sinovels Chapter 1752 Horrifying and Grotesque Wounds
Chapter 1752 Horrifying and Grotesque Wounds
Chapter 1752 Horrifying and Grotesque Wounds
Before going to Hebei, Zhao Jun had promised Shao Tianpeng that he would cross the ridge to drive away the tiger at the end of May and work with the Shao family to lift the stone dragon.
It wasn't even the end of May yet, and Shao Tianpeng had already come looking for me.
Just as Zhao Jun was about to reply, he heard the dogs in the backyard barking, clearly indicating that outsiders had entered the house.
Looking out the front window, Zhao Jun saw Zhao Youcai leading Zhao Guofeng briskly toward the house.
Zhao Jun hadn't expected Zhao Guofeng to be looking for him, so he asked Shao Tianpeng on the phone, "Master Shao, is it too early for me to go now? How about next week... let me see, is going on the 20th alright?"
“Okay.” Shao Tianpeng smiled. “I’m not rushing you, I just wanted you to set a date so we can prepare.”
As soon as Shao Tianpeng finished speaking, Zhao Youcai's voice came from the outer room: "Son, come quickly, your Uncle Zhao is looking for you."
Immediately afterwards, Wang Meilan's voice rang out: "Our son is on the phone, um... Guofeng, you come inside first."
"Sister-in-law, I'm not going inside." Zhao Guofeng seemed very anxious and said, "Xiao Da Maitai and his son-in-law from our village got scratched by Da Xiong Ba. Xiao Da Maitai might be in big trouble."
"Huh?" Wang Meilan was startled upon hearing this. Zhao Jun, who was inside the house, quickly said to Shao Tianpeng, "Master Shao, something urgent has come up at my place. I have to talk to you now. Give me a call on the 18th or 19th."
"Okay, okay, you go ahead and get busy." After receiving Shao Tianpeng's reply, Zhao Jun hurriedly hung up the phone and walked out.
As Zhao Jun walked, he listened to Zhao Guofeng say, "Those two drugged the big guy. They drugged three people in one night the day before yesterday. Yesterday, the two of them were carrying a load of meat but hadn't finished when they went to carry it again today. Suddenly, a big brown bear jumped out from the side and beat them up."
As Zhao Guofeng was speaking, he saw Zhao Jun come out of the corridor. He hurriedly called out to Zhao Jun, "Zhao Jun, Xiao Da's tackling by Xiong Ba is pretty serious. Han Shang can't handle it."
I called the forest farm clinic. Dr. Lin asked about the situation and said he needed to be transferred down to the forestry hospital, otherwise he'd die. "Do you think you could take that old Liberation truck with you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun immediately pointed outside and said, "Let's go, Uncle, let's go right away."
In May, it was the busy season for farming. Today, most of the family, young and old, were out working; Wang Qiang and Li Baoyu had both gone to the fields. At this time, only Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei were left at home, along with the Zhao family father and son and Zhao Weipeng.
With lives at stake, Zhao Jun turned and headed outside without a word. Zhao Youcai and Zhao Guofeng quickly followed, and Zhao Weipeng also went to watch the commotion.
After getting into the car, Zhao Jun drove the Jiefang truck to Old Xiao's house at the east end of the village.
At this time, there were many people inside and outside Lao Xiao's house. Seeing Zhao Jun and the others walking into the house, these people quickly made way for them.
When Zhao Jun entered the house, the first people he saw were the Wei brothers, Wei Jin and Wei Tie.
The Xiao Da Maitai that Zhao Guofeng mentioned is actually named Xiao Jiangshui. He is 58 years old this year. He used to be a forestry worker, but later gave the job to his son.
Although he wasn't working, the old man couldn't stay idle. Around the end of April and beginning of May, he would go up the mountain with his son-in-law to grow medicinal herbs. His son-in-law was Wei Jin, who had previously helped Zhao Jun in a fight and had always had a good relationship with Zhao Jun.
"Brother Jin, what happened?" Zhao Jun saw bloody marks on Wei Jin's face, but they weren't from bear scratches, but from tree branches.
