PDLP Chapter 58: Shikabu
Chapter 58: Shikabu
"If you won't give me this, you won't trade me that. Why don't you become Chen Zhiqing's wife?"
The rules for running in the mountains are followed as much as possible by both Wu Laowai and the hunters of the Soren Tribe.
But down in the mountains, the rules of the hunters were meaningless to Wu Laowai, so he didn't need to follow them.
He almost ran himself ragged just now. This girl, Bai Long, thinks she can make him work for free? She's just dreaming.
"Judging by his ruthlessness in setting the trap, he's worthy of being my man. I've agreed. Where will we sleep then?"
Wu Laowai's words were just angry words after working himself to the bone, but who would have thought that Bailong would actually agree?
"The educated youth settlement is right on the shore, you know that, how can you make this decision yourself? Besides, he's not from the Soren Tribe!"
Intermarriage between hunters and settlers in the mountains and valleys does occur, but the situation is quite complex.
According to regulations, after marriage registration, both men and women will be assigned to one of the three Solon tribes.
However, some people did not want to go up the mountain and settled the hunters at the foot of the mountain.
And then there are the bolder ones, one on the mountain and one below.
Provoked by the white dragon girl from Dobukuer, Wu Laowai revealed his less-than-kind nature.
"I can't go down the mountain, but he can go up. Even if he doesn't want to go up, I can still be his bride on the mountain!"
The two of them quickly settled the matter for Chen Tuo without asking his opinion.
"Hey... what do you take me for? I'm not some wolf that died in the river bend!"
"How old are you? I'm nineteen this year. According to our rules, I'm allowed to find a man!"
"I didn't tell you that. Your horses are fine. Keep the horses, and the wolves are yours..."
I sized up the wheat-colored-skinned, fairly good-looking Bai Long.
Because of her identity as a hunter, Chen Tuo didn't dare to dream of having one on the mountain and another on the other.
"Be my man, and not only will the horse be yours, but I will be yours too, and my reindeer herd will be yours as well. My surname is Yue, and I am the daughter of Yue He, the Evenki chieftain."
Chen Tuo's knowledge of bears, wolves, guns, and hunting in the mountains was poor, simply because the hunting he had actually seen and experienced before was almost entirely safe.
However, he has a relatively accurate understanding of human nature and the era we live in.
It is now 1979, and the echoes of the torrent still linger.
"Assistant leader" is not a title for a hunter leader or tribal chief, but rather an official position inherited from the Qing Dynasty.
Upon learning that Bai Longkou was the daughter of Yue He, the Evenki chieftain, Chen Tuo unconsciously took a step back.
"My surname is Yue, but my name is Bailong. I am the second person in charge of the Dobukuer settlement and the future leader of the Songling Reindeer Tribe."
The white dragon on horseback, unable to understand Chen Tuo's evasive maneuvers, was still introducing himself.
A few years ago, she was a carefree girl, so she often came down the mountain to play.
In the Songling area, the only people she could get along with were the female educated youth from the road and bridge construction section, and she learned a lot from them.
Because the place he went to was a road and bridge construction site mainly inhabited by female educated youth, Bai Long had never met Chen Tuo before.
"White Dragon, from what you're saying, you're going to choose a man down the mountain?"
Chen Tuo wanted to avoid it, but Wu Laowai wanted to watch the show.
Although they live not far apart, the hunters in the mountains have very different living habits and ways of life from the people in the area below.
Although Wu Laowai knew Bailong and Su Dao, he was not familiar with the daily life of the Evenki hunters in the mountains.
"Yes! We know too little, life in the mountains is too hard, and more and more people are coming down from the mountains."
"The older women from the Luqiao educated youth settlement said before they left that if we want to grow stronger, we need a wise guide."
Seeing that the two were trying to drag him into their conversation, Chen Tuo had no choice but to avoid them again.
"Uncle Wu, since Miss Bailong helped fight the Wolf King, let's stick to the rules. You, me, and Bailong will each take a share!"
Although I prefer the tranquility of Songling, I dislike the hustle and bustle of being a cow or a horse.
