A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 80 King Kong in Trouble

The weather was nice in the morning. The big red birds in front of the house were perched on the treetops, pecking at their feathers, attracting many sparrows to perch and fly over. However, the big red birds ignored them, fluttered a few times, and circled up.

Zhang Niu was changing the water in the pond in front of the yard; many peach and cherry blossoms had fallen into the water these past few days. He was preparing to change the water early in the morning. The old turtle with the character "王" (Wang) reluctantly poked its head out while he was changing the water, staring at Zhang Niu with its beady green eyes. "Good heavens, disturbing my rest!" it thought. It took small steps and climbed to the side of the tree.

He dredged out the silt that had been soaking in the pond for a month and replaced it with fresh sand. After changing the water, he caught all the little turtles crawling outside and put them back in. "You guys love to crawl around all day, always coming ashore and getting bullied by the cats on the bank. You seem to enjoy it, though; there's just no way to deal with you!" Zhang Niu couldn't help but smile wryly as he thought about how the cats bullied the little turtles every day.

The little turtles that have been submerged in water don't care what you say; they'll just swim around in the water for a while and then come up to continue crawling.

I was cleaning up the fallen petals. As I was carrying a winnowing basket to bury the petals next to the tree as fertilizer, I heard a few grunts in the distance. Was King Kong back? But the voice didn't quite sound like him. Just as I reached the door, a wild boar rushed in and bumped into me.

Upon closer inspection, Zhang Niu was stunned. What had happened? The sow was covered in wounds, blood trickling from her skin. A gunshot wound on her leg revealed black, rotting flesh bleeding profusely. Every inch of her body was injured. Zhang Niu was heartbroken.

What on earth happened? How could King Kong come back like this after only a few days away? What about King Kong and the family pig? This made Zhang Niu furious. The villagers in the area all knew that King Kong wouldn't attack people unless provoked. A few days ago, someone who was cutting firewood in the mountains said they had encountered King Kong wandering around. He came back covered in injuries after only a few days.

Zhang Niu didn't have time to deal with any of that. The most important thing was to find Jin Gang as soon as possible. Squatting on the ground, he looked at the red flesh around the gunshot wound, which had already turned black. It was obvious at a glance that it was caused by Tu Tong. If he wasn't mistaken, this was the result of close-range shooting. If it had been shot from a distance, it would have only left faint steel ball marks.

Could it be that hunters have appeared in the mountains again? It's quite possible now that it's early spring. The sow lying on the ground grunted and looked at Zhang Niu pitifully with her eyes.

Seeing the mother wild boar run back, Zhang Niu immediately realized that it must be Jin Gang who had returned to report the news. Perhaps Jin Gang had already escaped. He needed to bandage her quickly; no amount of blood could stop the bleeding.

Looking at the still-moving sow, Zhang Niu said, "Don't move her. Let me bandage her up and remove the steel ball. Did King Kong escape?" Having stayed with Zhang Niu for a while, she had at least learned to nod and shake her head. Seeing the limp sow nod, Zhang Niu's tense heart relaxed. It was good that she had escaped.

He went outside to the pond and called the wolves back. After they came inside, they sniffed around the sow and then howled all day. They clearly knew their sow had been injured. "Keep a close eye on them, don't let anyone in."

He then pushed the motorcycle outside to call a veterinarian to remove the steel ball inside. If the steel ball remained in, his leg would be ruined.

Although he had calmed down, his anger hadn't subsided. This time, he was determined to teach them a lesson they wouldn't get away with hunting Zhang Niu's wild boars. It seemed that sending them to the police station before hadn't been lenient enough. If it was a group of guys again this time, he wouldn't let them off easily. Zhang Niu immediately thought of the two hunters he had caught in the valley last time.

The veterinarian happened to be home today and saw this young man come over. I wonder what's happened in Zhangjia Village this time.

Zhang Niu came in and, without saying a word, said, "Are you free today? I'd like to ask you to come over to my place. I need to get some small surgery to pick up something."

