"Amma, look there is a strange bird in the sky."
Elu (Manchu name, meaning strong) raised his head and pointed to the sky and said to his father Serdan (Manchu name, meaning arrow).
After hearing this, Serdan looked up and saw a strange black bird hovering in the sky.
"Six wings, two legs. Why no feathers? Where's the head? Where is the head?" Elu muttered as he looked up.
"Stop looking, catching bears is serious business, watch your feet more." Serdan, who is in his thirties, educates his fifteen-year-old son.
The father and son were Kurkaqi people, who were later generations of the Hezhe tribe, but they were naturalized into the Eight Banners relatively early. Their family all lived in a small village southeast of Hunchun City. Because of his excellent hunting skills, Serdan would go to the island to hunt bears before winter every year, and then sell them in Hunchun City in exchange for daily necessities.
"Amma, I went to Hunchun this time to sell leather, so I have to buy a new pair of boots from me." Elu looked at the tattered boots under his feet and begged his father in distress.
"Well. Let's see if we can hunt one more bear. Mr. Xie Ling has decided on one for the summer. I want to buy you boots and a new cotton robe for your Mama (Manchu, meaning grandma). , I have to get medicine for your mother, buy an iron pot, a few kilograms of salt, some beans for the horse, and some tobacco leaves." Serdan whispered as he walked. He recited everything his family needed, ending with his own tobacco leaves.
As the head of the family, Serdan has relied on his excellent bow and arrow skills to hunt wild beasts and support the family's life for many years. The eldest daughter is already married, and her son Elu has also made a marriage arrangement this fall. He will get a wife in the next spring, but the bride price and property have not been purchased yet. After finishing her son's wedding, the younger daughter will also prepare to find her husband's family. .
"Ama, your robe is also in tatters. Let's get a new one this time." Erlu said worriedly, looking at the tattered cotton robe on his father's body.
"Why did you buy that blindly? You can wear it for a few more years just by patching it up."
"Repay? How many years?" Elu almost shouted.
Suddenly, Serdan seemed to have discovered something and immediately stopped. Elu behind him immediately stopped and squatted down.
After checking the footprints on the ground for a while, Serdan turned around and whispered to his son: "There are two big ones, two small ones, and four. It seems they are still looking for food and preparing to spend the winter."
Elu gently took off the big bow on his back, took out a big arrow from the quiver on his back and hung it on the string.
Serdan has six of these large iron-tipped arrows used for hunting large animals, which were passed down from his grandfather. Serdan cherishes them very much and has always maintained them carefully. After each use, wipe it with animal fat repeatedly for maintenance, and then store it carefully.
This time he came to Bear Island to hunt bears for the first time. He brought his son Elu with him for the first time, and gave his son two big iron-tipped arrows, while he took the other four.
Serdan dipped his index finger into the saliva on his tongue, then looked into the air to observe the direction of the wind. Immediately waving to his son, the two turned left and quietly walked around from the north side.
After taking a few steps, Serdan would stop to observe the movement, and then continue to move forward. When the father and son walked eight or nine hundred steps away, Serdan raised his hand to signal Elu behind him to stop. From the forest to the right of the two of them, the sound of cubs playing and playing could be heard.
Elu didn't even dare to breathe out at this time and slowed down his breathing. He imitated his father's posture, taking each slow step and pausing to listen.
The father and son came to the back of a boulder. Serdan poked his head slightly and saw clearly that there were two big bears, a male and a female, on the opposite side. The two little bears were playing about a dozen steps away from the female bear. This surprised him very much. .
Scenes of male bears and female bears raising cubs together are actually rare. Generally, a male bear can identify whether a female bear is carrying her own child. If not, the cub will be in dire straits. But based on today's situation, these two cubs should be the cubs of a male bear.
Serdan slowly bowed down, hid behind the boulder, gestured to his son Erlu, and signaled his son to shoot the female bear on the right. He gently pulled out a big arrow from his quiver and hung it on He pulled the string and prepared to shoot the male bear on the left.
Elu nodded slowly. There was a slight sweat on his forehead at this time, but his hands holding the bow were very steady. He has practiced bow and arrow skills diligently under the guidance of his father since he was a child, and his level is quite good. In the past, he often shot small animals alone. In the past two years, he started hunting deer and the harvest was very good. This is also the reason why Serdan took him to hunt bears together this time.
