Chapter 659

Wang An followed the footprints for about half an hour before he finally caught up with the five people in front.

From quite a distance away, Wang An confirmed his guess: these five people were indeed a ginseng-hunting group, and they looked like the very professional kind.

Because the most prominent sign of a ginseng-hunting group member is that each person carries a "searching stick."

A searching stick, also called a soro stick, is mainly used for pushing aside weeds to find ginseng in the weeds.

Although the name of the searching stick sounds very impressive, this thing is actually just a tree stick as thick as an iron shovel handle.

But what must be known is that this thing must be made of hardwood with sturdy wood quality and good toughness.

The standard size is five feet two inches, which is about 1.72 meters, but in this era, few people in ginseng-hunting groups can make it so standard; no one cares at all if it's a bit more or a bit less.

Theoretically speaking, it is not allowed to peel the bark of this thing, saying that if you peel the bark of the searching stick, when it touches ginseng, the ginseng will directly escape into the ground and disappear.

Of course, this kind of talk is purely nonsense, so in reality, no one takes it seriously at all.

At the very top of the searching stick, which is the thickest side, a red cloth strip is tied, and on the red cloth strip, several large coins are tied.

But there is a trick to the large coins tied; that is, there must be a gap left for them to collide with each other. In this way, when using the searching stick to push aside grass to find ginseng, it can make a "bi-lang," "bi-lang" sound.

The main purpose of this sound is so that members of the ginseng-hunting group can hear each other, so they won't lose anyone, and at the same time, it can scare away some mountain animals, snakes, rats, and insects.

However, besides this, the searching stick has another most important function, which is to serve as a walking stick and for rescue.

People who often climb mountains know that having a stick in hand to lean on can definitely make people feel much lighter; even if walking for a long time, having a stick to lean on can allow you to walk much further.

As for rescue, it is because there are many wetlands, or swamps, in the mountains. If you fall in, if you can't get out in time, you will disappear very quickly.

And the searching stick can come in very handy at this time. If there are people around, you can directly pull the searching stick; if there is no one around, having a long stick in hand can also increase the chances of self-rescue.

Of course, because this thing is hardwood and has good toughness, it is also very practical to use as a weapon.

In short, the searching stick is a must-have item for all members of the ginseng-hunting group.

After Wang An saw these people, he discovered that they had no intention of turning back, so he planned to turn around and go back, because from this period of time until late autumn, discovering a ginseng-hunting group in the mountains is a perfectly normal phenomenon.

But after Wang An walked a few steps, he felt more and more that something was wrong. Specifically what was wrong, Wang An couldn't even think of it for a moment, damn it.

Wang An walked two or three hundred meters with a frown, then suddenly slapped his head, and only then did he finally realize everything.

That was that among these five people, the walking posture of 4 of them was wrong.

Because these 4 people walked with their toes turned inward! In China, almost more than ninety percent of people walk with their toes turned outward, which means the two front feet are offset to the left and right sides.

And people who walk with their toes turned inward, which means the two heels are offset to the left and right sides, are very rare; it would be good if there were two or three out of a hundred people.

But at this moment, to be able to have 4 people who walk with their toes turned inward appear together, this is obviously wrong, damn it.

Most importantly, Wang An knew that the place where the most people walk with their toes turned inward is where the little devils are, because they are used to kneeling, and only people who are used to kneeling are prone to walking with their toes turned inward.

Thinking of this, Wang An immediately dived into the woods, and directly took a detour, accelerating to approach these five people.

Wang An wanted to hear what these people were saying and what they were going to do. With Wang An's speed, he soon arrived not far from these five people, and then followed behind them at the same speed as them.

Unfortunately, these five people were like mutes; not a single one of them spoke, just stepping on the withered grass and fallen leaves, walking with a "crunch, crunch" sound.

Just as Wang An was waiting for these five people to speak, Seeing Mu Xueli and Wang Li, or more accurately, Seeing Mu Xueli himself, had already perfectly dug out two ginseng roots from the outermost edge of that ginseng nest.

However, these two ginseng roots were just low-value second-grade ones.

But it must be said that Seeing Mu Xueli's ginseng-digging technique looked quite skilled, almost as ornamental as when he used a hunting knife to skin and butcher prey.

Actually, whether it is skinning and butchering animals or digging ginseng, the main test is having quick eyes and steady hands.

And Seeing Mu Xueli's hands achieved being steady, quick, and accurate.

Seeing Mu Xueli's hands were not idle; he used the deer bone needle and deer bone spoon alternately, very quickly digging out the soil around the ginseng.

Occasionally, he would also use scissors to gently cut and take out the grass roots and fine tree roots that kept getting in the way in the soil.

As the soil around the ginseng became less and less, a complete ginseng root was dug out.

In short, the whole process was like flowing clouds and water; not a single step was wasted, and it was even more pleasing to the eye for those watching.

As for Wang Li, he was currently carrying his gun and wandering around everywhere.

It could be seen that perhaps because Wang An wasn't around, and Seeing Mu Xueli was focused on digging ginseng, Wang Li appeared very nervous.

The bolt was moved forward, the bullet was definitely in the chamber, the safety was also in the open state, and his right index finger was also always placed on the trigger. At this moment, Wang Li was clearly ready to fire at any time.

For this trip into the mountains, because they had no intention of hunting at all, the three of them were carrying Type 56 assault rifles, not Type 56 semi-automatic rifles.

After all, if they were hunting, they would still have to say that the Type 56 semi-automatic is easier to use, because the Type 56 semi-automatic is the real hunting artifact.

The reason why they didn't use the Type 56 assault rifle for hunting was, on one hand, because this thing belongs to a high-lethality weapon, and individuals are actually not allowed to possess it.

And on the other hand, the Type 56 semi-automatic is completely sufficient for hunting; there is not the slightest necessity to use a Type 56 assault rifle. Moreover, the Type 56 assault rifle is a fully automatic rifle; if you fire a magazine of bullets, it is estimated that the prey would have to be thrown away directly.

But it must be admitted that having a Type 56 assault rifle in hand definitely gives people more confidence than having a Type 56 semi-automatic.

After a while, it was still peaceful here with Seeing Mu Xueli and Wang Li, and no special situation occurred.

And Wang An finally waited for these 5 people to speak.

Unfortunately, although these 5 people spoke, Wang An didn't understand a single word, damn it! But what Wang An could confirm was that the language of these 5 people was definitely the little devil language, because he understood two of the words, or rather, the tone.

That was "Yoshi" and "Yamete."

It's just that being able to understand these two tones can be said to be of no use at all.

So, this made Wang An so anxious, damn it, that he felt like a beast in a cage! (End of chapter)