Chapter 356: Leave the Hunting to Us!

The young men here are engaged in a thrilling goat-pulling contest, fighting and snatching from one another; the camaraderie of just moments ago, when you passed me a piece of naan and I passed you one while sitting by the case, has now vanished completely. The competition between them is fierce; to seize the goat, they even shove and jostle each other on horseback, and some even curse.

Regarding this, Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang show no formality at all; the two walk up to Li Long, stand beside him, and from time to time comment on these young men pulling the goat.

"Bahati's strength is still too weak; look, he's holding the goat's leg but can't snatch it away. His horse is good, but he himself lacks power!"

"Yilidan is very clever; look, he keeps hiding at the back, taking advantage of others' carelessness to launch surprise attacks. Oh my—so close! If Ayibat hadn't held on so tightly, he would have succeeded this time!"

"No, I think Tangboli is braver; he and Ayibat are directly snatching it head-on! Goat-pulling must be done like this. Young people can't just rely on sneaky tricks. We Kazakh herders must be fair and open; even if we can't snatch it, we shouldn't resort to ambushes..."

"As for goat-pulling, as long as it follows the rules, the final result is what matters. No matter what method is used, as long as the goat is pulled into one's hands, that's enough."

Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang hold different views on the matter of goat-pulling, and the two begin to argue right there.

"I think it's fine; there are those who clash head-on, and those who use their brains to find solutions." Having lived two lives, Li Long's thoughts are very moderate; things in this world are not simply one or the other; both can exist, both have their reasons, and there is no need to fight to the death.

"Alright, alright, since Li Long has spoken, let's just watch." Ha Li Mu compromises first; Brother Brother Yushanjiang also smiles and says, "Exactly, exactly. Let the young men decide according to their own ideas."

Li Long smiles; both are true friends who will accommodate his thoughts, which is very good.

He simply feels such an argument is unnecessary.

At this moment, the goat-pulling has reached a fever pitch; Tangboli has snatched the goat into his hands, but another young man has pulled off its tail—what immense strength that must require!

However, Tangboli is not having an easy time either; Ayibat clearly has no intention of admitting defeat. He and Tangboli are each pulling on a goat leg, wrestling against each other. Others quickly join in; thus, Bahati snatches the other goat leg, and finally, that last leg ends up in Tai'er's hands.

The four of them pull in four different directions, none willing to let go. Others cannot join in, so they can only cheer and encourage their supporters from the periphery.

Bahati is the weakest; pulling on the goat leg, he is nearly being dragged off his horse by the other three. The horse is large, occupying much space; exerting force while on horseback cannot compare to doing so on the ground.

Seeing that Bahati is about to be pulled off his horse, Tangboli, who is on his side, leans slightly toward Bahati when exerting force, sharing some of the load and alleviating Bahati's crisis somewhat.

"Ah—"

Ayibat originally intended to seize the entire goat by himself; his goal was those five bullets. Tangboli's strength is about equal to his own, so competing was acceptable, but a youth like Bahati actually also grabbed a goat leg, and Ayibat couldn't pull it away for a while. Suddenly, he went berserk, exerting all his strength, and then a "screech" was heard; that goat leg was actually pulled off by him!

Li Long watches, utterly stunned!

Earlier, when the goat's tail was pulled off, it was at least an independent part, so it was somewhat understandable; but can a goat leg also be pulled off?

Is the goat skin perhaps too brittle?

Or was a cut left behind when the belly was opened and the entrails removed?

That possibility is the greatest, right? Otherwise, a single sheet of goat skin being pulled off solely by hand strength would be far too unscientific!

Ayibat, having pulled off a goat leg, effectively withdrew from the top-three struggle. A single goat leg is actually not bad. With his withdrawal, the pressure on Bahati's side greatly decreased; he not only regained some position and straightened his posture, but also became the balancing force between Tangboli and Tai'er.

Bahati thanked Tangboli for helping him just now, so he leaned his body toward Tangboli, effectively making it two against one against Tai'er. This time, he almost pulled Tai'er off his horse.

Ayibat had already obtained a goat leg, no longer participating, and withdrew, leaving his position open. Another young man urged his horse to squeeze into the spot Ayibat had occupied and reached out to grab the goat's body.

Tangboli naturally did not want anyone else to join in. At this moment, he suddenly exerted a great force and actually pulled Tai'er off his horse. Once Tai'er was off his horse, he knew he couldn't hold onto the goat anymore, so he simply let go.

Now it was just Bahati and Tangboli, each pulling on a goat leg. The newly joined young man wanted to grab the goat leg Tai'er had abandoned, but several times he failed to catch it.

Bahati suddenly let go with his hand, allowing Tangboli to grab the goat alone. Tangboli was also somewhat surprised, but immediately placed the remaining large portion of the goat in front of him, turned his horse's head, and galloped outward.

The people on the periphery had originally been watching them fight each other; no one expected Bahati to let go at this moment. As a result, Tangboli took advantage of the opening, spurred his horse out of the circle, and galloped toward the distance. By the time others chased after him, they could no longer catch up.

Tangboli spurred his horse and galloped back, running along the outer circle while holding up the large portion of the goat, appearing either provocative or boastful. Naturally, others were unwilling and spurred their horses to chase. Just at that moment, Ha Li Mu suddenly shouted; time was up.

Tangboli achieved final victory; Ayibat also won a partial victory.

Ha Li Mu still asked Li Long to award the prizes. Li Long gave Tangboli five bullets, and then gave Ayibat three bullets.

Although there were only three, Ayibat was still extremely happy. He waved the bullets in his hand toward the young men, utterly proud.

With the goat-pulling ended, the young men emerged from the intense emotions of the confrontation. They all dismounted, wiping sweat from their horses while exchanging their feelings about the goat-pulling and sharing their own views.

