Chapter 743

Li Long returned to the big courtyard. Gu Xiaoxia was taking care of the children. Seeing Li Long run to the east room to tidy up things, she asked through the door curtain: "Are Mom and Dad okay? What are you looking for?"

"Sand gun," Li Long said habitually. "The team is going hunting the day after tomorrow, and Dad wants to follow, so I have to prepare the gun for him."

Gu Xiaoxia was stunned at first, then smiled.

She had heard Li Long say that sentence—men are boys until they die.

Li Long said it unintentionally while chatting. Gu Xiaoxia hadn't reacted yet, and Li Long explained it, such as a straight stick, or a tree branch that looks like a sword.

Gu Xiaoxia recalled it and felt it was really true!

Her father, Gu Bo Yuan, was considered a relatively steady man.

But when working in the fields, sometimes he would encounter that kind of very straight tree branch that looked like a sword with a handguard where he held it, and Gu Bo Yuan would also take it with slight excitement to the edge of the field to beat off the grass heads.

When the lamb's quarters grew tall, they were gray strips, and the top was relatively soft. One stick could cut off several. Gu Xiaoxia didn't know what was interesting about hitting this thing, but she could feel that Gu Bo Yuan was quite excited when he used the tree branch to cut the gray strips.

This must be the feeling of "men are boys until they die" that Li Long mentioned.

Li Long didn't know what Gu Xiaoxia was laughing at. After he found the sand gun, he saw that it was still early, so he simply wiped it.

The last time this gun was used was when Li Jianguo was weaving the carrying pole, and it was wiped after use. Wiping it again now was just to see if there were any rusty places, and then prepare the bullets.

There were two types of bullets used for shotguns, scatter bullets and slugs—although some people say shotgun shells, people here are used to saying it this way.

Shotgun bullets can be reloaded. Li Long not only had shell casings but also a box of primers. This thing isn't complicated to reload, and a skilled worker can load quite a few quickly.

Primers are sold at the Zhang Xin Hua Bookstore and aren't expensive.

At this time, there were a large number of guns among the people, and the state hadn't started to tighten the management and use of guns.

Private gun ownership was legal, and there were still ten years left.

By then, Li Long would also be in his thirties, and it would be about time to stop.

At worst, go to the neighboring country to own a gun. Oh, it seems the neighboring Kazakhstan didn't allow private gun ownership at that time either?

Thought too much. The Soviet Union wouldn't dissolve for another six or seven years.

No rush.

After the messy things in his brain passed, Li Long also prepared the gun and bullets. After putting them away, he returned to the west room to look at the two children who hadn't fallen asleep yet.

His mentality immediately changed. It was quite magical to say that he didn't have his own children until he died in his previous life, and in this life, he was only in his twenties and had two children.

After teasing the children for a while, Gu Xiaoxia felt it was quite magical. She had teased the two children for a long time and they were still making a fuss, but Li Long just coaxed them casually and the two fell asleep.

Are men so casual when coaxing babies? But the two children seemed to just eat this set.

The next day, Li Long went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative for a turn. Li Xiangqian didn't give him news, which meant Director Qian didn't call.

It's best not to call.

Li Xiangqian had already found out the news. He told Li Long that the State General Cooperative was going to have a summary, and Director Qian wouldn't have time to come over for a while, so Li Long was naturally relieved.

Li Xiangqian also sighed, and then threw himself into the card-playing business with Section Chief Hou and the others.

Anyway, idle is idle.

Rested the next day, Li Long sent the jeep to the auto team for maintenance again and filled it with gas. On the afternoon of the third day, he drove the jeep to the Fourth Team.

Gu Bo Yuan was sitting in the car—when he knew they were going hunting, Gu Bo Yuan strongly requested to follow this time.

Follow if he wants to. Li Long borrowed a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle for him—borrowed from the gun cabinet of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. His small-caliber rifle could hit red deer and Mongolian gazelles, but if it didn't hit the vital parts, it was easy for the prey to run away.

Section Chief Hou didn't say anything, so Li Long simply wanted to borrow two guns, but Section Chief Hou didn't lend them.

"You are a person in our Cooperative, borrowing one is no problem," Section Chief Hou said this was a matter of principle. "Borrowing two is not right. This thing is hard to fill out for the warehouse, just take one and play."

Well, he originally wanted to use the Type 56 semi-automatic for Dad, but it didn't work out.

