Chapter 109 Aftermath
“Second Grandpa!”

“grandfather!”

When Old Wang saw that the two brothers, one carrying his Hanyang-made rifle and the other carrying a small load of roe deer and a whole set of rifles into the water, he finally felt relieved.

“You two bastards, you gave me wine and got me drunk yesterday, just to steal guns and go up the mountain?” Old Wang glanced at his two grandsons and his face changed instantly.

Xiaonian was very sweet-talking. He took a few quick steps and showed what he had in his hand to Old Wang.

“Hey, Grandpa, we didn’t go there by ourselves. We followed others. We just grabbed the guns and sent them back after we used them. Look, this is the prey we got. We even brought you a front leg!”

“Come with me into the house so I can interrogate you two. You are getting bolder and bolder. You even dared to steal a gun!”

Old Wang’s tone did not soften, but deep down he had already mostly forgiven his grandson.

After all, following others into the mountains is not a big deal at this age. It is a good thing to go up the mountain to gain some experience with a knowledgeable hunter leading the way.

The two of them followed their grandfather into the house obediently. After putting down their things, they were led to the fire wall on the kang. A fire had been lit here in the morning, so the fire wall was still warm.

“Tell me, who did you go into the mountain with?”

“There is Mr. Qiao from Jian’an, and Zhu Erhai from our village. My brother and I followed them!” Xiaonian casually told his second grandfather the answer he had already thought of.

“Qiao Laosan?” Upon hearing this name, Old Wang’s brows relaxed a little.

Jian’an Village is a little far away from Xing’an Village. The straight-line distance between the two villages is more than ten kilometers. It is located downstream of Luohe Town. This Mr. Qiao is quite famous in the surrounding area within a hundred kilometers.

Mr. Qiao Sanye’s real name is Qiao Muzhou. Both of his sons are very promising. After demobilization, the eldest son became a senior leader in the mine, and the second son also became a minor official in the mine protection team.

Mr. Qiao Sanye didn’t like staying in the city. He liked his hometown. He loved playing, making friends, raising hunting dogs, and going hunting in the mountains. Once winter came, his house was always full of people.

What makes him different from other hunters is that Mr. Qiao San regards hunting in the mountains as a form of leisure and entertainment. Every time he goes out hunting, he forms a gang and travels in a large group.

There would definitely be no danger in going hunting with him. After all, these days, there were not many hunters who brought six or seven hunting dogs into the mountains. In addition, many of his friends went into the mountains, so even if there were wild animals, they would hide from people most of the time unless they were forced into a corner.

“Well! A friend found a group of big wild boars in the mountains. When Mr. Qiao heard about it, he took the dog and went up the mountain with a few of us. In the end, we didn’t find the wild boars, and on the way back we ran into a roe deer, which we killed!
“The Third Master is a man of honor. He shared the roe deer meat among us youngsters and didn’t keep any for himself!” Xiaonian said this with great confidence, and it really sounded like the truth.

“Qiao Laosan is a kind and righteous man! This is recognized by people within dozens of miles! You’d better know your own business if you go up the mountain with him!” Old Wang nodded after listening.

“Second Grandfather, you won’t tell my dad and Qiangqiang’s dad just because Junqiang and I took the guns!
We brought back this roe deer, and we also brought you a portion. Junqiang and I have rinsed the intestines and stomach offal with clean water, so you can put them directly into the pot.

You don’t know, the water in the jar is so cold this day, it hurts your hands!”

Seeing that the old man’s expression had eased a lot, Xiaonian immediately acted weak and pitiful while climbing up the pole.

“How many bullets were fired?” Old Wang did not comment immediately, but continued to ask.

“It seems like there were three shots? There seems to be something wrong with this gun. The third round jammed when it was loaded and didn’t fire!” Xiaonian continued.

“This Hanyang rifle does have a jamming problem. If you want to reduce the chance of jamming, it’s best to gently wipe the outer wall of the bullet with paraffin when loading! Bring the gun here so I can take a look!”

Old Wang reached out to take his old gun, and then skillfully ejected the two bullets from it.

“After you use a gun, you need to maintain it as soon as possible. The rifling in the barrel is quite worn out, so the accuracy will be poor beyond a few dozen meters. You must be careful when using it! And here…”

Old Wang taught his two grandsons how to wax the outer wall of a bullet, how to disassemble the structure of a gun, and various small precautions.

Looking at the work of Old Wang, you can tell that when he was young, he could definitely play with this gun in many ways, and his proficiency was at its highest level.

