Chapter 381

"Are we not keeping these internal organs?" Yang Chen looked at the two piles of innards and felt it was a bit of a pity.

"Actually, we could take them, especially the roe deer's innards. If we take them back and process them later, stir-frying them with chili would definitely be delicious."

"The problem is they're hard to carry. How do we carry these two piles of stuff without a bag?" Xie Ruifeng raised the question.

Li Long didn't speak. He took a plastic sheet out of his satchel—the plastic sheet he brought this time wasn't large. He had originally thought they might not hit anything in broad daylight, so he only brought one spare, but it would barely suffice for now.

He didn't intend to keep the wolf's innards, but the roe deer's innards were from a two-year-old, not old at all. And although herbivore innards had a certain chance of carrying hydatid disease, they were truly delicious if you wanted to eat them.

You just had to stew them a bit longer when cooking.

Li Long stuffed the roe deer's innards back into the carcass, and Xie Ruifeng couldn't help but laugh:

"Master Li, isn't doing this a bit redundant? If you're going to do this, it would be better not to kill it."

"How can that be the same?" Qi Jingyue saw it clearly and thought it through. "After killing it, the blood is drained, the heat is carried away by the blood, and the air in the cavity is gone, so this roe deer won't spoil anymore. Putting the things back inside now is just for convenience in carrying."

She glared at Xie Ruifeng, partly because he was throwing cold water on the situation, and partly because she blamed him for not using his brain—what he said was a bit stupid.

Li Long looked at the terrain toward the bottom of the mountain, chose a path without loose rocks, then spread the plastic sheet on the ground, first carried the wolf onto it, and then carefully carried the roe deer onto it as well.

It was cold, and in this short time, the wolf's body had already stiffened a bit, which actually made it easier to drag.

After putting both things on, Li Long put on his rifle, grabbed two corners of the plastic sheet, and dragged it slowly down the mountain.

Yang Chen and Xie Ruifeng looked a bit stunned; they had never imagined that one could transport things in the mountains like this!

Isn't this just a makeshift sled!

Qi Jingyue had already followed up, guarding the side of the plastic sheet. After walking a few steps and seeing Yang Chen and Xie Ruifeng still staring blankly, she couldn't help but shout:

"You two blockheads, what are you looking at? Hurry up and follow!"

The two of them only then reacted and ran quickly down the mountain.

"Master Li, you're really amazing! You could even think of this method!" Yang Chen was genuinely impressed this time. "In the big mountains, this really is the best way."

"It would be even better if there were a wooden sled," Xie Ruifeng also reacted and added.

Qi Jingyue felt he was just nitpicking and retorted:

"Why don't you make one now?"

"Hehehe, I don't have that ability; I was just saying." Xie Ruifeng dared to poke fun at Li Long, but he didn't dare complain to Qi Jingyue.

Li Long actually didn't bring the roe deer's innards back just for the three young people. When out and about, one has to take care of oneself. Now that there were conditions, why not get something good to eat?

Canned food is fine for a fresh taste, but if you really want to eat well, these things are much better!

He planned to soak the dried chili peppers after returning, then go to the spring to thoroughly clean the stomach and intestines, and then for dinner, he would stick some flatbreads and stir-fry the offal—it would definitely be delicious!

As for hunting, with these two pieces of prey, he could consider the job done. As for going to hunt wild boar tomorrow morning, it didn't matter if they did or didn't; it wasn't like they were short of that little bit anymore.

Li Long naturally wanted to hunt more; after all, for every extra one he hunted, that was another one or two hundred yuan. This money might not mean much to these young people, but for him, it was the key to accumulating wealth—it was very important!

Every wild boar here was equivalent to half or a third of a tractor wheel; how could it not be important?

Dragging the plastic sheet back, Li Long followed his memory to pick a suitable path. It was different from when they came—when they came, they had detoured toward Halimu's place. On the way back, he considered how to be faster and how to keep the plastic sheet from getting snagged.

As they walked, Xie Ruifeng suddenly spoke up:

"Master Li, this doesn't seem to be the path we took when we came!"

