Chapter 32: The Loyal Dog Saves Its Master

  The general was still sitting quietly, his eyes fixed tightly on the hole. Suddenly, he leapt up from the ground and at the same time a sharp black stick as thick as a small bowl shot out of the hole like an arrow, straight towards the faces of Yu Song and the other two people.

  Hei Gunzi and Da Jiang met in mid-air in front of Yu Songyuan and others, with Da Jiang biting Hei Gunzi's head. They fell to the ground, where Hei Gunzi quickly spun around, wrapping Da Jiang tightly around him, getting tighter and tighter.

  "Python!"

  Yu Songyuan and Liu Gong exclaimed at the same time, the constantly twisting giant snake was tightly wrapped around the general's core. Teacher Zhang was so scared that his legs went soft, he sat down on the ground with a thud, his two hands tightly grasping Yu Songyuan and Liu Gong's legs, his eyes tightly closed. Liu Gong was also frightened, throwing the hemp bag to the ground, his hands shaking uncontrollably, at a loss for what to do.

  Yu Songyuan handed Teacher Zhang over to Liu Gong and, brandishing his knife, charged forward without hesitation.

  He knew that the general had bitten onto the snake's head, and the python in pain would use all its strength to try to coil, bind and crush the general's bones. Only by strangling the general could it have a chance of survival. And the general could only tightly bite onto the snake's head, for if he didn't kill the python within the shortest time possible, this massive serpent could easily crush the general's skeleton into fragments and powder.

  Yu Songyuan used a sharp knife to crazily stab into the snake's body, cutting open its abdomen again and again, pulling out its intestines and internal organs non-stop. He seemed to hear the crisp "crackling" sound made by the strong compression of the snake's skeleton.

  The python was in pain, on the one hand entwining General Yu tightly and refusing to let go, while on the other hand sweeping over with its long tail like a whip. Yu Song jumped far away to avoid it, continuing to cut open the snake's abdomen, and using his knife to wildly slash inside the belly, striving to shred its internal organs.

  Liu Gong and Teacher Zhang finally came back to their senses.

  Liu Gong also rushed up with an iron shovel, continuously pulling out the snake's entrails. A huge stench suddenly filled the air in the bush forest, making people feel nauseous...

  At last, the python's muscles no longer constricted tightly, its body slowly softened, and its long tail kept twitching. The restraints that bound it to the general's body also loosened all at once.

  When Yu Songyuan completely stripped the giant snake, he found that General was already unconscious, but his mouth still tightly bit the seven-inch position under the snake's head. The two sharp fangs had pierced the giant snake and almost bitten off the entire snake head, which was as thick as a small bowl.

  Yu Songyuan called out to the general with a pained heart, while carefully removing the snake's head from its mouth. He then gently carried it to a high and clean place, letting it lie flat. Teacher Zhang rushed over with tears in her voice, but Yu Songyuan stopped her and told her: "The general is still alive, just fainted, and will be fine after resting."

  Ms. Zhang finally stopped crying and said, "You two go collect the stuff, I'll take care of it." She stretched out her hand, constantly stroking the big dog's fur, which was already dirty and matted, while calling out to it in a pained tone, and muttering something incoherently through tears.

  Liu Gong's courage had also risen to the occasion, and he had already put the big snake into a large burlap sack. The raccoon dogs were still hiding in the dark sack, quietly staying there. Yu Songyuan seized the opportunity to bury the entrance of the raccoon dog den with soil.

  He didn't dare to confirm that there was only one python in the cave. If there were another such a big snake, General Zhang would have fainted already. With just him and Liu Gong, they still had to protect the weak and frail Teacher Zhang, who was no match for pythons at all.

  "Quickly come and see, General is awake."

  Yu Songyuan and Liu Gong ran over to take a look, and indeed, the general had opened his eyes. Although he was motionless, he was gazing at them with joyful and mischievous eyes.

  Mr. Zhang immediately jumped up with excitement, and Yu Songyuan patted the general's head and said: "The general is awesome, really great! You saved our three lives today, I'll reward you well." The general was praised, excitedly blinking his eyes.

  "How come it still doesn't move?" Teacher Zhang was getting a bit anxious, obviously something was wrong.

