Chapter 493: It Is Said a Brown Bear Has Appeared

"Boss Li, I thought you weren't coming," said the man carrying the sack, smiling.

"I also thought you'd save up the fritillaria bulbs, find a spot to dry them, and then sell them down the mountain," Li Long said after parking the tractor and getting out. "The fritillaria season must be ending soon."

"Yeah, within these couple of days," the man replied. "In some places, the fritillaria has already bloomed."

Li Long hadn't expected the fritillaria to bloom so soon; it seemed the fritillaria season was truly coming to an end.

But by any calculation, he had already made his investment back.

He weighed the man's fritillaria at seventeen and a half kilograms but calculated it as eighteen, paying out fifty-four yuan. The man left happily with the money. Li Long knew this was likely the last time this person would come to sell him fritillaria this year; next time they dug any, they would probably go straight to the county town.

Li Long took the basin to the spring eye, washed the fritillaria, swept the dust off the wooden floor with a large broom, and spread the bulbs there to dry.

There wasn't much left in the small wooden cabin, and Li Long had no intention of restocking; he would exchange whatever he could, and if nothing remained, he would just pay cash. The remaining rice and flour would stay here; since he would definitely return to the mountains later, keeping them as a reserve was sufficient.

Not wanting to cook lunch, Li Long set up the stove in the wooden cabin, intending to roast the steamed buns he had brought to make do for the meal.

Just as the stove fire flared up, two people arrived to sell fritillaria; they didn't bring much, only about seven or eight kilograms each. Li Long guessed this trip was an emergency measure and that they likely had more bulbs drying elsewhere.

After weighing the fritillaria and paying them, Li Long washed and spread these out to dry as well. With the stove fire now roaring, he placed two buns under the firebox to roast and set a pot on top to boil water.

When the buns were ready, Li Long used an enamel tray to remove them, placing two more underneath to roast, then sat on the doorstep and began to eat.

It had a unique flavor.

From a distance, two figures emerged from the forest to the south, looking quite familiar to Li Long.

Li Zheng Tang and Li Li Zhengting.

Li Long hadn't seen these two brothers for a few days; he had originally assumed they would hoard some fritillaria, find a suitable spot in the mountains to dry it, and wait until the season ended to sell it at the procurement station.

After all, the prices offered by the procurement station were much higher.

As the two approached, each carrying one sack on their back and another in their hand, it appeared they had harvested quite a lot.

When the two slowly reached the wooden cabin, Li Long waved the bun in his hand and asked:

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes, yes," Li Zheng Tang replied with a smile:

"Boss Li, we came by yesterday but didn't see you."

"I was at Little White Poplar Gully to the east; my team members were weaving carrying frames and loading them onto the cart," Li Long explained. "So, judging by your appearance, are you planning to leave the mountains?"

"Leaving, leaving," Li Zheng Tang nodded, saying:

"The fritillaria near our dugout shelter is mostly dug up; some have already bloomed, so we plan to head back now. We won't bother with the few scraps remaining."

"Indeed, it's time to leave the mountains; you've had a tough month and more," Li Long said, standing up to ask:

"Are you leaving right now, or will you rest here for a bit?"

"We'll rest and ask Boss Li for a bowl of water. We still have two sacks of fritillaria here; if Boss Li doesn't mind, we'll sell them to you."

Li Long was somewhat surprised; he had originally thought these two would take their fritillaria out to the county town, especially given their previous lesson learned.

"Alright then." Since they wanted to sell, he naturally intended to buy.

"Some of it we've already dried a bit; consider it semi-dry," Li Li Zhengting explained from the side, but Li Zheng Tang pulled at him.

Li Long opened their sacks, reached in, and grabbed a handful to inspect.

The fritillaria hadn't been washed, but indeed some of it was semi-dry, while plenty was still fresh.

"Not bad; I'll calculate six yuan per kilogram for you," Li Long said. "None of us have it easy."

He glanced at the other sack of fritillaria; it was much the same.

He went to fetch the scale and weighed them; the two sacks contained over forty-seven kilograms of fritillaria, which he calculated as forty-eight kilograms, totaling two hundred and eighty-eight yuan. They split it evenly, each receiving one hundred and forty-four yuan.