As Seldan shook his head, the figures of father and son slowly emerged from behind the boulder and aimed at their respective targets.
The male bear seemed to have noticed something, and began to move back and forth uneasily, sniffing constantly with its nose, accompanied by a howl from time to time. The female bear saw the male bear's uneasiness and began to look around for warning.
Suddenly, the male bear seemed to be aware of the danger from behind the boulder, so he stood up suddenly and started to howl. The female bear also stood up and howled, calling her two children to come back quickly.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
There were two almost connected bowstring sounds, and two big black arrows flew out at almost the same speed, flying towards the "V" shaped white short hairs on the chests of the two black bears, hitting their hearts.
The male bear and the female bear howled at the same time, "Plop" twice, and fell to the ground.
The two cubs who heard their mother's call didn't know what was happening. They ran out from behind a big tree and threw themselves in front of the mother bear, screaming.
Seldan waited behind the stone for a while, then quietly looked around. After he confirmed that the two big bears had been shot, he suddenly jumped out from behind the boulder, ran to the mother bear in a few steps, and held down the necks of the two cubs with one hand in each hand.
The two cubs howled desperately and kept twisting their bodies trying to bite Serdan's hand. It sounded like a sheep and a bit like a wild boar.
Elu, who was behind the boulder, cheered, ran out quickly, and walked to Serdan. He took out the rope he had prepared, tied it around the bear's neck, and tied the rope to a nearby tree.
Following Serdan's instructions, Erlu left the rope a few feet long so that the cub could lie down next to the mother bear and prevent her from biting the rope desperately.
"With luck, these two little ones can be sold at a good price in Hunchun City." Serdan let out a sigh of relief.
As he pulled out the iron arrows from the chests of the two bears and put them away, he said to his son: "Go and bring the horses over."
Elu then ran excitedly to the place where the horse was tied.
"Be careful." Seldan shouted to his son.
The whole process of this bear hunting made Seldan very tired. He walked to a nearby tree and sat down against the trunk. Then he took out the pot and pouch from his arms, struck the flint and lit a pot of smoke.
As the smoke rose, Serdan looked at the prey in front of him and said in a low voice: "This year has been better."
"Have you chosen the place yet? The battery is running out of power. We have to fly back quickly." Liu Sheng said to Zhao Xin anxiously.
"Well, let's choose this place." Zhao Xin said, pointing to a narrow plain on the west coast of the island. This location is just surrounded by a bay. The north and south sides of the bay are low hills and plains, and yachts can be parked here to avoid wind and waves.
We have flown over to see all the southern and eastern parts of the island. The drone found a small village on the northeast side of the island. There were several small boats docked on the seaside near the village.
"Okay, then I'll fly the drone back first."
Through the shooting system carried by the drone, the outline of the entire Bear Island has been clearly depicted on the display screen and saved. Zhao Xin connected a small inkjet printer and printed out several copies of this simple map. Compared with the map photos saved in his notebook, Zhao Xin marked the location of the preset camp.
He handed one of the pictures to Katsuzaburo and explained the landing details in detail.
After listening to Zhao Xin's instructions, Shengsaburo gathered the other six people together and started talking in a low voice. After the discussion, several people went to various places on the deck and in the cabin to explain to everyone the preparations and precautions before landing.
The coast of Bear Island has a landform similar to that of the northern coast of the island. The beach area is very small. Once ashore, there is a dense jungle. Further into the depths of the island, there is a large forest and hills.
A few minutes later, the drone flew back and landed on the bow deck. Zhao Xin put the drone away and put it back in the cabin.
Liu Sheng started the yacht and drove slowly towards the designated location at a speed of 10 knots.
The sea was very cold in the early morning, but fortunately everyone was wearing thick protective coats, so they were able to carry it through.
More than an hour later, the yacht gradually approached the coast. Liu Sheng found that the water near the coast was very deep and the yacht could drive very close to the shore, but he was still very careful to drop anchor two hundred meters away from the shore.
