Old Wang, who was half drunk, continued eating. “I wouldn’t dare kill marmots on your territory,” he said casually. “But this is not your territory anymore, is it? Your brigade is now part of the corps, right? We were sent here by Chief of Staff Sun, who said that marmots not only destroy the grassland but also serve as the main source of food for the wolves before winter sets in. If we kill all the marmots, the wolves won’t survive the winter. So marmots are included in our wolf-extermination campaign. The doctors at the division hospital also say that marmots carry the plague. With so many people coming here, will you take the responsibility if someone dies from one’s bite?”
Bilgee was quiet for a while, but soon he was no longer able to contain his anger. “That should not be done, even if the order came from the corps!” he shouted. “What will the herdsmen use to make leather goods if you kill all the marmots? Who will be responsible if someone’s reins break, startling the horse and injuring the rider? You are sabotaging production.”
Old Wang belched. “We have orders from our superiors, so naturally someone will take the responsibility. Go talk to them if you want. Why yell at those of us who do the hard work?” He glanced at the gunnysack on the old man’s saddle. “You came to hunt marmots, didn’t you? So you can, but we can’t, is that it? You don’t raise these animals, so whoever kills them gets to keep them.”
His beard quivering in anger, the old man said, “Just you wait. I’ll go get the horse herders. These pelts and this oil have to be delivered to the brigade.”
“The corps mess hall asked for the meat and oil, so that’s who’s getting it. You can have people come and take them by force if you want, but someone will take care of you afterward. As for the pelts, well, the officials want them and Director Bao is going to deliver them himself.”
With his hands hanging limply at his sides, the old man choked on his anger and was speechless.
Chen Zhen said coldly, “You’re really proud of yourself, aren’t you? All those dead marmots, big and small. What will you kill next year?”
“Didn’t you people call us migrants? Migrants, migrants, mindless immigrants. What do we care about next year? We go where there’s food and never worry about the year after that. You have plenty of concern for marmots, but who cares about us migrants?”
Chen knew it was pointless to reason with these ruffians. Now he just wanted to know how they’d managed to kill so many-had they learned to set traps?-so he changed his tone. “How did you catch so many?” he asked.
“So you want to learn from us,” Wang said smugly. “Well, you’re too late. There aren’t many dens left. We sent back a cartload of meat and oil two days ago. But, if you really want to know, then go up that hill and take a look. Hurry or you’ll miss everything.”
Chen helped the old man back onto his horse, and then they rode up to the hilltop. Down on the northeastern slope four or five men were bent over, busy at work. Chen and Bilgee galloped toward them. “Stop!” the old man shouted. “Stop!” The workers stood up and looked around.
Chen was shaking at the sight. There were six marmot dens on the hillside, which, Chen knew, were connected. Four holes were blocked with rocks.
What terrified Chen most was that the leading worker was holding a young two-foot-long marmot in his hand. A string of firecrackers was tied to the struggling marmot’s tail, which was attached to a rope that was in turn wrapped around a piece of old felt the size of a fist. Red specks of chili peppers were sprinkled all over the felt, which reeked of diesel fuel. Beside that worker, another worker held a box of matches. If Chen and the old man had come a moment later, the workers would have already put the young marmot down the hole and lit the firecrackers to smoke out the den.
The old man ran up and stuck his foot in the hole. Then he sat down and screamed at the two workers, telling them to put down what they had in their hands. Since they had been under Bilgee’s supervision over the summer, they didn’t dare argue.
Never before had Chen witnessed such a greedy, malicious extermination scheme. Young marmots carrying into the dens lit firecrackers, along with chili peppers and diesel fuel, would wipe them out.
Marmots boasted the deepest, steepest animal dens on the grassland, with a highly intricate internal structure, including built-in smoke prevention mechanisms. If men tried to smoke them out, they’d quickly block off the narrow passage in the main hole. But they were caught off guard by the ruthless method adopted by these worker-hunters from the semiherding areas. The frightened young marmot would run straight to the animals at the bottom of the cave, and before they had a chance to block off the passage, the firecrackers would go off and the pungent smoke would force an entire den of marmots to flee. With only one opening left, they would be met with clubs and gunnysacks. Simple but unimaginably cruel; all the workers needed was a young marmot for bait. Within a few days, the men had virtually wiped out a marmot mountain that had been in existence for thousands of years; the marmots were now near extinction.
Bilgee banged his club on the ground, sending broken shards of rock flying all over. His eyes nearly popping out of his head, he shouted, “Cut off those firecrackers! Cut the rope, and put the young marmot back into the den!”
The workers took their time untying the rope and refused to let go of the marmot. Old Wang rode over on a light wagon. He no longer appeared drunk. With a broad grin, he gave the old man a cigarette and then turned to scold the workers. He walked up to the man holding the marmot, snatched the animal away, and cut off the rope. Then he went back to the old man and said, “Don’t worry; I’ll let this one go.”
Bilgee got slowly to his feet and brushed the dirt off. “Let it go this minute. And don’t interfere with our work ever again.”
Old Wang smiled ingratiatingly. “I wouldn’t dare,” he said. “I’m just following orders. We won’t stop the wolves if we don’t kill off the marmots, so this is considered eliminating a scourge for the people. But you’re right, of course. Without the marmot oil, the reins won’t be durable, and accidents could happen. We need to leave some marmots for the herdsmen.”
He put the marmot down on the flat surface outside the hole, where the animal swiftly disappeared from sight.
Old Wang sighed. “In all fairness, it’s hard getting a whole den of these things. We went to a lot of trouble to catch that young marmot today. Since we’ve been using firecrackers, they’ve been too scared to come out.”
Not giving an inch, the old man said, “We’re not done yet. You send the stuff to the brigade office immediately. If Lamjav and the other horse herders got wind of this, they’d come and knock over your tent and your carts.”
“We’ll get our stuff together and be on our way. I’ll report to Director Bao myself.”
The old man looked at his watch. Clearly worried about the marmot mountain to the north, he said, “I’m going to see someone. I’ll be right back.” Then he and Chen mounted up and rode toward the border highway.
Firecrackers went off behind them after they had crossed a pair of hills, and then everything turned quiet. The old man said, “We’ve been tricked.” They turned back and rode up to the top of the hill, where they saw Old Wang, a damp cloth covering his mouth and nose, directing the workers to catch and kill the marmots. Dead animals were already strewn on the ground outside the marmots’ den, while thick, acrid smoke continued to pour from it. The last few marmots were clubbed to death the moment they came out. The old man was coughing violently, so Chen helped him over to a place upwind as he thumped him on the back.
With damp cloths over their faces, the workers looked like bandits; they quickly dumped the marmots into a gunnysack, which they then tossed onto the cart before riding down the mountain.