1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Among the group, Wang Changfa was the fastest runner. He rushed over, panting heavily. Judging from his disheveled appearance, he had clearly crawled out of Widow Li's cornfield next door. His pants were not even properly fastened. He was holding his belt tightly with one hand and carrying a coat in the other. He hurriedly rushed over here.

"Shanzi! What happened? Did you fire that shot just now?"

Wang Changfa ran up to him, panting heavily, and asked.

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze swept over the messy soybean field in front of him, and his face instantly darkened.

"Damn it! Those plague-ridden wild boars! They've ruined over an acre of soybeans in one go, the harvest was just around the corner, and it's all gone! Those bastards!"

"Uncle Long Hair, hurry up and fasten your pants. What will it look like when all the villagers come?"

This is a whole herd of wild boars. I counted, there were about twelve or thirteen of them. I heard the commotion from over in the cornfield; they had knocked down a large section of the cornfield there too.

As he spoke, Chen Gaoshan turned and walked towards the spot where he had just fired. Looking down, he saw a pool of red blood on the ground. His shots had indeed hit the target!

He didn't dare to delay and immediately followed the trail of blood. Sure enough, after walking only a dozen meters, he saw a wild boar cub lying on the ground, its hind legs bleeding, whimpering in pain, its little eyes looking at him in terror.

Its four short legs kicked wildly, but it couldn't get up no matter what it did.

Without hesitation, Chen Gaoshan gave it a quick death. He raised his Mauser pistol, aimed it at the wild boar's head, and fired a shot to end its suffering, preventing the little guy from attracting more wild boars with its cries.

The commotion drew the attention of the villagers who had arrived one after another. They were furious as they looked at the broken crops and rotten bean sprouts scattered all over the ground, but they knew that getting angry was useless.

Wild boars from these mountains come down and wreak havoc on crops every year. This year it's their turn, next year it'll be someone else's turn; it's become a regular occurrence.

"Those damned bastards, all they know how to do is waste people's food!"

Someone in the crowd cursed.

"Longfa, you're in charge of the village, quickly get people up the mountain to surround these wild boars! If we don't deal with them today, they'll definitely come back after we're all asleep tonight, and then we won't be able to save the whole field of crops!"

Wang Changfa frowned, squatted down, and looked at the wild boar cubs on the ground.

"Shanzi just beat up their cubs. Those wild boars are damn vengeful and hold grudges! Even if we don't go into the mountains to find them, they'll definitely come back for revenge!"

"Besides, they've already seen people and heard gunshots. Next time they hear gunshots, they won't run around like before; they'll fight us through the smoke!"

"Remember this, everyone: whether it's a wild boar, a bear, or a shrew, once these wild animals go berserk, you have to kill them, otherwise they'll be a huge menace!"

Chen Gaoshan nodded, knowing that what Uncle Long Hair said made sense.

"Uncle Long Hair, we definitely have to deal with this herd of wild boars! We can't let them wreak havoc on the village's crops!"

"That's right!"

Wang Changfa stood up, dusted off his hands, and immediately began making arrangements.

"Shanzi, you're quick on your feet, hurry and go call your Uncle Chunlei. Xiao Kouzi, go and call Ma Wanzhong and Liu Quzi from the village, and gather all the men in the village who have guns and other weapons at home to come to my house. We'll get together and discuss going into the mountains to hunt! Don't worry, everyone, once we've dealt with the wild boars, all the meat will be divided among everyone, no one will get left out!"

"Okay! Uncle Long Hair, we'll go right now!"

"We must divide this wild boar meat; we can't let all our wasted food go to waste!"

Chen Gaoshan bent down and picked up the wild boar cub by its hind legs. The little body was still warm. He took the prey home first and then instructed Kexin as soon as he entered the door.

"Hurry up and go to the river bend to retrieve the fishing nets I left there. Don't let them be washed away by the river, and don't let anyone else take them."

After explaining the matter, Chen Gaoshan didn't waste a moment and turned around to rush to Uncle Chunlei's house to inform people about the hunting plan.

