After Li Dongming left, Ling Yun and Li Haoyang closed the door of the hut, put up the wooden bolt inside the door, and lay down on the wooden bed to chat.
It is said that Li Dongming walked down the mountain with the black dog and walked along the weed-covered path on the left towards the south of the mountain. After walking for about two quarters of an hour, he came to an open space with chaos everywhere. On the right side of the stone is a cliff, which is nearly ten feet high. Li Dongming raised his head and looked at the cliff. He looked around again, and then walked towards an old tree. There was a pile of stones half a man high under the tree. Li Dongming approached the stone pile, took off the arrow basket on his shoulder, put the bow and arrows and bamboo tube aside, then knelt down in front of the stone and kowtowed three times. Next, he murmured: "Brother Feng, Sister-in-law Yue'er, I'm here to see you in the winter. Today I'm taking Yun'er to Niu Shi Ao to learn hunting, so that he can make a living in the future. In order not to let Yun'er My son was sad. After you two left, my third uncle told me not to mention anything about you two to Yun'er, so I didn't bring him to see my two brothers and sister-in-law. At the moment, he and Yangyang were resting in the house where I stayed. Although Dongming has no ability, he will definitely try his best to take care of and protect Yun'er and live up to his brother and sister-in-law's life-saving grace..."
Li Dongming murmured a lot of words, knelt on the ground and felt sad for a while, then slowly stood up and said: "It's getting late, I have to bring some water back, so that the two children will not be suspicious, the two brothers Sister-in-law, I’ll come see you another day tomorrow!” After saying that, he got up, picked up the things on the ground, and continued walking forward with the black dog. After a while, they came to a mountain spring and saw the spring water flowing down the mountain. Li Dongming took out a bamboo tube, bent down and filled it with water, raised his head and took a big drink. Then he filled the three bamboo tubes with spring water, stuffed them with corks, tied the ropes of the three bamboo tubes together, and carried them in his hand.
After Li Dongming finished doing this, he just stood up and saw the black dog staring at a bush not far away. Li Dongming looked there and heard a rustling sound coming from the bush. When he took a closer look, he suddenly With joy on his face, it turned out that there was a pheasant hiding in the bushes. Without saying a word, Li Dongming gently put down the bamboo tube, bent his bow and arrow in one go, and shot the arrow in the chest of the pheasant. The pheasant fluttered in the air. The ground rolled over, and the black dog beside him rushed forward with a strong stride, and returned to Li Dongming with the pheasant in his mouth. He threw the pheasant on the ground. Li Dongming put the bow on his shoulder and lifted the pheasant to see that it weighed five or six kilograms. , but he was so happy. He pulled out the arrow from the pheasant, rubbed the arrowhead on the pheasant's belly, wiped off the blood on the arrowhead, and inserted the arrow back into the arrow basket. Li Dongming walked back with a pheasant in one hand and a bamboo tube filled with spring water in the other. When passing by the pile of stones, he did not forget to look at the "tomb" of his brother and sister-in-law and said with a smile: "Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for blessing me. Now Yun'er and Yangyang are in a good mood!" After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the mountainside.
Li Dongming returned to the outside of the hut. Ling Yun and Li Haoyang were chatting. When they heard footsteps outside the house, they cautiously opened a crack in the door and looked outside. Seeing that Li Dongming had returned with a pheasant, they pushed the door open and rushed out. The two of them shouted excitedly He said: "Dad!" "Uncle Ming!" The black dog barked at them several times when he saw it. Li Dongming raised the pheasant in his hand and asked them: "Want it roasted or stewed?" Ling Yun and Li Haoyang shouted in unison: "Roasted!"
Li Dongming threw the pheasant on the ground and walked towards the house with a face filled with joy. At this time, the pheasant had already stopped moving. Ling Yun and Li Haoyang squatted down and gently stroked the pheasant's bright feathers, seeming to have tasted its flavor. tasty;
Li Dongming came to the house and took out a small knife. Judging from the rust on it, it should be one of the ones hanging on the wall. He picked up a smooth stone from the ground and squatted on the ground to sharpen the knife. He simply rubbed off the rust stains on it, then stood up and picked up the pheasant with a knife and began to skin and remove the feathers. Because there was not enough water, he could only peel the skin in this way. Li Dongming threw the skin to the black dog. Then he took a clay pot from the house and began to dissect and clean the pheasant's internal organs. The chicken intestines were not easy to clean, so he threw them to the black dog.
