fictionpage Chapter 17 Discovery of Red Deer
Chapter 17 Discovery of Red Deer
On the road to Chahar Lake, the snow was noticeably thicker than it had been two days ago, already reaching above knee-deep.
Fortunately, they walked back and forth several times in the past two days and made a path, otherwise it would have been really difficult to walk.
As the day of the great snow disaster drew closer, even though Li Xiangyang had experienced it once in his previous life, he still felt a nameless fear.
Thinking back to my past life, nearly a meter of snow covered the entire grassland for more than two months.
Countless cattle and sheep on the grasslands either starved or froze to death, and the cries of the herders filled the air. The memory of that scene is terrifying.
Faced with such a natural disaster, what can he do, even as a reborn ordinary citizen of the stars?
A speck of dust in the era becomes an insurmountable mountain when it falls on each individual!
And all he could do was try his best to protect himself.
"Brother, what are you thinking about? You haven't said anything for a while."
Li Xiangdong, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked.
Since his rebirth a couple of days ago, Li Xiangyang has been particularly fond of talking to his brother because he hasn't seen him in a long time.
Li Xiangdonghai felt a little uneasy that she was suddenly silent, and a sense of emptiness filled his heart.
"No, I wasn't thinking about anything. By the way, brother, don't you think this year's snowfall is a bit strange?"
Li Xiangyang tried to gradually guide the people around him to pay attention to the snow disaster, otherwise many of the things he would do later would seem very abrupt.
"Really? It's not surprising. It's just been raining a bit more frequently. I feel fine. I think you've been acting strangely these past few days; you've changed quite a bit."
"Forehead…….?"
Li Xiangyang was speechless…..
"I'm talking about serious business with you, why are you dragging me into this! Seriously, haven't you noticed how strange the snow has been lately? It's suddenly become so much more frequent than in previous years. I just finished shoveling it, and it starts snowing again right afterward."
Li Xiangdong scratched his head. After Li Xiangyang said that, he did feel that the snowfall this year was a bit strange.
"Brother, now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange. But you don't need to be so sensitive. It's just the weather being unusual sometimes, it's nothing to worry about."
"Well, okay! Maybe I'm being a bit too alarmed, but we still need to keep a close eye on things. After all, there are still more than 10 sheep in the pen, so we can't be careless."
If the snow continues to fall this frequently, we need to make more preparations in advance, just in case.
"Okay, sure."
Li Xiangdong readily agreed, but he didn't think anything would happen. However, Li Xiangyang's reminder made him more careful in the future.
But for Li Xiangyang, that was enough.
He brought a gun with him when he went out today. He passed by the small hill where deer appeared in his previous life, so he climbed up to take a look, but still didn't find any trace of deer. Feeling a little disappointed, he came back down.
The two brothers arrived at the two ice holes they had previously chiseled. Since Li Xiangyang had swept some snow to cover them before leaving yesterday, only a thin layer of ice had formed today.
Li Xiangdong picked up a shovel and smashed them all with a few taps. Immediately, several small crucian carp poked their heads out and frantically gasped for air, clearly having been suffocating.
Li Xiangyang reacted quickly, steadied himself, picked up the net and shoved it into the ice hole. With a powerful thrust of his waist, he sent several small crucian carp, along with ice shards, flying onto the snow.
The silvery-gray crucian carp shone brightly in the sunlight. When they were put on the snow, they struggled vigorously, but they were frozen solid after only a few struggles.
Li Xiangdong picked up the burlap sack he had prepared beforehand and skillfully filled it with the ingredients, muttering to himself as he did so: "Twenty-two cents, forty-four cents..."
His face was beaming with an irrepressible smile.
Li Xiangyang also laughed, feeling great about leading his family to prosperity.
Seeing several more carp emerge from the ice hole next door, Li Xiangyang picked up his net and went to search for them.
The two brothers spent an hour and a half scooping fish back and forth between the two ice caves, taking two breaks to warm themselves by the fire. In the end, they caught more than 130 pounds of fish.
There are crucian carp, common carp, small fish and other miscellaneous fish.
Finally, Li Xiangyang thought that catching fish through two ice holes was too slow, so after Li Xiangdong had put all the fish into a sack, he dragged Li Xiangdong to a nearby reed bed and chiseled another ice hole.
After the third ice hole was finished, they pulled a sled full of fish and went back, satisfied.
Li Xiangdong volunteered to pull the sled, and Li Xiangyang, knowing this was his brother's way of expressing gratitude, did not stop him.
After all, it used to be the prince who led him to do things, and suddenly their roles were reversed. As an honest man, the prince must have felt bad.
It wasn't because Li Xiangyang had taken the lead, but because he felt that as the eldest brother, he should be taken care of by his younger brother.
I felt a little guilty.
And so, Li Xiangdong pulled the sled ahead, his footsteps wading through the snow, while Li Xiangyang followed leisurely behind, carrying a gun on his back.
It's snowing again.
A thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of snow-capped mountains,
At this moment, the vast grassland was a boundless expanse of white, sparsely populated, and utterly silent, except for the two brothers.
Just as Li Xiangyang was marveling at the magnificence of nature and the insignificance of humankind, a thin shepherd boy darted past them.
"Brother, did you see that? A child just ran past. It's snowing so badly, and they're still out playing. I wonder whose child it is?"
"I saw him. He must have come out to collect firewood. I saw that he was dragging a few dead branches on his back. He's a good kid. He's so young and he already knows how to help his family."
Li Xiangyang, with a dry reed dangling from his mouth, responded indistinctly.
Snowy day, shepherd boy, gathering firewood...
Li Xiangyang suddenly froze, turned his head and looked, and saw that the direction the shepherd boy was running from was the small mound where the deer appeared in his previous life!
Without hesitation, he quickly bent down and climbed up the earthen slope.
Sure enough, just as he approached the highest point of the earthen slope, he heard several low, guttural sounds, like the mooing of cattle or the roar of lions, coming from the hollow behind the slope.
That was clearly the unique call of a red deer. Li Xiangyang instantly became excited, and his hands trembled involuntarily.
He turned to his brother Li Xiangdong and waved, signaling Li Xiangdong to quietly go first. He took off the Type 53 rifle from his back, loaded the bullets, and then crept towards the top of the hillside.
Although Li Xiangdong had reservations, he knew that Li Xiangyang had spotted prey, otherwise he wouldn't have a gun in his hand. He just didn't know if he had seen a wild boar or a pack of wolves.
However, he had witnessed Li Xiangyang's marksmanship firsthand that day; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could hit a target from a hundred paces away.
He didn't follow them, and quietly dragged his sled home.
Since his younger brother was safe, he could take advantage of the heavy snow and the absence of people on the road to secretly transport the fish home.
Li Xiangyang sprinkled a lot of snow on his hat and cotton-padded coat to cover himself, then crouched down and tiptoed up the hillside.
But when he reached the top of the hill, the deer had already run away, leaving only a long row of dense deer footprints!
"Damn it, I was still a step too late."
Li Xiangyang spat and cursed, intending to turn around and walk back, but then felt unwilling to give up.
In this heavy snow, it's rare to spot a deer, especially one carrying a gun; we can't just let it go like this.
They followed the footprints left by the deer in the snow.