Chapter 15 Picking Kapok in the Depths of the Mountains

Section 1: Returning in vain

The sun hung high overhead, and when Marlinsi looked at his watch, it was half past twelve. If it weren't for mountain climbing, I would have eaten lunch in the breeding team and would have rested in bed early. But now, after turning over one mountain after another, I didn't even see the shadow of Jianfeng Ridge. It's really self-inflicted.

Looking back, I saw the dam of Changmao Reservoir in the southeast, the river below meandered like twine, the sea in the distance was like blue, the water and the sky were connected, and two independent islands were also faintly visible.

Now, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, it doesn't seem to arouse everyone's interest. As the saying goes, the people take food as the sky. People are iron, and rice is steel. No matter how good your body and physique are, if you can't eat enough, you will lie down sooner or later. They all understand a very simple truth, people can also starve to death.

The current situation is that everyone is embarrassed, their mouths are dry, their throats are full of smoke, and they are so tired that they can't breathe. What's even worse is that he is very hungry, and how can the few dumplings he ate for breakfast withstand the rapid march of more than five hours.

Everyone was so tired that they couldn't do it. sat on the ground and complained about Marinsi.

"It's all the loss of Marinsi. ”

"I can't. I can't walk anymore. ”

"Can't go any further. I don't know if I can walk today. ”

"This mountain is weird. You can see it clearly from a distance at home. When I got closer, I couldn't see clearly. I don't know where I'm hiding. ”

"It's easy to go up the hill and hard to get down. It's harder to go back. ”

"Marlinsi, you kid carry us back. ”

……

"Grandma's. It's all my fault. Let's go back. Marlinsi was also deflated and sat on the ground.

How could this be? Marlinsi was so frustrated and annoyed that he hadn't figured it out yet. It is clearly marked on the map, and it can be seen clearly at home, why did we walk for five or six hours, a full forty or fifty miles, but there was no shadow of Jianfeng Ridge? It was not too late to descend the mountain, and we could return to the station in five or six hours, but I was so hungry that I had no water to drink, and I forgot to bring a water bottle when I came in the morning. If you are in the plains or in the mountains, you can also go to the farmland to find some potatoes and sugar cane to satisfy your hunger. And now, trapped in the deep mountains, it is really a trapped beast.

After a period of complaining, everyone rushed to offer ideas and find ways to overcome the temporary difficulties in front of them.

Marlinsi guessed that according to the current position, it did not seem wrong, the sun was overhead, and it should be in the northwest direction of the station. But now it is winter, and all the trees that should bear fruit are bare, and there is nothing to eat. I really regret throwing away a large part of the sugar cane when I went up the mountain, if I took it with me, it would not only quench my thirst, but also satisfy my hunger. Alas, how nice it should be.

All the complaints, regrets, and fatigue are useless, and the most realistic thing is that they must leave here immediately now and then turn back. Otherwise, if it was too late, they would not be able to return to their station until dark.

When they came, there were nearly twenty of them, and now, there are eight left. The rest, all left behind. At that time, in order to hurry, they almost trotted, deliberately threw off a few slow walkers, and shouted to them from afar: "Wait a minute." Wait a minute. ”

Out of competitiveness, they shouted fiercely, and Marlinsi led everyone to run more and more vigorously at the front, really like a 100-meter sprint on the field. In the end, the people behind him were completely dumped. Now it seems that the blessing in disguise has cheapened those boys, and it is necessary to go back to settle accounts with them. Alas, what's the use of thinking about this, it means that these people are wiser than him Malinsi.

But what is there to satisfy hunger temporarily? No.

Ma Linxi looked around weakly, and said to himself firmly, go back and go down the mountain! Today, only the class teacher returns to the court, and time is running out.

Ma Linxi found that the trees in the low mountains in this area are relatively sparse, and the whole forest, if you stand on the top of the slope, you can see that you are dozens of meters away, where is there anything to eat?

"Go, go back. Marlinsi stood up and patted the dust off her buttocks. Holding on to the small trees on both sides, I walked down the mountain step by step.

In fact, there was no road in front of him, and he was full of thorns, artemisia and shrubs half a man high, and he had no strength, so he walked very hard and very slowly.

