Chapter 467 - 394: Baoyu Shoots
Wang Qiang was here to drive away the Black Bear eating his corn. Li Baoyu was here to drive away the wild boars in his cornfield. And Zhao Jun had come to accompany them both. As for Wang Dalong, he was probably just here for the excitement.
Over the past few days, while Zhao Jun’s family was building their house, the hardest worker had been Wang Qiang, followed by Zhang Yuanmin. And surprisingly, right after Zhang Yuanmin, was Wang Dalong.
The kid had shown up uninvited. On his very first day, he declared he was there to help his aunt’s family, wouldn’t take a single cent, and then started working his tail off at the construction site.
Work had stopped for the afternoon, but Wang Dalong came over to Zhao Jun’s house for a visit right after dinner. When he heard Zhao Jun say they were going to stand guard in the fields that night, he went home, grabbed his gun, and came right back. There was no stopping him.
Anyone who knew Wang Dalong understood that when he acted like this, he was definitely after something. But their two families were relatives, after all, and Wang Dalong was brimming with goodwill, so no one had the heart to turn him away.
"Uncle Qiang!" Wang Dalong called Wang Meilan ’aunt’, so naturally, he called Wang Qiang ’uncle’. "It’s twelve o’clock," he said. "Shouldn’t we go out and do a round? That dog outside has been barking this whole time."
The dog Wang Dalong was talking about was Big Fatty, who Zhao Jun had brought along. Zhao Jun had tied him up outside the thatched hut.
As soon as they got to the fields, Big Fatty started barking nonstop, which meant there were wild boars or a Black Bear nearby.
"Let’s go!" Wang Qiang set his cattail-leaf fan aside, used his shotgun to help himself up, and led the way out of the thatched hut.
Zhao Jun and the others followed him out. The four of them walked together until they reached a fork in the road, where they split into pairs. Wang Qiang and Wang Dalong, one in front of the other, headed toward Wang Qiang’s cornfield. Meanwhile, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu went toward Li Baoyu’s plot.
At that moment, Zhao Jun was holding Wang Qiang’s over-under shotgun. He had always been curious about guns with stacked barrels, so he had swapped with Wang Qiang back in the hut and had been fiddling with it ever since.
Once in Li Baoyu’s family’s field, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu didn’t split up, but Li Baoyu took the lead with Zhao Jun following behind.
They staggered their positions to cover each other.
Suddenly, Li Baoyu froze, stopping in his tracks. Zhao Jun, who was right behind him, stopped as well. Neither made a sound as they strained their ears, and they heard a CRUNCH, CRUNCH sound coming from the cornstalks up ahead.
’What’s eating the corn?’ Zhao Jun held the gun in his left hand, a flashlight tucked under his left arm.
Zhao Jun used his right hand to switch on the flashlight, sending a beam of light forward. But the moment the light flashed on, there was a loud RUSTLING sound.
Wherever the sound went, cornstalks fell to the left and right. Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu wanted to give chase, but the corn blocked their path, forcing them to take a difficult detour.
"Slow down! Slow down! I think it’s the yellow-haired ones," Zhao Jun whispered to Li Baoyu. The two of them followed the trail of toppled cornstalks. The further Li Baoyu walked, the angrier he became. ’This is our food! My parents worked so hard for this, from dawn till dusk.’
At that moment, to avoid startling the animal, Zhao Jun turned off his flashlight. But after they had gone about ten meters, he faintly heard a stir in the cornstalks to their right.
Li Baoyu turned to look back at Zhao Jun. In the darkness, he couldn’t see Zhao Jun’s expression, but he could see him point to the right.
Li Baoyu took the lead again, pushing into the stalks. He moved forward cautiously, trying his best not to make a single sound.
Suddenly, through a gap in the corn leaves, Li Baoyu saw a dark shape up ahead. It was rooting around, seemingly breaking off ears of corn.
’A Black Bear!’ A jolt went through Li Baoyu. He stopped in his tracks and poked the muzzle of his gun through the gap in the leaves!
Just then, Zhao Jun, who was right behind him, switched on the flashlight, and a beam of light shot forward.
Through the corn leaves, Li Baoyu could still only make out a dark shape.
’This has to be the Black Bear!’
Li Baoyu didn’t hesitate any longer and pulled the trigger.
But at that exact moment, the dark figure noticed the light and let out a cry.
"Ah!"
’That was a human sound!’
But by then, the shot had already rung out!