Under Li Dongming's simple and rough treatment, the pheasant was completely disposed of in less than a quarter of an hour. Then, he used the wooden base under the eaves as a cutting board, cut off the two chicken legs and wings, and cut the other parts into small pieces. After doing this, Li Dongming turned back to the house, opened the small wooden cabinet beside the bed, took out a finger-long bamboo tube, pulled out the cork and looked at it. There was some coarse salt inside, and then put the cork back. He took out a firewood bag from the baggage he brought, went back outside, and motioned Haoyang to get some dry firewood under the eaves. He also asked Ling Yun to find some dead branches and leaves, while he used the few pieces of black wood outside the house. He built a new stove out of the stone, placed the washed clay pot on the stone, poured two bamboo tubes of spring water into it, lit the dead branches and leaves that Ling Yun had found with a fire stick, stuffed them under the clay pot, and put them under the pot. The cut chicken and offal were thrown into the clay pot. When the fire got strong, he added some dry firewood to the fire. Watching the water in the clay pot steaming out, Ling Yun couldn't say how happy he was. Li Haoyang took the hatchet he brought from the house, cut a few branches, threaded the chicken legs and wings on the branches, and grilled them on the fire. Ling Yun stood by the fire and added firewood to the fire. , while keeping swallowing his saliva. Although he had been taken care of by Li Dongming since he was a child and often gave him some food, most of the prey brought back by Li Dongming and his son were taken to the market and replaced with rice, flour, oil and salt, leaving not much meat for his usual food, and most of it. They are all dried meat, which is far less fragrant than the fresh meat.
After cooking for half an hour, because there was no lid, the water evaporated very quickly. Li Dongming added water to the pot several times and finally cooked the chicken. At this time, the chicken legs and wings were already cooked, and Ling Yun After sharing the food with Li Haoyang, Li Dongming also laughed happily when he saw them eating happily.
After cooking the chicken soup, Li Dongming sprinkled some salt into the clay pot, stirred it briefly with a branch, went back to the house and took out two pieces of dough from the package he brought, and took out two cracked clay bowls from the cabinet. To say that Li Dongming really hid a lot of treasures in this cabin, everything he wanted was mainly because Li Dongming and his son went into the mountains for half a month or even half a month in order to bring more prey back during the season when prey was scarce. I need to live in this house for a month.
Li Dongming returned outside the house, carefully scooped up a bowl of chicken soup, blew it to cool down, and served a bowl of chicken soup to Ling Yun and Li Haoyang. Then he picked up a few pieces of chicken and gave it to the black dog, and stuffed a piece of dough into the black dog's mouth. Inside, I picked up a clay bowl and ate the dough with chicken soup.
The few people had a delicious meal and simply packed up the utensils on the floor. Li Dongming went back to the house to rest, while Ling Yun and Li Haoyang were still chatting energetically outside the house;
After sleeping for about two-quarters of an hour, it was already past midnight. Li Dongming sat up and told the two of them to get the guy and prepare to go down the mountain to hunt. When Ling Yun saw this, he became excited again, thinking that he was finally going to hunt. While cleaning up, Li Dongming opened the package and took a look. Apart from some small tools, there were only two pieces of dough left in it. If they couldn't catch prey today, they would be hungry. Li Dongming thought to himself that it didn't matter if he was hungry, but he couldn't let his two children go hungry. Thinking of this, he opened the wooden box on the bedside and took out three animal traps strung together with hemp rope from under the box and handed them to Li Haoyang.
Several people brought the equipment they came with, plus a few animal traps, and walked down the mountain in high spirits. Li Dongming walked in the front, Ling Yun was in the middle, and Li Haoyang was behind. The black dog was wagging its tail and followed him cheerfully and vigilantly. Within a moment, the three of them came to a fork in the road. Li Dongming led the two of them towards the path on the left rear, which led to Niu Shi Au, where they were looking for prey.
