Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1113 Active Bear Hunting
When Li Long tried to fire another shot, it was too late. Seven or eight antelopes had been shot down, and the rest had already disappeared.

He holstered his gun and glanced at the others. Smoke was still rising from Liu Gaolou's position, and spent shell casings lay scattered at his feet. Liu Shanmin, who was holding a Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, also holstered his gun and looked in his direction.

"I hit the head," Li Long said. "I'm still not very good at using this gun."

"You'll get used to it after a few more hunts," Liu Shanmin said with a smile. "We're going bear hunting tomorrow, you'll have no problem with that."

Li Long thought about it and agreed. The caliber was large and the power was strong. If it were used to shoot a bear, a single shot to its vital points would be enough to take it down.

Today, Li Long hunted two groups of prey. He walked over to the antelope he had shot and looked at it. It was not old, but it was quite big, except that its horns were a bit short.

Buick and his men quickly began skinning the animals, and Li Long noticed them. They simply pulled out the internal organs and threw them on the spot.

Sure enough, they really don't eat offal here.

However, he didn't say anything. If he didn't want to eat, he didn't have to. Anyway, he wasn't lacking anything now. He could remind Liu Sanmin to bring in more offal in the future, as it was more profitable than medicinal herbs.

Unlike the previous gazelles, this time they broke off their horns as well, clearly knowing that the horns were valuable.

By the time we finished packing everything up, the sun had already set and the temperature had dropped. We all packed our things together and quickly got in the car to go back.

On the way back, Liu Shanmin said:
"Tomorrow we'll head to Nalingol, and from there we'll go to the nearby Tianshan Mountains to see if we can hunt a bear or a snow leopard."

"The bears should be hibernating soon, right?" Li Long asked.

"It'll be over soon. We can fight another wave, but after a few more days we'll really go into hibernation, and you won't be able to find us anymore."

Li Long knew Nalingol, a small county town near the border of the motherland, or what is called a district here.

Thinking about what Almaty was like, Li Long didn't have high expectations for this small county town. Of course, his main goal was still to hunt, and everything else could wait.

When I rushed back to the courtyard, it was already dark. Dinner had already been prepared, and it was Naren. It seems that this kind of traditional food belongs to ethnic food. Although we are from different countries, people of the same ethnic group can still make it.

After a big meal, no one rested; instead, they all went to their rooms to clean their guns.

We're going hunting tomorrow, so the gun needs to be well maintained. Especially with this cold weather, we really need to be careful with it.

After servicing the gun, I felt the temperature in the house drop. This place is a detached house with its own yard, so there's no way to install central heating, and it's not a small boiler. There's a small fireplace in the room, but the firewood was almost out.

Li Long added some firewood to the fire, making it bigger, and his outlook for tonight was not optimistic.

This thing... is worse than a coal-fired stove.

Logically speaking, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic shouldn't be short of coal, right? Why isn't it burning coal?

He couldn't do anything about the language barrier.

Sure enough, he was fine for the first half of the night, but he started to feel cold in the second half. When he got up to add firewood, the fire in the fireplace had already gone out. There was nothing to start a fire with next to the fireplace, and it wasn't convenient to go outside, so he had no choice but to wrap himself in the blanket and try to sleep.

Fortunately, I'm still young and energetic, so I can fall asleep, but it's not as comfortable as before.

When Li Long woke up, it was already daylight. He could hear noises outside. The bed was warm, but the outside felt chilly, so he didn't want to get up.

However, seeing that the host had gotten up, he felt it wouldn't be right not to get up, so he got up, quickly put on his very cold clothes, and moved around the house to feel more comfortable.

But this time I was completely invigorated—I couldn't help but be excited.

As he stepped outside, he saw Liu Gaolou. Liu Gaolou was about to speak to him when he sneezed, apparently having caught a cold.

"The fireplace went out in the middle of the night without me noticing, and I forgot to add firewood. When I woke up, half of my body was uncovered and I was freezing," Liu Gaolou explained. "I'm not used to it."

"Haha, we'll just make some ginger soup later," Li Long said.

"I know, but I'm afraid there won't be any."

Li Long also realized that this wasn't China, and things like ginger might not even exist here.

