The next day, Ye Hao still woke up early. Seeing Sun Chaoshu and Lu Bingsheng still sleeping soundly, he didn't wake them, getting up on his own.
As Ye Hao stepped out of the room, he saw Captain Xu also emerging from his room, and the two met eyes.
"Xiao Hao, why don't you sleep a bit longer? There's no need to go into the mountains so early today," Captain Xu said first.
"I'm awake. I get up at this time every day; I'm used to it."
"Good, then come with me to set a snare in the woods. I'll also teach you how to make one."
"That would be great! I've never made one of those before."
Ye Hao and Captain Xu arrived at a thicket not far from the camp.
Captain Xu took out a long, thin rope from his person.
"What I'm teaching you today is a leg snare, which is also the simplest type of snare. It only requires one rope."
"Watch how I do it: first, fold one end of the rope back a bit to form a half-loop, then wrap the main rope around this half-loop once, and then pull the main rope out from the half-loop to form a loop. This loop can be large or small; we adjust it to be palm-sized and place it where pheasants and other animals frequently walk. The other end is tied to a tree, and that's it. This way, if a pheasant walks into the snare and pulls forward, its leg will be caught, and the more it struggles, the tighter the snare becomes. Did you get it? Do you want me to teach it again?"
"Captain Xu, no need, it's so simple, I already know how."
"Good, here's the rope, make one." Captain Xu untied the snare and handed it to Ye Hao.
Ye Hao took the rope and, following Captain Xu's instructions, quickly made the snare in a few moves.
"Not bad! You learned it in one go," Captain Xu praised.
"It's because Captain Xu teaches so well."
"Haha, alright, then use your snare and let's see your luck today. Tie the other end to a tree. Then we'll go."
Ye Hao tied the rope to the tree, and while Captain Xu wasn't paying attention, he dripped two drops of space spring water onto the snare.
It's my first time setting a trap, can't go empty-handed. Here's some bait for you all, haha.
After finishing all this, Ye Hao and Captain Xu returned to the camp.
It wasn't until mid-morning that everyone set off into the mountains. Just as they left the camp, not far away, they heard the sound of wings flapping in the thicket.
Following the sound, they saw it was precisely where Ye Hao had set his snare that morning.
Ye Hao glanced at Captain Xu, and Captain Xu looked at Ye Hao; both walked towards the thicket without prior agreement. Sun Chaoshu, seeing their strange expressions and actions, was a bit puzzled but followed along.
As they entered the thicket, they saw a pheasant caught in the snare, struggling fiercely.
"No way! When did you set this trap? You didn't even call me!" Sun Chaoshu was a bit excited at the sight.
"Xiao Hao, you're good! Your first time setting a snare and you caught a pheasant so quickly," Captain Xu said from the side.
"Haha, just luck, just luck. I didn't expect to catch one on my first try. We'll have a good meal today," Ye Hao said, a little embarrassed. Others didn't know what was going on, but he knew very well that a large part of it was thanks to the space spring water.
"Brother Hao, you set a snare and didn't even call me! How could you not call me for something so fun? Am I not your brother?" Sun Chaoshu complained from the side.
"It's not that I didn't call you; you were sleeping like a pig this morning, couldn't even wake you up," Ye Hao said, indicating his innocence.
"Then you must call me next time! I want to learn this too. Teach me now!"
Ye Hao looked at Captain Xu.
Captain Xu immediately agreed, stating that they didn't have to walk a certain distance or do a certain amount of work every day anyway. A short delay wouldn't matter.
"Xiao Hao, you teach your two Comrades. Zhang Shan, you take the pheasant back first, secure it, and don't let it escape."
"Alright," Zhang Shan said, then took the pheasant back to the camp. Ye Hao, meanwhile, untied the snare and began teaching Sun Chaoshu and the other.
Both of them were quick learners, grasping it after just one demonstration. Sun Chaoshu was eager to try.
Ye Hao gave the rope to Sun Chaoshu, who quickly made the snare in a few moves, looking quite proud.
"Chao Shu, give the rope to Bingsheng and let him try."
"Alright, Bingsheng, you try too," Sun Chaoshu said, handing the rope to Lu Bingsheng.
Lu Bingsheng was naturally nimble-fingered; he made a snare in two quick motions.
At this moment, Zhang Shan also returned.
"Alright, set your snares, and we'll continue patrolling the mountain," Captain Xu said, seeing Zhang Shan return.
"I'll do it, I'll do it! I'll set the snare!" Sun Chaoshu was the first to jump out again.
With that, Sun Chaoshu took the snare from Lu Bingsheng's hand, untied it, remade it, placed it where Ye Hao had put his earlier, tied the rope, and the group continued on their way.
Because they started late that morning, the group didn't go too far today.
The journey was uneventful, and they returned to the camp. On the way back, Sun Chaoshu was incredibly excited, fantasizing about catching a pheasant.
Upon returning to the snare's location, Sun Chaoshu was the first to leap into the thicket. Ye Hao had actually already heard the flapping sounds from within.
"Wahahahaha!" A demonic laugh erupted from Sun Chaoshu's mouth.
"Brother Hao, Brother Hao, look quickly! I caught a pheasant, haha!" Sun Chaoshu was incredibly excited, holding up the pheasant.
"Alright, alright, we know you're amazing. Untie the pheasant, let's go back now," Captain Xu said, a bit exasperated.
"Okay, I'll untie it now, haha." Sun Chaoshu couldn't hide his joy.
Upon returning to the camp, Captain Xu said, "We harvested two pheasants today. Let's send one down, after all, Niu Jianwen was injured while patrolling. Ye Hao, let Da Zhu go today; you rest here. Da Zhu, be careful on the road, and remember to go early and return early."
Niu Dazhu took the pheasant and hurried down the mountain.
"Da Shan, make some iron pot stewed pheasant for these kids; let them have a taste."
"Alright, you just wait and see! Iron pot stew with corn cakes, that's a real treat!" Zhang Shan said, then went to prepare the pheasant.
"Xiao Lu, didn't we talk about making crossbows yesterday? Let's go cut some Manchurian ash trees now." Captain Xu went to the warehouse, took out two axes and a saw, and led the three into the mountains.
After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at a forest. Captain Xu pointed to a tree and said, "This is Manchurian ash. Comrade Xiao Lu, do you think we should fell a large tree or just cut branches?"
"Captain Xu, we're just making a few crossbows; there's no need to fell a tree. Just cut some branches."
Lu Bingsheng finished speaking and picked out a few branches as thick as an arm: "These few will do; we won't need too many."
Hearing this, the few of them took their tools and began cutting the trees. Soon, they had cut several arm-thick branches.
They packed up their tools, dragged the branches, and walked towards the camp.