Chapter 13: Zhangjiatun Should Have Its Own Squad
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Zhang Yang ladled a bowl of meat broth for the villager who had brought the message, grateful that he had gone to the trouble of running the errand.
Once the man had finished his broth and left, Zhang Yang no longer bothered to force a carefree smile.
He looked at Zhao Dong. “Dongzi, you heard him. There’s no militia squad patrolling our settlement!”
Zhao Dong nodded, then immediately shook his head. “If there’s no patrol, we can just lock our doors tight and sleep in peace! Surely you’re not thinking of…”
Zhang Yang patted him on the shoulder. “You really are the brother who understands me.”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Zhao Dong panicked and reached out to hold him back.
He had no idea whether it would do any good, but he knew one thing: he could not let Zhang Yang go risk his life.
“That’s a wolf! Don’t try to play the hero!”
“Keep your voice down.” Zhang Yang shook off his hand. “Stay in the woodshed. I’ll guard the yard.”
A fire was still burning in the earthen stove inside the woodshed, crackling and popping loudly enough to interfere with his hearing the sounds outside.
So Zhang Yang insisted on keeping watch in the yard.
Using the piles of miscellaneous things scattered around the courtyard as cover, he cradled his rifle and began his long vigil.
The first half of the night passed peacefully, apart from a light fall of snow.
Zhang Yang was bundled up tightly, with a straw mat wrapped around his outer layer. It was not nearly as cold as it had been on the mountain.
Toward the latter half of the night, Zhang Yang caught a faint whiff of something unusual.
Then he heard something treading across the snow, making a soft rustling sound.
The noise was quiet, yet full of weight.
The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by heavy breathing.
Zhang Yang shifted the straw mat aside by degrees, observing the situation around him.
Just as he turned his head slightly to the left, he saw a gray shape!
What a huge wolf!
It was a full size larger than the one lying inside his house!
Moreover, the right ear had a conspicuous notch missing. It appeared to be an old wolf that had been wounded before.
Zhang Yang tightened his grip on the hunting rifle.
At that moment, the old wolf had also fixed its attention on the obstructing fence around their courtyard.
Its forepaws dug into the earth, its body lowering slightly, ready to spring at any moment!
Zhang Yang waited for the right instant and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The shot rang out, and the bullet flew.
It passed through the gap between the straw mat and the fence, shooting straight toward the old wolf!
The old wolf had already leaped into the air. The gunshot clearly startled it.
But by the time it tried to retreat, it was already too late.
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Pfft.
The bullet struck the old wolf squarely in the belly.
That was the softest part of a wolf’s body.
The old wolf crashed heavily to the ground, sending shards of snow flying in every direction.
A wolf’s howl rang out from the east, mournful and bloodcurdling!
“So there really is more than one!” Zhang Yang swiftly reloaded, muscles tensed and ready for a fight to the death.
The instant he moved, a black shadow, swift as lightning, darted out from the bend in the lane ahead.
This wolf was even darker in color. When it arrived and saw its dying companion on the ground, it charged toward Zhang Yang’s house in a frenzy.
The black wolf attacked with astonishing speed, apparently intending to perish together with the hunter who had killed its companion!
Bang! Bang!
This time, Zhang Yang did not dare conserve ammunition. He fired twice in rapid succession!
The black wolf jerked violently two times, then let out a terrible howl.
Both shots had hit!
“Yangzi! Yangzi! Are you all right?”
Zhao Dong could no longer stay inside. He rushed out with a crossbow in his hands.
When he saw the two enormous wolves lying outside the fence, his hands began to tremble with fright!
But he had already killed once with the crossbow, and the weapon felt even more natural in his hands now.
Clenching his back teeth, Zhao Dong ran to the fence and fired several bolts at the two wolves, which were still wheezing faintly.
The sound of the gunfire awakened the entire Zhang Family Settlement.