Li Long poured the fritillaria from the sacks into a large basin and stirred it with his hand, finding the quality consistent throughout; it seemed these two brothers had truly changed.

Li Long set the basin of fritillaria aside; the water in the cabin had boiled, so he poured hot tea for the two men using two enamel basins and gave each of them a freshly roasted meat bun.

"Eat up; you still have a long walk to leave the mountains, and having some hot food in your stomach is better."

The two men stopped being polite, took the buns, and began eating.

Ten-plus minutes later, Li Zheng Tang and Li Li Zhengting headed toward Beishan; each now carried only a small sack containing their daily supplies, having even abandoned their bedding in the mountains.

Li Long didn't bother asking specifically how they planned to spend the night.

After lunch, Li Long simply washed these fritillaria bulbs; he estimated that these forty-eight kilograms would yield quite a lot of dried fritillaria.

Throughout the afternoon, people continued to arrive selling fritillaria; most, like the Li Zheng Tang brothers, sold their goods and left the mountains to return home, while others sold their fritillaria, took the money, exchanged it for supplies, and re-entered the mountains. Li Long suspected whether they planned to dig for codonopsis after finishing with the fritillaria.

As the sun was nearing sunset, Li Long spotted Wu Benzhong.

This acquaintance was rushing toward the wooden cabin with long, hurried strides, as if someone were chasing him.

"Boss Li, glad you're here!" Wu Benzhong said, panting heavily. "You scared me to death!"

"What's wrong?" Li Long stood up and asked.

"A bear! Damn it, while I was digging fritillaria, I ran into a bear! A brown bear!"

"How big?" Upon hearing about a bear, Li Long immediately became interested; he picked up his gun, stood up, and asked:

"Which gully? What location?"

Although he didn't know every inch of this area, as long as Wu Benzhong pointed out the general location, Li Long felt confident he could find it.

Logically, brown bears should be active deep in Shenshan at this time; why would one come to the outer mountains?

"You know the gully with the hot springs, Boss Li?" Wu Benzhong said after calming down:

"It's just southeast of Hot Spring Gully; wild boars often appear in that gully..."

As he spoke, he gestured to indicate the distance, and Li Long quickly realized: wasn't this the very gully where he had previously discovered the two-headed deer?

A thought struck him, and he asked again:

"Old Wu, how tall and how big was that brown bear?"

"About as tall as me?" Wu Benzhong thought for a moment before saying, "But it was quite fierce; one swipe of its paw snapped a pine tree as thick as an arm! I was terrified and ran immediately; it chased me at first, but then for some reason stopped pursuing; otherwise, I don't think I would have escaped!"

Li Long poured Wu Benzhong a bowl of water, then asked:

"Have you eaten yet?"

"I grabbed a quick bite at noon; after that run just now, I've burned almost all of it off."

"So, are you still going into the forest?"

"No, no." Wu Benzhong shook his head. "I'm here to earn money, not to throw my life away in this place."

Li Long handed him a cold steamed bun, saying:

"Have a bite? Or wait a moment while I toast it for you?"

"Toast it, then." Wu Benzhong didn't take the bun, smiling as he said, "It's rare to get a hot meal at your place; better to toast it."

Li Long took two buns and placed them under the stove to toast. Wu Benzhong also asked Li Long to weigh the Fritillaria bulbs he had brought.

Most of these Fritillaria bulbs were fresh, with a small portion slightly dried; after Li Long weighed them, they totaled a bit over fourteen kilograms but less than fifteen, so he calculated the price at five yuan per kilogram as well.

Wu Benzhong hadn't expected Li Long to voluntarily raise the price for him. Holding the seventy-five yuan, he felt quite moved.

"Are you heading out of the mountains tonight, or spending the night in my shed?" The sun was about to set behind Luoshan; Li Long knew that if Wu Benzhong left now, it would be dark by the time he exited the mountains. There was still some distance to Passing Qingshuihe, and if he encountered wolves halfway, with his slight build, he probably wouldn't stand a chance. "If you don't mind, I'll stay in your shed for the night." Wu Benzhong didn't stand on ceremony; this was a matter of life and death, and he wouldn't joke with his own life.

"Alright, make your own bed; there's straw. Light a fire on the side, just don't burn my shed down." Li Long pointed to the spot inside the shed where Liu Shanmin had stayed, saying:

"I'm going to wash the Fritillaria bulbs."