But it didn't matter. Anyway, hunting at night is like waiting for a rabbit by a tree. The Mongolian gazelles have already run to the front, so Dad should be able to hit one or two, right?

At Li Jianguo's house, Gu Bo Yuan was chatting with Li Jianguo while holding the Type 56 semi-automatic.

Li Jianguo was holding the shotgun, and he gave the Type 56 semi-automatic he borrowed to Li Qing Xia.

"Dress thickly," Li Qing Xia was also talking. "Bring your leather coats, and bring the wolf-skin mattress. It's cold outside in the middle of the night."

He had spent most of his life in his hometown, and after coming to Northern Tianshan for two or three years, he truly experienced what a northern winter was.

Li Long had already told Gu Bo Yuan at the dinner table, so the two of them were actually very well prepared.

Li Long, while pulling the gazelles out of the bag, said:

After packing everything and putting them on the jeep, when they were ready to set off, Lu Yingming also came carrying a gun.

Seeing that he was only wearing a cotton-padded coat and cotton rubber shoes on his feet, Li Jianguo immediately drove him back to put on leather boots.

Lu Yingming also listened to advice, went back to change, and added a thick scarf for himself.

When Li Long drove the jeep with his family and Lu Yingming to the gate of Xu Chengjun's house, he was surprised to find two tractors parked there, one of which was brand new.

Looks like it should have just been bought back.

Xu Chengjun was chatting with Xu Haijun in front of the tractor. Seeing Li Long's jeep coming, he walked over with a smile.

The jeep stopped, and Li Long got out and asked:

"Team Leader, did you buy this tractor?"

"Yes, drove it back yesterday, how is it?"

"Good," Li Long smiled. "Driving a new tractor back, we will definitely be able to develop again next year. This thing is much stronger than horse carts and donkey carts."

"Hehehe." Although a bit proud, he wanted to suppress it but couldn't.

With a tractor, although it wasn't very useful in winter, it was like when Li Long bought a bicycle and a television at the beginning; the feeling of having it and not having it was different.

People came one after another carrying guns and coats. The other tractor was Xie Yun Dong's. He had just gone to the toilet in Xu Chengjun's courtyard, and when he came out and saw Li Long, he chatted for a few words, and then greeted people to get on the tractor.

A total of ten people sat in the two tractors, including Tao Daqiang and Jia Weidong.

There weren't many people, but they got two tractors. Li Long thought the Team Leader's appetite wasn't small this time; he intended to hit more things to load.

Everyone brought Type 56 semi-automatics, and they looked like they had been maintained.

Li Long went over and said to Xu Chengjun:

"Take the Wuyi Highway west and drive all the way to SW County. We'll go first and wait for you there."

"Alright." Xu Chengjun nodded and greeted everyone to get on the car.

The jeep went first. Li Long's plan was to drive past the place where they hunted the other day and run west a bit more to see if there were large batches of animal hoof prints on both sides of the road. If there were, change the place to lie in ambush; if not, stay in the original place.

Everyone had eaten before setting off, so although it was cold outside, their bodies were quite hot.

Lu Yingming was also sitting in the jeep at this time. He planned to sit in the tractor when returning. By then, the jeep would definitely be loaded with prey, and he wouldn't be able to sit even if he wanted to. But right now, he could sit for a while, enjoy it while he could.

Li Qing Xia sat in the passenger seat; in everyone's eyes, this was the position for the leader. Behind were Gu Bo Yuan, Lu Yingming, and Li Jianguo. When the jeep passed Shicheng, Lu Yingming asked Li Jianguo:

"Old Li, how many Mongolian gazelles do you think we can hit tonight?"

"Don't know, hard to say whether we can run into a Mongolian gazelle herd."

Li Jianguo was relatively humble; he didn't want to guarantee this, just hit as many as they could.

"I think we can hit at least ten or so," Lu Yingming said, holding a Type 56 semi-automatic. Seeing Li Jianguo holding a double-barreled shotgun, he continued:

"I have ten bullets here. Even if I hit half, I can hit two or three, right?" He felt he had an advantage over Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo didn't think so much. The double-barreled shotgun in his hand hadn't been loaded with bullets yet. His idea was that if there really was a herd of Mongolian gazelles, he would be satisfied if he could hit one. Hitting two would be burning high incense.

After all, those Mongolian gazelles run so fast. If they really hear the gunshot, they must run like they're flying—and it's night!

