OBS Chapter 428 Winter passes and spring comes
Chapter 428 Winter passes and spring comes
In the following days, the weather cleared up, and Li Xiangyang took advantage of the good weather to go into the mountains with Wang Ergou several more times, but the white badger seemed to have vanished into thin air, and they didn't even see a trace of it.
"This is really strange," Wang Ergou said, taking down his binoculars and scratching his head. "We've come five or six times already, and we haven't even seen a single hair on it."
Li Xiangyang crouched down, carefully examining the blurry footprints on the ground: "Judging from these marks, it was active here at most three days ago. It probably sensed we were tracking it and became more vigilant."
Wang Ergou sighed, "This can't go on."
Li Xiangyang stood up and brushed the snow off his knees: "No rush. Wait until spring; it'll have more opportunities to forage. Then we can try our luck again."
In the blink of an eye, the dead of winter has passed and spring has quietly arrived.
With the arrival of spring, everything in the mountains and forests comes back to life. Trees sprout new buds, the ice on the streams melts, and the crisp sound of flowing water echoes through the valleys.
Early in the morning, Li Xiangyang got up, stood in the yard, took a deep breath, and felt the breath of spring.
The morning air carried the unique fragrance of thawed earth, and birds chirped and sang on the branches, as if announcing the end of winter.
At this moment, Li Xiaoyun, heavily pregnant, also came out of the house, and Li Xiangyang quickly stepped forward to support her.
"Where are you going? Be careful," Li Xiangyang asked with concern.
Li Xiaoyun smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just wanted to get some fresh air. Spring is here, and it's stuffy staying indoors."
Li Xiangyang helped her and slowly walked to the gate of the courtyard.
The village is bustling with activity as villagers prepare tools for spring plowing, and some have already gone to the fields to check the soil conditions.
"These past few days, everyone in the village has been busy preparing for spring plowing," Li Xiaoyun said, looking at the busy figures in the distance.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Yes, sowing one grain in spring yields ten thousand in autumn. Spring plowing cannot be taken lightly."
Just then, Wang Ergou rushed over: "Xiangyang, something terrible has happened! Wild boars are incredibly active this year. The seeds were just planted, and they've already been rooted up beyond recognition. In previous years, at this time, Grandpa Zheng would organize hunters from all around to hunt them down..."
As soon as Wang Ergou finished speaking, Li Xiangyang's brows furrowed into a knot.
In previous years, with Old Master Zheng organizing the hunts, the hunters in each village were all convinced and no one caused trouble.
But ever since Grandpa Zheng promised his wife he wouldn't go into the mountains, he's lost his backbone, and the hunters from all around are now deferring to each other.
A while ago, an old hunter from Zhaojiazhuang insisted on setting a trap in Yangjiacun's territory, and the two sides almost came to blows with hunting rifles, causing quite a stir.
So whoever takes the lead in this situation might become the target of public criticism.
"This situation is probably going to be difficult," Li Xiangyang said, frowning. He looked at Wang Ergou's hurried appearance and gestured for him to sit down first.
Li Xiaoyun quickly brought out a bowl of warm water from inside the house and handed it to Wang Ergou: "Have some water first, don't rush."
Wang Ergou took the bowl of water and drank it all in one gulp before he could recover. He wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and asked excitedly, "Brother Xiangyang, do you want to try leading the charge this year? If it succeeds, we two brothers will be famous..."
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "Forget it, I don't have that kind of prestige. Besides, the older animals in each village are all uncles or elders; if there's any conflict, getting involved would just be asking for trouble."
Li Xiaoyun looked at Li Xiangyang with concern, subconsciously touching her protruding belly: "Yes, now you're going to be a father, don't get yourself into trouble."
Li Xiangyang gently patted her hand to comfort her: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I mean, it doesn't matter how much or how little we prune this year, the main thing is to protect the crops. It's better to prune less, but we absolutely won't overdo it."
Wang Ergou's eyes lit up: "That's a great idea! We just need to mind our own business and manage our own village's boundaries; no one can say anything about it."
Seeing that Wang Ergou had no objections, Li Xiangyang immediately said, "Let's go, first gather our hunting team together, then go see how badly the wild boars have damaged the crops."
Wang Ergou immediately stood up: "I'll go and inform the others right away."
Li Xiangyang turned to Li Xiaoyun and said, "I'll be right back. You stay home and rest. Don't do any heavy work."
Li Xiaoyun stroked her pregnant belly, smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, I know what's important. Just be careful."
Li Xiangyang gently kissed his wife on the forehead, then quickly followed Wang Ergou out of the courtyard.
The spring sunshine felt warm and cozy on my skin.
The village was filled with the scent of earth and grass, and birdsong echoed everywhere.
The villagers gathered in twos and threes, discussing this year's spring plowing.
Li Xiangyang ran into Li Daqiang and Zhang Weiping, who were carrying hoes and heading to the fields.
"Daqiang, Weiping, wild boars are disturbing the crops. Our hunting team will gather in a bit to check it out," Li Xiangyang called out.
Li Daqiang's eyes lit up: "Great! It's been so long since I've stretched my muscles!"
Zhang Weiping nodded enthusiastically, "Okay, I'll go back and get the equipment right away."
In less than an hour, the hunting team members had all assembled.
Besides Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou, there are also Li Daqiang, Zhang Weiping, Li Dabao, Zhang Erhu and Chen Chen, a total of seven people.
Li Xiangyang looked around and, seeing that everyone was fully equipped, gave a brief explanation: "Today, we're mainly going to check on the damage the wild boars are causing to the crops and, incidentally, track their activity patterns. Remember, only hunt within your own territory; never cross the line."
"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.
The seven men walked towards the wheat field in the east of the village. As soon as they reached the edge of the field, they saw Captain Zheng Dehou standing there, looking at the ravaged wheat seedlings with a worried expression.
"Captain Zheng," Li Xiangyang greeted him.
Zheng Dehou turned around and saw Li Xiangyang arriving with his hunting party. His face immediately lit up with joy: "Li Xiangyang! We've been waiting for you! Look at this wheat field! Wild boars destroyed it all last night. It's only just sprouted!"
Li Xiangyang walked to the edge of the field and squatted down to examine it.
"Judging by the freshness of this pig manure, it must have arrived last night," Li Xiangyang observed carefully. "Judging from the markings, it seems there was more than one group. It looks like there are quite a few wild boars this year."
As he spoke, Li Xiangyang followed the hoofprints toward the edge of the field, with the others close behind. Upon reaching the edge of the field, the hoofprints extended into the bushes beside the path.
"Let's go, follow the marks." Li Xiangyang picked up his gun and led the way into the bushes.
Following the trail, the seven soon arrived at the edge of a forest.
In the woods, the signs of wild boar activity were more obvious; fallen leaves were scattered everywhere, and the soil around the tree roots was pitted and uneven.
The group continued following the tracks deeper into the woods. After walking for about half an hour, Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
"What's wrong?" Wang Ergou asked in a low voice.
Li Xiangyang pointed ahead: "Listen, the sound of water."
Upon closer listening, the sound of flowing water could indeed be heard coming from ahead.