  Liu Gong, being an engineering student, explained: "Just now, the python's tight binding must have injured General's bones and internal organs. Now, it can't move yet. But definitely nothing serious will happen, dogs' bones are originally softer, and at the same time, its cleverness saved its life. If it hadn't bitten the python's head to death first, the outcome would be hard to predict."

  Teacher Zhang listened and although she was no longer anxious, her heart still ached to the point of tears.

  "It's already the 1980s, and yet there are still badgers, and even pythons - it's truly unbelievable. Moreover, how could a python possibly be in a badger hole?" Liu Gong asked Yu Songyuan with lingering fear.

  "As soon as people arrive, these things will become extinct quickly. But this riverbank, except for being an execution ground, has no other use. And with the large areas of original reed marshes on both banks of the big river, these animals can survive. As more and more people come, it won't take a few years for these animals to disappear," said Yu Songyuan.

  He thoroughly filled the entrance and explained, "As for this hole, I estimate that it was originally a python den, with a large python hibernating. The badgers went out to forage and found that this place was better than their original burrow, so they chose here and re-dug it into its current size. Actually, when I saw this big pile of new soil in the morning, I couldn't figure it out. Now that a large python has appeared, it's easier to explain."

  The general lifted his head again, but failed. Yu Songyuan stroked its head and said, "Don't worry, keep lying down and rest for a while, I'll carry you away later."

  Teacher Zhang anxiously asked: "When will it be okay? Should we send it to the hospital?"

  "You're scared silly, aren't you? People can't even bear to look at it. Do you think the school doctor or county hospital has doctors who would dare to treat this?" Liu Gong teased.

  Yu Songyuan said: "No need to send me to the hospital, I have a way. At the latest tomorrow, it will definitely be fine."

  Now it's time to study how to move the spoils of war back, eight raccoons, a giant python, adding up to over 210 catties, and a wounded large dog weighing around 70 catties. Liu Gong was in a bit of trouble. Yu Songyuan tied the two sacks containing live dogs and raccoons with their mouths closed, then put them on his back, and carried the big python as well.

  Liu Gong understood at a glance, and also put the four dead raccoon dogs into the sack, tied it up, and then used an iron shovel to pick up the sacks containing the big snake and the dead raccoons. Teacher Zhang packed up all the tools he had brought and carried them, and everyone walked back together. When they returned to Yu Songyuan's dormitory, it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon.

  Yu Songyuan carefully put the big and small ones into the nest, then said to Liu Gong: "Hurry up and wash your hands, eat something first, and then deal with it. It's best not to stay overnight."

  "Teacher Zhang said: 'I'll go back and cook, I'll bring it over for you to eat later. There are many animals here, it will be a lot of trouble until nightfall.'"

  "Are you brave enough to walk alone? Otherwise, I'll send someone to see you off?" Liu Gong and Yu Songyuan were both worried.

  "After the fight just now, I've become bolder. Besides, it's daytime now, if I walk quickly, nothing will happen, and if something happens, I'll shout loudly for you guys to come. You hurry up, this big pile is really worrying, clear it as soon as possible!" With that, he hastily walked into the forest and went back to cook.

  Yu Songyuan wanted to deal with the python first, Liu Gong said: "There are so many live ones in this sack, I don't dare to touch it, you come instead." So Yu Songyuan asked Liu Gong to skin the snakes by the pool, and he himself carried the sack containing the live raccoon dogs to the back of the house. When he carried it back to the front of the house again, the raccoons were all still.

  There was only one knife, so Liu Gong stopped and Yu Songyuan held the knife in his hand, sharpened it on the cement platform by the pool, and then quickly dissected, skinned, and processed the internal organs of a raccoon dog. In less than an hour, he had finished processing all four raccoon dogs that were still alive just now. At this time, Teacher Zhang finally came over with a basket.

  The rice was served with noodles, and a dish of stir-fried bok choy with eggs and another dish of stir-fried cured meat with shredded radish. Yu Songyuan first brought over the large bowl for eating, poured in the noodles, then added the dishes on top and stirred them together. After it had cooled slightly, he placed it into the general's nest, then helped the general slowly sit up. The general ate laboriously, one mouthful at a time, and the more he ate, the more fragrant it became.

