My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 150 The Hunt Begins

The towering mountains stretch endlessly, covered with dense forests, adjacent to streams and valleys, mostly towering trees, lush and green, layer upon layer reaching upwards.

The grass and shrubs were scattered haphazardly. Standing on the rocky beach by the stream, all one could see in all directions was a sea of ​​green. The dense forest obstructed one's view, and the silhouettes of prey were not clearly visible. One could only hear the gurgling water and the calls of several birds, which lingered in one's ears.

Everyone followed their assigned roles, each occupying their designated spot and guarding the intersection.

Chen Ling and Wang Lixian waited behind a rocky gully in the woods not far from the rocky beach. After Wang Lixian surveyed the area, he found it to be a "wild animal trail," one of the paths that wild animals often took to come to the stream to drink water.

At this moment, the two men held their hunting rifles, holding their breath and concentrating intently.

Chen Yuqiang and several young men followed behind Chen Dazhi, guarding the other two intersections closely.

It is also one of the routes where wild animals frequently appear.

Heiwa didn't follow the pack of dogs, so he lay down at Chen Ling's feet and didn't move.

His gaze, however, became unusually serious and sharp, his dark eyes fixed intently on the dense forest.

It seemed to be sensing the dogs chasing the mountain.

Everything was ready, and everyone was on high alert.

They are just waiting for their prey to appear.

Amidst the gentle murmur of the flowing water, time ticked by, second by second...

One minute, two minutes, ten minutes.

Everyone was on edge and had no idea how much time had passed.

Suddenly, a dog barked from the mountain.

After that first bark, it was like stirring up a hornet's nest; a chorus of barks followed immediately.

Heiwa's ears suddenly perked up.

Then it started whimpering softly, its tail swaying restlessly, as if it couldn't contain itself and wanted to rush out.

Seeing this, Wang Lixian gestured to Chen Dazhi's two sides, indicating that "something is coming."

"Hey ha, hey yo ai—"

As the dogs barked, people in the mountains shouted in response, accompanied by a "bang bang bang" sound, similar to the sound of someone knocking on a bamboo pole. This was the work chant of the people chasing the mountain.

They helped the pack of dogs drive away prey.

The sound gradually drew closer.

Chen Ling could even hear the bushes, weeds, and thick layers of fallen leaves rustling violently.

At that moment, another shout came from the mountain.

"I'm coming!"

"They're here!"

"Brother Xian, watch out, they're heading your way!"

The sound of footsteps being chased came one after another.

This immediately alerted the few people guarding the intersection.

Accompanied by shouts of shooing, another crackling sound came from the dense forest.

Sure enough, some wild animals were forced to come over.

Chen Ling has sharp eyes and can see two creatures with horns on their heads leaping through the forest, jumping very high.

Is it a deer?

That's quite a commotion. Could it be that they've chased out a herd of deer?
Chen Ling immediately became excited.

My heart swelled with excitement, and my eyes shone brightly as I stared into the dense forest ahead, ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

Just then, someone was heard shouting in a panic.

"No, no, another one has escaped and run west."

"Chase them! Chase them quickly..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling simply smiled and said, "They can't escape, not a single one of them can escape."

He glanced in that direction and kicked the black boy next to him.

Heiwa couldn't wait any longer and immediately rushed out barking.

Almost the instant Heiwa charged out, a rapid clatter of hooves and the rustling of leaves drew near, almost within arm's reach. From the forest came a series of figures, some terrified and anxious, yet still nimble and agile.

It really is a deer.

"shot."

Wang Lixian shouted, stood up from behind the rocky hill, and fired his gun.

Chen Ling, who was prepared in advance, did not lag behind at all and fired his gun at the same time.

"Bang bang bang..."

A series of gunshots suddenly rang out in the woods.

The wild animals were so frightened that they were too late to escape and were immediately hit, falling to the ground with thuds.

Every single one of them was kicking and screaming on the fallen leaves in the forest, struggling and thrashing about.

"Good heavens, it's a grass deer! This trip was definitely worthwhile!"

Chen Dazhi and the others who were guarding the other two intersections ran over when they heard the noise. When they saw the wild animals that had been knocked down on the ground, their faces lit up with joy.

After counting them, there were five in total.

Chen Dazhi excitedly rolled up his sleeves, spat twice, and went forward to deliver the finishing blow with great enthusiasm, acting like a young man despite his age.