Silently all the way, they walked carefully along the mountain paths. In fact, there were no roads at all in many places, and they needed to cut a path with the hatchet in their hands. Just walking not far away, Li Dongming suddenly bent over and stared cautiously at a patch of grass in front of him on the left. He handed the hatchet to Ling Yun behind him with one hand and touched the bow and arrow on his back with the other hand. When Ling Yun and Li Haoyang saw this, they also became nervous. Ling Yun took the hatchet and looked with Li Haoyang in the direction where Li Dongming was looking. Li Dongming was about to set an arrow. Suddenly, a black shadow jumped up. There was a sound of chasing and fighting in front of him, and a piece of soil was stirred up. With flowers, grass and broken leaves, the black dog chased him for a distance of five or six feet. After a while, he saw it coming back with a gray-haired hare in its mouth. Seeing this, Li Haoyang said excitedly: "Xiao Hei is really good!"
In the blink of an eye, the black dog was back in front of the three people. Li Dongming put away his bow and arrow and took out the hare from its mouth. The hare was not bitten to death, but only suffered some skin injuries. It kicked around with its four legs. Li Dongming grabbed its ears. He weighed it in his hands and found that the rabbit was not big, only about five pounds. Li Dongming asked Li Haoyang to find some vines nearby, tied the four legs of the rabbit tightly, and handed it to Li Haoyang to carry.
The three of them continued to walk forward, cautiously, for fear of encountering any prey that would be frightened and flee, or for fear of encountering a ferocious beast and being attacked. About an hour later, with Li Dongming's superb archery skills, he harvested a hare weighing four to five kilograms and a muntjac weighing more than thirty kilograms. The muntjac was shot by Li Dongming with an arrow. The arrow went straight into its heart. Several people chased it for dozens of meters before it fell. In order to be able to bring these prey, Li Dongming handed all the bows, arrows and arrow baskets to Ling Yun and Li Haoyang, while he carried the muntjac on his shoulders and the hare he had just caught in one hand (the live one was in Li Haoyang's hand). . It was getting dark, and the three of them came to a small river. The water flowed from west to east. If nothing else, this was the source of the Peach River in the town. The river is crystal clear. The river bed is covered with pebbles of even size. There are some beaches on the shore. The high bank is as tall as a person. The bank is covered with reeds, weeds and shrubs.
Li Dongming found a slope with less weeds, took advantage of the afterglow of the setting sun, and after carefully confirming that it was safe below, he threw the muntjac on the shore, then carried the hare, gently slid down the river bank, and landed on the river beach. , turned around to greet Li Haoyang and Ling Yun and slid down together. The three of them went down to the river, washed the dirt on their hands and feet with river water, took a few sips of water, took off the bamboo tubes on their bodies, and filled it with water. Ling Yun stepped barefoot and played in the river. Only then did Li Dongming realize that Ling Yun was playing in the water with his bare feet. He was used to seeing his bare feet, but he didn't notice them along the way. Li Dongming asked doubtfully: "Yun'er, the shoes I gave you when I went out in the morning What?" Ling Yun touched his head and chuckled: "Uncle Ming, the shoes you gave me are new. I couldn't bear to wear them in this mountain forest, so I hid them under the bed in the small house!" Li Dongming didn't know what to say. He patted his head and sighed, and said, "Oh, you kid!" Then he added, "There are a lot of rocks on the mountain, and it's easy to cut your feet. Put them on quickly when you get back, do you hear me?" Ling Yun nodded, He replied: "Okay, Uncle Ming!" Although Li Dongming said harshly, he was full of guilt in his heart. In fact, he had wanted to send some clothes and shoes to Ling Yun many times over the years, but Old Man Ling refused to let him go and only accepted some. The old clothes worn by Li Haoyang and the shoes worn by Li Haoyang have long been worn out, but they can no longer be worn.
Li Dongming looked up at the sky, turned to the two of them and said, "It's getting late. It's not safe for you two to stay in the woods at night. We have to go back quickly!" After that, he packed up his things and went ashore. , Ling Yun and Li Haoyang immediately followed Li Dongming and climbed onto the river bank. Although it wasn't dark yet, the road back became extremely dark due to the dense trees. Li Dongming and Li Haoyang didn't feel much at all, but Ling Yun was miserable. The teenage kid didn't even walk at night when he went to the mountains to collect medicine. There was a lot of stumbling along the way, and there were many cuts on my feet from weeds and thorns.
