Chapter 5: The Stubborn Old Man

  Davis reached out and touched the bald forehead, looking at Gu Longfei and asked: "Gu, what do you think? If not, we can talk about it later. There are plenty of prey in the pine forest, let them fatten up a bit before we go!" He spoke casually, but his eyes glanced at Will with a hint of blame for being unreasonable.

  These subtleties, how could they escape the eyes of Gu Longfei? He warmly patted Will on the back and said: "Will, thank you for your kindness, I'm really recovering well, no need to mention hunting, even if I participate in the sports meeting, there's no problem! When we catch the prey, let's cook it at my place and eat it, you know my wife's culinary skills, just don't swallow your tongue!" He knew that foreigners liked sports and held large-scale sports meetings every few years.

  Will swallowed a mouthful of saliva and exclaimed excitedly, "What you said can't be taken back, the game we catch will be cooked by Lin!" He had eaten countless meals at Gu Longfei's house, every time it was Lin Qiaorou's cooking, sometimes just ordinary home-cooked dishes, but he ate with relish, admiring Lin Qiaorou's culinary skills. At that time, Western food was extremely simple, many of their big dishes, even palace banquets, didn't have much special about them, how could they compare to the long history and profoundness of Chinese cuisine? Will was just an ordinary Westerner, what good food had he ever tasted?!

  After a few days, in Wuhan, known as one of China's three major furnaces, the temperature plummeted and it even started snowing. Seeing the snowflakes dancing in the sky, Davis thought of his hometown in Holland, where everything had been frozen solid for days. It was the same all over the world - whenever the sky starts snowing, animals come out to move around, and at this time they are all fat and beautiful, making it a great season for hunting.

  Last night was another good snow, today is the Sunday that foreigners attach importance to, and it's also their day off. Davis led his subordinates, including himself and Gulongfei, with eleven people in total, carrying hunting guns on their backs and leading the German Shepherd he had brought back from Europe, out of the city, heading west.

  When Gu Longfei flew out the door, he held Feifei in his arms and kissed her smooth face several times. He asked her what she wanted to eat and said he would bring it back for her. He was always confident in his marksmanship. Feifei mischievously wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled, saying "I want to eat tiger meat!" Gu Longfei gently tapped her forehead and said, "You're making things difficult for Dad, aren't you? There are no tigers within hundreds of miles around here!" Feifei pouted and said that Dad's words didn't count.

  Lin Qiaoru took the child and said in a low voice, "Long Fei, why don't you just not go today? I've had a bad feeling since I got up this morning, like something's going to happen."

  Gu Long brushed the hair that had fallen on her forehead upwards and smiled: "Are you feeling a bit chilly? Take an Anxin tablet later and have a good sleep. Let Zhang Auntie take care of the child. Don't worry, there are so many of us, and the place we're going to isn't far away. There aren't any ferocious beasts there either, what danger could there be? Besides, Davis and the others are mainly celebrating my narrow escape from death, I'm the main character, how can I not go? Just rest assured!" After finishing speaking, he kissed each of the mother-daughter pair's faces and was about to leave.

  Lin Qiaoru pulled Gu Longfei's hand and suddenly said: "Do you still remember the note in your pocket? When you showed it to me, I felt a little familiar at that time, but my mind was a bit messy then and couldn't think of the reason. These days I've been thinking about it, and finally remembered that those handwriting are very familiar, originally with one of those strange people who sent flowers The handwriting on it is very similar, do you think it's strange or not?"

  Jiulong Fei was startled, and suddenly remembered the few strange people who came to visit him in the hospital. They came at different times, but all had a solemn expression, spoke very little, left flowers and then quickly left. Moreover, he couldn't remember who they were, only that their faces seemed vaguely familiar. He thought about it for a while when he got home, but it gave him a headache, and later nothing unusual happened, so he gradually forgot about it. Now that Lin Qiaorou mentioned it, his heart felt a slight chill, and a sense of foreboding rose up. Just as he was hesitating, Will shouted loudly outside the door, and Jiulong Fei smiled and said: "Qiaorou, don't worry, we'll be back soon. When I get back, I'll ask Davis to help investigate, his connections are quite extensive!"

  Lin Qiaoru hugged Feifei, standing at the door, reluctant to bid farewell to Gu Longfei. Gu Longfei just waved his hand and was dragged away by the impatient Will!

