Chapter 240: Hiding So Deep?
After eating breakfast in the morning, Wang An and his father, Wang Dazhu, began working in their yard, carrying a pile of traps in gunny sacks.
Wang Dazhu was quite experienced when it came to wolves or red dogs entering the village. In his words: "This kind of thing happens every now and then; I've long since gotten used to it."
Of course, it wasn't that Wang An had never experienced it, but animals like wolves or red dogs primarily targeted livestock.
Therefore, in previous years, the vast majority of wolf and red dog packs had attacked the production team's pigpens or sheepfolds.
In the past, Wang An's family had nothing. Wolves or red dogs would occasionally wander into the yard, but most of the time they were just passing through and had no desire to stay.
In truth, whether it was wolves, other fierce beasts, or even rats, they had little interest in poor families.
Thus, whether wolves or red dogs entered the village had basically no impact on the lives of the poor.
Animals aren't stupid; the main question was, what would they go to a poor person's house for?
To put it bluntly, in this era, poor people didn't have much meat on their bones. If you took a bite, it was nothing but skin and bone.
Just like bandits or thieves, they would never cast their gaze upon a beggar because there was nothing to plunder and nothing to steal; there was simply no value.
The father and son set the traps quickly. The primary locations were the sheepfold, specifically around the fence posts.
To prevent the puppies from stepping on the traps, all the pups were tied up; as for the three large dogs, they had always been tethered.
Wang An thought for a moment and set a few traps at the entrance of the pig shed. Setting them couldn't hurt; maybe they'd catch something.
After setting the traps, the two placed some twigs around them and then lightly covered the traps with a thin layer of Ulach grass.
This point was crucial because wolves and red dogs, like many nocturnal beasts, were unaffected by the darkness of night.
If a few traps were just left sitting there in the open, a human might step on them, but a wolf or other wild beast certainly wouldn't.
One must never think of wild beasts as being that stupid!
Finally, they sprinkled a thin layer of snow over the grass and twigs, and the job was done.
Once finished, Wang Dazhu turned and went back into the house. After a moment's thought, Wang An followed.
Wang An went straight to the west room and packed a Mauser C96 pistol into the gunny sack used for the traps, then grabbed a handful of ammunition and stuffed it into his pocket.
Mu Xueqing, who was lounging on the kang, suddenly spoke up: "Tell Sister Shen Wei that she must fire with both hands. Don't be like me and twist your wrist. If she gets hurt, what will happen to her and her two children!"
Wang An said mischievously, "Why don't you come with me? It would be better if you told her yourself; just treat it as a stroll."
Mu Xueqing rolled her eyes at Wang An and said, "I'm not going. Every time I see those three, with the old one paralyzed and the little one so small, I feel heartbroken for Sister Shen Wei."
Wang An was stunned for a moment. Perhaps this was the reason why Mu Xueqing had always allowed him to mess around with Shen Wei.
Wang An grinned and pinched Mu Xueqing's cheek before picking up the remaining traps and heading toward Shen Wei's house.
This time, Wang An had no intention of "doing other things"; he was simply there to set traps.
In reality, Shen Wei's situation was such that even rats were unwilling to visit; whether traps were set or not truly didn't matter.
However, because of the aid from Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing—and because Wang An had frequently sent things to Shen Wei—he had heard that Shen Wei's house now had rats.
It had to be said that in this era, having rats in the house was a standard for proving whether a family was living well or not.
Wang An didn't enter the house but got to work in Shen Wei's yard.
However, what bothered Wang An was that he didn't know where to place the traps.
He simply couldn't guess from which direction the wolves or red dogs would enter Shen Wei's yard.
Regardless, if Wang An were a wolf, he would certainly ignore the existence of Shen Wei's house.
Unless they were eating people, there was nothing edible in this yard.
But when Wang An thought of Shen Wei's incomparably large, milky-white "snow-peaks," he suddenly felt that wolves might actually want to eat Shen Wei. After all, those two things were pure prime meat!
Consequently, Wang An set a haphazard pile of traps in front of Shen Wei's house, specifically under the windows and in front of the door.
That was the secret to setting traps: you had to ensure there was no discernible pattern. Only by confusing yourself first could you possibly confuse a wolf or a red dog.
Shen Wei had noticed Wang An's arrival long ago, but she remained standing outside the door watching. Wang An saw her as well, but he simply waved his hand and focused on his work.
After setting the traps, he followed the same procedure: twigs and grass were arranged, and finally, a layer of light snow was sprinkled over them.
Once finished, Wang An said to Shen Wei, "Do you remember where I set the traps? Don't step on them, and more importantly, don't let the child step on them."
Shen Wei looked at Wang An and said timidly, "Mm-hmm, I remember them all. Aren't you coming inside?"
Wang An looked at his watch and said, "Actually, I have something to discuss with you."
As he spoke, Wang An stepped carefully around the traps and entered the house with Shen Wei.
Shen Wei had already formed a habit; whenever Wang An came to her house, she would naturally follow him to the west room.
Because whenever Wang An was with her, they were basically both completely naked.
However, when Wang An took the Mauser out of the gunny sack, Shen Wei was genuinely startled and instinctively took a step back.
Wang An ignored her reaction and spoke
"There might be wolves or red dogs entering the village these next few days. I'm going to teach you how to use this Mauser. Learn it well; the gun will stay at your house from now on to protect you just in case."
Hearing this, Shen Wei instantly relaxed and said, "I don't need you to teach me; I know how to use it. My grandfather used to have one of these; we called it a 'Boke' gun."
Wang An was momentarily stunned. This was something he truly hadn't expected.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Guns were far too common in this era.
They were everywhere across the country, so it wasn't actually strange that Shen Wei knew how to use one.
Wang An then handed the gun to Shen Wei, pulling bullets from his pocket as he said
"You have to be careful if you fire with one hand; the recoil on this gun is quite significant."
Shen Wei gave Wang An a smile full of meaning. While skillfully handling the Mauser, she said with great confidence
"If it comes to using this gun, you might not even be better than me."
Wang An's mouth twitched. Was Shen Wei hiding herself this deep?
However, Wang An didn't argue with her. Everyone had something they were the best at.
For example, Shen Wei's two mounds of flesh were something no ordinary woman could compete with.
Looking at Shen Wei's happy, smiling face, Wang An laughed and said, "Since you're so impressive, I'll just give this gun to you then, hahaha."
Shen Wei never knew how to refuse anything Wang An gave her. Holding the Mauser, she happily hugged Wang An's head and gave him a fierce kiss.
Wang An was speechless. He suddenly realized that none of the women he was familiar with were "easy" characters.
Of course, the most eccentric had to be Lu Yueyue, who had already returned to the city; she was someone who had actually shot a person dead.
Wang An looked at Shen Wei, who now had eyes only for the gun and not for him, and said, "Alright then. Stay safe these next few days, I'm heading back."
Shen Wei simply waved her hand and continued fiddling with the Mauser.