He said, "During the snowy season, they gave birth to a litter of rabbits. Now, they've grown up and are giving birth again. The number of pups in a litter varies, sometimes there are six or seven, sometimes there are twelve or thirteen. And from the time they grow up and give birth, they can give birth to another litter every forty or fifty days. And then they can keep giving birth."
At this point, he scratched his head and said distressedly, "From those rabbits I caught alive during the snowy season to the litter they gave birth to, now there are so many of them I can't even count them all."
Qiao Yu shook his head and said, "Okay, I'll go count."
As they were talking, they walked to the rabbit house and looked inside.
This location was initially chosen for rabbit farming because it contained a large, natural cave, ideal for raising rabbits. However, Qiao Yu anticipated that the rabbit population would grow beyond the cave's capacity, so he built several large houses near the cave. He paved the floor with stone, then laid a stone foundation, then built a one-meter-high stone wall. Mud bricks were then added to the top, with ventilation holes near the roof.
She counted the rabbits in several houses and caves and found that there were about four hundred of them.
She was shocked: "So many?
This thing is incredibly fertile. Remember, when we brought the rabbits from the Valley Tribe, there were only about thirty of them. Their reproduction rate is truly terrifying. No wonder Mang is complaining that he can't afford to keep them.
Mang nodded. "The most terrifying thing is that they keep reproducing. If the grass they're fed isn't enough, they'll start gnawing on the fences. If they weren't staying in caves with rock walls and houses with stone floors and walls, they'd definitely chew through the whole house."
Thinking of the terrifying group of rabbits, Mang was still frightened.
"So we have to calculate its growth rate, how many we can kill in a day, how many we can keep, and then maintain a certain number." Qiao Yu said this and asked Mang, "How many do you think you can raise without pressure?"
Mang thought for a moment, then pointed to the house and said, "Half of this room."
The house was quite large and was divided into four breeding areas by low walls. There were about a hundred rabbits in all four areas.
Half is fifty.
"Alright. Kill thirty rabbits a day for now, and reduce that to twenty after eight days to lighten your load. Pick out the pregnant rabbits. Once the number is almost there, we can slaughter them at a steady rate. But don't kill any more rabbits until autumn. Slowly build up the population."
"Now that the tribe has reduced the number of hunters, we don't have much dried meat stored. During the snowy season, we rely on the livestock on the farm, along with yams and chestnuts, to survive the winter."
Mang suddenly felt the burden on his shoulders become heavier.
He asked worriedly, "Is there enough food?"
There are more than four hundred people.
Now the people in the tribe have enough food and clothing, and their homes are much better than before. With their health improving, women will soon become pregnant. By next year, we expect many babies to be born.
Last year, the valley tribes used charcoal for winter warmth. It's said that the kangs they sleep on now can be kept very warm by burning charcoal during the snowy season. With enough food to eat, the tribesmen won't die of cold, starvation, or disease. The population will increase, not decrease.
The population is growing, and during the snowy season, people rely on livestock on the farms, sweet potatoes, and chestnuts to survive the winter, so the livestock on the farms cannot afford to have any problems.
"Don't worry, I'll calculate the food supply. In the fall, I won't limit the number of people going hunting. If there's no prey nearby, I'll take everyone farther away. I'll always store food for the winter." Qiao Yu smiled. "Besides, don't forget there are fish in the river."
"Ah, it's true." Mang's pressure suddenly eased a lot.
Because they hadn't eaten all the prey they'd hunted recently, the women in the tribe had stopped fishing in the river. Mang's mind was preoccupied with the livestock on the farm, and he'd forgotten that he could still eat fish in the winter.
"It's good that you know it in your mind." Mang said.
Qiao Yu nodded and asked, "Where's the feces from the pig and sheep pens that are cleaned out every day? Is it dumped in the place I designated?"
"Yes." Mang said.
When they first moved here, Qiao Yu asked Mang to pile all the animal feces at the foot of the cliff where the cabin was originally built. There was a protruding cliff face there that could block the rain and prevent the fertilizer from being washed away by the spring rain.
"A good crop depends on fertilizer", the crops planted by Qiao Yu also need to use these fertilizers as topdressing.
After solving the problem at the farm, Qiao Yu asked with concern, "Is there any problem with the collection team over there?"
Mang shook his head: "I didn't hear her say there was any problem."
"Okay, I'll go look somewhere else." Qiao Yu said, waved to Mang, and went to the planting area.
The area near the farmland was low, so she had deliberately left it clear of the yams. Now that she knew millet was best suited to growing in water, she planned to have a patch of land plowed over the next couple of days and plant the seedlings.
The raw potatoes that were planted earlier should also be fertilized.
She also planned to have someone clear a vegetable plot and plant some tasty wild vegetables. In the fall, they would harvest some seeds and plant them directly in the spring, eliminating the need to traverse the mountains and plains to dig up wild vegetables.
The collection team will be changed into the planting team in due time.
After checking the growth of the yams, the chestnuts and other saplings, Qiao Yu walked around the tribe again before returning to the residential area.
"Father." Qiao Yu found Shan and told him about Zuo and Daxue, as well as some of the bullying he learned from Hui. He asked, "Have you heard about these things?"
Shan shook his head solemnly.
He was not mobile, so he didn't join in the morning training. During the day, the hunting teams went out hunting, and they were gone all day. In the evening, they returned, had dinner, and rested, never seeing Shan. As Qiao Yu's father, Shan would not say anything if he wandered around the living quarters of the teams below.
He really doesn't know these things.
"What do you think about this matter?" Qiao Yu asked again.
Everyone has their own selfish motives, and the Man and Liushui will unconsciously protect those team leaders. The people below them also have their own interests involved.
Only Shan hoped that the tribe would develop steadily, the people would live and work in peace and contentment, and their strength would gradually grow. His heart was exactly the same as hers.
"First, call them in and give them a lecture. Have them correct their mistakes and apologize to the people they bullied. Zuo, who committed the most offense, will be punished by having only half of the meat he gets for the next fifteen days. The other half must be compensated to Daxue, who was bullied by them. They must also promise not to accept gifts from others in the future. If they can correct their mistakes, they can continue to be team leaders. If not, their positions will be removed."
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