Chapter 46: Perception
Editor:Â Atlas Studios
Whether it was Liu Xuanâs good luck or Mu Yanglingâs good fortune, everything went very smoothly after that. They took down several rabbit nests in a row.
The grass under the jujube tree was lush, old, and difficult to chew. However, beyond this area, there would be a small hill. There was a small pond there that would not dry up as long as it was not a dry season. The grass inside was tender, so many rabbits liked to dig holes in or near the jujube forest for the convenience of eating the tender grass and drinking water.
However, because every year, the villagers would come here to pick wild jujubes, the Mu father and daughter consciously bypassed this area and left these rabbits for them to hunt when they came to pick wild jujubes. When the time came, each family would be able to split some. Although each family would only get a little, the rabbits in autumn were fat and it was better than nothing.
It was Mu Yanglingâs first time bringing them here today, so she brought them here to familiarize themselves with the place. However, they would have to go elsewhere tomorrow, to the places where Mu Yangling often hunted. It was much more dangerous there, but there were also more prey.
When Mu Yangling and Liu Xuan returned with half a bag of rabbits, the three of them had also finished setting up the trap and were sitting on the ground to rest. Each of them was nibbling on two jujubes.
âLetâs go. Iâll bring you to collect prey.â Mu Yanglingâs trap was set in another direction. Seeing that it was about time now, she brought them over and taught them how to differentiate between traps.
When Mu Yangling went over and took out the prey that had fallen into the trap and covered it up, the four Liu brothers were shocked. âWe can earn a lot just by relying on the trap.â
Mu Yangling smiled and said, âThis is because Iâm lucky today. Usually itâs not that many.â Almost one out of three traps would be destroyed, and only one out of four traps contained prey.
Mu Yangling even found a goat in the last trap.
The goat had injured its leg after falling into the trap and was looking up at Mu Yangling and bleating.
Upon taking a closer look, Mu Yangling realized that its stomach was bulging. She jumped down and grabbed its horn with all her might, then touched the goatâs stomach as she said, âMommy goat is pregnant with baby goat.â
Mu Yanglingâs eyes lit up. As Mu Bowen had a weak constitution, she had wanted to buy him a goat for goat milk a long time ago. However, her life in the past had not been good, and her family did not have any spare money. Even though they recently had some money, due to various happenings, this plan to get a goat had been delayed. She had not expected to catch a pregnant goat now.
Mu Yangling jumped into the trap and said to her four uncles, âHelp me carry the other things. Iâll carry the goat out.â
Liu Ting said, âItâs better for me to carry the goat out with your second uncle. What if you get kicked by the goat?â
Unlike domestic goats, wild goats were incredibly fierce.
Mu Yangling said confidently, âIt wonât dare to kick me.â
If two people carried it, it would more or less cause harm to the goat. Thus, it was best if she carried it. Anyway, she didnât find it heavy at all.
Mu Yangling handed the things to them before jumping down. She nimbly grabbed the goatâs front leg, circled around its back, and picked it up.
The goat struggled violently for a while before it realized that not only could it not break free, but struggling would also aggravate its wound. In addition, Mu Yangling kept stroking its chin, so the goat gradually quietened down. It obediently let Mu Yangling carry it out of the trap and out of the forest.
There were no bull pens or pig pens in the Mu Residence, only a storeroom. However, it was obvious that a goat could not be raised there. Mu Yangling did not mind and tied it to a large rock with a rope.
Next, it was time to divide the prey.
Mu Yangling took out the prey that had fallen into her trap and placed it aside. The rest were the rabbits from the rabbitâs nest that she had smoked with her four uncles.
Mu Yangling said, âUncles, the four of you can have these rabbits. If you want to bring them to town to sell, you should go early. You can raise some of the younger rabbits at home first and let my cousins feed them with grass. Theyâll definitely be able to fetch a decent price in a few months.â
Liu Ting pondered and said, âLeave two at home and sell the rest. Weâve never raised rabbits before. What if they die? If the others canât be sold, weâll bring them back and raise them first if theyâre still alive. If they die, weâll smoke them into jerky and keep them for winter.â
The other three had no objections.
