Chapter 53: How is his luck so good?

When Li Long woke up, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Having slept for over eight hours, he felt refreshed and invigorated.

After getting up and dressing, he heard movement coming from the west room. He pushed the door open and saw his sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, steaming buns.

"Why didn't you sleep a bit longer?" Liang Yuemei asked with a smile. "There's nothing to do anyway, and you've been working hard for the past two days."

"I set some rabbit snares yesterday. I'm planning to go check on them in a bit."

"Uncle! Uncle! You set rabbit snares? When are you going to collect them? Can I come along?" Li Qiang shouted from the inner room.

"No, it's too far. You won't be able to keep up."

"I'm not afraid of being tired!" Li Qiang, being at an age full of energy and curiosity, ran out of the inner room, speaking with excitement.

"Where did you set them?" Liang Yuemei asked.

"Red Willow Beach. It's about a kilometer and a half away."

"Then let him go. It'll be good exercise for him. By the time you guys get back, it should be time for dinner."

"Alright then." Li Long nodded, then turned to Li Qiang and said, "Dress warmly."

"Mom, I want to go too," Li Juan suddenly spoke up.

"Fine."

Li Long led Li Juan and Li Qiang, following yesterday's footprints toward the east.

"Uncle, how many rabbits can we catch this time?" Li Qiang asked as they walked. His pant legs were tucked tightly into his cotton boots to prevent snow from getting in. Although walking was cumbersome, he was too excited to feel the fatigue.

Li Juan followed at the rear, carrying a urea bag, without saying a word.

"I don't know. Maybe not even one," Li Long said as he walked. He had to pace himself to match the speed of the two children, so he didn't walk fast.

The fields were a vast expanse of white, but reeds grew along the ridges. These plants were incredibly resilient; even if you dug up the roots and left them out in the sun for a few days, they would still sprout after being buried in the soil again.

In this stage of farming, this was the most annoying thing. Decades later, once a specific type of herbicide was invented, one could simply spray it and the reeds would die.

Li Long remembered when he first arrived, he used to pick up reed roots while following the plowing tractors. If you peeled the white root and chewed it, it was sweet, just like eating sugarcane.

Supposedly, it was even used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Lost in his wandering thoughts, he didn't even hear Li Qiang's question.

"Uncle, Uncle! How much further?" After walking less than a kilometer, Li Qiang was starting to struggle.

"Look ahead," Li Long snapped back to reality and pointed toward a patch of red willows. "It's right there by those willows."

"If you don't want to walk, then go back!" Li Juan gave her brother no face whatsoever. "You're the one who insisted on coming!"

"I don't want to go back. We're almost there," Li Qiang encouraged himself. "Maybe we'll see a rabbit as soon as we arrive!"

By the time they reached the Red Willow Beach, all three were panting heavily.

Holding the urea bag, Li Long asked the siblings

"Are you coming in with me, or waiting here?"

"I want to go in!" Li Qiang raised his hand. Li Juan didn't speak, but she raised her hand as well.

"Alright. Stay behind me. Step exactly where I step."

He followed yesterday's footprints into the brush and soon reached the location of the first snare. He felt a pang of disappointment; it was empty.

The second, third, and fourth snares were also empty.

Both Li Juan and Li Qiang could see the snares, and seeing nothing inside left them deeply disappointed.

As they continued further in, Li Qiang couldn't help but say

"Uncle, are we going to have to go back empty-handed today?" Having seen no rabbits, his voice was already tinged with a hint of a sob from the disappointment.

Li Long felt like laughing. The little guy had endured the fatigue and followed with such hope, only to see nothing. The disappointment was indeed significant.

"Be quiet!" Li Juan instinctively suppressed him. "What if you scare the rabbits away?"

The words of comfort Li Long was about to offer were swallowed back down; having an older sister watching over her brother really did work.

Li Qiang fell silent and continued to follow quietly.

"A rabbit! A rabbit!" A moment later, Li Long stopped. Seeing a rabbit on the ground that had frozen stiff, Li Qiang shouted excitedly.

An adult gray rabbit, weighing two or three kilograms, had its neck caught in the snare and was already rigid.

Li Long untied the thin wire snare along with the rabbit and placed it in the bag.

"Uncle, Uncle, let me see!" Li Qiang said excitedly.

"Be quiet!" Equally excited, Li Juan didn't forget to smack Li Qiang. "What if you scare the rabbits away?"