The veterinarian heard Zhang Niu speak in a rather urgent tone and asked, "Was one of your animals shot by poachers?"

Unexpectedly, the veterinarian also knew about this. "Hmm. I wonder which damned person used a clay pot to beat him." He got angry just talking about it.

"Don't rush. I'll go in and get the tools." He turned and went into the house to look for tools.

When they came out, they were carrying a large suitcase. "Let's hurry up and go; it'll be troublesome if the local forces attack us."

On the way, Zhang Niu learned that in the past few days, many families in the nearby villages had their dogs beaten up by the local militia and could no longer find their owners. So when Zhang Niu entered a house and was told that the dogs had been beaten up, he knew that those guys were still hiding in the mountains.

Rushing home, the large wolf at the door bared its teeth and glared at the veterinarian who had followed behind. The veterinarian, who was behind Zhang Niu, was genuinely a little scared; he could tell at a glance that this was the most formidable blue wolf in the mountains.

"It's alright, it's my pet, don't worry," he said to the veterinarian behind him.

He secretly wiped away his sweat. "You raised it well. You must have hit the wild boar in front of the door." He spotted the wild boar lying on the ground at a glance, with a small red animal next to it waving its paws and squeaking.

"Hmm, let's see how badly it's injured." He led the veterinarian to the wild boar.

"Big Wolf, move aside. This is the veterinarian who's treating you," Zhang Niu said. Big Wolf made way. The sow lying on the ground opened her eyes, which had been closed, but her gaze was weak and unfocused.

The veterinarian crouched down and examined the wound carefully. "Everything else is fine, it's a minor injury," he said, pointing to the gunshot wound on the hind leg. "This place is a bit more serious. Luckily, wild boars have thick skin, otherwise this leg would be useless."

"Is there any chance of it being cured?" Zhang Niu asked anxiously.

"Do your best. Go boil some water. Remove the steel balls inside later." Open the box and bandage other areas.

When Zhang Niu came out carrying a bucket of boiling water, the wild boar was covered in medicine. The shallow wounds were coated with a black ointment. However, the wounds still stung Zhang Niu at the sight. In some places, bright red, tender flesh was still visible.

The female wild boar lay motionless on the ground, clearly brought here by her owner for treatment.

The veterinarian was also a bit surprised, initially thinking it was the family's stray dog ​​that had injured it. But upon arrival, he realized it was a wild boar, along with three blue wolves.

"The hot water is here, what should we do next?" Place the bucket on the ground.

"When you're cutting up the rotten meat later, just make sure this wild boar doesn't get aggressive." He lowered his head and opened the knife.

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Niu himself knew that after being hit by the earthen bullet, all the black flesh around the wound had to be cut off. Otherwise, the flesh would continue to rot.

"Let's begin. Keep a close eye on this wild boar. It's best not to move around too much, or it will be difficult to catch later," he reminded repeatedly.

"Understood. Don't worry, I promise I won't let it move." He picked up the bucket and placed it in front of the veterinarian.

He held a flat, gleaming knife, its sharpness evident. This veterinarian was the most skilled among the surrounding villages, possessed a good temper, and was quite kind.

The bullet hole was deep, and the surrounding flesh had turned black. Cutting open the rotten flesh revealed seven or eight gleaming white steel balls embedded in the meat, which Zhang Niu recognized. "That shot was really accurate. If it had been any lower, this wild boar would have been lame. Probably a sharpshooter." He then used small tongs to remove the steel balls and threw them on the ground. Zhang Niu watched, never imagining that his own wild boar would one day be shot.

After removing the steel ball, the veterinarian cut away the black, rotten flesh. The wild boar on the ground only grunted softly a few times. He took out a medicine bottle, sprinkled white powder on it, and then wrapped it with gauze. He then took out a large syringe and explained, "This is for anti-inflammatory purposes."

