My 1995 Small Farm.

"Let's not go to the mountains, let's go to the farmland."

"Lihui and the others said that there was a rabbit infestation in the farmland. They got up early to harvest the peanuts and dug out three rabbit holes... They searched in the cornfield along the places where the wild deer had trod, and found two more rabbits in the cornfield as well."

After harvesting the peanuts and returning to the village, they told other villagers, "Wow, the more we search, the more rabbit holes we find!"

If this isn't addressed, it'll be all over once the wheat is planted.

Chen Ling was also quite puzzled. There were carnivorous wild animals in the surrounding mountains, such as wolves, foxes, and civets, as well as the farm dogs, and various eagles and falcons in the sky. How many rabbits could there be?

Lynx and Zhao Gang didn't care about any of that; their eyes lit up when they heard there were a lot of rabbits in the field.

"That's perfect, we can use nets to catch them and have a go before heading into the mountains to hunt."

"...Wait here, I'll go get the nets, they're all tangled up in a mess."

Wang Lihui and his group came to Chen Ling with the intention of having him bring his dog and catch all the rabbits.

I didn't expect lynxes to have internet.

He asked, "Fugui, is the net that Brother Zhong brought okay? We haven't harvested the corn yet, and we haven't cut the stalks. If the net is too small, it won't be able to catch the rabbits."

Compared to rabbit-catching nets, they trusted Chen Ling's dogs more, as they were excellent at chasing rabbits and could catch them every time.

"Don't worry, those nets aren't just one or two; they can be connected together. When these nets are connected, they're definitely big enough."

Chen Ling smiled and said, "This is the net that the group of people in the city use for dogfighting. They often use the net to mark off areas, so they know where there are rabbits and then they use the net to fence off a section and let the dogs in to catch the rabbits."

You think these networks can be small?

"Wow, they're setting up a fenced-off area and letting dogs chase rabbits? Are they really going all out in the city?"

Wang Lihui and his companions were initially amazed, then cursed, "Damn it, only rich people dare to go to such lengths. When we chase a rabbit, we're terrified of ruining our crops."

"Stop talking about this, how can you compare people?"

Amidst their grumbling, Lynx and Zhao Gang dragged in a large bundle of netting and dumped it at the gate of the manor.

Upon seeing this, the group of people went over and dismantled the net.

Perhaps it's because the lingering smell of dogfighting is still quite strong online.

All the farm dogs gathered around at once, sniffing gently around the fence.

The puppies all rushed over, wagging their tails, and played around the pile of nets.

Behind them, Rui Rui held a small turtle in one hand and a white elephant toy in the other, following the group of puppies as they watched the adults dismantle the net.

After the adults took down the nets and prepared to go to the fields to catch rabbits, he wanted to go with them.

Although the little rascal is young, he is very clever. He knows that it means they are about to go out as soon as the adults make a move.

In addition, I also had to clean up these websites.

There's bound to be something fun.

Without saying a word, he took short strides and ran very fast alongside Chen Ling.

In other words, Wang Cunye had been keeping an eye on him, and Chen Ling also had sharp eyes.

Seeing him sneaking around, he scooped him into his arms and coaxed him, "Daddy is going to the fields. There are lots of bugs and mosquitoes in the cornfield, and they'll bite you."

You stay home with Grandpa, Dad will catch you a little rabbit.

"How about we catch some little rabbits to play with these puppies?"

"Come here, Rui Rui, let Grandpa hold you. Your dad will catch you a little rabbit. The muntjac outside will be having puppies soon. We'll raise the muntjac, the rabbit, and the puppy together."

Wang Cunye hurriedly followed, though he was in a hurry. He didn't dare to walk too fast, because these little puppies liked to chase after people's heels and were very sticky. If you weren't careful, you could step on a few of them.

"Small package, fierce, no."

"It's not a little leopard, it's a little rabbit, a rabbit. Rui Rui, have you forgotten the rabbit meat you ate at Grandpa Zhong's house? It was Grandpa Zhong's birthday, and the rabbit meat was delicious."

"Niu Niu Xiang" (牛牛香).

"Sigh, you've brought up beef again."

The old man took him from Chen Ling's arms and chatted back and forth. Although what he said was nonsensical, at least he managed to keep the brat in line and stop him from running out the door with Chen Ling.

Chen Ling and his group are going to catch rabbits today, and they're taking Erhei and the others with them.

At this time, the corn had not yet been harvested, the stalks had not yet been cut, and people could not go in to chase rabbits; they had to let dogs in instead.

Perfect timing! The female dogs in the house have been resting and giving birth for a long time, so it's time for them to get some exercise.

The dog at home has been taken out.

Someone needs to guard it.

If it weren't for that, it would be fine for the old man to take Rui Rui along to play.

There are still too few people in my family.

no way.

