Chapter 57: Wild Rabbits

Walking on mountain roads was more exhausting, so Yan Huaiwen adjusted their daily travel time to six hours.

They still traveled in two shifts, morning and afternoon.

Compared to walking eight hours a day on official roads with a large group of disaster victims, everyone found this new pace much easier.

No one knew exactly how much distance they covered each day.

But Yan Lao’er did.

At noon and in the evening, he would take Sanbao out under the pretense of scouting the road. In reality, he was measuring their daily mileage to calculate how much farther they had to travel before reaching the lush green mountains his daughter had been longing for.

After listening to Sanbao’s usual lowing, he began practicing archery.

Releasing the safety, aiming at a tree—

Shoot!

He had become quite proficient at this sequence of actions.

But today, the moment his arrow left the bow, he felt something was off.

What was that gray thing under the tree?

A rabbit?!

By the time he realized, it was too late.

The gray rabbit, startled, hopped away in a blink.

Regret hit Yan Lao’er like a wave.

A plate of meat had been right in front of him, and he had failed to hit it!

When he returned to the group, everyone could tell his mood was sour—his brows drooped, and his expression was gloomy.

“Dad! What’s wrong?” Yan Yu, his thoughtful little cotton-padded jacket, came to check on him.

“Daughter! Your father has sinned! I finally came across a rabbit, but before I could even get a good look, my arrow scared it away.”

Yan Yu gasped. “A rabbit?!”

She asked repeatedly, “Dad, you saw a wild rabbit? Really? In this barren mountain, there are still living creatures? Are you sure you didn’t mistake it for something else?”

Yan Lao’er, feeling slighted, insisted, “I saw it clearly. Gray fur, squatting right under the tree. I shot an arrow, and it hopped away—zigzagging, not even in a straight line.”

“Rabbits live in groups, Dad. Let’s look for them!” Yan Yu was unwilling to give up on the meat that had once been so close to her father.

Yan Lao’er thought about it—he wasn’t skilled at catching rabbits, but maybe someone in the village was.

It was worth asking.

San Tie’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“What? There are rabbits here?”

Yet another skeptic.

“I swear I saw one! But I scared it away—it was gray.”

“Hey! Uncle, wait here! I’ll grab some people and some gear.” San Tie darted off in a flash.

When he returned, he brought along a group of half-grown boys.

None of them came empty-handed.

Yan Lao’er took a look—two had slingshots, while the rest carried crude little bows, complete with small wooden arrows.

It felt oddly like he was leading kids on a play hunt…

Yan Lao’er glanced at the sky. It was still early before they had to resume their afternoon journey.

The newly appointed “kids’ leader” led them to the tree where he had seen the rabbit.

Surprisingly, they looked quite professional.

One by one, they crouched low, searching the ground carefully.

“Found it!” a boy suddenly exclaimed.

The others crowded around.

Yan Lao’er also leaned in for a look—

It was rabbit droppings…

The boys were thrilled. Soon, more tracks and more droppings were discovered nearby.

They discussed where the rabbit den might be and split up to search.

Finally—

They found it!

Yan Lao’er: …

Watching this whole process, he felt like he had lived his years in vain.

San Tie lit a handful of dry grass and tossed it into the rabbit den.

The boys quickly took their positions.

Yan Lao’er thought—he couldn’t just stand idle.

He released the safety, raised his crossbow, and widened his eyes to scan every inch of land around him.

It was said that a cunning rabbit had three burrows—who knew which one it would escape from?

A rabbit appeared!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two stones shot out.

The slingshot wielders struck their target, and the rabbit fell.

No one moved.

Soon, another rabbit bolted from the den.

A flurry of arrows followed. But since the boys were still beginners, their aim and strength were lacking—the rabbit escaped unscathed.

Again, the slingshot came through, bringing down another rabbit.

The boys jumped in excitement and followed the smoke trailing from the burrow’s exit, blocking the way.

They caught three baby rabbits alive.

San Tie grinned and handed one to Yan Lao’er. “For Second Girl to play with.”

Yan Lao’er instinctively took it—a soft little ball, trembling in his hands.

The baby rabbit was scared.

“This little thing barely has any meat. Might as well let it go,” Yan Lao’er said.

San Tie chuckled. “Little girls love these things! Let them play for a while—once they’ve had their fun, we’ll release it.”

If they were back home, they could keep the rabbits for a few days, feed them, and fatten them up before eating them.

But under current circumstances, just letting the girls enjoy them for a bit would have to do.

The boys, feeling like victorious generals, proudly carried their two skinny rabbits back.

They decided to give one to Yan Lao’er and split the other among themselves.

After some whispered negotiations, they divided it fairly—the two slingshot users, since their weapons had been the most effective, got the largest shares, while the others split the rest evenly.

To ensure fairness, they found Luo Family’s Third Uncle, who was rumored to have butchered pigs before. Dividing a rabbit should be easy for him.

Luo Laosan skinned and gutted the rabbit but couldn’t help feeling amused while cutting up the meat.

This rabbit was so scrawny—after chopping it up, there was barely anything left. And they still insisted on making sure each share was perfectly even.

But boys at this age were serious about fairness, so he didn’t argue.

A few extra cuts, and the job was done.

—

Yan Yu hadn’t expected to receive an adorable baby rabbit.

She stared at the rabbit, and the rabbit stared back at her.

She didn’t dare touch it recklessly. She had heard rabbits were timid, and if a towering giant like her reached out with “sinister claws,” she might scare it to death.

Was she taking in a delicate little ancestor?

“Dad! I don’t want to raise a rabbit!” Yan Yu protested.

Cats were cute, dogs were loyal—but if she ever had a pet, it definitely wouldn’t be a rabbit.

“Just look at it for a while—we’ll let it go later. So? Isn’t your dad amazing? He can even catch rabbits now!” Yan Lao’er shamelessly took credit for the capture.

“So amazing, so amazing!” Yan Yu giggled. “Dad, I want roasted rabbit! That would make you even more amazing.”

Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

“We ate their snake, and they sent us back a rabbit. Haha, those kids are quite considerate.” Yan Lao’er nudged the baby rabbit toward her. “Wanna touch it? If not, I’ll set it free.”

Yan Yu hesitated, then gently poked its soft fur.

Ooh, it felt so nice.

The baby rabbit’s breathing turned rapid.

She quickly said, “Let it go! Let it go!”

Yan Lao’er walked away to release the rabbit, then came back to collect the bigger one.

“I’ll find Luo Laosan and have him handle it.” Since he was already involved, might as well go all the way.

Yan Yu ran to find her mother. “Mom, we have rabbit meat! Dad caught a rabbit!”

Li Xuemei was discussing with the village women about making fabric bags with long straps—essentially, simple backpacks.

But the women shook their heads, saying long straps were too risky. If someone stole from the bag, they wouldn’t even notice.

The previous design, with two shoulder straps, was better—it could be hugged in front for security, or worn on the back while working.

They urged Li Xuemei to hurry and make a sample so they could see the final product.

(End of chapter)