Seeing their grandfather’s focused look, Xiaonian and Junqiang glanced at each other secretly. The old man didn’t get angry, which meant that the two brothers had basically passed the test of stealing the gun.

In front of his two grandsons, Old Wang demonstrated gun maintenance on the spot, and then said slowly: “At my age, I can’t go up the mountain. This gun is just a firewood stick in my hand.

If there is a reliable hunting team coming up the mountain, you guys are willing to go, come to me and get the guns when you need them! Don’t steal next time!

But you have to know that going into the mountains is very dangerous, it’s not a joke! You two brothers are not young anymore, you have to do things in an orderly manner and not mess around! “

“Got it, Second Grandpa! Junqiang and I will definitely listen to you!”

“Don’t go back tonight. Come have dinner with me. I’ll tell you stories about my hunting trips in the mountains when I was young. Let’s stew this roe deer and have a drink with me!”

“Row!”

A crisis that could turn into a life-and-death situation for the family was successfully resolved with the help of Wang Xiaonian, the hidden danger of Xing’an Village, and Junqiang’s heart, which had been hanging in the air, was finally relaxed.

That night, Old Wang prepared the roe deer meat that his two grandsons had brought him, and stewed half a pot of it with potatoes, radishes, and peppers. The three of them drank and chatted until after nine o’clock, when they left after eating and drinking.

On the other side, Zhu Erhai, who carried half a roe deer home, was finally proud today. His father Zhu Jianshe was a little confused when he saw the whole hind leg of the roe deer. Did his son run into a trap set by someone in the mountains?
“Second child, where did you get this roe deer? Did you pick it up from someone else’s mountain?”

“Dad! Look at what you said. Your son is so useless!”

“There’s nothing wrong with carrying back roe deer when you come across a trap in the mountains, but you can’t eat it all by yourself. You have to leave some for the person who set the trap. This is called not enjoying the wealth of the mountains alone.

Otherwise, if people find out, they’ll think we’re not polite!”

Zhu Jianshe was quite serious about this matter, which was completely different from his usual profit-seeking attitude.

“I led people up the mountain to shoot this roe deer with guns! I didn’t steal someone else’s condom!” Zhu Erhai emphasized again with full confidence. “Gun? Where did you get a gun, kid? If you say you borrowed something else, I’ll believe you, but there’s no place to borrow this gun!”

“I used Junqiang’s grandfather’s Hanyang-made rifle! This roe deer was hunted by Junqiang, Xiaonian and I when we went up the mountain! If you don’t believe me, go to Xiaonian’s house tomorrow and ask!” Zhu Erhai said with certainty.

“You three brothers, have you gone deep into the mountains?”

“It’s not a deep mountain, it’s just over Sandagangzi. I was planning to hunt wild boars there, but I didn’t catch any. On the way to Forest Farm No. 14, I ran into a roe deer and killed it!”

Zhu Erhai never mentioned the time when he was almost kicked by Dapao’s egg, and only mentioned his own glorious moments.

“You bastard, you’re so bold that you dare to bring people into the mountains! I’ll beat you to death!” Zhu Jianshe was not happy after hearing this. Instead, he directly picked up the belt behind the door.

Contrary to his usual behavior, Zhu Erhai did not dodge his father’s belt. Instead, he raised his hand to catch it, snatched it away and threw it on the head of the kang.

“Why do you beat me with a belt? I am so old now. With the situation at home, if I don’t work hard, when will I be able to get a wife?

Yue Feng can lead people to the mountains to hunt, and bring back two wild boars in one trip, which he can sell for a hundred bucks! Why can’t I, Zhu Erhai, do the same?

I didn’t encounter a wild boar this time, but next time I encounter one, I will be able to kill it back!
Last time during militia training, I scored 43 points. The coach said I have a talent for shooting!”

Zhu Jianshe was slightly stunned when he heard the complaining tone in his son’s words.

Yes, my son is 21 years old and is not a child anymore. When Zhu Jianshe was his age, he would have been married and lived separately.

“The situation in the deep mountains is so complicated, with bears, tigers and leopards everywhere. It’s not easy for your mother and I to raise you brothers. What if you run into one and get killed by him?” Although Zhu Jianshe accepted his son’s statement in his heart, he still kept a stern face and didn’t give in.

“The wild boar only has three weapons: it will run and butt, it will dig its nose and bite when it gets angry. I will definitely not shoot at close range with my gun. A Hanyang-made gun can fire at least two or three bullets at a distance of several dozen meters! What’s the danger? Even if I don’t hit the vital parts, I can still go around the tree stump and climb the tree. How big of a danger can it be?