……

We arrived at the village entrance of the threshing ground.

Chen Ling noticed that quite a few people had gathered there.

They were some villagers who had gone up the mountain to pick walnuts and mushrooms, and they rushed back before noon to cook.

Having heard about the rabbit plague, and knowing that everyone had gone to Chen Ling to borrow dogs, they waited here to watch the spectacle.

"Goodness, you even brought so many nets from Fugui's house. Fugui, how come your house has everything? It's so complete."

"Haha, Uncle Laiyun, you don't know, Fugui's net is specially designed to catch rabbits. As soon as we came in and mentioned this, Fugui asked Brother Zhong without saying a word if the net was still there. It was really just a coincidence."

Today, with this net, putting everything else aside, this rabbit has practically fallen right into our laps.

"That rabbit ran into Fugui's arms, what does it have to do with you? You idiot, you're even more clueless than Jusheng's brother-in-law Erlengzi. Even if a rabbit ran into your arms, or even right in front of your eyes, you wouldn't be able to catch it."

This is Wang Laiyun talking about Chen Baoliang.

Baoshuan performed a bit better this year.

Bao Liang is disliked because he is petty and cunning.

People in the village always criticize me when I speak.

"Uncle Laiyun is right. Baoliang has no idea how to chase rabbits; he can barely catch chickens."

The crowd cheered, and the woman laughed along.

This made Chen Baoliang blush and turn red in the face.

I was quite frustrated, wondering why I was as disliked as my cousin Baoshuan, even though I hadn't offended anyone.

But since people were joking with him, he couldn't really retort with harsh words. He just looked embarrassed and gave a few mild rebuttals.

Like someone who's being stubborn.

Many people then started teasing him even more enthusiastically.

Amidst the banter, some curious individuals followed Chen Ling and his group to see how they would use a net to catch the rabbits.

Besides people, many dogs in the village also followed closely behind Erhei and the others, taking small, quick steps.

The pack of dogs followed the noisy crowd westward along the road leading to the local temple.

Speaking of using nets to catch rabbits.

This has really been a rare sight these days.

Back in the days of the commune, people used to set traps and put a couple of snares in the mountains or their own fields when they were craving something sweet.

Actually, at this time of year, the corn stalks are tall and dense, and the weeds are tangled and lush, growing almost up to a person's waist...

In such an environment, wild rabbits are the most abundant.

At dusk, traps were set deep in the cornfield. Just come early in the morning to collect them. Set several traps, and you're almost guaranteed to catch something.

If you're using a rabbit-catching net, you can't put it into the cornfield; you have to put it at the foot of the mountain.

Fortunately, the lynx brought back enough nets.

A dogfighting net can cover almost half of their farmland in the countryside.

Not to mention the nets the lynx brought back, there were dozens of smaller nets, not just one person's nets.

The nets are 20 or 30 meters wide; just imagine how crazy these dogfighting dogs are.

They can be enclosed with a net to play in at any time.

Now that they have so many networks in their hands, they certainly can't let them go to waste.

After discussing it, Chen Ling and Shanmao led everyone to stretch out the net at the foot of the mountain, splitting into two groups, one heading south and the other north, and laid it out along the way.

An old saying goes, "Rabbits go up the mountain, chickens come down."

Rabbits have short front legs and long hind legs, making escaping uphill into the jungle their forte.

Pheasants can spread their wings and glide when they run to an open area at the foot of the mountain, and they can hide in the fields, leaving people completely clueless.

These are the two things that people in the countryside deal with most often; even little kids understand them, although they can't articulate the reasons behind them.

Therefore, Chen Ling's intention in setting up this net is self-evident and everyone can understand it.

Besides, they brought a dog with them.

They knew Chen Ling was going to send the dog to chase the rabbit this way.

They live close to the mountains, and wild rabbits frequently roam up and down the mountains. Often, when you chase them, you unconsciously end up running up the mountain.

Setting up nets at the foot of the mountain is like waiting for them to walk right into your trap.

"Damn it, we haven't even seen a rabbit yet, and it's already taken us more than an hour to set up the net."

Chen Ling wiped his sweat, thinking that it was the right decision to send that brat Rui Rui over. After he arrived, the guy didn't even bother to properly chase the rabbits; he just spent all his time setting up nets.

"You know what, with such a long net, we're sure to catch all the rabbits hiding in this field this year."

"What are you saying? Fugui and I have only heard you say that there's a wild rabbit infestation, but we haven't seen a single rabbit hopping around here. Don't let all this effort go to waste in the end."

"I'm just joking," the lynx said deliberately.

It would be inaccurate to say that we didn't see any rabbits when we arrived here.

In the past hour or so, Erhei and his pack of dogs have been busy catching several rabbits.

However, their range is quite large, and the rabbit was bitten to death before it could even run towards the net.

