Chapter 685: Damn It, It's All Schemes

Fighting the bear or fighting the wolf—that was the question.

Li Long raised his rifle and quickly followed; he could see that when the gray wolf trailing at the rear turned its head, a tuft of bear fur still hung from its mouth, and where the bear had slapped it, beads of blood were seeping out.

The little black bear had already charged up the mountain ridge, where two gray wolves blocked its path, one in front and one behind; these two wolves were also injured, but their wounds were relatively light, merely slapped by the little black bear's paw, whereas if it had been a big black bear, that single slap would have killed both wolves on the spot.

But the little black bear, after all, was only slightly larger than a dog, with limited strength; those two slaps had merely left several bloody scratches on the wolves, achieving only the result of trapping the little black bear on this ridge, unable to advance or retreat, while adding a few more bloody gashes to the wolves' bodies.

Li Long raised his rifle and took aim; at this moment, if he fired, he could directly kill that little black bear.

The little black bear reared up on its hind legs; although it roared from time to time to threaten the gray wolves, clearly the wolves had seen through its bluff of being tough on the outside but weak within, leaping nimbly around it without engaging in a prolonged fight, merely harassing it, neither allowing it to leave nor letting it launch an attack.

These wolves were damn cunning!

Li Long decided not to wait any longer; he aimed at one of the gray wolves—mainly because he didn't want to bully that black bear, and seeing how helpless the bear looked, Li Long thought he should just kill the several gray wolves first.

He was aiming at the gray wolf that had been injured first by the black bear; that wolf was the most severely wounded and was currently on the outermost perimeter, unable to move forward to attack the black bear.

Just as he framed that gray wolf within his sights, he saw a huge creature emerge from beyond the mountain ridge, landing squarely inside his aiming circle; then that huge creature let out a furious roar and with a single slap sent the gray wolf, which couldn't dodge in time, flying!

It really did fly—sailing out five or six meters before crashing heavily onto the rocks!

Li Long was startled, then immediately felt immensely relieved!

The big black bear had indeed been nearby, just slightly farther away than expected!

As soon as the big black bear appeared, the little black bear immediately let out a sound of grievance.

The remaining gray wolves immediately changed tactics: two went to harass the big black bear, while one began launching an attack against the little black bear.

Perhaps with the big black bear right there, the little black bear also became fierce; accompanied by the big black bear's roars, the little black bear actually fought one of the gray wolves to a standstill, then took advantage of a gap when the wolf dodged to run behind the big black bear.

Next, Li Long witnessed the big black bear's prowess: it again swiped up a gray wolf with its claw, stuffed it under its buttocks, and sat down hard!

Amid a piercing, miserable howl, the other gray wolves turned and fled!

The huge difference in body size made it impossible for the gray wolves to fight back!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Li Long seized the opportunity to beat a dog while it was down, firing three shots that brought two fleeing gray wolves crashing to the ground.

The little black bear lay behind the big black bear; the big black bear reacted extremely quickly, and upon hearing the gunshots, it roared furiously in Li Long's direction, then turned, grabbed the little black bear, and ran off behind the mountain ridge.

By the time Li Long finished dispatching the two gray wolves, the black bears had already vanished without a trace.

Li Long held his rifle and cautiously advanced upward; the gray wolves counted as a harvest, but he also had to be wary of the black bears lying in ambush.

Having spent so much time in the mountains, he felt that these carnivores were all extremely cunning, employing ambushes, coordinated attacks, and even tactics when engaging in battle.

Walking to where the first gray wolf had fallen, he saw that the wolf had died with its eyes open; the bullet had struck its head with perfect accuracy, splitting the wolf's skull so that brain matter and blood mixed together and flowed from the wound, splattering onto the surrounding grass and leaves as well.

A fishy, stinking odor permeated the air; Li Long then went to inspect the second gray wolf he had shot down.

This gray wolf's entry wound was on its rump; the bullet must have penetrated into the wolf's abdomen, shredding its internal organs, yet the wolf's vitality was quite strong, and it had not completely died.

Li Long stepped forward, plunged his bayonet into the gray wolf's neck, drained its blood, and ended its suffering.

The third wolf had been sat flat by the black bear; when Li Long reached the mountain ridge, he discovered that the downward slope was covered in scattered rocks and shrubs, and both the big and little black bears had long since disappeared.

The gray wolf that had been sat flat was limp and collapsed, with piles of matter extruded by the black bear at both its mouth and its rump.

