Chapter 32: Niu Jianwen Falls Off a Cliff
"Time to get up, time to get up! We'll eat something and then start patrolling the mountain." Before dawn, Er Gouzi came to wake everyone up.
Ye Hao woke up when he heard someone enter the room, and got up when he heard Er Gouzi's voice, but everyone else was still sleeping in. After walking half a day on the mountain roads yesterday, they couldn't get up this morning.
"Everyone, hurry up and get up! You'll be more tired every day than the day before. If you get up late, there's no food."
Hearing Er Gouzi's words, everyone reluctantly got out of bed.
"Geez, my legs are so sore, I can barely walk."
"Niu Jianwen, you just lack exercise. Look at us, we're all fine, just a bit sore in the legs," Sun Chaoshu joked from the side.
Ye Hao smiled without speaking. If Ye Hao hadn't given Sun Chaoshu and Lu Bingsheng some diluted space spring water before bed last night, those two probably wouldn't have been much better than Niu Jianwen.
Niu Jianwen saw that no one else was in his situation and didn't say much. He didn't want to admit that his body was failing; how could a man say his body was failing?
He struggled to get up and went to the central room. On the table were several bowls of corn porridge, a plate of pickles, and a basin of steamed buns.
"Alright, everyone, come eat. We rangers do physical work, basically walking in the mountains constantly. Not eating is not an option. These are the only conditions on the mountain, so make do. Two steamed buns and one bowl of corn porridge per person," Captain Xu said to everyone as they entered the room.
After eating, the old team members went to pack their mountain equipment: one rifle each, two bullet pouches, several corn cakes, and a water bottle. They also had a knife strapped to their backs.
As for Ye Hao and the others, they only had their own water bottles and a few dry biscuits Zhang Shan handed them. No guns or knives.
"Captain Xu, do we not have any equipment? If not a gun, a knife would be fine," Sun Chaoshu asked Captain Xu, seeing they had no weapons.
"Knives are for clearing paths. Should I give them to you to clear paths in front? For the next few days, just follow the old team members. I'll give you knives in a few days. Remember, no one is allowed to fall behind today."
"Er Gouzi, Da Zhu, today you two go north. Don't go too far, just let them get used to it. Remember, you must ensure their safety. Let's go."
With that, the group split into two. One part went north, and Ye Hao's team followed Captain Xu east.
Crossing the small stream outside the fence, they entered the forest. Captain Xu led the way, with Ye Hao, Sun Chaoshu, and Lu Bingsheng following behind, and Zhang Shan bringing up the rear.
"We are now heading deeper into Changbai Mountain. Changbai Mountain is north-south oriented and very long. We are only a small part of the rangers here. There are jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, and many other fierce beasts. When you patrol the mountain in the future, you must be careful of these beasts. The most dangerous among them is the wild boar. Wild boars not only have thick skin and flesh but also sharp tusks. Our small bodies are like paper in front of them; one jab will pierce right through. Also, because wild boars are often bitten by insects, they frequently rub against oily tree trunks. Over time, their skin becomes as hard as armor. When a wild boar goes mad, it's like a tank on the battlefield. There are many wild boars in this forest, so you'd best not provoke them, even if you have a gun." Captain Xu explained to them as they walked.
The group walked for over an hour, arriving at a place completely untouched by humans. There were no longer the passable paths they had seen before. Captain Xu used a machete to clear the way, cutting down thorns and weeds so they could pass normally.
Ye Hao and the two others each had a wooden root they picked up from the path. This was something Captain Xu taught them: having a tool in hand makes one a little bolder and can also be used to probe the path while walking.
Along the way, they saw many small animals. Wild pheasants would fly out of the bushes from time to time, and they saw a few wild rabbits, as well as many small squirrels jumping around in the trees. However, Captain Xu and his team had no intention of hunting them. There were truly many animals in Changbai Mountain, countless birds. Just in the dense forest they had just passed through, Ye Hao saw no less than ten kinds of birds.
"Captain Xu, why don't you hunt these animals? So many pheasants flew by just now; a few shots and we'd have dinner, wouldn't we?" Sun Chaoshu felt a pang of regret seeing so many small animals fly by. It was all meat, why didn't they shoot?
"We are rangers, not hunters. Our purpose in the mountains is to protect the forest, prevent fires, and prevent others from indiscriminately cutting down trees. Because this place is not far from the border, I also have to prevent people from China from coming over to poach. On the mountain, you cannot shoot unless absolutely necessary. You cannot guarantee whether there are other people in the trees and bushes opposite. What if you miss the prey and hit a person? Wouldn't that be murder?
