In the early years, there was a family named Geng on the bank of Wei River. The head of the family was a well-known good man. He really swept the floor without hurting the lives of ants, cherished the moths and illuminated the lamp. He had done all the good things in his life, sixty years ago. He died without any illness at the age of 18, leaving behind a son named Geng Ba.
After Lao Geng passed away, he suffered from burns. Neighbors of the Geng family came to tell Geng Ba that he dreamed last night that Lao Geng had become a mountain god, and he was cheering and supporting him, which was so majestic.
Geng Ba was surprised and secretly opened his father's coffin. As expected, there were only the clothes and burial objects during the burial, but the body was missing. He ran to the mountain temple again and saw that the mountain god sitting on top looked very much like his father, so he believed this bizarre theory and buried the empty coffin without saying anything.
Geng Ba, unlike his father, loved hunting most since he was a child. Flying in the sky, running on the ground, hunting whatever they catch, especially hunting geese.
There is a rule on both sides of the Weihe River: if you don't do things to the best of your ability, you will be punished by God, so those who hunt have some backup options. Geng Ba was like this before. Ever since he learned that his father had become a mountain god, he gradually became less afraid of retribution.
Before
, Geng Ba followed the method of his ancestors when hunting geese, hiding in the dark, shooting with bows, crossbows, and fire blunderbuss. In this way, no matter how good his accuracy and skill were, he could only hunt geese at one opportunity. If you catch one, the other geese will be frightened and run away.
Once, he was looking for birds to kill in the woods by the river with his bird gun . He saw a fisherman on the river bank dragging his net to the bank. Good guy, the lively fish in this net can weigh two hundred kilograms. He suddenly thought that it would be great if he could use a net when hunting geese like fishing. However, wild geese are very vigilant. There are special wild goose sentries standing guard when foraging and sleeping. Once danger is detected, a warning will be issued immediately. Besides, even if there is a net, it cannot be cast. When the geese are resting, they are spread out and will not gather together for you to net.
Geng Ba’s brain was busy, and he thought about it over and over again, and he really came up with a way to hunt wild geese.
Wild geese go from autumn to spring and return to spring. During their migration, they travel during the day and find a place to rest near a water source at night to forage for food and drink water to replenish energy. The route back and forth is the same, and they basically end up in the same place.
Geng Ba is familiar with the habitat patterns of wild geese. In advance, he scatters some soaked sorghum grains or chopped vegetable leaves by the river where wild geese like to stay, and then digs a hole on one side to make a shelter. He hides in it when the sun is still high. , cover it with grass and branches, lie inside and have a good sleep first.
Near evening, the geese, led by the leading geese, landed in an orderly manner after confirming that there was no danger. After landing on the ground, he looked around and then looked for some food to satisfy his hunger. Soon some geese discovered the sorghum grains and chopped vegetable leaves that Geng Ba had scattered, and they quickly stretched their necks and called their companions to come over and share with them.
Geng Ba, who was hiding in the bunker, waited for the wild geese to eat and fell asleep. When the outside became quiet, he began to take action. He quietly poked his head out, lit the "fire head (steamed straw)" prepared in advance, stretched out the cover, and shook it a few times.
In the dark night, this red "fire head" is like a ghost eye, shaking and particularly eye-catching. The sentry goose on guard noticed it and immediately shouted in horror: "Quack--Quack--Quack--"
As soon as the sentry goose screamed, Geng Ba immediately and quietly pulled the "Huotou" back to the bunker. The other geese woke up when they heard the alarm, looked around sleepily, and found nothing about the enemy, so they continued to sleep. They need to gather strength for the next day's journey.
After the geese fell asleep again and regained their composure, Geng Ba stretched out the "fire head" again.
The wild goose "sentinel" discovered it again and yelled again in panic.The geese were awakened again, but looking at the surrounding environment, there was still nothing. They called each other a few times, as if to say: It's okay, go back to sleep...
He stretched out his "fire head" one after another like this, and the geese They were teased repeatedly. It's hard enough to run around all day long, but how can I stand up to such a torment when I finally take a break? The geese couldn't help but get angry. They thought the sentry was lying about the military situation, so they shouted angrily and attacked the "sentry" together. They pecked it with their beaks and scratched it with their claws to teach it...
Just when they were doing something random When they were in a group, Geng Ba took off his disguise and jumped out of the bunker. Suddenly, a big net was thrown towards them. In this net, at least a dozen geese suffered...