  Teacher Zhang was overjoyed and laughed so hard that her face turned red.

  Then the three of them started eating, and Teacher Zhang also brought a bottle of wine and two cups. The bottle contained one-fifth of sweet potato liquor. As they drank the small wine and ate noodles, they excitedly discussed how to deal with the spoils of war.

  Teacher Zhang said: "There are so many, leave one or two for the New Year's Eve dinner, and sell the rest. Songyuan, your family has just suffered a disaster and is in the midst of the college entrance examination, with expenses everywhere."

  Liu Gong said, "Xiao Yu, it's only been a few days and you've already made me look at you with new eyes. Taking the university entrance exam to get into a military academy, becoming an officer directly, is just as broad and promising. You're truly born to be a soldier, so suitable for being in the army."

  Yu Songyuan said: "Without you, I wouldn't be able to get into the cram school either. My mouth is clumsy and I can't even say thank you. The Spring Festival is coming soon, I'll take two raccoon dogs back home, and the rest of you take them back to eat or give them away as gifts to build relationships. Python meat is a great tonic, let's divide it up and take it back home to freeze for the New Year, so that our elderly can have a prosperous year too. As for the raccoon dog skin and python skin, Liu Gong, you know many people, find a place to sell them."

  Teacher Zhang said, "Are you crazy? We can't finish eating them even by summer. Listen to me, let's just have a good year this year. Let's keep one raccoon dog for each family and divide the python meat among us, so that our elderly at home can also taste it. The remaining six raccoon dogs and their skins, as well as the python skin, will be sold to pay for your university tuition. That's it, don't argue anymore."

  "Sister." Yu Songyuan has changed his tone, saying: "It's really not necessary to spend so much money, I have a count, more is useless. You are my sister's sister and also my relative, I don't know anyone else here, there will definitely be many things to trouble you in the future. Please listen to me, if you can't finish it, send someone to deal with the relationship."

  "Besides, I've got more than enough now. With the rural household contract responsibility system in place, our bellies are already full of fish and meat, which is actually easier to get than in the city. If you don't believe me, I've already found a spot, and after Spring Festival, on a Sunday, Liu Ge and I will guarantee to catch several hundred pounds of big knife fish, red fish, and big carp for you."

  Teacher Zhang saw that he was sincere and had no choice but to agree. Liu Gong, however, exclaimed in shock: "Several hundred kilograms of fish? And mandarin fish at that? Where is this place? How come I didn't discover it?"

  Yu Songyuan smiled and said, "It's in the ditch you just walked through on your way back. Please keep it a secret, or else once it gets out, people will steal it and fight over it. Even if they don't take it away, they can still use a drag net to catch most of it."

  After catching the raccoon dog, Teacher Zhang had complete trust in this young whippersnapper and didn't argue anymore. After finishing dinner, they started to hurriedly gather their spoils of war. Very quickly, everything was skinned and processed, but how to deal with the internal organs became a difficult problem. In those hard times, people even washed fish guts clean and cooked them for food, let alone such large raccoon dog innards.

  In the end, Teacher Zhang's opinion prevailed. The python's internal organs, except for its gallbladder, were all discarded. As for the badger's internal organs, only its heart, lungs and liver were kept, while the rest were also thrown away.

  Then, Yu Songyuan took down the python's gallbladder alone and put it in a bowl. The rest of the processed ones were all hung on the iron wire in front of the door. At a temperature of minus six or seven degrees, they were all frozen in no time. As for the remaining wastewater, Yu Songyuan poured it all into a basin and threw it away at the distant riverbank, letting the other animals here deal with it. The bloodstains on the water pool had already frozen into ice, so he could only wait until tomorrow when the sun came out to melt the frost before cleaning it up thoroughly.

  Before nightfall, Yu Songyuan finished everything and left two raccoons and half of the python meat behind, locking them in the house to let Da Jiang recover from his illness. Da Jiang was already able to lift his head and hummed happily twice. The rest were packed into burlap sacks and sent to the teachers' dormitory with Liu Gong's help.

  That night, Teacher Zhang used fresh python meat and Chinese cabbage to make dumplings, which were incredibly fragrant. The entire teacher residential area was filled with the delicious smell of python meat, so delicious that it made the teachers drool and the family members infatuated.