sinovels Chapter 1714 Exploring the Wild Boar Pen
Chapter 1714 Exploring the Wild Boar Pen
Chapter 1714 Exploring the Wild Boar Pen
Although the father and son never rekindled their master-disciple relationship in this life, Zhao Jun still respected Hu Dahai very much. At this moment, he held Hu Dahai's arm and asked him with a smile, "Uncle Hu, how's business here with them?"
"Great!" Hu Dahai smiled and said, "The food is good, and the work is easy. We old men and women can hang out together and even play mahjong when we have nothing to do."
Back when Hu Dahai worked at the 78th workshop, there weren't as many people serving him, but he did all the work himself, from heating the kang (heated brick bed) in the shacks to cooking.
Now there are four groups of workers here, totaling about two hundred, and the workload has more than doubled. But Hu Dahai is no longer fighting alone; with Hu Mantang and his wife, and Yang Shuqiu and his wife, there are five people working together.
As for the food, the forest farm in Xinlengchang provides grain and vegetables once a week.
The money for grain and vegetables was paid by the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce and the Zhao Group. The so-called vegetables were just scallions, potatoes, radishes and Chinese cabbage.
As for staple food, we must have one meal of two kinds of dry noodles every day, and the other two meals are dry cornmeal.
This food is nothing compared to the Zhao family's, but compared to the other households in the forest area, it's top-notch.
In recent years, most of the more than 100 sheds in Yong'an Forest Farm have been eating cornmeal and sorghum rice, and they have never seen mixed grains.
Hearing Hu Dahai's words, Zhao Jun smiled and whispered in the old man's ear, "Uncle Hu, one of these days you can talk to my Aunt Yang about finding you a partner."
"Huh?" Hu Dahai was taken aback by Zhao Jun's words, staring at him with wide eyes. Zhao Jun continued, "Everyone else has a spouse, what are we lacking?"
"This..." It was clear that Hu Dahai had been persuaded by Zhao Jun, but the old man was still a little embarrassed in front of a group of younger people, so he immediately waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about that for now, I have something to tell you."
"Go ahead and say it." Zhao Jun waited for Hu Dahai to continue, but Hu Dahai raised his hand and pointed north, saying, "There's a group of vagrants here, which scoundrel is it?"
"Huh? Ah..." Zhao Jun realized what was happening and then laughed, "Uncle Hu, he's not a hooligan anymore?"
"Ah, yes, not hooligans." Hu Dahai nodded repeatedly after being corrected, and said, "That group of guys, each of them has an air rifle."
Zhao Jun smiled upon hearing this and said, "If you're willing to play, I'll get you one someday."
"No, no," Hu Dahai waved his hand and said, "Isn't my nephew's semi-automatic rifle better than an air rifle?"
Yes, his nephew had a semi-automatic car, which Zhao Erdong used to settle the debt.
“I mean, these guys are never idle,” Hu Dahai added. “This guy is out in the woods from dawn till dusk every day, hunting greyhounds and sand pheasants.”
"Uncle Hu, won't their running around in the mountains interfere with their work?" Zhao Jun asked. Hu Dahai shook his head and said, "No, it won't interfere with their work."
After answering Zhao Jun's question, Hu Dahai immediately added, "Your grandpa isn't complaining to you."
"Ah, hehe..." Zhao Jun chuckled, and Hu Dahai continued, "What I wanted to say was that two of them went to that place the morning before last..."
As Hu Dahai spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to the opposite mountain, saying, "Go up to that pine tree hill with the wedge behind it. I came back from the north a few days ago, and then I ran into an old sow and got chased by her."
Hearing Hu Dahai's words, Zhao Jun sighed softly. The mountain area Hu Dahai had just pointed to was the place where Zhang Lifu had found the sow's nest that day.
That day, Zhao Jun said he would bring dogs the next day to drive away the nearby livestock so they wouldn't interfere with the workers coming and going from the new storage yard.
But after that day, Zhao Jun was entangled in various matters and couldn't pay attention to Xinlengchang.
But those people from Xishantun are really restless. The mountain beasts didn't come looking for them, but they went looking for the mountain beasts.
"Uncle Hu, how were they chased by the wild boar? Did they get pricked?" Since Hu Dahai said they encountered an old sow, there was no question of them being chased; they could only have been pricked by the boar's snout.
"The two are alright, not stupid," Hu Dahai laughed. "They'll climb the tree in no time."
After saying that, Hu Dahai added, "I heard them say that the old sow was about to give birth, and the piglets were tumbling around so loudly they were almost clanging."
Aside from the two sentences about his late wife, Zhao Jun and Hu Dahai didn't hide anything else from those around them.
Hearing Hu Dahai's words, Zhao Jinhui whispered to Zhang Yuanmin, "Brother Zhang, why did my Uncle Zhao say that wild boars take another ten or twenty days to give birth?"
“Some were married early, some were married late,” Zhang Yuanmin replied softly.