Li Long didn't turn his head, saying as he walked:

"We took a detour when we came; we went to the Hot Spring Valley. We don't need to detour on the way back; we need to get back to the wooden cabin before the sun sets."

Once he said this, the three young people understood.

Walking back with heavy steps, Xie Ruifeng was smarter and stepped directly in Li Long's tracks. Qi Jingyue was more conscientious and kept guarding the side of the plastic sheet, fearing the two pieces of prey would be jolted off.

Fortunately, by the time they reached the wooden cabin, both pieces of prey were still lying obediently on the plastic sheet.

The driver heard the commotion and came out of the house. Seeing the four of them, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Clearly, he had been worried the whole time.

Li Long dragged the plastic sheet to the wooden floor in front of the cabin, let go, went to the roe deer, removed the innards, and then took a large basin from the small room and put the innards inside.

The roe deer's body was frozen a bit stiff, and Li Long still spent some effort to complete the action while ensuring the roe deer wasn't damaged.

Next, he didn't go to wash them immediately, but first went to the small room to get some dried chili peppers, soaked them in water, and then drank some water and rested for a while before carrying the large basin to the spring water.

The water by the spring was constantly flowing, and although the temperature wasn't high, to be honest, it was at least a bit warmer than ice and snow.

While Li Long was dealing with these things, Qi Jingyue, Yang Chen, and Xie Ruifeng had already taken off their guns, put them in the house, and sat on the wooden kang to rest.

For them, this trip was truly a bit overwhelming, and it exceeded their imagination of hunting.

"I thought hunting meant the car comes, then you walk to a hunting spot, and when the prey comes, you just fire," Yang Chen said, holding a bowl of hot water, blowing on it as he drank, and sighing. "I didn't expect hunting to require walking so far, and to require so much knowledge and skill! I originally thought my marksmanship was pretty good, hitting fixed and moving targets was very impressive, but I didn't expect the feeling to be completely different when hunting these animals!"

"Who says it isn't?" Xie Ruifeng also sighed. He was so tired he simply lay on the wooden kang, looking at the ceiling of the cabin and saying, "I even thought that even if my marksmanship wasn't great, I'd bring a submachine gun, and I could surely hit one or two bullets with a burst. Who would have thought I'd fire into the sky... Is this hunting—can it be considered actual combat? It's really different from playing with guns normally. I felt excited and agitated at the time, but in the end, I missed as soon as I fired..."

Qi Jingyue pursed her lips and said nothing.

Yang Chen and Xie Ruifeng had originally wanted to wait for her to speak after they finished, but she just held her bowl and drank water, her gaze looking through the door at Li Long busy outside.

The driver was interested in the wolf and the roe deer, studied them for a good while, then came in and said with a smile:

"It seems the hunting guide we found for you this time is pretty good; you got a harvest as soon as you went out. He's really capable!"

"He's truly capable!" Yang Chen admired Li Long immensely. At the very least, he felt he would need half a year of practice to achieve that kind of marksmanship.

"Actually, if you think about it, it's not that magical; it's just our first time." Xie Ruifeng slowly returned to the role of a theoretical warrior and analyzed, "Master Li shoots well, I think, because he hunts often. He's used to it, so naturally, he knows how to draw the gun and how to aim. Just like those people on TV shooting clay pigeons—watching the pigeon fly out, they don't even really aim, it's purely by feeling. They raise the gun and fire, and they know if they hit it or not."

This sounded reasonable, and Yang Chen wanted to nod, but he noticed Qi Jingyue turn her head to look at Xie Ruifeng, her gaze slightly dissatisfied.

He didn't say anything more.

Rolling his eyes, Yang Chen thought of another question:

"Jingyue, it's getting dark. Should we go down the mountain now, or wait until tomorrow?"

"Should we go down now?" Xie Ruifeng sat up immediately upon hearing this question and expressed his opinion. "We got the prey, and we've satisfied our craving for hunting, so let's go back. Even staying at the county guesthouse is better than here, right? And I'm a bit hungry."

His gaze also fell on Qi Jingyue.

Qi Jingyue turned her head, looked at him, and said:

"Go back if you want. I plan to follow Master Li tomorrow morning to see if we can hunt a wild boar."