In the cabin, the two changed into all-terrain camouflage uniforms suitable for cold temperate climates, put on tactical vests, and brought a full set of equipment. He walked to the cabin and handed a walkie-talkie to Katsuzaburo. Liu Sheng had already adjusted the frequency of the walkie-talkie, and Zhao Xin explained how to use it.
Under the gaze of a group of people on the boat, Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng boarded the assault boat towed by the stern, untied the cable and headed towards the planned landing site.
The assault boat slowly approached the shore, and Liu Sheng stepped sideways onto the beach. He noticed that the sand on the shore here was very rough and had large particles.
Zhao Xin slowly drove the assault boat to the beach and stopped. Liu Sheng took the cable thrown by Zhao Xin and tied the cable tightly to a rock.
The two men moved the assault rifles from their backs to their chests, loaded the magazine, pulled the trigger, and turned on the safety. With the muzzles forward, they looked around and walked towards the preset position.
Two hours later, standing knee-deep in the grass, Zhao Xin struck a coquettish pose. Liu Sheng took out a small folding flagpole, hung a red triangular flag on it, and then planted the flagpole in the grass.
"With this as a sign, the land area of 97.6 square kilometers and the 12 nautical miles of sea outside the surrounding coastline belong to our territory!" Liu Sheng solemnly saluted with a military salute and shouted loudly.
"Tsk~~ Wait until you have warships and cannons before talking about maritime territory. Not counting the continental shelf, there is also a 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone and a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone."
"Hey, aren't you here? My warship cannon is pointed at you." Liu Sheng patted Zhao Xin's shoulder affectionately.
"This matter can't be settled in a while. Even if I dare to buy it, who dares to sell it? Besides, if you buy it, can you drive it alone?"
"I'll find a way." Liu Sheng said confidently.
Zhao Xin curled his lips and ignored him.
Katsusaburo's voice came from the walkie-talkie: "Sir, sir, how is the situation?"
"Everything is fine." Zhao Xin responded, pressing the walkie-talkie on his shoulder.
"What is he asking?" Liu Sheng asked casually.
"Katsuzaburo is asking about our situation." Zhao Xin paused and continued: "I say, you also have to learn a foreign language, otherwise you will not be able to communicate with these people. I can't always be your personal translator. Right." Zhao Xin complained to Liu Sheng.
"Then you can't let them all learn Chinese?" Liu Sheng responded dissatisfied.
"Yes, of course they have to learn Chinese, but they won't be able to use it right away, right? Listen to me, you can learn it from Katsusaburo, he has a serious Kanto accent. As for Liji, they can't learn it, they are all Kanto dialect."
Liu Sheng shrugged and reluctantly agreed.
"Okay, we've checked the situation one kilometer around. Let's take them ashore. There are still a lot of things to do, otherwise we won't even be able to live in the tent before dark." Zhao Xin felt that the time was almost up, so he urged Liu Sheng.
At the same time, when Liu Sheng was not paying attention, he quietly took out the jade pendant and knocked it on the ground. A large number of shovels, pickaxes and sickles appeared in the grass.
Zhao Xin had no intention of telling the secret of the jade pendant, and Liu Sheng still thought that Zhao Xin was just making a gesture with his hand. However, in Liu Sheng's eyes, this kind of behavior is no longer something that a "magic stick" can do, and he is almost like an alien.
When Zhao Xin himself was disassembling the gun for maintenance two days ago, he accidentally made a big gash in the tiger's mouth on his right hand.
At that time, he was the only one in the tent, so Zhao Xin rummaged through the medical kit by himself. In a hurry, the blood from the wound stained the jade pendant.
This time Zhao Xin noticed that the jade pendant absorbed all the blood from his wound, and the injured area healed very quickly, leaving only a faint scar, which surprised Zhao Xin.
During the process of dismantling the tents and recycling all the materials before evacuating the camp, Zhao Xin was so busy that he took the materials in and took them out several times. After going back and forth a few times, he found that he could hold the jade pendant and concentrate his thoughts to take out a certain type of materials, instead of just putting them all out as soon as he took them, and then busy taking them back.
The two turned around and walked back to the shore, untied the cable and started the assault boat.
"You guys ask everyone to prepare for landing." Zhao Xin shouted into the walkie-talkie.
Immediately, the two boarded the assault boat and began to take everyone ashore.
