Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 193 - 192: The Bird Dazed by Winter, Lan Dadan!

Chapter 193: Chapter 192: The Bird Dazed by Winter, Lan Dadan!

The fishing line was removed from the sea turtle’s neck, revealing several visible indentations.

The sea turtle, which had been listless, instantly looked relieved, and its eyes even brightened.

It turned its head to glance at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang maintained a relaxed expression.

[Gained the sea turtle’s favor.]

[Favor reward: Protective Arm (left arm)]

[A piece of fairly hard armor that can be worn on the left arm. The interior of the Protective Arm is quite soft, causing no discomfort when worn.]

At that moment, Xu Yang suddenly received another favor reward from the sea turtle.

Favor rewards were a pleasant surprise—sometimes there, sometimes not.

Hearing this, Xu Yang became even happier.

Who would have thought that completing a simple task could yield so many rewards?

Seeing the sea turtle rescued already brought comfort to his heart; receiving the reward made him feel even more refreshed.

At this time, Xu Yang noticed there were several barnacles on the sea turtle’s back and belly.

Though not many, adhering to the principle of helping if possible, he used a knife to remove all the barnacles from the sea turtle’s back.

The sea turtle closed its eyes, savoring the moment.

The live broadcast audience was even more excited by this scene.

[Old Xu, just like that, keep it up!]

[Watching the fishing line being cut feels so satisfying!]

[It’s so enjoyable to watch this!]

[More videos like this please, I love seeing these when I’m at the beach!]

Barrages of comments continuously flowed in.

Today, there was an exceptionally large number of viewers in the live broadcast.

Although the beach wasn’t as thrilling as the forest, nor as diverse,

modern viewers liked the novelty and the different thrills it provided.

After seeing a lot of the mountain, a break to a beachside live broadcast made everyone stay and watch a little longer.

Especially since Xu Yang always seemed to find sea treasures, and seeing him clean the barnacles off the sea turtle made them even keener to watch.

After cleaning the turtle’s back, Xu Yang flipped it over to clean its belly.

This sea turtle didn’t have many barnacles, so the cleaning was done quickly.

Some turtles were completely encrusted with barnacles, with their shells pierced; those were difficult to clean.

Upon finishing, Xu Yang turned the turtle back over, patted its shell, and said,

"Alright, all done, you can go now."

As if understanding Xu Yang, the sea turtle began to scrabble along the ground, moving forward.

When a wave came, it embraced the ocean and then quickly disappeared into the sea.

Xu Yang looked in the direction of the sea.

Damp sea breeze blew from the surface, and a few white seabirds circled the sky in the distance.

Not a single fishing boat could be seen on the sea, only vastness and tranquility.

"Depend on mountains, subsist by the mountains; depend on the sea, live by the sea."

"Thankful for the bounties of nature."

"This full bucket of seafood, we’ll have a feast this afternoon."

"Beachcombing is pretty good, very relaxing."

Xu Yang, having a great time, shared his thoughts with everyone.

The uses of the Treasure Compass had been exhausted.

He didn’t leave right away but wandered along the beach for a while longer, to see if there were any new discoveries.

However, generally speaking, treasures were quite hard to find.

To catch valuable sea produce, one had to go to the deeper parts of the ocean.

Or to the coral reefs and seagrass meadows on the sea floor,

where there were more fish.

"If I learn to dive someday, I could dive down to look for things,"

"Like sea urchins, big shells, and the like."

"I’ve also seen people who specialize in diving to the seabed to hunt treasures, particularly in tourist areas, and there would be tourists’ lost jewelry, watches, and such."

"Perhaps I could really find a wild cellphone then."

Xu Yang explained his ideas to everyone.

As he said this, the audience was quite looking forward to it.

[Old Xu, give me the thumbs up when you go diving!]

[You really are a professional treasure hunter!]

[Hahaha, my phone was lost when I was playing in the sea, make sure you find it for me!]

[I’ve lost my necklace there too!]

This time Xu Yang did not plan to stay by the sea for long.

After a brief rest for a few days, enjoying the sea and searching for sea goods, he returned home.

The farm still needed his attention.

Carrying a bucket, Xu Yang got into the rented car, waved goodbye to everyone, chose to end the live broadcast, and went back to rest.

Having wandered by the sea for two days, Xu Yang boarded a plane back to Jilin and returned to the chilly Northern region.

The temperature dropped instantly there.

The airport was crowded with many tourists from the South, dressed in white or light pink down jackets, excitedly stepping out to see the snow.

Xu Yang felt no excitement at the snowy scenery; he just made a call to ascertain Ma Wen’s location, then got into the car and headed straight for the farm.

The journey back took quite some time, but fortunately, the car was comfortable.

"Boss, did you enjoy Sanya? My wife has been telling me she wants to go," Ma Wen asked with a smile while driving.

"It’s quite nice, very warm. After freezing here for a while, a stroll there is very comforting," Xu Yang responded truthfully.

"How’s the farm?" he then asked.

"Nothing much, all is well. The animals are being fed, and we open the farm’s gate every day to let Leopard run around and exercise."

"But these past couple of days, it seems a bit down, staying in the yard without coming out."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang nodded.

"That’s normal. Xiao Hua is still young, not mature yet. It’ll get better when it matures."

The vehicle continued forward, ascending the highway, passing through mountainous roads, and eventually driving into a somewhat desolate but vast piece of land to enter a small farm.

Xu Yang got out of the car.

Dogs and Leopard ran out to greet him.

Xiao Hua seemed very happy, wagging its tail and rubbing against Xu Yang.

