Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Li Xiu Enters the Mountain (Part 2)
Li Xiu had just finished eating and was getting ready to rest when he suddenly heard the huffing of a large animal at the cave entrance. He carefully stoked the bonfire until it blazed brightly, then grabbed his hunting rifle and crept silently to the mouth of the cave.
Seeing the huge tiger only a dozen or so meters away, Li Xiu felt a chill run down his spine. ’How could there be a tiger here? If this goes wrong, this is where I die.’
The intense calculations and tension had Li Xiu drenched in sweat. The tiger simply lay there, staring at Li Xiu and the firelight spilling from the cave entrance.
Noticing the tiger seemed afraid of the fire, Li Xiu quietly pulled a knockout drug he’d prepared earlier from his pocket. He took the two rabbits he had killed that day, quickly slit one’s throat, and smeared the drug into the bleeding wound. He then hurled the rabbit towards the tiger. He watched as it leaped, snatched the offering in its jaws, and swallowed it whole. He quickly did the same with the second rabbit and saw the tiger devour it as well. Only then did the tightness in his chest ease a little.
Luckily, he had gathered plenty of firewood. Li Xiu slowly nudged the fire closer to the cave entrance, bit by bit. He kept adding wood to maintain a strong blaze, his eyes fixed on the tiger the entire time.
The moon was high overhead before Li Xiu noticed the tiger was completely still, snoring thunderously. He didn’t dare let his guard down. He picked up a rock and threw it at the beast. When it didn’t move, he was secretly overjoyed. Still, he didn’t act rashly. He threw another rock. The tiger remained motionless.
Clutching his rifle, Li Xiu crept slowly toward the tiger. He aimed at its eye and fired.
Staring at the lifeless tiger, Li Xiu wiped the sweat from his face and sank to the ground, his heart pounding furiously. ’That was way too close. If something had happened... if I’d left my wife and child behind... I wouldn’t have been able to rest in peace.’
Panting, he dragged the tiger into the cave. He built another fire just outside the entrance and tossed in some herbs that animals found repulsive. Back inside, he drank half a flask of water until his heart finally calmed down. Only then did he study the dead tiger, circling it twice. ’Damn,’ he thought, ’it must be six or seven hundred jin!’
He was busy until dawn, but he finally finished processing the tiger. The pelt was flawless. Since he had shot the tiger through the eye, the hide had no other marks. The bones were a top-quality ingredient for traditional medicine, and the meat could be used as well. The cave was cool and damp; the meat wouldn’t spoil for at least a day.
Li Xiu found a large boulder to block the cave entrance, then scattered more of the knockout drug nearby, carefully noting where he put it. He then wolfed down a few bites of food and tried to remember the exact spot where he had found the ginseng before.
He finally found the place around noon. Li Xiu stared at the ginseng patch in front of him, overjoyed, and immediately started digging.
By the time the sun was setting, Li Xiu had carefully wrapped the ginseng roots, soil and all, in oiled paper. ’I probably won’t be able to venture this deep into the mountains again for several years,’ he thought. He dug up all the ginseng that was over thirty to fifty years old, filling over half of his bamboo basket. Knowing the dangers of the deep mountains, he secured his haul and left without delay.
He finally got back to the cave that night. Raising his torch, he was greeted by the sight of a whole herd of roe deer passed out at the entrance. For a long moment, Li Xiu was just stumped. ’There’s meat in the cave, but aren’t roe deer herbivores?’
Since he couldn’t figure it out, he put it out of his mind. The real problem now was how to haul everything out. There were nine roe deer. It was autumn, and they were all plump and healthy. Each one had to weigh fifty to sixty jin, making the total for the deer four or five hundred jin. Then there was the tiger, which even after processing, weighed another four to five hundred jin. ’That’s almost a thousand jin of stuff. How am I going to get it all out of here?’
But he had a whole lifetime of extra experience to draw upon. He found some tough mountain vines and used them to lash bamboo poles firmly together. He then placed this bamboo platform atop four two-meter-long logs of roughly equal thickness, using more vines to bind the logs and bamboo into a single unit. Finally, he piled all the roe deer on top.
He packed the tiger meat into freshly woven baskets. The meat filled five baskets, the bones took up two, and the pelt was placed in a basket by itself. He loaded these eight baskets onto his makeshift sled and used more vines to tie it all down securely.
