Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 42 Hunting in the Mountains

Four days later, the three-wheeled motorcycle was repaired at the military control commission's warehouse.

He Yuzhu tightened the last screw and straightened up.

The truck bed was lengthened and widened, and welded sturdily; the entire truck was military green. He patted the edge of the truck bed, making a clanging sound.

Several soldiers gathered around to watch, while the veteran, cigarette dangling from his lips, circled the motorcycle once. "Zhu Zi, did you really manage to get this piece of junk working? Start it up, give it a few rides."

He Yuzhu hopped on the bike and stepped on the accelerator. The engine sputtered and a puff of blue smoke billowed from the exhaust.

Chen Xiangqian came over, carrying an enamel license plate. It was white with red lettering, a red five-pointed star on the left, the word "Beijing" next to it, and a few digits of a number. It was an old-style one used between 1949 and 1950, with a smooth enamel surface that reflected the sunlight.

This is a first-generation license plate, made of enamel on a metal tire. Chen Xiangqian handed the license plate to He Yuzhu. "Zhu, it's an old plate. Nobody checks these things on the road anymore. It's for personal use; nobody will bother you if you put it on."

He Yuzhu took the license plate, hung it on the front of the car, and tightened it with screws.

"Quickly test drive it," Chen Xiangqian said as he got into the truck bed.

He Yuzhu hopped on, shifted gears, twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle smoothly drove out of the Military Control Commission gate, circling the outside of the compound once.

Chen Xiangqian patted the truck bed. "It's really good, no unusual noises, much better than our old ones."

He Yuzhu rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard house. The children at the alley entrance heard the commotion first and ran out to see what was happening. The motorcycle sputtered up, its enamel license plate reflecting the light. The children chased after it, some shouting, "Three-wheeled motorcycle!"

He parked his car at the main entrance of the courtyard and went inside to call Yushui. Yushui was hunched over the table doing her homework, clutching the stub of her pencil in her hand.

He Yuzhu carried a cotton quilt out of the house. "Come on, let's go for a drive."

Rain blinked and followed him outside. Seeing a three-wheeled motorcycle parked at the door, he asked, "Brother, is this ours?"

"Of course it's ours. Get in the car quickly and wrap yourself in the blanket."

Rainwater sat in the truck bed and wrapped himself in a blanket.

"Hold on tight."

Yu Shui gripped the edge of the truck bed with both hands, "Brother, drive faster."

The motorcycle darted out of the alley and sputtered onto the main street. Early January was bitterly cold; the wind felt like knives slicing against your face. There weren't many people on the street; some tricycle drivers hunched their shoulders, turning to look when they heard the motorcycle.

The rain chuckled in the truck bed, and the wind made her two braids flutter.

He Yuzhu, hunched over, was so busy wrapping the rain-soaked blanket around himself that he forgot to put on a military overcoat. The wind blew into his sleeves and collar.

Upon arriving at Lou's mansion, he honked the horn twice. The iron gate opened, and Lou Bancheng came out. He was stunned to see He Yuzhu riding a three-wheeled motorcycle with Yushui sitting in the back.

"Zhu Zi, you haven't come to collect your weapons these past few days, have you been busy with this stuff?"

"Uncle Lou, how's it going? I've fixed the three old motorcycles that I pieced together."

Lou Bancheng circled the motorcycle. The frame was made of sturdy steel, the welds were neat, and the cargo bed was enlarged, lengthened, and tightly riveted. He squatted down on the front of the motorcycle and looked at the enamel license plate.

"You little rascal, you've got some skills? How is your brain made? You can learn anything."

"Uncle Lou, it's just how it is, there's nothing I can do about it. I ride it when I go hunting in the mountains. You'll have to provide me with the gasoline. I'll trade you some game for it, and I'll even cook it for you."

Lou Bancheng smiled and agreed.

Lou Xiao'e ran out and ran to the motorcycle. When she saw the rainwater in the truck bed, her eyes lit up.

The rain called her up.

Lou Xiao'e first circled around the motorcycle, then reached out and touched the front. "Brother He, this motorcycle is even more fun than my car!"

He Yuzhu carried the rainwater out of the truck bed and let her and Lou Xiao'e go inside to warm up.

Lou Bancheng had someone bring out a can of gasoline from the garage and fill up the motorcycle.

He Yuzhu went inside and drank some hot water. Before he could even warm up, Lou Xiao'e pulled Yushui along and ran over. "Brother He, take us for a drive!"

He Yuzhu glanced at Lou Bancheng, who was sitting on the sofa drinking tea without saying a word.

He stood up, took Yushui and Lou Xiao'e with him, and went out. The two of them were wrapped in a quilt, with only their heads sticking out.

The motorcycle drove out of the iron gate and onto the main street. Two girls in the back of the motorcycle giggled, their faces flushed red from the wind.

I took them on a tour of most of Beijing. The surface of Shichahai Lake was frozen solid, and a group of children were skating on the ice.

More than an hour later, back at Lou Mansion, He Yuzhu loaded the large machete, bow and arrow, detachable Xingyi spear, and several large animal traps with iron chains onto the truck bed.