Wei Jin's wounds were on his shoulder, two open cuts where the skin and flesh had been torn apart. The wounds were not long, the longest being only about a hand's length.
"Hey, brother's here." Upon seeing Zhao Jun, Wei Jin raised his hand, gesturing for Wei Tie to help him up.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly stopped Wei Jin with his hand, then took two steps inside to check on Xiao Jiangshui's condition.
These days, many people who do hard labor in the mountains shave their heads in both winter and summer.
Xiao Jiangshui was the old man lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) with three wounds on his back, each over ten centimeters long, the skin and flesh torn open.
But this was not the most serious injury Xiao Jiangshui suffered. On his bald head, his scalp was split in two by a wound, exposing his skull.
The wound was clean-cut, with blood on the white flesh, looking gruesome and terrifying.
"Holy crap!" Zhao Weipeng glanced at it, his face immediately changed, and he dared not look again.
Having been in Yong'an for so long, Zhao Weipeng had gone up the mountain to hunt bears with the Zhao family gang and Zhao Youcai more than once. Seeing the big black bears and brown bears die under the gun barrels, Zhao Weipeng couldn't help but think that bear hunters were nothing special.
Seeing Xiao Jiangshui's miserable state, Zhao Weipeng couldn't help but feel a sense of lingering fear.
"Zhao Jun!" Xiao Jiangshui's wife, who had been sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), immediately knelt down upon seeing Zhao Jun arrive, crying, "Thank you so much for coming!"
"Oh dear, what are you saying, Aunt Xiao? We live in the same village, shouldn't we?" After checking on Xiao Jiangshui's condition, Zhao Jun didn't even have time to help the old lady Xiao. He just said to Xiao's daughter-in-law, "Sister Xiao, quickly get the blankets and stuff, put them on the cart outside, and then help Uncle Xiao carry the cart up."
As soon as Zhao Jun finished speaking, Zhao Guofeng called for help from those around him.
At this time, most of the people inside and outside the house were just there to watch the excitement. But as soon as they heard that someone needed to lend a hand, they didn't hesitate and all started to help with whatever they could.
First, a thick layer of dry grass was laid on the truck, then bedding was laid out. Then, everyone worked together to lift Xiao Jiangshui onto the back of the Liberation truck.
Although Wei Jin's back injury was not as serious as his father-in-law's, it still required stitches.
If Xiao Jiangshui hadn't been taken to the hospital, Han Shang would have stitched up his wound.
But since Zhao Jun was going to take Xiao Jiangshui to the hospital, he decided to take Wei Jin along as well.
Given Xiao Jiangshui's condition, he needs someone to accompany him, so Xiao's grandmother and Wei Jin's wife went with him.
The brothers Wei Jin and Wei Tie lost their parents at a young age and have supported each other over the years. Given the situation today, Wei Tie is also going.
As the village head, Zhao Guofeng didn't back down and got into the Liberation truck.
But to Zhao Jun's surprise, Zhao Youcai also wanted to go.
Zhao Jun told him to go home, but Zhao Youcai refused and climbed into the back of the truck behind Zhao Guofeng.
And so, Zhao Jun drove, with Grandma Xiao and Wei Jin's wife in the passenger seat, and the wounded, helpers, and Qian'er Deng in the back, all the way to Shanhe County.
We set off at 4 p.m. and arrived in Shanhe County at 8 p.m.
Although it's a small place, this forestry hospital is alright; there are doctors and nurses on duty.
When the doctor on duty saw how badly Xiao Jiangshui was injured, he immediately made a phone call to call for help.
As for Wei Jin, things were easy. They treated and stitched up the wound, and gave him an anti-inflammatory injection. Then, a group of people sat in the corridor waiting for the doctors to start treating Xiao Jiangshui.
Since waiting was pointless, Zhao Youcai seized the opportunity to ask Wei Jin, "Jinzi, what did you guys do? Why did you make it like this?"
"Uncle Cai, don't even mention it. I don't know how things could have turned out like this," Wei Jin said with a bitter face, recounting what he and his father had experienced that day.
These days, wildlife resources are abundant. As Zhang Yuanmin once said, sometimes poisoning can knock out three or four deer in one night.
