Chapter 891
Eliminating the Problem on the North Slope
Upon hearing his wife's true thoughts, Yue Feng was slightly taken aback. After a two-second silence, he suddenly grinned.
If a village official's purpose is not to seek personal gain, then the disadvantages certainly outweigh the advantages.
Yue Feng has businesses in the city, the mountains, and the villages. In his current life in the mountain village, he has already achieved a basic level of financial freedom.
From the very first day he became the village secretary, Yue Feng never intended to use the position to line his own pocket.
Having lived two lives, his understanding is far greater than that of his wife.
"What are you laughing at! I'm talking to you about serious matters!"
As the Party Secretary, you have to manage the village's everyday affairs, attend regular meetings at the commune, and handle all matters, big and small, that come up in the village! It's exhausting and thankless work!
Just think, if someone else were to take the position of Party Secretary, our family would be living a much more comfortable life.
"You can do whatever you want, or if you don't want to, we can just stay home with our wives, kids, and a warm bed, without having to worry about anyone else!" Wang Xiaona said seriously.
Yue Feng grinned and explained, "Indeed, what you said is all true! But we're only this old, isn't it a bit too early to be thinking about retirement?"
We are all native villagers of Xing'an Village. We have lived here since we can remember. Every tree, every brick, every tile in the village, and all the uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters-in-law, grandfathers, and grandmothers are people we have known since childhood.
Don't you want all the villagers to live a good life?
With great power comes great responsibility!
Now that we have these resources, we must bear the corresponding responsibilities! And to do these responsibilities well, becoming a village official is the best choice!
If I were to relinquish my position as Party Secretary now, I would definitely have to be mindful of others' opinions if I wanted to do anything else!
"Wife, your awareness as a Party member isn't quite there yet!"
After she finished speaking, Wang Xiaona's eyes visibly widened in surprise.
She knew her husband loved to have fun and make friends, and he was generally warm and polite to the villagers, but she never thought about anything deeper.
For example, why would one's own husband be willing to become the village secretary?
Now, hearing Yue Feng say the words "With great power comes great responsibility," Wang Xiaona suddenly felt that she was indeed not enlightened enough.
"Those people in the village are using your work mistakes as an excuse to cause trouble and deliberately affect you. Are you just going to put up with it?" Wang Xiaona was silent for a few seconds before lowering her head and continuing to ask.
Yue Feng shook his head with a smile: "Endure it? Zhou Xueqiang caused trouble, got a beating, and hasn't even been discharged from the hospital yet! Is that what you call enduring it?"
Even if I don't want to make a big fuss, Xiao Tao and the others won't allow it!
As I just said, if Zhang Junhong knows what's good for him, he'll obediently serve as the village chief and handle routine village affairs! But if he dares to secretly collude or cause trouble behind the scenes, I'll deal with him just the same way!
As Yue Feng spoke, his tone was full of confidence. Wang Xiaona felt as if her husband was radiating light, exuding the fatal charm of a mature man.
"Alright, alright, I'm just a woman, I don't care about you men's business! You didn't get any rest last night, are you sleepy? I'll boil some water for you to wash your feet and go to bed early, okay?"
"Okay, I am a bit tired!"
"Just enjoy yourself for a bit, I'll get it done, it'll be ready in no time!"
"Mmm!"
……
Soon, his wife boiled some hot water for him to wash his feet. Yue Feng took off his shoes, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and soaked his feet for a while. Before nine o'clock, he turned off the lights and went to sleep.
Nothing happened that night, and Yue Feng slept soundly.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and Yue Feng was still in bed, there was a knock on the front door.
"Secretary Yue, are you up yet? Hurry up and go check on the north slope! Something's happened!"
Yue Feng, who was still in bed, sat up almost reflexively when he heard the villagers banging on the door. He quickly dressed, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and ran to the gate to open it for the person who had come to report the news.
"Brother Wang, what happened?" Yue Feng asked with concern.
Villager Wang Er, panting, said, "Those two bears came to the cornfield on the north slope again yesterday! Luckily, we spotted them early this time. My brother and I were half asleep when we glanced around while we were taking a piss and saw the two bears walking down the hillside! We immediately called for help and lit some firecrackers!"
Those two bears, one big and one small, were probably a mother bear with her cubs who weren't fully grown yet! They were scared away by the firecrackers!
Yue Feng frowned slightly: "No one was hurt, right?"
"Everyone was alright. They knew this thing was dangerous, so no one dared to mess with it. They ran away in fear, and I came back immediately to report it!"
Didn't you say last night that if you found any trace of them, you should come and report it immediately?
What should we do? Constantly guarding against it isn't a solution, is it? Or, how about we gather our people together and shoot it?
Yue Feng replied calmly, "I understand about this matter, and I will handle the follow-up! Since they're courting death, let's kill them! It'll also help cover Wang Xuegang's medical expenses!"