He drew his hunting knife, pinned down a deer, and slashed it across its neck with clean, swift strokes. The deer died instantly with a single cut.

Wang Lixian was also very happy; his dark red face turned purple.

He patted Chen Ling on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Not bad, your aim is pretty accurate."

He stepped forward to help Chen Dazhi.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling chuckled. It was his first time participating in a hunt and he had even caught a large game. He was incredibly excited and kept rubbing the hot gun barrel.

Looking at the grass deer on the ground, I couldn't help but feel happy.

He had been preparing for this trip into the mountains for a long time.

While I wouldn't say I'm a slingshot expert with perfect accuracy, I am certainly very precise.

I found that feeling.

So once he got the shotgun, it wasn't difficult for him to get the hang of it. He had keen senses, and his eyesight, hearing, and reaction time were much better than the average person. He just needed to keep practicing.

Just then, Xiao Jin returned with his pack of dogs. The dogs strutted around their prey, sniffing and wagging their tails.

They barked occasionally, the group of dogs frolicking together. They were quite proud and smug about having hunted so much prey.

When Chen Ze and his gang returned, Chen Ling had already tied up the five deer.

Grass deer can be male or female. Their fur is grayish-brown. Males have long antlers on their heads, while females do not have antlers. They are about the same size as goats, about one meter tall, with slight differences in size.

In Northeast China, the roe deer is also sometimes called the grass deer.

But it's not the same as the grass deer they have here.

At this moment, the young man who had been chasing after her walked up to her.

Chen Yubin gasped for breath and asked anxiously, "Uncle Li, Uncle Fugui, what about the other one? Didn't you chase it?"

This kid isn't very tall, only a little over 1.6 meters, but he's the fastest runner among them.

The other young people, who had been chasing after the dog for so long, were now exhausted, leaning against trees, panting and not wanting to move, thanks to the initial excitement of their first time chasing a mountain.

He can still speak.

That's quite impressive stamina. Chen Ling looked up at him and said, "Heiwa went after him. Let's wait a bit longer; he definitely can't escape."

He had confidence in his dog, Heiwa, even though this simpleton was no ordinary wild animal.

"The one we chased that got away wasn't a deer, it was a muntjac. It's very slippery, and it took off running at the first sound. We almost lost it at first..."

"Heiwa, can Heiwa catch up?"

Chen Yubin did not doubt Heiwa's abilities.

The muntjacs are too slippery, especially those that live deep in the mountains, making them even harder to catch.

There's an old local saying:
"Pigs run to the pond, deer run to the ridge, and leopards run on the mountain rocks."

It was passed down by an old hunter from the mountain village who frequently went into the mountains.

The meaning of this sentence is very simple.

In other words, if the wild boar is chased out by the mountain dogs, it will head straight for Jiaokou. The prey chased out by the mountain dogs is called "Qitang".

Therefore, the wild boar running into the pond is not a muddy pond, but a crossroads where hunters are stationed.

The story goes that the wild boar was a fool, stubborn and inflexible. When angered, it charged wildly, chasing after the mountain dog, and went straight for the man.

If you're not a good shot and don't have time to raise your gun to shoot it, and you can't dodge it in time, you might end up getting hurt.

The muntjacs are alright, but when chased by mountain dogs and startled, they like to leap and bound along the mountain ridges to escape.

The leopard, on the other hand, would leap and disappear in a few bounds on the steep cliffs, out of reach of dogs and humans.

None of these three things are easy to catch.

"Don't worry, Heiwa can catch up. Even a muntjac can't escape."

Chen Ling smiled, his tone still very confident.

Sure enough, it didn't take more than two minutes.

The sound of hooves pattering came from the woods, and Heiwa, a big guy with a muscular body, appeared, striding forward with prey in his mouth.

Everyone immediately turned to look.

The dogs surrounded them, wagging their tails and barking incessantly.

Heiwa carried it and placed it in front of Chen Ling.

Wang Lixian took a look, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed: "It really is a deer."

"No wonder……"

The group was initially pleased that they hadn't lost their prey.

Upon hearing Wang Lixian's words, I immediately felt very strange.

"What's wrong, Brother Xian?"

"It's nothing. Zhi and I were looking at the hoof prints when we thought there were several large deer herds nearby. Turns out, these five sika deer were just chased out..."

"Sigh, now that there are muntjacs in the woods, let's not talk about it anymore. As for the deer, forget about them. There are definitely no large herds of deer. This place isn't worth paying any more attention to."