I took the rainwater back to the courtyard and told her to eat at Old Li's house in the main room of the middle courtyard for the next few days and to do her homework well.

Before dawn the next day, He Yuzhu got up. He was wearing a cotton-padded jacket and a military overcoat, with his leggings tied tightly, leather boots over them, cotton gloves on his hands, and a dog-skin hat on his head.

He hopped on his motorcycle, stepped on the gas, twisted the throttle, and headed west towards Mentougou.

Once inside the mountains, he stored the motorcycle in his spatial storage. Holding the Xingyi spear in his hand, he walked deeper into the ravine.

Wild boars, wild sheep, dogs, and badgers can all be found in the mountains. In the Western Hills area of ​​Beijing, wild animals are mostly found in the mountainous areas of Mentougou, Fangshan, Yanqing, and Huairou.

He's going to stay in these mountains for a few days.

Less than half an hour later, in my spatial perception, I spotted a wild rabbit crouching in a pile of withered grass. It was gray-furred and huddled in a ball. I nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and released it. The arrowhead stuck into the ground, and the rabbit kicked its legs twice before going still. I picked it up, weighed it in my hand, and stored it in my spatial storage.

After walking a few more miles, he sensed a flock of pheasants, four or five of them, pawing at the ground in the bushes. He picked up a pebble and threw it, knocking two pheasants over, which flapped their wings and circled on the ground. He went over, picked them up, and they went off to keep company with the hare.

On the hillside, a blue sheep was found. It was smaller than a domestic goat, with short, pointed horns that curved backward. It was standing on a rock, nibbling on the leaves of a shrub.

He Yuzhu lay prone behind the rock, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and released it. The arrow struck Qingyang in the neck, and Qingyang rolled down the rock. He weighed it on the flat ground; it weighed forty or fifty pounds.

In the blink of an eye, I entered the space.

A badger burrow was discovered at the bottom of an earthen embankment halfway up the mountain. Fresh paw prints were visible at the entrance, and the soil was damp, as if it had just been dug. Badgers are nocturnal, and at this time of day, they were likely sleeping inside their burrow.

Badgers do not attack people unless provoked; they will hide at the bottom of their burrows and not come out when they smell human scent.

He Yuzhu squatted at the entrance of the cave and looked around, then didn't bother digging. He pulled up a few handfuls of dry grass, lit them, and weighed them down with clods of mud. Smoke poured into the cave, and after a while, sounds came from inside.

The badger, unable to withstand the smoke, burst out of its burrow, a dark mass. He Yuzhu stepped aside and patted it on the back.

The badger vanished into thin air, remaining frozen in space.

During the hottest part of the afternoon, a large wild boar was spotted. It was an adult male, with its bristles standing on end and tusks sticking out from the corners of its mouth, rooting around tree roots and gnawing on tender skin.

He Yuzhu drew his machete, then put it back. He stuck the gun barrel into the ground and walked forward empty-handed.

Hearing footsteps, the wild boar looked up and saw people, exhaling two puffs of white breath from its nostrils before charging forward.

He Yuzhu dodged to the side and delivered a powerful punch to the wild boar's side. He used internal force, the power originating from his feet, rising up his waist and hips, flowing through his spine, and finally reaching his fist.

It didn't look heavy, but the wild boar grunted, its internal organs already injured. It staggered, then braced itself on its four hooves and charged again.

He Yuzhu dodged, then delivered a powerful horizontal punch to its neck with his left hand. The wild boar's front legs buckled and it knelt down, struggling to stand up, only to be punched again in the forehead.

The fierce light in its eyes slowly faded, and it exhaled its last breath.

He took two steps back, catching his breath. He'd used three powerful punches to kill a wild boar; the force was impressive. He picked up the boar and weighed it in his hand—over two hundred pounds.

Three days later, the prey in the space was piled up like a small mountain. There were three wild boars, two of which were dead, and one was still alive when it was put into the space.

Of the four blue sheep, two were shot dead with arrows, and the other two were captured alive. The three badgers were all smoked out of their burrows and then swatted into space. The hares and pheasants were all killed with arrows.

He slept his last night in a hut at the foot of the mountain. The campfire burned brightly, and sparks flew into the sky.

The sky was full of stars, and the howl of wolves could be heard in the distance.

Early on the fourth day, he took out the motorcycle. He put only two wild boars and a blue sheep in the back, covered them with an oilcloth and tied them tightly with rope.

I got on the bike, stepped on the gas, and the engine sputtered to life. I twisted the accelerator and headed down the mountain, onto the road back to the city.

In the morning, at the entrance of the cooperative in Dongcheng District.

A motorcycle drove up, its enamel license plate gleaming in the sunlight. The tarpaulin in the cargo bed had long been tucked away, revealing two wild boars with their tusks pointing skyward and two rams with their horns curved upwards.

Several people from the cooperative poked their heads out of the windows, some ran out to look, and circled around the motorcycle.

He Yuzhu turned off the engine and got out of the car. "Comrade, I'm looking for your director."