Old Man Ling was stunned when he heard a shout from outside the house: "Old man, come to dinner soon." The person who spoke was officially Old Man Ling's wife. People and young people in the village called her Aunt Wang, and they didn't know what her name was. .
The old man heard his wife calling him, came to his senses, responded, put away the objects in his hands, reset the box, and walked out of the house.
Li Dongming, Aunt Wang, Ling Yun and the half-grown boy were sitting cross-legged on the ground around a dilapidated square table. Seeing old man Ling come in, Li Dongming said, "My mother saw that there was still no smoke coming from the kitchen near noon at the third uncle's house. She thought there was a shortage of food at home." Now that you have food, you asked me to bring some dried meat over!" After a pause, he added: "The mountains have been closed by heavy snow for several months, and there are no prey in the nearby mountains. I only have some dried meat that I have saved at home. I brought it to cook some broth and porridge, please try it, Third Uncle!"
Old man Ling sat down and took a look at the porridge on the table. The porridge was very thin, with a few diced meat and some unknown wild vegetables floating on it. He took it and took a bite. Li Dongming asked: "How is it? , Third Uncle?" Old Man Ling nodded and said: "Dongming, I'm in trouble for you!" Li Dongming said: "Third Uncle, look what you said!" Old Man Ling raised his head and said to everyone: "You all are too. Eat quickly!" After saying that, the others also lowered their heads and started eating. Old man Ling wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Li Dongming: "It's spring now, and the snow on the mountains has begun to melt. In a few days, I'll pack up my hunting gear, and I'll take Yangyang to the woods to see if I can hunt." I’ll get some pheasants, hares, etc. to replenish your health and Ling Yun’s health!” He said, touching the half-grown boy’s head.
After hearing this, Old Man Ling put down the bowl and said to Li Dongming: "Dongming, since Feng'er and Yue'er left, my old Ling family has been able to raise Yun'er up thanks to the care of you and your mother. This kindness will be remembered by my old Ling family!" At this point, Li Dongming stood up hurriedly and said: "Uncle, you can't say that, these are what we should do!" Old Ling waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down. He continued: "Dongming, you see, Third Uncle and your Aunt Wang are already this old, and we don't know how many more years they can live. If one day, we both leave, leaving Yun'er alone... ..." At this point, Ling Yun looked up at him and called out in a low voice: "Grandpa!" But Old Man Ling ignored him and continued: "Dongming, Third Uncle wants to ask you one more thing," at this point , Li Dongming said hurriedly: "Third uncle, stop talking, it's unlucky. If you have anything to do, just give me orders, and Dongming will definitely do it!" Old Man Ling continued: "You also know, our town is very sparsely populated, damn. I can't fill my stomach with this work of collecting herbs. As for Ling Yun, this kid has been smart since he was a child. He has followed me in collecting herbs in the mountains and forests for many years, and he is also quite smart. I thought, if he could follow you Going to the woods to learn hunting is also a good way to make a living. If you have the opportunity in the future, walk out of this mountain and go out to make a living!" After hearing this, Li Dongming responded repeatedly: "Uncle Third, you don't need to tell me, Ling Yun is a I will definitely take good care of the child. Since you said so, in a few days, I will take him and Yangyang up the mountain!" After hearing this, the two little children looked at each other with surprise. look. After hearing this, Old Man Ling felt relieved, nodded, and told everyone to continue eating. Li Dongming said that he had already eaten at home before coming, so he only ate with them, but his son Li Haoyang had another full meal.
After a few people had dinner and chatted for a while, Li Dongming said goodbye to Old Man Ling and his family, and left with Li Haoyang. Back home, Li Dongming was not idle for a moment. He was busy making hunting tools all day, and was planning to take his two children to the mountains for a good hunt in a few days to make a good start for the new year.
A few days later, at dawn, Li Dongming took Haoyang to the door of Ling's courtyard. Haoyang softly shouted to the house where Ling Yun was: "Ling Yun, Ling Yun, get up, let's go hunting in the mountains!" At this time, Ling Yun was sleeping. When he heard the call, he sat up in a daze, rubbed his eyes, and listened carefully to who was calling his name. At this time, Haoyang was still calling his name outside. After listening carefully again, I heard that it was Li Haoyang's voice, so I picked up the tattered cotton jacket on the bedside and put it on my body, jumped out of bed, and tiptoed out of the door.
As soon as he walked to the door, he heard Old Man Ling's voice coming from the inner room: "Yun'er, you must listen to your Uncle Ming on the mountain, learn from your Uncle Ming's skills, and be sure to pay attention to safety!" Ling Yun was stunned for a moment. , and then responded: "Grandpa, don't worry. You have taken me to that mountain forest many times. It will be fine. Besides, Uncle Ming and Brother Yang are here. I'm leaving, Grandpa!" After that, he As he was about to let go and run out, Old Man Ling whispered: "Keep your voice down, don't wake up your grandma!" Ling Yun made a face, stopped, opened the door and walked out quietly, and as soon as he closed the door, he rushed He rushed outside the hospital and lowered his voice and shouted: "Brother Yang, I'm here!"