"Do you need my help? I'm the village militia squad leader, I'm good at shooting and all that!" Wang Er asked with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
Yue Feng shook his head. Teaming up with unfamiliar people is a major taboo in hunting. Wang Xuegang suffered a loss at the hands of Li Zhengkui, and Yue Feng would not make such a basic mistake.
"Don't worry about this! I'll handle it! That's all for now, I'll head to the scene in a bit!"
"Alright! I'll head back now!" Wang Er nodded, a little disappointed, when he saw that Yue Feng wouldn't budge.
"it is good!"
……
After watching Wang Er turn and leave, Yue Feng turned back to the north room, took down two 30-round AK47 automatic rifles from the wall, glanced at the magazines in his satchel to check them, and then headed out.
"Aren't you going to eat breakfast? I'll make you some more, it'll be ready in a little while!" Wang Xiaona asked with concern.
“I’m not eating anymore, those two bears went to the north slope again! I’ll call Brother Zhao, go to the breeding farm with the dogs, and kill them to get rid of them!” Yue Feng replied.
Be careful!
"Don't worry! There are plenty of dogs, so everyone will be fine! I won't bring the big black eagle; the leaves haven't fallen in the forest yet, so the eagle can't land! Remember to let them out for me later, so they can fly around and have some fun!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of the eagle for you!"
……
After a brief greeting to his wife, Yue Feng, carrying two guns and his hunting gear, left home and headed straight for Zhao Hongbo's house.
As the temporary main force of the hunting team, Zhao Hongbo was also responsible for setting traps with Yue Feng to catch wild boar lambs, so Yue Feng did not assign him the night watch.
At this time, Zhao Hongbo was still having breakfast at home when Yue Feng came to his door.
"What's going on? Why are you carrying a gun so early in the morning?" Zhao Hongbo asked, putting down the steamed bun in his hand as soon as he saw Yue Feng.
Yue Feng said, "Wang Er just went home to report that the two bears that were injured last night have reappeared in the cornfield on the north slope!"
"I was originally thinking of letting them go, but now I realize I can't let them get away with it. What if they clash with the villagers protecting the autumn harvest again, and someone gets hurt!"
"Let's take our guns and deal with it!"
Upon hearing the tone of the conversation, Zhao Hongbo immediately realized Yue Feng's attitude.
Old-school hunters with real experience in mountain activities know that these mountain animals don't have a good life on the mountain.
Especially those with young cubs, pregnant women, or those forced to descend the mountains to forage during famine years, will be driven away rather than hunted during the off-season, as long as they do not pose a threat to people's lives and livelihoods. The stability of the population is the guarantee of the hunters' long-term interests; it's a very simple issue.
Yue Feng accepted Zhao Dashan's teachings with this philosophy, and Zhao Hongbo accepted his father's education with the same understanding.
Now, hearing Yue Feng say this, and seeing him come with a gun again, it means he has made a decision to rid the people of this scourge.
Yue Feng truthfully replied, "Xiao Tao and the others haven't come out yet, so I can only ask you to lend a hand! I'll go back up the mountain to get the dog, and the two of us brothers can take care of those two bears together!"
Zhao Hongbo readily agreed, "Okay, then I'll lend you a hand!"
This mother bear with cubs is really ungrateful. She's already been shot, yet she still dares to come back. She's got a death wish.
Since it's courting its own demise, let's go with the flow; the Mountain God will surely understand!
"That's what I was thinking too. Wang Xue was seriously injured last night, but I didn't even have the heart to kill this bear! Have something to eat, and then we'll set off!"
"Have you eaten? If not, just grab something to eat at home!"
"Not yet, I was worried you might have to go out, so I rushed over!"
"You can't skip a meal, or your legs will cramp up after running a few steps on the mountain path! Sit down first, I'll get you some rice! We can set off again after you've eaten!"
"Row!"
Yue Feng and Zhao Hongbo didn't stand on ceremony and sat down casually. Soon, Zhao Hongbo's wife served them a hot breakfast.
Corn porridge, lard and pickled vegetables, white flour buns, and half a basin of stew left over from last night—Zhao Hongbo's family's standard of living isn't low; they've long since achieved the freedom to eat white flour.
Yue Feng and Zhao Hongbo finished their breakfast in a down-to-earth manner, then took their tools and weapons for the mountain trip and left home.
First, we went up the mountain to get the dog, and then headed straight to the scene of the bear sighting on the north slope.
Those dogs that were truly there to kill the bear today didn't have that litter of newly grown pups.
Yue Feng only brought three main hunting dogs: Canglong, Huabao, and Tanlang.
In this season when vegetation is lush, hunting bears mainly relies on tracking and close combat. Dogs, lacking experience in fighting bears, are more likely to be killed or injured.
