Chapter 46: Perception
Editor: Atlas Studios
Whether it was Liu Xuan’s good luck or Mu Yangling’s good fortune, everything went very smoothly after that. They took down several rabbit nests in a row.
The grass under the jujube tree was lush, old, and difficult to chew. However, beyond this area, there would be a small hill. There was a small pond there that would not dry up as long as it was not a dry season. The grass inside was tender, so many rabbits liked to dig holes in or near the jujube forest for the convenience of eating the tender grass and drinking water.
However, because every year, the villagers would come here to pick wild jujubes, the Mu father and daughter consciously bypassed this area and left these rabbits for them to hunt when they came to pick wild jujubes. When the time came, each family would be able to split some. Although each family would only get a little, the rabbits in autumn were fat and it was better than nothing.
It was Mu Yangling’s first time bringing them here today, so she brought them here to familiarize themselves with the place. However, they would have to go elsewhere tomorrow, to the places where Mu Yangling often hunted. It was much more dangerous there, but there were also more prey.
When Mu Yangling and Liu Xuan returned with half a bag of rabbits, the three of them had also finished setting up the trap and were sitting on the ground to rest. Each of them was nibbling on two jujubes.
“Let’s go. I’ll bring you to collect prey.” Mu Yangling’s trap was set in another direction. Seeing that it was about time now, she brought them over and taught them how to differentiate between traps.
When Mu Yangling went over and took out the prey that had fallen into the trap and covered it up, the four Liu brothers were shocked. “We can earn a lot just by relying on the trap.”
Mu Yangling smiled and said, “This is because I’m lucky today. Usually it’s not that many.” Almost one out of three traps would be destroyed, and only one out of four traps contained prey.
Mu Yangling even found a goat in the last trap.
The goat had injured its leg after falling into the trap and was looking up at Mu Yangling and bleating.
Upon taking a closer look, Mu Yangling realized that its stomach was bulging. She jumped down and grabbed its horn with all her might, then touched the goat’s stomach as she said, “Mommy goat is pregnant with baby goat.”
Mu Yangling’s eyes lit up. As Mu Bowen had a weak constitution, she had wanted to buy him a goat for goat milk a long time ago. However, her life in the past had not been good, and her family did not have any spare money. Even though they recently had some money, due to various happenings, this plan to get a goat had been delayed. She had not expected to catch a pregnant goat now.
Mu Yangling jumped into the trap and said to her four uncles, “Help me carry the other things. I’ll carry the goat out.”
Liu Ting said, “It’s better for me to carry the goat out with your second uncle. What if you get kicked by the goat?”
Unlike domestic goats, wild goats were incredibly fierce.
Mu Yangling said confidently, “It won’t dare to kick me.”
If two people carried it, it would more or less cause harm to the goat. Thus, it was best if she carried it. Anyway, she didn’t find it heavy at all.
Mu Yangling handed the things to them before jumping down. She nimbly grabbed the goat’s front leg, circled around its back, and picked it up.
The goat struggled violently for a while before it realized that not only could it not break free, but struggling would also aggravate its wound. In addition, Mu Yangling kept stroking its chin, so the goat gradually quietened down. It obediently let Mu Yangling carry it out of the trap and out of the forest.
There were no bull pens or pig pens in the Mu Residence, only a storeroom. However, it was obvious that a goat could not be raised there. Mu Yangling did not mind and tied it to a large rock with a rope.
Next, it was time to divide the prey.
Mu Yangling took out the prey that had fallen into her trap and placed it aside. The rest were the rabbits from the rabbit’s nest that she had smoked with her four uncles.
Mu Yangling said, “Uncles, the four of you can have these rabbits. If you want to bring them to town to sell, you should go early. You can raise some of the younger rabbits at home first and let my cousins feed them with grass. They’ll definitely be able to fetch a decent price in a few months.”
Liu Ting pondered and said, “Leave two at home and sell the rest. We’ve never raised rabbits before. What if they die? If the others can’t be sold, we’ll bring them back and raise them first if they’re still alive. If they die, we’ll smoke them into jerky and keep them for winter.”