Although it looked somewhat disgusting, at least the wolf pelt should still be skinned off.

Li Long dragged this flattened gray wolf over to the other two wolves, thought for a moment, then grabbed the tails of all three gray wolves and dragged them down the mountain.

While descending, he had to try his best to avoid those sharp mountain rocks and thorny shrubs.

By the time Li Long dragged the three gray wolves to the sack containing the mushrooms, some of the fur on the wolves' bodies had been snagged off by withered branches and tree roots on the ground.

Since it was difficult to bring all three wolves to the jeep, he drew his knife on the spot and skinned the flattened gray wolf right there.

One of the gray wolf's fangs had already been knocked out; Li Long chipped out the remaining three sharp teeth, then removed the hip bone. As for the flattened wolf meat, he gave up on it; when skinning this thing, excrement and urine were sloshing around inside its belly, and Li Long couldn't be bothered to clean it up.

Carrying one wolf pelt, two gray wolves, and the mushrooms, Li Long returned to the jeep.

After loading the gray wolves and mushrooms into the vehicle, Li Long drove over to the small wooden cabin.

Sun Jia Qiang was not there; Li Long rubbed salt onto the skinned wolf pelt and laid it on the turf to dry, then went to open the cabin door and fetched two basins.

Li Long did not immediately start skinning the wolves; instead, he first gathered firewood and coal, lit the two outdoor stoves, then fetched two pots, filled them with water, and set them to boil.

Just as Li Long was there skinning the gray wolves, a person approached from the distance, walking unsteadily.

Upon seeing the wooden cabin here, that person immediately quickened their pace and came over.

When they saw Li Long, that person hesitated for a moment but ultimately still approached.

Li Long looked up at the approaching person, paid no attention, and continued lowering his head to skin the wolf.

With the weather hot right now, Li Long had to process this wolf pelt and meat as soon as possible; since Sun Jia Qiang was absent, he also had to handle the stomachs and intestines himself, leaving him with many tasks and no time to attend to strangers.

"Comrade, is this house yours?" that person asked, stopping about seven or eight meters away from Li Long.

"Mm." Li Long didn't even lift his head, responded with a sound, and continued processing the wolf carcass.

"Then, Comrade, could you give me something to eat? I've been wandering in the mountains for several days and have absolutely nothing left to eat..."

Li Long glanced at that person.

This person looked to be only thirty or forty years old, wearing a somewhat damaged Zhongshan suit, with plenty of dirt smeared on their trousers; their leather shoes were stained with grass juice and mud, and although their hair wasn't long, it was messy, while their beard was about one centimeter long.

This person carried a black nylon bag in their hand, bulging with who-knows-what inside.

Li Long washed his hands at the spring, went into the house to find a piece of scorched rice crust about the size of a plate, and handed it to the other person:

"This is all there is."

That person thanked Li Long gratefully, took the scorched rice crust, and began gnawing on it voraciously; the crust was leftover from rice steamed yesterday and was now somewhat dry, but this person clearly couldn't care less, biting down with loud crunches and eating very quickly, until they choked.

They looked at Li Long somewhat awkwardly; Li Long didn't look at them, keeping his head down to continue skinning the wolf.

That person choked so badly they kept hiccuping; having no choice, they went to the spring, scooped up a handful of water, and tilted their neck to wash the food stuck in their esophagus down with the water.

Li Long paid no attention to this; drinking raw water was very normal at this time, and he couldn't manage that much. After all, even if he managed it now, once they went into the mountains, they would still have to drink raw water.

After finishing skinning the wolf, Li Long began processing the internal organs; aside from putting the stomachs and intestines of the two wolves into a basin to wash later, he rinsed everything else with spring water and then put it into a pot to boil.

"Comrade, if you don't mind, I know how to handle these intestines and stomachs too; shall I do it? You gave me food, and I have nothing else to offer in return..." That person, seeing Li Long put the wolf's stomach and intestines into a basin before going to skin the other wolf, chewed on the scorched rice crust, moved closer to Li Long, and said.

"You know how to clean them?" Li Long asked, somewhat surprised; not everyone who entered the mountains was as tactless as the one he had met yesterday.

"A little. This needs warm water, right?" the man said. "When I was young, I helped the village butcher turn pig intestines inside out."

"Alright then, finish your meal and get to it. Once these offal are cooked, I'll share some with you." Li Long did not want others to work for him for free.