Azure Dragon, Leopard, and Greedy Wolf are all very mature hunting dogs with rich practical experience. They know how to maneuver around prey like bears and avoid getting hurt.
The two men arrived at the scene on a motorcycle with their hunting dogs, and villagers who were changing shifts immediately gathered around.
"Secretary Yue! Have you eaten yet?"
Yue Feng got off the motorcycle and pushed it to an open space by the roadside: "We've eaten. Where was the bear we saw earlier? Brother Zhao and I will try to take it down today!"
"It's over on the north slope! I'll take you there!"
Soon, Yue Feng followed the villagers to the scene of the incident.
At the foot of the north slope, there are some scattered hardwood trees. Because there are no other large trees to block the view on the south side, there are also many low shrubs and weeds growing under the trees, making it look very lush.
"Right here, I was peeing when I looked up and saw that big bear with its cubs coming down the slope! I shouted at it and it stopped. Then I set off some firecrackers and it ran away!"
Following the villagers' directions, Yue Feng arrived at the place where the bear had recently been spotted.
The vegetation on the ground did indeed show signs of being trampled, and many weeds were still lying flat. A path left by a large prey could be vaguely seen.
Yue Feng looked down and examined the area, quickly spotting several bloodstains that hadn't dried yet.
“Brother Hongbo, look, isn’t this bear blood?” Yue Feng said, pointing to the bloodstains.
Zhao Hongbo glanced down and said, "It's bear blood!"
After determining the variety's origin, Zhao Hongbo continued to look up, down, left, and right, examining the surrounding environment and the details of the location of vegetation and leaves.
A few seconds later, he said, "Judging from the location and height of the bloodstains, the bear's injury should be in the upper half!"
When a bear moves normally, it walks on all fours. The blood droplet on this leaf is quite high! If it were the lower half of the leaf, the blood wouldn't have fallen here!
Based on what I heard yesterday about Wang Xuegang firing the gun, I guess he most likely hit Xiong near the shoulder!
"Shoulder?" Upon hearing this assessment, Yue Feng was momentarily taken aback.
Before he could ask any more questions, Zhao Hongbo explained, "The position of the blood droplet determines the height, and the height, along with the actual situation, determines the location of the shot!"
"Why not the chest, lungs, or..."
Before Yue Feng could finish asking the rest of the question, he suddenly realized what was happening, awkwardly scratched his head, and remained silent.
If it were the chest or lungs, the bear that was shot last night would definitely have been killed! It lost a lot of blood after being shot, but it was still able to move and maintain its health and activity level. It must have been a relatively less vital area like the shoulder.
Zhao Hongbo chuckled and glanced at Yue Feng: "You've figured it out? Don't just stand there, let Canglong start searching!"
The bear got scared by the firecrackers and ran away. We don't know how far it got. If we want to finish this sooner, we'll have to make the dog work harder!
The mother bear was shot herself, and she had her cubs with her! If the hunting dogs really gave chase, they wouldn't get very far!
Yue Feng nodded: "Azure Dragon, sniff!"
The azure dragon immediately approached, sniffed the bloodstains for a few seconds, then looked up and barked excitedly, waiting for its master to give the command.
"You three brothers, chase after them together!"
Yue Feng called out again, and the three dogs shot into the woods like arrows.
The hunting dogs were out in force, and Yue Feng and Zhao Hongbo were not idle either. They slung their guns behind their backs and each carried a short-handled spear in their hands, and followed them into the woods.
The leaves were falling as the temperature dropped, making the journey up the mountain much more uncomfortable than when it got cold.
High temperature, high humidity, dense vegetation, poor visibility.
In addition to these, there are many other dangers that are unfriendly to hunters.
For example, killer bees or vipers (scientific name: Ussuri viper) are still active during this season.
If you accidentally provoke it and get stung or bitten, it can easily cause injury, and in severe cases, it can even be fatal.
The short-handled spears in their hands were specially prepared to avoid these risks.
When on the move and tracking, if you encounter dense vegetation, you can use a spear to clear it away, or deliberately disturb the grass to alert the enemy, which can help you avoid a lot of risks.
If you unexpectedly encounter large mountain animals face-to-face, having a weapon in hand can help you parry or deal with them appropriately.
When walking in the forest, it's impossible to always carry a gun. Short-handled weapons are essential for anyone going into the mountains this season.
The hunting dogs entered the woods and quickly followed the scent up the ridge.
Yue Feng and Zhao Hongbo had already lost sight of the dog while following behind. But not long after, they heard the dog's alarm bells, indicating that it had spotted its prey.
Yue Feng's heart stirred when he heard the Azure Dragon's very distinctive cry.
"Brother Hongbo, we've caught up! Those two bears haven't gone far!" (End of Chapter)