Chapter 355 Yellow-haired Cat
The last time they came to harvest ramie, they discovered that there were not many signs of biological activities near the pine forest, which they had thought was dangerous, so they bravely entered the pine forest to check the situation there.
The integrity of the pine forest is definitely the best preserved among the woods near the meadow. They are extremely cold-resistant and seem to be unaffected after a whole year of polar night and extreme cold. Their integrity is almost exactly the same as before winter.
But apart from the degree of completeness, other parts are a little unrecognizable.
The ground was covered with brown pine needles, forming a thick pile. Stepping on them felt like stepping on a quilt weighing more than ten pounds.
This would have been nothing, but as they were walking, Zhao Yeqing felt something was wrong with the ground beneath his feet. He gently kicked away the pine needles under his feet and discovered a large clump of mushrooms hidden underneath.
"Matsutake...Matsutake?"
The two men hurriedly squatted down and pushed away the pine needles under their feet, revealing a large clump of matsutake mushrooms underneath.
Sure enough, some of them had already rotted. It wasn't because Zhao Yeqing stepped on them, but because this kind of plant was more suitable for living in pine forests with fewer fallen leaves. The fallen leaves in this area were too many and too thick, and there was a lot of rainfall, so they would rot if they were kept inside.
Zhao Yeqing's face was full of heartache, and he carefully put all the intact matsutake mushrooms into the basket around his waist.
Mu Xi discovered another cluster of broom mushrooms not far away. Their shapes were very similar to corals, and there were so many of them that they looked like they were artificially cultivated.
The two of them now realized that they had never paid attention before. The number of mushrooms in the forest was really scary. A large part of them had already been eaten by rabbits, otherwise there would probably be even more.
As Zhao Yeqing was searching, he saw a huge slug on a very large tiger's paw mushroom, wriggling on it and eating the mushroom in a sticky way.
The slug had grown to be almost the size of a banana, and Zhao Yeqing got goosebumps at just one look at it.
She can accept snails with shells but not slugs without shells.
Xiao Hei also came with them today. When he saw a huge slug he had never seen before, he was curious and wanted to smell it, but Zhao Yeqing grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him back.
"No, you can't eat this! Don't lick me after you eat this!"
Mu Xi walked closer, squatted down and observed the oversized slug, and said with a smile: "If we take this back to feed the ducks, one slug is enough for ten ducks to eat."
Slugs are pests, so Mu Xi did what he said and really killed it. He wrapped it in leaves and put it in a basket to take home.
Zhao Yeqing quickly moved all the mushrooms in his frame to his own frame, "Don't, I can't eat them if you put them together."
The two walked to the edge of the pine forest, wanting to see how the palm trees outside the pine forest were growing. Maybe they could even find some palm fruits to roast and eat.
As soon as we walked out of the pine forest, we saw a fallen rotten tree covered with hairy cup fungi at the edge of the forest.
This is a kind of fungus that grows in tropical rainforests. It is only 2~3cm in size, orange and red in color, and as small as a small cup. As the name suggests, there are many long white hairs on the edges.
Seeing these mushrooms further confirmed their analysis of the current forest type. It is estimated that it will really become a tropical rainforest.
Continuing walking down, I saw the palm trees that I had seen before were full of vitality.
It seems that the severe cold last year dealt them a big blow. The palm trees that had grown straight before seemed to have been broken. Now they grow crookedly, and some branches and leaves are growing again from the broken ends.
However, thanks to this year's climate, it seems to be competing with a poplar tree next to it that is quite old.
It is now the season for palm fruits. The orange-yellow palm fruits have grown plump and round, and heavy bunches of them hang on the palm trees.
The two of them were definitely not polite. Mu Xi climbed up the tree in two moves and started picking fruits. At Zhao Yeqing's strong request, the body of the killed slug was first placed on the ground under the palm tree.
After filling the basket with palm fruits, he put several leaves on top and then placed the slug's body on the top of the basket.
Today's harvest was quite rich. The two of them had been wandering in the woods for such a long time, but apart from a few snakes, they didn't encounter any animals at all.
As we were packing up to go back home, Xiao Hei suddenly started barking wildly at the bushes!
The two men subconsciously took out the weapons behind them and became alert as quickly as possible.
Zhao Yeqing didn't see what was in the bushes. Thanks to the climate, the plants in this forest grew tall, big and dense. Some ferns climbing up the trees were taller than both of them.
But Mu Xi was nearly 20cm taller than Zhao Yeqing. He looked in the direction where Xiao Hei was sleeping and saw the conspicuous yellow fur among the green grass.
There are distinct black stripes on the yellow fur.
Mu Xi's breathing became rapid. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "It's a tiger."
Now it was Zhao Yeqing's turn to be a little confused.
tiger?
Where do the tigers near Meishan come from now? Didn’t they become extinct long ago?
Is it possible that this species can be reborn due to climate change?
The sudden change made Zhao Yeqing's mind race and his hands began to tremble.
A tiger with an adequate source of food is unlikely to actively attack humans, especially when it is outnumbered. It sees an energetic, barking dog and two armed humans in front of it.
His eyes were drooping and he stared at her for a long while before he slowly stepped back.
Mu Xi watched the tiger move backwards, and they also slowly moved backwards until they were out of each other's sight, then they turned around and hurried back home.
The two of them didn't look back or rest along the way, and only felt relieved when they ran home.
Mu Xi's face was not looking good: "I hope the tiger will not follow our scent to find us. If that happens, the sheep that go out will be in danger."
Zhao Yeqing poured a glass of water for both of them. Only then did she regain her senses and figure out why a tiger appeared in the woods.
There should be many reasons for its appearance. First, like most animals, it moved back because humans left the area.
The second reason is climate change. We don’t know whether this tiger came from the southwest or from the neighboring Southeast Asian country. No matter which species it is, it is definitely related to the climate.
The third possibility is that there are so many herbivores here and no large beasts, at least the two of them didn't find any.
Fourth, it is because the ecology has improved, just like those insects and butterflies that have never appeared on the meadow are now appearing in groups.
Zhao Yeqing drank up the ice water in the cup: "No wonder there are no animals in the forest, they don't dare to have any."
Mu Xi frowned and looked a little absent-minded. He didn't know why he always had a feeling.
This tiger is just the beginning.
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