As for the blind bear, it must have gone into a tree hole and hid there in this season. There is nowhere to look for it even if I want to. If I can find it, I don’t even need to do it myself. I can just sell a little and it will be considered an income!
As for Big Claw and Local Leopard, it was impossible for them to stay in the area around the forest farm, otherwise the forest rangers would have shot them long ago!
Yes, I admit that there are dangers in the mountains, but I am not going into the mountains alone. There are several of us with me, carrying knives and spears. We are all young men, so what is there to be afraid of? “

Although Zhu Erhai had many loopholes in actual combat, when compared with his father Zhu Jianshe on paper, it really sounded like the real thing. After some analysis, Zhu Jianshe was left speechless.

Yes, different wild animals have their own habits. If my son goes up the mountain with a gun, as long as he has a little common sense and is careful, it won’t be easy for problems to occur.

“That’s what you say, but you’ve never been into the mountains with a real hunter. What’s the use of knowing a few superficial things?” Zhu Jianshe’s tone softened significantly.

“Can you blame me for this? Don’t you know what our Zhu family’s reputation is in the village? How old am I? Since I was ten years old, the villagers have named me Lai Gouzi. Isn’t this just because of my family’s reputation?”

This sentence was extremely damaging. It put an end to Zhu Jianshe’s anger. The Zhu family had a bad reputation in the village. Although his son also had a share, it was definitely not his fault that the lion’s share was lost. Zhu Jianshe knew his own character very well.

“Second child, you are bold now, you dare to teach your father a lesson, right?”

Zhu Jianshe had no way of responding directly, so he could only bring up his identity as a father in an attempt to maintain his dignity as a father.

“I’m not trying to teach you a lesson, and I’m not qualified to teach you a lesson, but I feel that if I just keep going like this, I’ll never be able to solve my personal problems!

This society is very realistic. Fame and reputation are not as practical as money. When I go hunting in the mountains and make a lot of money, I don’t believe that I won’t be able to find a wife!
Don’t be angry. I said all this not to argue with you, but to tell you that your son has grown up and become sensible. I want to go to the mountain to prove myself and change the poor situation at home. I don’t ask for much help from you and my mother, as long as you don’t hold me back!

Okay, I’m going back to my room to catch up on some sleep!
You decide what to do with the roe deer meat. If you want to eat it, we can keep it for ourselves. If you want to sell it, you can sell it. I have no objection!”

After saying these ambitious words, Zhu Erhai turned around and went into his west room. There was a kang in the room, but because it was not heated, the room was not warm.

However, Zhu Erhai did not go out to heat the kang again. Instead, he took off his cotton coat and trousers and covered himself with the quilt. Wrapped in the quilt, he felt sleepy and fell asleep soon.

In the outer room, Zhu Jianshe stared at the thick roe deer thigh and couldn’t help it. He found some radishes and potatoes in the warehouse cellar and prepared them. Then he removed the bones and separated the meat and stewed a big pot full of it.

After Zhu Erhai had a face-to-face confrontation with his father, his plan to go hunting in the mountains was initially recognized by his family.

And this is only superficial prosperity, just like the training of the eagle before, the knowledge gained from paper talk and hearsay cannot stand any actual test. When the strength does not match the danger faced, it is the beginning of bad luck.

……

On the other hand, after Yue Feng led the team up the mountain and brought back the eggs of the single male cannon, he had a quiet time for the next two days. During the day, he would take the eagle out to release it and catch rabbits, pheasants and other game. When the team came back in the afternoon, he would send everyone’s harvest to the second canteen of the coal mine. He lived a leisurely and enjoyable life.

That evening, just as it got dark, Yue Feng’s family of four were having dinner at home when they heard a few suppressed knocks at the door.

“Is Brother Yuefeng home?”

When Yue Feng heard someone calling his name, he was slightly startled. He quickly got off the kang, put on his shoes, and walked out of the north room.

“Who is it? I’m home, wait for me to open the door for you!”

Soon Yue Feng walked to the gate of the courtyard and opened it, and found that outside were the brothers Wang Xiaonian and Wang Junqiang, with whom Yue Feng had little contact on weekdays.

“It’s Xiaonian and Junqiang. Do you want to talk to me about something?” Yue Feng asked casually.

“There’s something wrong!”

“Then go inside and talk!”

Yue Feng let the two brothers into the north room and then closed the door.

(End of this chapter)