dognovel Chapter 104 Encountering Danger
Chapter 104 Encountering Danger
"Xiao Chen, there's a barefoot doctor named Liu Qing in Hanjia Garden, Huma. If you could go there, could you go and check on her for me?"
He glanced at Hong Ye, who could only walk a short distance with Chen Tuo.
Hu Yuling, somewhat reluctantly, introduced him to Liu Qing, one of her few close friends.
"Okay! I'll definitely go see her when I have the chance."
Thinking that Hu Yuling was referring to the educated youth who had been stranded, Chen Tuo only remembered Liu Qing's name.
Hong Ye didn't know any of the educated youth in Huma, so he didn't realize that Hu Yuling was trying to poach them.
"Xiao Chen, since you've suggested I return to the city, then your study plans will need to be moved up a bit..."
Teaching Chen Tuo a Tungusic language is not difficult for Hu Yuling, and it is not difficult for him to learn either.
Because they belong to the Tungusic language family, Evenki, Oroqen, and Daur share the same basic grammar; the only difference is in their vocabulary.
Moreover, most of these less common languages do not have written scripts, and languages without written scripts are not usually very complex.
For Hu Yuling, these less commonly spoken languages are similar to dialects. Once she has mastered the grammar and learned more vocabulary, she can communicate in daily life without any problems.
The most difficult languages are Tungusic languages like Russian, Mongolian, and Manchu, which have written scripts and complex basic grammar.
Although learning the Russian retroflex consonants would allow one to master the Tungusic language family, she believed that if you were to learn it, you should learn it well.
"Sis, besides Russian, you only need to learn basic conversational skills for other languages. I've been quite busy lately..."
Compared to Hu Yuling's linguistic talent, Chen Tuo had to admit that he was quite inept.
Hu Yuling, who can rattle off hundreds or even thousands of words in each less commonly spoken language and switch between them freely, is seen by Chen Tuo as a translation machine.
Humans can't compare to humanoid machines, and he doesn't want to spend too much energy learning a foreign language that he's unlikely to use often.
"You... never mind, you can arrange it yourself..."
In Hu Yuling's eyes, Chen Tuo, like her sons, was a naughty boy who disliked studying.
Although Chen Tuo has been writing at his desk all day, Hu Yuling still thinks he's not focused enough.
After writing for a while, he would go out for a stroll, either to tease cats and dogs or to drink and chat with Zhang Taibao.
Half of the day is wasted on these frivolous and unproductive things.
Unlike her, who has been engrossed in books ever since arriving in Songling, and dares not sleep without memorizing dozens of pages of medical texts every day.
Hu Yuling was unwilling to accept that she could only use one percent or one thousandth of what she had learned in Songling despite putting in so much effort.
If Sun Changkui hadn't unconditionally supported her studies back then, she probably would have resigned herself to her fate long ago...
On the other hand, Chen Tuo was quite relaxed. He flipped through the dictionary that Hu Yuling used to describe the pronunciation of Tungusic words in Chinese characters and started chatting with her.
During the conversation, he didn't forget to practice the action of pulling the bolt.
This action also reminded Hu Yuling of Sun Changkui when he was injured.
These men are all the same; they have bloodlust and wildness hidden in their bones.
Neither physical disabilities nor extreme cold of minus 34 degrees Celsius could stop them.
Sun Changkui stopped going hunting in the mountains not because he was living a better life, but because Hu Yuling wouldn't let him go.
This is because, apart from Wu Laowai, there are very few mountain runners in Songling who can roam the mountains and forests without being defeated.
Some froze to death in the mountains in winter, while others got lost and starved to death in the mountains during summer and autumn.
Over the years, Hu Yuling has witnessed at least a hundred such cases in Songling.
"Xiao Chen, it's too dangerous to go hunting in the mountains. Just listen to your brother-in-law and stay in the Hetao area."
They were worried that something might happen to Sun Changkui if he went into the mountains, leaving them and their son without support.
Now, fearing that Chen Tuo might have an accident while going into the mountains, Hu Yuling also started to persuade Chen Tuo, just like Sun Changkui.
According to Sun Changkui, the Xingan Mountains are different from the Changbai Mountains and the Lesser Xingan Mountains.
There are too many uninhabited areas in these mountains, and the extreme cold in winter and the swamps in summer and autumn are all things that cannot be overcome by human power alone.
"Sister, do you know any Evenki or Oroqen songs? Sing me a song, it'll help me with my studies..."
