The Sheng family was very happy when the dogs were brought back. The original doghouse was still there, and the two dogs could simply be tied up.

The forest farm was quite safe; the dogs didn't bark at night, and everyone slept soundly.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Sheng Xiping called for his two younger brothers.

"Second brother, third brother, get up and get dressed. Come up the mountain with me. We're going to take a stroll."

If you set a trap yesterday, you should generally have some catch this morning. If you go too late, it's easy for other predators to steal it.

Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang had been looking forward to going hunting in the mountains for a long time. When they heard that their elder brother was going to take them up the mountain to hunt for traps, the two of them were overjoyed.

The two hurriedly got out of bed, put on their clothes, asked Zhang Shuzhen for leg straps, and tied their trouser legs up tightly.

Sheng Xiping slung a gun over his shoulder, filled his pockets with bullets, and strapped the knife to his leg.

The three brothers, fully armed, went out with two dogs.

Heading west, we bypassed Dajianchang Village and headed north, then climbed a steep ridge and headed straight for the back mountain.

The two dogs hadn't gone hunting in the mountains for several days, and they were so happy to be in the mountains that they sniffed around everywhere.

Erlang Shen even crossed his legs and urinated under a tree.

Sheng Xiping brought the dog into the mountains mainly to prevent accidents while walking it in its leash, not for hunting purposes.

So after entering the mountains, he didn't let go of Erlang Shen and the Black General.

Instead, he had his two younger brothers each lead a dog, while he led the way, heading straight for the areas where the traps had been set the day before.

Dogs are very intelligent; they don't bark unless you let them go, and they just obediently follow you into the mountains.

After crossing two ridges, further down lies a long-dried-up ditch.

The hillsides on both sides of the river are covered with weeds and shrubs, providing perfect hiding places for pheasants and rabbits.

Sheng Xiping discovered rabbit trails on both sides of this ditch yesterday, so he set many traps around the area.

They had just crossed the ridge and hadn't even started walking down into the ditch when Erlang Shen snorted and began barking wildly.

Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping immediately told his two younger brothers to release the dog.

He took off his gun, loaded it, and held it in his hand.

"You two stay behind, don't rush to catch up."

He was worried that there might be danger ahead, and his two younger brothers, being inexperienced, might not be able to react in time if something happened.

Sheng Xiping quickly descended to the bottom of the ravine, found nothing unusual, and then ran towards the opposite hillside.

When he found Erlang Shen, he discovered that Erlang Shen was calling towards the hillside but hadn't rushed up any further.

Xi Ping was puzzled, but he didn't risk going forward.

He had set many traps in this area, so let's go and see if we've caught any rabbits.

However, after going around in circles, the result greatly annoyed Sheng Xiping.

The traps he set yesterday worked; a total of four rabbits and two pheasants were caught in this area.

However, two of the rabbits were reduced to their heads and spines; the rest of their bodies had been completely gnawed away by some unknown animal.

"Brother, how are you?" Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang ran over, panting, and asked.

Sheng Xiping handed the remaining two rabbits to his younger brother and sighed, "The other two were probably eaten by the mountain weasels."

Sheng Xiping just examined it carefully and found footprints on the ground that resemble those of a feline animal.

Judging from its size, it should be a lynx, which is what the locals call a mountain lynx.

"Brother, should we chase it away? Aren't raccoon pelts quite valuable?" Sheng Xi'an asked.

"No need, we're here to test the waters today, let's not cause any trouble."

Besides, the pelts of the wild leopards aren't good quality this season, so they don't fetch a good price. Let's wait until winter when we might have a chance to catch one.

Judging from the paw prints on the ground, the mountain raccoon must have been gone for some time.

This creature is a nocturnal animal, and it usually hunts at night.

Moreover, the paw prints on the ground were quite large, suggesting that the creature was not much smaller than a dog.

Felines of the same size would absolutely crush canines in combat.

Sheng Xiping only had Erlang Shen and the Black General with him, and without complete confidence, he could not act rashly.

These are the only two dogs left, so we should still take care of them. He's counting on Erlang Shen to take care of the puppies.

Besides, Sheng Xiping really can't be careless today, having also taken on two burdens, Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang.

"Let's go, let's stroll a bit further ahead, I've set a trap up there."

Sheng Xiping handed the pheasants and rabbits to his two younger brothers, then carried his gun, led the dog, and cut diagonally across the opposite hillside to the other side.

"What about the remaining covers? Don't we need to remove them?" Sheng Xikang glanced at the pheasant in his hand and asked casually.

He had heard his brother mention before that if you find a rabbit trail or a pheasant trail, you should set as many traps as possible.

I bet you set a lot of traps around here yesterday, but you've only caught these few. What about the rest of the traps? Are you just going to leave them?

"Let's leave it here for now, and come back for another walk tomorrow morning."

Wild animals have a habit of recognizing paths walked by their own kind as safe.

The snare was left there, and who knows, rabbits and pheasants might still pass by. I came over to walk them again tomorrow or the day after, and didn't take it away again.

As they spoke, the three of them crossed the hillside and arrived at another place where they had set a trap.

Sheng Xiping had a good memory. He wandered around the area, checked all the snares, and found a rabbit and two pheasants.

This rabbit is quite large, weighing at least four or five pounds.

Add those two, skin and clean them when you get back, and add some potatoes or mushrooms, and you can make a stew.

Four pheasants, with some vermicelli or something, can yield quite a lot.

With these two dishes, and maybe a little fish or something, the food for tomorrow's roof-raising ceremony will be pretty much ready.

"Brother, shall we head back? I didn't eat breakfast this morning and I'm starving."

To catch the trap, the three brothers got up and went out at dawn. They hadn't eaten breakfast and had walked such a long distance, so they were hungry and anxious.

"Okay, let's hold on a little longer. I've set up a few more hanging traps over there. Let's go take a look."

"If we don't find anything, we'll head back." Sheng Xiping pointed to the second-crop forest ahead.

Sling traps are generally used for hunting larger animals, such as roe deer and deer.

Roe deer and deer like to eat leaves and gnaw on tree bark. Second-fact forests, which have been logged, have many tender branches and large, thick leaves, making them a favorite of roe deer and deer.

Yesterday, Sheng Xiping made a special trip to this area, found the Roe Deer Trail, and set off several slings.

If we get lucky, we might catch a roe deer and that would be perfect.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang perked up. Regardless of whether they were hungry or not, they followed Sheng Xiping and ran towards the second forest ahead.

The three hadn't gone far when Erlang Shen's eyes suddenly changed, and he called out towards the second grove of trees ahead. As he called out, Erlang Shen rushed out.

When the Black General saw Erlang Shen running forward, it also rushed after him.

Need I say more? There must be some prey in those two thickets of woods ahead.

Or perhaps the snare actually caught a roe deer, or something else entirely.

However, what Sheng Xiping was most worried about was that the roe deer he had caught would be stolen by wildcats.

"Let's go, let's go take a look."