Chapter 23: The Necessary Extermination of Wild Boars

Wen Yanyan took the scissors and quickly cut the mattress. She didn’t feel bad about it, not at all. She quickly made a nest and moved the little guy over.

“Okay, you have a place to sleep now.”

“Woof!”

The little guy always responded.

She was in a good mood.

“How can you be so cute, little guy?”

Wen Yanyan looked at the wolf’s tail again. Thankfully, there were no changes.

After settling the little guy, she left the room. She still had work to do; she needed to clean the mushrooms she had picked that morning and put them out to dry in the yard.

The afternoon sun was just right.

She quickly cleared a space in the yard, went back into the house, found an old sheet, spread it on the ground, and laid out the mushrooms—waste not, want not.

Wen Yanyan was busy working when the little guy toddled out of the house.

“Woof!”

He greeted her proactively.

Wen Yanyan chuckled. This little thing was quite clingy. “Little guy, you’re here. Go, go bask in the sun over there.”

“Woof!”

He toddled over and sat down, his hind legs splayed out.

At that moment,

“Yanzi, who are you talking to? Did Nan Tuan come back?”

Wang Dahua, her neighbor, was climbing over the wall again.

“He hasn’t come back. I’m talking to this little guy, a puppy I just picked up.”

Wen Yanyan introduced the wolf pup.

“You like dogs? What kind of dog is this?” Wang Dahua found it novel.

“Someone I know on the road said it’s an Alaskan mix, but I’m not sure.”

She began to lay the groundwork.

“Alaskan… mix?”

Wang Dahua looked perplexed. She had never heard of such a dog.

Wen Yanyan explained.

“It’s a cross between an Alaskan Malamute and another dog, a hybrid. These dogs have a distinctive bark—’Woof, woof’—a bit like a wolf’s howl.”

She gradually led the conversation.

“Oh, I see.” Wang Dahua seemed to understand and nodded.

Just then,

“Woof!”

The little guy barked, immediately making Wang Dahua laugh.

“Hahaha, so funny! This little thing, ‘woof woof,’ its bark is so cute. Yanzi, what do you feed it? It’s so small.”

“I just cooked some rice porridge for it, and it ate it all.”

Wen Yanyan was also planning to get some goat’s milk for it; goat’s milk was more nutritious.

What?

Rice porridge?

That’s fine grain; people wouldn’t even dare to eat it, and she’s feeding it to a dog?

Wang Dahua stared at her in surprise for a while before saying,

“Yanzi, you’re kind, a good person. You’re so good to the dog. What are you drying there?”

Although she didn’t show it, her opinion of Wen Yanyan had greatly changed.

“It’s mushrooms. I picked them on the mountain just now.”

Wen Yanyan rearranged the mushrooms evenly.

“Oh, be careful. Mistaking mushrooms can be fatal.”

Wang Dahua reminded her.

“It’s okay. I know these. They’re chicken of the woods mushrooms, white and tender, very nutritious.”

Wen Yanyan not only recognized mushrooms but also the medicinal herbs in the mountains. Although she was a Western doctor, she also knew a little about traditional Chinese medicine.

“Wow, Yanzi, you know everything! Are there more in the mountains?”

Wang Dahua felt like she was only just getting to know Wen Yanyan. The Wen Yanyan she knew before wasn’t this smart.

“Yes, mushrooms grow quickly. Sister Dahua, do you want to go?”

“Yes, they look delicious.”

Wang Dahua was already eager to try.

“Okay, let’s go pick them together tomorrow.” Wen Yanyan agreed.

“Okay, it’s a deal. Yanzi, I have to go home and cook. See you tomorrow.”

Wang Dahua left.

Wen Yanyan stared at the place where she disappeared for a moment, this must be the end of their feud, right? She was looking forward to tomorrow; she would have company.

---

Thousands of miles away, in the Wild Boar Village.

For several days in a row, Nan Jue, along with his soldiers and a police dog, ventured deep into the wild boar forest. Before exterminating the wild boars, they had to observe the environment and familiarize themselves with the terrain.

He learned that the wild boar forest covered an area of over 10,000 acres, extending all the way to the back mountains.

Through careful observation of the wild boar’s footprints, and with the police dog’s help in detecting the wild boars’ scent and excrement, they gradually located the approximate range of the wild boars’ activities and some of their dens.

The reconnaissance was complete.

That day, Nan Jue found the village head and discussed work in the camp tent.

He chose the camp as the workplace because if he discussed work at the village committee, many villagers would gather around, and even after being driven away, they would return.

The camp, however, was quiet.

…

“Village head, we’ve already understood the situation in the wild boar forest. The number of wild boars is indeed very large. Currently, I have two plans that need to be implemented simultaneously.”

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

The village head held his dry tobacco pipe, his expression serious.

“Exterminating the wild boars is necessary. I will choose the right opportunity to enter the mountain and exterminate them, but we can’t exterminate them all, as this will affect the ecological balance.”

“So, I think it’s also necessary to prevent the remaining wild boars from entering the village and harming people. To be safe, I suggest setting up wooden stakes around the village. Wild boars, no matter how fierce, are still animals; they’re not smart. After putting up barbed wire, we can hang bells on it. When the wild boars touch it and hear the sound, they’ll run away.”

“Second, we can set up scarecrows in the fields and put up many ribbons. When the wind blows, it can also scare the wild boars away. Also, we can organize the villagers to plant more mint around the village. Wild boars don’t like the smell and won’t get close.”

“Of course, the last one will take some time to take effect, because the mint needs to grow, but we can’t give up on it, because planting mint is the most effective; its scent will spread in the air.”

Nan Jue explained his ideas.

“What do you think, Village Head? Do you agree?”

His words stunned the village head, who quickly nodded. “I agree, I agree. I never thought of so many methods!”