Not every household had a gun, but they had bone knives, hoes, and spears!
“The wolves have come right to our doors. We can’t just sit here and wait to die!”
“Five men to a group, back to back in a circle. We can kill wolves if we join forces!”
The men from several households rushed out, calling out their suggestions and arranging a strategy.
Yet after taking up their weapons and patrolling the settlement in a circle with torches in hand, they discovered that the wolves had indeed come—but they were already dead!
“How did they die?”
“Are they completely dead?”
“I’ve never seen wolves this big in my life!”
The villagers chattered among themselves, unable to resist poking the wolves with whatever they held in their hands.
By then, Zhao Dong had recovered from his overwhelming fear.
Remembering that Zhang Yang was taking him to the black market in Chestnut Town the next day to sell the wolves, he suddenly grew anxious about the pelts.
“Stop poking them,” Zhao Dong hurriedly said. “You’ll ruin the hides. We won’t get a good price for them!”
The other villagers were dumbfounded.
“Dongzi, you’ve got some nerve! You see wolves this huge, and instead of being scared, you’re already thinking about how to turn them into money?”
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Zhao Dong quickly covered his mouth, realizing that he had said too much.
Taking advantage of the silence that had settled over everyone, Zhang Yang voiced his thoughts.
“We have no idea how many wolves there are in that pack. These two may be dead, but everyone still needs to stay alert!”
“I suggest that we form three temporary squads tonight and have them patrol the settlement in shifts!”
“Once day breaks tomorrow, we’ll go to the brigade leader and ask him to organize another militia squad for our settlement!”
“We can’t rely on people from other villages to keep our own settlement safe!”
Zhang Yang’s words set the men of the Zhang Family Settlement ablaze with excitement.
As they recalled the details of the night, indignation spread through the crowd.
“We’ve sent no end of vegetables to the militia squad at Five-Li Market, hoping that if anything happened, they would spare a thought for our settlement!”
“But when the wolves came tonight, they didn’t show so much as a shadow!”
“When the crucial moment comes, we still have to save ourselves!”
“Yangzi is right! Our Zhang Family Settlement should restore its own militia squad!”
The fired-up men seemed to have rediscovered the vigor of their youth.
Though hardly anyone had slept that night, every one of them looked bright-eyed and energized.
At last, the horizon began to pale.
That perilous night had finally passed.
Zhang Haiquan hurried over in his heavy coat. When he saw the two enormous wolves being carried beneath the crooked-neck tree, he was so startled that he nearly lost the power of speech.
“You killed both of them?” Zhang Haiquan asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.
Zhang Yang remained as calm as ever. “It wasn’t entirely my doing. Dongzi helped as well, and everyone played a part.”
Zhang Haiquan did not comment on his words, but inwardly, he had reached a conclusion.
Zhang Minde arrived at that moment too.
He immediately examined the wounds on the wolves, then exchanged a glance with Zhang Haiquan.
By now, Zhang Haiquan had no objections whatsoever.
“Since everyone is here, I’ll take this opportunity to announce something!”
With a solemn expression, Zhang Haiquan swept his gaze over the villagers present before finally fixing his eyes on Zhang Yang.
“As everyone knows, the militia squad in our Zhang Family Settlement was disbanded two years ago because of disciplinary problems.”
“These past two years have been peaceful and uneventful, so the matter of reorganizing the militia squad was left on hold.”
He sounded slightly embarrassed, and there was some guilt in his heart as well. Consequently, his tone grew firmer as he continued.
“But now our homes are under threat from wild beasts in the mountains! So far, we have only seen wolves, but there are also bears, wild boars, and leopards in those mountains. It truly isn’t safe!”
“A few days ago, Zhang Minde told me that he had found a new leader for the militia squad. At the time, I didn’t believe him.”
“But after witnessing last night’s test—the killing of those wolves—I believe everyone has seen Zhang Yang’s abilities with their own eyes!”
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