fictionpage Chapter 46 Eating and Drinking Until You Go Bankrupt
Chapter 46 Eating and Drinking Until You Go Bankrupt
"Hey, you cripple Sun, why don't you report this to the Forestry Bureau? Stop messing around!"
Since the logic didn't work, and considering the potential harvest this winter, Wu Laowai gave Sun Changkui some sound advice.
There are precedents everywhere of people who, instead of successfully hunting wolves, have instead caused wolf plagues.
According to Sun Changkui's statement, wolves from Hulunbuir and Russia have both come to Songling.
This year is definitely going to be a disastrous year for mountain runners.
When wolves from outside enter the mountains, they not only harm the livestock but also drive them into uninhabited areas deep in the mountains, which further increases the difficulty of escaping the mountains.
"Should I react tomorrow? I guess this matter is already settled. If we don't fight, the wolf pack will definitely retreat into the mountains."
Sun Changkui wasn't the only one determined to fight wolves.
There were reclamation engineers at the foot of the mountain, and forestry engineers and railway soldiers on the mountain. Which of them would be afraid of a pack of wolves?
Another point is that the wolf packs did indeed cause considerable casualties during the development of the Great Northern Wilderness.
Whether in forest areas or farms, any large-scale wolf packs must be hunted down.
"If you report it and a problem arises, that's the Forestry Bureau's problem. If you don't report it and things get out of control, that's your problem."
Having figured that the wolf hunt was a done deal, Wu Laowai looked at Chen Tuo.
Judging by his appearance, going into the mountains this winter would probably be less safe than fishing with this little rascal.
"Kid, let's not get involved in their wolf-hunting business. I'll find you a helper to throw nets, and we'll go check out the unfrozen river tomorrow?"
Chen Tuo preferred hunting to fishing or catching fish.
With a gun in hand and having hunted a bear, he's on a winning streak right now. Why would he go and play with Wu Laowai's hand-throw net?
This is just like him not knowing the danger of wild animals.
Given more exciting options, who would choose the "old man's ride"?
"Uncle Wu, how about I try digging a few ice pockets?"
Chen Tuo wanted to strike while the iron was hot and transform the Hetao area, which was adjacent to the educated youth settlement, into his hunting ground.
Knowing that this was unreliable, Wu Laowai did not reply.
On the contrary, Sun Changkui, who had just arrived, asked questions without knowing what was going on.
"Why are you digging an ice hole?"
"Like stabbing someone in the back and drawing blood, this kid wanted to dig an ice pot trap on the frozen surface of the Hetao River. I was afraid someone would fall into it, so I didn't let him dig it."
"Oh, this? Let's report it in the newspaper tomorrow..."
Hearing that it was Chen Tuo's idea again, Sun Changkui didn't dare to support it.
He shared Wu Laowai's view that it was more reliable for a novice like Chen Tuo to make a living by fishing.
"Forget about that, let's get the bear back while it's still fresh in our minds, shall we?"
A brown bear weighing six or seven hundred pounds can yield about three hundred pounds of meat after removing its head, skin, bones, and offal.
With over 300 jin of bear meat, Wu Laowai believed that Chen Tuo was secure enough to get through the winter.
"That's right! Xiao Chen, hurry up and help Master Wu clean the bear meat. Once it's cleaned, change the food accordingly, and don't eat or drink the rest."
Only when bear meat was mentioned did Sun Changkui remember his purpose for coming.
Besides him, Hu Yuling also came, but she walked a little slower with her child.
"Xiao Chen, those few bastards are always thinking about food. Don't mess with them, or they'll eat you out of house and home!"
When talking about his six sons, Sun Changkui had a conflicted expression on his face.
The eldest child in the family is just ten years old, and his appetite is about the same as his.
The second child, aged eight, the third child, aged seven, and the fourth child, aged six, were tied together. The ration for the three of them was not enough.
He worked two jobs, one at the forest farm and the other at the armed forces department, and Hu Yuling also received a subsidy for her house calls.
With the help of two old blacksmiths, they could barely satisfy the appetites of six scoundrels.
Today, the four of us in the family had a big meal and drinks at the Xiaoyangqi educated youth settlement, which was how we celebrated the New Year.
The favors owed are hard to repay.
In the Songling Forest Area, what kind of work you do and how much you earn are all irrelevant.