Wild boars enter their mating season around the time of Minor Snow in the 24 solar terms each year. This mating season lasts for three months and applies to the entire wild boar population. The timing of mating and successful conception both affect the wild boars' birthing date.
Most pregnant wild boars will give birth between late April and mid-May of the following year. A few may give birth as late as June, and a very small number will give birth in early to mid-April.
“I remember you said you wanted to raise little flower sticks, so I told them not to go there anymore, so they wouldn’t get chased away.” Hu Dahai said to Zhao Jun, “After that, you’ll be here in another week, otherwise it’ll still be too cold.”
At this point, Hu Dahai paused for a moment, then pointed at Zhao Jun and said, "I know you have a good dog, but catching piglets is different from hunting wild boars. You can't bring a dog that's too fierce, or the piglets will be killed by the dog."
Zhao Jun knew what Hu Dahai was talking about. According to Zhao Jun's plan, he wanted to raise fifty wild boars this year. If he included the losses, he should at least catch sixty small wild boars.
With so many as sixty, we can't just pick them up all over the mountains like Zhang Lifu did; we have to take the initiative.
“Uncle Hu.” Recalling the information Zhang Lifu had provided last time, Zhao Jun asked Hu Dahai, “I ran into my sixth uncle the day before last. He said that the wild boars have already started to build nests.”
"Really?" Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Hu Dahai frowned, mentally calculating the days, and said, "Then maybe they've already given birth?"
"Right?" Zhao Jun frowned as he spoke, "Won't it get below freezing in the mountains at night? Will the piglets survive?"
Hu Dahai just said that he asked Zhao Jun to come early because even though it's April, the temperature in Northeast China is still not high. It's better when the sun is out during the day, but at night, the temperature can sometimes drop below zero.
The temperature isn't a problem for adult wild boars, but it's unbearable for newborn piglets.
"Tsk!" Hu Dahai smacked his lips and shook his head, saying, "If a litter of five or six lambs survives, it's already a good thing if one or two are left."
After saying this, Hu Dahai took the cigarette from Wang Qiang and added to what he had just said, "It fell too early. What day is it today?"
"Number 2." Wang Qiang answered Hu Dahai's question. Today is April 2nd, 1988.
“Before the 20th, not many of the sow’s lambs will survive,” Hu Dahai said, then looked at Zhao Jun and said, “If you want to raise them, you should take all the piglets back with you in the next couple of days.”
Hearing Hu Dahai's words, Zhao Jun blinked and said, "No, Uncle Hu, nothing's been done at the pig farm yet."
Zhao Jun can't bring any more small animals home. He already has a dog and a donkey, and besides domestic animals, he has a small lynx and a small black bear. Li Baoyu's family keeps a jackal and a mink. If they bring in a small wild boar, they could practically open a zoo.
"What are you still doing?" Hu Dahai said, "Now that you've put up a tent and built a pigsty, do you think the piglets can just move in? You still have to keep them in the house for a while, don't you?"
“The key is… I haven’t found anyone to raise pigs for me yet,” Zhao Jun said, and then Hu Dahai said, “What kind of people are you looking for? Just catch someone and send them to me, and I’ll raise them for you first.”
"That would be too much trouble for you," Zhao Jun said. "You already have to work all day, how can I find you more work to do?"
"What's there to be afraid of?" Hu Dahai said, "I'll just make some porridge and feed it to it. That thing is easy to manage; it'll sleep after it's full."
The "muddled" that Hu Dahai mentioned refers to "muddled porridge," which is cornmeal porridge.
"Okay, let me take a look." Zhao Jun said, glancing at Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and the others.
Before anyone else could speak, Jie Chen said, "Brother Jun, what are you looking at? Let's get started."
“That’s right!” Li Baoyu chimed in as soon as Jie Chen finished speaking, “If we don’t hurry, the little flower will freeze to death.”
“Yeah, big brother.” Li Ruhai also came over and said to Zhao Jun, “It would be so pitiful to freeze to death. We might as well catch him and raise him.”
Zhao Jun looked at Wang Qiang and Zhang Yuanmin. Wang Qiang said to Zhao Jun, "Nephew, we need to make sure it has pupated. What if it hasn't? Who are we going to arrest?"
Before Zhao Jun could speak, Wang Qiang finished speaking, Zhang Yuanmin said, "If there are no piglets, then we'll have to use my pig-binding hook."
As he spoke, Zhang Yuanmin waved his short arms and gestured, saying, "They caught that old sow and took her back."
“That won’t do, we can’t afford to raise him.” Zhao Jun directly rejected Zhang Yuanmin’s suggestion, then looked at the people around him and said to Xie Chen, “Xiao Chen, after you pick up my brother Xie, you guys go back first.”
"Huh?" Xie Chen was taken aback, thinking, "Why aren't I being taken along?"
"I'll go upstairs with my uncle and Baoyu in a bit. If they're about to have a cub, we'll come tomorrow night instead of tonight." After saying this, Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin and said, "Brother, when you go back, set up the fish traps. The family is waiting to eat fish."