There is a limit to the human body, but this limit is generally not discovered or deliberately challenged. Now, Marlinsi's physical strength is at its limit. Every step forward, with great courage, seems to be doing your best. And with your eyes closed, that kind of hardship, if you don't experience it yourself, you can't understand what it means to do your best.

Human potential is sometimes amazing. Now, it's hard for them to take a step forward. If it weren't for the belief to go back and live, with normal sanity, otherwise, it could fall at any time. However, if there is an unexpected surprise, the infinite potential of the person will be released in an instant.

When they descended a shallow ravine, they made a startling discovery - a piece of sugar cane that had been dropped by someone who had just gone up the mountain. All of them completely forgot the exhaustion just now, and they all jumped up, scrambled to be the first, and rushed over with excited cheers.

The ravine was full of fist-sized stones, many of which had been washed away by years of rain, and many of them had become pebbles. The ditch is not wide, but deep to the chest, like a trench, which can only allow one person to pass, and no matter how fast the person behind is, he cannot bypass the person in front. They crowded together, and the result was that Jiang Sigui grabbed the sugar cane.

Several people gathered together in a chaotic manner, with long stretched hands, trying to snatch back the sugarcane from Jiang Sigui's hand.

"Don't rob, don't rob. If you rob me again, don't even think about eating it. The tall Jiang Sigui shouted loudly, holding the cane high with one hand.

"Hey, hey, let's stop coaxing, let's take a bite by one. Marlinsi persuaded loudly that this was the best compromise.

"Okay, okay. The crowd agreed with one voice.

stopped snatching, and everyone surrounded Jiang Sigui with fierce eyes, for fear that he would play a trick and swallow the sugarcane head alone.

Jiang Sigui saw this posture and knew that one person could not enjoy it alone, so he sandwiched the sugarcane head covered with mud and sand under his armpit, and repeatedly probed the corner of his clothes, gently knocked off the sand on his knees, tore off the outer skin with his teeth, and chewed it before spitting it out, and then took a big bite viciously, chewed a few mouthfuls indiscriminately, spit it out, and bit it again, and then handed it to Fan Guangjie beside him very reluctantly, his eyes were full of helplessness and greed. That look in my eyes, I can't wait to swallow the whole sugarcane head into my stomach.

When the truncated ruler passed the long cane head to Marinthi's hand, only an inch was left. Ma Linxi didn't dislike it, as if he had seen a life-saving benefactor, he solved it in three times and divided five by two, and almost chewed and swallowed the scum. The feeling of being hungry and quenching thirst has never been felt in a lifetime.

Don't look at this piece of sugarcane, after everyone eats a bite or two, it seems to have recovered their vitality. Each of them broke off a dead branch and used it as a crutch, and under the leadership of Marinsi, they quickly descended the mountain.

After passing a small school at the foot of the hill, and then detouring in a semicircle from the southeast slope, we finally walked on the main road to the commune of Banpo. Heading straight south, we passed through several villages before reaching the railway.

Soon after the sun went down, and as the twilight was getting thicker, Marlinsi and the others finally returned to their station. Looking back inadvertently, the main peak of Jianfeng Ridge is still vaguely arguable, still so upright, spectacular, and full of mystery.

It's really a dead horse.

Ma Linxi didn't speak, and his heart was full of emotion. It can be seen how difficult the Red Army's 10,000-mile long march was in those years.

Section 2: Conspiracy

A few days later, several members of the breeding team went to Banpo to catch the market. At the bazaar, he was surprised to find that kapok turned out to be a great specialty of Hainan Island.

Ma Linxi first saw kapok when he was a child watching a model play. The set of the revolutionary modern dance drama "Red Detachment of Women" has several tall cotton trees.

At that time, Ma Linxi was only a teenager, and he didn't know that the red cotton tree was a kapok tree, let alone that the place where the story happened was on Hainan Island. Moreover, the courtyard of Nanbatian is still there, in Lingshui County, and it is only a day's journey away from the breeding team. It wasn't until I came to Hainan this time and passed through Guangzhou that I saw the kapok blooming on the street like a red glow, and I knew that it was the red cotton tree and hero tree on the set of "Red Detachment of Women".