Tangboli led his horse to Bahati's front and handed him the bullets in his hand.

Bahati smiled, took five bullets from his pocket, waved them, and indicated that he had some too. Tangboli smiled, punched his arm with a fist, as a sign of acknowledgment.

After settling the horses, Tangboli and Ayibat drew their small knives, stripped the skin of the goat used for the contest, and put it into the other pot, adding water to boil it.

Meanwhile, the goat that had been boiling earlier was now cooked. Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang scooped out the meat, piled it into a basin, called the young men over, and began to eat.

The exhausted young men each grabbed a bone with meat on it and gnawed on it, chatting while they ate, extremely happy!

Brother Brother Yushanjiang held a plate, served Li Long a sheep's neck for him to gnaw on, and Li Long smiled and said:

"Today is just like a festival, so lively!"

"It's winter; cattle and sheep eat grass in their pens, and we have nothing to do, so we must entertain ourselves. Normally, we have radios to listen to, but we can't just stay in the winter pasture all the time. We Kazakhs are eagles of the grassland; we need to practice horseback riding often and learn how to protect our flocks. Such activities, we hold many times during winter."

Ha Li Mu also leaned over and said:

"Today, seeing the young men so happy, I think they would also be very willing to participate in such activities frequently. In a few days, we will organize another one." Li Long was naturally very willing. Hunting alone is quite dull; if people here hold such activities, it is quite good. He also took the opportunity to ask Ha Li Mu if there was any information about wild game this winter.

"North of my winter pasture, further east, when Sa Si Ken was herding sheep, he said he saw a herd of yellow antelopes," Ha Li Mu said. "That herd of yellow antelopes runs very fast; I don't know if they are still there. Don't rush; I'll ask these young men to see if they know where the game is."

"Good." Li Long naturally welcomed this.

Ha Li Mu held a goat leg bone, gnawing on it while going over to the young men to ask.

Hearing Ha Li Mu's question, the young men quickly spoke up in a chorus.

Brother Brother Yushanjiang heard it and translated for Li Long.

"Bahati said there is a pack of wolves near their winter pasture; they have already killed two, but the wolf pack hasn't left and is still nearby at night."

"Ayibat said in Dadonggou—that is, to the east of their winter pasture. Let me calculate... five mountain gullies to the east of our winter pasture. He said he has seen two adult red deer inside there."

"Tangboli said they caught a live roe deer and asked if you want it?"

"Yes, of course I want it. Ask him how he plans to sell it to me? Is it an exchange of goods or..." Li Long, upon hearing this, was extremely happy; getting a live one is surely better than shooting a dead one, right?

!.

"He said he wants ten bullets." Brother Brother Yushanjiang shouted to Tangboli, listened to Tangboli's reply, then turned his head to tell Li Long, "He said he will bring it over to you tomorrow."

"That is truly excellent." Li Long smiled.

"I told them that if they encounter game or catch anything, they can come to you to exchange for goods," Ha Li Mu said as he walked over. "In this way, they can get more supplies, and you can obtain more meat."

Here with Ha Li Mu, Li Long's main purpose in hunting these wild animals was for meat.

Although mostly correct, it is not entirely correct.

Li Long didn't bother explaining further; there was no need.

Just as the first sheep was nearly finished, the second one was almost cooked.

The young men's appetites were formidable; half of the second sheep was quickly devoured, and Ha Li Mu scooped out the remaining meat into a basin, saying it would serve as Li Long's provisions for the days ahead.

After eating, the young men mounted their horses to return. One of them muttered something, which Ha Li Mu quietly translated for Li Long: the fellow meant they were only short one bottle of wine; it would have been even better with some liquor.

After translating this, Ha Li Mu loudly scolded that young man, who took no offense but simply grinned and rode away.

Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang were the last to depart. They told Li Long that if they encountered tracks of game later, they would come back to inform him.

Although both Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang possessed rifles, hunting was not their primary duty; they firmly considered themselves herders, whose main task in hunting was to drive off and eliminate wolf packs in order to protect their flocks.

That afternoon, Li Long tidied up the two-eyed stove. Since Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang had mentioned the possibility of another such competition next time, he needed to get this place in order and prepare accordingly.

He stored the pot inside the small room, which Li Long specifically swept and cleaned; if Tang Boli truly brought over the roe deer tomorrow, the animal would need to spend the night in that small room.

Otherwise, if wolves came during the night and ate the creature, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

That night, the howling of wolves from outside startled Li Long awake.

Grasping his Type 56 carbine, he lifted the window paper to look out; in the distance, he could see several wolves leaping at the edge of the forest, but when he took aim, they were simply out of range.

Helplessly, Li Long lay back down, yet those detestable wolves continued howling just outside; unable to bear it, he fired several shots in their direction, startling them away, and only then did he finally fall asleep.

This was the downside of eating mutton: there was nowhere to dispose of the bones, so throwing them outside naturally attracted wolves—not to mention those few pieces of reeking wild boar meat.

The next morning, after heating some steamed buns and mutton soup, Li Long finished his meal and waited for Tang Boli to arrive.

At eleven o'clock, Tang Boli rode up on horseback, carrying a female roe deer across the saddle.

Li Long smiled.

It seemed the male roe deer at his horse compound would finally have a companion.

They could form a family now.

With Ha Li Mu and Brother Brother Yushanjiang absent, and Tang Boli unable to speak Chinese, it hardly mattered; Li Long took out ten cartridges and handed them to Tang Boli, who happily set down the roe deer, grinned at Li Long, and rode away.

Li Long used a rope to securely tie up the female roe deer, which weighed about twenty kilograms, fastening it outside the wooden cabin and providing some dry grass for it to eat; the rest would have to wait until the cart arrived to haul the creature back. (End of Chapter)