The man smiled, said nothing, finished the scorched rice in a few bites, set his pack aside, carefully rolled up his sleeves, and seeing Li Long looking over, smiled and said:

"Can't be helped; there are no spare clothes to change into in the mountains, so these clothes... are a bit dirty."

Li Long could sense that if this man were outside the mountains, he would likely maintain good hygiene habits; conditions in the mountains simply did not allow for it, so he merely nodded and said nothing.

Having seen all sorts of people in the mountains, Li Long still felt it was better to maintain a certain level of vigilance.

The man took another empty basin to the stove where nothing was cooking, ladled out less than half a basin of hot water, carried it to the spring to mix in some cold water, tested the temperature with his hand, then fetched the intestines, first stripping out the dung from inside, and began scrubbing them in the basin.

Seeing that this man's technique was slightly better than Sun Jia Qiang's, Li Long left him to it and busied himself skinning the other wolf; since they could not cook all the meat from both wolves, Li Long added more water to the other empty pot, butchered some wolf meat to boil, and rubbed salt on the rest before hanging it on wire to dry.

Wolf meat was not as tasty as Beishan mutton, and Li Long had no intention of carrying too much back, so he decided to air-dry it here first.

Although the man's handling of the stomach and intestines was not professional, it was still somewhat better than Sun Jia Qiang's; by the time Li Long finished preparing the dried meat, the man had nearly finished cleaning the offal.

Li Long went over to check; the stomach and intestines were washed quite clean, so he put them all into the pot to boil.

He also threw in a handful of large aromatic spices.

After washing his hands clean and rinsing the basin, seeing that Li Long was also free, the man approached and said:

"Comrade, I think you're a good person; I'd like to propose a partnership."

"Doing what?" Li Long raised his head to look at him.

"There used to be gold panners in these mountains; I have some information that can locate the gold they buried back then. You are a local familiar with the terrain, and I have the data; if we partner up, we split whatever we find equally..."

"No deal!" Li Long rejected him outright; having encountered many similar people in the mountains over the past two years, he did not believe him.

"I really do have the information..." the man, having finally found someone who seemed reliable and kind-hearted, naturally did not want to give up; seeing Li Long's refusal, he pulled out a map.

Not a single mistake—not a single character out of place in the entire content!

After Li Long finished reading it, he laughed.

This was exactly the same as the one Hearing Hearing Bolati had given him—so this stuff was mass-produced?

He had originally hoped to find a bargain using the map Hearing Hearing Bolati gave him, but now it turned out to be fake!

Seeing Li Long laugh, the man thought he had agreed and said with some pride:

"See? I didn't lie to you, did I? Let me tell you, this map came into my hands by a strange twist of fate; I feel this is heaven's will, and I am not a very greedy person; I feel it is necessary to share this wealth..."

While the man was still talking, Li Long returned the treasure map to him and then took out the "treasure map" provided by Hearing Hearing Bolati.

When the man saw Li Long unfold that map, his eyes went straight.

If not for his education, the man would have thought Li Long was performing magic, instantly duplicating his "treasure map."

Thinking about it, that was impossible; if Li Long had such abilities, he would not need to stay in these mountains.

In a very short time, the man realized that the "treasure map" he thought he had luckily stumbled upon was actually common goods, and that duplicates existed, or perhaps it was a duplicate itself!

Li Long put his map away, ignored the man, and continued dealing with the meat in the pot.

Once the meat was cooked, Li Long scooped out two pieces, placed them in an enamel basin, handed them to the man, and then went to check on the offal.

The man did not stay long, as the atmosphere remained quite awkward.

He found a large leaf, wrapped the two pieces of meat in it, held it, and left; as he departed, he did not even dare to say goodbye.

After the meat was cooked, Li Long tore off a piece to eat; he felt the taste was just so-so.

He was not short on meat, so he was still somewhat picky.

Once the offal was cooked, he found a small bowl, added some vinegar, chili oil, and minced garlic to make a dipping sauce; Li Long cut some stomach and intestines, dipped them in the sauce, and found the taste quite good.

In the end, he did not eat much; Li Long scooped out the rest, rubbed some salt on it, and placed it on the cutting board to air-dry.

He would leave some here for Sun Jia Qiang and take some back with him.

Adding the mushrooms in the vehicle, Li Long's harvest today was still quite good.

Actually, Li Long felt a bit regretful; he roughly knew the locations marked on that map and had wanted to visit several key points, but he never expected such an outcome; although he did not feel as intensely disappointed as that man, he still felt a tiny bit unwilling to accept it.