Xiao Jiangshui and Wei Jin, father-in-law and son-in-law, had such a pleasing result. Yesterday morning, they went up the mountain and saw three large red deer, two males and one female, lying dead next to the trap.
These days, people don't value deer fetuses as much; deer antlers are more valuable, followed by deer antler protrusions.
The father and son peeled the antlers, removed the antler tips, and took the fetuses. After wrapping them up, they selected the best cuts of venison and each carried thirty or forty pounds back home.
The three large red deer, the male weighing five or six hundred pounds and the female over four hundred pounds, were only brought back seventy or eighty pounds by the father and son. Xiao Jiangshui felt sorry for the many meats left on the mountain.
Xiao Jiangshui then discussed with Wei Jin, asking Wei Jin to borrow a car from Zhao Jun.
But Wei Jin said, "Borrowing a car is easy, but who will drive it? There are plenty of venison, but does Zhao Jun really need that?"
Besides, they're busy farming right now, and Wei Jin felt bad for bothering Zhao Jun with all this.
But it would be a waste to leave so much venison on the mountain, so Wei Jin borrowed an old ox and an oxcart from Wang Fu.
Ox carts are not as convenient as sleds. In winter, when there is snow, an old ox can pull a sled all the way up the mountain to the dead deer, which would save a lot of trouble.
But it's May now, and there's no snow on the mountain, so the old ox can't pull the cart up. The father and son drove the cart to the foot of the mountain, tied the old ox to the roadside, and then went up the mountain to carry the meat.
Wei Jin has been running mountain trails for many years, so he's not without experience. Xiao Jiangshui, being so much older, is even more experienced.
Both father and son knew that they had to be wary of bears when hunting deer in the spring, so they made sure to knock and bang their way up the mountain.
Normally, if they did that, the bears would hear the noise from afar and run away in advance.
Moreover, when they were near the deer den, Wei Jin set off two firecrackers.
When a double-bang firecracker shoots into the sky, even bears and tigers have to run.
So after the firecrackers went off, Xiao Jiangshui and Wei Jin thought everything was fine, and the father and son swaggered upstairs, chatting and laughing.
The father and son were discussing bringing all the meat down the mountain today, curing half of it into salted meat and soaking the other half in cold water, and then taking it to the market to sell tomorrow when they heard a loud clattering sound from above.
People who frequently hike in the mountains can immediately recognize that it is the sound of large wild animals scraping against tree branches as they roam through the mountains.
The two looked up and saw a large brown bear weighing over 500 pounds roaring down, almost upon them.
The first to react was surprisingly Xiao Jiangshui. Instead of running away himself, the old man shoved his son-in-law out of the way.
He didn't push Wei Jin very far, but after Wei Jin fell to the ground, he rolled down the slope and avoided danger.
By then, it was too late for Xiao Jiangshui to dodge. The big brown bear slapped him on the head, and if it weren't for his hat, Xiao Jiangshui would have been in even worse shape.
Wei Jin stood up and saw that his father-in-law had been stuffed under his buttocks by Xiong Ba. Without saying a word, Wei Jin immediately drew his knife from his waist.
But Wei Jin wasn't stupid; he knew that if he forced his way in, neither he nor his son would make it home.
So Wei Jinmao climbed up, circled behind the brown bear, and stabbed it in the bear's buttocks.
The brown bear leaped up, carrying Wei Jindao away, and then turned and headed straight for Wei Jin.
Wei Jin took off running around the tree, but by then Xiao Jiangshui was already too weak to get up. As time went on, Wei Jin couldn't get around the brown bear.
With a swipe, the brown bear shoved Wei Jin under its rear. Luckily, Wei Jin had a short knife tucked into his leg. He struggled to pull it out and slashed at the brown bear's hind thigh.
The brown bear that leaped up this time headed straight up the hillside, which gave Wei Jin and Xiao Jiangshui a chance to survive.
Then Wei Jin carried his father-in-law down the mountain and put him on the oxcart. He then pushed the cart back to Yong'an Village.
