Chapter 106: Wolong makes a move, Zhu Erhai goes into the mountains
“Xiao Nian, do you think we two brothers can go up the mountain and bring back the wild boar?”

On the kang table in the east room of Xiaonian’s house, Zhu Erhai took a sip of white liquor that cost 2 cents a pound, his face flushed a little, and asked with a straight gaze.

A pot of young rooster stewed with mushrooms on the kang table was almost eaten up, and another plate contained sliced ​​pickled mustard greens. The two brothers had already finished a pound of white wine with these two dishes.

Wang Xiaonian glanced at Zhu Erhai, a slight smile appeared on his slightly flushed face, and then he shook his head half a beat slowly.

“We can’t do that! If we want to kill the wild boars in the mountains, we must at least have a weapon in our hands!!”

Although Wang Xiaonian was drunk, he had not lost his logical thinking ability. He made a pistol gesture with his thumb and index finger.

“We can’t even afford a musket! Where can we find a gun?”

Zhu Erhai was a little disappointed. This thing was not something they could get just because they wanted to.

Not to mention that friends don’t have guns at home, even if they do have a gun, no one will lend it to them when they go to borrow one.

Given the reputation of the Zhu family in the village, if they went up the mountain to hunt something, it would be unlikely that those who borrowed a gun would get a share of the prey, but if something went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to explain themselves.

“I have a plan that can solve the problem of the guys going up the mountain!” Wang Xiaonian picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and said in a very affirmative tone.

“Tell me about it! If it works, you’ll be credited as the first one!!”

“Let’s go find Junqiang and get him to join us, and then we’ll have guns!”

“Wang Junqiang’s family doesn’t have a gun?” When Zhu Erhai heard that Wang Xiaonian had a trick, even his eyes became much clearer.

“You don’t know this. Junqiang’s family doesn’t have a gun, but my second grandfather’s family does! Although the old slide is a bit old, it is also a regular firearm. My second grandfather usually takes good care of it and takes it down from the wall every now and then for disassembly and maintenance. The 7.92 bullet is no problem for dealing with wild animals like wild boars!”

Wang Xiaonian and Wang Junqiang are cousins ​​from the same great-grandfather. The second grandfather he mentioned is Wang Junqiang’s biological grandfather. His family has an old sleeve.

Some people may not know the word “old sleeve”, but it has a resounding name.

Made in Hanyang!
Yes, it is the domestic version made by the Hanyang Arsenal based on the German 1888-style commission rifle. This gun is older than Wang Junqiang’s second grandfather.

In the early years, the domestic technology level for making guns was limited, and the performance of the steel used to make gun barrels was also lacking. In addition, the old guns had gone through changes with the times, and the rifling had long been shallow. They could still be used at close range, but when the distance exceeded a hundred meters, there was basically no high accuracy to speak of.

“Your second grandfather will definitely not give the gun to Junqiang. Going into the mountains is not a small matter, and there is no one to lead you! It depends on the three of us. Junqiang can’t get a gun from home!”

Although Zhu Erhai was drunk, when it came to serious matters, he was just a little slow to react and was not as confused as other drunkards.

Wang Xiaonian nodded: “Of course, no matter who has a gun, it is something that young people cannot touch casually. If they touch it, they will be beaten. But we can think of a way!”

“What trick? Find an adult to lead us and deceive the old man?” Zhu Erhai felt that this plan was not feasible.

“No! My second grandfather loves to drink. Let’s ask Junqiang to send some wine to his grandfather. When the old man drinks too much, we can just lend him the gun.

It will be the next day before the old man sobers up. We have already dragged the wild boar back. At most, we will be scolded by then!”

Wang Xiaonian is worthy of being the Sleeping Dragon of Xing’an Village. It’s true that this trick is quite useful in terms of operability.

“Where will the wine come from? We have no money. I secretly brought this chicken back from Ma Huazi’s house at noon!” Zhu Erhai was obviously tempted, but he had no start-up capital in his pocket. Even a penny could make a hero fall.

“We won’t eat the chicken in the kitchen. Let Junqiang take it to Fang’an’s store and exchange it for a bottle of Sanbai for my second grandfather. Isn’t that a done deal?” Wang Xiaonian said, pointing to another little rooster in the bag at the kitchen door next to him.

“Okay, then go call Junqiang over and we’ll talk to him!” Zhu Erhai nodded and decided to use the little rooster as a bargaining chip.

“It’s better for you to go than for me. After all, Junqiang and I are cousins ​​within the fifth degree of mourning. If my dad finds out, he will kill me!” Wang Xiaonian shook his head and refused decisively.

“Okay then, I’ll go find Junqiang, you wait at home!”

