Chapter 18: The Toad
"Bring some rice straw and set it on fire to smoke, we call it 'collecting black' over there. It's to get rid of the smell for the trap. Most of the animals in the mountains have sensitive noses and are very cunning. If they catch a whiff of something off, they won't go into your trap." Chen Ergou said softly. Nowadays, Wei Dongchong not only likes raising dogs but is also obsessed with hunting. Today, she dragged Chen Ergou to the woods to catch birds and snakes for her. Her princess dress was torn all over, but Wei Dongchong didn't care about money, while Chen Ergou, a bystander, was heartbroken. Holding a homemade slingshot, he changed into a pair of liberation shoes and entered the woods, breaking off a branch with tree forks to lead the way. He also told Wei Dongchong some stories about hunting in the mountains: "If it's an old hunter, they won't forget to 'open the mountain' before entering the woods. It's called 'opening the mountain', where you recite some divine words in your mouth. In our hometown, if someone sets a code on the mountain top and the people behind don't 'open the mountain', that mountain will be very ominous, and it's almost certain that nine out of ten times they'll come back empty-handed."
"People who are uncultured all believe in this stuff." Wei Dongchong said disdainfully, but although he was used to mocking Chen Ergou with his words, he still had a little doubt in his heart. Looking at the small mountain forest again, it seemed to have an air of mystery to it. Wei Duan Gong had studied Feng Shui for nearly thirty years, and having grown up in this environment, Wei Dongchong couldn't help but have some respect for ghosts and gods.
"Then I'll tell you something, when I was a kid, my grandfather took me to the mountains to pick herbs, and we saw a mother musk deer trapped in a snare. It was pregnant at the time, but my grandfather took pity on it and let it go. That's a different story from the one about the password, anyway, he set it free. Later, when my grandfather went into the mountains again, he ran into it once more, and it seemed to want to lead him somewhere, so it led him for over an hour. That time, my grandfather dug up two six-petaled leaves of Changbai Mountain wild ginseng, two plants that weren't far apart. If we were to sell them today, they'd be worth a fortune!" Chen Ergou said with emotion.
"Really or fake?" Wei Dongchong asked hesitantly, the forest was gloomy and eerie, Lin Zili had to follow closely behind Chen Ergou.
"Believe it or not, many animals are very spiritual. You're not a mountain man, you can't underestimate them, we who go into the mountains and waters every now and then will suffer greatly if we look down on them." Chen Ergou held onto his machete and led the way, he didn't expect to catch any impressive prey in this small forest, it was just like Zhang Sanqian's snake, along the way they only saw some ugly lizards and a few birds that weren't even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth. Luckily Chen Ergou had asked Wei Dongchong to apply insect repellent beforehand, otherwise by the time they walked out of the forest, they would have been bitten to death by mosquitoes, and it would still be Chen Ergou's bad luck.
"Toad! Big Toad!"
Wei Dongchong, who was terrified of horror movies, let out a blood-curdling scream as if she had seen a ghost. Her face turned pale and her fingers pointed to the spot where Chen Ergou had just passed by. There, squatting in that place, was an enormous toad, its body as big as a man's palm, so swollen that it could only crawl. Chen Ergou didn't have any aversion to this creature; on the contrary, he said it was a symbol of wealth and shouldn't be disturbed. Wei Dongchong had no idea that toads were at the top of her list of terrifying things, even more frightening than horror movies. If the toad hadn't moved, she might not have been so scared, but it slowly began to crawl towards her, making her scream even louder. Luckily, they were far away from residential areas; otherwise, people might have thought something terrible had happened there. Chen Ergou initially felt a little pleased that Wei Dongchong was getting what she deserved for dragging him into this place. But when he saw the fear and helplessness on her face, it suddenly reminded him of another face that used to haunt him. He quickly lost his playful attitude and picked up Wei Dongchong, who had been paralyzed with fear, and carried her away from the area where the toad was squatting. As they walked further away, Chen Ergou couldn't help but think of a face that still lingered in his mind from four or five years ago. He didn't have any evil intentions towards Wei Dongchong; he just wanted to get out of there quickly and put her down. It seemed like Wei Dongchong was thinking about how to deal with Chen Ergou's misbehavior, but she wouldn't be grateful to him for saving her from the toad. Chen Ergou crouched down and made a gesture for her to be quiet, his eyes fixed on something in front of them. "Are you afraid of snakes?"
"Don't worry." Wei Dongchu's small face was unpredictable, and she clearly hadn't given up on the idea of sending Chen Ergou to the 18th level of hell. In her strange world that Chen Ergou would never understand, helping her out of a difficult situation was one thing, but taking advantage of her was another. The former could be settled with money, while the latter should be punished by being sliced into pieces and tortured to death. She waited silently for Chen Ergou to see how he could escape this disaster. If he couldn't achieve something that would greatly surprise her, Wei Dongchu would have him torn to pieces as soon as they left the forest, or at the very least, have Wang Zheng's two dog legs beat him to death with sticks.
