Chapter 107: Catching Rabbits

  Thank you, Prince Flowing is a rogue again for your reward!

  Arriving at the mountain stream, everyone threw the wild chicken by the stream and squatted by the creek to scoop up water to wash their faces, then took a drink, instantly feeling refreshed.

  "It's so refreshing! This water is really good, much better than the so-called purified water and mineral water sold outside." Liu Yang said, then took another sip, not only was it cool, but it also seemed to have a sweet taste.

  "The so-called mountain spring water outside is probably just tap water, at most it's just more purified, you really think it's a big deal!" said Wen Qiu.

  "Big brother, this stream is too small, I'm afraid we can't catch big fish." Chu Jiaxiong observed the stream for a while and said based on his experience.

  The Chu family nodded slightly, and it was probably true.

  "Alright! You guys deal with these pheasants here, first open them up, pluck their feathers and clean them. I'll go catch a few more." said Fifth Uncle.

  Miao Huo and others also wanted to follow along to experience it, they enjoyed hunting, but didn't like plucking chicken feathers. Wu Shu Gong had no choice but to take them together, leaving behind Chu Jiaqiang, Li Lao Tou, Liu Laoshi and Wen Professor. Originally, Chu Jiaxiong also wanted to stay behind, but he disliked Li Lao Tou very much, so he followed along instead.

  "Chu's family is strong, remember to leave these beautiful long feathers for me, I want to take them back." Ye Xiaoshuang instructed. Chu Jiaqiang had no choice but to nod, guessing that even if he didn't do it himself, Old Man Li would also leave some behind.

  After those people left, especially after Chu Jiaxiong left, that little squirrel actually appeared again. Chu Jiaqiang was somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry, what did this little guy want to do?

  "Haha! This little squirrel is quite human-like! Professor Qiang, you already have several at home, why not take this one back too." Professor Wen said with a smile, he found that Chu Jiaqiang seemed to have the ability to get close to animals, especially those with higher intelligence. This little squirrel was indeed lovable, of course, except for maybe Chu Jiaxiong.

  "Haha! If it's willing, I don't mind raising another animal." Chu Jiaqiang said, thinking to himself that this little squirrel must have been attracted by the spiritual energy on his body, otherwise it wouldn't be following him so closely. He also discovered that since he started cultivating, the smarter the animal, the more they could sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy on his body.

  Who knows, that little squirrel seemed to understand everyone's conversation. As soon as Chu Jiaqiang finished speaking, it nodded vigorously and then licked its own paws.

  Everyone was stunned again, is this okay? Hopefully it's just a coincidence.

  "It seems that this little guy has really taken a liking to you. But I just can't figure out what it is about you that attracts it." Teacher Liu was also quite perplexed. Several people started to handle the wild chickens, plucking their feathers and opening their bellies.

  "He seems to have a certain appeal to many animals." Professor Wen pointed out the fact.

  "Could it be related to the old Taoist again? I remember that the old Taoist had a monkey before, which was also very dependent on him, and I even saw him communicate with small birds." Li Lao Tou remembered when he first came to Chu Jia Village, he thought the old Taoist was amazing. Now seeing Chu Jia Qiang being like this too, he couldn't help but suspect that it was a secret method passed down by the old Taoist.

  "Oh? Can communicate with little birds, how to communicate?" Professor Wen still heard such absurd words for the first time.

  Mr. Liu smiled and explained, "He can imitate almost all bird calls to communicate with the little birds, and although those little birds don't fully understand his calls, they can feel his intentions and respond to his summons."

  Obviously, Teacher Liu had also witnessed the old Taoist's abilities.

  "What a strange person!" Professor Wen exclaimed immediately. The others laughed but didn't speak, apparently also agreeing with this sentence.

  "Since you want to follow me, don't make trouble, got it? Otherwise, I'll kick you out." Chu Jiaqiang threatened. The little squirrel didn't know if he understood what Chu Jiaqiang said, but he kept nodding enthusiastically, and then suddenly turned around and ran back the way they came, under everyone's astonished gaze.

  "Haha! I thought that little squirrel was really so cunning! Fortunately, it feels relatively normal." Old Man Li laughed.

  Chu's family was embarrassed for a while, and unexpectedly, the little squirrel was so unreliable, playing such a trick on him.

  The fifth uncle brought a group of people to a small earth slope on the mountain, where the grass was lush and green. He looked around for a while before deciding to catch rabbits there.

  "Will there be rabbits here, old man?" Ye Xiaoshuang asked. The others also perked up their ears, wanting to learn a few tricks from this experienced old man.

  "Heh heh! See? This place has a relatively gentle slope, and there's lush green grass that isn't too tall. Take another look at the soil here, it's not as hard as those mountainous areas earlier, and the stream is just nearby. Places like this usually have wild rabbits coming and going. First, rabbits are clever, they usually dig burrows in a relatively high place so they can observe their surroundings. Second, there needs to be plenty of food and water sources nearby. Third, the slope of the land can't be too steep, or it won't be convenient for them to retreat." Fifth Uncle was generous with sharing his knowledge with these people.