Mu Yangling stood up and said, âThen jump out. Iâm also preparing to go to town. Eldest Uncle, that nest of white rabbits was gorgeous. It wonât sell for much in town, but itâs different in the county. Why donât you let my father bring it to the county?â
Liu Ting said with a smile, âYou were the one who smoked the rabbitâs nest. We merely benefited from your hard work. If not for the fact that you didnât want it, we would have planned to give you half of all the rabbits. Since this thing is going to be brought to the county, itâs yours. When it gets sold later, ask your father to buy you candy.â
Liu Xuan found the nest of rabbits from the sack and handed it to Mu Yangling. With a straight face, he said, âIf you refuse, we wonât dare to follow you into the mountains in the future.â
Mu Yangling thought for a moment before taking it and carefully keeping the rabbits in the cage.
Liu Ting and the other three discussed for a while and finally decided that Liu Ting and Liu Xuan would go to town while Liu Zhuang and Liu Yuan would stay at home.
Mu Shi quickly came out of the mountains, too. He carried a wild boar on his shoulder and a fiery red little fox in his hand.
Seeing that there was sweat on his forehead, Mu Yangling quickly went forward to catch the wild boar. She looked at the fox in surprise. âFather, this color is stunning. Itâs even alive!â
Nodding, Mu Shi threw the little fox into the cage. âI picked it up in the mountains. The big fox is probably dead.â Seeing that his four cousins were all here, Mu Shi said, âDid you guys have a bountiful trip today?â
Liu Ting nodded and smiled. âNot bad. Itâs all thanks to Ah Ling leading us.â
A smile appeared on Mu Shiâs face as he said proudly, âAh Ling has a natural talent in this aspect. Sheâs even stronger than me. If you want to go to town, hurry up and go early. Ah Ling wonât need as much time since sheâs only going to the eatery and restaurant.â
This meant that she was not going to travel with them.
Liu Ting hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. After informing them, he carried his things and bade farewell to the Mu father and daughter.
Sensing that something was wrong, Mu Yangling asked, âFather, whatâs wrong?â
Mu Shi wiped his sweat and said worriedly, âSomething happened in the mountains. There are fallen trees and signs of a fight in the area where I often go. I took a closer look and saw that it was actually a black bear and a female tiger.â
Mu Yanglingâs eyes widened. âWhy did they come out?â
Although Chef Mountain was dangerous, because it was enormous and the entire mountain range was endless, and this place was at the very end, there were usually very few ferocious beasts like this.
They usually had to be careful of wild boars, wolves, and other wild beasts. No matter how powerful Mu Yangling and Mu Shi were, they were no match for a tiger or a black bear.
That was too terrifying. No need for further explanation.
Mu Shi was also very frustrated. âI donât know why theyâre here, but I keep feeling that things arenât going well this year.â
After all, Mu Shi had only hunted for more than ten years, so he did not have much experience. In his memory, he did not recall anything similar, but his hunterâs intuition told him that this matter was highly important and dangerous.
Seeing that his daughter was also worried, Mu Shi suppressed his anxiety and stroked her head. âDonât worry, that black bear wonât run outside. At most, itâll wander around in the deep forest.â
âFather, donât go so deep into the mountain in the future. Anyway, our family has enough money for the winter. Letâs just take it slow.â
Mu Shi hesitated. âYour mother is going to give birth in winter. We have to prepare more money at home.â
âNo amount of money is as important as our lives. Father, we can still earn money outside. Although itâs a little less, itâs enough for our family to live on.â
Having heard the entire conversation in the room, Shu Wanniang held her stomach and came out. She looked at Mu Shi with tears in her eyes. âIf something happens to you, who else can the children and I rely on?â
Mu Shiâs heart instantly ached. He quickly went forward to hug his wife and promised, âDonât worry, I wonât go too far tomorrow. Iâll walk with our daughter, alright?â
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.