Chen Ling wasn't afraid that their actions would alert the wild rabbits in the fields.

Stand beside the sweet potato and peanut fields to look at the rabbit holes hidden in the dense grass along the ditches.

“Hey, Brother Zhong, what you’re saying is definitely worth the effort. Even if there are no rabbits, so many wild animals have come down the mountain lately, so this long net won’t be wasted… Ask Fugui, everyone in our village is scrambling to do the night watch and watch over the animals.”

The damage those wild animals did to the crops was nothing; they only ate a few bites, and then they died anyway.

"Everyone made a good profit just from the meat they caught from the wild animals." "Yeah, yeah, even without these rabbits, the nets weren't set up for nothing."

"Yes, there are rabbits, but the corn stalks are tall and the grass is thick, so the rabbits are hiding inside and we can't see them at all."

"..."

Listening to their back-and-forth conversation, Chen Ling rubbed his stomach, not in the mood to chime in. He hadn't eaten lunch and was starving; he had no appetite for talking.

So he called for Lynx and Zhao Gang to go back for dinner.

He had even stewed a big pot of venison, which he was about to share with the two of them, when he unexpectedly encountered the rabbit incident.

They invited Wang Lihui and the others to come back for a meal and drinks, but they all waved their hands and refused to go.

He said he would stay here and guard the net.

Chen Ling put the dogs here to chase rabbits, waiting for them to run into the net as they chased the rabbits.

I came to collect it after I went home and ate dinner.

Wang Lihui and his companions were afraid that someone would take the rabbit away, so they were reluctant to leave.

He only told the women who had come to watch the commotion to go back and get them steamed buns and flatbreads, and he himself refused to budge.

Seeing this, Chen Ling stopped trying to persuade them and led the two men, Shanmao and the other, home.

Then we had a big meal and drinks.

I rested at home for a while before leisurely heading out.

Because Chen Ling's house is separated from the dirt road to the land temple by two steep slopes.

Therefore, the net was not laid all the way to Zhuangzi.

It just turned east at the first steep slope and blocked off for quite a long time at the bottom of the slope.

There are also many rabbit burrows hidden on the edge of the farmland down the slope.

Heading south, you'll reach the old river bend.

That's why it takes a relatively long time.

……

When Chen Ling led the two slightly drunk people to the village entrance, they saw Sister Xiuying and Wang Lishan and his wife hurrying over in a donkey cart.

"Sister-in-law, off to harvest cotton?"

Chen Dazhi's family originally planned not to grow cotton last year, but from planting to harvest, it kept attracting insects, and they had to spray pesticides every few days, which was very annoying.

But to my surprise, cotton prices were quite good last year, so I planted it again this year.

"Hey Fugui, why are you still collecting cotton? You need to hurry up and pick up rabbits. Your dog is really useful. It's only been two hours, and your brother Dazhi and the others say they can't even pick up all the rabbits posted online."

"Get in the car quickly, there are so many rabbits there, we don't even have time to call you, we'll just drive straight there and fill it up to take you to your village."

Wang Lishan also spoke urgently.

Then he cracked the whip and drove the donkey cart down the mountain.

"Damn, why the rush? How many rabbits are there?"

The lynx was still a little drunk and didn't want to get on the donkey cart.

Chen Ling said, "Brother Lishan, you guys go first. We've had our drinks, so we won't take the car. It'll be too crowded with so many people."

As they were talking, they also saw a donkey cart heading down the dirt road from the south entrance of the village towards the foot of the mountain.

It's Wen Chao from Er Mao Lu's family.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Gang exclaimed in surprise, "Another cart driver? Do you have so many rabbits?"

"You saw them rushing to catch the carriage, so there must be a lot of them."

"Oh? In that case, we need to hurry over there. Aren't you afraid they'll take all the rabbits away?"

"What's there to be afraid of? There are so many people watching. If he even has such thoughts, who will call him next time something like this happens? Besides, do you think my dog ​​is just sitting around doing nothing?"

Chen Ling smiled and said, "Let's go this way."

"Oh, too."

Zhao Gang was not familiar with the local customs, but Shanmao didn't have many questions. He knew that Chen Ling didn't care about these things either.

Chen Ling wouldn't get so close to someone with this kind of problem.

It looks far away from the foot of the mountain, but it's quite a quick walk.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"Finally, you've arrived! You carefree old man, did you take a nap at home after drinking?"

“We wanted to ask you to come and collect the rabbits. There are rabbits everywhere, being chased by dogs and running into the net. We can’t even pick them all up, and quite a few have escaped.”

"..."

"Wow, there are quite a few rabbits here."

Chen Ling and the other two stared wide-eyed as they saw that at intervals along the long nets at the foot of the mountain, yellowish-brown wild rabbits would stumble into them.

As they arrived, they could even see rabbits fleeing in panic from the distant fields, crashing headfirst into the net.

