After Wang Lun explained the plan to Liu Ruoling, it became clear that it was quite simple. Wang Lun instructed Liu Ruoling to circle around to the side and attack from behind. The pheasants would inevitably scatter, and Wang Lun could then use the chaos to see if he could catch them. Of course, there were also traps to be set, to see if any unlucky pheasants would get caught in them.
The method is simple, but practical. The outcome is uncertain; it's all down to luck. But there's nothing we can do about it; the rain is getting heavier, so we have to take a gamble.
Liu Ruoling quietly retreated, and when she felt she had retreated enough, she began to circle around to the other side. After more than ten minutes, Liu Ruoling successfully reached the other side. After resting for a while, seeing that the agreed time was almost up, Liu Ruoling picked up her spear, stood up, and shouted while using the spear to strike the surrounding bushes.
Hearing the commotion, the pheasants scattered in all directions. Taking advantage of two pheasants approaching, Wang Lun suddenly stood up and swept his spear back and forth until a pheasant was struck and fell to the ground. Only then did Wang Lun breathe a sigh of relief; at least he was guaranteed a harvest.
But he didn't let his guard down. Instead, he immediately went forward, picked up a pheasant, and started chasing another one. Unfortunately, after a few steps, he couldn't catch it. Wang Lun went back and met up with Liu Ruoling. Who knew that Wang Lun hadn't caught many pheasants, but Liu Ruoling had caught several small pheasants.
Upon asking, she learned that Liu Ruoling had spotted a pheasant flying out of a bush. She had intended to chase it, but after only a step or two, the pheasant ran off. Turning back to pursue the others, she suddenly heard the chirping of pheasants coming from the bushes, sounding rather young. Parting the bushes, she found three small pheasants, quite tiny and unable to fly yet; she hadn't noticed them during her previous observations. So, instead of chasing the larger pheasants, Liu Ruoling caught the three chicks and waited for Wang Lun to return.
Wang Lun couldn't help but sigh at her incredible luck. He swung his spear for quite a while, only managing to hit a pheasant. The two tied the pheasant up and then went to check the other traps.
The results were good. Seven traps were set, four were triggered, one escaped, and the other three yielded some birds. Two of the traps had pheasants still alive inside. The last trap seemed to have been positioned incorrectly; the bird struggled too much, and the snare tightened, killing it. Still, the harvest was good: three live adult pheasants, three baby pheasants, and one dead pheasant.
If we take it home and raise it, it might lay two or three eggs a day. Once the little pheasant grows up and starts laying eggs too, we can probably eat eggs every day.
Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling quickly restored the trap, then picked up the pheasants and went to find their baskets. They carried the baskets back to camp. Although they were both soaked to the bone, they were in good spirits. After all, they had harvested so much; not to mention the wild vegetables, six live pheasants were enough to excite them.
Inside the camp, Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling noticed that it had been raining for a while, and Wang Lun and his companion hadn't returned yet, so they figured they'd probably get soaked. Before they came back, they used the sheepskin to make two leather skirts, hoping they'd have clean clothes when they returned.
Wang Lun only needed one leather skirt, but Liu Ruoling needed both a top and a bottom. The top was fine; Li Ling and the other woman could share one, which would be enough. But the bottom couldn't possibly be covered by a coat. So the two decided to make two leather skirts—simple and quick.
Before long, Wang Lun and his companion returned carrying baskets on their backs. It was raining today, so they opened the camp gate themselves and came in. Usually, they would call someone to open it, since the gate was always secured when someone was around. Today, Li Ling and the others knew Wang Lun would be returning, so they didn't secure the gate; they just tied it with vines. This was all agreed upon beforehand, and all four of them knew it.
Wang Lun and his companion stood under the eaves and put down their baskets. Li Ling and her companion handed them towels made from sleeves, telling them to dry themselves off first.
Wang Lun waved his hand, telling Li Ling, "Get Liu Ruoling a set of dry clothes. She needs to take a shower first to avoid catching a cold." Li Ling said, "I'll get them ready for you as soon as I'm done." Wang Lun asked in surprise, "I get some too?" Li Ling nodded. Then they saw Liu Ruoxi come out carrying a pile of clothes. She handed a coat and a deerskin skirt to Liu Ruoling. She handed another sheepskin skirt to Wang Lun.
Wang Lun adjusted the sheepskin skirt; it fit him quite well. He then told Liu Ruoling to go to the bathroom to shower first, and that he would wash himself in the pool later. Liu Ruoling turned and grabbed a dry straw hat from the camp, then went to the bathroom.
Wang Lun told Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi, "Cover these six pheasants in the basket later, so they don't escape. Put them by the fire pit first, and once they're dried, move them under the shed to live for a few days. Oh, and there's a dead pheasant in the basket, remember to take it out to prevent it from spoiling. Boil a pot of water, I'll deal with it when I come out." Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi were immediately excited to hear there were six live pheasants, and they didn't care about anything else Wang Lun said. Wang Lun smiled helplessly at their reaction. After all, he himself was very happy when he found out there were six live pheasants, and even though he was getting soaked in the rain the whole way, he still had a smile on his face.
Wang Lun turned and went to take a bath in the pool. As for the other matters, Wang Lun believed that Li Ling and the other person could handle them.
After Wang Lun left, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi parted the wild vegetables and found six pheasants in the basket: three large and three small. They first took out the three small pheasants, carried them to the fire pit, found a basket, and covered them inside. Then they covered the other three large pheasants in separate baskets. Luckily, the four of them had four baskets, plus two spares, which was just right; otherwise, they might have spilled the wild vegetables.
After processing the live pheasant, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi sorted the wild vegetables. Those that could be planted were set aside, while the rest would be eaten soon. They also found a dead pheasant in Liu Ruoling's basket. Then they remembered that Wang Lun had mentioned a dead pheasant. Liu Ruoxi turned back into the house, took out two pots, and placed them under the eaves to fill with water before boiling them. The two continued processing the wild vegetables.
Soon, Wang Lun returned with her hair still wet, carrying washed clothes and pants, and wearing a sheepskin skirt. Although it felt a bit chilly down there, she was glad she had something to wear; before, she would have continued wearing wet clothes. Now that she had dry clothes to wear, Wang Lun was quite content.
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