"Brother Zhuzi, what's your plan?" Er Gouzi asked excitedly.
From Liu Tiezhu's tone just now, Er Gouzi knew this couldn't just be let go.
"I've thought of a way to quickly improve my fighting skills."
Er Gouzi paused, seemed to catch on, and immediately grinned.
Yang Hua beside him looked completely confused.
Liu Tiezhu's words carried a hidden meaning, clearly not treating him as one of their own.
"Brother Zhuzi, if there's anything going on, count me in."
"I promise I'll follow your orders then."
Yang Hua understood that to get close to Liu Tiezhu, he'd have to swallow his pride.
"I'm planning to teach these guys a lesson today. You up for it?" Liu Tiezhu asked.
"Brother Zhuzi, what are you saying?"
"If you hadn't stopped me, I'd have gone head-to-head with those bastards today."
"We all have one head on our shoulders—I've never been afraid of those punks."
Yang Hua thumped his chest, speaking with bravado.
Liu Tiezhu said, "Since that's the case, let's meet at the entrance of Liu Family Village tomorrow morning."
"Remember to bring something to hit with, but no knives."
"If we slip up with those, it could cost lives. We can't do that."
"Brother Zhuzi, are we planning to ambush those bastards at the village entrance?"
"That's too risky," Yang Hua said.
"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid."
"Just remember, around six tomorrow morning, we gather at Liu Family Village entrance."
With that, Liu Tiezhu left with Er Gouzi.
"Brother Zhuzi, we can't beat those dogs at the village entrance, right?"
"If those punks start yelling, we'll be the ones in trouble."
Er Gouzi had the same thought as Yang Hua and couldn't help voicing his doubt.
"Gouzi, do I look like an idiot to you?" Liu Tiezhu countered.
"If you're an idiot, then I'm brain-dead," Er Gouzi muttered to himself.
Liu Tiezhu said, "Exactly. Why would I do something that stupid?"
"Then why are we hanging around Liu Family Village entrance?"
Er Gouzi still didn't get Liu Tiezhu's plan.
"The weather's been warming up these days. Hunters from every village will be out hunting."
"Would those guys from Liu Family Village miss out on good hunting days?"
"They took a few hundred pounds of meat from us today. Don't we need to get that back from those bastards?"
Hearing this, Er Gouzi's dull eyes suddenly lit up.
Now he understood Brother Zhuzi's real intention.
"Brother Zhuzi, you've got a sharp mind."
Liu Tiezhu smiled. "Go home. Don't talk about today."
When they got back, his sister-in-law and Yulan had already prepared dinner.
Big Brother and Second Uncle hadn't returned yet.
His sister-in-law said they'd gone to Changling Slope behind the house to gather dry grass for a new nest for the hunting dogs like Big Sweet Potato.
Liu Tiezhu washed his face and told Er Gouzi to grab flashlights to head to Changling Slope.
It was almost dark, and there were plenty of snakes on Changling Slope.
Without flashlights to light the way, it was very unsafe.
Just as they left the village entrance, they saw Second Uncle and Big Brother each carrying a big bundle of dry grass, chatting and laughing as they walked back.
"Second Uncle, Big Brother, let us take those."
Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi took the grass from them and asked what they were laughing about so happily.
"Zhuzi, guess what Shanzi and I found on Changling Slope?"
Second Uncle grinned, his eyes nearly squinting shut.
"Second Uncle, don't keep us in suspense. Is there something good on Changling Slope?"
Second Uncle said, "Zhuzi, to be honest, Changling Slope does have something good."
"You know quail birds, right? There are dozens of nests there."
"Shanzi and I picked a few pounds of eggs."
Liu Tiezhu knew quail birds—they could grow to about three ounces as adults, with nutritional value higher than pigeon meat.
Wild quail eggs were more nutritious than chicken eggs.
These birds laid one egg a day. If raised in large numbers, you'd have all the eggs you wanted.
"Dad, those taste great salt-baked."
Er Gouzi was practically drooling, grinning happily.
Second Uncle raised his hand and smacked Er Gouzi on the head.
"Get out of here. We're keeping those eggs for hatching."
"If we can raise all those quail, you'll have as many eggs as you want."
"Let's go back to Changling Slope after dinner. We're sure to catch some quail," Liu Tiezhu said.
Liu Tieshan chimed in, "Let's each bring a net bag and see if we can catch some little quail."
"Those little ones won't refuse food, so they can be raised."
"We've got empty bamboo cages at home. Let's see if we can fill them up."
Back home, Second Uncle took out the quail eggs from the dry grass.
Yaoyao was overjoyed, clamoring for Second Uncle to hatch the quail, making the whole family laugh.
After dinner, it was already dark.
Liu Tieshan brought out the prepared net bags and flashlights.
Liu Tiezhu told Er Gouzi to bring the compound bow and crossbow, just in case.
Everything ready, the four of them changed into long rubber boots and headed to Changling Slope with flashlights.
Half an hour later, just as they stepped into the dry grass, they heard fluttering sounds nearby.
The sudden noise would scare the life out of a timid person.
Second Uncle shone his flashlight toward the sound and found five quail causing the commotion, landing in a dry grass pile five meters away.
Croak, croak, croak...
Just as they were about to surround them, more bird calls came from nearby.
Following the sound, they spotted six long-legged white-faced birds.
These birds lined up in a row, strutting boldly in front of them.
White-faced moorhens.
They exchanged glances, all stunned.
White-faced moorhens were bold birds, unafraid of light.
They usually lived in swamps or watery areas, feeding on fish and shrimp.
These birds always lived in groups.
If one nest appeared, there were sure to be more nearby.
Finding white-faced moorhens in such dry grassland was truly rare.
"Brother Zhuzi, am I seeing things?"
"Is this some kind of ghost? White-faced moorhens in a place like this?"
Er Gouzi's mouth hung open, still not believing his eyes.
Liu Tiezhu said, "What's the point of talking? Just scoop them up with the net and you'll know if it's a ghost."
Er Gouzi crept over quietly and covered all six white-faced moorhens with one net.
Startled, the birds immediately flapped around.
The dry grass around them erupted with fluttering sounds as countless quail, white-faced moorhens, field swallows, and long-legged cranes took flight.
Good heavens, the dry grass was hiding so much game.
These birds weren't big, each around six ounces, but there were so many of them.
And these wild game birds had very high nutritional value.
"Everyone split up and catch them. Watch your step."
Liu Tiezhu warned, then took his net and chased after a group of white-faced moorhens.
This group landed about seven meters from Liu Tiezhu.
When he shone his flashlight on them, the white-faced moorhens didn't move; instead, they swayed their heads and slowly walked toward the light.
This nest had nine white-faced moorhens, each around six ounces.
They slowly approached Liu Tiezhu.
Net in hand, Liu Tiezhu's heartbeat quickened as the moorhens drew nearer.
Just as they reached three meters away, Liu Tiezhu prepared to strike.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the ground out of the corner of his eye, and his heart leaped into his throat.
Staring at the massive shadow behind him, he couldn't help but swallow hard.