Looking at the veterinarian who had finished everything, Zhang Niu asked, "Is everything alright?"

"You could say that, as long as the wound on your leg doesn't get infected, it'll be fine. Just take good care of it yourself," the veterinarian said. The two then carried the wild boar back to its pen.

After carrying it back to the pigpen, the veterinarian said, "I forgot something earlier. From now on, you'll have to come pick me up every day, and change this wild boar's dressings daily. Just like people, they can take a whole day to recover from a broken bone. These damned poachers have injured countless wild animals. We've encountered quite a few like this this week." He sighed, knowing they couldn't help, and could only do his best to treat it.

"Thank you for your help today. Let me take you home first. It's a bit far to your place." Veterinarian Zhang Niu said as he walked out, intending to take him home first.

The veterinarian smiled and waved his hand, "No need, I have some business to attend to in your village later. Just don't forget to come every day."

Watching the veterinarian walk out the door, Zhang Niu went back to the kitchen, took out the leftover eggs, cracked them out, and poured them into a bowl. He took the bowl of egg yolks to the pigpen. He pried open the sow's snout and poured the eggs in. "It's alright, she'll be fine soon. We'll go into the mountains to find King Kong later." Feeding eggs is a folk remedy; the village dogs are fed these, as the egg whites are said to be effective.

"Little One" stood beside the wild boar, gently stroking it with its tiny paws. It occasionally squealed at the boar. Then it jumped onto Zhang Niu's shoulder, gripping the little paws angrily. "Don't worry, we'll find them soon enough we'll go into the mountains. A bunch of damned creatures!"

He left the three wolves at home to take care of them. He then took a machete and went into the mountains with the big wolf.

The wolf in front, with its keen sense of smell for blood, followed the trail of blood in the orchard. It quickly disappeared into the mountains. "This time they'll definitely suffer," it muttered as it entered the mountains.

As we ventured into the mountains, our pace slowed. Wild boars prefer to flee into bushes; their thick hides make them an ideal escape route. The wolf leading the way had to stop frequently to sniff carefully and pinpoint where it had come from.

Zhang Niu wasn't too worried. Since King Kong had run away, the big wolf would surely find him later. He hadn't brought Little Black from home. That guy was still playful; if he came, he might cause trouble.

I took out my phone and realized it was already past 2 PM. "It's already 2 PM, looks like I've been in the mountains for two or three hours. King Kong really went far this time." Daliang Mountain used to be all mountains, and not many people from the village had ventured out. To put it bluntly, it was a very mountainous area.

This was Zhang Niu's first time inside. He wasn't entirely afraid, though. The light was exceptionally dim in the mountains, and the temperature dropped accordingly, making Zhang Niu feel a chill.

Led by the big wolf, hardly any animals appeared. Only a few pheasants occasionally darted out. Normally, the big wolf and his pack would have rushed out to catch them and bring them back to claim credit.

Zhang Niu, walking along, realized he'd forgotten to bring Da Hong along. He could see further, but then thought better of it. This place was surrounded by mountains; there was no point in bringing it in.

The machete continued hacking forward. The wolves easily slipped through. They didn't care about the cuts and scratches on their hands from the thorny vines. The most important thing now was to find King Kong.

The road stretched further and further, and the light stopped streaming in. The dense tree branches completely blocked out the sky. Truly, this is a place of endless mountains.

A wolf howled softly ahead. Had they discovered something? Zhang Niu hurriedly swung his sword. In a clearing in front of a large tree, a circle of stones indicated that someone had been there, and several branches lay nearby—likely used for firefighting. Looking at the scattered footprints around, it was safe to assume several people had been there.

Okay. At least you've found something. Big Wolf, go up and sniff carefully, remember the scent. Remembering the scent is never wrong, whether you actually do it or not.