But the tranquility Chen Tuo wanted was one with water, electricity, communication, and transportation.
Rather than the solitude of being isolated from the world in the mountains.
Although Bai Long was wearing a white fur robe, the greasy collar revealed the poor sanitation conditions on the mountain.
Chen Tuo wanted to get rid of Bai Long as soon as possible, but Wu Laowai disagreed.
"White Dragon, you have your rules on the mountain, and we have ours down below. You can only take this wolf king with you; you can't take any of the rest of the wolves!"
The traps in the Hetao region were conceived and set by Chen Tuo.
However, as a member of the wolf-hunting duo at Xiaoyangqi educated youth settlement, Wu Laowai enjoyed half of the share.
When he first arrived at the Hetao region, he counted the number of wolves; it was either fourteen or fifteen.
Fifteen wolf pelts represent several months' wages for forestry workers; how could they be given away so easily?
"Uncle Lao Wai, you need to respect our customs and traditions!"
Wu Laowai made his intentions clear, but Bai Long, still seated on his horse, did not give way.
"Bailong, that's up in the mountains. Once you come down, who cares how you live? If you want to follow your own rules, go to Ejin Banner. This is Songling!"
Wu Laowai's rebuttal made Bai Long's face darken.
The rules of the mountain only apply on the mountain.
In Ejin Horo Banner of Hulunbuir, the rules are no longer what they used to be.
"Kid, remember this! Up on the mountain, down below, aside from livestock raised by humans, whoever kills a wild animal keeps it. Everyone gets a share—it's a cut of the meat!"
Wu Laowai wanted to continue explaining the rules for mountain runners to Chen Tuo.
But from the surrounding mountains and forests came the howls of wolves.
Upon hearing the wolf howl, both Bai Long and Wu Laowai's expressions changed simultaneously.
"Damn it! A wolf plague is really coming!"
"Take the wolf with you and hurry back to the mountains, gathering the reindeer herds along the way!"
After Wu Laowai finished speaking, the wolf calamity arrived, and Bailong was also arranging for her people to return to the mountain.
Chen Tuo looked towards the several forests where wolves were howling and asked:
"Uncle Wu, did that wolf king just send a signal to the surrounding wolf pack?"
"Yes! Humans have their language, and beasts have theirs. Although we can't understand them, the howling of wolves in the mountains means they've made enemies of us!"
After explaining with a worried expression, Wu Laowai also carefully tried to figure out the source of the wolf howl.
But before he could hear clearly, the white dragon on horseback urged:
"Uncle Lao Wai, please take me to see Brother Chang Kui. Our reindeer herd is hibernating in the mountains and hasn't had time to return..."
Whenever there is a famine, the Evenki hunters in the mountains will seek help from those below, and the same applies when faced with a wolf attack.
A pack of wolves from outside came into the mountains. The one most affected was not the forest farm, but the Songling Reindeer Tribe mentioned by Bailong.
Their reindeer are grazing freely on the mountain at this time of year!
If a free-roaming herd of reindeer is attacked by wolves and gets lost in the mountains, their livelihoods will be affected.
"Going there won't make a difference; the Forestry Bureau also has to hunt wolves! Su Dao and the others are at the Armed Forces Department, though."
Although they had just argued over prey, Wu Laowai didn't cause any trouble for Bailong when it came to the wolf disaster.
He even analyzed the number of wolves based on his experience running in the mountains.
"There were at least seven or eight wolf howls just now, and there might be more. Judging by the size of this wolf pack, the wolves in Songling are about to form a large pack..."
A small wolf pack, ranging from twenty or thirty to seven or eight, with seven or eight wolf packs responding, means that at least a hundred wolves have arrived at Songling.
Upon hearing the approximate number of wolves, Bai Long's face was filled with anxiety.
Once the small wolf packs form a larger pack, their best hunting target becomes the herd of reindeer that they graze on in the northern mountains.
The Evenki reindeer herders—what kind of reindeer herders are they if they don't have reindeer?
"Uncle Su Dao is here too? Then hurry up and take me to the Armed Forces Department..."