Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

During the Great Heat of 1996, when the weather was at its hottest, Qinjiazhuang, located in the heart of the Central Plains, was cool and pleasant. The Shuangling Mountain to the south of the village stretched out like a screen, blocking out all the heat.

That afternoon, Qin Yunhai drove his flock of sheep to a gentle hillside called "Jutaidi." As usual, he sat under the withered persimmon tree, looking at the small mound beside him and muttering to himself. This mound, surrounded by evergreen cypress trees, was the grave of Qin Yunhai's deceased wife.

While Qin Yunhai was in a daze, the sheepdog Ah Huang pounced on him. The mischievous dog wanted to seek its owner's affection, but unexpectedly "startled" the old man. Seeing its old master raise the sheep whip and about to get angry, Ah Huang suddenly shuddered, made a sudden stop in mid-air, turned around and slipped into the wild chrysanthemum bushes not far away.

Qin Yunhai had no interest in playing around with the dog. He took out half a pack of unfiltered cigarettes, smelled them, and put them back in his pocket.

There are very few cigarettes left, and the surrounding area is full of dry branches and leaves. If this causes a wildfire, it will be terrible.

Feeling utterly bored, Qin Yunhai stretched and gazed at the flat, open field of wild chrysanthemums, his eyes filled with loneliness and bewilderment.

Qin Yunhai's wife died unexpectedly, and his only son taught in town. For this retired veteran who suffered from epilepsy, herding sheep was merely a way to pass the time. Raising sheep didn't earn much money, yet he still took on a job as a helper. While others did it to support their families, what was Qin Yunhai after?

A mountain breeze rustled the wild chrysanthemum branches, and a refreshing fragrance wafted over. Qin Yunhai leaned against the tree trunk, his head tilted, and fell into a light sleep.

The scenery was beautiful and the view pleasant. Qin Yunhai should have been able to have a good night's sleep here, but the opposite was true. His face was purplish-blue, his brows were furrowed, and even his eyelids began to twitch wildly. It seemed that he was dreaming of the foreign battlefield from many years ago again.

A flare exploded in the night sky, and in an instant, enemy bombers launched a dive bombing attack. In a short time, the front line was engulfed in flames. Further back, countless enemies rushed towards our reverse slope fortifications, and wave after wave of "meat grinder" battles for control of the positions began.

At some point, Qin Yunhai hid in a muddy, foul-smelling tunnel, while his comrades who couldn't retreat in time were burned beyond recognition by napalm bombs and died tragically.

In his dream, he desperately wanted to do something, but he couldn't do anything.

His crippled right hand couldn't lift the PPSh-45 so close to him, and his thin shoulders couldn't bear the bodies of his comrades. He could only watch helplessly as his living and dead comrades were engulfed by the fire...

The shepherd was still trapped in a terrible nightmare, and the task of tending the sheep fell entirely on Ah Huang's shoulders.

For this Chinese rural dog, this is by no means an easy task! Not to mention anything else, just yesterday, the strongest goat in the flock fell into an abandoned mine pit right under its nose.

The sheep died, and the unlucky Ah Huang was whipped quite a bit for it. Fortunately, it was a very intelligent dog that was good at summarizing. At this moment, it was on high alert, paying close attention to the movements of the flock.

As it turned out, Ah Huang's vigilance was very necessary. After the sheep had eaten all the tender tips of the wild chrysanthemum branches, they moved to another location with the lead sheep. During this time, a lamb fell behind the flock. It was attracted by the scattered alfalfa and gradually separated from the group.

In no time, this reckless lamb climbed onto the mound on the west side of the chrysanthemum terrace. Below the mound was the old mine pit, which was dozens of meters deep!

At this critical moment, Ah Huang's golden fur on its neck immediately "blown up," and it arched its body, raised its tail, and leaped around. In no time, it ran wildly to the lamb.

"Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!" Ah Huang bared his teeth and barked wildly at the lamb.

The lamb, startled by Ah Huang, darted off pitifully towards the lead sheep...

With the danger over, Ah Huang immediately relaxed, wagged its tail, and proudly spun around in circles.

Just then, a small cricket entered Ah Huang's field of vision. The dog immediately became interested. It bent down and stretched its legs, and with a "pounce, a flick, and a snip," the cricket dodged it all!

The three-pronged attack had failed, and Ah Huang was furious. It pounced on the ground and plunged into the grass. However, to Ah Huang's utter surprise, there was a dense clump of cockleburs hidden behind that clump of weeds!

The moment its nose touched the hook, the dog's head snapped back.

Oh dear! This time, I really tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead!

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

Ah Huang sneezed several times in a row and whimpered as he ran towards his old master.

At this moment, Ah Huang tilted its head and looked pitifully at Qin Yunhai, who had suddenly woken up. Seeing its old master panting heavily with a pained expression, Ah Huang, as if by reflex, quietly snuggled up to him.

This time, Qin Yunhai didn't chase Ah Huang away. Instead, he placed his right hand on the dog's forehead—although his index finger was missing, it didn't stop him from grooming Ah Huang's fur.

At this moment, the dog tilted its head back, squinted its eyes, and looked very pleased with itself, while Qin Yunhai used this to calm his chaotic mood. Both of them got what they wanted and were quite content.

After a friendly interaction, Ah Huang turned around on its own. It wagged its tail, lowered its head, and gently licked Qin Yunhai's palm with its tongue. At that moment, it was no longer an ordinary dog, but more like a psychologist comforting a wounded person!

After a long while, Qin Yunhai finally came to his senses. He wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then took off the Type 50 military water bottle slung across his shoulder, opened the lid, took a sip, and handed it to Ah Huang.

Seeing the water column tilting down, Ah Huang hurriedly went over, opened its mouth, and stuck out its tongue to drink heartily.

Watching Ah Huang gulp down the last mouthful of water, Qin Yunhai tied the water bottle to his waist, stood up, brushed the dirt off his trousers, grabbed a whip, and drove the sheep down the mountain without looking back...

The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the mountain path, and the birds in the sky returned to the forest. In the quiet valley, Ah Huang was the most mischievous. One moment it was sniffing sheep droppings behind the flock, and the next it was captivated by a beautiful red butterfly. It ran left and right, but could not catch the butterfly. Instead, it broke away from the shepherd's group.

Seeing that Ah Huang had disappeared again, Qin Yunhai, who was counting the lambs, was furious. He was about to call for Gouzi when suddenly shouts came from the direction of the old mine. Qin Yunhai frowned and immediately had a bad feeling.

"Clang! Clang!"

With a crack of his whip, the old man scattered the sheep, then quickened his pace and ran towards the mine.

Hopefully, nothing bad will happen.