He said that because the bushes weren't moving much; a bear wouldn't make that kind of noise.
Just as the group was thinking about it, a fluffy rabbit ear popped out, saw them, and quickly returned it.
"A wild rabbit!" Chen Cheng said with a relieved tone.
"There should be a rabbit hole here."
Rabbits are highly alert and only stay around their burrows. They are also social animals, so if there is one, there will be many others.
"Find some dry grass, find a few rabbit burrows, block the burrows with the grass, and light it with a lighter. We'll smoke the rabbits out."
Mingjing thought that the rabbit was too fast, and if he didn't wait for it to run into a tree stump, he wouldn't be able to catch it at all.
The three split up. In September, most of the grass on the mountain began to turn yellow. Chen Cheng casually grabbed two handfuls of wild dry grass and found a pile of dead branches.
Xie Junan used a twig to poke at the grass in the meadow and actually found a few rabbit holes. He marked the holes with twigs.
They cleared away the weeds around the rabbit holes, lit some dry grass with matches, and stuffed it into the rabbit holes. Mingjing and the other two each guarded one rabbit hole.
"Sister, you're amazing! You can even catch rabbits," Chen Cheng said obsequiously.
Mingjing didn't actually know anything about catching rabbits; he had only learned a little bit from the local people when he went to Africa for research in his previous life.
As I pondered, a plump rabbit emerged from the bushes.
"Hey, rabbit, catch it!" Mingjing quickly chased after it and grabbed the rabbit by the ear.
The rabbit was big and fat, its legs were flailing, and its eyes were bright red.
“This rabbit must weigh at least three pounds, it’s huge,” Xie Junan said, taking the rabbit and stuffing it into a sack.
As they were talking, several more came out of the cave. They were so fast that Mingjing didn't even have time to make a move before they disappeared.
"I caught him."
Chen Cheng grabbed the two rabbit ears with both hands and shouted with delight.
"It's quite chubby," Xie Junan said, carrying the bag as he walked towards Chen Cheng.
There were too many rabbit holes, and the three of them didn't have enough tools, so they only managed to catch three rabbits.
“There are quite a few rabbits here. If you catch one, you can make several hundred yuan,” Chen Cheng said, intrigued.
"Go ahead and dig traps to catch wild boars."
Mingjing did the math and realized that these rabbits were worth at most a few dozen yuan, while the wild boars were more profitable.
The group continued walking and came to a spacious open area surrounded by dense bamboo groves, which was indeed a place where wild boars often appeared.
Mingjing took a shovel, and the group took turns digging a large pit. When it was more than a meter deep, they covered it with wild grass and branches.
Once the prey steps on it, it will definitely fall into the trap; this is a fairly common hunting method.
In addition to traps, Mingjing also created a net that automatically retracts to trap any prey that steps into it.
The large nets they carried were made of sturdy hemp rope, with knots tied using a fisherman's special method, so the more the fishermen struggled, the tighter the ropes became.
The net is laid flat on the ground, with its four corners tied to large trees, and one end connected to a tree trunk as thick as a thigh. As soon as something steps into it, the rope tightens quickly.
Similar to the lever principle.
After finishing, Mingjing was extremely thirsty and licked her chapped lips. "Is there a river nearby?"
"Yes, it's right ahead. This river is very shallow; it's a freshwater river, supposedly a branch of the Minjiang River, and the water is very sweet."
Mingjing followed Xie Junan to the riverbank. It was a small stream surrounded by large rocks with little soil, making it the easiest place for Magu and eels to grow.
"Magu" is the local name for freshwater shrimp. They are small in size, have black shells, and require high water quality. The water quality is currently quite good, so the price is not high.
The most expensive of all river eels is the freshwater flower eel. It has a delicate texture and can weigh up to several hundred kilograms, making it a veritable behemoth. If you manage to catch one, you'll become famous.
A few small fish swam in the river, truly living up to the saying, "They all seem to be swimming in the air, without anything to rely on."
I drank a few mouthfuls of river water, and it was very sweet.
Watching the fish swimming around, Mingjing suddenly thought of setting a cage and fishing a few more times.
However, she didn't bring any tools with her, and it wasn't appropriate to take them from the system, so she could only watch helplessly.
Since she couldn't go out to sea for the next few days anyway, she decided to come here tomorrow to set traps. Luckily, her luck had returned, so she wanted to see how much she caught.
Mingjing squatted down and found many small crabs and snails among the stones by the river.
The snails in the river are small, not as big as sea snails, but they are quite plump. No one cares about them here, and there are plenty of them.
"Let's catch some snails and stir-fry them," Mingjing said, bending down to pick up the snails.
This stuff is almost unwanted by people on the beach; farmers use it as fertilizer and fish feed, and very few people eat it.
Xie Junan didn't like eating that stuff, but seeing Mingjing picking it up with such enthusiasm, he joined in to help.
After collecting a large basketful, Mingjing looked at the sky. The sun was moving westward, and dusk was leaving behind its glow.
"It's getting late, let's go back." Feeling bored, Chen Cheng sat on a rock by the shore, his hands and feet covered in pea-sized mosquito bites.
"How long will it take to harvest the prey over there?"
"About two days, or even a few more days without food, they won't starve to death," Xie Junan added.
Mingjing thought he could come here for a few days, not to hunt, but to collect some Chinese herbs and mushrooms to exchange for money.
Without touching the snails, Mingjing carried her wooden basket back the way she came.
Suddenly, she saw a forest of dead trees, which must have been the site of previous logging operations. Many trees were gone, and the whole area was empty.
The fallen, withered tree was covered with moss and weeds, but Mingjing spotted a patch of red mushrooms in the pile of dead trees.
"Can we eat those red mushrooms?" Mingjing asked, intrigued.
In her past life in Sichuan and Chongqing, she often watched the locals pick mushrooms and found it very interesting, but she never tried it herself.
Chen Cheng glanced at it and said, "It's edible. This is called a red mushroom. We often grow it in my orchard, and it's not cheap. It's just that I'm tired of eating it and don't like it anymore."
"I love to eat."
Mingjing excitedly went ahead to pick mushrooms; if she sold them, they would definitely fetch a good price.
But throughout the journey, she was filled with anxiety, constantly feeling that there were snakes.
She picked two baskets, which contained not only red mushrooms, but also porcini mushrooms, green-headed mushrooms, and even a few clematis chinensis, but she dared not pick them.
"We're lucky today, we have both meat and vegetables," Xie Jun'an said with a smile, pulling Mingjing out.
How much do these cost?
Mingjing was only thinking about money. She remembered that these mushrooms were worth a lot of money in her previous life, and she wondered what their price was now.
"It's not much money. We mainly eat fish by the sea, and this stuff is only good for making soup. If you have this much, it'll only cost a hundred yuan."
Mingjing was very satisfied with Chen Cheng's words.
One hundred yuan is not a small amount. Mushrooms are good for your health, but they have been overhyped in later generations, driving up the price. Now, not many people pay attention to them.
The group returned to town, and Junzi found a street stall and sold some to an old man for 150 yuan, because Mingjing kept some to try when they got back.
Mingjing bought two roast chickens and returned to the seafood restaurant.
Hearing that they had caught a rabbit, collected snails, and even brought back some red mushrooms, Dong Li immediately said he wanted to kill a rabbit and get some spicy snails.
The soup made with red mushrooms and wild perch is incredibly delicious.
Mingjing felt terrible watching the rabbit being taken to the kitchen to be slaughtered.
But that stuff tastes really good.
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