448: Hunting hares

After a while, the three dogs returned with wild rabbits in their mouths. Chen Lin and Chen Gang took out some boiled chicken breast to feed them.

Usually, when taking dogs hunting in the mountains, one must bring some food to feed them; otherwise, they'll get too hungry to run.

The two Sighthounds started eating as soon as they saw the food. However, Coal only glanced at the chicken breast on the ground before looking up at Yang Qi, making no move to eat.

Yang Qi felt a bit awkward; he hadn't brought any food with him!

"Go ahead and eat, Coal. I didn't bring any food. Just eat this for now, and I'll buy you some chicken legs when we get back."

"Woof, woof, woof! You'd better remember that!"

Only then did Coal wag his tail and start eating the chicken breast off the ground.

"What a good dog!"

"Exactly. I originally had two dogs, but one was poisoned and stolen before the New Year. Coal generally doesn't eat food from others."

Yang Qi said proudly.

Next, Coal led the two Sighthounds to catch more rabbits. If a rabbit ran downhill in a panic, the two Sighthounds were responsible for catching it.

If they ran uphill, Coal would handle them all. Just then, two pheasants were startled by them and flew up from the bushes.

It seemed they were a pair of Wild lovers, rudely interrupted by the three dogs. Coal lunged, leaping high into the air and accurately biting down on one of the pheasants.

The other pheasant flapped its wings and flew toward the distant bushes.

Although a pheasant's ability to fly has somewhat degenerated, short-distance flight is still no problem.

Even if it only flew a short distance before stopping, it wasn't something the two dogs could catch up to.

In the end, with the cooperation of the three dogs, they caught four wild rabbits and one pheasant throughout the morning.

Just then, Yang Qi received a call from Bai Xue, saying that lunch was ready and telling them to come home to eat.

There were four rabbits, exactly one for each person, and they all agreed that Yang Qi should take the only pheasant. After all, Coal had put in the most effort during the morning's hunt.

"Alright then, I won't stand on ceremony. We'll find another spot to catch rabbits this afternoon, and you all can come to my house for dinner tonight."

Yang Qi didn't decline further.

The group parted ways at the village entrance. By the time Yang Qi and Chen Sheng returned to their Grandfather's house, the dining table was already fully spread.

"Come, come, Xiao Qi, Xiao Sheng, come and eat."

Their Grandfather greeted them warmly upon seeing them.

"Grandpa, Xiao Qi and I caught a few wild rabbits. I'll go cook one right now for everyone to try."

Chen Sheng said, showing off the rabbits in his hand.

"Wild rabbits! Good, go ahead and make it! It's been a long time since I've had rabbit meat; it'll be nice to have a taste!"

Grandfather quickly directed his grandson to go prepare the rabbit.

"Okay, I'm going now!"

Chen Sheng nodded.

Half an hour later, a fragrant bowl of braised wild rabbit meat was brought to the table. Along with the other delicacies, everyone ate until their faces were slick with oil.

Actually, having wild game once in a while really leaves a lasting impression.

Especially for someone like Yang Qi, who often ate seafood; suddenly tasting wild game so different from seafood was truly addictive.

"Yang Qi! This rabbit meat is good, isn't it? I put in quite a lot of spices and chili. Rabbit meat has to be heavily seasoned, otherwise, it has a strong earthy smell."

Chen Sheng asked with a grin.

"It's definitely delicious. How about we go look for more this afternoon?"

Yang Qi looked at Chen Sheng expectantly.

"No problem, we'll go this afternoon. I'll help you clean the rabbits and the pheasant first and put them in the fridge. Then we'll go find Chen Lin and the others and have fun all afternoon."

Chen Sheng agreed readily.

So, an hour later, Yang Qi followed Chen Lin and the others to another barren mountain.

As soon as they entered a mountain valley, Coal took the lead, heading forward with the two Sighthounds.

Yang Qi and the other three walked forward leisurely.

Chen Lin and his companion had never hunted so casually before. They had intended to follow their usual strategy of keeping up to direct the Sighthounds.

But seeing Yang Qi's calm and composed demeanor, the two of them slowed their pace.

In less than twenty minutes, one of the Sighthounds ran back with a rabbit in its mouth. It dropped the rabbit at Yang Qi's feet before turning around and running off again.

During this time, it only gave its owner, Chen Lin, a single glance, as if Yang Qi were its actual master.

The four of them walked leisurely like this, and from time to time, one of the Sighthounds would deliver a rabbit.

The number of rabbits in the snakeskin bag in Chen Sheng's hand grew. Two hours later, they had caught six.

By then, the three dogs were resting by their side, and Chen Lin and his companion took out more chicken breast to feed them.

This afternoon, Yang Qi didn't come empty-handed like in the morning; he brought a roast chicken and a large bottle of mineral water.

He broke off half of the roast chicken for Coal and divided the other half between the two Sighthounds.

After Coal finished his half-chicken, Yang Qi poured water from the mineral water bottle. Coal tilted his head back and opened his mouth, catching the water steadily without wasting much.

"Yang Qi, this..."

Chen Sheng and the other two watched in stunned silence.

"Heh heh, it's nothing. We often play like this when we're out at sea."

Yang Qi remembered the first time Coal drank water this way, getting it all over his head and face, and couldn't help but laugh.

After getting their food and water, the three dogs rested on the ground for a while before leaving again.

The four followed them into the forest. Nowadays, because logging was strictly prohibited, the forest was lush with trees, and the ground was covered in bushes and knee-high Ferns.

One could only vaguely make out a narrow winding path.

"It's way too overgrown. Luckily it's winter and the snakes and insects are hibernating; otherwise, we wouldn't dare venture in blindly."

Chen Lin muttered as he led the way, with the others following the three dogs from a distance.

"Are there wild boars around here?"

Yang Qi suddenly asked from the group.

"Yeah! But there are regulations now that individuals can't hunt them. Otherwise, these three dogs of ours really could hunt wild boars."

Chen Lin explained.

"Since we can't hunt them, then we don't need to consider it. There's no point."

Yang Qi nodded and said.

Just then, a 'clucking' sound came from ahead, and the group quickened their pace to follow.

They arrived just in time to see three or four pheasants being flushed out of a thicket by the two Sighthounds, flying off in all directions.

Once again, Coal was waiting nearby. He lunged and bit one of the pheasants, then shook his head violently before tossing the bird onto the ground.

One of the Sighthounds ran over, picked up the dead pheasant, and ran toward the four men.

"So you're just a Little lackey, responsible for doing the legwork."

Chen Lin looked at his Sighthound and joked with a scolding tone.

"Sigh! I never realized this fellow was so useless before! Truly, there's no harm without comparison!"

Chen Lin's words drew a round of laughter from everyone.

For the next hour or so, the three dogs caught nothing, mainly because the Ferns were too dense and there were too many bushes.

The harsh environment hindered the dogs' performance, making it easy for rabbits and pheasants to hide.