It was very cold in Siberia, and every time they stopped to rest, they had to light a fire to keep warm.
Although they had brought some solid fuel with them before the trip, they could not have too much of it. When they saw the woods, they stopped to collect some dry wood.
There was a lot of snow on the frozen ground, and there was even more snow in the woods.
Hankway and the other Nenets jumped out of the car. They looked at the white and green woods, smiled, picked up their guns, and said, "If we're lucky, we'll have fresh meat to eat."
This was a large mixed forest of pine trees. Pine trees with pine needles, birch, spruce, and other boreal trees. The species was relatively simple, but they were growing well.
Li Du and the others got out of the car to collect firewood. There were many dead trees in the woods, which was their goal. They would cut them down and collect them on the roof of the car, which would be their source of warmth in the future.
There were many animal footprints in the snow. After all, it was spring, and some animals had woken up from hibernation. More animals had been hungry all winter and were anxious to find some food when the weather was a little warmer.
Li Du walked casually into the woods, and Hudi warned, "Be careful, man, there are bears waking up in the spring. They are very hungry at this time, and they are very fierce bastards."
Hearing this, Li Du became careful and said in surprise, "I don't see any bear footprints. Why would there be bears at this time?"
Hankway and the others laughed, and he said, "Don't listen to Hudi, man, it's all right now. Bears appear in the summer. Look at the snow. If there are animal footprints in the snow, then there will be an animal. "
Li Du could not recognize them, and Brother Wolf introduced them to him. "This is a wild goat, this is a rabbit, and this should be a pheasant. Oh, be careful, there are manuls' footprints!"
Manuls were ferocious beasts of Siberia. They were not very big, weighing at most five or six kilograms, but they were extremely good at hunting and were one of the killers of the cat family.
Hankway and the others took the lead, and they struggled through the woods. The snow was so deep that one could get up to their calves.
Not long after, Hankway suddenly said in surprise, "Hey, Worriless Caption! There's Worriless Caption here. We're really lucky! "
Li Du wondered, "Worriless Caption? What does that mean? Is there an interpreter living here? "
No one understood his dry humor. Hankway pointed to a tree in front of them and said, "Zimovyo, that's how you say it in English, right? Actually, it's a local dialect. It means' a hunter with a warm house in the woods'. "
There was a small red flag hanging on the tree. In this world of only white, gray, and green, the red was very conspicuous, and everyone saw it at a glance.
Hankway said it was the mark of the bushwhackers, who hung red flags where they lived, to show respect for the Soviet Red Army and to make it easier for people to spot them.
The Bushwhackers were one of the merchant groups in the wilderness. They made a living by trading game, collecting plants, and making handicrafts.
Sometimes, they would also act as middlemen, selling necessities such as fuel that they brought in from the outside to those in need. Of course, the price was very high.
The Nenets cheered up at the sight of the red flag.
Jungle hunters could not only provide goods, but they could also provide bathing services at their residences. This was very attractive to the group.
Although they wore thick clothes to keep out the dust, the wind blew from time to time in the wilderness. The dust was pervasive and always got into their clothes.
Because they wore so much, sometimes when there was no wind or cooling, they would feel hot and naturally sweat. But even when they sweated, they did not dare to take off their clothes, because they could not tell when the temperature would drop, and if they took off their clothes, they could easily catch a cold and have a fever.
In such an extreme environment, a cold and a fever could be fatal, so Li Du was reluctant to go out on an adventure, which was asking for trouble.
Led by Hankway and the others, they trudged through the snowy jungle for more than half an hour and finally found a group of wooden houses in the jungle.
There were a total of six wooden houses in their field of vision. The houses were arranged in a square, and they were filled with neatly stacked dry wood. A few dogs were tied to the side of the house, and they immediately barked when they saw someone approaching.
For the past two and a half days, Ah Ow and the other brats had been very bored. They could only go out to run when they wanted to take a breather and rest. Most of the time, they stayed in the car, unable to run and with no playmates.
When they saw the dogs, the brats' eyes widened and they ran over, each pouncing on a dog, which made the hounds scream in fear.
An old man with a white beard came out of the house, waving a shotgun in his hand and shouting in Russian.
Hankway also shouted in Russian, and Li Du called the brats back.
The old man looked at them warily with his gun in his hand and asked them to stay outside while he observed them for about two minutes before he came out and waved.
Then, a few more people appeared. They ranged from their forties to their sixties. They were all burly and muscular men. Of course, they all had guns in their hands.
Hankway went to talk to them, and one of them spoke English and made hot coffee for everyone, saying, "Come and have a cup of coffee to warm up, friends from afar, Old Man Zavich's hut welcomes you."
The first old man who came out was called Zavich. Of course, his name was very long, and they generally introduced him to foreigners as Zavich, which was simple and easy to remember.
The coffee was plain, but it was satisfying enough to have it in this environment.
Li Du took a sip of the hot coffee, then took a deep breath and said, "Enjoy!"
Hankway came back and said, "What would we like to add? There's diesel, gasoline, kerosene, solid ethanol, coal, coke, dried pork, mutton, and dried fish … "
"Can we take a bath?" Young Ford was more concerned about this issue.
Hankway smiled and nodded. "Yes, five hundred rubles per person."
Five hundred rubles was not a small amount, which was about fifty yuan. In Irkutsk, where they had stayed before, a doughnut was more than ten rubles, so a bath here would cost more than fifty doughnuts.
However, the price was within the acceptable range, and it was not a rip-off. Young Ford nodded, but said, "It's too expensive. Tell them that we have a lot of people, four hundred rubles per person, and we'll take a bath."
There were about forty people in their party, and if they all took a bath, the hunters could really make a profit.
The deal was quickly settled, four hundred rubles per person, and everyone could take a hot bath.
In addition, the jungle hunters could help prepare a lunch, one thousand rubles per person, with wine and meat, and they would definitely eat their fill.
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