  Davis and Gu Longfei's party left the city not far, a river flowed horizontally in front of them, this is the famous Han River. Wuchang, Hankou, Hanyang, were divided and surrounded by the Yangtze River and the Han River, the entire three towns, were filled with crisscrossing rivers and lakes, almost every time they went out would step into the water. However, Davis was well-prepared, when they arrived at a small dock on the Han River, there was already a small steamer waiting for them, Davis said it was borrowed from an American friend.

  They sat down on the boat, and the small steamer let out a sharp whistle before slowly departing from the riverbank, heading towards their destination for today - Guishan Mountain. (Note: The Jianghan Plain is relatively flat, with hills rising only tens of meters above sea level; however, for the sake of the story, the environment of Guishan has been exaggerated!) Davis lit a cigar and stood at the bow of the boat, gazing out at the banks of the Han River. There were many wetlands where migratory birds from the north had come to spend the winter. He pointed at them with his hand, just about to say something to Gu Longfei when his face suddenly changed color and he stumbled, almost falling onto the damp deck if not for the quick hands of Gu Longfei and Anna.

  As Davis suddenly fell down, no one knew what happened. Sam, Will and others immediately surrounded him, anxiously asking about Davis' condition. Davis sat on the deck, leaning against Anna's arms, painfully saying: "Nothing, nothing, just an old stomach problem!"

  Kung Lung saw the big drops of sweat on Davis's forehead, rolling down continuously, and knew that he was not lightly ill. He let Will go to the driving room to call the small fire wheel to return, and by the way, pour a cup of boiling water back, to warm up Davis's stomach, and make him feel better.

  Everyone was excitedly dressed in hunting gear, with guns on their backs, ready to hold a long-overdue hunting event after the snow. Who knew that just as they were about to leave, before even hearing the roar of beasts, the boss suddenly fell ill and they had to return. Although no one said anything and there was no expression of disappointment on anyone's face, everyone felt a sense of regret in their hearts, but no one could see it.

  Just as the small dock where they had just boarded was approaching, the little steamer drew to shore. Everyone was about to help David off the boat when he waved his hand and insisted on going back to town alone to see a doctor. He said that it wouldn't be fair to everyone if the whole plan were changed because of him. No matter what, everyone refused to agree to this request and unanimously wanted to accompany him to see the doctor. They could all go out together again after he recovered from his illness.

  Everyone had their own opinion and wouldn't give in, later Davis struggled to fire a shot into the sky with his shotgun, relying on the shock of the gunshot to make everyone understand that his decision would not be changed. This Dutch old man, who was usually seen as kind and gentle by everyone because he loved to joke around, had never lost his temper before, but unexpectedly erupted in anger this time, which shocked everyone's heart and made them suddenly unsure of what to do, the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

  Gu Longfei seemed to understand Davis's meaning, so he said to Davis and everyone: "Davis doesn't want to ruin everyone's fun because of him, so he insists that everyone continue hunting, but you're all worried about Davis. How about this? I'll accompany Davis back to see a doctor, and the rest of you can keep going. What do you think?"

  "No! No! Anna and Will, you two come with me. Gu, lead the others to go hunting. If we catch something, cook it well tonight. If my stomach feels a bit better, I'll come over for dinner! Even though I didn't join the hunt, eating some game meat will make up for it! That's settled, don't say anything else, let's not waste any more time!" As he spoke, he forced a smile, but his mouth twitched several times and in the end, he couldn't manage to smile due to the severe stomach pain.

  Davis was the big boss of Lihong Trading Company, who was humble and kind to his subordinates, almost treating them like his own family members. He was loved and respected by everyone, and when they saw him fall ill, they all wanted to accompany him back home. However, Davis had a characteristic: once he made up his mind, he would not easily change it, so everyone behind his back called him "lovable stubborn old man". When everyone saw Davis insist on his own views, even firing a gun into the sky, it revealed another side of his stubbornness. Because at that time, Hankou was under Japanese control, and except for their own military, ordinary people were not allowed to possess firearms.

  Everyone stopped talking and could only watch as Will and Anna supported Davis's tall figure, slowly walking towards the city gate. Fortunately, Will was also very tall and strong, and Anna had grown up in Moscow's extreme cold, her slender figure was not weak. They supported the "lovable stubborn old man" without appearing to be particularly laborious, and besides, once they entered the city gate, there were rickshaws everywhere.