Geng Ba tasted the benefits and became more ambitious. In order to catch more geese at one time, he used a larger and larger net.
This year, after a winter of busy work, stripping hemp and twisting ropes, Geng Ba finally weaved a large net. He estimated that if the net were used, there would be forty or fifty at least. But such a big net cannot be cast with his own strength.
After the beginning of spring, everything recovers, but the temperature suddenly turns warm and then becomes cold. Wild geese, like other migratory birds, have begun their annual return north.
On this day, Geng Ba was going to hunt geese with the extra large new net he had just knitted, and he was going to ask his twelve-year-old son to do it. At night, Geng Ba had a dream. He dreamed that his father was sitting in the main room with a cold face and said nothing. He went over to say hello, and his father said two words in a cold voice: no.
Geng Ba didn’t know why, so he asked his father, what was he not allowed to do? His father still stared at him and repeated: No! Geng Ba woke up.
pondered for a long time. Could it be that his father did not allow him to take his son to hunt geese? But if you can't pull such a big net by yourself, it would be a huge loss if you ask outsiders to catch half of the geese. He gritted his teeth and decided to ignore this strange dream. Anyway, the father is a mountain god, how can he harm his children and grandchildren?
The steps for hunting wild geese are still the same, as long as when casting the net, the son will help pull it according to his instructions. After repeated practice, his son also mastered the essentials of casting a net. Geng Ba decided to take his son with him when he went hunting in the future to let him practice and become a good hunter in the future.
There were a lot of geese this night. There seemed to be more than one group of geese. The entire open space by the river was full of geese walking around looking for food. Geng Ba was very happy, secretly glad that the opportunity was rare, and it seemed that even God was helping him.
It was late at night, and the wild geese fell into a deep sleep. Geng Ba began hunting geese. When the geese became a mess, Geng Ba pulled his son out of the bunker and threw the net towards the geese, covering the black mass. This was the biggest catch in his life, and he was so happy that he couldn't help laughing. The son was holding the net in his hand, and he was dancing with joy for this huge harvest...
Suddenly, the frightened geese outside the net shouted and flew into the river. Dozens of wild geese that were venting their anger were suddenly caught in a net and naturally stopped fighting. Out of instinct, they all flapped their wings and struggled towards the river. The power of
set off a gust of wind. Dust suddenly flew up on the ground. Geng Ba narrowed his eyes to a slit and pulled the reins tightly, trying to close the net, but the net was too heavy and he couldn't do it. He had to close his eyes slightly and kept calling his son to use more force. While the son agreed, he told his father that he could no longer hold on.
Geng Ba tentatively opened his eyes wider, and a grain of sand got in. He had to free his hand to rub his eyelids. At this moment, a wild goose hooted a long cry, and other wild geese echoed it. Suddenly, all the geese in the net jumped into the air and rushed towards the river. The son, who was holding the net tightly in his hand, was taken into the river before he could let go. My son didn't know how to swim and was nervous and scared. He splashed in the water a few times and sank.
Geng Ba opened his eyes suddenly when he heard the sound of his son screaming and falling into the water, but there was nothing. He climbed up and took a few steps to the river and jumped into the water. But he searched high and low, but there was no sign of his son.
At this moment, the water was rippling, with shadows of geese everywhere, and the sound of geese filling his ears. Finally, he was exhausted, and the river was cold. It didn’t take long for him to feel weak and unable to hold on anymore... He swam desperately back to On the shore, it was unusually quiet. My son was missing, and the wild geese had also disappeared completely.
After his son’s first birthday, Geng Ba ran to the mountain temple, pointed at the mountain god and cried, his tone full of resentment. Seeing the angry face of the mountain god statue that looked like his father, with a sinking face, he was so frightened that he shut his mouth.
He had a dream that night, in which his father pointed at his nose and said, "You have relied on me to be confident and have been doing the opposite for a long time. Who can blame you! Since I am a god, can I still be partial to my own children and grandchildren?" You are really doing your own thing and you will not survive!”
After that, Geng Ba stopped hunting and still stayed by the river to dissuade those who hunted geese and fished. He lived until he was eighty years old. He did not suffer much, but he grew lonely in old age. It seems that if a person has done something wrong, repentance still has an effect!
■ Author of : Ding Xiuhong
Selected from "Folk Literature"
