Chapter 361: Catching Rabbits

At this moment, Zhou Yimin said, “Don’t throw away the internal organs. Maybe they can attract some wild animals. We might get some additional gains later.”

Zhou Daming and the others’ eyes lit up instantly. They hadn’t expected this kind of approach.

“Uncle Sixteen, no wonder you’re the smartest person in the village,” Zhou Daming praised, giving him a thumbs-up.

Zhou Darong then picked up the rabbit entrails they had just thrown on the ground, found a suitable spot, and tossed them there, hoping they might lure something in later.

After dealing with the rabbit, they began building a fire. Fortunately, they had matches—no need to rub sticks together, which could have taken who knows how long.

They first gathered some dry leaves and placed them under the firewood. Zhou Daming struck a match and lit the leaves.

The weather was dry, so the firewood caught quickly.

Zhou Daming took a stick and skewered the rabbit straight from head to tail, piercing it clean through. Then he placed the rabbit over the fire. To ensure even cooking, it had to be rotated steadily. The rabbit weighed a few jin; it wasn’t too bad if it cooked quickly, but if it took too long, it would be exhausting to keep turning it.

Zhou Yimin noticed the difficulty and said, “No need to struggle like this. Go find a few wooden sticks.”

Although Zhou Darong found it a bit odd, he followed instructions and soon came back with several wooden sticks from nearby.

“Uncle Sixteen, I found the wood.”

Zhou Yimin looked at the wood on the ground, took the axe from Zhou Daming, and saw that some of the sticks were too long. He laid them on the ground and marked them at equal lengths.

After cutting off the excess, he was left with sticks of equal length.

Then, he stuck them into the ground in a crisscross fashion and used the axe to hammer them deeper.

Before long, Zhou Yimin had created a rotating spit.

“Put the rabbit on the rack. This way, turning it won’t be so tiring.”

Zhou Daming and the others followed his suggestion, placing the rabbit on the rack. Sure enough, it was much easier. Even one hand could turn it with ease—nothing like the struggle earlier.

“Uncle Sixteen, you’re amazing! Is there anything you don’t know?” Zhou Darong looked at Zhou Yimin with admiration.

Seeing Zhou Darong’s gaze, Zhou Yimin immediately thought of those fanatical fans from the future who’d do anything for their idols. He got goosebumps and even shivered.

As time passed, the smell of the roasting rabbit grew stronger. Everyone present couldn’t help but swallow hard.

If it weren’t so cold, they probably would’ve drooled all over the place.

Zhou Darong was already hungry. Now the aroma was torturous since he couldn’t eat yet.

The sound of his stomach growling came again.

This time, though, Zhou Darong wasn’t embarrassed. His attention was fully on the roast rabbit.

Zhou Daming kept turning it. As much as he wanted to eat, it wasn’t done yet.

“Daming, how much longer? I’m starving,” someone asked, unable to bear it.

“Yeah! I’ve practically drooled a whole puddle.”

Zhou Daming replied, “Almost there. Another ten minutes or so.”

Zhou Yimin could smell it too. He had to admit, there was nothing like the pure flavor of natural, unaltered meat. Unlike many things in the back hills that were enhanced with all kinds of chemicals and additives.

Take broth, for example—normally it requires a lot of ingredients and long simmering. But with certain additives, a pot of plain water, a pinch of this, and a bit of that, even a novice wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Same with pre-made dishes. They’re cooked in advance, then just reheated in hot water when it’s time to serve—ready in under five minutes.

That ten minutes felt like the longest ten minutes of Zhou Darong and the others’ lives.

Once time was up, Zhou Daming took the rabbit off the fire. “It’s done. We can eat now.”

Without hesitation, he tore off a rabbit leg and handed it to Zhou Yimin. “Uncle Sixteen, you eat first!”

Zhou Yimin didn’t stand on ceremony. He took it and immediately started eating.

Seeing that, Zhou Darong and the others couldn’t hold back anymore and joined in.

“If only we had some wine right now,” Zhou Daming said wistfully as he chewed the roast rabbit.

Wine was a rare commodity these days. Grain shortages had raised the cost of brewing. For ordinary folks, getting a drink had always been difficult—now it was even harder.

In just over ten minutes, they devoured all three rabbits, leaving only some bones behind. If the bones hadn’t been so hard, Zhou Darong and the others might have eaten those too.

With full bellies, if it hadn’t been so cold, they would’ve laid down for a nap right there.

“Let’s go check the organs we left out earlier. Maybe we got lucky,” Zhou Yimin suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zhou Darong led the way. The group walked softly, worried that loud footsteps might scare off any nearby animals.

It wasn’t far—just a five-minute walk.

From a distance, they could already see some animals feeding on the bait.

Zhou Daming whispered, “Let’s use the guns. If we get any closer, we’ll scare them away.”

No one objected.

Zhou Daming began assigning targets to avoid everyone shooting at the same one.

“Darong, you take the one farthest on the right.”

“You take the second one from the right.”

“I’ll shoot the one on the far left.”

“Uncle Sixteen, you get the one in the middle.”

Everyone nodded to show they understood.

They each aimed at their designated targets. At Zhou Daming’s command, they fired simultaneously.

“One, two, three—shoot!”

Gunshots rang out immediately, scaring the rest of the animals away.

Unfortunately, Zhou Darong and another person missed their targets. Only Zhou Yimin and Zhou Daming hit theirs.

Zhou Darong and the other man were visibly frustrated. They hadn’t expected to miss.

“Darong, don’t you always say you’ve got great aim? You should’ve let me shoot—bet I wouldn’t have missed,” someone nearby muttered.

Zhou Daming quickly stepped in to defuse the tension. “Let’s not say too much. We all know Darong’s skills. He just didn’t perform his best this time, that’s all. No need to dwell on it.”

Hearing that, the others quieted down.

“Go get the prey. Let’s see what kind of greedy animals they were. Bet they didn’t expect the hunters to turn the tables this fast!” someone chuckled.

Hearing that, Zhou Darong stepped forward and went to retrieve the game they’d brought down.

(End of Chapter)