novelslam Chapter 77 Grudges
Chapter 77 Grudges
Fueled by alcohol, Wu Laowai went down to the river bend and walked up to two female mountain dogs.
Chen Tuo replaced the axe handle he used to suppress the growls of the mountain dogs with a Tula single-barreled gun that was fitted with a bear-hunting bullet.
"You better warn me before you start the fire, or I'll blow it up..."
Fueled by the alcohol, Wu Laowai didn't just approach; instead, he grabbed some fresh snow from the ground and began rubbing the mountain dog's purplish-black, shiny fur.
"These things are infested with lice, fleas, and ticks. If you don't clean them thoroughly, it'll be a real hassle to take them home."
Amidst the whimpering threats of the mountain dogs, Wu Laowai avoided his stomach, finished scrubbing their bodies, and then the two began eating the wolf offal in his hand.
"Uncle Wu, I'm going to check out the traps up ahead. You keep an eye on them; if they bare their teeth again, we'll use them to make hats..."
Leaving those words behind, Chen Tuo, carrying a gas lamp, walked across the crunching fresh snow toward the frozen surface of the Dobukur River.
Without saying a word, Wu Laowai got up and immediately unloaded the water-filled beaded gun from his shoulder and cocked it.
If you can't tame them, you'll end up using even a guard dog as a hat, let alone a mountain dog. That's the survival rule for mountain runners.
Looking at the two female mountain dogs at his feet, after Chen Tuo left, they wanted to bare their teeth several times, but forcibly held back.
Wu Laowai then retreated to a safe distance.
Only by listening to Chen Tuo and not to him can the mountain dog be tamed.
Those who develop the habit of clinging to anyone they meet are utterly useless.
With his gun in hand, watching the gas lamps recede into the distance, Wu Laowai remained vigilant. Instead, he pulled out several packs of bullets from his inner pocket and placed them in his outer pocket.
Compared to mountain dogs, wolves are the truly vengeful wild animals.
If we fail this winter, we may try again next spring.
Even if I fail again, I will still try again.
Once wolves have tasted human blood, the wolf pack will also treat humans as prey.
Chen Tuo went to inspect the traps, and the time it took was much longer than Wu Laowai had estimated.
Just as he was hesitating about whether or not to take the two mountain dogs to check the situation.
The creaking sound of footsteps came from deep within the Hetao region.
"Hey kid, is that you? Don't joke around so late at night, someone could die if the fire goes off!"
Having experienced the bear hunt in the Hetao region, Wu Laowai remained vigilant upon hearing footsteps.
This can also be considered a form of mountain shouting, as only humans can understand the human language.
The thing waving or nodding might not necessarily be a person.
"Uncle Wu, it's me! Two more wolves are frozen to the bayonet, they must be old wolves, they've lost quite a few teeth..."
Upon hearing that it was Old Wolf, Wu Laowai gripped the water beads in his hand tightly and began to look around.
"This is really troublesome! Wolves hold grudges, they're probably after you."
After explaining his reason for being nervous, Wu Laowai stepped forward to check on the two old wolves with their fur and wrinkles.
"Oh no! Kid, do you know that when wolves split up, it's not a one-shot kill, but rather the middle-aged wolves defeat the older wolves, and the older wolves lead the cubs to form a new pack?"
After examining the wolf carcasses, Wu Laowai basically confirmed that a wolf plague was about to occur in Songling.
"Uncle Wu, do you mean the wolf pack has a new wolf king, or a new wolf king for the whole pack?"
Although he didn't understand the habits of wild wolves, Chen Tuo would use his own knowledge to assess the danger.
The wolf pack posed little threat to him.
If a pack of small wolves forms a large pack, and the alpha wolf or the pack remembers a grudge against them, then that becomes a threat.
"Hmm! That's roughly the gist of it. I reckon the pack of wolves that Sun the Cripple chased for a whole day and night was an old pack, and a new pack might have gone into the mountains..."
Thinking about the wolf pack's movements on that snowy night, Wu Laowai turned to look at the North Mountain behind the educated youth settlement.