It was also at that time that I learned that the story of "Red Detachment of Women" took place on the way to Marinthi.

So, as soon as he set foot on Hainan Island, Ma Linxi paid attention to the information related to "Red Women's Army", such as Wuzhi Mountain, Wanquan River, Qiongya Detachment, Nanbatian Manor, and the Red Women's Army statue in Qionghai.

Ma Linxi, who rushed to the market that day, also found that kapok was actually a treasure on Hainan Island.

On a small stall, there is a small pile of white bulk, like cotton, not as white as cotton, but very flexible. I've never seen anything like this. Curious, he asked, "What is this?"

"I don't know about that. Just came. Kapok. The man guarding the stall didn't look at him squarely.

"What's the use?" asked Marinthi.

"What are you doing? It can be used as a car cushion and as a sofa, which is amazing. The man said smugly.

"Oh. Why?" Marlinsi didn't mind the shrewdness and arrogance of a businessman.

"Well, use it as a sofa, it will never be stiff, it will always be soft. No material can compare to its elasticity. If you don't believe it, you touch it. The man continued.

"How much is a pound?" asked Marlinthi again.

"Fifty dollars. The man replied.

"Good boy. So expensive?" said Marinthie.

"It's cheap. Add at least twenty more to Sanya. The man said.

"How many pounds does it cost to make a pillow?"

"A pound. ”

"What do you grow up in?"

"Picked in the mountains. ”

"In the mountains?"

"That's right. There are many in the mountains. ”

"So expensive?".

"You don't know how hard it is. ”

"Can we pick it?".

"Yes. How not. ”

"Can you teach us then?"

"What's this. When you go into the mountains, you see the kapok tree, pluck off the horns on it, open the petals, remove the seeds, and dry them in the sun. The man gestured with great interest, with a sense of pride in being respected and a teacher.

"Is that simple?" said Marlinsy.

"Yes. The man nodded very seriously.

"What season can I get it?" Marlinsi continued.

"It's the season. The man went about his business, leaving Marlinthi aside.

Hearing him say this, Marlinsi and the others were eager to try. It's hard to come to Hainan, and you always have to bring some souvenirs back, whether it's for relatives and friends, or keep it for yourself, you need to prepare. Otherwise, there will be no time for the rice harvest to be approached.

There are many specialties on Hainan Island, but there are not many that can be preserved and commemorated forever.

Come to think of it, that is, sea stone flowers, corals, coconuts and the like. It seems that kapok is also a good souvenir. Sea stone flowers and corals, although beautiful, have a brittle texture and are very easy to break. Coconuts are not kept forever. Kapok, it's useful, go back and make a pillow for mom and dad, it's the most suitable. Hainan Island's basket is also very famous, the basket chair is often on and off the road is not convenient to carry, if you bring some basket skin back, please the master of the bamboo basket society to process into a basket chair, how good it is.

Ma Linxi thought about it in his heart, and began to plan to go into the mountains to pick kapok and cut baskets.

After coming back, Ma Linxi told Wang Changsong about this idea, but he didn't expect it to hit it off: "Okay." I'm just going to talk to you. ”

"And when are you going?" asked Marinthi.

"Next week. Wang Changsong said.

"No, I can't. It was too late. Maybe it's all lighted up. There are so many breeding teams, are we smart? If someone else strikes first, we won't get anything. Malinsi said.

"That's right. Wang Changsong pondered.

"What do you think? Just go this Sunday. Malinsi said.

"What if you don't have a holiday?" Wang Changsong asked.

"Impossible. Recently, the fields have not been busy. If we don't let it go, we will lie and ask for leave to go to Banpo. Marlinsi suddenly had an idea.

"Yes. Do it. But ......" Wang Changsong wanted to speak and stopped.

"But what?" Marlinthi asked. Wang Changsong spit out, there seemed to be something wrong, he was a little scheming.

"Two people into the mountains, that's too dangerous. Wang Changsong was worried.

"Pull Fan Guangjie and Qi Moxiang up. Marlinsi thought for a moment.

"It's okay if you're on vacation. If you don't take a holiday, the goal is too big. Wang Changsong continued to ponder.

