Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 42 What You Think Comes True

"Uncle Wu, why don't you find me a few people in town who know how to farm, and you can teach me how to fish and hunt?"

Wu Laowai on the shore was furious, but Chen Tuo in the river bend remained confident.

As long as you submit your work to "New Life" in Huacheng or "Fish-Picking Diary" in Longjiang Literature and Art, it will be published.

With his extensive reading and professional experience, he could easily write for three to five years.

If the payment is 10 yuan per thousand words, he can write at least 30,000 to 50,000 words a month, which would be 300 to 500 yuan in income. The employee should not have any financial pressure.

"You think you're so high and mighty? You can't even pull up your pants, and you're still dreaming. Let's focus on surviving this winter first..."

After scolding Chen Tuo, who was shoveling fish in the river, Wu Laowai didn't stop either.

He pulled a newly replaced cleaver from his boot and started chopping the brooms on the bank.

To be honest, that little calf in the Hetao region was incredibly lucky.

The knife that Su Dao and his group brought was said to have been obtained by exchanging leather when the Eqi Banner was established, but it was actually traded with the local armed forces department.

When the Evenk Banner in Hulunbuir was established, the higher authorities allocated a lot of good resources.

The knives and guns they brought out at that time were not old, worn-out goods from the Russians, but genuine high-quality stock from Mongolia and Northeast China over the years.

According to Su Dao, the Shun Dao they exchanged were standard weapons made by the Qing Dynasty for the three Solon tribes, with excellent steel and fire resistance.

Although it's not very useful for hunting, it's much more powerful than a machete.

I chopped several bundles of broomcorn and threw them into the campfire to thaw.

Old Wu, with a pipe dangling from his mouth, began weaving a basket.

Fish packed in burlap sacks will get covered in burlap fibers, making them a hassle to clean.

I squeezed it into a basket and put it in. When it's time to eat, there's no need to let it sit; just throw it directly into the pot.

Chen Tuo, who had dug open the ice hole, had already reaped the rewards.

Although the first fish nest had been cleaned up by more than a dozen people, there were still quite a few miscellaneous fish in the silt at the bottom of the water.

A few scoops with an iron rod and a net yield a full catch of fish.

After catching twenty or thirty catties of small miscellaneous fish, Chen Tuo didn't bother working in the fishpond; he immediately started gutting and cleaning the fish.

"You can't do this again? Squeeze the fish head from top to bottom, it's quick and easy. If you use a knife, how long would that take?"

Small, miscellaneous fish will taste fishy and bitter if not properly squeezed before stewing, but some people actually enjoy them.

Although Wu Laowai was forced by life to become a mountain runner in the Xingan Mountains.

But like the other young boys in the Sun family, he never lacked food from a young age.

Therefore, I can both cook and eat.

"I really don't know how, Uncle Wu, could you teach me?"

"What are you waiting for? Grate the fish over here!"

It wasn't for this stewed fish, nor because I was a little tipsy from drinking at the Armed Forces Department, nor because Sun the Cripple sent me.

Wu Laowai can't come to Hetao today.

Having accepted Sun the Cripple's request, Wu Laowai didn't mind teaching Chen Tuo some skills for making a living by the water.

While teaching Chen Tuo how to squeeze fish, she also told him about the ways to make a living in the Hetao region.

There are few people in Songling, and Wu Laowai is a bachelor, so he has someone to confide in, and he talks more.

"Young man, fishing is worse than catching fish, and fishing is worse than catching fish. About twenty miles upstream and thirty miles downstream is the unfrozen river."

"Catch shrimp upstream and fish downstream. If you use a barrier net, you can easily catch a hundred or so pounds of fish a day. If you use a hand-thrown net, and are lucky, you can catch several hundred pounds!"

Unlike the Nenjiang River basin downstream, there are very few fishermen who make a living by fishing in the Dobukuer River, Ergen River, and the Yangqi River, whether it is the Dobukuer River, Ergen River, or the Yangqi River.

Firstly, there's no need for that; secondly, fishing in winter isn't a good business; and thirdly, the average catch of fish in Songling doesn't fetch a good price.