When Sun Jia Qiang returned, Li Long had already loaded the items he intended to take onto the vehicle and was standing in front of the wooden cabin, holding half a watermelon and eating it by stabbing it with a knife.

When he was young, watching others eat watermelon by stabbing it with a knife seemed very cool, but when he did it himself, he felt it was not as convenient as using a spoon.

One needed to cut the watermelon flesh horizontally and vertically into strips, just like drawing lines on a chessboard, then pry off piece by piece, stab them, and put them in the mouth to eat.

Seedless watermelons were relatively rare at this time, but the varieties grown in the wild fields were of very good quality and extremely sweet.

Seeing Li Long eating watermelon, Sun Jia Qiang could not help but swallow his saliva; he placed the large sack, more than half full of mushrooms, beside the wooden cabin, went inside the house, and came out holding the remaining half of the watermelon.

Sun Jia Qiang also had his own knife, a short blade bought from Li Long; he drew the knife, sat on the threshold of the wooden cabin just like Li Long, and used the knife to scoop out the flesh to eat.

"This life is even better than being at home." As the crisp, sweet watermelon entered his mouth, Sun Jia Qiang felt somewhat Tao Zui; even back in his hometown during the height of summer, he could not casually eat watermelon like this—one watermelon had to be shared by the whole family, and getting two slices was already good enough.

Moreover, they could not eat it every day; only when his father allowed it could they buy a watermelon to eat.

As for what Li Long said, that every household in the Fourth Squad could buy watermelons by the sackful, he always felt it was boasting.

After all, every time they came to weave carrying poles, it was just those few families; this year there were slightly more, but at most twenty households.

What about the rest? With no extra money, how could they afford to spend cash eating melons in the middle of summer?

Having enough to eat was already good enough.

Although Sun Jia Qiang had been in Northern Xinjiang for more than a year or two and had relatives here, his understanding of the living standards in Northern Xinjiang was only slightly better than that of the people back in his hometown.

Therefore, Sun Jia Qiang was very satisfied with his current life; while eating, he asked about the wolves they had hunted.

He had already seen the wolf pelts and greatly admired Li Long's hunting skills; if he himself had the ability to hunt something every day, he estimated he would have become a ten-thousand-yuan household long ago.

Sun Jia Qiang knew very well that those wolf pelts were worth a lot of money; there were quite a few such things in these mountains.

Li Long spoke while eating and quickly finished the half watermelon weighing over three kilograms; feeling his stomach was not yet completely full, he stood up satisfied, threw the watermelon rind far away, went to the spring to wash his hands and the knife, wiped the knife dry, sheathed it, turned to the front of the wooden cabin, and said to Sun Jia Qiang:

"I'm heading back first; I've left some meat for you." Pointing to some remaining on the wire and some in the pot, he said, "Wait until the contents in the pot cool down before putting them away."

"Okay." Sun Jia Qiang was very experienced in this regard; holding the watermelon, he stood up.

Li Long climbed into the jeep, started it, waved to Sun Jia Qiang, and drove out of the mountains.

Outside the mountains, the feather grass had already seeded, nearly ready to be harvested and bundled into large brooms.

In the wheat fields on both sides of Passing Qingshuihe Village, the put-put-put sound of tractors could be heard; Li Long looked toward the noise and saw tractors pulling harvesters to cut the wheat.

The distance was a bit far, so he couldn't tell if it was someone he knew, but during this wheat season, many people would surely be freed from the labor of harvesting.

It was a good thing.

Passing Qingshuihe Village had no small amount of land; if there were only one harvester, the work would likely take a long time.

Of course, Li Long could also guess that at least half the people would not hire tractor operators to harvest their wheat with machines.

During this wheat season, the farmers here could only rely on a system that was half-mechanized and half-manual for harvesting.

In terms of mechanization, this area would not catch up to the Corps for quite a long time.

It would not improve until nearly forty years later.

The jeep did not pause even for a moment, driving straight to the large courtyard.

Nowadays, whenever Li Long left home in the morning, he felt refreshed and clear-headed, yet by late afternoon, he felt an urgent desire to return home as quickly as possible to see his wife and child.

It was a very complex state of mind.

Actually, it was quite good; he had formed more ties with this world of his rebirth and was experiencing some happiness he had never felt in his previous life.

Quite good. (End of Chapter)