"Let's stop here. When the time comes, act on the opportune side. It's going to be a few days anyway. Marlinsi comforted him.

"That's right. Wang Changsong frowned.

Section 3 Treasure Exploration in the Mountains

It's the weekend.

Coincidentally, this week is still a holiday. In this way, Ma Linxi and Wang Changsong privately agreed to enter the mountain tomorrow, and now this route can be said to be familiar to them.

In the evening, Ma Linxi quietly made an appointment with Fan Guangjie and Qi Moxiang. He originally wanted to pull up the Hu Longbiao again, but Wang Changsong insisted that there were too many people, in case there were too few kapok, and it would be a little bit to divide it, not to enter the mountain in vain. This guy is a goblin. Marlinsi thought.

Before going to bed, the four of them secretly prepared dry food, filled the kettle to the brim, and borrowed four sharp machetes through Ke Meiying to hide under the bed.

The next day, as soon as the breakfast bowl was pushed, they slipped out of the village one after another.

After leaving the village, Ma Linxi waded across the Dasha River to the west, waiting next to an unobtrusive sugar cane plantation. After a while, several others arrived one after another. In this way, people are all brought together. Then, along the path from Jianfengling's house that day, we trotted all the way to the mountains.

Walk past a few sugar cane fields, with overgrown shrubs in front of you, and walk straight to the northwest along the inaccessible sheep's gut path. They didn't have a compass, so they looked in the direction of the main peak of Jianfeng Ridge.

There were no people to see along the way, and there were no crops. At about ten o'clock, they reached the foot of the mountain.

From a distance, you can see that the kapok trees stand tall in the mountains and forests, and you can see them clearly at a glance, while the other trees are blurry and show a hazy green color.

When he found his target, he was full of energy, and the soles of his feet seemed to be smeared with oil, and he quickly marched towards the depths of the mountain.

As they approached the hillside, the ridge of the ridge blocked the view. The chaotic forest has been cut down in a mess, there are almost no decent trees, either there are no mature trees with only the thickness of the bowl, or two or three people can hug the old trees, there are no special cutting tools, no one can do anything about them, and they have escaped the catastrophe of indiscriminate logging again and again and survived, becoming the historical witness of the big forest.

They climbed five small hills in succession and entered the edge of the hinterland of the mountains. The woods began to thicken, and the vegetation became much thicker, and the mountains were covered with dense bushes, low above the knees, and high enough to be flooded. Because there was no road at all, he could only use his machete to swing left and right to move forward, opening a path, and the clothes and skin on his body had already been cut by thorns. Fortunately, the kapok tree was finally discovered.

A group of people was particularly pleasantly surprised.

From a distance, the kapok tree seems to be only as thick as the mouth of a bowl, and the middle and lower parts are all smooth, except for some branches and branches in the upper part.

When he was a child, Ma Linxi was a master of climbing trees at home, like this kind of thick bowl-mouthed tree, he could go up with his bare hands and bare feet, digging birds' nests, picking mulberries, all of which were his forte. The branches of the kapok tree are so flat that they are no different from half a ladder. In addition, they also specially prepared bamboo poles with hooks more than two zhang long. It seems that I, Marlinsy, can return to my childhood and show my skills in front of everyone.

He thought to himself, and felt as if he had a lot of kapok in his hand.

Now they came to a small ridge. In front of it was a small basin, and strangely enough, there were no kapok trees on the slopes on all sides, on the side of the hill where they were located, and on the other slopes.

Ma Linxi thought, the kapok tree is thick, it must be easy to deal with. It's still early, try to pick a fucking tree fruit for each person. In that case, it is enough to put pillows, make sofas, and stuff quilts. He thought in his heart, looked at the direction, and decided to march to the kapok tree on the nearest southern slope.

Because there are three more trees not far from it. Marinsi's idea was supported by everyone. So, they began to descend and get closer to their set goal.

They came up from a shady slope, and the forest was relatively sparse. On the downhill side of the morning sun, the forest and vegetation are very dense, and it is simply impassable without overcoming thorns and thorns.

After a lot of hard work, everyone finally went down to the bottom of the ditch.