What truly matters is food.
When it's cold, people eat more, and once their appetite is whetted, they'll eat even more.
Since the birth of his third child, Sun Changkui has only dared to eat until he is five or six tenths full during the past seven or eight years.
If you only care about filling your own stomach, then you'll neglect your children's appetites.
Over the years, his comrades on the mountain would occasionally bring him their hunted game, which Sun Changkui would accept.
But he really didn't dare to accept anything from Chen Tuo.
If Chen Tuo were to die in Songling from frostbite and internal organ damage, just as Xiao Kai from logistics had predicted, his family's children would be branded as having bankrupted him.
He was wasteful with food and drink, and that's something to be aware of.
Things have been a bit better these past few years.
A few years ago, Sun Changkui also had to fish and hunt to barely make ends meet for his family.
Chen Tuo also lacked this kind of life experience.
In his view, eating and drinking a little bit is nothing special.
"Brother-in-law Sun, putting aside the fact that Sister Lingzi saved me, without you, I wouldn't have gotten the gun, right? Without the gun, where would I have gotten the bear meat?"
Just like Wu Laowai's calculations about mountain harvests and Sun Changkui's calculations about personal relationships, Chen Tuo also had his own calculations.
Once the gun deal was finalized, if the hunting rifle wasn't working well, he could switch to a rifle.
Sun Changkui was a key figure in this process.
With Brother-in-law Sun mediating, neither Chu Maolin nor the Forestry Bureau will make things too difficult for him.
Instead of mentioning the smoked fish and venison that the children ate, Chen Tuo talked about the brown bears in the Hetao region.
Old Wu, who had already started planning his winter meals, also helped him out.
"Hey Sun the Cripple, I think this kid's got the guts. Don't hold back, let's both take care of Xiong first..."
The three men went down to the river bend. Chen Tuo continued to fish, while Wu Laowai and Sun Changkui took advantage of the hot bear meat to prepare it.
Chen Tuo had a good harvest; the fishpond that Sun Changkui and his men had cleared yielded forty or fifty catties of small miscellaneous fish.
He found two sacks of small, miscellaneous fish in the fishpond he had cleaned himself.
Wu Laowai and Sun Changkui kept praising the big brown bear that got up early, saying it was in good shape.
Not counting the five layers of pork belly, the subcutaneous fat layer weighs at least tens of kilograms, and that's not included in the meat yield.
With these dozens of kilograms of bear fat as a base, plus nearly three hundred kilograms of pure meat, Chen Tuo should be able to get through this winter.
"Old Sun, what are you doing playing this game?"
While the three were still immersed in the joy of their harvest, Hu Yuling, who was supposed to be waiting at the entrance of the educated youth settlement with her five children, stood on the riverbank again.
"Sister Lingzi, I just killed a bear. It was huge, enough to feed those kids for a month..."
Sharing with others enhances the joy of the harvest, and before Sun Changkui could answer, Chen Tuo spoke first.
Chen Tuo's shared joy caused Hu Yuling on the shore to look gloomy.
If she had been able to hunt a bear or find a few fish nests back then, she might not have had to marry into the Songling Forest Area.
She was lucky to meet such an honest and simple man as Sun Changkui.
Back then, how many people crawled into Wu Laowai's bed for a meal of meat and a few warm coats?
Is Wu Laowai a bad person?
In Hu Yuling's opinion, although this old man was a scoundrel, he wasn't a bad person either.
Without him, Chen Tuo might not be here anymore.
Those who sneak into his bed will likely meet the same fate.
Many things are either forced by the necessities of life or constrained by harsh natural environments.
Giving up would certainly solve everything, but what about the family?
Whether in the Greater Khingan Mountains or anywhere else, there is hope as long as you are alive.
"That's good! But don't spoil my boys. No matter how much they eat, it'll never be enough!"
Hu Yuling had been rejected several times when she applied to return to the city. She had resigned herself to her fate, although she had not forgotten anything she had learned and had accumulated more clinical experience.
However, in such a large area as Songling, which covers more than 10,000 square kilometers, there are only 20,000 to 30,000 people. No matter how good the medical skills are, there is limited room for them to be put to use.
In the past two years, she has also been forcing herself to integrate into life in the forest area.
If it were before, if Wu Laowai had harassed her, she would have definitely made Sun Changkui deal with him...