She felt her performance today was particularly poor. Thinking back carefully, there were some places where she clearly could have done better. If she were given another chance, she believed her performance would be better.

So Qi Jingyue didn't want to go back now. To put it bluntly, although they had hunted two pieces of prey this time, that was entirely Li Long's credit; she and Yang Chen had at most just helped on the sidelines. If it weren't for the three of them, Li Long could have hunted that roe deer just the same.

Qi Jingyue came hunting not only to prove herself but also because she had a promise with her family, and she was fulfilling a long-cherished wish. If she couldn't truly hunt a piece of prey as a novice, she would really be unwilling to give up.

"Then tonight won't be easy to get through." Xie Ruifeng had observed this cabin. It looked big, but there were only two rooms and only one stove. It was impossible for so many people to rest well at night.

Yang Chen also considered this point and persuaded:

"Jingyue, why don't we go back to the county first and have the driver bring us over early tomorrow morning? Although we were told that conditions for hunting in the wild might be a bit arduous, we can totally create some favorable conditions."

By this time, Li Long had already washed the intestines, stomach, and other innards, brought the basin to the table in this room, and took out a kitchen knife to start cutting. Seeing Li Long come in, the three of them stopped talking. Instead, the driver asked with interest:

"Master Li, what are you preparing to make?"

"Stir-frying some offal. The stomach, intestines, heart, and such of this roe deer taste pretty good when stir-fried. It's a pity to throw them away, so I plan to stir-fry them and make some dinner."

"Alright, you can even cook—not bad, not bad." The driver thought Li Long was quite capable.

"No choice. When you're out hunting alone, naturally you have to know how to do everything to make yourself comfortable," Li Long said while cutting.

Qi Jingyue's attention was on Li Long's knife skills. What surprised her was that Li Long cut them quite neatly, unlike some people she imagined who cut them into all different sizes.

Yang Chen and Xie Ruifeng were also a bit hungry, and seeing Li Long cutting things here, they all sat up to watch.

After Li Long finished cutting, he prepared the seasonings and side dishes, fished out the soaked dried chili peppers, washed them twice, and then chopped them up.

There was water in the pot. Li Long took another pot, lifted this one to the side, and scooped water to wash the pot. When he took the pot down, he checked—the charcoal fire in the stove was enough, so he didn't add coal, waited for the pot to dry, poured in oil, and prepared to stir-fry.

Seeing Li Long's skillful movements, the three young people were all quite expectant. Yang Chen and Xie Ruifeng no longer mentioned leaving, looking very much like they were waiting for Li Long to finish so they could taste it.

Under the gaze of the four people, Li Long began to stir-fry the offal. The process was a bit long. While stir-frying, he also took the time to mix some flour, planning to stick some flatbreads later; after all, just eating offal without a staple food wouldn't work. The biscuits they brought were mainly for filling their stomachs temporarily, but they wouldn't work as a meal. He felt that if there were conditions, one should still eat a proper meal.

The innards were stir-fried for about half an hour before they were done. For one thing, the fire in the stove wasn't big, and for another, Li Long hoped to stir-fry them thoroughly; after all, herbivore innards could still carry some parasites.

!.

In the past, he mostly boiled them to eat. The boiling process was quite long, which basically killed any possible parasites.

But stir-frying didn't guarantee that, so Li Long dragged out the time as much as possible.

He had cut a lot, and stir-fried a large basin, which was also an important reason why the stir-frying took so long.

The fragrance permeated the room, and the three young people and the driver couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

Li Long took out chopsticks and said:

"If you're hungry, eat first. I'll boil some cornmeal porridge and stick some flatbreads."

No one was embarrassed to eat first. Yang Chen said with a smile:

"Let's eat together; I'm looking forward to seeing what the flatbreads are like."

Xie Ruifeng also nodded and said:

"Exactly, let's eat together. It won't take long, right Jingyue?"

Qi Jingyue also nodded, stood up, and went to find a pot lid to cover the stir-fried offal so it wouldn't cool down too quickly.

Li Long accelerated his movements. After washing the pot, he began to add water. When the water was half-filled and boiling, the dough had already been kneaded, torn into small pieces, and rolled out with a rolling pin, getting everything ready.