Wang Lixian shook his head and stared at the deer lying on the ground.

Heiwa bit off his neck, and he was already breathing more air than he could breathe out.

I drew my knife and finished it off; the muntjac stopped moving completely.

"what?"

"Why is that, Brother Xian?"

Hearing Wang Lixian's words, they stopped talking about Chen Ling and the others.

Chen Dazhi was also somewhat puzzled.

"One muntjac is worth a hundred sheep. Muntjacs are timid and restless, easily frightened by the slightest disturbance, and they will change watering spots several times. They will drink from the east and then from the west. Sometimes, although there are many footprints, making it look like there are many wild animals, it is often just the hoof prints of a single muntjac."

"Moreover, it's easy to step on and mix up the hoof prints of deer and other animals like citrus."

As Wang Lixian spoke, he stood up, sheathed his hunting knife, let out a long sigh, and smiled, "It's been so many years since I've ventured deep into the mountains. I've forgotten even this much. My skills have become rusty, sigh..."

Over the years, he has been away from home for most of the year, working with construction teams. Every time he finishes a job and comes home, he is too tired to move. Even when he goes into the mountains, he only goes around to the tops of a few hills. He has become rusty.

"Alright, you call this 'clumsy'? We're even less impressive. It's only our first day in the mountains, and this is quite a lot. We can't carry any more, hahaha."

Chen Dazhi chuckled and scratched the corner of his mouth, his eyebrows twitching in the process.

"That's right. If it weren't for Brother Xian, we wouldn't know where to let the dogs roam the mountain, and we wouldn't even know where to sit at Jiaokou. We would definitely be stuck in an empty pond."

Chen Ling followed up.

An empty pond means the person sitting at the wrong intersection has missed their target. The dog chasing the mountain has driven out the prey, and the person sitting at the intersection has missed their target.

This happens frequently.

Lack of experience can lead to misjudgment; Wang Lixian is considered quite good.

Then everyone chimed in with agreement.

Today's results are really not bad.

Everyone was very happy, especially the few young men who had never been to the mountains before. They were all in high spirits and ready to show their skills.

As he prepared the game and carried it out of the woods, he asked Wang Lixian some questions he couldn't understand, such as how to identify game tracks, all in an attempt to learn some skills.

Wang Lixian was completely open and honest, sharing all his knowledge without reservation. He could answer almost any question with great clarity.

Chen Ling listened very attentively.

...Being in the mountains and forests, it gets dark relatively early.

After four o'clock, it's time to find a place to stay for the night.

With Wang Lixian, this veteran hunter, around, there's naturally no problem.

The group carried their prey and walked along the stream.

They didn't let any small prey they encountered, such as pheasants or rabbits, go uneaten.

It was purely for practicing shooting techniques.

Scattered but plentiful, yet quite a lot of things were gained.

Gradually, the sun set in the west, blocked by the high mountains, and its light dimmed instantly. The sky seemed to be paper soaked in oil, becoming translucent and tinged with the dim red sunlight.

The once quiet mountain forest, filled with the melodious chirping of birds and the tinkling of water, became somewhat eerie after the light dimmed.

Wang Lixian dared not delay and led everyone to find a place to stay.

At this point, you can no longer stay by the water.

Although it's autumn, there are still quite a few mosquitoes in the mountains. Places close to the water will attract mosquitoes when a fire is lit at night.

Furthermore, nighttime is when wild animals forage, and they often drink water by the stream. Wild animals are very aggressive at night, often gathering in groups, so even if you have a gun, you must be careful.

Low-lying river valleys and flat land on the mountainside should not be chosen.

Old hunters in the mountains all know that these places are very humid, and if you sleep there for just one night, your back will be ruined when you wake up.

In geographical terms, the same principle applies to these places where cold air sinks and accumulates at night.

Spending the night deep in the mountains requires caution in every aspect, regardless of the number of people.

Many dangers are invisible.

Finally, Wang Lixian chose a clearing beside a ridge as their lodging for the night. Then, everyone put down their prey and belongings and began to clear away weeds and fallen leaves.

Chen Ling took on the tasks of gathering firewood and cooking, and led the two dogs around searching for things, hoping to take the opportunity to go back and collect some trinkets he found along the way.

He left marks along the way.

Let's secure the ones closer to home first, and we'll go to the ones farther away tomorrow morning when it's light.

(End of this chapter)