Chapter 206 The Mountain Donkey's Path

"Damn, so it turns out you were the one who brought the wolf back?"

"Wow, my goodness, you're really something! You killed a leopard with a knife, and this time you brought back a wolf with your bare hands!"

The guys were stunned when they heard this; this guy had captured a wolf alive!

"Alright, enough nonsense. Do you want to come up the mountain with me and set a trap?"

Let's hurry back these next few days, because we won't have time to go up the mountain to work in a few days."

Sheng Xiping didn't want to get into that conversation, so he immediately changed the subject and asked them.

"Of course we're going! How could we miss out on such a great opportunity?" everyone shouted in unison.

According to the old customs, no labor production should be carried out during the first month of the lunar calendar, especially before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Chinese New Year is a time for eating, drinking, and having fun. If we start working on the first few days of the new year, wouldn't we be busy all year round?

However, many old customs have changed over the years. A few years ago, the agricultural cooperative even came up with a tradition of "opening the door to good fortune on the first day of the Lunar New Year," where members would go out to collect manure with earthen baskets on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Workers are the same; they only get a few days off during the Lunar New Year. They don't work on the third day of the Lunar New Year, but they have to go back to work on the fifth.

The forest farm is considered to be starting work late. Frontline workers have to go up the mountain to cut timber on the eighth day of the new year, and others have to go back to work around the tenth day. So we won't talk about that now.

Sheng Xiping and his group have to go up the mountain on the eighth day of the lunar new year. They only have a few days to rest, so what else can they do but go up the mountain?

Besides, these young people can't stay idle. They can't just drink and play cards all day, can they? They might as well go up the mountain.

So when Sheng Xiping said they were going into the mountains, the others cheered.

"Xiping, just tell me, where are we going? What are we fighting this time?"

They were all so excited, as if they had already caught their prey as soon as they entered the mountains.

"How would I know what to fight? We're just going into the mountains to take a look."

"Let's set up a few traps today, and also scout out the area. Whatever we encounter, we'll just attack it."

Sheng Xiping was amused by these guys. The animals in the mountains aren't domesticated. You can't just attack whatever you want, can you? They just attack whatever they encounter, right?

Everyone agreed, so they immediately went home to pack their things.

You never know what you might encounter when you go up the mountain, so you need to bring everything you need.

Needless to say, we need to bring things like ropes, wire, and steel wire. We also need dry food, medicine, roe deer hide rugs, tools for starting fires, lighting, boiling water, and cooking. It's better to bring things that we don't need than to find out we don't have them when we need them.

Ever since the last time the jackals and leopards caused trouble at the forest farm, and Sheng Xiping took his buddies hunting, Wang Jiachuan specially granted Sheng Xiping and his friends two guns.

In other words, besides the No. 16 gun that Sheng Xiping originally had, they now have two semi-automatic guns.

This is different from before when they borrowed them from the security department and had to return them after use. As long as there are no major inspections from higher-ups, the right to use these two guns belongs to Sheng Xiping and his team.

Six men with three guns. Wang Jianshe and Chen Weiguo have made great progress in their marksmanship during this time. And Sheng Xiping can handle most wild animals.

Sheng Xiping, Wang Jianshe, and Chen Weiguo carried guns and a small amount of supplies, while Gao Haining, Zhang Zhijun, and Pan Fusheng carried more supplies.

The group followed the large ridge at the east end, exiting the forest farm and heading straight for the simple forest road.

Given that their previous attempt to trap the wild boar backfired when Li Dazhuang stole it, this time, Sheng Xiping and his group decided to go further afield.

Heading north from Qianchuan Forest Farm, there is a military road that was built a few years ago from the Erdaobaihe area.

However, the road was not completed at the time, and construction was stopped due to some issues. Later, no one took care of it, and it was basically just a simple forest road.

Sheng Xiping and the others walked north along this simple forest road for more than ten miles before turning east into the forest.

This area is relatively close to the nature reserve, so not many people usually come here. There are many animal footprints in the forest and on the snow.

Setting traps in the snow is different from doing it in summer.

In addition to determining what animals passed by and when they passed by based on the animal footprints on the ground, the depth of the snow and the depth of the hoofprints are also used to estimate the location under the snare.

If it's too high or too low, you won't be able to catch the animal.

As they walked, Sheng Xiping explained these rules to everyone, and when they found a suitable place to set a trap, he would set a few traps.

Because there was no fixed target, they just followed whatever hoofprints they came across and set traps wherever it was suitable.

We traveled quite a distance, crossing mountains and forests.

"Xiping, look! What kind of creature has these footprints?"

As they passed a small hill covered with weeds and withered branches, Wang Jianshe pointed to a few rows of footprints under the grass and asked Sheng Xiping.

The key point is that he had never seen this footprint before and did not recognize it.

Sheng Xiping was elsewhere, but upon hearing Wang Jianshe's words, he hurried over and looked down to examine the scene closely.

Rows of neatly patterned footprints stretched into the distance on the snow, passing through small hills and heading straight towards the mountainside ahead.

The hoofprints looked a bit like cow hooves, but were several sizes smaller. "Oh, this is the mountain donkey trail."

"Mountain donkey" is a local dialect term, which actually refers to a musk deer.

The musk deer in the Changbai Mountain area are the original musk deer, also known as the musk deer.

Musk deer mostly inhabit cliffs and rocky mountain environments in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, coniferous and deciduous forests, mixed coniferous forests, and sparse forest and shrubland areas.

In summer, musk deer are mostly active on steep cliffs near rocky cliffs and river valleys, while in winter they prefer to inhabit sheltered, sunny places.

Generally speaking, musk deer are more active at dawn and dusk.

The musk deer is a mountain animal that can move nimbly and quickly on steep cliffs. It often walks on fallen logs in dense forests and has the habit of climbing slanted trees. It is particularly good at jumping.

The musk deer has relatively fixed activity and foraging routes leading to its habitat, and its activity range is also relatively fixed. It is very attached to its habitat.

Wang Jianshe and his group were, after all, people from the forest area. Besides, they had been with Sheng Xiping for so long, how could they not understand at all?

Upon hearing that it was a mountain donkey, the group's eyes widened.

"Xiping, this thing produces musk, right? Musk is very valuable."

Didn't you say that mountain donkey trails are hard to find? We're lucky this time, we've come across one. Let's quickly figure out a way to set a trap!"

"Setting traps or snares won't do any good."

"This thing is timid and suspicious by nature. Once it gets caught or trapped, the first thing it does is bite its own sachet to pieces." Sheng Xiping shook his head.

When hunting musk deer, you usually kill them with one shot; otherwise, the musk deer will bite the sachet to pieces, so snares or traps are not very useful.

Hearing Sheng Xiping say this, everyone was a little discouraged, as they had thought they could catch a few musk deer to sell for money.

You should know that the musk deer's sachet is no cheaper than bear bile; you can sell one for a lot of money.

"Setting traps won't work, but we can fight." Sheng Xiping laughed when he saw his brothers looking dejected.

Capturing them alive is difficult, but shooting them isn't entirely out of the question.