During his ten-plus days of seclusion, he not only wrote a novel of over 100,000 words, but also became familiar with the structure of firearms and the action of pulling the bolt.
Right now, Chen Tuo's biggest wish is to take his dog and gun and venture into the vast snowfields to hunt deer and elk; he has no time to listen to Hu Yuling's nagging.
The ethereal hunters' song echoed in the gatehouse, and the four boys, who had finished their feast outside, jumped onto the wooden bed.
Sun's fifth son snuggled into Hu Yuling's arms, his little hand slipping inside.
"Xiao Wu, your hands are so cold..."
Hu Yuling truly treated Chen Tuo like a younger brother. Although she felt a moment of awkwardness when the child was making a fuss, she did not stop or scold him.
Hong Ye, who had been wary of Hu Yuling, stopped causing trouble and instead picked up a kettle and a small pot to brew mountain fruit tea and mountain fruit salad.
After drinking the mountain fruit tea and eating his fill, the young man from the Sun family went straight to bed.
As Hu Yuling drank the mountain fruit soup that Hong Ye handed her, her cheeks flushed, she no longer confined herself to singing the songs of the hunters.
Sing whatever comes to mind, sing whatever you want to sing.
At this moment, the gatehouse of the educated youth settlement felt warmer and more comfortable to Hu Yuling than her home in Songling or even her home in Shanghai.
Seeing that Chen Tuo was still half-closing his eyes and cocking his gun, Hong Ye, who had flattered and persuaded Hu Yuling to drink too much, quietly walked up to him.
"Chen Tuo, I think Sister Ling has a bit of a thing for you..."
Hong Ye's idea was simple: her goal was in the south, and she definitely couldn't stay in Songling.
Since Chen Tuo, whom she had her eye on, did not want to leave, she had no choice but to stay.
To have a backup plan, Hong Ye decided to recruit the charming forest doctor, whom he knew he couldn't beat.
"What good does this do you? Hong Ye, sometimes you can't be too cunning, and you can't be too impatient!"
Chen Tuo was about to say something to He Yunqing after restraining Hong Ye, who was trying to play dirty tricks, when the sound of Sun Changkui's iron-tipped foot hitting the ground came from outside the door.
"You're just going to play me, aren't you...?"
Chen Tuo glanced at Hong Ye, who had almost messed things up, then put down his gun, got up, and opened the door.
"Xiao Chen, is your sister here? These little rascals, not enough to eat or drink, why are they sleeping here?"
Upon seeing his sons sprawled on the bed from outside the door, Sun Changkui gave an apologetic smile.
Although Chen Tuo has had a good harvest recently, most of it has been flaunted by his kids, leaving him with a huge debt of gratitude that he can't repay.
"Brother-in-law, I'm here! I was just trying to persuade my sister to take the kids back to the city! The living and educational conditions there are so much better than here!"
As the mastermind behind persuading Hu Yuling to return to the city, Chen Tuo didn't hide anything and gave Sun Changkui a heads-up as soon as they met.
"Your sister won't listen to reason. I told her to go home a long time ago, but she won't listen to me! How come she's drinking now?"
Seeing Hu Yuling sitting in the room singing with flushed cheeks, Sun Changkui complained softly, but then let out a long sigh.
"Xiao Chen, when did that guy from the provincial capital leave? Was he drunk?"
When Sun Changkui asked about He Yunqing, Chen Tuo replied in surprise:
"Brother-in-law, Teacher He came early this morning but left after only a short while!"
"Holy crap! It must have been that old bastard who came up the mountain with the medical team and gave them that terrible idea..."
Upon hearing that He Yunqing had left early in the morning, Sun Changkui, who was looking for both his wife and Old He, became furious.
The medical team that had just arrived on the mountain fired a signal flare not far from the mountain.
The Forestry Bureau assumed the car had broken down, but they also inquired about the situation in Sun Changkui's town.
Sun Changkui only sought help from the educated youth settlement because he was afraid that his wife, Hu Yuling, would encounter danger while following him up the mountain.
Chen Tuo confirmed that He Yunqing had left long ago, recalling the approximate location mentioned by the Forestry Bureau over the phone.
Sun Changkui was convinced that the medical team had been misled by He Yunqing, deviated from the normal route into the mountains, and subsequently encountered danger in the mountains.
The reason is simply that there are fixed routes for going up and down the mountain, and the medical team fired the signal flares from the wrong spot...