Xu Yang ruffled its big head.

"You little rascal, quite the clingy one."

"Grow up slowly. Leopards get aloof when they’re grown."

Xu Yang dragged his suitcase back to his own yard.

The yard seemed a bit desolate, but the house inside was comfortable.

Being at home always felt at ease.

Xu Yang set down his things and went straight to the greenhouse to check on the blueberries.

Half of the blueberries had already been sold; a few more shipments and they would be completely gone.

Then it would be time to wait for the second crop to ripen.

After that, managing them would be relatively easy.

The employees also came out to follow him and report on the past few days’ events.

Actually, there wasn’t much, just the sales of the blueberries.

As Farmer Xu, he definitely needed to keep track of these things.

"Okay, I’ve talked to Manager Tao from the scenic area about the Annona."

"Manager Yao said they can take some of the Annona, and we’ll see about the rest; most likely, I’ll have to take them to the fruit market to sell."

"Once the Annona are sold, our farm’s work for the year will be done, and then everyone can take turns on duty; when it’s time to take a vacation, take a vacation."

Xu Yang told the three people.

Li Shan said the farm was only 5 kilometers away from the village, so since there wasn’t much to do, he would just stay and guard the place.

After all, the animals that Xu Yang raised couldn’t be left without care.

Xu Yang spent most of his time there as well.

"Hmm, that’s it for this year. Next spring, I’ll expand the farm and hire two more people,"

"Then it will be easier to manage the staff, and everyone will have time off."

Xu Yang added.

Many small businesses hire staff and can’t give them much vacation for a whole year; they’d rather have their employees working all the time.

It’s better to set clear rules for vacations.

This way, everyone can arrange their time suitably.

Xu Yang’s idea was to give each person an additional 30 days of annual leave, and they could choose when to take it.

Of course, during busy times on the farm, not too many people could take leave at once, to maintain a certain level of staffing.

These days, conscientious bosses are rare, and running into one is extraordinarily lucky.

Some bosses are really nice people, like Pang Donglai and Zhang Xuefeng who are quite famous online.

There are similar bosses in real life, some even go out to work themselves and let their employees relax and manage the company.

It all depends on the character of the boss.

Afterward, Xu Yang made his usual round at the farm, fed the horse, checked on the pigs, and gave some snacks to the other little guys before retreating to his house to rest.

Winter was getting colder.

From time to time, there was another heavy snowfall.

The city was bustling with endless streams of tourists.

Because of the large number of visitors, there were also many snacks and fun activities available.

Sometimes when he had nothing to do, Xu Yang would drive to the city to stroll around.

Occasionally, he would come across people recognizing him and calling out for a photo with him.

Xu Yang was becoming a local celebrity, with people able to recognize him just walking down the street.

But for now, he was just mildly famous, not the national explosion of popularity.

And that suited him just fine.

As the weather continued to turn colder,

the Treasure Compass uses were nearly at eight.

Time passed too quickly; staying in the warm house every day, he felt he had gained a few pounds.

Winter weight gain came just like that.

Being sedentary each day naturally led to weight gain,

and in winter, to keep warm, the food consumed was high in calories.

Xu Yang looked toward the mountains.

The snow was already thick.

If you walked into the mountains, some places would see snow reaching up to your knees with just one step.

It was simply impossible to venture into the mountains.

Some places, however, were a bit easier to traverse.

Thinking another trip would be too much of a hassle, he decided to wander around the back mountain instead.

Perhaps there were some Treasure Hunting Tasks to complete.

Something light and simple would do.

He went to the back mountain with Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua adapted extremely well to the mountain, capably running nimbly across the snow-covered ground even though it was blanketed with snow.

Especially in places where the snow was softer, with one leap, it dived into the snow to roll around.

Snowflakes were sent flying in an instant.

The little guy was rarely out and about, and it was plainly enjoying itself.

Xu Yang didn’t mind it; he just steadily trudged deeper into the mountains, stepping on the snow.

He wasn’t live streaming today, just wandering in the mountains alone.

When he felt it was a good time, he chose to exchange his Treasure Compass uses for a Treasure Hunting Task.

[Triggered Treasure Hunting Task; Fainted Lan Dadan.]

[A Lan Dadan fainted in the snow after flying too fast, please rescue it promptly.]

[Task Reward: Blue mobile phone case*1]

Hearing this Treasure Hunting Task, Xu Yang first froze, then couldn’t help but laugh for a moment.

People do laugh in extremely absurd situations.

Xu Yang found it ridiculous.

That reward... a mobile phone case?

Do I lack a phone case from you?

It might be the most preposterous reward yet.

He knew what a Lan Dadan was, scientifically known as the Azure-winged Magpie, a small bird with light blue feathers.

Its shape was similar to a sparrow, but the light blue feathers made it look very beautiful, and it even appeared to have blue eyeshadow above its eyes.

The name Lan Dadan comes from its audacity; it was a very bold bird.

If you held out food in your hand toward it, it dared to fly down and hop onto your hand to eat.

Sometimes, even without food in hand, if you reached out toward it, Lan Dadan would dare to fly right over, land in the palm of your hand, and nibble on your fingers.

Other birds needed to feel comfortable before coming over.

Lan Dadan would come if you dared to offer food.

The bird was quite popular, but somewhat rare to see.

"Knocking itself out in the snow,"

"Sounds a bit like something a foolish roe deer would do."

"But these types of animals are all a bit silly. You can’t understand them by normal reasoning."

Xu Yang thought to himself.