Li Qiang was used to it and didn't mind. He took the bag, pulled the rabbit out, and muttered

"It's so heavy! I wonder how much meat is on it..."

Well, unlike children in later generations who would say how "cute" a rabbit was, children back then saw a rabbit and immediately thought about whether it was edible. Future generations might not understand, but it was perfectly normal then.

In an era of meat and oil shortages, people would eat whatever wild game they could catch. There were no animal protection laws at the time.

Li Long continued forward. Li Qiang carried the bag, and when Li Juan tried to take it from him, he refused.

"Another one! A live one!" This time, Li Qiang's voice was even louder!

Under a large red willow, a gray rabbit was nearly strangled to death, frothing at the mouth. Seeing someone approaching, the rabbit, which had been motionless, began to struggle violently. The more it struggled, the tighter the thin wire constricted.

Li Long rushed over, grabbed it by the ears, and finally managed to untie the wire after lifting it up. He then brought it over to Li Juan and Li Qiang.

"See? It's almost dead."

It was slightly smaller than the previous one, still frothing at the mouth, but its vitality was quite tenacious. Li Long suspected its windpipe had been constricted, but the blood vessels hadn't ruptured, which is why it was still alive.

"Uncle, can I hold it?" Li Qiang asked.

"No," Li Long hurriedly stopped him. "This fellow is quite fierce, and its claws might carry disease. You can't grab it... you can touch it, just touch the back of its head."

Li Qiang immediately reached out to touch it, then instantly pulled back, terrified of being scratched.

Li Juan also touched it, once, then again.

Li Long twisted the rabbit's head to kill it and placed it in the bag.

They found two more dead ones further on. This time, Li Long took the bag himself; the four rabbits weighed nearly ten kilograms.

On the way back, at the edge of the Red Willow Beach, Li Long unexpectedly discovered one more live one.

This one was hopping around vigorously; it must have just gotten caught in the snare. It was hunkered down under the roots of a red willow, pressed close to the ground. If one's eyesight wasn't good, they might have missed it entirely.

As soon as Li Long approached, it suddenly lunged and kicked toward him!

It actually attacked!

This was also the largest of the five rabbits. With quick reflexes, Li Long grabbed it by the ears and hoisted it up.

The rabbit was clearly experienced; even while being held up by its ears, it arched its body and kicked violently at Li Long with its hind legs!

"Uncle, watch out!" Li Juan saw it and shouted anxiously.

Li Long thought to himself, *As if this little brat could actually hurt me?* Holding the rabbit by its ears, he slammed it hard against the ground!

Because the thin wire snare was still restricting it, he didn't use full force. The rabbit was stunned by the impact but actually tried to scramble up to escape. Li Long grabbed its ears again, swung it, and slammed it hard against the ground once more!

This time, it was gone for good.

Only then did Li Long untie the wire, put the rabbit in the bag, and headed home.

"Uncle, you're really amazing!" This time, Li Qiang said it from the bottom of his heart.

Li Long smiled, feeling a bit of pride in his heart.

Upon returning to the production team, they ran into their neighbor, Xie Dafa, from the front courtyard. Xie Dafa was two years older than Li Long, and the younger crowd often called him "Brother Fa." A couple of years later, when the show *The Bund* aired, people would often tease him about it, but he wouldn't get angry; he would habitually say, "Then call me 'foresighted'—I existed before the television, didn't I?"

Seeing Li Long and the others returning with a bag, Brother Fa asked from a distance

"Xiao Long, what were you doing out so early?"

Before Li Long could speak, Li Qiang blurted out

"Uncle Dafa, my uncle took us rabbit hunting! We caught several!"

Li Long thought to himself, *Li Qiang, you big mouth!*

Don't you know how to keep a low profile?

Brother Fa was both curious and surprised

"Rabbit hunting? How did you catch them?"

Li Long explained with a smile

"It wasn't hunting, per se. I set some snares yesterday. It seems my luck was good overnight; I caught a few."

"Let me see." Brother Fa was somewhat skeptical. He reached out to open the mouth of the bag to look inside. Seeing live rabbits, he clicked his tongue in amazement

"Xiao Long, you're impressive! Many people in our team have heard of these rabbit snares, but few have actually made them. I didn't expect you to not only make them but actually catch rabbits. Impressive! Tomorrow, I'll have to learn from you."

"Sure."

Watching the three members of the Li family return to their courtyard, Xie Dafa sighed. This second son of the Li family had incredible luck!