Since it came to serious matters, Zhu Erhai’s drunkenness was mostly gone. He got up from the kang, put on his shoes and cotton-padded jacket, and went out, heading straight for Junqiang’s house at the entrance of the alley.

People of their generation are about the same age, and it can be said that they all grew up together wearing open-crotch pants.

Even though the Zhu family had a bad reputation in the village, Zhu Erhai had a decent reputation among his friends. At least he knew to share good things with his friends when he had them.

For example, the chicken stewed with mushrooms that we had for lunch today. The little rooster was brought back by him from outside. He didn’t eat it secretly, but took it to Xiaonian’s house. Of course, this was also related to the fact that Xiaonian’s parents were not at home during the day.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Junqiang followed Zhu Erhai to the east room of Xiaonian’s house.

Wang Junqiang is not tall, only about 18 meters, years old this year, with a fair complexion, and a smile whenever he opens his mouth. He is a handsome boy with a little bit of good looks.

“Xiao Nian, I heard from my brother Erhai that you guys are planning to go into the mountains to hunt wild boars together, and you have to take me with you!” As soon as Wang Junqiang entered the door, he asked in detail about going up the mountain.

Xiaonian: “Yeah, this can’t be done without you, we plan to…”

Who is Wang Xiaonian? He is the Wolong of Xing’an Village. After a lot of nonsense, Wang Junqiang was successfully moved. He agreed to take the two-pound rooster outside to the store in the next village to exchange it for wine, and then go to his grandfather’s house to steal the gun.

Or rather, at that time, kids were very brave. They stole guns and went into the mountains to hunt wild boars. The three of them were all green hands, but when they saw other people in the village making money, they thought they could do it too.

After Zhu Erhai and Wang Xiaonian successfully mobilized Wang Junqiang, Wang Junqiang quickly began to operate.

I took the little rooster to exchange for wine. The little rooster, which weighed more than two kilograms, was exchanged for two kilograms of loose liquor, plus a bag of spiced peanuts.

After changing the wine, Junqiang took the wine and peanuts to his grandfather’s house.

Wang Junqiang’s grandfather’s wife passed away several years ago. He lives on his own now. His two sons are filial to him, so the old man lives an okay life.

Wang Junqiang said that he used the money he earned from collecting mountain products with others in the fall to buy wine for his grandfather, which made the old man very happy. That night, the grandfather and his father stewed a pot of potatoes at home, and the old man ate a pound of potatoes with peanuts. Junqiang waited until his grandfather got drunk, waited for the old man to go to bed on the kang, and then took down the gun and bullet bag on the top of the kang cabinet and left his grandfather’s house on tiptoe.

Now that we have the gun, we can be sure that grandpa won’t find it before tomorrow morning. In fact, if we are lucky and the old man doesn’t pay attention to the top of the cupboard, the gun may not be found even after several days.

The three brothers met at Wang Xiaonian’s house, hid the guns in Wang Xiaonian’s firewood pile, and agreed to meet at the entrance of the village early the next morning, each bringing dry food and knives for going into the mountains.

The next morning, just as it was daybreak, Zhu Erhai, who had been holding back all night and was planning to do something big, got up early. His family’s breakfast was very simple, usually steamed bread with pickles, plus a bowl of grits porridge.

The second child only ate a few steamed buns, and didn’t even wait for the corn porridge to be cooked. He said goodbye to his mother early and left the house with his bag.

Normally, the Zhu family didn’t discipline their children strictly, so they didn’t take it seriously. They thought the child had made an appointment with his friends to go fishing and pick up jumping cats early in the morning.

At 6:30 in the morning, a group of three people headed by Zhu Erhai gathered beside the small river outside the village. At first glance, the three of them looked quite similar, with leggings tied and bags slung over their shoulders. Wang Junqiang was also carrying his grandfather’s Hanyang-made backpack.

“Brother Erhai, where are we going today?” Junqiang’s clear eyes revealed a sense of confusion.

Zhu Erhai said, “I know a place where there was a large group of pigs before the snow fell a few days ago!
This news was told to me by my third uncle when he went into the mountains to collect mountain products. Let me make it clear first, according to the rules, if it really works, the intelligence information will also be counted as one share!”

“No problem. The information counts as one share, the gun counts as one share, and the three of us count as one share each. How about that?”

Wang Xiaonian echoed Zhu Erhai’s idea and put forward his own demands.

Among the three people, Zhu Erhai had news, Junqiang had a gun, but Wang Xiaonian had nothing.

But this guy was very clear-headed. He was afraid that Zhu Erhai would bring up the rule of giving the head two shares again, so he put the three people in the same position in advance. There were five shares in total, and Wang Xiaonian could get one-fifth.

Zhu Erhai was still thinking about mentioning that as the boss he should own two shares, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by Wang Junqiang.

