Chapter 60

Today I wouldn't dare ride a bicycle—my chain keeps rattling; I was going to have Old Miao take a look at it.

Alright, go ahead—it's freezing today, I need to get back inside. After saying that, Hou Weiguo pushed his bicycle into the courtyard.

Yan Fugui watched Hou Weiguo's back and muttered, "Hey, this kid was dead-tired a couple days ago, no energy—now he's acting like nothing's wrong."

Hou Weiguo didn't hear Yan Fugui muttering behind him; he locked his bike at the door, pushed it open, and hurried to the stove to warm his hands.

After warming up, he turned and went into his parents' room, fetching the cotton door curtain.

The snow started falling as soon as November began; his parents passed away at the end of October, and afterward he was busy with their funeral affairs, so he hadn't paid attention to this.

After hanging the cotton door curtain, seeing the window still a bit drafty, Hou Weiguo didn't bother—since they were using a coal-ball stove, he feared something might happen in this house.

He took out the envelope Director Liu had given him—five hundred yuan plus some coupons: watch coupon, bicycle coupon, sewing machine coupon, and radio coupon.

Nice, he's got the "three turns and a sound" all together.

Hou Weiguo put those coupons and money into the storage, muttering, "Uncle Li, why didn't you give me any grain coupons?"

Though he said that aloud, he was still quite grateful to Li Shaohong, after all, the coupons Li Shaohong gave him could be exchanged for what his father could have gotten, but the price would have been buying them at the pigeon market.

"This won't do; at this rate I won't make it to the day grain coupons are issued."

He went into his parents' room, rummaged through the cabinet, and soon held a jujube-wood box, which he placed on the square table.

Opening the wooden box, a dark Browning lay still inside, beside it two magazines and some ammunition.

This Browning was captured by Hou's father on the battlefield; later, after falling in love with his mother, he gave it to her as a love token.

Hou's mother always cherished that Browning, often having her husband take it out for maintenance while she was alive.

Hou Weiguo skillfully took out the Browning, disassembled it completely, inspected it thoroughly, found no issues, and reassembled it.

He loaded the magazines full of bullets, then stored the remaining bullets together with the Browning in the warehouse.

He also found a bayonet in his parents' room; as a child, Hou Weiguo used to play with it often, earning several scoldings from his father.

He glanced at the clock on the cabinet behind the Eight Immortals table—it was already past nine.

Hou Weiguo mounted his bicycle and headed out; after leaving the alley, he found a deserted spot and stored his bike in the warehouse.

He took a bus all the way to Changping, got off, found an empty spot, and retrieved his bicycle.

He got on his bicycle and rode cautiously toward the mountains.

After riding about five kilometers, he finally entered the mountains.

At that time, Changping's mountains were undeveloped—just wild ridges with no roads—so Hou Weiguo put his bicycle into the warehouse.

He then slipped the Browning into his pocket, fastened the bayonet to his waist, took a slingshot in hand, and walked toward a mountain hollow.

This slingshot was the one Hou Weiguo had bought in his previous life to shoot birds.

Entering the dense forest of the mountain hollow, the snow on the ground was far thinner than on the road, with some yellowish wild grass and scattered branches lying about.

After walking a while, Hou Weiguo saw a string of animal tracks; upon inspection, the shape looked like rabbit tracks.

Following the tracks to a low slope, they disappeared.

Hou Weiguo scanned the surroundings, confirmed the direction, and crept over.

A gray rabbit was rooting through the snow on the grass, foraging.

He pulled out a steel rod from his pocket, drew the slingshot, and fired—hit.

Hou Weiguo hurried over, snatched up the still-kicking rabbit, and felt it weighed about three or four catties.

He stored the rabbit in the warehouse, then began searching nearby.

During that time, he also harvested another rabbit and a wild pheasant.

He inched slowly deeper into the forest; upon entering the thick woods, he saw two figures in the distance foraging on the ground.

Hou Weiguo didn't dare go farther; he saw clearly that they were a large and a small wild boar.

He didn't think his Browning and slingshot could take down an armored wild boar.

After all, the boar constantly rubbed against trees and often wallowed in mud pits, causing resin and mud to coat its hide, forming natural armor.