Beyond the North Mountain lies the area of gullies and ponds, where the snow is enough to deter people from venturing out, but also enough to provide temporary shelter for wolves.
"The reindeer at the Beishan Dobukuer settlement are likely to suffer..."
After estimating the possible food sources for the wolf pack, Wu Laowai wanted to draw his knife to skin the wolf, but Chen Tuo stopped him.
"Uncle Wu, are Uncle Su Dao on the North Mountain? Can they hold off the wolves?"
"Who can say for sure? If it's a daytime battle, the human force will definitely prevail; but if wolves raid the camp at night, even guns and cannons can't stop them!"
"Then let's go inform Brother-in-law Sun..."
Glancing at Chen Tuo, whose ideas were somewhat simplistic, Wu Laowai pointed in the direction of the forestry bureau in the area.
"The Forestry Bureau has rules about using people and guns! Sun the Cripple and his men chased them down to the Unfrozen River, more than 50 miles from Beishan, where there are even more ditches and ponds."
"The forestry bureau couldn't find any trace of wolves going up the northern mountain, so how could they dare send people up the mountain at night?"
Speaking of the Forestry Bureau's reaction, Wu Laowai was somewhat helpless.
Things are different now; people can't just leave whenever there's a commotion.
The wolf-hunting operation that started the day before yesterday was based on information and evidence, not just something the Forestry Bureau said they would send people to hunt wolves on a whim.
If the wolf pack hadn't attacked the horse stables at Lushui Forest Farm at night, it would have taken at least three to five days for the Forestry Bureau to organize a hunt for the wolves.
"How about the two of us go?"
Hearing Chen Tuo's nonsense, Wu Laowai pointed to himself and then to the two mountain dogs on the snow crust.
"Including the puppies in your arms, there are only five of us. How are we going to make it up the mountain? To feed the wolves?"
"Uncle Wu, if we had no grudge against the wolves, we could skip it! But since we've already made an enemy, we can't give them a chance to settle in Beishan!"
Chen Tuo's meaning was clear: since they had become enemies, and since the wolf pack had sent an old wolf to keep watch on them.
This prevents the wolf pack from finding a fixed food source.
Without food and water, even a pack of wolves could not find a place to settle in the Xingan Mountains.
"Go ahead and be ruthless. I'm already this old, and I've been drinking. Even if I could climb the mountain tonight, it would still be dawn by the time we get across the snow!"
"Uncle Wu, don't worry! The people on the mountain might not let their guard down either. As long as the wolves can't get any meat, they won't stay put."
After saying that, Chen Tuo pointed to the North Mountain, where the trees were clearly visible under the moonlight, and said:
"Uncle Wu, Beishan is too close to the educated youth settlement. I don't want a pack of wolves sneaking up on me right under my nose!"
Having given Wu Laowai his opinion, Chen Tuo, dragging the two old wolves, called the two mountain dogs to the riverbank.
Seeing the two mountain dogs following Chen Tuo obediently like dogs, Wu Laowai gritted his teeth and said:
"Even if we have to go up the mountain tonight, we should at least let Sun the Cripple know. If there are shots fired up on the mountain, they can provide some support."
"Also, our guns aren't good enough, and we can't get any other guns. We need to bring Sun the Cripple's little musket with us."
The "small carbine" that Wu Laowai mentioned is the M1 carbine that Sun Changkui has.
That thing uses round-nosed bullets, and its close-range power is no less than that of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, but the gun itself is a bit delicate.
"Alright! Then let's split up. I'll go back to the educated youth settlement to settle these two. Uncle Wu, you go find Brother-in-law Sun."
The presence of wolves lurking nearby, coupled with the imminent arrival of Beishan Mountain, instilled a sense of crisis in Chen Tuo, but also fueled his desire to gather writing material on the mountain.
Ever since he killed that Ussuri brown bear, his impatience to go hunting in the mountains was no less than the frenzy brought on by ginseng.
For Chen Tuo, going up the mountain to hunt wolves overnight would not only calm his impatience but also resolve the feud with the wolf pack—a win-win situation.