“Okay, I think what Xiaonian said makes sense! What do you think, Erhai brother?”

After all, the two brothers are cousins, and now that they both agree, Zhu Erhai couldn’t say anything. They are both green hands, and it would be difficult for him to stand firm if he insisted on having a bigger share as the leader.

“Okay, then it’s settled! Come on, I’ll take you up the mountain!” Zhu Erhai gritted his teeth and agreed, then took Xiaonian and Junqiang and walked towards the mountains.

The place where Zhu Erhai got the news was called Sandagang, which is two and a half hours’ walk from Xing’an Village by mountain road. Because it is far away from the surrounding villages, there are relatively few people going up the mountain here.

Apart from the busy farming season, the three brothers of the Zhu family rely on mountain hunting as the main source of income for their family. After so many years of running around in the mountains, they have accumulated a few places where they can sell mountain products, and Sandaogang is one of them.

Every year, Zhu Erhai’s third uncle likes to come here to pick Hericium erinaceus and Black Fungus. Although he doesn’t make much money, he always comes back empty-handed, so it can be considered a private plot of land.

The three brothers were eager to go up the mountain to hunt wild boars. They walked with the wind all the way, fearing that if they went too late the wild boars would be hunted away by others. It took them just over two hours to reach Sandagangzi, which usually took two and a half hours.

This section of the ridge here is quite interesting. It is a large ridge, but as it extends towards the southwest, it splits into two almost parallel branches. The two branches divide the ridge into three sections, hence the name Sandaogang.

When it rains a lot in summer, there is still water at the bottom of the ditch. In the dry season, the ground is dry. There are many plants such as hazelnuts, soft date vines and mountain grapes growing on both sides of the ditch. The fallen trees at the bottom of the ditch are full of mushrooms in summer. Wild boars like to graze here. In the past few years, some people have even seen blind bears here more than once.

“I heard from the elders that the wild boar’s eyesight is not very good, but its nose is very sensitive. We’d better be in the downwind direction so that it is not easy to be discovered. Junqiang, give me the gun, and you two will be responsible for covering me from now on!”

“Yes, give the gun to the second brother. He is a militiaman and has experience in target shooting!” Xiaonian also echoed.

Junqiang originally wanted to be the shooter himself, but after hearing what Xiaonian said, he hesitated for a moment and decided to give the gun to Zhu Erhai.

Junqiang handed the gun to Zhu Erhai and said, “The bullets for this gun are very valuable. It’s hard to get 7.92mm round-head bullets now. We can’t throw away the spent shells. We have to go back and reload them!”

“Don’t worry, my instructor taught me how to use this thing when I was in militia training! This Hanyang-made rifle ejects the shell by pulling the bolt, right?” While speaking, Zhu Erhai held the gun in his left hand and bent the bolt with his right hand to demonstrate.

The structure of this antique is very simple, and the shell extraction and loading are operated by manual bolt pull, so Zhu Erhai looks quite professional.

Originally according to Zhu Erhai’s idea, he had to find a place to fire a single shot to get a feel for it, but considering that there were only seven bullets in the bullet bag, he was reluctant to do so.

After taking the gun from Wang Junqiang, Zhu Erhai automatically entered into a ‘combat’ state. At first glance, it sounded quite realistic.

But they had no way to track the wild boars and did not bring any dogs with them. They just wandered around on the mountain ridge, relying purely on guessing to find the place where the wild boars were active.

The three men, carrying guns, wandered around Sandagang for at least a few hours, but they didn’t see any wild boars or even a jumping cat.

The original passion was gradually cooled down by the howling north wind, and the three brothers’ feet were numb from walking in the snow.

“Brother Erhai, didn’t you say there were pigs here? We’ve almost walked around Sandagang, where are the pigs?”

Wang Xiaonian was so cold that he couldn’t stand it anymore. He wiped his frozen snot with his sleeve and asked uncomfortably.

“This wild boar is alive, not dead. It was active here before the snow fell. Who knows if it will still be here after the snow falls? We came here to check it out! It’s normal if it’s not here!”

Zhu Erhai also felt that the team’s fighting passion was declining, but as the captain, he could not say discouraging words.

“If we can’t kill the pig today, it will be hard to get the gun out again!”

Junqiang was a little worried along the way, and after being blown by the wind and snow, he became even more scared.

He could already imagine the scene of stealing a gun into the mountains, returning home empty-handed, and being beaten by his father’s ruthless hand.

Just as the three brothers were muttering about the possible consequences of failing their first attempt to enter the mountains, a large area of ​​yellow and black colors appeared in front of them at the bottom of the valley at the edge of their vision.

“Shh! Don’t talk. Look what’s at the bottom of the valley over there?” Zhu Erhai pointed into the distance and his heartbeat suddenly began to accelerate.

(End of this chapter)