I went to Buick to ask, and sure enough, they didn't have it.

Fortunately, there is a way. Get some dried chili peppers, make a soup, and sweat it out. It works the same principle.

Liu Shanmin, on the other hand, was experienced; when he got up, he seemed completely unaffected.

Besides naan, the main breakfast items included baursak, stir-fried potato chips, and hot dishes, which Li Long quite liked.

After eating, they continued their journey. The road here was sometimes there and sometimes not, and they drove for a long time. Li Long even dozed off in the car—it was impossible not to fall asleep, as it was mostly grassland with few trees on both sides, an occasional river, and an occasional village; the scenery was too monotonous.

When they reached the other side of the border and found a road, Li Long finally came to his senses.

Is it the Sumubai River? Or the Songbai River?

This river, along with the Xiata River and many other rivers, converges to form the Tekes River, a major tributary of the Ili River.

When they approached the river bend, Liu Shanmin stopped to rest for a while and relieve himself.

There is a small tributary flowing into the Sumubai River here, and Li Long and his group saw it and found that there were also many fish swimming in it.

The Sumubai River is the border river; the other side is China. There's barbed wire on this side, but not on the other, though you can vaguely see barracks; it's unclear whether they're in use or abandoned.

"Boss Li, look, there are quite a few fish in this river." Liu Gaolou had a great time eating fish yesterday, and he was quite excited to see fish today, so he said to Li Long.

"Even if they did, they wouldn't dare to arrest anyone; this is the border river." He had heard before that the Russian border guards were very violent and would shoot anyone who approached the border.

There is a road here that allows vehicles to travel; otherwise, they might not be able to get close.

After releasing the water, we continued walking forward for another hour or so until we reached Nalingol.

Nalingol was very small, even smaller than Li Long had imagined.

In his mind, it was at least a county town, so there should be some buildings and more people. He didn't expect it to be even worse than Ma County. There was only one street, and the county town was full of bungalows. It was similar to a township in Xinjiang, let alone a town in Kou.

The population is small. When the car entered the county town, you could see people coming out to look around from time to time. There were only a few shops, and it was impossible to tell where the offices were.

Liu Shanmin led his men to a courtyard painted in light blue. Some people heard the car and came out to greet them.

The bearded Kazakh man, who looked not very old but quite energetic, hugged Liu Shanmin as he got off the bus, and then greeted them one by one.

The car was parked on the side of the road. Li Long and his group went into the courtyard, which was a square Russian-style building, painted entirely in light blue, a color that the locals were accustomed to.

Most of the buildings in the entire county are this color.

“This is my friend. When it comes to hunting or getting antelope horns, I contact him, and he can point out where we can hunt bears and snow leopards.”

That makes sense now. After all, just shooting at gazelles and antelopes feels like aiming at a dead target, which isn't very exciting.

With so many weapons at our disposal, it wouldn't be satisfying not to take on some big guys.

It was lunchtime. Upon entering the house, a long table on the kang (a heated brick bed) was covered with various snacks. Milk tea was served first, followed by the main course.

The host prepared a lot of dishes, including hand-pulled mutton, naren (a type of meat), and pilaf, showing how much the family valued Liu Shanmin and his family.

Then Li Long saw pickled cucumbers and slices of pickled fatty meat.

Liu Gaolou whispered to Li Long:
"The soldiers at the outpost here also eat this. To be honest, I can't even stomach it."

Li Long thought to himself, "I can't eat this either; I'd rather eat dry bread."

Fortunately, I don't have to eat like that anymore.

The meal was plentiful. While eating, Liu Shanmin, Bieke, and Murat chatted with the host, occasionally translating for Li Long.

After the meal, the host, Bai Shanbai, took out several pieces of leather.

Two snow leopard pelts and one bear pelt. According to his explanation, the snow leopard pelts were obtained together; the two snow leopards had come to the foot of the mountain and were eating the herders' sheep when they were killed. The bear, however, was found a few days earlier when he and his team went into the mountains.

Li Long observed that the bear skin wasn't very large; it was probably from a small brown bear.

He hoped to find a big one, like two meters tall, because big brown bears have big guts. As for whether it's valuable—it's still more valuable than a gazelle skin.