Also, if you hear gunshots in the mountains, it means either danger has been encountered or poachers have been encountered. So, generally, you cannot shoot casually. You must also remember that once you get a gun, you cannot shoot it casually." Captain Xu gave them another lesson.
Learning as they walked, Captain Xu's teaching was very successful. In half a day, Ye Hao and the others had a preliminary understanding of mountain patrolling.
At noon, the group arrived at a flat area, found some shade under a tree, and began to eat. Outside, they could only eat the dry rations they carried with them. Rangers were not allowed to make fires outside; if a fire started in this dense forest, it would be disastrous.
While Ye Hao and the others were eating, on the other side, Niu Jianwen encountered trouble.
Although Niu Jianwen looked like a hooligan, he was actually very timid. Yesterday's long walk meant Niu Jianwen hadn't fully recovered today. They set off into the mountains in the morning, and at first, Niu Jianwen could keep going, but after not long, he couldn't hold on and kept asking to rest. Niu Dazhu and Er Gouzi saw his state and took a break, but after that, Niu Jianwen kept asking to rest again after walking a short distance.
This made their already slow progress even slower. Er Gouzi and Niu Dazhu could accept this, but later Niu Jianwen simply refused to walk, asking his younger brother to carry him. This made Er Gouzi a bit uncomfortable. Although he wasn't the one carrying him, he still looked down on Niu Jianwen's behavior.
However, Er Gouzi and the others couldn't control this matter. If Niu Jianwu was willing to carry him, then so be it.
They continued like this until noon, when they also found a place to rest and eat.
During lunch, Niu Jianwen said he was going to the restroom. Er Gouzi told him to just pee nearby, but Niu Jianwen insisted on going into the bushes. Just as he was about to relieve himself, he saw a spider dangling from a tree branch and landing in front of Niu Jianwen. This instantly scared Niu Jianwen out of his wits. He let out a scream and ran to the side. As he ran, his foot slipped, and he rolled down the hillside.
Er Gouzi and the others heard the scream and rushed to where Niu Jianwen had fallen. They arrived just in time to see Niu Jianwen rolling down the hillside.
Er Gouzi was immediately drenched in a cold sweat. If Niu Jianwen died from the fall, he would also be responsible, as he was the one who brought him out.
Niu Jianwu saw his brother rolling down the hillside and was about to jump down to save him, but Niu Dazhu grabbed him, "Do you want to die?"
"Let go! I'm going to save my brother!" At this moment, Niu Jianwu only had his brother in his mind, and he tried to break free from Niu Dazhu's grip to jump down.
Seeing this, Niu Dazhu wrapped both arms around Niu Jianwu. "Niu Jianwu, I know you care about your brother, but jumping down like this is a dead end. I'll take you to save your brother."
Niu Jianwu either understood Niu Dazhu's words or something, as he stopped struggling.
"Er Gouzi, you're familiar with this area. Lead the way. Let's go save him." Niu Dazhu released Niu Jianwu once he stopped struggling and said to Er Gouzi.
"Follow me, be careful. This path is quite steep." Er Gouzi then led the two of them down the hillside.
Stumbling and staggering, they finally reached the bottom of the slope and saw Niu Jianwen lying motionless in front of a tree. It seemed he had been stopped by the tree, otherwise, he would have rolled further down.
Er Gouzi went forward and checked Niu Jianwen's breathing with his hand.
"He's still breathing, he's alive. Da Zhu, cut a few pieces of wood. Niu Jianwu, go find some vines. We'll make a stretcher to carry your brother back. He must have internal injuries and injuries to his limbs, so we can only carry him back."
Er Gouzi assigned tasks to the two of them and then began to examine Niu Jianwen's injuries. First, his arm was bleeding continuously. Er Gouzi checked it and found no arterial damage, so it wasn't serious. Then he saw that Niu Jianwen's left leg was somewhat deformed, which must have been a fracture. As for other injuries, Er Gouzi was not a professional and could only identify those that were immediately obvious.
In a short while, the two returned with a pile of wood and vines. Er Gouzi made a simple stretcher using the wood and vines.
"Da Zhu, be careful. Let's both carefully place Niu Jianwen onto the stretcher. We must be careful; we don't know if he has internal injuries."
The two carefully placed Niu Jianwen onto the stretcher.
"Er Gouzi, let's hurry back. Let's go to Li Family Village first; there's a barefoot doctor there who can examine him. Er Gouzi, you clear the way. Niu Jianwu, you and I will carry your brother back together."