Because the villagers of Xin San Village had been traveling for several days and hadn't had a good night's rest, Si Cheng refused to take them to hunt wild boars under these circumstances, and they could only postpone their descent down the mountain for another day.
Captain Liu and his team felt a little embarrassed for taking up an extra day of everyone's time, so this time, in order not to hold anyone back, they forced themselves to fall asleep as soon as possible.
While these people were resting, Si Cheng and his men did not remain idle. They led their own villagers to hunt in the vicinity.
No other large game was found, but a lot of wild goats were found. So when Captain Liu and his team woke up, they found four or five wild goats on the campsite.
"We've missed out on so much because of this nap," a villager from Xin San Village lamented, feeling a bit regretful. He thought that if they had participated, they might have been able to get a share.
"Now that everyone's rested, we need to be on our toes. They went to great lengths to bring us into the mountains; we can't go back empty-handed." Captain Liu nodded in satisfaction when he saw that everyone's spirits had improved considerably.
Hou Yunhai led some villagers to open the two large packages they had brought on their backs. Inside were two large fishing nets, which stunned the villagers of Xin San Village.
"Weren't we here to hunt? Are we planning to use this fishing net to catch our prey?" Captain Liu approached Hou Yunhai and began to inquire.
"You're really clever. You were planning to use these fishing nets to catch prey." Hou Yunhai, a fisherman who grew up by the sea, skillfully untied the fishing nets.
"Are all the prey on this mountain so special that they would run right into the net?"
Seeing that Captain Liu and the others hadn't thought of it yet, Hou Yunhai stopped keeping them in suspense and told them directly, "We're going to catch wild ducks in a bit, or we'll use these fishing nets to catch them. This will reduce the chances of them getting hurt, and we can raise them when we get back."
“When I saw everyone carrying baskets on their backs, I thought they were going to use the baskets to cover them up.”
Hou Yunhai looked at him incredulously, "Use a basket to catch them? How long would it take to catch enough wild ducks for the two villages to raise? And do you think the wild ducks are just standing there waiting for you to catch them?"
Captain Liu felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, because that was what he had thought before.
Seeing that the people in Pinghe Village were busy preparing for dinner, while Captain Liu and the others were still chatting leisurely, Yun Xun went over to remind them.
"Team Leader Liu, everyone in the village is about to eat. Why aren't you getting moving? You won't have the strength to catch wild ducks if you go hungry."
It was only then that Captain Liu noticed the people of Pinghe Village starting to gather around their stoves in twos and threes, busy with their work. He quickly called on the people of Xinsan Village to bring out their own dry rations to fill their stomachs.
In order to catch a lot of wild ducks in one go, Si Cheng and his men each led a few people to quietly approach the place where the wild ducks were most concentrated.
When you get close, slowly pull open the fishing net in your hand and approach slowly by flanking from both ends.
Before the flock of wild ducks could react, the two sides quickly closed in and pinned them down. The alert ducks began to try to escape in all directions. Some successfully escaped the net, but a large number were still tightly trapped.
The wild ducks trapped under the fishing net began to struggle incessantly, but the fist-sized opening in the net made it impossible for them to escape. Soon, their heads and wings were tightly entangled in the net, and they let out pitiful quacking cries.
Although Captain Liu knew about the plan beforehand, he was still shocked to see so many wild ducks caught in the net, and stood there dumbfounded, unable to react.
The people of Pinghe Village were the most cooperative. When Hou Yunhai and his group lowered the fishing net, they took out the prepared vines from their baskets, carefully untied the wild ducks from the bottom of the net, and tied them up.
"Captain Liu, what are you standing there for? If you want the wild ducks, tie them up yourselves." Hou Yunhai, holding down the fishing net, looked up and saw Captain Liu and his group still standing there dumbfounded, so he called out to them.
Captain Liu asked Hou Yunhai with some uncertainty, "Can we tie up these wild ducks too?"
"That's obvious. Since we're all here together, we'll definitely act together. If it's not enough, we'll net a few more times later." Hou Yunhai didn't expect them to stand there dumbfounded, thinking they were each catching their own.
After hearing the affirmative answer, Captain Liu and his team quickly joined in.
The villagers of Pinghe Village had specifically instructed them to watch their step on the duck eggs and avoid crushing them. At first, they didn't take it seriously, but they were stunned when they heard a 'crack!' sound under their feet.
Pushing aside the greenery, they discovered wild duck eggs hidden under the leaves everywhere. Now everyone was extra careful with every step they took. If there was nowhere to put their feet, they would pick out the wild duck eggs first. Nowadays, the villagers eat wild vegetables every day, and they are reluctant to waste even one of these precious foods like wild duck eggs.
Before it got completely dark, they had finally collected about two wild ducks per household. As for the duck eggs, if it weren't for the fact that they couldn't take them all back, everyone would have liked to buy them all. Besides taking the ducks, they also wanted to dig up some of the green plants to take back, since these plants would be the main food source for the ducks in the future.
The campsite was bustling with activity that night, with hundreds of ducks quacking incessantly.
"This kind of life is just too wonderful. If I have the chance, I'll go into the mountains with Village Chief Si and the others again." Wang Liyuan munched on a fragrant duck head and let out a satisfied burp.
“Actually, our village can organize people to come to the village together,” a villager said weakly from the side.
"Can our village handle tigers or wild boars? If we run into them, we'll just be easy prey." Wang Liyuan wasn't that naive, nor did he dare to place his hopes on the villagers' fighting ability.
"With Captain Liu and his men here, and their guns, we shouldn't have any major problems going into the mountains."
"We can't guarantee that," Captain Liu, who happened to be nearby, overheard and quickly shook his head.
"You think having a gun means you're all set? In these deep mountains, with no cover, you might not even be as fast as some wild beasts when you pull the safety."
"Be content! We've already benefited greatly from Pinghe Village taking us into the mountains this time. With these wild ducks, our village will have a steady supply of duck eggs. What's more, they even provided us with all the feed this time." Although Wang Liyuan burped, he still couldn't resist taking out another boiled duck egg from the pot. There was no limit to the amount of duck meat and eggs tonight, but he just regretted that his stomach was too small.
Captain Liu looked at him with some surprise when he saw him take another duck egg. "You've already eaten your fourth one, can you still eat more?"
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