The other three had no objections.
Mu Yangling stood up and said, “Then jump out. I’m also preparing to go to town. Eldest Uncle, that nest of white rabbits was gorgeous. It won’t sell for much in town, but it’s different in the county. Why don’t you let my father bring it to the county?”
Liu Ting said with a smile, “You were the one who smoked the rabbit’s nest. We merely benefited from your hard work. If not for the fact that you didn’t want it, we would have planned to give you half of all the rabbits. Since this thing is going to be brought to the county, it’s yours. When it gets sold later, ask your father to buy you candy.”
Liu Xuan found the nest of rabbits from the sack and handed it to Mu Yangling. With a straight face, he said, “If you refuse, we won’t dare to follow you into the mountains in the future.”
Mu Yangling thought for a moment before taking it and carefully keeping the rabbits in the cage.
Liu Ting and the other three discussed for a while and finally decided that Liu Ting and Liu Xuan would go to town while Liu Zhuang and Liu Yuan would stay at home.
Mu Shi quickly came out of the mountains, too. He carried a wild boar on his shoulder and a fiery red little fox in his hand.
Seeing that there was sweat on his forehead, Mu Yangling quickly went forward to catch the wild boar. She looked at the fox in surprise. “Father, this color is stunning. It’s even alive!”
Nodding, Mu Shi threw the little fox into the cage. “I picked it up in the mountains. The big fox is probably dead.” Seeing that his four cousins were all here, Mu Shi said, “Did you guys have a bountiful trip today?”
Liu Ting nodded and smiled. “Not bad. It’s all thanks to Ah Ling leading us.”
A smile appeared on Mu Shi’s face as he said proudly, “Ah Ling has a natural talent in this aspect. She’s even stronger than me. If you want to go to town, hurry up and go early. Ah Ling won’t need as much time since she’s only going to the eatery and restaurant.”
This meant that she was not going to travel with them.
Liu Ting hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. After informing them, he carried his things and bade farewell to the Mu father and daughter.
Sensing that something was wrong, Mu Yangling asked, “Father, what’s wrong?”
Mu Shi wiped his sweat and said worriedly, “Something happened in the mountains. There are fallen trees and signs of a fight in the area where I often go. I took a closer look and saw that it was actually a black bear and a female tiger.”
Mu Yangling’s eyes widened. “Why did they come out?”
Although Chef Mountain was dangerous, because it was enormous and the entire mountain range was endless, and this place was at the very end, there were usually very few ferocious beasts like this.
They usually had to be careful of wild boars, wolves, and other wild beasts. No matter how powerful Mu Yangling and Mu Shi were, they were no match for a tiger or a black bear.
That was too terrifying. No need for further explanation.
Mu Shi was also very frustrated. “I don’t know why they’re here, but I keep feeling that things aren’t going well this year.”
After all, Mu Shi had only hunted for more than ten years, so he did not have much experience. In his memory, he did not recall anything similar, but his hunter’s intuition told him that this matter was highly important and dangerous.
Seeing that his daughter was also worried, Mu Shi suppressed his anxiety and stroked her head. “Don’t worry, that black bear won’t run outside. At most, it’ll wander around in the deep forest.”
“Father, don’t go so deep into the mountain in the future. Anyway, our family has enough money for the winter. Let’s just take it slow.”
Mu Shi hesitated. “Your mother is going to give birth in winter. We have to prepare more money at home.”
“No amount of money is as important as our lives. Father, we can still earn money outside. Although it’s a little less, it’s enough for our family to live on.”
Having heard the entire conversation in the room, Shu Wanniang held her stomach and came out. She looked at Mu Shi with tears in her eyes. “If something happens to you, who else can the children and I rely on?”
Mu Shi’s heart instantly ached. He quickly went forward to hug his wife and promised, “Don’t worry, I won’t go too far tomorrow. I’ll walk with our daughter, alright?”