This bag of rabbit food weighed over twenty pounds; four portions would be over eighty pounds total. The text on the package was in Chinese.
Two enormous Chinese characters were printed on the front: Rabbit Food.
By the moonlight, Qin Ziwen made out the instructions on the back of the bag.
"This stuff is just a supplement? It's 'to round out the rabbit's nutritional intake and ensure normal digestive function.' It can't be their main food? Their staple food still has to be hay or fresh grass... you two, stop eating."
Qin Ziwen was dumbfounded. Cat food and dog food could be a staple diet, but rabbit food couldn't?
He quickly scooped up the two ravenous rabbits.
Held aloft, the two rabbits kicked their legs wildly, squirming and snorting, cooing incessantly.
Qin Ziwen took the opportunity to scoop out half of the rabbit food.
He then put the rabbits down, only to watch them scamper right back to the trough and resume eating.
'I need to go pull some grass, but at this hour...'
He stood at his bedroom window. The forest at night was exceptionally tranquil, with various birds and other flying creatures passing overhead from time to time.
He drew the curtains and walked out onto the living room balcony, which offered a night view of the Gated Community.
A gray metal Card materialized in his palm with a shimmer.
He glanced at its description before tossing it back into the warehouse from the daily settlement.
The Level 1 Farmland required a 20x20 meter square area.
Even if he cleared out his entire apartment, he couldn't free up that much space. It looked like building the farmland was impossible for the foreseeable future.
Catching movement below out of the corner of his eye, Qin Ziwen instinctively ducked down.
He had spotted someone downstairs, and they were heading toward his building, Building Eight.
'Someone's outside at this hour?'
Nocturnal beasts were active, making daytime a far safer environment for humans.
Once he confirmed the person had entered the building, Qin Ziwen crept to his front door, waiting until he heard footsteps in the hallway.
The footsteps grew closer and closer, finally stopping on his floor.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
A faint knocking sound came from across the hall.
A moment later, he heard a door open.
Then the door across the hall was gently closed.
'That's Wang Xiaoli's apartment across the hall, isn't it? What would someone be doing at her place this late?'
Qin Ziwen stroked his chin, utterly baffled. 'Could it be another one of Xie Jun's relatives or friends who lives in the Gated Community? Good thing I stayed up late tonight.'
CREAK—
It seemed the door across the hall had opened again.
A man and a woman's conversation drifted from the hallway. They were both keeping their voices down, but Qin Ziwen could still tell the woman was Wang Xiaoli.
"Is it safe in this hallway? What if someone sees us?"
"Don't be afraid. You need to be bolder."
Then, a series of intermittent, muffled sounds echoed from the hallway.
Qin Ziwen was dumbfounded. So, Wang Xiaoli had picked up a second profession.
Two minutes later, a long, relaxed sigh from Brother Zeng was followed by a shift in his tone, which was no longer as gentle as before. "You're still hung up on that, at a time like this? Let's just focus on surviving. Anyway, I left two packs of instant noodles on your table. I'm leaving."
The sound of footsteps going downstairs gradually faded away.
This little episode extinguished any thought of going out to pull grass. He decided it was better to get some rest and do it in the morning.
Before bed, though, he still had to cure the meat. The crocodile meat he'd gotten had to be smoked and air-dried, or it would spoil.
By the time he was finished, it was past one in the morning. Qin Ziwen, exhausted, couldn't stop yawning.
He had used up nearly all the salt he'd received from the last settlement.
Curing meat used a lot of salt. Until he found a new source, he decided he wouldn't cure the next big haul of meat he got.
Instead, he could trade it for vegetables or live animals he could raise as livestock.
In fact, Qin Ziwen was already thinking, 'Maybe I should just wait and check the daily settlement in the morning. Staying up past midnight every night isn't giving me enough sleep, and it makes me drowsy during the day.'
Early the next morning, his brother's call woke Qin Ziwen. He lingered in bed for a few more moments before getting up and rubbing his sore, tired eyes.
He went to the bathroom and opened the door.
After more than a day, a layer of crystal-clear water had collected at the bottom of the magical spring.
He cupped some of the clear water in his hands, took a sip, and rinsed his mouth.
After breakfast, Qin Ziwen told his younger brother, "Xiaowu, you know how to smoke meat now, right? Take this up to the roof and smoke it this morning. Remember to spread out a bedsheet so we don't give ourselves away. I'll come find you later."
Qin Ziwu looked worried. "Okay, Big Bro. You be careful, too. Don't try to take on that crocodile by yourself."
Qin Ziwen patted his brother's shoulder. "Yeah, I know. Right, first, come outside with me. We need to gather some firewood and pull some grass for the rabbits."
Carrying the sharpened galvanized steel rods, the two of them went to the south gate.
Outside the south gate, Huang Tao and a group of people had already been at work for a while. He took the sharpened rod from Qin Ziwen's hand. "Perfect! This is the stuff. Today, we'll make sure that beast doesn't make it back alive."
Huang Tao then said, "Old Qin, I spoke with President Yang. If all goes well, we should be able to finish the pit by noon. Then we'll get ready to line the bottom with a spike trap.
We had a few incidents yesterday, so several neighbors are worried the bird and the crocodile might show up again while we're working. I was thinking of asking a few more people to act as lookouts, one group watching the sky and the other the river. There are always some of the older folks sitting around the Gated Community entrance. They can't do the heavy lifting, but they should be fine as lookouts. What do you think?"
Qin Ziwen froze. 'Why is he asking me?' But he quickly realized the implications. Hiring people meant they had to be paid.
At this stage, there was no more attractive reward than raw meat.
According to the original plan, the meat from the giant crocodile was to be divided among the neighbors who helped build the trap. Suddenly adding more people to the payroll would naturally cause discontent.
Qin Ziwen said thoughtfully, "Brother Huang, it's your call. I'm fine either way."
Huang Tao looked like he wanted to say more, but he just let out a laugh instead.
"Alright, I'll go ask for others' opinions."
Qin Ziwen called out to him, "Oh right, Brother Huang, my brother has something to do this morning, so he won't be participating in digging the trap."
Huang Tao hesitated, looking troubled. "Brother Qin, I don't have a problem with it, but a lot of neighbors are participating this time, and everyone's watching each other. We all agreed: the more you work, the more you get."
Qin Ziwen laughed good-naturedly. "Rules are rules. He worked yesterday, but he's not working today. When the meat is divided, he'll take whatever share that entitles him to. I won't put you in a tough spot."
Huang Tao said, relieved, "I'm glad you understand, brother."
After Huang Tao walked away, Qin Ziwu spoke up, indignant on his brother's behalf. "Big Bro, that Huang guy was all buddy-buddy, calling you brother so warmly. You were grinding those rods so late yesterday, and he didn't even mention giving you extra credit."
Qin Ziwen gave a wry smile and comforted his brother in return, "It's all just an act. Out here, you can't just trust anyone."
He then went with his brother to pull up tender blades of grass near the main gate. They gathered a few different varieties of weeds, intending to see which ones the rabbits preferred so they could gather those specifically in the future.
After his brother left, Qin Ziwen rejoined the pit-digging army and worked for the rest of the morning.
Finally, at high noon, the trap pit was finished. Sharp "Long Spears" were driven into the bottom, one after another. All that was left was for the 'fish' to take the bait.
...
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