Chapter 189 Hurry Up
After indulging in a hearty meal, it's time to relax and lie down again.
While warming himself by the fire with Tie Dan'er, who was also full, he suddenly remembered the pheasant feathers in the kitchen.
The feathers were completely dry. I used an old toothbrush to brush away the small amount of blood at the base of the feathers and brought them inside.
Pick out the longest and best-looking one and place it on your desk; you can use it as a bookmark later.
The remaining feathers were grouped into sets of a few and tightly twisted onto wire with pliers.
Before I could finish, Tiedan started causing trouble. First, it pawed at me with its little paws, and then it picked up a feather and ran away.
It hid the feather under the sofa and then came back to fetch the second one.
Treat all animals equally in the family, especially when it comes to training cats and dogs.
With a gentle tap on Tie Dan's head, Tie Dan was so frightened that he squinted his eyes and lay motionless on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Seeing that it had calmed down, I continued.
As a result, when the little guy saw that I had let my guard down, it secretly moved forward little by little until its little paws touched the feathers, then quickly hooked them, picked them up with its mouth, and ran away.
Looking at its playful and adorable appearance, it's impossible to get angry at it.
Amidst Tie Dan'er's chaotic antics, I managed to make six small badminton shuttlecocks.
"Iron Egg!"
I called out to Tiedan, and it reflexively turned to look at me. I threw one of the badminton shuttlecocks at it, and Tiedan immediately jumped up and caught it with its paw.
Then, carrying the little ball in its mouth, it climbed to the innermost part of the heated brick bed and started playing with it, its eyes sparkling with excitement. It must have been extremely happy.
Xiao Gua thought I was secretly giving Tie Dan special treatment, so he clung to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and refused to get down.
I could only throw a small feather ball on the ground, and the dogs liked it very much, constantly crowding around and fighting over it. Before long, the ground was covered with pheasant feathers.
He scolded her verbally, but then quickly picked up a broom and swept the floor clean.
To save electricity, I've been going to bed earlier lately, basically falling asleep as soon as it gets dark.
When I woke up, it was just getting light. The kang (heated brick bed) was still warm. I quickly put on my cotton-padded clothes and went outside to get firewood to heat the kang.
I've basically adapted to living in extreme cold now. Even if I've just woken up in the morning and go out to get firewood wearing thick clothes, I don't feel as freezing as before.
Millet porridge was cooking in the bottom of an iron pot, and a small dish of cured meat was steaming on top. By the time the porridge had thickened, the cured meat was also ready.
A bowl of hot millet porridge with a small dish of cured meat and some pickled vegetables is enough to make you eat two big bowls in one go.
There was still a lot of rice porridge left in the pot. Some of it was poured into the dog bowl, mixed with some cured meat, and the dogs wagged their tails and ate happily.
Another portion of the rice porridge was put into a thermos, and another thermos of hot water was put into the hiking backpack. While packing up, I continued to take a few dogs up the mountain to search for supplies.
Although it wasn't their first outing since the extreme cold, the dogs were still exceptionally excited, running excitedly across the snow in matching down jackets.
There's no wind today, and if you ignore the extremely low temperature, it's actually a really nice day.
Nature was extremely quiet. Apart from the footsteps of me and a few dogs, there was almost no other sound, as if we were the only few people left in the world.
As usual, I went to the poplar grove and rummaged around looking for some dried mushrooms.
Seeing the many pine cones hidden under the snow, I decided to bring a small cart next time and fill a sack with pine cones to take home and burn.
After searching for pine cones for a while, it was still early, and we didn't want to go back so soon, so we took the dogs and headed south up the mountain.
There's no need to worry about getting lost; the only footprints on the snow are mine and a few of my dogs'. You can always follow the footprints back the way you came.
Today's luck is terrible. Forget about finding a frozen rabbit or pheasant, there are very few footprints to be seen.
However, seeing that the dogs were in great shape, I was happy to accompany them for a walk and get some exercise.
If you really don't find much firewood, chop more when you're almost home.
While pondering these thoughts, he walked slowly and deliberately up the mountain to the south.
I was getting a little tired, so I called the dogs to stop, took out my thermos from my backpack, and poured myself a cup of warm water.
The water in the thermos lid immediately rose into a cloud of white mist when it encountered the extremely low outdoor temperature.
Pulling down the cotton mask from my mouth, blowing on it lightly to take a few sips, it felt incredibly refreshing in this frigid temperature.
After packing up my thermos and getting ready to continue my journey, several dogs stood still with their ears perked up, seemingly listening intently to something.
Seeing their posture, I became serious and guessed that there were rabbits or pheasants nearby.
I stood still and listened carefully, just like the dogs, and it seemed that I could indeed hear a faint sound.
Before I could even identify what kind of animal it was, Little Melon took the initiative and ran off in one direction.
It seems that Xiaogua will get the credit for catching the prey again today. Thinking this, I quickened my pace and followed in Xiaogua's direction.
Dogs have really sensitive ears. I led Xiao Di and followed the footprints of Xiao Gua, Xiao San, and Xiao Si for a long time before I finally saw a few of the dogs.
I had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I could finally take a break, when I saw a large, dark shadow on the ground.
It must have been a large prey, at least a wild boar or a small deer.
I was overjoyed and, ignoring my panting, walked even faster.
But when they got within 5 meters of their "prey," they were dumbfounded—it was a person.
There were many drag marks on the ground, indicating that someone had crawled over from who-knows-where.
Its small body lay on the snow, covered in dark clothes that didn't look very thick, and its messy hair lay flat on the snow.
They couldn't see his face clearly, nor did they know if he was still alive, but since Xiaogua and the others heard a sound coming from this side, they could at least be sure that he was still alive.
But……
I don't want to meddle in other people's business, and I don't know if this person is good or bad, so I'll just pretend I didn't see it.
I turned and walked away, and Xiao Di followed me knowingly. After walking a few meters, I turned back and beckoned Xiao Gua, Xiao San, and Xiao Si to come quickly, but the dogs seemed to be rooted to the spot and wouldn't move an inch.
I dared not shout loudly, for fear of waking up the person "sleeping" on the ground.
If he wakes up, it would be awkward if I pretended not to see him and walked away.
After standing still and being locked in a stalemate with Xiao Gua and the others for a while, I got a little annoyed and led Xiao Di further and further away.
Seeing that I had walked away, Xiao Gua became a little anxious and quickly ran to my side, rubbing its head against my leg.
I slapped Xiaogua hard on the head: "I can't afford to raise you. It's already a huge struggle to support several of you living fathers. Get out of here, get out of here..."
He turned and walked home without hesitation, but then a faint voice sounded behind him.
"Mom...Mom..."
My body trembled.
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