The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 141: The Best Wood Is Cut Down by the Wind (760+) 1

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: The Best Wood Is Cut Down by the Wind (760+) 1

With Qi Shulin’s word, Village Chief Qi knew that Qi Shulin had agreed to go and take a look.

From Qi Jianguo, Qi Shuli, the head of the brigade, and others, it became clear that there were people in the village wanting to bring him down. Village Chief Qi could not just sit back; he needed more merit to prove his importance to the village, to benefit the villagers, so even if those people stirred up trouble behind his back and incited other villagers, the villagers would weigh in their hearts whether it was worth it!

Village Chief Qi also nodded, "Let’s go, let’s go up and take a look. If it’s really as you say, we could also take the opportunity before the New Year comes to make a profit and distribute it for everyone to have a good celebration." Then, seeing Zuo Li and Xiang Rong dressing thinly, he added, "As for the things this time, since you’ve told me about them, you’ve considered handing them over. I’m aware of it. Keep some of the rabbit meat for yourselves, the rabbit skins can be used for making coats. When we’ve sold the rabbit meat and other things, I’ll allocate some money and cloth coupons for you to make clothes, trying to ensure that you have winter clothes to wear as soon as possible."

What was sought after was fairness and for each to take what they needed; this affair was a perfect opportunity for Qijia Village.

In Qijia Village, one could eat their fill, and now what was lacking was cloth. Since Village Chief Qi had promised so much, they readily agreed.

When they went up the mountain in the afternoon, including Village Chief Qi and Qi Shulin, as well as the five others who went up, there were a total of seven people heading to the back mountain.

The traps in the morning were on the edge of the dense forest, but the remaining traps were inside the forest.

Qi Shulin’s eyes constantly swept around, looking here and there. With his naked eye, he indeed saw traces left by small animals and no traces of large predators. After about two hours of examination, walking deeper into the forest several miles in, they still hadn’t found traces of large predators.

Village Chief Qi and Qi Shulin were simultaneously tracking and heading to check the remaining traps set by Zuo Li and Xiang Rong.

Into the fifth trap, He Tiantian first leaned in to take a look. Thankfully, this time there were quite a few pheasants and two rabbits.

He Tiantian breathed a sigh of relief, not having to worry about Snake King making a mistake.

Although not many, as long as the traps weren’t empty, everyone was happy.

In the sixth trap, there were three mountain goats and a few rabbits.

By the time they reached the seventh trap, which was the closest to the inside, they were shocked to find a wild boar inside as well.

However, the wild boar wasn’t injured, judging from its lackluster appearance having been trapped for a long time in there.

"This... this is too much, we can’t carry it all," said Zuo Li. "Village Chief Qi, what do you think we should do?"

Village Chief Qi was also overjoyed. In the future, even if it wasn’t this much every day, they could still earn a considerable amount of money.

Moreover, if there really weren’t any large predators such as bears and tigers, only animals like wild boars, goats, deer, wild rabbits, and pheasants, then they could dig many traps in the dense forest. In this way, they could harvest even more game.

"Shulin, you have the experience, are there really no bears, tigers, or other large predators here?" Village Chief Qi suppressed the excitement in his heart and seriously asked.

Qi Shulin nodded: "At least in the large area, we just covered, there are no large predators. It’s getting late today, let’s leave these two wild boars here and come back for them tomorrow. We need to take out the game from those two traps first and hurry back. It gets particularly cold on the mountain at night, if we don’t leave now, people could freeze."

Upon hearing Qi Shulin’s words, everyone turned back to look at the trap and removed the game inside.

There wasn’t much, but enough to make everyone very happy.

As for Qi Shulin, he kept observing all along the way. There were no traces of large predators after going back and forth twice.

Along the way, Qi Shulin started to believe most of what Zuo Li and Xiang Rong said, remarking, "Comrade Zuo, Comrade Xiang, are you also hunters?"

"No, we’re not hunters. We used to be soldiers, responsible for scouting," Zuo Li answered, "Therefore, we can make accurate judgements based on the traces around us."

Qi Shulin was quite startled by this revelation; these men were even more formidable than himself! Scouts, with keen eyes — no wonder they were so bold. It turned out they had already thoroughly scouted the area.

Although curious why they had been sent down to Qijia Village, this didn’t affect Qi Shuli’s admiration for them.

"Impressive, impressive," Qi Shulin said, "Village Chief, tomorrow let’s bring tools, call the villagers, and haul those two big wild boars away. Comrade Zuo, Comrade Xiang, and I will continue to expand the search in the surrounding area. If there truly aren’t any large predators, we can dig more traps and capture even more game."

Village Chief Qi nodded and smiled, "Good, make sure to scout carefully. Although the game can be sold for money, human life is more important."

The group descended from the mountains as darkness had already fallen. He Tiantian hurried home and reported the day’s events to Third Grandma Qi.

Upon hearing that He Tiantian had gone into the dense woods, Third Grandma Qi was quite alarmed, saying, "You shouldn’t go there; let the men handle such matters. You’ve already gained enough attention for catching those big wild boars recently; standing out too much isn’t a good thing. Girl Tian, remember this: ’The tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be blown down by the wind.’ Stay at home and don’t go anywhere tomorrow."

Ah, Third Grandma Qi truly was a lady from a landlord’s family, someone who had studied the Four Books and Five Classics; her way of speaking was indeed different.

It’s true that all world’s wisdom is but learning!

In the entire village, only Third Grandma Qi was learned.

"Mhm, I won’t go. It’s very cold in the mountains." He Tiantian said, "I’ll stay home to keep you company, and you can tell me about the past."

He Tiantian indeed did not wish to get involved; after all, as a delicate girl, drawing too much attention could incite jealousy and even lead to trouble. She should devote some energy to reading and studying, aspiring to get into the university of her dreams. It was at night that He Tiantian would go hunting in the cave behind the mountain, catching rabbits and wild chickens, waiting for a chance to sell them to support her family.

As He Tiantian rested at night, the more she thought, the more she felt something was amiss, and so she summoned — no — according to Snake King’s words, it was more of a request for an audience.

"Snake King, there used to be bears, buffalo, tigers, and other wild animals behind the mountain; why aren’t they there now?" He Tiantian asked. If that dense forest was not suitable for animals to live in, then why could rabbits, wild chickens, and wild boars thrive there in such large numbers?

Snake King, bleary-eyed and swaying his head as if not fully awake, said slowly, "Actually, it’s quite simple. The higher the level of the prey, the more sensitive they are to danger. Those large animals at the top of the food chain, upon sensing danger, would leave this place for deeper wooded areas, or wander to other locations."