However, the area above Songling is a vast uninhabited area, and both the source and tributaries of the Nenjiang River are rich in fishery resources.

Sun Changkui and Wu Laowai were not just making excuses for Chen Tuo, telling him to make a living off the water.

"But be careful of hungry, delirious bears that start rotting around."

After explaining how to make a living, Wu Laowai then told Chen Tuo about the dangers of the Hetao region in winter.

"The Hetao region has unfrozen rivers, which are warmer than the mountains. Who knows, some bear might take the easy way out and settle down in the Hetao!"

"There are also gazelles that come up the river, which attract wolf packs. Although we don't have tigers here, tigers do cross the border."

"The Xingan Mountains are different from the Changbai Mountains. There are more people there, and more people hunt and run around in the mountains, so there are fewer big animals in the mountains."

"But this won't work. There are few people and many animals, including big bears and big pigs. If you encounter these big creatures, scare them away if you can, don't chase them. They're big, fierce, and slippery!"

When talking about the abundant resources of the Xingan Mountains, Wu Laowai's face was full of frustration.

To put it bluntly, his hunting grounds, and those of the other hunters, are still located on the outskirts of the Xingan Mountains.

Further in, in places the forestry railway can't reach, lies the true no-man's land, a place where treasures lie hidden, but also countless dangers.

For fifteen or sixteen years, the forestry engineers have been wandering around the outer hills, without really going deep into the heart of the Xing'an Mountains.

"Uncle Wu, are there really bears in the Hetao region?"

Although Chen Tuo listened attentively to Wu Laowai's popular science explanation, what he was really concerned about was whether there were any large creatures in the Hetao region.

Hearing that bears were hibernating in the Hetao region, he immediately perked up.

He grabbed some snow, rubbed his hands and feet clean, put on his boots, and picked up the gun and ammunition pouches from the sled.

Before Wu Laowai could continue, Chen Tuo had already finished arming himself.

Wu Laowai, taken aback by Chen Tuo's actions, smacked his lips a few times.

I was just about to say something.

The sound of footsteps crunching on the snow crust came from within.

"Hey, you little bastard! What are you doing, trying to squeeze fish intestines like that?! Waiting for your dad here?"

Thinking of how troublesome the bear was, Wu Laowai tried to get up, but the alcohol made him stumble and fall to the ground.

Seeing that it was his two regular customers, Mu Shan Gouzi, Wu Laowai angrily said:

"Finish feeding these two wretches right now, then drag them back. Don't let this curse come true again; if you really summon a bear, we're both doomed!"

Drunk and angry, Wu Laowai felt weak in his limbs and couldn't muster any strength.

If a bear comes along, should we just swing the butt of our gun and kill it?

Seeing that the wild dog that Chen Tuo was feeding was also restless while eating fish offal, Wu Laowai became even more anxious.

Animals are much more agile than humans.

Sounds that cannot be heard and smells that cannot be smelled.

These mountain animals can be heard and smelled from ten or twenty miles away.

The more restless Shan Gouzi became, the angrier and more anxious Wu Laowai grew.

The angrier and more agitated you are, the stronger the alcohol becomes, and the weaker your limbs become.

Hearing the 'crunching' footsteps coming from the snow shell, Wu Laowai completely gave up hope.

Only a bear could make that kind of noise.

"Uncle Wu, you know what, it really is true that what you think of comes true! Look, isn't that a bear?"

Looking in the direction Chen Tuo's gun barrel was pointing, they saw a large mass slowly approaching on the snow crust.

Wu Laowai's heart was completely broken.

This isn't a bear, it's a Ussuri brown bear that can go toe-to-toe with a Siberian tiger and has a pretty good chance of winning!

"You little bastard, you've ruined me! That was a Ussuri giant bear; even a Siberian tiger might not be a match for it!"

Seeing that Chen Tuo was still looking after his broken, unreliable gun, Old Wu mustered his strength and said in a low voice:

"Why the hell aren't you running away? I can't leave! Give me the gun, I'll hold you off for a bit, hurry up and find Crippled Sun..."