Looking at his handiwork, Li Xiu grinned with satisfaction. ’It would kill me if I couldn’t haul all this out. It’s not easy for me to make a trip into the mountains. My wife keeps me on a short leash, and besides, I hate making her worry. Around the foothills, the best I can do is hunt a wild boar for meat. Usually, it’s just rabbits or pheasants. You don’t see roe deer in the outer woods. This is all money!’
He ate a little, rested for a bit, then checked his watch by torchlight. ’It’s already past one in the morning. If I drag this to the edge of the village, I can make it before dawn. Then I can get the team’s mule cart and take it all to Wang Yuan in the county.’
He strained to pull the heavy load by moonlight and finally reached the foot of the mountain. Li Xiu collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. A glance at his watch showed it was past four o’clock. He didn’t dare rest for long. He stashed his things in the woods and hurried to the village chief’s house.
Just as a grim-faced Ge Dayu was about to lecture him, Li Xiu drove off with the cart and fled. He hurried on his way, and by the time he reached Wang Yuan’s house, the sky was faintly brightening. He knocked on the door and woke Wang Yuan.
He dragged Wang Yuan to the cart. As soon as Wang Yuan saw the tiger pelt, he was wide awake. He pushed up his glasses, unable to contain his excitement. ’This Li Xiu is a true godsend! He brings me exactly what I need, right when I need it!’
"Let’s go. We’ll take the tiger pelt, bones, and meat to my house. Then we can take the roe deer to the factory," Wang Yuan urged, clutching the pelt.
After leaving the mule cart at the factory, Li Xiu pocketed the 2,300 yuan he’d just received, hoisted his back basket, and got on a bus to the provincial capital. He knew the way and easily found the same old doctor as last time.
The old doctor, wearing a pair of reading glasses, stared at Li Xiu, at a loss for words. ’Is ginseng worthless now? This kid brought me over half a basketful.’
"I got lucky. I found that same ginseng patch from before, and this is what was left," Li Xiu explained patiently, seeing the doctor’s expression. "Besides, this will probably be my last trip. The mountains are too dangerous, and I can’t expect to get this lucky every time."
The old doctor smiled but didn’t speak. Everyone has their own fortune, and he had no interest in prying into others’ secrets.
There were forty-seven roots in total, of various sizes. The old doctor treated him fairly. He had to borrow from others to pull it together, but he gave Li Xiu a total of 26,000 yuan. He also gave him a frank piece of advice, "You could also just hold onto these. The price will be much better in a few years."
Li Xiu smiled and shook his head. "Sir, I’m just a simple farmer. If I try to store these, I’ll just end up ruining them. I understand what you’re saying, and I’ve still got that one root you helped me prepare last time. In your hands, this stuff can save lives. With me, it’s a waste!" He understood the old doctor’s good intentions, but he understood something else even more clearly: ’If I hold on to this and word gets out, I’ll become a target for everyone. Wealth invites disaster.’ He knew that principle well. Besides, he had no plans to stay in the provincial capital.
"Oh, right, Sir," Li Xiu said, turning back just as he was about to leave. "My wife is pregnant. Could you prescribe some supplements for her postpartum recovery?"
"A woman is naturally weak after childbirth," the old doctor said with a smile. "Just eating nutritious food will help her recover. After the first month, have her eat plenty of goji berries, red dates, longan, lotus seeds, lily bulbs, and the like. Barring any complications, that will be sufficient." ’Not bad,’ he thought. ’The boy knows how to dote on his wife.’
He took the bus back to the county and retrieved the mule cart. It was pitch-black by the time he returned to the village. He rushed to return the cart. Facing Ge Dayu’s thunderous expression, Li Xiu just tossed him two packs of cigarettes and bolted. ’I’ve got to get home to my wife, I don’t have time for a lecture!’
Watching his retreating back, Ge Dayu sighed. ’That kid has a death wish. Leaving the mountains before dawn means he must have been in there for at least a day and a night. Daqing Mountain eats people for breakfast, and he actually dared to spend the night there. I have to teach him a lesson, his audacity is getting out of hand.’
’Second Brother Li can’t handle him. Even if Eldest Li and Third Brother Li step in, he probably won’t listen. I’ll have to go to Zhou Kun. That boy dotes on his wife and deeply respects his father-in-law. I’ll get his father-in-law to set him straight. If we let him keep this up, it’ll be too late when something finally goes wrong!’
Li Xiu, hurrying home, had no inkling that Ge Dayu was secretly planning to report him. Of course, even if he had known, there wasn’t much he could do about it. Ge Dayu was dead set this time, terrified that Li Xiu’s reckless bravery would lead him back into the mountains, where one wrong move could cost him his life.
Comments