PFC Chapter 190 Real Men
Chapter 190 Real Men
"There are wolves around! What dares to be so reckless as to charge over there? Xiangyang, why don't you take the educated youth and leave first? Since we've already fought them, at least take the bear paws and gallbladders with us!"
Wang Ergou looked at the fallen brown bear, his eyes gleaming with longing.
"Yes, and bear skin too. Don't worry, it won't take much effort."
He Mancang agreed.
Li Xiangyang, carrying Xiao Zhang who had a persistent high fever, knew exactly what they meant.
It's really hard to give up such easy money.
Moreover, bear paws, bear bile, and bear skin are all highly sought-after items in the county town, with prices far exceeding supply.
"Okay, you guys handle it, but be quick." Li Xiangyang nodded, turned around, and left with the educated youth.
"Don't worry, it won't take much time at all."
He Mancang responded, drew his knife, and, ignoring the pain in his foot, rushed to the front of the bear.
Seeing the bear fall, the wolves were about to feed when they saw him. Several wolves roared angrily, their eyes flashing with cold light.
But with a roar from the old wolf king, the discontented wolves were temporarily brought under control.
"Hey guys, the skin's not tasty anyway, I'll just skin it, take the bear paw and gallbladder, and then I'm off. The rest is yours."
He Mancang didn't care whether the wolves understood him or not. He finished speaking awkwardly and then quickly and efficiently dealt with the bear.
"Damn, Uncle He, experience really pays off! You're much faster than Xiangyang."
Wang Ergou was utterly amazed by He Mancang's skills.
"Ahem, well, although it was fast, several things weren't handled properly, so the price was reduced..."
……
After parting ways with Wang Ergou, Li Xiangyang hurried back home.
At this moment, Xiao Zhang's body temperature rose higher and higher, and his breathing became rapid.
The other educated youths were also exhausted and stumbled as they walked.
Although He Mancang had set Xiao Hong's foot, she still walked with a limp, and Xiao Fang's leg injury was constantly bleeding.
Li Xiangyang had to slow down so that everyone could keep up.
He knew all too well how dangerous the mountain roads were at this time of year; if they got separated again, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xuanmao and Xiaohu protected everyone, one in front and one behind.
They are quick to detect any disturbance and prick up their ears to be on alert.
With them around, at least we don't have to worry about being attacked by wild animals.
After walking for about two hours, as darkness fell, Li Xiangyang decided to rest for a while in a sheltered mountain hollow.
The view here is expansive, making it ideal for observing the surroundings.
He gently put Xiao Zhang down and touched her forehead with his hand; it was frighteningly hot.
The other educated youth also collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
At this moment, a burst of footsteps came.
Wang Ergou and He Mancang caught up, panting, each carrying an oilcloth bundle on their backs.
"Is it all done?" Li Xiangyang asked.
Wang Ergou nodded, his face still beaming with excitement. "It's all sorted out. This bear gallbladder is big enough; it can at least be sold..."
"Alright, catch your breath. It's getting dark, we need to hurry."
Li Xiangyang interrupted Wang Ergou and then took out a ginseng from his bag.
"There's no other way but to try. Whether the person can hold on is up to fate."
He muttered to himself, stuffed the ginseng into the kettle, and poured in some snow water.
Then he took out a tinderbox and lit a few dry branches.
In the firelight, the snow water in the kettle slowly melted.
Seeing that Xiao Zhang's breathing was becoming more and more rapid, Li Xiangyang didn't care about anything else, grabbed a handful of clean snow, squeezed it, and put it on the other person's forehead.
Of course, this wasn't enough, so he applied snow to the artery in the other person's neck.
"Xiaofang, help me apply an ice pack to her armpits. Xiaohong, you come and help too, wipe her palms and soles."
After some emergency measures, seeing that everyone was just staring blankly, Li Xiangyang immediately gave instructions.
The two female educated youths came to their senses and quickly came over to help.
Although Xiaofang's leg injury had not yet healed, her hands moved very nimbly.
Xiao Hong, ignoring her own foot pain, quickly helped Xiao Zhang rub his hands and feet.
The water has boiled.
Once the temperature had dropped sufficiently, Li Xiangyang attempted to feed the ginseng water into Xiao Zhang's mouth.
But the high fever made her delirious, and she would close her mouth tightly whenever her lips touched it.
"What should we do?" Wang Ergou scratched his head anxiously.
"You have to feed them mouth-to-mouth," He Mancang pointed out the key point, "Otherwise, they simply won't get it in."
"I'll do it." Xiaofang gritted her teeth and took the kettle. "We're all women."
She first took a small sip of ginseng water, then bent down, gently parted her slightly open lips, and slowly fed the water into her mouth.
As the ginseng water was slowly poured into his throat, Xiao Zhang's throat moved, and he swallowed unconsciously.
It took more than half an hour to feed him a bowl of water.
As dusk fell, Li Xiangyang glanced at his watch; it was almost six o'clock.
The mountain paths are most difficult to walk on in spring, as they are muddy and slippery.
If we don't leave now, it will be even more troublesome once it gets dark.
"We have to go." He picked up Xiao Zhang and carried him on his back. "If we stay any longer, we might not even be able to see the road."
The mountain path was more difficult to traverse than the way we came.
As more and more snow melts, the roads become muddy and difficult to walk on, requiring a great deal of effort to take each step.
Everyone's shoes were covered in mud and felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.
Xiao Hong's foot injury started to flare up, and she had to stop and catch her breath after walking just a few steps.
Xiaofang's leg injury was also causing her unbearable pain from walking for a long time, and she trembled with every step.
As it grew darker, visibility also decreased.
The muddy mountain path is dotted with protruding tree roots, which can easily cause you to trip if you're not careful.
"Brother Xiangyang, I...I really can't walk anymore..." Xiao Hong suddenly stopped, her voice trembling with tears.
"Sigh, women are such a hassle. Come here, I'll carry you."
Wang Ergou handed the oilcloth package to He Mancang and squatted down.
Although she was very reluctant to trouble Wang Ergou, Xiaohong knew that she couldn't fall behind at this time, so she gritted her teeth and went over.
"Goodness, that's really heavy. Xiangyang, you're a real man, carrying someone for so long without uttering a sound."
After carrying Xiao Hong on his back, Wang Ergou realized how difficult Li Xiangyang's life had been.
Although Xiaohong was thin, she had walked all day on the mountain road, and her clothes were soaked with mud and water, making them very heavy.
Wang Ergou started panting heavily after carrying it for a short while.
Moonlight filtered through the treetops, casting dappled shadows on the muddy mountain path.
The group struggled forward, and no one dared to walk too fast.
If you're not careful, you could slip and fall on the wet mountain road.
Black Cat and Little Tiger led the way, always managing to find a relatively sturdy place to land.
"Thump—" Wang Ergou stumbled and almost fell over.
Fortunately, he regained his balance in time, and Little Red on his back exclaimed and hugged his neck tightly.
"Ergou, are you alright?" Li Xiangyang slowed his pace.
"N-nothing...it's just that this road is too difficult to walk on." Wang Ergou caught his breath. "Brother Xiangyang, how much longer do you think it will take us to reach the village entrance?"
"Almost there, just hang in there a little longer," Li Xiangyang comforted him.
Even he himself didn't believe it. With so many wounded and such a difficult mountain road, no one could have imagined it in less than two or three hours.
But at this point, that was all he could say.
Hopefully, we won't encounter any more accidents on the road.