Forget the Browning, Hou Weiguo thought of letting the two go, but they weren't having it.

Upon seeing Hou Weiguo, the large boar charged at him.

Knowing he couldn't outrun the boar, Hou Weiguo scrambled up a nearby large tree in a few moves.

At that moment, the boar reached him, circling the tree trunk and grunting; the smaller boar slowly followed.

He stowed the slingshot in the warehouse, drew the Browning, released the safety, chambered a round, and took aim.

"Grandma's, not over yet."

Bang bang—two rounds struck the boar's eyes beneath the tree; the pain drove it mad, its tusks slamming into the trunk.

Hou Weiguo saw the smaller one trying to flee, so he fired two more rounds straight at its rear.

It wasn't that Hou Weiguo was a pervert; the boar's hindquarters and eyes were just its weak spots.

With a shrill cry, the small boar bolted forward like a mad thing.

Bang bang bang—three rounds went after the fleeing boar; Hou Weiguo swapped magazines, having no time to worry about the small one.

Bang bang bang—several more rounds at the boar under the tree; if he didn't finish it, it would surely be knocked down.

With a howl, the boar collapsed; Hou Weiguo fired two more rounds, emptying the magazine, then dropped from the tree.

Watching the still-twitching boar, he marveled at its tenacity, then drove his bayonet into it, sending it to pig ancestors.

He stored the boar in the warehouse, then followed the blood trail, loading bullets into the two magazines as he went.

After walking about ten minutes, Hou Weiguo found a little Peiqi lying on the ground in a thicket.

Holding the Browning, he approached slowly and discovered the boar still breathing, its small eyes fixed on him.

Bang bang—two rounds struck its head.

He glanced at the sky; the sun was slanting west, winter darkness falls early, so he stored the boar in the warehouse and headed back the way he came.

He came down the mountain, got on his bicycle, and rode toward the city.

Entered the city, found a deserted place, and stored the bicycle in the warehouse.

Then he sprinted toward the bus stop; as he neared the stop, he saw the last bus was about to depart.

"Anyone else getting on? The bus isn't leaving yet," the conductor shouted to the surroundings.

"Wait for me, me too," Hou Weiguo panted as he ran up to the conductor.

After boarding, Hou Weiguo said to the conductor, "Thank you, comrade."

"Hey, don't be polite—pay your fare and sit in the back."

Hou Weiguo sat on the bus seat, looking at his own panting self, "No good, I need to train."

As the bus swayed into Four Nine City and the sky had already darkened, Hou Weiguo got off, took out his bicycle at a corner, and rode toward the Courtyard House.

Just before reaching the Courtyard House, Hou Weiguo took out a wild rabbit and hung it on the handlebars; as he stopped the bike, he saw Yan Fugui walk out of the house.

"Yo, Weiguo, where'd you get that rabbit? Must be four or five catties, right?"

Having stopped the bike and holding up two rabbit ears, Hou Weiguo said, "Third Uncle, it's not like I had nothing to do today—I went hunting in the mountains."

"You went hunting in the mountains? Weiguo, you can do that."

Hou Weiguo handed the rabbit to Yan Fugui and said, "Third Uncle, I don't know how to process this rabbit; could you skin it for me? The pelt and head can be yours."

Yan Fugui laughed, took the rabbit, and said, "All right? Remove that and wait a moment—I'll have it processed and bring it over."

Having said that, he laughed and went back inside.

Hou Weiguo wasn't unable to handle a rabbit; it's just that after today's hustle and the fight with two wild boars, his frail body could barely take it.

Back inside, he poured a cup of boiling water, sat slowly in the chair, and slurped.

Not long after, Third Uncle Yan Fugui entered the house carrying a rabbit missing its neck and head.

"How's it look, Weiguo? Take a look at Third Uncle's skill—can't be beat."

Hou Weiguo took the rabbit and said, "Thank you, Third Uncle." After Yan Fugui left the house, Hou Weiguo muttered, "This Third Uncle really takes advantage of everything."

Having said that, he picked up the rabbit and headed for the middle courtyard.

His household lacked the seasonings for stewed rabbit, and his cooking skills were only good enough to be edible.

He knocked on He Yuzhu's door, went in, and said, "Zhuzi brother, look what I have in my hand."