The nights on the dam were bitterly cold. Li Xiangdong pulled the blanket tighter around himself. Although his body was warm, his face was icy cold.
Especially the nose, because it gets even colder after breathing in the cold air.
He opened one eye; it was still pitch black outside. So he turned over, buried his face in the crook of his neck, and went back to sleep.
When he woke up again, it was already bright outside, and the kang (heated brick bed) beneath him was much warmer.
Li Xiangdong rubbed his eyes and looked around. Apart from Li Guoqing, who was still fast asleep, Zhou Hongsong, Scarface, and He Chaochao were nowhere to be seen.
Li Xiangdong sat up, put the cotton-padded jacket and trousers that were spread out at his feet into the quilt to warm them up, and then quickly put them on.
After getting off the kang (heated brick bed) and looking into the main room, Zhou Hongsong and Scarface were cooking. The pot lid was open, and a pot of sticky, black stuff was bubbling and steaming.
I sniffed it, and it smelled quite nice.
Zhou Hongsong stirred the pot a few times with a spoon before putting the lid on.
"Xiangdong's up? Hurry up and wash your face, get ready for dinner! Oh, and wake Guoqing up too!"
Li Xiangdong agreed, went back to his room to wake Li Guoqing, and then went to wash up.
Fortunately, there was hot water in the pot on the brazier, so washing my face and hands wasn't too bad.
Li Xiangdong hastily wiped his face clean with a towel, then exhaled a long puff of white air.
At this moment, He Chaochao walked in, followed by La Mei and Jasmine.
As soon as the two dogs entered the house, they circled around Li Xiangdong's feet and barked.
He Chaochao, beaming with joy, pulled a wild rabbit out from behind her. "I don't know who set the trap, but this wild rabbit managed to escape from it and ended up running into Lamei and Jasmine."
It turns out that early this morning, He Chaochao took her two dogs, who kept scratching at the door, out for some fresh air and for them to relieve themselves.
A man and two dogs were walking along when they suddenly saw a rabbit with tan fur appear. Before they could react, Wax Plum and Jasmine darted out!
The two hunting dogs, one in front and one behind, surrounded and intercepted the rabbit, working together effectively and quickly killing it.
That's a very good omen!
Zhou Hongsong took the rabbit and weighed it in his hand. "It must weigh three or four pounds. It's plump enough!"
At this time of year, wild rabbits, having endured a long winter and having nowhere to find food, are usually skin and bones. A rabbit that weighs three or four pounds is considered plump now.
Scarface added the last handful of firewood to the stove. He stood up to examine the wound on the rabbit's leg, his face grim. "It's a flat snare. Damn, there are more and more people setting snares these days!"
Now, all the wild animals hunted belong to individuals, so many people go to the mountains to hunt and set up all kinds of traps in the mountains, such as wild boar traps, fox traps, gazelle traps, roe deer traps, badger traps, wolf traps, and rabbit traps.
Such examples are numerous.
With such a density of snares, and the snow in the grasslands and forests not yet completely melted, not only animals but also hunters can easily fall into the trap.
But there's nothing anyone can do about this kind of thing, and Scarface can only complain a few times; he has no other options.
After Li Guoqing got up and washed up, he started eating breakfast.
Each person gets a bowl of dark potato, sauerkraut, and shredded pork soup, a baked flatbread, and a pot of stewed mutton and potatoes.
The free-range yellow sheep that graze on a variety of herbs have firm, delicious meat that is fresh without being gamey and fatty without being greasy. When stewed with mountain potatoes, it has a unique natural aroma.
After everyone had a hearty meal, they set off into the mountains.
In March, the Bashang Grassland was not yet fully thawed. The undulating grassland and the dense forests in the distance were covered with heavy snow, and the withered grass underfoot was covered with frost. This vast scene of mountains dancing like silver snakes and plains galloping like wax elephants stirred Li Xiangdong's heart.
He really wanted to shout hysterically at the scenery, disregarding his image, as if only in this way could he express the excitement in his heart.
However, he soon lost that interest.
Although there was some snow on the grassland, it wasn't very thick. But once they entered the woods, the snow suddenly became much thicker.
Each step a few people took created a snowdrift, and soon a row of footprints of varying depths was left in the forest.
Only the winter plum and jasmine ran with ease. When they reached the front and were about ten meters away from the lead scarred one, they would turn back to wait for them.
Occasionally, a sound would come from the woods, and their little ears would immediately perk up, watching warily in the direction from which the sound came.
Without seeing prey and without Li Xiangdong's order, they will not act on their own to hunt it.
"Everyone be careful, follow me, and don't step on the trap!"
Scarface stopped to catch his breath, pulled down the scarf from his face, and gave instructions to the people behind him.
Everyone nodded to indicate that they understood.
Li Xiangdong was wearing a leather hat, a leather jacket and pants, and boots; he was fully armed.
But every time he breathed, his breath landed on the scarf, and soon the scarf froze.
The group walked for an unknown amount of time when suddenly Zhou Hongsong stretched out his right hand and shouted, "Stop!"
When Li Guoqing heard Zhou Hongsong say "stop" during his first long trek through the snow, he felt as if he had been granted a pardon and stopped, panting heavily.
Li Xiangdong took off the scarf covering his face and walked to Zhou Hongsong's side.
"Fifth Brother, what's wrong? Did you find something?"
"Look at these footprints!"
On the snow, there was a row of pairs of animal footprints.
"Look, this footprint is narrower and pointed at the front, that's from a roe deer. If it were a wild boar's footprint, the front would be rounder!"
Zhou Hongsong explained to Li Xiangdong and to Li Guoqing and He Chaochao who had come over.
Scarface was quite excited. He said in a low voice, "Brother, it should be a pair of silly roe deer!"
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