"Good, good. Are you cooking dinner? Once I'm done, I'll gather some mushrooms; how about we stir-fry some?" Wu Benzhong volunteered for the task.

"Sure. There's also wild celery here; we can stir-fry it together later." Li Long had eaten most of the buns he brought and didn't plan to eat more tonight; instead, he intended to bake some flatbreads.

Actually, if time permitted, Li Long would have preferred to steam mantou; he wasn't very fond of unleavened food.

But clearly, there was no room for choice now; as long as there was something to eat, there was no need for such fussiness.

Wu Benzhong quickly spread his simple bedding on the straw inside the shed, then gathered some split firewood nearby and lit a fire. Seeing Li Long fire up the outdoor stove to bake flatbreads, he called out a greeting and went off to gather mushrooms nearby.

Li Long kneaded the dough and left it to rest, covering it with a steaming cloth, then went to the water's edge to gather some wild celery. This ingredient really needed to be stir-fried with meat, using plenty of oil and some skill; it shouldn't be cooked too long, otherwise, like Mao Qin, it would turn into stringy strands.

Just as Li Long finished his preparations, Wu Benzhong returned, carrying a large bundle of grass mushrooms in his shirt. While washing the grass mushrooms, he said to Li Long with a sigh:

"If our hometown had resources this good, we wouldn't have come out here. There's simply too much food to finish, so much timber in the mountains, and even more things to sell for money... Alas."

Li Long smiled but didn't respond. Every place has its advantages and disadvantages. Thirty years from now, this region of Northern Frontier would still be seen by many in the interior as a barren land of Gobi desert and bitter cold. It would only be forty years later, with more tourists arriving, that this misunderstanding would slowly dissolve.

!.

Of course, this was also related to the propaganda of certain departments.

Both men worked swiftly, and soon the meal was ready. Wu Benzhong fetched a bench; the two sat at the makeshift table to eat, chatting as they dined. The sun had already set, and the evening glow had turned red before fading.

"Tomorrow will be fine weather; I'll leave at dawn." Wu Benzhong said as he ate:

"I'll go to the county town, buy a ticket to Wucheng, and reach Wucheng today. If I can get a ticket back to my hometown today, I'll leave straight away."

"You really are eager to return home."

"Alas, after being away so long, one misses home. Actually, even after returning, I wouldn't stay more than a few days before wanting to come out again. One can make a living here, but back home... it's not easy."

After the two finished eating and cleaning up, Li Long went inside to fetch a stick for Wu Benzhong, then told him:

"Keep your fire small each time, adding only a little split wood; best not to let it go out. With a fire, wolves won't dare approach you at night. Stay alert when you sleep, and shout for me immediately if anything happens. Oh, and block the shed door with those carrying poles inside; that should help too."

Wu Benzhong readily followed the advice, quickly blocking the shed door with the carrying poles.

It looked quite nice.

Li Long had already stored the Fritillaria bulbs; he locked the door to Let Xiao Fang, poured a basin of water into an enamel tray for Wu Benzhong, handed it in, and then entered the wooden house to sleep.

When Li Long woke up the next day, daylight had already broken. As he went out to empty his bladder, he saw the shed was empty, with the enamel basin placed by the door; evidently, Wu Benzhong had left just as dawn was breaking.

It was better that he left; with this season's planting done, it was time to return home.

Li Long felt no particular reluctance; people coming and going was a normal occurrence.

After relieving himself at the outhouse behind the house, Li Long returned, built up the fire in the stove to boil water, and also fired up the outdoor stove; he planned to go check out the place Wu Benzhong had mentioned today. The brown bear wasn't large, likely not yet adult. Its initial failure to pursue might have been because its size was similar to Wu Benzhong's, combined with other distractions.

But since it had come to the outer mountains, Li Long guessed the creature wouldn't return to Lishan anytime soon; it might have secretly slipped away from an adult bear or gotten separated.

If he could take down this bear, his first half of the year would truly be complete.

In the morning, after toasting and eating the remaining two buns, Li Long cleaned his gun, loaded it fully with ammunition, and slung his satchel over his shoulder.

He also drew the knife he usually carried, inspected it, ran his thumb along the blade—very sharp—and then sheathed it again.

