Reborn in the 1980s: I made my fortune hunting wild game in Changbai Mountain

Zhao Dashan carried the blood-covered, disheveled man back to the farm on the mountain with steady steps.

The injured, disheveled man remained unconscious until he entered the house. His face was pale and yellowish, indicating significant blood loss.

Zhao Dashan knew how to treat external injuries, so he didn't care about the slovenly man's smelly clothes and put the wounded man directly on the kang (a heated brick bed) where he slept.

Turning around, I went to the outer room, first opened the stove damper to its maximum, and then poured the hot water from the thermos back into the kettle to boil it again.

After completing these two tasks, Zhao Dashan returned to his sleeping room and retrieved his military medical kit and suture/debridement tools and materials.

This wounded person suffered injuries from multiple sources, including his arms, shoulders, back, and even scalp, with extensive scratches and bites inflicted by the black bear.

The old man quickly cut and tore off the blood-stained clothes, stripping the disheveled man down to his underwear.

The disheveled man, now naked, was emaciated and covered in numerous wounds, which were clearly visible without his clothes.

Zhao Dashan carefully examined the wounded soldier and came to a fairly good conclusion.

The injuries were superficial and frightening, caused by bear scratches and bites. There were no broken bones or damage to the aorta or other areas that could cause massive bleeding.

There were two lacerations on his right arm from being bitten through, and his shoulder and back were covered with scratches left by the bear.

The wound was gruesome, with the flesh turned inside out and blood still seeping out.

After examining the injuries, the old man had a basic understanding of the situation.

This injury isn't too serious!

If the bleeding is stopped in time, the wound is cleaned and sutured, and sterilization and anti-inflammatory measures are taken, there is a high probability that the patient will survive.

The old man first took out a tourniquet from his medical kit, and then skillfully applied pressure to the proximal end of his arm to stop the bleeding. After the bleeding from the penetrating wound on his arm stopped, he immediately took out a cotton swab for disinfection and wiped and rinsed the wound.

After the blood and grime were cleaned, the old man took out the needle and thread for suturing and sutured the wound with a steady hand.

Arms, shoulders, back, scalp—each injury was treated and stitched up according to its severity and urgency. It took more than two hours to complete the initial treatment of the wounds on my body.

After finishing all this, Grandpa Zhao's shirt, which was close to his body, was soaked with sweat.

Time waits for no one. Although the old man's physical condition is far superior to that of his peers, carrying people back from a long distance and treating external injuries still took a toll on his physical strength.

After finishing his work, the old man scalded the sewing instruments with boiling water and put them away again. Then he made himself a cup of sugar water.

Following standard procedure, after providing first aid for the wound, the old man had done everything he needed to. The next step was to locate the village or brigade to which the person belonged, and then contact their relatives to send them to the hospital for more precise treatment.

However, the old man noticed many clues from the disheveled man's attire and physical condition.

This person had nothing decent about him, and even his clothes were obviously ill-fitting.

Coupled with his unkempt, almost savage appearance, Zhao Dashan judged that he was most likely a vagrant from out of town.

Such people were actually not uncommon in that era.

Many people from inland China who came to Northeast China to seek their fortune were unable to settle down in the villages for various reasons, and therefore were unable to participate in collective production labor.

Without a legal identity, one cannot live an open and honest life.

They either find temporary jobs in the mountain forest to earn a living, or they hunt and sell their small catches to exchange for food to fill their stomachs.

Judging from his appearance, the disheveled man in front of me was probably around fifty years old.

In this situation, reporting the injured person's condition to the police station or other departments at the foot of the mountain might not only fail to save him, but could also lead to him doing something wrong because he has no legal status.

Zhao Dashan hesitated for a few seconds, but still couldn't bring himself to do it. He sighed and decided to wait for the disheveled man to wake up first.

After drinking a cup of sugar water, the old man quickly recovered. He heated the stove in the room until it was very hot, then sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and observed the disheveled man's condition.

At five o'clock in the evening, when it was almost dark outside, the slovenly man who had been sleeping opened his eyes!
"woke up?"

The old man sitting next to him asked a casual question, which startled the slovenly man.

"Where...where is this..." the disheveled man asked hoarsely.

"This is a breeding farm on the mountain!"

You were attacked by a bear, I killed the bear, and then carried you back to my place!
How are you feeling? Is there anything particularly uncomfortable?

"..."

The slovenly man fell silent after hearing the answer, not uttering a single word.

The old man seemed to think his reaction was quite normal.

