“It’s worth a try,” Bao said. “That would be a true scientific experiment. If you can come up with a breed of Mongolian wolfhounds, you’d have something that would make Siberian wolfhounds puny by comparison. Mongolian wolves are the world’s biggest and fiercest, so any mixed animals they sire will be the best. The army would be interested in something like that. If this works, we won’t have to go abroad to buy dogs for them. And if the herdsmen had Mongolian wolfhounds to watch over the sheep, wolves would probably stay away. So if any of the herdsmen complain, just tell them it’s a scientific experiment. But don’t forget, safety first.”
“If Bao says you can raise the cub, then go ahead,” Uljii said. “But I’m warning you, if something goes wrong, it’s on your head. Don’t make things hard on Bao. I think this is risky, and you’re going to have to keep it on a chain for the safety of people and sheep.”
“That’s right,” Bao said. “Don’t let it harm anyone. If he does, I’ll kill him on the spot.”
Chen was so nervous his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. “Absolutely! ” he said. “But I have one request. I know the herdsmen won’t approve, so please help me out with them.”
“They’ll listen to Bilgee more than they will to me,” Uljii said.
“Ah,” the old man sighed. “I’m afraid I’ve led this youngster astray. I’ll have to do something, since it’s my fault.”
The old man left his carpenter tools with Chen Zhen, harnessed the ox to his wagon, and headed home, followed on horseback by Bao Shungui and Uljii.
Like someone who has just won a reprieve, Chen was excited and exhausted. He sat down weakly beside the wolf pen and held the cub in his arms, squeezing him so hard he wrinkled his nose and bared his fangs. Chen quickly rubbed him behind the ears to relax him. Shutting one eye, the cub closed his mouth halfway, his tongue lolling from the side, and pushed up against Chen’s hand. Then he lay out straight and moaned contentedly.
19
Bao Shungui led Batu, Laasurung, and three other hunters, along with Yang Ke and seven or eight big dogs, to the new grazing land. A pair of horse-pulled carts piled high with tents, ammunition, and kitchen items followed.
When they reached a mountain peak west of the new land, Bao and the hunters surveyed the basin and the surrounding ravines, the river’s bends and branches, and the grassland through binoculars; there were no wolves and no gazelles. Nothing but ducks, wild geese, and a dozen or so swans on the lake.
Most of the hunters had little interest in hunting wolves on that early summer day; they were mesmerized by the vast emerald grassland arrayed before them. Yang Ke felt as if the sight had turned his eyes green, and when he looked at the others, he saw the same color in theirs, like the beautiful yet terrifying eyes of a wolf on a winter night. As they made their way down the green mountain slope, their nostrils were filled with the scent of new grass carried on the clean, fresh air. The horses’ hooves and the carts’ wheels were stained green, as were the ends of the lasso poles that scraped along the ground. The horses strained at the bit to start grazing. The one thing Yang Ke would have liked to see was the blanket of flowers Chen Zhen had described for him. It had withered and fallen, leaving a monochromatic green panorama.
Bao Shungui looked like a man who had found a gold mine. “This is a perfect site!” he shouted. “A jade cornucopia. We should have let the military brass drive over here for a few days’ vacation, hunt some swans and ducks, and have a barbecue.”
Yang Ke didn’t like the sound of that, as the image of the “Blackwinged Demon” in the ballet Swan Lake flashed before his eyes.
The horses ran down the mountainside and crossed a gentle slope. “Look to your left,” Bao Shungui said, keeping his voice low. “There’s a flock of swans over there. They’re busy eating. Let’s go get one.” He signaled a couple of hunters to follow him before Yang Ke could stop them. So he fell in behind them, rubbing his eyes as he ran. Suddenly the hunters reined in their horses and lowered their rifles. They shouted something. Bao Shungui also brought his horse to a stop and took out his binoculars. Yang Ke quickly did the same. He could hardly believe his eyes. The expanse of white that filled his eyes turned out to be a vast array of white herbaceous peonies. The previous summer he’d seen peonies on the old grazing land, in patches here and there, but never in such tight profusion. He fantasized that he was looking at a field of transformed swans.
Bao Shungui was not upset by what he saw; rather, he was happy. “My god!” he exclaimed. “I’ve never seen such gorgeous peonies. They’re so much nicer than the ones in Beijing parks. Come over here and look at them!” Several horse riders rode up.
When he reached the flowers, Yang Ke nearly fainted. Thirty or forty patches of flowers were blooming in wild profusion in the rich soil. The bushes stood three feet tall. He went up for a closer look. The pistils were in clusters, the petals sprinkled with water, delicate and more handsome than ordinary peonies, more sumptuous and graceful than Chinese roses. Never before had the natural world presented him with such unspoiled beauty.
Bao Shungui was also spellbound. “This is a true rarity!” he exclaimed. “How much do you think these would sell for in town? I’m going to send some of these bushes to the military brass, let them share in this wonder. The older officials have no interest in money, but they love celebrated flowers. They’ll take these to their heart. Yang Ke, I’ll bet you don’t have peonies like this in your Beijing guesthouses.”
“Guesthouses? You won’t find flowers like these in royal gardens.” Bao turned happily to the hunters. “Did you hear that? These flowers are a real treasure. Make sure you take special care of them. When we get back, cut down some apricot branches to make a fence.”
“What happens if we move away? Someone else will come out and dig them up.”
Bao Shungui thought a moment. “I’ve got a plan, don’t worry.”
Yang looked troubled. “Don’t try to transplant them; you’ll only kill them.”
The horses and wagons arrived at a bend in the river, where the hunters quickly spotted places where wolves had surrounded groups of gazelles. Only skeletons, horns, hooves, and patches of hide remained; even the skulls had been picked clean. “There’s been more than one attack here,” Batu announced. “And plenty of wolves. By the amount of droppings, I’d say that even old and lame wolves participated in these hunts.”
“Where do you think they are now?” Bao asked.
“My guess is they followed the gazelles into the mountains, or maybe they’re off hunting marmots. Or they could have followed gazelles up to the border. At this time of year, the young gazelles run as fast as the adults, which means the wolves have trouble catching them. That’s why they picked the bones clean.”
“Now you see the positive side of wolves,” Batu said to Bao. “If not for them, this virgin land would have been destroyed by gazelles, not just by grazing, but by what they left behind. When our sheep come out here, if they smell gazelle urine, they won’t eat the grass, not a bite. This is a perfect spot. Even the horses want to stay. Let’s find a spot to pitch our tents so the horses and dogs can rest. We’ll go into the mountains tomorrow.”
Bao gave the order to cross the river, so Batu chose a spot where the water was shallow and the riverbed sandy. Then, after he and some of the hunters had fashioned ramps on both banks with their hoes, he led one of the wagons across the river. Meanwhile, the other hunters set up a tent on the eastern slope. Batu told them to erect a stove and make some tea, then said to Bao, “I’ll go check out the ravine to the south. I might find an injured gazelle. People haven’t come all the way out here just to eat the dried meat we brought along.”