With Qi Shulin's words, Secretary Qi knew that Qi Shulin had agreed to go and take a look.
From Qi Jianguo, Qi Shuli, the brigade leader, and others, it became clear that someone in the village wanted to bring him down. Secretary Qi couldn't just sit idly by; he needed more achievements to prove his importance to the village and to benefit the villagers. That way, even if those people schemed behind his back and incited other villagers, they would think twice about whether it was worth it!
Secretary Qi nodded and said, "Let's go up and take a look. If it's really as you say, we can make some money before the New Year and share it with everyone so we can have a good New Year." Then, looking at Zuo Li and Xiang Rong, who were dressed in thin clothes, he added, "Since you told me about this, you meant to hand it over, and I know that. Keep some of the rabbit meat here, and use the rabbit skins to make fur coats. After we buy the rabbit meat and other things, I'll allocate some money and cloth coupons to make clothes for you, so you can have winter clothes as soon as possible."
The principle of seeking fairness and mutual benefit is a perfect opportunity for Qijia Village.
They could eat their fill in Qijia Village; what they lacked now was cloth. Since Secretary Qi had made so many promises, they readily agreed.
In the afternoon, when we went up the mountain, there were seven people in total, including Secretary Qi, Qi Shulin, and the five people who went up.
The traps in the morning were on the edge of the dense forest, but the remaining traps were inside the dense forest.
Qi Shulin's eyes scanned the surroundings constantly, looking here and there, visually inspecting the area. He did see some traces of small animals, but no signs of large predators. After about two hours of investigation, venturing deep into the dense forest, several miles in, he still hadn't found any trace of large predators.
Secretary Qi and Qi Shulin inquired about the trail while checking the remaining traps set by Zuo Li and Xiang Rong.
He Tiantian peeked into the fifth trap first. Luckily, this time there were quite a few pheasants and two rabbits inside.
He Tiantian breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worried that the Snake King had made a mistake.
Although there weren't many, everyone was happy as long as the traps weren't empty.
The sixth trap contained three wild goats and several rabbits.
When they reached the seventh trap, the one closest to the inside, they were immediately surprised to find a wild boar inside as well.
However, the wild boar wasn't injured in the fall, so it must have been inside for a long time, lying there listlessly.
"There's... so much, we can't carry it all," Zuo Li said. "Secretary Qi, what do you think we should do?"
Secretary Qi was overjoyed, knowing that even if it wasn't this much every day, he could still make a good profit.
Furthermore, if there are truly no large predators here, only animals like wild boars, goats, deer, rabbits, and pheasants, then they can dig many traps in the dense forest, thus reaping even more prey.
"Shulin, you have experience, are there really no bears, tigers, or other large predators here?" Secretary Qi asked earnestly, suppressing his excitement.
Qi Shulin nodded: "At least in this vast area we've traversed, there haven't been any large wild beasts. It's getting late today, so we'll leave these two wild boars here for now and come back to deal with them tomorrow. Let's take the stuff out of those two traps first and head back quickly. It gets especially cold on the mountain at night; if we don't leave soon, we'll freeze to death."
After hearing Qi Shulin's words, everyone turned around to look at the trap and took out the prey inside.
There weren't many things, but it was enough to make everyone happy.
As for Qi Shulin, he kept observing along the way. He made two trips back and forth, but found no trace of any large, ferocious beasts.
On the way, Qi Shulin believed about 70-80% of what Zuo Li and Xiang Rong had said, and asked, "Comrade Zuo, Comrade Xiang, are you also hunters?"
“No, we’re not hunters. We used to be soldiers, responsible for reconnaissance,” Zuo Li replied. “That’s why we make accurate judgments based on the surrounding traces.”
Qi Shulin was taken aback. It turned out that the person was even more capable than him! A scout with excellent eyesight. No wonder he was so bold. It turned out that the person had already thoroughly investigated the surrounding area.
Although he was curious as to why they had been sent down to Qijia Village, it did not diminish Qi Shuli's respect for them.
"Impressive, impressive," Qi Shulin said. "Secretary, tomorrow we'll bring our tools and get the villagers to carry those two wild boars down. Comrade Zuo, Comrade Xiang, and I will continue to expand the search area. If there are really no large predators, we'll dig more traps and catch more prey."
Secretary Qi nodded and smiled, "Alright, be sure to investigate carefully. These prey can be sold for money, but human lives are more important."
After the group descended the mountain, it was already dark. He Tiantian hurried home and told Grandma Qi about what had happened that day.
When Grandma Qi heard that He Tiantian had gone to the dense forest, she was shocked and said, "You mustn't go. Whatever it is, those men will take care of it. You've already made quite a name for yourself by catching those wild boars a while ago. Making a name for yourself again isn't a good thing. Tiantian, you must remember, the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. You stay home obediently tomorrow and don't go anywhere."
Oh my, Grandma Qi is indeed a daughter of a landlord; she has studied the Four Books and Five Classics, and her way of speaking is truly different.
Indeed, true wisdom lies in understanding the ways of the world!
In the entire village, only Grandma Qi San is educated.
"Okay, I'm not going. It's too cold up in the mountains," He Tiantian said. "I'll stay home and keep you company. You can tell me about the past."
He Tiantian really didn't want to get involved. After all, she was a delicate girl, and if she stood out too much, it would not only arouse jealousy but also easily cause trouble. She should focus her energy on studying and reviewing her lessons so that she could get into her dream university in the future. At night, He Tiantian would go out to the cave in the back mountain to hunt, cleaning rabbits and pheasants, waiting for an opportunity to sell them to supplement her family's income.
That night, as He Tiantian rested, the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed, so she summoned... no... according to the Snake King, that meant she was requesting an audience...
"Snake King, there used to be bears, wild buffalo, tigers and other wild animals in the back mountain. Why are they gone now?" He Tiantian asked. If that dense forest was not suitable for animals to live in, why could wild rabbits, pheasants and wild boars live there, and in such large numbers?
The Snake King, still half-asleep and shaking his head, slowly said, "It's actually quite simple. The higher the prey's level, the more sensitive it is to danger. Those large animals at the top of the food chain, sensing danger, leave this place and venture deeper into the dense forest, or wander off to other places." (To be continued.)
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