  These are not profound knowledge, but some very ordinary life experiences. As long as you pay attention and observe, you can find out the habits of various animals. So it's said that life is full of knowledge, it doesn't mean that you must learn in school.

  "Huh! The bloodhound found a hole in the ground, could it be the rabbit's den?" Wen Qiu exclaimed with delight, his dog had finally earned him some face.

  "Good, that's the rabbit hole. Keep looking, there must be more than one entrance. Rabbits are cunning, people often say 'three burrows for a clever rabbit', but some rabbits have even more entrances. With their sharp ears, they can hear every little sound of wind and grass moving around them."

  Everyone quickly helped to search and soon found two more caves.

  The fifth uncle made a sliding loop with a thin iron wire, about the size of a rabbit's head, and placed it next to the hole, with the other end wrapped around a small tree nearby.

  "Is that all?" asked Wen Qiu.

  "Of course, if we use smoke to fumigate the burrows without blocking the exits, they will escape through the smoked exits. As they run out of the exits, their heads will get stuck in the iron wire loops. The originally loose loops will tighten and since they can only move forward, the loops will only get tighter until they strangle them to death." Wu Shu Gong explained.

  Then, at what looked like the main entrance and exit, a pile of firewood was ignited. After ignition, wet leaves were sprinkled on top to prevent burning, only allowing a large amount of smoke to escape, and then lying at the entrance of the cave, using clothes to fan the inside of the cave. The caves are interconnected, so if there are really rabbits inside, they will be smoked out, panicked and rushed out of several holes in the opposite direction of the smoke source.

  Before long, two big rabbits sprang out from inside and happened to drill into the loop of rope. The more they struggled, the tighter it became. Actually, if the rabbits had retreated, the loop would have loosened, but they didn't understand that.

  Two rabbits were taken away, and it's possible that there was another undiscovered hole not far from there. The two rabbits quickly escaped. Several dogs immediately ran out. Soon, the two rabbits were also caught and brought back.

  "Rabbits I've seen before were all white, how come these are brown and this one is dark grey. And their ears aren't as big as the ones I saw before." Ye Xiaoshuang felt a bit strange.

  "Hehe! Wild rabbits also have a north-south divide. In the north, they're generally called snow rabbits, with snow-white fur, probably the kind you've seen before, and bigger ears. Our southern ones are called grass rabbits, with smaller ears and colors similar to dry grass. If they were white, they'd be easily caught by predators, so we rarely see white wild rabbits in the south." Wu Shu said tirelessly. After finishing speaking, he walked forward and twisted the neck of the rabbit that hadn't died yet.

  Ye Xiaoshuang hummed in agreement, then looked away, seemingly feeling that this was a bit cruel to the rabbit.

  She is not a rural person and does not know how much the countryside people hate these wild rabbits. These wild rabbits have extremely strong reproductive abilities, as long as a few are left behind, in two years you may be able to see the scene of rabbits running everywhere again.

  The diet of the grass rabbit is complex and varies with its habitat. Generally, it likes to eat tender grasses, wild vegetables, and leaves of certain shrubs and trees; in winter, it eats roots, gnaws on twigs and young tree bark, and also eats lichens. When numerous, it often causes disasters for forestry. Grass rabbits living near farmland steal sweet potatoes and vegetables, gnaw on fruit trees, especially love to eat turnips, and in the spring, newly emerged bean seedlings are eaten in large quantities, causing great harm.

  "Oh no! There's a little white rabbit here." Ye Xiaoshuang suddenly discovered that at the entrance of the cave, there was another small white rabbit, only as big as a palm, with eyes full of terror, seemingly frightened silly.

  "Hmm! It's really a rare white rabbit? Let it go! Catching it is useless." said Fifth Uncle.

  "Let it go, it won't survive anyway. White rabbits aren't long-lived to begin with, and ones this small can't live independently." Chu Jiaxiong also said with experience.

  Wu Shu Gong fell silent, and Chu Jia Xiong's words were indeed reasonable. Ye Xiao Shuang pitied the little white rabbit: "Poor little rabbit! Let's take it back and raise it!"

  Chu Jiaxiong immediately agreed: "Great! This is for the best, take it back and take good care of it."

  Wu Shu glared at Chu Jiaxiong, this guy was also not harboring good intentions. Wild rabbits are not easy to raise, once they grow up, they will definitely make people's heads explode with frustration, very capable of causing trouble.

  Chu Jiaxiong indeed had no good intentions. Wild rabbits themselves used to be raised successfully, but they have some common habits with mountain rats, such as liking to gnaw things. Not only do they like to fiercely gnaw at the vegetables in your garden, but your family's granary may also be gnawed through, and even household items like slippers or electrical wires might get bitten off. When Chu Jiaxiong first raised wild rabbits, he was scolded by his family many times.

  Wu Shu said the habits of the wild rabbit, but Ye Xiaoshuang didn't care at all. Alright! Everyone had no opinion, so the little rabbit could only follow Ye Xiaoshuang.

  Everyone caught two more, a total of six rabbits, which should be enough to eat. In fact, people can't eat that much, but there are still a few dogs left. Seeing that it was almost enough, Fifth Uncle led everyone back on the original road.

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