Then he used a bowl to scoop half a bowl of warm water, added a spoonful of cornmeal into it, stirred it evenly with chopsticks, and waited.

The water hadn't boiled yet, but the edge of the pot was already hot. Li Long began to stick the flatbreads on. It was okay; his movements were very quick and agile, and the dough didn't fall off.

It took a lot of words to describe, but it was actually only a few minutes. By the time a circle of flatbreads was stuck on, the water had boiled. Li Long carefully poured the cornmeal water in and began to stir with a spoon.

The porridge had to be stirred; the more it was stirred, the more porridge-like it became, and the more fragrant it smelled.

But the four people watching couldn't help themselves anymore.

By the time Li Long took off the first flatbread, the table used as a desk had been cleaned and set, the chopsticks were placed, and the other four people were seated, just waiting for the flatbreads.

The porridge was no longer the main thing.

"Eat." Li Long spoke.

They were just waiting for this word. The others were very polite and restrained. After Li Long spoke, they each took a flatbread and ate it in big bites.

"So fragrant!" This was Yang Chen's remark.

Xie Ruifeng simply didn't speak, eating in big bites.

Li Long smiled and joined the ranks.

He was hungry too.

One basin of food, eight flatbreads—Li Long only ate one. Fortunately, he wasn't particularly hungry, and he had to take care of the guests, so he drank two more bowls of cornmeal porridge.

After eating, when Li Long was cleaning up, the others joined in. This made Li Long very satisfied. They didn't treat him as an all-purpose hireling, but it was clear that they were quite unfamiliar with doing these things; they basically didn't do them at home.

After cleaning up here, Li Long said:

"Since you're staying, let's get up early tomorrow morning and go ambush the wild boars. If there are any in that place, ambushing them will be easier than hunting today. Of course, you need to dress warmly so you don't freeze. It's fine if you don't want to go; it's up to you."

"Go, why wouldn't we go?" Yang Chen, now full, was the first to express his stance.

"I'll go too," Qi Jingyue said quietly.

"I'll definitely go too," Xie Ruifeng said last, though Li Long felt he was a bit insincere.

The light outside had already darkened. Li Long lit the oil lamp and said:

"Then let's make do tonight. Fortunately, this big kang is quite large, and the next room can borrow some heat. How do you plan to arrange the sleeping arrangements for the night? Will you three stay here, and the driver and I go over there? Do you have any bedding or anything in your car?"

"We have a few leather coats," Qi Jingyue said. "I see this wooden kang is quite big; I'll go to the next room, and you four squeeze in here."

"Then lock the door well. By the way, take your gun." The next room actually wasn't cold. This house used local methods for insulation, and the temperature here had an effect on the next room.

If Qi Jingyue were left to stay here alone, it wouldn't be realistic; after all, that was a small room, and four grown men couldn't squeeze in at all.

"We don't need to keep watch at night, right?" Yang Chen suddenly asked.

"No, there might be wolves nearby, but if the door is latched, they can't get in," Li Long said. "Alright, let's rest early. We have to go ambush them before dawn tomorrow, and we have to walk a few kilometers, so we can't waste time."

Yang Chen and the others went to help Qi Jingyue set up the next room and soon returned. Li Long heard the door closing and latching over there.

The leather coats Qi Jingyue and the others brought were thick and large enough, and with the spare bedding from Li Long's side, it was warm enough.

Here, the four of them—the driver was fine and intended to chat a bit, but Li Long and the others were already exhausted. After banking the stove fire, they soon didn't want to talk anymore.

Xie Ruifeng was the first to start snoring, followed by Yang Chen, who occasionally talked in his sleep. It seemed they were truly tired.

Li Long also soon fell asleep.

At a little past five in the morning, Li Long woke up.

The other three on the wooden kang were all snoring. Li Long climbed up, checked the time by the faint light of the stove fire, and knew it was time to set off.

He put on his clothes, woke up Yang Chen and Xie Ruifeng, and went to knock on the door of the next room. At this time, the wild boars should have already started moving.

As for whether they could hit anything, it would depend on whether the wild boars went to the place Halimu mentioned.

It depends on luck. (End of chapter)