"There's one here...and here I am, and here I have another one..."

Several young men, upon seeing so many rabbits, were so shaken that their hands trembled as they picked them up that they couldn't even untie them.

At Wang Lihui and his group's feet, there was a pile of wild rabbits of all sizes, already bound together with grass.

"Haha, there are too many rabbits. No wonder there are so many rabbits that it's like a disaster. There's no way to catch them all. Even if you grab a handful, you can't catch them all. Let's just put them on the donkey cart for now."

Wang Lihui laughed and said, "We'll load a whole truckload of them onto the cart and take it to your village. It mainly depends on your dogs. As for Brother Zhong's nets, you guys should get to choose first."

Zhao Gang had never seen such a scene before and was dumbfounded: "...There really are so many rabbits, there must be several hundred."

Just as I was stunned, a fierce barking came from the cornfield in the distance. Amidst a violent shaking, several strange large birds flapped their wings and soared into the sky.

"Wow, such a big goose? Is it a swan?"

"What swan? That's a goose. What's so special about geese flying in autumn?"

Seeing that the two of them had finally sobered up, Chen Ling said, "Come on, help me pick up the rabbits. If we chase them tonight, there will definitely be more. Right now, we have to pull two donkey carts, and tonight even a tractor might not be able to hold them all."

"How can there be so many rabbits?"

Zhao Gang was still muttering to himself.

The lynx said they had never made such a big fuss when chasing rabbits before, but it was a similar game; sometimes they used dogs, sometimes they didn't.

You can catch almost all the rabbits that have left their burrows by chasing them with a dog for two hours.

If we don't use a net, we have to scatter some food on the ground. We scatter it at six o'clock in the evening and collect it at midnight.

At their peak, they could manage to get a hundred or so rabbits.

Let's not even talk about Chen Ling's side.

"What if we catch the light?"

"You don't know, wild rabbits can give birth at any time except winter. If you put them in the south where it doesn't snow, they can give birth all year round."

And it's two uteruses.

"She can conceive on one side while breeding on the other."

The lynx explained with a chuckle.

"No way, is it still possible?"

Zhao Gang's mouth dropped open in astonishment; he was completely dumbfounded.

Chen Ling was also hearing about this for the first time. "Holy crap, being pregnant while still able to conceive, that's... that's so perverted."

"I only remembered this when I saw how many rabbits there were. If Uncle Han were here, he would have thought of this much earlier."

The lynx shook its head, skillfully grabbed a blade of grass, tied it to a rabbit's leg, and tossed it onto the hillside over the fence.

"So, in that case, this wild rabbit is quite the low-key prolific breeder."

Chen Ling, still holding the rabbits, said, "Then I'll have to punish them properly."

A flurry of activity.

Erhei and his pack of dogs are really into chasing rabbits.

We chased each other through the cornfield for two hours straight at noon without taking a break.

After being called over by Chen Ling, they caught a rabbit hole and started digging in front of them.

While they were digging, they actually pulled out a nest of baby rabbits.

That's great, Chen Ling can take it back for Rui Rui to play with, and he doesn't need to go looking for it separately.

It's really difficult to deal with such a large number of rabbits. Even if we don't skin them, gutting them will be a huge hassle, and it will probably take until evening.

"Fugui, how's it going? Coming back tonight?"

Zhao Gang didn't let himself get tired; in fact, he even got addicted. He winked at Chen Ling and said, "Brother Zhong said there are lots of rabbits tonight."

"Forget it, we've already caught so many. The rabbits have calmed down, so what's the point of catching more? Let's wait until spring. Chasing rabbits in the wheat field at night in spring is more fun."

Chen Ling waved his hand.

He just counted the rabbits on the donkey cart; there were over two hundred, almost three hundred.

The donkey cart was piled up like a small mountain.

The situation is similar in Wang Wenchao's area, and there are even more people there, especially near Laohewan.

There must be at least six or seven hundred of them.

If each litter of rabbits has thirteen to fifteen babies, and half of them survive, then there must be at least a hundred litters of rabbits.

But the claim of a hundred litters of rabbits is misleading, given that wild rabbits have two uteruses and can reproduce year-round...

That's not an exaggeration.

We haven't searched the east side of the village yet, nor have we searched north along the two steep slopes.

This guy, you don't know until you calculate it, and then you're shocked.

Wild rabbits are truly low-key prolific breeders.

"Hmm, when we have nothing to do in the future, we'll take the weasel to block the rabbit's burrow."

Chen Ling had an idea in his mind: "When Brother Xian and the others are training the puppies, I'll also bother these guys a bit, otherwise they'll grow really fast."

As for all those rabbits, he and the lynx got the majority. It was almost Mid-Autumn Festival, so they sold some and used the rest to smoke rabbits as gifts.