Chen Ergou, who had been lazily walking into the woods, suddenly started running, his hands holding a forked branch that flashed as it stabbed into the ground. Wei Dongchong didn't understand what this crazy guy was doing - catching snakes? Was there even a way to catch them like this? Then she saw an old man wildly rushing around in the woods, dashing left and right, and Wei Dongchong's eyes widened in surprise, as if she had seen the most ridiculous scene. Chen Ergou ran like a wild boar, occasionally making a "hungry tiger pouncing on a goat" move. Finally, after tumbling to the ground, Chen Ergou's hand shook, and just as a grayish-brown snake was about to slip into a crevice, he flicked it into the air and caught it, pinching its tongue. The snake coiled around his wrist but couldn't escape. Chen Ergou returned to Wei Dongchong's side, seemingly embarrassed that catching a small snake had been such a big deal. He raised the branch and said, "The fork was a bit too big, and I didn't want to kill it, so it took some time. Otherwise, even our Northeastern wild chicken-necked snakes could have been stabbed in the head with this branch."
"Is it poisonous?" Wei Dongchong asked with a quivering heart, staring at the small snake slithering around Chen Ergou's wrist. Looking at Chen Ergou's nonchalant expression, his image as a dog slave instantly elevated to that of a top-notch dog slave. At least in her 90s circle, the most awesome guy she knew was probably good at basketball or had won first place in a mock exam or an Olympic math competition, but she'd never met anyone who could catch snakes with their bare hands.
"It's non-toxic." Chen Ergou grinned, revealing his clean and shiny white teeth.
"Can it survive?" Wei Dongchong stretched out his slender fingers and carefully touched the small snake.
"It's a good life." Chen Ergou nodded, this small non-venomous snake, even if bitten, it's no big deal. His old calluses were enough to withstand most pains. Perhaps in Wei Dongchu's eyes, he was like a wild boar rummaging in the woods, not knowing life or death, but for Chen Ergou, who was used to climbing mountains barefoot since childhood, it was a trivial matter.
"Give it to me." Wei Dongchong snatched the small snake from Chen Ergou's hand without warning, pinched its neck, and made a face at it. Chen Ergou wasn't afraid that the little beast would cause trouble, but when they walked out of the woods, he turned his head and saw a scene that made him sigh. Perhaps playing too much, the small snake had bitten Wei Dongchong's index finger, and she, who seemed to have heard that it was non-venomous, didn't let go even after hearing that. The two remained stuck together until they walked out of the woods and were seen by Chen Ergou. Chen Ergou walked over, curved his middle finger, and flicked it, hitting the small snake's seven-inch body. The little beast immediately went limp and loosened its grip. Wei Dongchong's face had lost its rosy color, but she didn't have a hint of tears in her eyes. She stubbornly held onto the small snake, and the shocking tooth marks on her delicate white finger didn't make her want to trample it to death. Although this level of injury was negligible for him, considering that Wei Dongchong might be a rich young lady who had never touched a snake before, he said "Wait two minutes" and ran into the woods. Soon, he came out with a handful of plants, chewed on some leaves, spat them out, and applied them to Wei Dongchong's injured finger. The white fingers and green medicinal herbs formed a very rustic picture.
Chen Ergou took advantage of Shangyao's distraction to glance at Wei Dongchu, whose skirt was torn in several places, and whose wrists and ankles were already covered in scratches that would have been enough to make a child raised in a greenhouse cry out in pain to their parents. Yet this delicate and noble young Yan Wang didn't utter a single sound of complaint, even when he was bitten by the snake, and instead walked silently all the way down.
On the way back to the villa, Chen Ergou was thinking about a question related to rich people and their offspring. He knew that there was a saying "rich for three generations" after entering the city, so he thought that all children of wealthy families were like Zhang Xixi and Gu Xu's young masters and ladies who spent their days idling away, or like the young men who went hunting in Zhangjiacun, throwing money around without regard. Chen Ergou saw only extravagance and arrogance, and his subconscious mind had always excluded Cao Jingjian and Xiao Mei, who were intelligent and had a good upbringing, as exceptions among the wealthy second generation. Now that he thought about it carefully, perhaps he had underestimated the young people in the metropolitan flower world before.
As soon as he thought of Zhao Kunpeng's peach blossom face, Chen Ergou had a big lump in his throat, as if that was the giant toad in Wei Dongchu's colorful world, the second Northeast tiger with a broken tail in his dull and empty life.
"Hey, dog slave, what are you thinking?" Wei Dongchu was delighted to tease the little snake, and seeing Chen Ergou not speaking, he couldn't help but be curious.
Chen Ergou shook his head, he and her were separated by a huge chasm, she didn't take him seriously, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cross over to her side. The two of them spoke different languages, and being able to coexist peacefully was Chen Ergou's greatest wish. He didn't expect her to jump into his life with excitement. At first, in high school, Chen Ergou mistakenly thought that a kind and simple girl would stay by his side forever, but she left him. Later, Cao's wife gave him a glimmer of hope, but ultimately disappointed him thoroughly. He didn't want to give women a third chance. The first time was forgivable, the second time could be considered self-deception, but the third time would truly be asking for trouble.
No matter how small a person is, no matter how often they are trampled on by others, in their heart, there may still be a little bit of self-respect that cannot be expressed to outsiders. (To find out what happens next, please log in, more chapters available, support the author, support the official version!)