"Alright, brother," Zhang Yuanmin replied, "I won't go scouting. I'll come back tonight to catch the piglets."
"Brother Jun!" At this moment, Zhao Jinhui asked Zhao Jun, "Should I go with Brother Zhang and the others too?"
"Let's go, Jinhui." Zhao Jun pointed to the opposite mountain and said, "I'm afraid of scaring the pigs, so even if the mountain road is passable by car, we can't drive on it. If we don't drive, how are you going to get up that high mountain, Jinhui?"
Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Zhao Jinhui's chubby face fell. Knowing that climbing the mountain would be difficult, he remained silent.
Just then, Li Ruhai gently patted Zhao Jinhui's big belly and said, "Brother Hui, you still need to exercise."
“Yeah, I lost weight when I came here by train,” Zhao Jinhui said with a bitter face. “But after eating here for a couple of days, I’ve gained it all back.”
Everyone chuckled upon hearing this, and Li Ruhai laughed, "That's right, Brother Hui, look at you, you can't even see your toes when you look down."
Upon hearing Li Ruhai's words, Zhao Jinhui's expression changed, and he looked down. Sure enough, all he saw was his own stomach.
Zhao Jinhui tried to suck in his stomach, but it still didn't work.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun and the others chuckled. Li Ruhai was such a show-off. Seeing that his words had amused everyone, Li Ruhai continued, "But if it's a girl, not being able to see her toes is actually a good thing!"
"Ah, you're pregnant?" These were the words of Xie Chen. He thought he had guessed the answer, but to his surprise, Li Ruhai shook his head repeatedly.
Just as Li Ruhai was shaking his head, Wang Qiang slapped him on the shoulder.
"You brat!" Wang Qiang glared at Li Ruhai and said, "You blabber on about everything!"
Li Ruhai chuckled and was about to step aside when Li Baoyu grabbed him.
"What do you mean by that?" Li Baoyu had just asked when Zhang Yuanmin stopped him.
"Alright, Baoyu," Zhang Yuanmin said. "Ruhai, come back with us. The three of you be careful afterwards."
Li Baoyu was six years older than Li Ruhai, but he was very naive. Remembering that he was going up the mountain with Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu cheerfully said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, let's go!"
"Let's go!" Zhao Jun responded, then called Wang Qiang to get into the jeep. Regardless of when Xie Chen and Xie Zhong would leave, they rode in the jeep and headed towards the old pigsty that Zhang Lifu had pointed out that day.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Zhao Jun instructed Li Baoyu to stop the car. The three of them then got out, carried their guns, and began their ascent.
At this time, wild boars are most wary. Just as Zhao Jun told Zhao Jinhui, they shouldn't drive up the mountain, otherwise they would scare the wild boars.
At this moment, Zhao Jun and his two companions began to feel their way up the sunny slope.
During this season, not only wild boars, but all animals like to rest on sunny slopes.
But at this time, the female wild boar should have woken up from her burrow. After waking up, the wild boar will go looking for food.
Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang deduced that this mountain was Pine Hill, and the snow on the sunny slope melted early, so the pine cones and grass roots that had fallen to the ground had long been eaten by wild boars.
The snow on the shady slope had just melted, so the wild boar was most likely looking for food on the shady side.
"Baoyu, let's try not to fire." Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu as they walked. "If the wild boar comes at us, we'll climb a tree if we can avoid it. If we really can't avoid it, we'll use our guns as a last resort."
Hunting is inherently unpredictable. Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang's analysis was based on common sense, but unexpected events are inevitable.
If a wild boar encounters a human before or after giving birth, it will almost certainly attack.
After Wang Haitao was arrested and the crisis was resolved, all the dogs and guns that the Zhao family gang had scattered out returned.
From then on, there were always guns in the jeep. At this moment, Zhao Jun and his two companions were each carrying a semi-automatic rifle, but they weren't there to hunt today, and they didn't want to use their guns unless absolutely necessary.
Especially since it was uncertain whether the sow had given birth, what if they killed the sow and found her belly swollen? Should Zhao Jun and his men cut her open or not?
If we don't gut it, then we're just throwing the whole pig away. In that case, why kill it? If we gut it, we'll definitely get a bunch of bloody, wriggling piglets that won't survive.
That would be too cruel. Zhao Jun and his men didn't want to do that, so Zhao Jun instructed Li Baoyu to try not to fire.
The three of them carefully and quietly made their way up the mountain. When they were about two ribs up the mountain, Zhao Jun suddenly grabbed Li Baoyu's arm.
Li Baoyu knew he couldn't speak at this moment, and when he looked at Zhao Jun, he saw Zhao Jun raise his hand and point to his ear.
Li Baoyu listened intently and heard a faint "squeaking" sound mixed in with the mountain wind.
The sound was very sharp. Upon hearing it, Li Baoyu's eyes lit up: "That old sow has indeed given birth to her lambs!"
(End of this chapter)