Li Dongming was wearing a cotton coat, carrying a baggage and a bow and arrow on his shoulders, and an arrow basket on his back. There were more than a dozen bamboo arrows in the arrow basket, and two bamboo tubes with wooden plugs were pinned to his waist. , holding a spear in his left hand and a hatchet in his right hand, while Li Haoyang held the same spear, with a bamboo tube tied around his waist, and a hunting dog squatting at his feet. This hunting dog is half a man tall, covered with black hair, shiny and very beautiful. When Chen Dongming saw Ling Yun coming out, he handed him the spear in his hand and said: "Take it!" With that, he took the hatchet and bow and arrow. Putting it on the ground, he took off a bamboo tube from his waist and handed it to Ling Yun. Ling Yun took the bamboo tube and shook it, then imitated the two of them and hung the bamboo tube on his waist. Then, Li Dongming took off the bag on his shoulder again, took out a pair of small cloth shoes from it, and said, "Come on, Ling Yun, put these shoes on!" Ling Yun looked at the shoes, they were actually a pair of new embroidered cloth shoes. He couldn't believe it. He looked up at Li Dongming and asked: "Uncle Ming, is this... really for me?" Li Dongming nodded and said: "Take it quickly, you, you have never worn a pair of decent shoes since you were a child. , running around barefoot all day, your aunt heard that you were going to hunt with me in the mountains in the future, so she went to the town and bought you this pair of cloth shoes, put them on and see if they fit." With that, he handed the shoes to Ling Yun. Ling Yun took the shoes, reached out and patted the soles of his feet, put them on quickly, and took two careful steps. Li Haoyang said: "Ling Yun, these shoes are so beautiful, even my mother doesn't. You bought me such nice shoes!" Ling Yun looked up at Li Dongming and said, "Uncle Ming, you are so kind to me!" Li Dongming didn't say anything, just put the baggage and bow and arrow on his shoulders again, and picked up the ones on the ground with his left hand. Chai Dao gently patted the two people's backs with his right hand and said, "Let's go into the mountain early!" After saying that, he walked in front of the two people and led them towards the back mountain. Ling Yun slowed down, deliberately fell behind them, secretly took off his shoes, patted the soles, put the shoes into his arms, and quickly followed Li Dongming and his son with bare feet.
The three of them had just walked not far, and looked into the woods through the faint morning light. This forest was inaccessible, and the ground was covered with thick rotten leaves and dead grass. At this time, it was actually covered with white mushrooms, which had fallen down. A large number of fungus also grew on the dead trees. Several people were very happy when they saw this. Li Dongming said: "I'm afraid it will take a few days to come back when I go up the mountain this time. You two should follow closely. The mountain is full of thorns and wild animals are rampant. If we encounter a big guy, we can't do it." It's difficult to deal with, and the mountain road is very slippery. If you accidentally slip off the cliff..." As he said this, a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes. He glanced at Ling Yun, and then said: "When we enter the mountain today, we will take Yun'er with us first. You are familiar with the hunting place. It doesn’t matter if you can’t catch any prey. If you are lucky and catch some game and pick some mushrooms from here, you will be lucky!” After hearing this, Haoyang and Ling Yun giggled. One said he wanted to eat rabbit meat, and the other said he wanted to eat wild boar meat. In this way, the three of them walked deeper into the forest, talking and laughing.
Three people and one dog walked slowly through the dense forest. The mountain road was difficult to walk, and the road was mostly uphill. It was very difficult to walk. They walked and walked for about an hour. It was already bright and the dew had already wet their feet. From time to time, there were a few sounds of insects and birds in the jungle on both sides, and the rustling of shrubs and grass being disturbed by something. There was a sound, but no animal was seen. The big black dog also followed Li Haoyang quietly. After walking for a while, Li Dongming stopped and looked up. The sunlight was shining on the treetops from behind. The dewdrops on the treetops reflected the sunlight, which was crystal clear and especially beautiful. The mountains ahead are even more steep. There is a mountain peak towering into the clouds in the distance, and unmelted ice and snow can be faintly seen on the top of the mountain. Li Dongming pointed to the mountain peak in front and said: "The mountain in front is the highest mountain in our area. If you walk forward for more than an hour from here, you can reach the foot of the mountain. On the mountainside, there are my father and I. We built a foothold where we can rest and replenish our energy. Then we go around the mountain. There is a big mountain col in the north called Niu Shi Ao. After the Niu Shi Ao, we can reach Jinji Ridge. Those two places are convenient. It is the best hunting ground. Our current location has steep mountains and inconvenient access. We can only hunt small animals such as pheasants and hares. Only in Niu Shi Ao and Jinji Ridge can we hunt wild boars, Larger prey such as mountain deer. However, there are also many wild beasts such as jackals, tigers and leopards, which are very dangerous, so you must be extremely careful when you go there!"