At this time, they found that there was a small stream at the bottom of the mountain, the water was clear and meandering, the pebbles at the bottom of the water were clearly visible, and the stones, vegetation, and tree trunks on both sides were covered with green moss. The air is fresh and cool. Looking up, the blue sky was tightly blocked, and only the sporadic sunlight sprinkled on the ground through the dense shade of the trees, forming coin-sized spots of light, swaying and flashing in the shadows of the trees.

When they searched for the striking kapok tree they had just discovered, they did not know where it was, and the shade of the tree obscured the view. The only way is to approach the predetermined goal by imagination and guessing according to the position of the mountain beam just now.

They took turns wielding machetes, thorns falling behind them, and a sun-drenched green passage opened in the bushes.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, they still did not find the tall kapok tree from a distance, and the passage of the felling was already a kilometer long, and they vaguely found that it was not far from the mountain beam. It seems that the passage is a little off, and looking from the mountain beam, the kapok tree is obviously halfway up the mountain. So, they had to rest in place, cook on the fire, and eat enough to find another way out.

They built a stove with a few large stones, put the steel pot they brought at home, filled it with clean water from the stream, filled the pot with a full capacity, and found dead branches with all hands and feet, and Wang Changsong was responsible for cooking rice.

After a while, the pot began to boil, and the aroma overflowed.

There are few bowls, no chopsticks, and several people take turns eating and drinking in the pot with spoons. It is really a joy in the bitterness, and everyone eats sweet and fragrant, and relishes it.

"Now, we divided into two paths, went down halfway up the mountain, and looked sideways along the hillside to the left and right. Malinsi said.

"I'm going east. Fan Guangjie come with me. Wang Changsong said while cleaning up the steel pot.

"Okay. Lao Qi and I went west. Malinsi said.

Ma Linxi guessed the direction, and they went in two different directions, left and right, and Qi Moxiang took turns to open the way with him.

After a while, they found the kapok tree they were looking for in the upper right corner of the hillside.

I finally walked under the kapok tree. When I looked closely, my good boy almost didn't scare the two of them out.

This is a kapok tree, and its thick trunk is like a big chimney in a brick factory, and it takes three or four people to hug it. There is not a single small tree in a radius of dozens of meters around, the shade of the big tree is really like a big umbrella, it can't penetrate a little sunlight, even the weeds are sick, the high trunk is as high as a building with seven or eight floors, and even the roots exposed to the surface are thick and thick. Those branches with thick arms seen at the foot of the mountain are as thick as a basin, and the distance between the branches is as short as a step, and there are people at each step to put it high. Their two-foot bamboo pole couldn't reach the lowest branch. Not to mention climbing trees, even if you put up a ladder, you can't reach the kapok fruit.

"It's completely over. Marlinsi sat down on a large bare rock like a deflated ball. While asking Qi Moxiang to pick up Wang Changsong and them, while thinking about how to do something to this behemoth, he can't go home empty-handed.

Climbing trees will definitely not work, only another way will be found.

When Wang Changsong arrived, he was also dumbfounded: "My mother." This tree is so big. He sat down and slammed the machete into the ground: "Today's efforts have been in vain." ”

For a long time, no one said a word, just sat on the ground and ate dry food while looking at the towering tree in front of them.

It's really a good shade under the big tree. It was very cool under the shade of the tree, and the fatigue of his body was swept away, and he felt extremely comfortable, and Marlinxi really wanted to lie down and sleep well.

"Forget it. Let's go pick the strips. Fan Guangjie suggested.

". I came to pick kapok. It's all under the tree, can you go back empty-handed?" Hu Longbiao said. He met Ma Linxi at the entrance of the village and died with him. He didn't have a machete, he asked for a machete from Qi Moxiang's hand and walked towards the kapok tree.

Hu Longbiao pulled out the frame, spat twice into the palm of his hand, held the sharp machete tightly, and slashed at the kapok tree with a bang.

In an instant, sawdust flew wildly, and a large gap opened in the tree. Judging from the sound of the machete piercing into the trunk of the tree, the texture is not so hard, and everyone is overjoyed.

"Stop, stop. I'll try. Marlinsi leaped from the ground.