Once preparations were complete, Li Long locked the door and headed into the mountains.

Whether or not he could gather Fritillaria bulbs now, or how many, was no longer very important. The Fritillaria season was nearing its end; many people were likely planning to take their harvest to the county town or even back to their hometowns. After all, this was a fairly good medicinal herb; coughs, even forty years from now, would remain a common and troublesome ailment. With this item, although not as famous or effective as Chuanbei, it was at least wild and effective.

The temperature had risen, but dew still clung to the grass; Li Long tried to walk where the grass was sparse, lest his trousers become soaked before he even entered the forest.

Although it had only just become light, the original inhabitants of the forest had already completed their initial foraging and were preparing to return to their dens. Li Long could hear the calls of capercaillies in the pine forest, the cries of pheasants, and other bird songs; no wonder they said the early bird catches the worm.

They really did rise early enough.

Reaching Hot Spring Valley, Li Long crossed through it, heading toward the place where he had discovered the two-headed deer.

In the distance, the faint cry of a deer echoed, extremely prolonged, but due to the valley's reverberation, its exact location was unclear.

Upon entering the valley, Li Long already held his gun in hand. If he truly encountered something, having the gun ready would allow him to respond in time.

In the middle of the valley, there was quite a bit of animal droppings, and many Ti Yin were visible, appearing to have been made recently. The grass here grew lushly, while Fritillaria bulbs were scarce; with few humans visiting, wild animals favored this spot.

Of course, the main reason was that the valley occasionally bore wild fruit trees, and the turf contained many wild strawberries and similar plants; only with food available could wild animals be attracted here.

Li Long walked forward along the narrow goat path halfway up the mountain, simultaneously keeping a vigilant watch on his surroundings. This path was still some distance from the pine forest; even if a bear suddenly charged out, he would be able to respond in time.

Soon, Li Long reached the middle of the valley; this area was quite damp, indicating water seeping from the mountain body, though not enough to form a stream, merely wetting this patch of grassland.

On the small path lay huge Zhao Yin; Li Long guessed these must belong to a bear?

His index finger twitched, and he released the gun's safety.

He racked the slide to chamber a round; at this moment, there could be no carelessness whatsoever.

Ahead, due to the moist and fertile soil, the grass had grown tall; the goat path, previously faintly visible, was now covered by grass, so Li Long couldn't even see to the end of it.

With sufficiently fertile water and soil, and outside the scope of herdsmen cutting hay, the grass here grew recklessly, wildly rampant.

The last time he came through, it wasn't like this at all.

Some of these grasses even bore bright flowers more than a meter off the ground, which was quite strange.

Li Long hesitated, not intending to move forward. It was hard to say what might be in the grass; ordinary wild beasts were one thing, but if there were snakes, he truly needed to be careful. He did not want to have his lower legs severed like Qiu Qiu Chunlei.

Then there would be no point in living.

Just as Li Long hesitated, a sound came from the bushes ahead. Li Long stepped back a few paces, leaving enough time to react; he guessed this might be one or several wild boars.

After all, in these mountains and forests now, among beasts of this weight class, the most numerous should be these creatures.

After all, they bred too well. Ordinary wild beasts, whether bears, wolves, deer, or lynxes, usually gave birth to one cub per litter, at most two.

This creature could give birth to five, six, seven, or eight cubs at once, even nine or more.

In the videos he had seen in his previous life, and in the chases of this life, one could see a dozen or so large wild boars leading a group of more than ten, twenty, or even thirty young boars.

With such a growth rate, it was no wonder they were the first to be removed from the list of "three-haves" protected wild animals.

If it was so, Li Long thought he would shoot one down first; he could not run here for nothing.

The grass branches shook more and more violently. Li Long stepped back a few more paces; he worried that if too many things charged out, the buffer would be insufficient and he would be swept up, so he needed to leave enough space.

From here to the bushes was more than thirty meters; with his current marksmanship, that was enough to hit the target.

Finally, the outermost grass moved. A small animal charged out from within, very panicked, its steps chaotic, its body lurching from side to side, and there was blood.

This was an injured young deer.

Li Long's hand was already pressing on the trigger, hesitating whether to fire.

Then, behind the young deer, a huge figure leaped out. (End of this chapter)