bookrebus Chapter 110 Slippery Dog Encounters a Herd of Wild Boars
Chapter 110 Slippery Dog Encounters a Herd of Wild Boars
"Let's go! Let's see if the trap set by the last guy has slipped away."
The three men led the mule along the hillside toward the three ridges north of Kaoshantun. Last time, he chopped down the small poplar tree with an axe, pulled out eight strands of oiled silk rope, and used them to lasso the wooden stake. The lasso, with white single-strand thread as a clasp, was opened.
Previously, he had been waiting for the heavy snowfall to come, when the waist-deep snow had buried the trees, making it impossible for any wild animal to cross from one side to the other; they could only detour around to the edge of the snare. Now, he was very much looking forward to it, planning to go and see if he had caught anything good.
Before the three even reached the snare, the ground was covered with countless wild boar footprints.
The vast expanse of footprints looked hurried and chaotic, scattered haphazardly across the snow, fresh footprints left in the last few days.
The footprints were left in the snow, with ice crystals and snow particles scattered in the middle of the palm prints. Each footprint was so large that it frightened Lu Zhiqiang.
"What's going on! There must be forty or fifty wild boars here!"
Song Desheng also asked in surprise, "It's already this late, why aren't you dismantling the gang yet?"
Wild boars in the Xingan Mountains usually gather together to breed before the first snowfall of winter, but after the first snowfall, the wild boars separate into individual families and each group becomes a separate group, and they will not gather together in such a large scale.
Li Ju'an thought for a moment and said, "With so many wild boars gathered together, it's likely that a big one is coming."
Upon hearing this, Song Desheng and Lu Zhiqiang both shrank back, feeling apprehensive. Before entering the mountains, Lu Zhiqiang had confidently carried his spear, loudly proclaiming that he was General Lu and should be able to stab wild boars in the back of the neck. Now, Lu Zhiqiang was even starting to have second thoughts.
Li Ju'an teased him deliberately: "Let's try beating the dog and see what happens."
Lu Zhiqiang raised his gun and cursed, "You little brat, you want to die? I don't want to die with you. Can you call this a dog-hunting operation? Forty or fifty wild boars, let alone your pack of slippery dogs, even our Lu family's old dog, Big Yellow, leading the pack of dogs, could be taken down by wild boars."
The unusual gathering of wild boars put the hunters on their guard, and the three immediately thought of the large predator, the Tiger King. If what they had encountered last time was indeed the Tiger King, then it made sense. Moreover, after the Great Fireworks Festival, there were indeed Tiger Kings coming over.
The three of them took a detour to look at the poplar tree blocking the way.
The tree trunks that were cut down last time are now buried in snow, and the snares are empty, with no prey caught.
Song Desheng felt it was a bit of a pity, but Li Ju'an remained calm. He took out six large snares from his cloth bag, threw them onto the mule sled, and continued to set snares nearby.
Following the experience of setting traps taught to him by Old Qin, the master of traps in Changbai Mountain, he began to focus on the details.
Sables, also known as sable fur, do not hibernate, unlike badgers. To catch a sable, one must lead hunting dogs to track the sable's droppings and other signs of its life.
Big Tiger is a reliable dog, always looking up at the incense burner. Without his command, Big Tiger had already raised its dog nose, opened its mouth and sniffed the air, then led the three mixed-breed dogs along the hillside to search.
As usual, the hammer had already slipped away, and no one knew where it had gone to play.
Remembering Lao Tao's advice on the gang's experience, he made a point of observing the habits and skills of the six newly purchased dogs, to see if they could help with tracking and tracing.
The old dog he recently bought from Wang Xudong was named Hua'er (Flower Ear). This dog always looked miserable, with a missing piece of its ear and old wounds from wild animals. According to Wang Xudong, Hua'er used to be very fierce, often tearing at wild boars' ears. One time, a vicious wild boar bit him back, but luckily Hua'er dodged quickly, otherwise it wouldn't just have a missing piece of its ear.
Before he left, he fed all 11 dogs, cutting off pieces of meat in front of them. He gave the largest piece to the lead dog, Tiger, and divided the rest into 10 pieces, feeding them separately. The three mixed-breed dogs received the least amount. Hunting dogs need to be trained, especially before setting out to hunt. They shouldn't be fed too much; just like people who are too full to move, dogs are the same.
