bookrandom Chapter 495 Setting up a trap
Chapter 495 Setting up a trap
The car drove out of the county town and bumped along the country roads.
Li Xiangyang gazed at the fields and villages that flashed by along the roadside, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
If he missed many opportunities in his past life, then in this life, he must seize every single one.
The two chatted and laughed all the way, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Xiaoliang Village.
As soon as the car entered the village, several children ran excitedly toward them, including Li Xiangyang's son, Li Wangchen.
"Dad's back!" Li Wangchen shouted excitedly, his little face flushed.
Li Xiangyang stopped the car, smiled, and picked up his son: "Missed Daddy?"
"Yes!" Li Wangchen nodded vigorously. "Dad, let's go home."
After putting his son down, Li Xiangyang turned to Wang Ergou: "I'm leaving. See you later."
Wang Ergou nodded and continued driving forward.
Li Xiangyang held his son's hand and walked home. Along the way, Li Wangchen excitedly showed him the new skills he had learned in the past few days.
As soon as she arrived home, she saw Li Xiaoyun hanging clothes to dry in the yard. Seeing her husband and son return, she put down her bamboo pole and greeted them, "You're back? How did things go?"
Li Xiangyang smiled broadly: "Everything went very smoothly. The ginseng sold for a good price, and we even found out about a fur trader from out of town who reportedly offered a very high price."
Li Xiaoyun's eyes lit up: "That's great!"
“Yes.” Li Xiangyang patted his wife’s hand. “By the way, I plan to go to the mountains again tomorrow. This time, I mainly want to organize some people to see if we can get some fox and otter pelts; out-of-town bosses are willing to pay high prices for them.”
Li Xiaoyun said with some concern, "It just rained, the mountain road must be slippery, don't take any risks."
Li Xiangyang smiled and reassured her, "I know what I'm doing, I won't try to be a hero."
The next morning, while it was still barely light, Li Xiangyang got up.
In the courtyard, the morning mist was thick. He quietly finished washing up and was about to go out when Li Xiaoyun came out of the house wearing an overcoat.
"Leaving so early?" Li Xiaoyun rubbed her sleepy eyes and handed him a warm steamed bun. "Eat before you go."
Li Xiangyang took the steamed bun, took a bite, and said, "I need to find Zhang Weiping and Li Daqiang first to discuss our trip into the mountains today."
"Remember to bring some dry food, don't go hungry," Li Xiaoyun instructed, handing him a small cloth bag.
Li Xiangyang took the cloth bag and carefully placed it into his backpack: "Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself."
After leaving his home, Li Xiangyang went straight to Wang Ergou's house.
Wang Ergou was already waiting in the courtyard. When he saw Li Xiangyang, he immediately came to greet him.
"Brother Xiangyang, I'm all ready." Wang Ergou patted the tool bag beside him. "I've brought wire, rope, and clips."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Okay, let's go find Zhang Weiping and Li Daqiang first."
The two men arrived at Zhang Weiping's and Li Daqiang's homes one after the other, and soon the four of them gathered together.
“Our main goal this time is to find foxes and otters,” Li Xiangyang said to the three. “I heard from Boss Liu that out-of-town merchants are offering high prices for these two types of pelts.”
Zhang Weiping's eyes lit up: "Where do we look for them? Do we just go deep into the mountains?"
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "No need. Small animals like foxes and otters don't need to venture deep into the mountains like bears or wild boars. Our main task this time is to set traps; the foot of the mountain and the riverbank will suffice."
"Shall we split up?" Li Daqiang asked.
“Yes,” Li Xiangyang nodded, “Ergou and I will be in charge of the foxes, and you and Weiping will be in charge of the otters. The otters mostly stay near the river, so you two go to the other side of the stream to set up the traps.”
The four agreed on a plan, checked their equipment, and set off into the mountains.
Walking towards the foot of the mountain, Li Xiangyang whispered to Wang Ergou, "Ergou, we need to hurry and set up the trap."
Wang Ergou nodded: "Brother Xiangyang, how many foxes do you think we'll catch this time?"
"It's hard to say," Li Xiangyang said, gazing at the distant mountains and forests, "but as long as the method is right, we shouldn't leave empty-handed."
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Li Xiangyang stopped and carefully observed his surroundings.
“Look,” he pointed to a series of small footprints on the ground, “these are fox tracks, left just last night.”
Wang Ergou squatted down, looking at the clear footprints in surprise: "Brother Xiangyang, you have sharp eyes!"
Li Xiangyang smiled. "Just years of hunting experience." He pointed in the direction the footprints led, "Following this direction, we should be able to find its activity area."
The two followed the footprints carefully, stopping from time to time to observe their surroundings.
“Foxes are very cunning,” Li Xiangyang said in a low voice. “You have to be extra careful when setting traps; you can’t leave too much human scent, otherwise they’ll sense the danger.”
After walking for about half an hour, their footprints led them to an area overgrown with bushes. Li Xiangyang stopped and pointed to a small mound in the distance: "Look there, that's a fox den."
Wang Ergou looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a hole of moderate size on the slope.
The two approached cautiously. Li Xiangyang first carefully observed the environment around the cave entrance, then pointed to several paths: "These are the routes the foxes take in and out. We'll set traps along these paths."
He skillfully bent the wire into a loop, fixed one end to the ground, and made a slipknot at the other end. Then he carefully covered it with branches and fallen leaves to ensure that no flaws could be seen.
The two set up more than a dozen traps along the fox trails they had discovered, ensuring that no matter which direction the fox came from, it would be likely to step on one.
"That's about it," Li Xiangyang said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Let's check on the results first thing tomorrow morning. Foxes are usually nocturnal, so we should have a good haul then."
Wang Ergou nodded, then suddenly pointed into the distance: "Brother Xiangyang, there seem to be traces over there too!"
Li Xiangyang looked in the direction he pointed and indeed found some trampling marks. The two immediately went to investigate and discovered that it was another area where foxes roamed.
"Looks like there are quite a few foxes around here," Li Xiangyang said with satisfaction. "Let's set a few more traps."
And so, the two spent another hour setting up several traps in the newly discovered area.
The sun was already high in the sky. After a short rest and a meal, the two continued searching for fox tracks at the foot of the mountain. They discovered several more suspicious spots and set traps there.
It wasn't until the sun was setting that the two decided to return to the village and meet up with Li Daqiang and Zhang Weiping.
At the village entrance, they encountered Li Daqiang and Zhang Weiping, who were also covered in sweat.
"How is it?" Li Xiangyang asked.
Li Daqiang excitedly said, "We found several otter tracks along the riverbank and set more than ten traps!"
Zhang Weiping added, "I also saw several otters swimming in the river. Their fur was so glossy and smooth; they must be worth a lot of money!"
Li Xiangyang nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, let's check the traps first thing tomorrow morning and see if we've found anything."
The four agreed on a meeting time for tomorrow and then went home.