Ma Linxi took the machete and cut at the trunk from another angle, indeed as he judged, the texture of the kapok tree is loose, very much like the paulownia in his hometown, it looks like the trunk is thick, tall and majestic, and the small saplings of two or three years can grow to the thickness of the mouth of the bowl, but the material is like a sugar twist, and it can be cut down with a few axes. The material of this kapok does not seem to be as strong as the paulownia, and with a lot of effort, they can definitely put it down, so that they can fall down the tree to dig out the bird's nest and catch all the kapok fruits.

"Hey. How about we'll cut it down?" Marlinsi asked everyone, wiping a handful of sweat from the corner of his clothes.

"I'm afraid it's a bit difficult. Wang Changsong smacked his lips.

"What's so difficult? I don't think so. Hu Longbiao said.

"You let me try it. Fan Guangjie asked for the machete in Ma Linxi's hand and slashed a few times at the gap that had been cut. Then he thrust his knife into the trunk of the tree, and said with confidence:

"No problem. ”

"I'm afraid it's too late. Qi Moxiang was worried.

"What time is it?" asked Wan Guangjie.

"It's past twelve. Fan Guangjie looked at the table below.

"We can go back at five o'clock at the latest, which is four hours to cut down trees. Looks like no problem. Marlinsi looked at everyone and said:

"The four of us were in two shifts, and we opened our bows left and right. What about Lao Qi, you are older, you are cutting baskets nearby, and you will come to help us pick kapok at the end, can you see if it is okay?"

"Okay. That's it. I finally had such an opportunity, Mom, and I let it go today. Hu Longbiao took off his shirt.

"Okay. I slashed against Hu Longbiao. Fan Guangjie also took off his shirt and cut it down across the trunk with Hu Longbiao.

Ten minutes later, Ma Linxi and Wang Changsong replaced the two of them.

At about one o'clock, the waist-high place of the kapok tree had been cut out of a large gap one and a half feet wide and more than a foot deep.

Although they were sweating profusely, they still had the strength to rotate every fifteen minutes, which basically ensured the replenishment of physical strength, cut for a while, rest for a while, drink some water, eat some dry food, and continue to work, not very tired.

By half past two o'clock in the afternoon, the trunk of the tree was only connected in the middle of the pot, and they were particularly excited, and it would take less than an hour to take it down.

But the further you go to the middle of the trunk, the harder the texture becomes. When the knife is slashed, the sound is not as dull as it looks, but like a metal-like collision. Hu Longbiao's tiger mouth cracked out, and blood began to seep outward.

After a while, the trunk was only thick with the mouth of the bowl. This is the last hard bone.

Despite this, the stout towering tree is now only connected to the roots, but the upper part of the tree does not move at all, and it is cut down with a knife, as if it is really a giant and does not feel it.

Marlinsi looked at the time, and before she knew it, it was half past three. Qi Moxiang, who cut the baskets, also came back in advance, and his harvest was not small, he cut a large bundle of yellow old baskets, if it was in the market, this could only be bought at a good price.

"Yo. It's coming. Qi Moxiang put down the bundle of baskets, lifted his sweatshirt and wiped a handful of sweat on his face, circled around the kapok tree, and praised happily.

"Ghosts. This is the last thing to bite. It's four o'clock. Malinthi said anxiously.

"No, you can't cut like this again, you have to cut from the side. Qi Moxiang carefully examined the suggestion for a while.

"Why?" asked Marinthi.

"You see, now all four sides are equispace, and the force is uniform. If it goes on like this, it won't be put down, even if it's only a finger thick. Only by cutting from the side, so that its center of gravity is off, will it tilt. That's right. Qi Moxiang's tone seemed to be a veteran of logging.

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, no one agrees.

Ma Linxi pondered for a while, carefully weighed Qi Moxiang's words, felt that it made a lot of sense, looked up at the canopy for a while, looked around for a long time, and had a bottom in his heart: "What Lao Qi said is right, we are now concentrating on cutting here." You see. ”

Marlinsi walked to the trunk of the tree, pointed to the gap, and said, "Now let's cut from this side." If you look above, there are more branches on this side than on that side, which means that the center of gravity of the canopy is on this side. Also, the trees in the northwest are sparse, and they are all small trees and shrubs, and the big trees will not be supported when they fall, and we will easily go down. The northwest direction is downhill, and the buffer distance for the tree pole to fall is large, and the weight loss is more likely to break the branch and fall to the ground quickly. Isn't that right?"