Wang Changfa was only half right.

When the wild boar heard the gunshot, it retaliated. This was partly due to the stress of protecting its injured young, a desperate gamble, and partly due to its vengeful nature.

The wild animals in these mountains have different temperaments; some are fierce and hold grudges, daring to charge forward even with guns pointed at them.

But some are cunning and quick-witted. As soon as they smell gunpowder, they immediately take off running, disappearing as far as Shanxi, making them impossible to find. Completely hunting these wild boars is not an easy task. It doesn't rely on people, but on hunting dogs. They have to rely on dogs to surround and drive them away.

·····

At this moment, the kang (heated brick bed) in Wang Changfa's house was filled with hunters from the village who frequently went into the mountains, as well as old and young men with their own tools.

There were quite a few people standing on the floor inside, and the smell of smoke and sweat was overwhelming.

There were a total of eight people.

Liu Chunlei sat at the head of the kang (a heated brick bed), wearing a sleeveless coarse cloth jacket that revealed the flesh on his arms, puffing away on a pipe.

"Damn it, those wild boars are really good at wreaking havoc! The worst hit areas this time are Wang Er's cornfield, which has been completely destroyed, and Ma Wanzhong's soybean field."

In our village, no cornfield that has been trampled by wild boars is left unscathed! If they were like rats, gnawing on the crops one by one, that would be one thing, but these beasts are incredibly strong. As soon as they enter the field, they bury their heads and dig wildly, knocking down swathes of corn stalks.

"We've worked so hard on the crops for almost half a year, and now they've all been ruined, reduced to a pile of mud. All our efforts have been for nothing! We farmers depend on this land for our livelihood; we can't let these beasts get away with it! Changfa, you're in charge of the village, say something, and we'll see what happens next!"

Wang Changfa sat cross-legged in the center of the kang (a heated brick bed). Among the young men in the village, the one he valued and was most proud of was Gao Shan, the second son of the Chen family. This boy was not only strong and powerful, but also quick-witted and very calm in the face of trouble. He was much more reliable than the boy in his class.

"These things are a natural pest that wreaks havoc on crops. Keeping them around will only cause trouble in the future. We should kill as many as we can. First, we'll get rid of the pest, and second, we can share the wild boar meat with everyone to satisfy our cravings and supplement our food rations. We'll use the old method as usual: lead the hunting dogs to surround and drive the wild boars together before we attack."

Wan Zhong, your hunting dogs are the fiercest; they'll have to be put to use this time! Not just yours, everyone here with hunting dogs, bring them out when you get home. Let's gather at least twenty dogs, and we'll head into the mountains for a hunt at daybreak tomorrow!

At this moment, the boy, who was sitting on a small stool by the door, suddenly spoke up.

That was Wang Changfa's youngest son, who was only thirteen years old this year. He had never been into the mountains before and was holding a persimmon in his hand, munching on it.

"Dad, it's been a whole night. Those wild boars must have vanished by now!"

Chen Gaoshan, who was standing by the door, spoke.

"No, don't worry. As long as we don't go into the mountains to chase them overnight, the wild boar herd won't just run around aimlessly. They have fixed dens and won't go very far."

Wang Changfa nodded in satisfaction at Gao Shan and then continued the conversation.

"Shanzi is right. Those beasts are very clever. After ruining the crops, they'll definitely go back to their dens to rest. They can't have gone too far. Let's go first thing tomorrow morning and catch them red-handed!"

Ma Wanzhong, standing in the crowd, has seven hunting dogs at home, all of which he raised and trained himself. He cherishes each and every one of them.

Wild boars are very wild, especially male wild boars in heat; it's common for them to kill three or four hunting dogs.

He was heartbroken that something might happen to his dog.

But half of their soybean field had been destroyed by wild boars, and it looked like the year's harvest was going to be ruined. If they let the wild boars continue to wreak havoc, the villagers would not be able to make a living in the future. They gritted their teeth and decided that even if they felt sorry for the dogs, they could not watch their crops be destroyed.