Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately showed her the utmost respect, and Battalion Commander Xu immediately saluted.
She looked at Qin Qinghuai with a simple and helpless expression. What should she say in this situation?
This is her weakness in both her lives.
Fortunately, Qin Qinghuai quickly took control of the situation.
"Alright, stop with the sentimental stuff. Your sister-in-law feels sorry for you and can't bear to see you working so hard and going hungry. I won't say anything more, just do your job well."
Everyone was mindful of their safety when going up the mountain.
As you all know, this kind of fieldwork isn't my forte. I'm not part of the team today either. You'll follow Battalion Commander Xu's orders. Your sister-in-law and I will follow behind. Go on.
Be brave, but don't be reckless.
They said they were following, and they really were.
Battalion Commander Xu led the main force ahead, while Jian Dan and Qin Qinghuai followed leisurely behind. Jian Dan would occasionally introduce the mountain environment to Qin Qinghuai.
I've never actually climbed these mountains before, but ultimately, they're from the same mountain range as the ones in Liujiatun.
The Northeast region is mostly plains, and the mountainous areas share similar characteristics.
"Look over there, there's a small cave. It's high up, dry, and sheltered from the wind."
And look at that big tree over there, behind the hillside. See how dense its branches and leaves are? The trunk behind it is taller and blocks the view in front, but look over there, to the right, there's actually a hole there. Can you see it?
Qin Qinghuai was still squinting as he searched when Qin Yi, with his sharp eyes, called out first.
"It really does seem so, sister-in-law, there really is a hole, pitch black."
Qin Qinghuai refocused his attention.
"What is the connection between this cave and this tree hollow?"
Can you see any commonalities?
The wilderness was indeed not Qin Qinghuai's forte, but Qin Yi was quite quick-witted. Looking around, he soon said...
"They're all high up, and they're sheltered from the wind, which means they're relatively safe. Plus, they're not too stuffy or too cold. Hmm, sister-in-law, is there anything else?"
A simple clap of hands, eyes filled with affirmation.
"That's good. It's dry and well-ventilated up high, and it avoids direct sunlight at any time of day, which is what snakes prefer and is also a suitable place for hibernation."
Just then, a few people walked near the big tree, circled it twice, and pointed to the hole in the tree.
"Look there, what can you see?"
The two men stared intently, and even Battalion Commander Xu in front was drawn over, lowering his voice.
What's up there?
Qin Qinghuai moved left and right several times.
"The opening of that hole seems to bulge out a bit more than the tree trunk?"
He had taken these courses before, but this was his first time doing it in practice due to his physical limitations, and he was genuinely interested.
"Is this bloating caused by the snake's body?"
"Very likely."
Seeing Qin Yi pick up the stone, eager to try it out, Jian Dan added another sentence.
"Although hibernating snakes are indeed powerless to resist, and hibernation consumes their own energy reserves, there are only two possible outcomes if they are forcibly awakened."
One reason is that snakes cannot adapt to the low temperatures outside and freeze to death.
Another factor is conditioned reflexes. Since hunger is inevitable and energy expenditure is a given, the first thing to do upon waking up is naturally to hunt.
Otherwise, where did the story of the farmer and the snake come from?
"It's just that a farmer picked up a frozen snake, and when the snake woke up, it instinctively perceived humans as a threat and attacked them. That's inevitable; it's an animal's instinct."
Startled, Qin Yi threw the stone back and darted away a great distance.
"Sister-in-law, let's hurry up and leave, lest we wake it up again."
Qin Qinghuai was speechless; he simply couldn't bear to watch.
"If it's that easy to wake someone up, then what kind of hibernation is it?"
Battalion Commander Xu looked up and then at Jian Dan, somewhat surprised that these words came from Jian Dan's mouth. As a genuine countryman with many years of experience, he could tell something from the words.
However, the fact that a military wife who had just joined the army could talk so fluently about these things made him take notice.
Judging from the scale of her family delivering the grain that day, she shouldn't be an ordinary rural person. What rural person could have such a grand gesture?
"But you don't need to worry too much. Just be careful. Normally, the range of human activities and the environment in which snakes hibernate don't overlap. Just don't accidentally disturb a snake's nest."
Oh, and by the way, some snakes hibernate solitarily, but many also prefer to hibernate in groups. After all, they lack the ability to protect themselves during hibernation, and if they encounter danger, or if animals or humans invade their territory, they will attack as a group.
She simply shared her experiences from two lifetimes, and assumed that her unit would teach these basic survival skills in the wild, so she didn't say much more and turned to walk away towards the main force that was resting in the same spot.
"Are we almost deep in the mountains?"
She could still discern the general environment of the mountains. The further she went, the fewer human footprints there were, and she could gradually see traces of animal activity. It was obvious that she had entered someone else's territory.
"Little Yi, watch your feet!"
The mountain is rugged and uneven, and the snow is thin on the slopes, with some areas even showing bare ground.
In the lower part of the slope, the ground was so deep that a single step could reach knee-deep, so they had to walk very carefully. To Qin Yi's right was the snow, covered with messy footprints of different shapes and in large numbers. However, the color of the footprints had almost blended into the exposed snow, so it was clear that the footprints were not fresh, or at least left after the snow had stopped.
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