As he said that, he looked around, found a relatively flat stone, put the hatchet, bow and arrows, and arrow basket on the ground, then sat on the stone, opened the bag, took out a few pieces of dough, and gave it to Ling Yun and Haoyang each handed one over and said, "Come on, have something to eat. We still have a long way to go in a while!" After saying that, he took out two more pieces of dried meat as big as little thumbs and handed them over. The two took the dough and dried meat, found a stone to sit on, and threw aside the spears in their hands.
The dough was hard and dry. Ling Yun took a few bites, but it was so dry that it was hard to swallow. He took off the bamboo tube from his waist and ate a mouthful of noodles and water. Li Dongming looked at the two of them, shook his head and smiled, took off the bamboo tube, and poured the dough. After drinking some water, he moistened a piece of dough repeatedly, stood up and stuffed it into the black dog's mouth, then returned to sit on the stone, and then started eating.
Ling Yun looked at the surrounding environment and then at the mountains in the distance, feeling a little excited. That was the farthest place he had ever been to follow his grandfather to collect medicine.
After eating this simple breakfast, Li Dongming got up and packed up the things on the ground, looked up at the sun, and said to Ling Yun and Li Haoyang: "Let's go, let's continue on the road, we will reach the cabin at noon!" Ling Yun and Haoyang quickly He tied the bamboo tube back to his waist, picked up the spear on the ground, and continued to walk northwest with Li Dongming. Along the way, Li Dongming told Ling Yun a lot about his hunting experiences. Ling Yun's eyes widened when he heard this wonderful experience.
After walking for more than an hour, the group finally arrived at the foot of the mountain. The forest here was dense and there were towering trees everywhere. The sunlight was blocked by the thick leaves and could not be completely penetrated. Although it was almost noon, they I couldn't feel any warmth. There were three intersections appearing in front of them. The one on the left was almost completely covered by weeds, the one on the right was the widest, and the one in the middle leading to the top of the mountain was slightly smaller. Li Dongming looked around, then took them on the path in the middle and walked up the mountain.
On the way up the mountain, the trees gradually become sparse, and there are mostly boulders on both sides of the road. After a while, they came to the cabin Li Dongming mentioned. This is an open space next to the mountain road. There are a few big trees sparsely growing around it. There are almost no big trees further up. The ground is full of yellow and white rocks. This wooden house is made of thick wood and looks very solid. The wall panels are tightly connected and no light can penetrate. Because the mountain road is curved, the house is located exactly at the bend of the mountain road. The three of them walked towards the house and saw a window on the left side of the house and a door on the right side. The roof was covered with a layer of wooden boards to prevent insects, snakes and wild beasts from entering. , and covered it with bamboos split in half, front and back, which effectively prevented rainwater from falling into the house. It can be seen that Li Dongming put a lot of thought into building this cabin. There was a stone stove in the open space at the door of the hut, which was blackened by the fire. There were some unburned firewood inside, and the charcoal ash was washed everywhere by the rain. There were a lot of chopped firewood neatly stacked under the eaves. Li Dongming approached the hut, took off the wooden bolt on the door, opened the door and walked in. Ling Yun looked back and saw that the foot of the mountain was densely covered with big trees, and he couldn't see the edge at a glance. It must be the cow dung col that Li Dongming mentioned. Then he turned around and followed; Li Dongming walked into the small wooden house.
There is not much space inside the hut. There is a bed in the innermost position by the window. It is said to be a bed, but in fact it is just a bed board placed on a few rocks. It is large enough for a strong man like Li Dongming to lie down and rest. The bed was covered with thick straw and covered with a thin sheet. There must be no straw in this barren mountain. It should have been specially brought by Li Dongming and his son from the village. There was an old gray quilt neatly folded at the head of the bed, and there was a simple wooden box next to the bed. I didn't know what was inside. There were several clay pots piled in the corner of the wall, and two knives were stuck on the wooden shelves on the wall. There was some rust on the blades, but there was nothing else.
The three of them took off their belongings and placed them in the corner. A few people chatted for a while, and Li Dongming asked Li Haoyang and Ling Yun: "You two rest here for a while, and I will go down the mountain to get some water. There are many wild animals here. You must close the doors and windows tightly, and don't go out at will!" The two responded repeatedly. "I know, Dad!" "I know, Uncle Ming!" Li Dongming then turned around and went out, taking the black dog down the mountain.