"You're from inside the pass and don't have any identity? Don't worry, since I went to so much trouble to save you, I won't go down the mountain to report you to Uncle Hat!" Zhao Dashan said in a deep voice.

"Thank you... How's the bear? And my gun!" the scruffy man asked, licking his dry lips.

"I brought the gun back for you! The bear only removed the gallbladder and dipped it in boiling water the first time!"
The remaining bear carcass is still lying in the snow! You're covered in blood and badly injured; I was so busy carrying you back that I neglected the prey!

The slovenly man breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the most valuable bear bile had been harvested.

The man struggled to get out of bed. But as soon as he tried to twist his waist and stand up, a sharp pain shot through his body.

"Don't move! I've stitched up and bandaged your wounds! Lie still, or the stitches might break!" the old man said, stopping him.

The disheveled man lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and whispered, "Brother, can I ask you for a favor?"
Consider this bear bile a token of gratitude for saving my life! Please take some time to collect the rest of the bear's carcass when you have a moment!
I'm penniless, and even the padded jacket I'm wearing is stolen! I risked my life to shoot a bear with my last three bullets, so I can't waste them!

Zhao Dashan's lips curled up slightly: "Hehe! You're the one who killed the bear, I don't want the gall!"

The old man doesn't even want this little bit!
Just rest assured and take good care of it. I'll go down the mountain first thing tomorrow morning to get some people to help you dispose of the bear's carcass!

There weren't many wild animals around that area. The bear smelled bad, and even small animals wouldn't dare to approach it easily after it died!

"The blood wasn't drained completely, so the meat will probably taste stronger!"

"Go down the mountain and call for help..."

Upon hearing these four words, the slovenly man looked terrified and stared at Zhao Dashan with a thoughtful expression.

He had now begun to understand his situation; his body was covered in injuries, and even the slightest movement caused excruciating pain from his wounds.

In this situation, one basically loses all ability to move. Even if they want to run, they can freeze to death overnight if they leave the warm room.

However, the thought of going down the mountain to call for help made him extremely sensitive.

"What's wrong? Are you carrying some burden?" Grandpa Zhao asked with gentle eyes.

"I...I have no identity! Besides, I also stole an old gun and some tattered clothes from a dugout!" the slovenly man said guiltily.

"Where is the underground cellar located?"

"It's about five kilometers southeast of Xiongcangzi, there's a dugout on the sunny slope, and not far down the slope is a mountain spring!"

"Are you sure the gun and clothes came from the dugouts over there?"

Zhao Dashan instantly figured out the location.

Those dugouts were temporary shelters for villagers from the foot of the mountain who gathered wild vegetables and produce in the spring; it's impossible for them to have stored high-value items like hunting rifles inside. Clearly, this person lied.

The slovenly man seemed to realize his statement was untenable, so he took a deep breath and added, "No...no!"
The place where I stole the gun was another dugout, at least dozens of miles away by mountain road!

I stole a gun and clothes and escaped here!

Uncle Hat went to conduct a temporary inspection at the shacks down the mountain, and I ran out before I was even properly dressed!
The other villagers had all scattered, and I didn't want to be sent back, so I wandered around the mountains!

The dugout where they were hiding was empty, containing only a rotten tin stove!

Upon hearing the disheveled man's answer, Zhao Dashan did not press the matter further.

This kind of outsider with an unclear background is likely to have some kind of trouble on his hands, and judging from his timid and hesitant manner of speaking, the old man did not have a good impression of him.

"Tomorrow, I'll take care of this bear and then give you the money!

Don't worry, the old man has lived in the mountains his whole life and doesn't like to do things like betraying or informing on his friends!

If you're worried, I won't go down the mountain to look for the bear. I can just make a couple more trips and bring it back!
If you can move on your own, I won't stop you from leaving!

However, your clothes were torn by the bear, so you need to get a new set!
This money will be deducted from the cost of selling the bear!

We met by chance, it's fate that we met. Saving you was just a favor, you don't need to feel guilty!

"Brother! I didn't mean that, please don't overthink it!"

Seeing that Grandpa Zhao's tone had turned cold, the slovenly man knew that the old man had been provoked by his attitude, and quickly apologized.

"Whether you want to or not, just stay put for now! Are you thirsty? You've bled a lot from your external wound!"

I'm a little thirsty!

"Wait, I'll get you some sugar water!"

Soon, Zhao Dashan dissolved some sugar water and brought it over.

The slovenly man, his mouth dry, took the water glass, took a sip, and then gulped it down, finishing the entire glass of sugar water.