"Makes sense. And so it goes. Wang Changsong suddenly came to his senses and was the first to take the lead in responding.

After a while, only the thickness of the arm was left in the center of the trunk. With each knife, you can see the shaking of the leaves, and there is a slight breaking sound.

It's too late, it's too soon. The towering trees began to tilt slightly, and there was a sound overhead, and the branches and leaves began to collide and squeeze against each other.

"It's down. It's poured. They cheered.

The unexpected happened.

Section 4 Unexpected Horror

Above their heads, the tail of a python with an arm as thick as two meters was wrapped around a branch, and its head hanging from the branch was the size of a bowl, looking at them like an upside-down golden hook.

Perhaps, the process of their cutting down of the tree did not cause its fear. Now, its edifice is about to collapse, and it feels like the end is coming. In short, it was full of fear and hostility. Such a big python, Marlinsi they have only seen in the zoo. In the wild, who has ever seen this ancestor who could eat people?

At that moment, everyone was stunned.

The soles of Ma Linxi's feet seemed to be nailed, and he seemed to suddenly lose consciousness and couldn't move his steps. The cold sweat on his body was so shocked that he seeped outward. He wanted to shout, but his throat seemed to be choked by something, his eyes straightened, and he watched in a daze as the towering tree slowly fell from the sky.

Just when everyone was frightened and helpless, the canopy of the tree began to shift to one side, and the sky was suddenly pierced a gap, and the sunset fell on them like a waterfall in the west.

The crown of the tree fell to the direction, the branches and leaves began to collide more violently, squeezing, breaking, and rubbing sounds were intertwined, and the big and small trees were bent and broken in an instant, as if they were overwhelming, rumbling and unstoppable.

The upside-down python shrank upwards in terror, swaying in the air like a lantern blown by the wind, struggling desperately to escape the branches that kept crushing it.

As the trunk slowly fell, the python struggled more violently, its body dancing wildly, making a final effort to break free from the shackles of death.

"Boom. With a loud bang, the thick kapok tree fell heavily on the hillside, and there was a violent tremor under his feet. It was like there was a big earthquake.

Marlinsi came to his senses. Sighed deeply.

Everyone invariably set their eyes on the place where the python landed.

As Qi Moxiang expected, the kapok tree fell in the northwest direction, from the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, and dozens of trees thicker than the mouth of the bowl were crushed by the waist. The python that made them cough in horror was smashed to death under the trunk, and it didn't move at all.

A false alarm. They finally escaped the unimaginable.

After the kapok fell, Ma Linxi found that the tree was much bigger than everyone imagined, and it was estimated that it was about forty meters high. From the mountain, there was only a stick of branches, as thick as a basin and as thin as the mouth of a bowl. The fruit that hung on it was a foot or two long, thicker than an arm.

As the saying goes, fall down a tree to dig a bird's nest.

Today, they fell down a tree to pick kapok, perhaps for the first time in the mountains. Even though the tree was down, it was still a bit of a hassle to pick up the kapok fruit, and only a few of them could be picked with one hand, so they had to use a machete to cut off the branches hanging the fruit. Fortunately, the branches are relatively brittle and tender, and the problem can be solved with three knives and two knives.

On the branch where the python was crushed, they found a large, deep hole in the trunk. It turned out to be its lair. The python dug a hole in the tree to settle down, and was killed by them without much effort, which was an eye-opener.

The kapok was piled up like a hill, and in any case, they couldn't carry it back.

Everyone used machetes to crack open the husks on the spot, took out the kapok wool inside, and filled two hemp bags. In the end, there was still a small pile left that could not be taken away, and there was still a lot of fruit on the tree that had not been picked. The yield of this kapok tree is really high. Marlinsi thought to herself.

I don't know when, the sun has set, and the sky is full of colorful clouds.

They took turns carrying heavy bags of hemp to the station. Along the way, everyone hummed songs, talked and laughed, and was so happy.