He let out a few low howls. He sniffed the rocks a few times. The howls seemed to help him remember the scent. "Good job, let's keep going!" After a few words of praise, he continued onward. Seeing the traces left by others, Zhang Niu had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Zhang Niu felt much more at ease on the road ahead. At least finding traces was better than searching haphazardly on his own, and a bunch of messy footprints in the mountains couldn't possibly belong to the villagers. Zhang Niu was almost certain that these were the guys.

The group ahead of us were quite cautious, mostly walking through bushes where the grass made their footprints difficult to see. Luckily, we had the big wolf. It's not a problem how far you can go.

The road ahead was starting to get more difficult. These guys were even crawling under the bushes. Wow, they were really careful. They must be a bunch of veterans.

Zhang Niu simply cut down the bushes and went over. It would only be a little more troublesome for him.

It was six o'clock on the phone. The mountains were completely dark. Fortunately, Zhang Niu's eyesight was good, so he could continue, albeit slowly.

Meanwhile, in the woods on the other side, several men carrying burlap sacks were there. The sixth brother, with long hair obscuring his eyes, shouted, "Boss, take a rest! The road's all sore from walking today, we haven't even seen a bird feather, and the second brother got pricked a few times by that wild boar!"

The guy called "Boss" was a man with dyed red hair and an earring. He took a deep drag on his cigarette. "Damn, it makes me so angry. Eight of us only managed to kill one pig, and two escaped. Second Brother even got impaled by a wild boar. Luckily, we brought plenty of medicine. We really lost face." He then pointed at a man with long, flowing hair and said, "And you, Third Brother. You couldn't even kill him at such close range. Where did your marksmanship go? You're usually so good. What happened to you?"

"Isn't it because the wild boar is close to us? Don't you know that if we shoot from this place, all of us brothers will be in trouble if the steel balls scatter?" the long-haired man replied in a low voice.

"You still dare to talk? Believe me or not, I'll shoot you until you're blown to bits." The red-haired man, enraged, raised the dagger in his hand at the shawl-wearing man.

"What are you all arguing about? If those old guys in the underworld knew about this, they'd laugh their heads off!" the second brother, who was being helped up by the two men behind, shouted.

The second brother spoke up. The man in red withdrew the dagger from his hand. "Second brother, what are you saying? If this sharpshooter hadn't made a mistake, how could you be in this state? Look at yourself." He was clearly still unhappy and lashed out at the man in the shawl.

"I've been hunting geese all year round, and today I've been pecked in the eye by one." The second brother sighed. "That's why we say you have to be extra careful in these mountains. Who knew that guy would attack for a domestic pig?" He looked at his left leg, which was wrapped in white gauze and was oozing blood.

The fifth brother, who was supporting the second brother, was a one-eyed fellow wearing an eyepatch. His face was full of ruthless eyes. "But that wild boar was fierce too. It managed to escape after taking six or seven hits. But it should be dead in that corner by now." He then burst into laughter.

"Yes. He must have died there," said the seventh brother, who was wearing a black hat.

Old Seven's words quickly reminded everyone of how the sharpshooter's last few shots had all hit their mark. After a series of howls, they stumbled and ran into the thorny bushes, otherwise they would have been dealt with much earlier.

"Don't all sigh," the red-haired man patted the sack behind him. "Having this one this morning is a pretty good harvest."

Everyone remembered their morning's harvest and put the matter of the wild boar out of their minds.

"It's getting late anyway, let's find a spacious place up ahead to spend the night!" the second brother suggested, noticing the approaching darkness.

Under a big tree, the red-haired group was preparing to rest, while Zhang Niu, on the other side, groped his way in the dark.

Updated. I'd like to recommend two books by friends that are also about farming.

The author, Zi Mu, has a very interesting book called "The Carefree Farmer" (book ID: 1371082). If you're interested in reading about widows, check it out. It's a very good book; those who are tired of this one should take a look.

Dog King Supreme Book No. 1400015 "Summer, Autumn and Winter Under the Greenhouse" has few words, so you can let it accumulate before selling it.