"Brother, I was wrong just now! I shouldn't have treated you that way! If you had bad intentions towards me, you wouldn't have gone to the trouble of saving my life!"

If the bear had killed me, you could have legally and legitimately gotten your prey for free! It was my heart that was too wicked!

After finishing his water, the disheveled man, as if afraid of upsetting the old man, apologized profusely without even wiping his mouth.

Although Zhao Dashan had a somewhat eccentric temper, he wasn't a bad person at heart. Seeing the slovenly man apologize openly to his face, he sighed.

"Sigh! You just rest and recover! I'll cook some meat porridge, and you can eat something later! Supplies on the mountain are limited; we only have a basic medical kit!"
If you have a fever, you definitely need to go down the mountain to stop taking your anti-inflammatory medication!
I'll say it again: if you're worried, feel free to leave anytime, I won't stop you!

"I'm not going anywhere! I'm not going anywhere! If I go outside for one night like this, I'll freeze to death!"

"Brother, my name is Zhang Wenhui. I escaped from the interior after accidentally injuring someone in a fight!"

When Zhang Wenhui introduced herself, her identity was also revealed.

"I'm a bit older than you, so I'll call you Little Zhang! Your injuries will take a month or two to fully heal, even with good food and drink!"

I live alone in the mountains and don't have any company, so you can rest assured and take care of it! Consider the money from the bear sale as your medical expenses!
"Once you're all better, I'll have my apprentice help you figure out if we can get you a legal identity!"

"I still don't know the older brother's name!"

"The old man has lived in the mountains his whole life, his real name is Zhao Dashan!"

"Brother Zhao, I will never forget your life-saving grace!"

"Just rest and recover. Your body is weak from the injury, and talking too much will make you feel weak too!"

"Yes! I'll listen to you!"

……

After a brief assessment, Zhang Wenhui settled down at the mountain farm.

Early the next morning, Zhao Dashan took his sled, the hunting dogs from the mountain, and coal briquettes and headed straight for the place where he had killed the bear the day before.

With the help of several hunting dogs from the Dog Gang and Coal Ball as laborers, the old man chopped the bear, skin and all, into several pieces, and then had the Dog Gang and Coal Ball drag the sled back with great effort.

The bear wasn't bled, so the meat quality was definitely much worse. However, the bear paws, bear belly, and bear nose—the parts that could be sold—were all preserved by the old man.

As for bear meat, it's considered a delicacy by outsiders, but in the mountain farms, it's just slightly higher-quality hunting dog food.

After Zhao Dashan finished dealing with the bear's body and returned to the house, he checked on Zhang Wenhui's condition.

Zhang Wenhui, whose condition was relatively stable last night, is pale today and her forehead is burning hot.

"Xiao Zhang, wake up!"

Zhang Wenhui struggled to open her eyes, feeling dizzy and disoriented.

"Brother Zhao, I have a fever and my head is a little dizzy!"

"You stay on the kang (heated brick bed) and rest. I'll go down the mountain to get you some medicine! It's probably an infection in your wound. An IV drip of anti-inflammatory medicine will bring down your fever!"

"it is good!"

"There's no one at the farm when I go down the mountain. You stay inside and don't go out. I've let the dogs and bears go!"

"Ok!"

……

After a brief greeting, Zhao Dashan untied the hunting dog and coal briquettes and scattered them in the yard. Then he locked the gate and ran down the mountain.

Meanwhile, Yue Feng was at home taking care of his son Kaixin, who was still recovering from a cold.

The little guy had a fever and a cough, which made Yue Feng very nervous. Even after the fever subsided, the cough persisted, so yesterday he found a car to take him to the city hospital for a checkup and got a lot of medicine to take care of him.

Just as he finished changing his son's diaper, the gate to the new house was opened, and Zhao Dashan, his eyebrows frosty, entered the yard.

Is Xiaofeng home?

"Master, what brings you here? Please come inside!"

Upon hearing his master's greeting, Yue Feng hurriedly came out to greet him.

The old man rarely goes down the mountain unless he has to; early in the morning is when he's tending to the livestock.

Coming to my house at this time is unusual.

"I was wandering around the mountains yesterday and rescued a homeless guy who was killing a bear single-handedly with an old-fashioned rifle! He has a fever, probably from an infected wound! There's no anti-inflammatory or fever-reducing medicine on the mountain, so take me to the village barefoot doctor to get some!"

"Please wait a moment, I'll go back inside and get the money! Let's go together! How badly is that person injured? Is it serious?" (End of Chapter)