We won't go hunting in the afternoon because Liu Shanmin is coming, and the people at the nearby outpost want to treat him to a meal.

Li Long was genuinely surprised that Liu Shanmin had a good relationship with the border post here.

"We met when we were procuring supplies," Liu Shanmin explained. "They also need the supplies I brought here. In addition, I need to hunt for antelope horns and gazelle hides in this area, and I also need the border guards to let me pass. They can actually get quite a lot of these things too."

Okay, Li Long understands. This is a win-win situation.

"This afternoon, Bai Shanbai will go to the vicinity to inquire about where there are bears. We'll go bear hunting tomorrow. Whether we catch any or not, we'll all head back," Liu Shanmin arranged.

That should be fine. After this trip, Li Long felt that no matter how much loot he got, he had at least experienced hunting with a sniper rifle, which was worthwhile.

Besides, I had things to do at home, so this trip was just a trial run. Now I have a general understanding of Liu Shanmin's situation, and we both agree on the future path, both my suggestions and his development direction. So the next step is mainly the transaction.

When Li Long went to the border outpost for dinner that evening, he truly witnessed what a strict hierarchy meant.

The outpost was located in Nalingona. These guests, along with the officers at the outpost, enjoyed a feast, including roasted meat, stir-fries, salads, and soft bread.

The soldiers at the outpost ate sliced ​​black bread with a large piece of cured fatty meat for dinner.

This thing...

Li Long couldn't comment; the people at this outpost all spoke Russian, and he couldn't possibly give those soldiers special training.

It's a long story.

After dinner, Li Long wasn't in much spirits and returned to his lodgings in the county early. Although the county town was small, there were still places to stay. The advantage was that it had central heating, so he wouldn't have to suffer from the cold.

The next day at breakfast, Bai Shanbai came over and told them that there was news of a bear.

Liu Shanmin drank quite a bit last night and had no appetite this morning. He was drinking milk tea and looked unwell.

"Old Liu, why don't you just stay home and rest? We'll all be back by noon, whether we succeeded or not," Li Long advised.

"Alright, you guys go ahead, I won't go with you." Liu Shanmin was genuinely upset. "Those bastards, they drink like it's water, and they only let me drink, I can't refuse. Sigh...it's awful."

Li Long had witnessed it firsthand; those officers drank vodka like it was water, downing large glasses in no time, seemingly without any reaction.

Li Long actually wanted to help Liu Shanmin, but the enemy's main force was targeting Liu Shanmin, and he and Liu Gaolou were left behind early on.

Liu Shanmin didn't let them participate, and Li Long helped them drink two cups before leaving the matter alone.

Bai Shanbai was driving a rather old off-road vehicle, and he took Li Long and the others into the mountains.

Buick went with Li Long and the others, while Murat stayed in the county to accompany Liu Shanmin, which could also be considered a form of protection.

They drove far away from the border river, with the Tianshan Mountains to the south, and the car was heading into the Tianshan Mountains.

The road conditions worsened, eventually turning into a pastoral trail. When they reached the foot of the mountain, there was no road at all. After Bai Shan paid his respects, he told Li Long and the others to follow him with guns, and then they entered the mountain.

After entering the mountains, Li Long felt a sense of familiarity. At least the mountains here were similar to those in the Tianshan Mountains, with large pine forests, withered grass, occasional marmots, and still flowing streams.

"The herders found two brown bears in the gully ahead a couple of days ago, one big and one small, seemingly looking for a place to hibernate." After hearing Bai Shanbai's words, Bek translated for Li Long and the others, "Actually, the smaller one isn't small either, about 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall and weighing about 200 to 300 kilograms."

It's definitely not young anymore.

Li Long, gun in hand, looked around and noticed many dried mushrooms growing in the roadside grass. The Kazakhs here, like those in China, don't eat wild mushrooms. Similarly, there were many medicinal herbs growing in the grass, such as ginseng and astragalus, which were readily available.

Further up, the mountains become steeper, unlike the Nanshan Mountains in Ma County. Here, the mountains appear more precipitous and fertile, with no barren hills, but rather covered in grass or pine forests.

