The faint sunlight penetrated the thin, cold clouds and the snow floating in the air, shining on the vast Elun Grassland. After two days and two nights of violent white wind, it was no longer able to pull out its white fur. There were no snowflakes or snow sand in the air, and a few eagles were slowly circling under the clouds. The warm air of early spring slowly floated out of the snowfield, condensing into a mist that floated gently with the wind. A flock of reddish-brown sand pheasants flew up from under the white coral-like sand willows. The willow branches shook and dropped soft snow frost and snow fur like dandelions, revealing the dark red and shiny natural color of the grassland sand willows. It was as if a few red corals had suddenly appeared in the sparkling white coral, which was particularly dazzling. The mountains to the north of the border were already under a clear sky. One or two bluish clouds were slowly sliding up and down the dazzling white snow mountains. The sky was about to clear up, and the ancient Elun Grassland had already recovered its former tranquility.
Sha Ci Leng and Chen Zhen treated Ba Tu's frostbite and accompanied him for an entire day. However, the terrifying and cruel dark grassland that Ba Tu described could not be compared to the beautiful and bright grassland in front of people. Although everyone in the ranch had fought against the terrifying white-haired wind for two days and two nights, Chen Zhen was still unwilling or unable to believe Ba Tu's story.
Chen Zhen breathed in the cold and fresh air that had the smell of early spring in the grasslands. His mood improved slightly. With this heavy snow, the spring drought this year could be completely resolved. The days of dry dust, dry hay, dry dung, and dry eyes were about to pass. Once the snow melted, the rivers and lakes were filled with clear water, the spring grass grew, the spring flowers bloomed, and there was hope for the livestock's spring fat. Old man Billig always said that the three fats of livestock depended on the spring fat. If they couldn't catch the spring fat, they couldn't catch the summer fat, and they couldn't catch the autumn fat. If the sheep's back and tail did not have enough fat to catch three fingers of fat before the grass turned yellow in autumn, the sheep would not be able to survive the seven-month winter. The pasture would have to sell the sheep that were not enough to the mainland at a low price before winter. In years with severe disasters, the number of sheep would often be reduced by half or even more than half before winter. In the grasslands, spring was the best time of the year. Hopefully, this spring snow could make up for some of the losses.
Chen Zhen and a few other educated youths from his team and other teams followed the disaster investigation team sent by the field, brigade, and production team to the big bubble site. Along the way, the leader of the Revolutionary Committee, the military representative Bao Shungui, the field leader Wu Liji, the horse groom Batu, Shacileng, and other representatives of the masses, as well as the young and strong herdsmen who were preparing to clean up the scene of the accident, all had gloomy faces. The closer they were to the big bubble, the more uncomfortable their mood seemed to be. No one spoke. The thought of the army being wiped out before they even set out made the military and local leaders extremely furious. Chen Zhen's mood also became heavy. Batu had already changed horses. His big black horse was almost crippled and had been sent to the field's veterinarian station for treatment. Ba Tu's face was smeared with ointment, but it still could not cover his face that was frozen to the point of being a horrible sight. The skin on his nose and face had turned black from the cold, and yellow water flowed out from the creases. A new piece of pink flesh was exposed after the skin was exposed. It was particularly eye-catching on Batu's purple-brown face. A large wooden shovel was inserted diagonally into his belt. He rode on his horse tiredly and walked beside Bao Shungui without saying a word, leading the horse team.
Ba Tu was found by Sha Ci Leng behind a broken circle on the south side of the big bubble after the white-haired wind blew for a night and a half. At that time, the horse was too injured to move, and the man was half dead from the cold. Shac Ci Leng led his injured horse and carried Ba Tu home. In order to let the investigation team understand the accident, Batu had to force himself to lead the investigation team to the place where the accident happened. The other two stables, although they were all frostbitten, were still isolated for investigation.
Chen Zhen followed beside Bilig and walked behind the team. He asked in a low voice,"Abba, how will the higher-ups punish Batu and the others?"
The old man wiped the mist from his sparse goatee with his horse's hoof sleeve, his yellow eyes filled with complicated sympathy. He didn't turn back. He looked at the distant mountains and said slowly," Do you educated youths think they should be punished? The old man turned around and added," The field headquarters and military representatives value your opinions very much. This time, they invited you educated youths to listen to your opinions.
Chen Zhen said," Ba Tu is a good man. For this group of military horses, he almost lost his life. Unfortunately, his luck is not good." I feel that whether he saves the horses or not, he is still a great hero of the grasslands. I've lived in your house for a year, and everyone knows that Ba Tu is my big brother. I understand Bao Shungui's attitude. My opinion doesn't matter. Besides, the educated youths had different opinions. I think, you are the representative of the poor shepherd and a member of the Revolutionary Committee. Everyone listens to you. I will follow whatever you say.
What did the other educated youths say? The old man asked with concern.
Most of the educated youths in our team think that Batu is a good person. The wind, snow, and wolf disaster this time is too severe. No one can withstand it and can't punish Batu. However, some people said that this might be someone using natural disasters to cause destruction. They had to investigate the background of the four stables first.
The old man Billig's face darkened even more and he stopped asking.
The troops went around the east side of the big bubble and arrived at the place where Ba Tu had fired his last shot. Chen Zhen held his breath, mentally prepared to witness the bloody slaughterhouse with his own eyes.
However, not a single drop of blood could be seen. The snow that was more than a foot thick had covered the blood that was covered by the night. There should at least be a horse's head sticking out of the lake, but there was none. There was only a continuous pile of snow on the surface of the lake. The snow between the piles was especially thick, and behind the pile of snow were many snow slopes that were blown out by the wind and snow, flattening the originally eye-catching pile of horse corpses. The people watched silently. No one dismounted, and no one was willing to lift this layer of snow. They only imagined the situation in their hearts over and over again.
What a pity. Old man Billig was the first to speak. He pointed at the east bank of the bubble with his horse stick. Look, if you run a little more, it will be fine. It was not easy for Ba Tu to drive the herd of horses from the grassland in the north to this area. The wind was so strong and there were so many wolves. Even if the people were not afraid, would the horses not be afraid? Ba Tu had been in the horse group from the beginning to the end, fighting to the death with the wolf group. He had done his duty.
The Mongolian old man was not afraid to defend his son.
Chen Zhen leaned over to Bao Shungui and said,"In order to protect the collective property, Batu fought with the wolf pack alone for an entire night and almost sacrificed his life. This is a heroic deed that should be reported…"
Bao Shungui glared at Chen Zhen and roared," What heroic deeds! He would be a hero if he could protect this army. He then turned his head and said fiercely to Ba Tu," Why did you put the horses to the north of the puddle that day? You've kept the horses for so many years. Don't you know that a gust of wind will blow the horses into the puddle? This is your biggest responsibility!
Ba Tu did not dare to look at Bao Shungui. He nodded repeatedly and said," It's my responsibility, it's my responsibility. If I had moved the herd of horses to the eastern pasture every day, there wouldn't have been such a big accident.
Schatzen knocked his horse's belly and leaned forward, saying unwillingly," It was the field office who asked us to put the horses in that grassland. They also said that there was a lot of autumn grass left there and the spring grass grew early. The army horses had to travel a long distance, so they had to ensure that the army horses were well-fed. They had to strive to catch some fat so that the militia cavalry who came to pick up the horses would be happy. I remember that Batu said at the meeting to catch the revolution and promote production that it was not safe to place the herd of horses north of the big bubble. However, the field said that the northwest wind blew more often in spring, so how could they encounter the north wind in these few days? You also agreed to this matter. Why did you push all the responsibility onto Ba Tu's head when something happened?
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