“Uncle Cai.” Wei Jin recounted the incident, his voice trembling with tears as he thought of his father-in-law, whose fate was unknown. “My son and I really weren’t careless. We knocked on the trees all the way up the mountain, even making two double knocks. How could it still not move?”
"Alright, Jinzi," Zhao Youcai comforted Wei Jin, saying, "You're still injured..."
The more Zhao Youcai tried to persuade him, the more Wei Jin cried, saying, "My dad did it to save me..."
Suddenly, a nurse came out of the next room, glared at him and snapped, "Quiet down!" Wei Jin immediately shut his mouth.
Zhao Youcai sighed softly, took out two tissues from his pocket, and stuffed them into Wei Jin's hand so that he could wipe his snot and tears.
"Jinzi." At this moment, Old Mrs. Xiao came over shakily. The old lady had tears in her eyes, but she comforted Wei Jin, saying, "Listen to your mother, don't cry. It's shameful to cry in public."
After saying this, Grandma Xiao paused for a moment to calm herself down and said, "Shouldn't your father have saved you? As an elder, he should have done everything he could for you when the time came."
Upon hearing what Grandma Xiao said, Wei Jin couldn't stop her tears from flowing.
This scene would move anyone who saw it. At this moment, Zhao Jun lowered his head, and Zhao Youcai, with his small, blinking eyes, took out half a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes that he had been smoking for half a month and shared them with Zhao Guofeng and Wei Tie.
Grandma Xiao asked Zhao Youcai for a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. The old lady did smoke, but she usually only smoked leaf tobacco, and because she was feeling down, she didn't even realize she'd smoked a Zhonghua brand cigarette until she finished it.
Xiao Jiangshui wasn't brought out until midnight.
The doctor said the person was saved, but has not yet regained consciousness and needs to be hospitalized for observation.
Even at this point, Zhao Jun and his group didn't go back; instead, they found a guesthouse near the hospital to stay in.
The next morning, after breakfast, they went to the ward to check on Xiao Jiangshui. Seeing that Xiao Jiangshui was still asleep, Grandma Xiao and Wei Jin's wife stayed, while Zhao Jun took Wei Jin away.
After returning to Yong'an around 10 a.m., Zhao Jun first took Wei Jin to Wei Tie's house before driving to Xiao's house.
The Xiao family hasn't returned, but the bedding is still in the car.
As soon as the car stopped at the door, people came out of the house.
Xiao Jiangshui's daughter-in-law, Jin Chunhong, came out and asked Zhao Guofeng, "Uncle Zhao, my son Guodong went to the hospital. Have you seen him?"
"No," Zhao Guofeng said. "We came out early."
At this moment, Jin Chunhong asked about Xiao Jiangshui's condition again. When Zhao Guofeng answered her, Zhao Jun brought over the folded quilts.
"Zhao Jun, thank you so much." Jin Chunhong thanked Zhao Jun, who laughed and said, "No need to thank me, sister-in-law. We live in the same village, isn't this what I should do?"
“There’s no such thing as ‘it’s our duty’,” Jin Chunhong said, her eyes red. “My brother Guodong said that he’ll come over when he gets back to properly thank you all.”
"Oh, no need," Zhao Jun said. "As long as Uncle Xiao is alright, that's fine. Well... Sister-in-law, we'll head back now."
"Hey, Zhao Jun." Suddenly, Jin Chunhong called out to Zhao Jun, "Before your brother Guodong left, he went to the convenience store to buy you a stone forest, but he didn't have time to deliver it to your home. You can pick it up yourself later."
"Oh dear, sister-in-law, why are you buying that?" Zhao Jun waved his hand and said, "I don't smoke, I don't want it."
"You can't refuse!" Jin Chunhong said, looking at Zhao Youcai, "The money's already been given, just take it. Besides, you don't smoke, but doesn't my Uncle Zhao smoke?"
What can you give as a thank you gift these days? Either cigarettes or alcohol, you can't exactly give someone a skewer of cakes, can you?
Everyone in Yong'an knows that Zhao Jun doesn't smoke or drink, so they had no choice but to let Zhao Youcai have the benefit.
(End of this chapter)