"Captain Xu, how much further? There's no path here," Niu Jianwen asked, panting.
After going up the mountain, Niu Jianwen's luggage was carried by his younger brother, Niu Jianwu. Everyone had been following Captain Xu for an hour in the mountains, and they still hadn't reached their living quarters. Even empty-handed, Niu Jianwen's stamina couldn't keep up.
"Soon, we'll be there after we cross this small hill ahead. We forest rangers always take these pathless routes. Do you expect a path deep in the mountains? We're here to protect the forest, not to enjoy ourselves.
From now on, we'll be walking mountain paths every day. If you think you can't handle it, go back now. Don't make trouble for yourselves."
No one wanted to go back. For some unknown reason, even Niu Jianwen, with his poor stamina, didn't suggest turning back midway.
"Ah~ Oh my goodness, a snake!" As everyone walked through the forest, they suddenly heard a startled cry.
When Captain Xu heard there was a snake, he immediately turned and ran towards Niu Jianwen. There are many venomous snakes in Changbai Mountain; if bitten, one might not even make it out of the mountain alive.
"Don't move! Where were you bitten? Did you see what kind of snake it was?" Captain Xu asked anxiously as he reached Niu Jianwen.
At this moment, Niu Jianwen was so scared he had sat down on the ground, making Captain Xu think he had been bitten by a snake.
"It didn't bite me. It's over there, on that branch," Niu Jianwen said, pointing to a broken branch nearby.
Captain Xu looked in the direction Niu Jianwen pointed and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "It's fine, it's fine. This long worm isn't venomous, no need to be scared. Get up, you big man, so timid. A tiny non-venomous snake scared you this much? How will you live in the mountains in the future? Mountain life means dealing with snakes, insects, rats, and ants every day."
After the snake encounter, everyone became more cautious in the forest, fearing another danger. Ye Hao, however, wasn't afraid and looked around with curiosity.
Rustle, rustle, rustle~
Just as everyone was walking through the forest, a rustling sound came from nearby. Ye Hao, with his keen hearing, heard it first. Soon, the sound grew louder, and everyone looked towards where it came from. Captain Xu and Zhang Shan both raised their rifles, pointing them at the source of the sound.
Just as everyone grew more tense, two small gray animals sprang out from the tall grass. Ye Hao, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized them as two wild rabbits. The two rabbits also spotted the group at this moment, turned, and ran off in another direction.
"It's wild rabbits, wild rabbits!" Sun Chaoshu shouted excitedly.
Two gunshots rang out. Captain Xu and Zhang Shan fired simultaneously. The rabbit in front fell to the ground instantly. The other rabbit, startled, leaped into the tall grass and disappeared.
Zhang Shan walked forward and picked up the rabbit on the ground. "Captain, your marksmanship is still so accurate, a headshot. Unlike me, I didn't even touch the rabbit's fur."
"Practice more, and you can do it too. I learned my marksmanship from hunting with my father since childhood, and later from fighting Japanese devils."
"Captain Xu, can we also be issued guns when we go up the mountain?" Niu Jianwen, like all boys, was very fond of guns.
"You cannot be issued guns yet. We will issue them to you later, depending on the situation."
"Captain Xu, can we shoot rabbits whenever we encounter them in the mountains?" Sun Chaoshu seemed more interested in hunting.
"We have our mission; we are not here specifically for hunting. Generally, we only hunt what we eat," Captain Xu explained to Sun Chaoshu.
"Oh, okay, good. Then we can often eat rabbits in the future," Sun Chaoshu said with a look of longing.
"What are you thinking? First, you need my marksmanship, otherwise, even if a rabbit runs in front of you, you won't hit it. And you cannot be issued guns now; we'll issue them to you only after seeing your future performance."
"Alright, I'll definitely perform well and get my own gun as soon as possible."
Perhaps the two gunshots scared away the small animals nearby, as everyone walked for a long time without seeing any other small animals.
Thus, without encountering any other incidents along the way, they finally arrived at the forest cabin.
As soon as they arrived, two men with guns in their hands emerged from the room. One was as thin and small as a monkey, while the other was as strong and imposing as a bear.
"Captain, you're back. Are these young brothers the ones sent by the higher-ups to protect the forest with us? Can people from the City really do it?"
"We're from the City, but what you can do, we can do too. Don't underestimate us," Sun Chaoshu was still as outspoken as ever.
"Alright, let me introduce you. This is Niu Dazhu, and this is Er Gouzi. Over here are Ye Hao, Sun Chaoshu, Lu Bingsheng, Niu Jianwen, and Niu Jianwu. Get to know each other. Zhang Shan, you go clean up the rabbit first, then cook those two dried fish to welcome these new brothers."
"Okay, I'll go cook first. You all get acquainted."
"Young brothers, hello, I'm Er Gouzi. You can just call me Brother Gou. I grew up in the mountains, so if you encounter any trouble in the mountains in the future, just tell me," the thin man said.
"Everyone, don't keep standing outside. Take your luggage into the room, and we can chat after you've settled in," Niu Dazhu said from the side.
"Right, right, right, put your luggage away first. You'll be staying in this room here. We knew you were coming, so we specially tidied it up for you yesterday."
Er Gouzi led everyone to a small wooden cabin. These cabins were all built with wood, with dry grass and mud filling the gaps between the logs. The roofs were made of thatch, and the rooms were quite low and dark, with little light. Er Gouzi stepped forward and lit the oil lamp on the table.
By the dim lamplight, everyone began to make their beds. There was only one large communal kang here. They each spread their bedding on the bed and then left the room, as it was too oppressive inside. The darkness, narrowness, and confinement would likely cause someone with claustrophobia to faint.
"This living place is too poor, even the windows don't let in light," Niu Jianwen complained.
"What's the big deal? What do you need windows for? You'll only be sleeping here at night; during the day, you'll be out patrolling the mountain. Do you think you came up the mountain to enjoy yourselves?" Er Gouzi seemed to be introducing the place to everyone, but he was actually a bit disdainful of these people from the City, who couldn't endure hardship and were assigned to them, requiring them to be distracted by looking after them.
"Alright, Niu Jianwen, we are here to build. It's precisely because this place isn't good that it needs our construction. If it were all like the City, why would we come down here?" Sun Chaoshu looked down on Niu Jianwen a bit. Although both of them were hooligans before, Sun Chaoshu's social standing was much higher than Niu Jianwen's. Sun Chaoshu's father was a colonel who transitioned from the military; if he hadn't transitioned, he could have become a brigadier general by now. So Sun Chaoshu always hung out with children from prestigious compounds.
"Alright, let's go to our room to eat first. Da Shan's roasted rabbit is superb; today, you'll get to taste it," Er Gouzi said, seeing the atmosphere was a bit off, and led everyone towards the central wooden cabin.
Upon entering the wooden cabin, they realized it was much more spacious and taller than the one they were staying in. This cabin also had windows, indicating that these people had put effort into their own living quarters.
"Da Zhu, go outside and find a few logs for them to use as stools."
Niu Dazhu heard Captain Xu's words and went out to find logs.
"Comrades, we usually don't have outsiders here, so we don't have extra stools. Please use logs for now, and we'll make some stools for you in a few days."