They disappear after running twenty or thirty steps; it's impossible to wait for you to hit them.

Lu Yingming knew that this time Xu Chengjun took people out to hunt was different from before. If they hit few, everyone took what they hit; if they hit many, the team would divide it.

Lu Yingming thought he could hit a Mongolian gazelle for his family.

Gu Bo Yuan also compared the Type 56 semi-automatic and said to Lu Yingming:

"Then let's compare when the time comes?"

Lu Yingming smiled: "Your education level is high, but that doesn't mean you're good at hunting!"

Everyone laughed.

When the jeep drove to the no-man's-land, Li Long suddenly saw a horse cart coming.

It wasn't dark yet, so it was normal for a horse cart to come.

!

It was just that his eyesight was good, and the things pulled on the horse cart made him feel something was wrong—wasn't that Mongolian gazelles?

The person driving the horse cart carried a gun, and the person walking beside the horse cart also carried a gun. The two were high-spirited and looked very happy.

On that horse cart, there were at least four or five Mongolian gazelles!

At this time, Li Qing Xia also saw it. He turned his head and glanced at Li Long and asked:

"Little Long, look, are those Mongolian gazelles on their cart?"

"Didn't hear any gunshots, but that is Mongolian gazelles." Li Long's heart sank a bit. It wouldn't be the place where he hunted a couple of days ago, would it?

The jeep stopped beside the horse cart, and Li Long rolled down the window and asked:

"Comrade, where did you hit those Mongolian gazelles?"

"West of Shawan, in the place between there and Anjihai," the person driving the horse cart slowed down and said with a smile. "Ran into a large herd of Mongolian gazelles. If it weren't for the fact that there were only two of us, we wouldn't have hit so many!"

"Alright, thank you." Li Long knew he might have misjudged a bit; Mongolian gazelles also pass through these places during the day!

Fortunately, they didn't hit the place where he hunted a couple of days ago. It seems that either they should continue to rush west of Anjihai, or wait east of Shawan.

The horse cart continued to walk forward, and Li Long drove the jeep west. He had already asked out that the person driving the horse cart was from Shicheng Township. They had heard from a relative who pulled goods that they saw a large herd of Mongolian gazelles passing through the no-man's-land when passing by, so they thought about going over to hit them.

Actually, they had already run three trips, and the first two trips didn't hit anything. Today, they ran in the no-man's-land for a day, and only saw a large herd of Mongolian gazelles passing by in the afternoon.

Li Long also understood that there weren't many Mongolian gazelles passing through during the day, so there was still a chance.

The jeep soon drove to the place where Li Long and Li Xiangqian lay in ambush that night.

Li Long drove west for a while longer and found that there were also a large number of hoof prints on both sides of the road, so he parked the car here.

There were also red willows on the side of the road, but they weren't as lush as the previous place. Li Long's meaning was that there were bushes on both sides of this area, so lie in ambush here.

Anyway, there were many people, and the battle line could be stretched longer.

The sun had already set, and the sky was slowly getting dark.

The horse cart incident just now made the four of them feel a bit discouraged, and they didn't know if they could run into herds of Mongolian gazelles or other prey coming over today.

This also made Li Long understand that so many cars pass by, and there must be quite a few people who know about the Mongolian gazelles and red deer. Such a good thing, he wasn't the only one who could think of it.

"They shot over there, maybe the sound of the gun scared those Mongolian gazelles to run over here," Li Jianguo suddenly said. "Maybe there will be a large herd here later."

Li Long smiled and said: "It's really possible. There's little grass in the sandbags to the north, so the Mongolian gazelles have to run south if they don't have food. They themselves aren't very bold, and if there's gunfire over there, they might really run over here."

With the two of them saying this, the faces of Li Qing Xia, Gu Bo Yuan, and Lu Yingming all relaxed quite a bit.

Li Qing Xia was thinking, what if the Mongolian gazelles were scared and didn't dare to come over? He wasn't worried about not hitting anything; it didn't matter if they didn't hit anything themselves, but if the people in the team came over and didn't hit anything, wouldn't some people complain about Li Long?

Gu Bo Yuan had similar thoughts.

Lu Yingming was thinking that it was not easy to borrow a gun from Xu Chengjun after letting go of his face. If they didn't hit anything, wouldn't it be a loss?

They waited here for over an hour, and it was already dark when the two tractors came over with a chugging sound.

Li Long hurriedly ran forward, ran out a hundred meters away to give hand signals to Xu Chengjun and the others, and let them park the tractors on the side of the road.

