The strong wind blew snowflakes across the bare land, the stream was frozen, the tops of the cedar trees rustled in the wind, and the hard snow grains flew in the wind and rolled into whirlpools.
There was a large group of wild horses in the white cedar forest. Most of these wild horses were brown in color. Perhaps because they had never been in contact with humans, they were not afraid at all when Chu Beichen drove the sled towards them.
These horses are tall, with reddish-brown fur as smooth as silk, black brown hair and tails, and a gentle light in their bright big eyes.
Su Nian got off the sled and tentatively approached a wild horse. Chu Beichen was a little worried and called her name behind Su Nian. However, the horse did not run away or panic. Instead, it stretched out its velvety nose, licked Su Nian's hand, and breathed warm air on it.
"Oh, Beichen's wild horse is not afraid of people," Su Nian was surprised and happy. She thought that the wild horse would run wildly when it saw them, and it had to be lassoed before it could be tamed.
Su Nian took out some yellow rock sugar and put it in his hand. The wild horse sniffed it, licked it with its tongue, then rolled the sugar into its mouth and started chewing it with a crunching sound.
After chewing the candy, the wild horse couldn't leave Su Nian. It kept nudging Su Nian with its head, as if it wanted more candy.
"Hahaha, I want to use rock sugar to coax a few horses back," Su Nian said, pouring out more sugar grains from the pocket of his animal skin vest.
Some younger ponies smelled the candy and came over with great interest.
These ponies have shiny coats, manes that sway in the wind, light feet, and gentle eyes.
Su Nian quickly tamed the five ponies with sugar grains. These ponies didn't even care about the herd and kept surrounding Su Nian, asking for sugar grains. Even though Su Nian had distributed all the rock sugar, they still refused to leave.
At this time, the leader horse called out, calling everyone to hit the road, and the herd began to move away. They had to reach the next habitat before the heavy snowstorm arrived.
However, the ponies surrounding Su Nian seemed oblivious. They were like naughty children who, upon finding something delicious and fun, refused to leave no matter what.
Seeing the main group of horses leaving, the five ponies began to panic.
At this time, Chu Beichen had already rolled out a soft straw rope, gently put it around the pony's neck, and led them home.
Contrary to Su Nian and Chu Beichen's expectations, the other villagers in Huodong Village did not want wild horses. They felt that this kind of animal required too much feed in winter.
After bringing back several batches of wild horses, the barn in the yard was no longer big enough.
Fortunately, the cattle shed was built with logs, and one wall could be demolished for expansion. Chu Beichen quickly found enough materials.
He now has a high prestige in the village. When everyone heard that he was going to build a barn, they immediately came to help. In just half a day, he expanded the original barn by another one third.
After the barn was expanded, five wild horses moved in.
"You only have one sled, why do you keep so many horses? You should think about what to feed them this winter. You can't tear down your cabin and use wood to feed them, right?" The bearded village chief found it difficult to understand Chu Beichen's behavior. The local residents were accustomed to using deer to pull sleds because deer save more feed.
Chu Beichen smiled and said, "Wait until next spring, and you'll know the benefits of horses!"
Compared to deer, horses are faster, stronger, and of course require more feed.
With the wild horses, Chu Beichen and Su Nian hurried to ask Walli's grandfather for advice. The old man had been hanging around here all year round and knew where to find wild grass.
With the old man's guidance, Su Nian and Chu Beichen ran for several days and pulled back hay as high as a mountain. There was no way to stack the hay in the feed shed anymore, so Chu Beichen had to pile the hay in the yard in front of the feed shed.
The haystack soon became as high as a house.
Seeing the couple working so hard, the villagers of Huodong Village felt a little ashamed. They now understood why people on the south bank of the Gangwa River were richer. It was because they were hardworking. Villagers like them in Huodong Village would never go out hunting as long as they had food and drink.
As the days went by, blizzards began to rage, sometimes lasting three or four days in a row.
What made Su Nian and Chu Beichen feel relieved was that the several grasslands in the cedar forest area remained green throughout the winter. Even when there were strong winds and snowstorms where they lived, only small snowflakes fell on these grasslands.
This is equivalent to leaving a way out for nearby residents. When they don't have enough feed or food, they just need to brave the snow and rush to the pasture to collect some food and fodder.
This is also the reason why Chu Beichen dares to raise five wild horses.
Su Nian and Chu Beichen thought that the winter would pass in peace, but they were wrong.
In the short interval between two snowstorms, Huodong Village once again welcomed a group of uninvited guests. What made everyone angry was that the person who led the uninvited guests this time was Xie Na, the troublemaker they had driven out not long ago.
Xie Na looked very proud, and she was wearing a brand new fur coat, but she seemed to be a little fatter than before.
She looked arrogant, as if she didn't know the villagers of Huodong Village at all.
She pointed at Su Nian and Chu Beichen's hut and said to the tall, black-haired man beside her, "I saw a golden ball in Chu's house. It should be the one you lost."
The black-haired man had a long face and a pair of cold gray eyes. When he heard what Xie Na said, he waved his hand, and the dozen or so people he brought with him got off the sled, ready to rush into Chu Beichen's house to steal things.
However, Chu Beichen was not someone to be trifled with. He didn't even need to do anything himself, as Black Panther was already guarding the gate of the fence with seven or eight thief dogs.
The Black Panther's children have grown up a little now, but they haven't changed their teeth yet, so now is the time when the Black Panther is the most ferocious and has the strongest fighting power.
These dogs are all old hunters in the cedar forest. They don't bark at all, but just look outside vigilantly with their fur erect. As long as someone is not allowed to come in, the dogs will rush up and tear his throat.
However, the people standing outside were unaware of the existence of these dogs. They were still walking forward arrogantly, as if Chu Beichen's collection was already in their pockets.
At this moment, a large group of villagers with weapons in their hands ran over from the village path. The leader was the bearded village chief. The bearded village chief once told Chu Beichen that their village mainly relied on night owls for protection. As long as outsiders broke in, the night owls would issue a warning in advance.
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