the child, annoyed by the child's troublesome behavior. He never expected the child to take it to heart and he would get beaten up for it.
Sun Hao was very serious and even argued with his mother, shouting, "Mom, it's just a chicken, is it really that big of a deal?"
Grandma Sun glared at him angrily and slapped him with the sole of her shoe, chasing him throughout the entire Sun family home. This wasn't just a little chick; it was part of life.
Sun Hao, having suffered repeated grievances, wiped away his tears with the back of his hand and actually went out to find Li Guaizi.
……
Li Ju'an dismissed Sun Hao, took Li Xiao home, and then planned to call the Lu brothers to go hunting for traps in the mountains the next day. They had set more than two hundred traps the day before yesterday, and they would have to go hunting for them tomorrow.
That day, Li Ju'an had just led the Lu brothers into the mountains when they ran into Uncle Chen, the leader of the Yangko dance troupe from Xiaoling Village. Uncle Chen had followed the old ginseng path specifically to Lijiatun, just to find him.
Uncle Chen, panting heavily with a hunting dog beside him, shouted, "Li Pao, you've finally made it into the mountains! You have no idea what that big lone boar we talked about last time has done to our village. The pigsty was completely trampled to pieces!"
The big solitary boar and Xiaoling Village had a feud, and every few days it would lead a group of solitary males from the mountains to attack the pigsties. Once or twice was fine, the pigsties could be repaired and still be used, but with this happening every night, the pig farmers in the village couldn't take it anymore.
One by one, the farmers went to the village party secretary's office, putting pressure on the village head. The head of the village was at a loss and wanted to contact the forestry farm leaders to organize a pig-catching team. But it was the Chinese New Year, and the forestry farm leaders could not be found, leaving only the administrative logistics staff, the canteen cook, and a few laborers.
Uncle Chen had no choice but to rush to Lijiatun to find the hunters there.
Li Ju'an and Lu Zhiqiang knew beforehand that Uncle Chen had also contacted Sun Weimin, and that the reward offered was 10 yuan. He said, "Sun the Cannon Head hasn't gone yet."
Uncle Chen slapped his thigh and cried out in anguish, "Don't even mention Sun Pao Tou's matter. I don't know what's wrong with Sun Pao Tou, he insisted on raising the price to 60 yuan before he would go. How much money can we farmers make in a year? Isn't this ripping people off?"
Li Ju'an and Lu Zhiqiang exchanged a knowing smile, both understanding what had happened. It turned out that Sun Weimin complained about the unfairness of the bounty, quit, and then demanded a higher price before he would even bother shooting the pig.
Li Ju'an said, "Alright, we'll come right after we finish this lap."
"Li Pao'er wants to do another round? How many?"
"About 200."
Uncle Chen's vision blurred, and he struggled to breathe. Over 200 traps? Even the most idle hunter wouldn't set that many. Leaving aside the time spent setting the traps, just the time spent making them and bending so much wire—it would take forever!
Uncle Chen gritted his teeth. In order to get the pig-hunting expert to come as soon as possible, he shouted, "Wait for Li Pao. I'll call my nephews and son to come with you. The more people, the faster we'll get there."