The two tractors parked on the side of the road a hundred meters apart. Xu Chengjun turned off the engine and got out of the car, checking his gun while asking Li Long about the situation.

Li Long asked, and it turned out they didn't run into the horse cart pulling Mongolian gazelles. Li Long told them the situation, meaning to lie in ambush in this area at night, with one person every seventy or eighty meters, united in the ditch on the north side of the road, and must wait until the Mongolian gazelles or red deer are within ten meters of the road before shooting.

Xu Chengjun had already said it when he came. These people were also the backbone of the core militia, and they all understood the rules. They were all people who had practiced lying on the ice of the big lake, so there was no worry.

"It's ten o'clock now, we'll wait until eleven-thirty. If nothing comes over, we'll go back," Xu Chengjun said, gathering the people and stating his plan.

"Then it's better to wait until twelve," someone suggested. "It's not half an hour difference, and we've all put on leather coats, so it's fine to lie for a while longer."

"Alright," Xu Chengjun said. "We'll treat it as field training, practice more, and it will be good for the assessment."

There wasn't much talk. After saying that, everyone went to find their own positions.

Li Long and the others also lay in ambush. Actually, when the jeep parked, Li Long had already found a position for Dad. He told Li Qing Xia to sit in the jeep, which was better than lying in the snow. Li Qing Xia only needed to stay in the jeep, and when prey really came over, he would open the jeep door and shoot at the scattered prey.

This was what Li Long thought of after going back. At that time, those red deer didn't have any precautions against the jeep, and he and Li Xiangqian could completely stay in the jeep, using it as a bunker, without being so cold.

As for the others, they had all found their positions.

Li Long was still on a wolf-skin mattress, and like Li Jianguo, he was wearing a leather coat in the snow. Although it was a bit cold, it felt much better than when he was hunting wild boars with Halimu and Yushanjiang.

Next was waiting.

Li Long thought he would have to wait for at least an hour, and it wasn't impossible to wait for two hours.

Those Mongolian gazelles and red deer were also quite alert, maybe because of the gunfire in the west, they would wait until dawn to set off.

However, what surprised him was that after waiting for less than twenty minutes, he, with excellent eyesight, saw movement to the north!

And it was a large patch of movement!

Li Long looked at the distance, which was at least over a hundred meters. Li Long immediately said in a low voice to the east:

"There's movement to the north! Mongolian gazelles or red deer are coming over, get ready, stop talking!"

Not far to his east was Lu Yingming, then Tao Daqiang, Xie Yun Dong, and then Xu Chengjun.

This word was passed one by one, and the others immediately became alert and excited.

It hadn't been long since they waited!

Actually, most people were prepared to wait for an hour or two.

Even some people had psychological preparation in advance, saying that they might not hit anything at all.

Isn't this just like waiting for a rabbit by a tree? Li Long waited for a rabbit the first two days, did he have one today?

Didn't expect, there really was!

In order to eat good meat this winter, fight!

When those black shadows got closer, at a distance of less than eighty meters, Li Long saw clearly.

At least over a hundred Mongolian gazelles were scattered in a range of nearly a hundred meters, walking towards this side, and their speed was quite fast!

Obviously, after passing group after group of animals, there wasn't much food to eat along the way. These Mongolian gazelles had to rush to the south of the road, close to the mountainous area, to find food, otherwise they would freeze and starve to death!

Watching those Mongolian gazelles getting closer and closer, these ambushing militia were also getting more and more excited, and some people had already started to aim and prepare to shoot.

Fortunately, they remembered what Xu Chengjun said at the time, wait until the Mongolian gazelles are within ten meters or so before shooting, at least shooting at this time would be more accurate.

And the basic quality of the militia at this time was still there. Lying in the snow, dressed thickly, they didn't move when it was critical.

When the Mongolian gazelles were right in front of their eyes, Xu Chengjun couldn't wait any longer and pulled the trigger impatiently!

This was right at the muzzle; if you couldn't hit it, you wouldn't have the face to say you were a militia.

A gunshot sounded, followed by successive gunshots. Blood flowers were immediately sprinkled on the ground, and everyone fired more than one shot.

Li Jianguo was very satisfied; two shots, two Mongolian gazelles fell down within ten meters in front of him.

Almost everyone hit more than two Mongolian gazelles; it was really because there were too many in this herd! (End of chapter)