“This is pretty much the area.” Bai Shanbai held a hunting rifle in his hand. He looked at the tracks by the roadside and found two piles of dung. He said, “They shouldn’t have gone far. Stone caves and tree hollows are all possible targets for them.”

By this time, the bears had grown quite fat, and with the cold weather approaching, they needed to find a suitable place to hibernate.

The main focus was on caves. Trees in the Tianshan Mountains rarely have large enough holes for such a large brown bear to squeeze into, so after Li Long and his group dispersed, they primarily searched for areas with many rocks.

Soon, Li Long found a tuft of dark brown fur in the bushes next to the rock, which should have been left by the bear.

Seeing that the fur didn't look like it was from a long time ago, Li Long became excited and continued searching.

His eyesight was excellent. After spotting the bear's paw print, he followed the print and soon separated from Bai Shanbai, Liu Gaolou, and the others.

Liu Gaolou felt it was better to stay with Li Long, so he followed the path Li Long had taken.

Li Long looked up and saw that he was only twenty or thirty meters away from the top of the mountain. The terrain was quite steep. Just as he was wondering whether to climb up, he saw a head appear on the mountaintop!
Bear!
Li Long was both surprised and delighted. He quickly raised his gun, but as soon as the bear saw Li Long, it actually shrank its head back!

Li Long immediately started climbing, but he was still hesitant to shout, afraid that his loud voice would scare the bear away.

As he climbed, he thought to himself that the bear head he had just seen didn't seem to be a big bear, but rather the small brown bear that Bai Shanbai and the others had mentioned.

Even a small brown bear isn't actually that small; it probably weighs over 100 or 200 kilograms.
Li Long quickly climbed to the top of the mountain, then slowed down, holding his gun and taking each step carefully.

Seeing his expression, Liu Gaolou hurriedly asked:

"Mr. Li, have you seen a bear?"

"I saw it..." Li Long replied without turning around, afraid that the bear might suddenly leap out and attack him as he went up.

After he carefully climbed to the top of the mountain, he found that there was a high platform first, and then a gentle slope behind it. At this moment, a brown bear had just climbed onto the platform with its front paws, and half of its body was still struggling to climb up. When it saw Li Long, it roared and was about to exert its strength to charge up!

Li Long raised his gun and fired without even aiming!
"boom!"

"boom!"

There was a little over a second between the two shots. The first shot hit the brown bear directly in the head. The bear swayed, and the recoil caused Li Long's gun to deviate significantly. He struggled to adjust the gun and fired again. This time, the brown bear let out a mournful howl and fell down, rolling thirty or forty meters down the gentle slope before finally being stopped by a rock.

The gunfire that echoed through the valley finally stopped.

Li Long was a little confused.

Liu Gaolou climbed up at this moment, holding his gun and cautiously looking around. Finding no danger, he walked to Li Long's side, looked in the direction Li Long was looking, and said in surprise:
"You shot that? Such a big brown bear! Judging by its size, it must have weighed at least three or four hundred kilograms, right? Impressive! My uncle used to say you were a great hunter, and now I've seen it with my own eyes!"

Li Long was still confused. He clearly saw the little brown bear's head, so how did he hit the big one? Where was the little one?
Holding his gun, he looked around but didn't see the little brown bear.

Buick and Baishanbai also climbed up and, upon seeing the carcass of the large brown bear, both gave Li Long a thumbs-up.

They needed to hurry down and skin the animal to extract its gallbladder, but Li Long said:
"Be careful when you go down, there are small heads among them!"

Perhaps Li Long's victory emboldened Liu Gaolou, who, holding his submachine gun, nonchalantly said:

"Don't worry, I have a gun. If it dares to show itself, I can definitely shoot it down!"

Li Long went down with them, but they couldn't find the cave anywhere. Could the little one really be invisible? Or had he mistaken it for something else?
I'm sure I didn't see it wrong, right?

Bai Shanbai and Buick worked together to dissect the bear, took out the gallbladder, wrapped it in cloth, and handed it to Li Long. They then began skinning and processing the rest.

It's quite a distance from here to the bottom of the mountain, and we can't get down there without dismembering the bear.

Li Long remained vigilant, looking around to see where the little brown bear was.

Then he raised his head.

(End of this chapter)