When he was approaching the fork in the road at the bottom of the mountain, Li Dongming suddenly became alert, as if he had discovered something. He squatted down and touched the ground. He saw several rows of messy footprints on the ground covered with dead leaves. They were the footprints of wild boars. Judging from experience, these should be the footprints left by a sow walking with a group of piglets. It is not a good thing to encounter an adult wild boar with her children at this time. Li Dongming stood up, looked around, and said to Ling Yun and Li Haoyang: "When you encounter an adult wild boar, you can't provoke it or make it angry. We are no match for it. Yangyang, trap the beast." Give it to me!" After saying that, he put the muntjac and hare on his shoulders on the ground, reached out to take the animal trap handed over by Li Haoyang, untied the hemp rope, and said to the two of them: "You two wait here, I'll come as soon as I go, Xiao Hei, be alert!" After saying that, he walked in the direction where the footprints left. After listening to Li Dongming's words, Xiao Hei stood quietly beside the two of them, observing the surroundings vigilantly. Although this little Hei is called "Little" Hei, he is really quite tall. He can almost reach Li Dongming's waist when standing. It seems that unless they encounter a ferocious beast, no other animal can even think of hurting these two brats in front of it. When Ling Yun saw Li Dongming leaving, he said to Li Haoyang: "Brother Yang, are you afraid?" Li Haoyang followed his father and grandfather to hunt in this mountain since he was a child. He was already familiar with the environment here. Without thinking, he said: "Not afraid!" Ling Yun looked at He looked around and said, "Brother Yang, I'm a little scared!" Li Haoyang said, "Don't be afraid, Ling Yun, Brother Yang and Xiao Hei are here!" The two chatted one by one, and Ling Yun gradually became less scared. Scared.
It is said that Li Dongming brought the bear traps and relied on decades of hunting experience to confirm the location of the wild boar going down the mountain, found the only way down the mountain, arranged the three bear traps, and soon returned to meet Ling Yun and the others. Converged. He picked up the muntjac and hare on the ground and said to the two of them: "It's already dark and it's very dangerous in this forest. We have to go up the mountain and back to the house!" After that, he led the two of them towards the mountainside. As they walked forward, Xiao Hei followed behind them, alerting the surroundings.
There was no words all the way, and soon they returned to the cabin. Li Dongming opened the door and threw the prey in the corner. Ling Yun and Li Haoyang also took off their belongings and placed them in the corner. The three of them went their separate ways. He took off the bamboo tube from his waist and took a sip of water. Today's harvest is really good, and everyone is in a good mood. Li Dongming said: "Hey, I originally thought that I would take Ling Yun to explore the road today. It would be good if I could get some stuttering food to fill my stomach. I didn't expect to have such a lot of harvest!" Ling Yun and Li Haoyang were laughing at the side. Li Haoyang picked up the bundled live hare and said, "Dad, this hare just suffered some skin injuries and may not die. Can we raise it after we go back?" After a pause, he seemed to feel something was wrong, and then continued: "I mean, keep it first. When our family is short of food, will we take it to the market to exchange for some rice and noodles?" Li Dongming laughed after hearing this. Laughing, touching his head and saying: "You silly boy, although we are a poor family, our ancestors have been hunters for generations, and there is no shortage of one or two hares. Besides, if our family is really short of food, this How much rice and noodles can a small rabbit be exchanged for?" Li Haoyang was so happy that he scratched his head and just lowered his head in joy. Ling Yun leaned over and touched the rabbit's fur. The two of them giggled happily while playing with the rabbit. Li Dongming picked up the rabbit that he had shot with a bow and arrow and went out to prepare for their dinner today.
More than half an hour later, Li Dongming put out the charcoal fire and entered the house with the roasted rabbit. After eating the roasted rabbit, several people smashed the roasted rabbit and chatted for a while. Li Dongming pulled some straw from the bed. He simply made a bed on the open space next to the bed and said to the two of them: "It's getting late. Go to bed early tonight. Get up tomorrow morning and let's go to Jinji Ridge to have a look!" After that, he lay down to rest. It was extremely quiet in the forest at that time. From time to time, you could faintly hear the howls of wolves in the distance. After hearing this, Ling Yun felt a little tight in his heart. He pulled Li Haoyang and went to bed. Xiao Hei was also next to the door. I lay down, the night in the mountains was very quiet.