Dogs that are too full become lazy, and when they are tearing at their prey, their bellies are bulging and their movements are slow, making it tiring for the dog to bite.
Now, the old dog seemed somewhat disrespectful to him, following him around without venturing out, just staring at him.
He thought to himself that Lao Tao's concerns were reasonable; forming a gang was not easy. Every dog had its own habits, especially the old dog, who must have felt resentful at being replaced by Da Hu.
He whistled and shouted, "Flower Ear, get to work!"
The old dog was loyal; he was unhappy with his new owner, but he would still work even when scolded. Flower Ear, the one who offered incense at the head of the household, didn't follow Big Tiger to the hillside; instead, he led the five encircling dogs to the buttock-shaped hill that led straight south.
"Buttocks Pile" was the old name; two piles of wood sandwiching a ditch made it look like a big butt. Later, the local village head felt it was too undignified and changed it to a more refined name, "Fragrance-Smelling Gully." But the locals still preferred the old name.
The gentle slope below Wenxiang Gully is the production team's planting area. This gully has good soil and is covered with wild fruit trees, serving as the unit's canteen for wild boars.
Song Desheng chuckled and joked, "It has to be Brother Li! He bought six dogs for 380 yuan, and one of them is the leader. That's a steal! With the menacing look of these six dogs, they'll definitely be able to keep everyone in check!"
Lu Zhiqiang stared blankly at the fragrant gully full of wild fruit trees: "Isn't this fruit tree the old sow's favorite? This is bad."
Song Desheng laughed at his sour remarks and retorted, "I think there are people who don't eat preserved plum candy. When you ask the price, others quote you 800, but when Brother Li asks the price, others quote you 380. So what if you're just being sour?"
After he finished his rant, he looked at Li Ju'an and noticed that Li Ju'an's expression was also off. He stared at the dense wild boar footprints in the snow, then suddenly slapped his thigh and cursed inwardly: "Damn! Wang Guochang really trained his dog well, he just loves to target wild boars, doesn't he! He dares to charge at forty or fifty wild boars?"
The new dog is uncontrollable.
Li Ju'an shouted loudly for Hua'er to come back. After a long time, Hua'er reluctantly and slowly came down from the hill and followed at his feet, looking rather unwilling.
The five slippery dogs didn't follow Hua Er and disappeared somewhere, which Song Desheng laughed at for a long time.
Li Ju'an cursed, "You get what you pay for. I could tolerate Tie Chui's slippery nature, but now five more slippery old foxes have arrived. It seems I've truly become the leader of the Slippery Dog Gang."
Suddenly, barking dogs came from Wenxiang Gully; dogs and wild boars were already fighting.
The tiger, who was searching for Big Skin in the distance, suddenly looked up and quickly led three half-grown mixed-breeds into the ditch.
Lu Zhiqiang didn't dare to chase after them, shouting, "Li Ju'an, are you looking for death? There are forty or fifty wild boars! Your pack of slippery dogs has caused trouble. If you go looking for them, be careful you don't get gored by the wild boars!"
The hunter's worst nightmare is running head-on into a stampede of wild boars. When a herd of wild boars gets going, a collision can send a person flying. Surrounded by rocky terrain, a head-on collision with a rock is deadly.
Li Ju'an was also annoyed, but he couldn't ignore the mess his dog had made, so he gritted his teeth and decided to go for it. He tossed the mule rope to him and shouted, "Just do it!"
Song Desheng, carrying his hunting rifle, glanced at the spear in the other man's hand and gave a mocking smile, saying mischievously, "General Lu, are you afraid of an old sow? Just do it!"
Lu Zhiqiang was so provoked by the two men's words that he felt the spear in his hand was burning hot. He was so ashamed and angry that he wanted to throw away the spear that the old man had given him and pick up the dagger to attack.
He was holding a spear, eager to stab the old sow in the back of the neck, shouting as he chased after her: "You wait! In a moment, I'll make you all kneel down and shout that you submit and call me General Lu."