Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

On the snow-covered Jiming Mountain, Niu Da's shouts continued:

"Niu Er, come here quickly! There are rabbits over here, big and fat rabbits!"

"Come and help..."

"Stop shouting, there are some in the ravines too..."

Niu Er's voice also came over, and the shouts of the two brothers brought a sense of life to the otherwise desolate snow-covered forest.

On the eastern mountain, the red sun lay limply, as if its enthusiasm had been drained by the cold of the snow.

Chen Wenfeng ignored Niu Da and Niu Er, and called Lao Sun to start sweeping the snow outside the chicken coop.

Although it was described as moderate snow, the snow on the mountain was so thick that it reached up to your ankles when you stepped on it.

Chen Wenfeng's newly changed black cotton shoes were covered in snow, making the already chubby shoes look even chubbier.

Isn't this feeling quite similar to the poem "Ode to Snow" by the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Dayou?

"The river is all shrouded in mist, the well is a dark hole. The yellow dog has white spots, the white dog has swollen spots."

The ancients were right!

By the time Chen Wenfeng and Lao Sun had cleared a clean path through Jiming Mountain, Niu Da had already come down the mountain path.

He was breathing out hot air, his face was flushed, and he was even sweating on his forehead in this cold weather.

Then look at his hand; he's carrying several wild rabbits, all of them black and quite large.

But when Niu Da carried it, it was as if he were carrying a bundle of firewood. The rabbits were originally soft, but after being caught in the wire at night, they were all frozen stiff.

Chen Wenfeng told Niu Xiao to be careful, as the snow on the way down the mountain hadn't been cleared yet!

Niu Da agreed verbally, but his feet didn't slow down, or perhaps he simply couldn't. He lost his balance and landed on the ground, sliding down on his backside with the momentum, still clutching the rabbit tightly in his hand...

When Niu Da slid down to the foot of the mountain, he finally stopped. Fortunately, he was wearing many layers of clothing, and the snow was thick, so he was mostly unharmed, except for a few tears in the back of his pants. He figured his mother was going to nag him again.

But Niu Da didn't care about any of that at this point. He threw the rabbit he was holding onto the ground, and the pile of "frozen goods" fell into the snow. Niu Da laughed and said:

"Brother Feng, those four rabbits are all very fat!"

Rabbits, field mice, foxes, and pheasants in the mountains fatten themselves up in the autumn to survive the cold winter. Although a cunning rabbit may have three burrows, and sometimes rabbits hide things in the ground, the most reliable way is to let the meat rot in the pot, eat the grass, and grow the meat on your body.

Old Sun also came over, picked up the rabbits one by one to examine them, and said:

"Perhaps because not many people usually come to Jiming Mountain, this rabbit is quite big, and its fur is also good. We can make some gloves from it."

Old Sun's words reminded Chen Wenfeng that the weasel pelt had already been used to make scarves, and since the rabbit pelts were being made together this time, they could be retrieved together. He then said:

"Master Sun, let's make a few more things from the rabbit skin this time, and then bring it back along with my weasel scarf."

"It should be almost finished. We can pick it up next time we go down the mountain."

Niu Da, sniffling, said:

"Brother Feng, can I get a share this time?"

"Yes, you caught it, so of course you get a share! Go back inside, wipe your nose, and put on another coat."

"I'm not cold, I'm actually quite warm!"

As the group was talking, Niu Er, covered in snow, climbed up from the ravine.

"Niu Er, are you a snowman?" Chen Wenfeng saw that Niu Er's body, hair, face, and shoes were all covered in snow, making him look like a snowman who had come to life.

Niu Er wiped his face with his hand and said embarrassedly:

"The snow in the ravine was so deep, almost up to our waists. Walking in felt like taking a snow bath..."

Where's your rabbit?

Seeing that Niu Er's hands were empty, Niu Da suddenly felt a competitive spirit.

Niu Er didn't answer directly, but instead asked Niu Da:

"Big brother, how many did you get?"

"Four."

Upon hearing this answer, Niu Er smiled—a smile of victory.

Niu Da knew his younger brother well. He could tell from Niu Er's expression that he had lost again. He was simple-minded and not very smart, but he sometimes liked to compete with Niu Er. However, he could never win, and this time was no exception.

Niu Er stopped being mysterious, grabbed a thin wire from his waist, and then slowly pulled on it.

As Niu Er pulled hard, the thin wire slowly crawled out of the ditch like a millipede.

As the wire was pulled outwards, the rabbit hanging on it was also pulled up:

One, two, three, four... seven!

There were seven rabbits in total!

Seeing his elder brother Niu Da's exclamation mark expression, Niu Er said:

"There were too many rabbits to carry all at once, so we had to drag them the whole way."

"Good idea," Chen Wenfeng praised.

When Niu Er heard Feng Ge's praise, he scratched his head a little embarrassedly. He wasn't a particularly smart person; if you had to say he was smart, he was only a little smarter than his older brother, Niu Da.

But since following Chen Wenfeng, he has felt that Chen Wenfeng is quick-witted and methodical in handling matters. He has learned a lot from him without even realizing it.

Although he can't handle those tricky problems yet, he knows how to find solutions when things happen.

"Let's stew the rabbit and eat it!"

"Master Sun, you skin it, I'll help you. Niu Da and Niu Er, you two go start a fire and boil water!"

Chen Wenfeng gave the instructions.

"Brother Feng, we can't eat that much at once, can we?"

"Let's get four first, one for each of us, eat our fill, and then bury the remaining four in the snow."

......

Chen Wenfeng said he was helping Old Sun, but in reality, a few rabbits were just a piece of cake for Old Sun. He went to take a walk around the chicken coop instead.

Although the chicken coop was upgraded and renovated with Master Geng's help, it is still very cold inside.

He counted the number of eggs this morning, and it was okay; there was no significant decrease.

In winter, let's prioritize stability and take good care of these laying hens first. We can discuss any other plans in the spring.

When he came out of the chicken coop, he saw that Old Sun had already skinned the four rabbits and was using a knife to cut them into pieces before putting them in a pot.

The rabbit was skinned and the blood was drained. Since it has almost no fat, it doesn't need to be blanched. It will be cooked by simmering it over low heat for a while.

Old Sun added some simple seasonings to the pot and then lit his pipe. Niu Er lit the fire. Steam filled the stove.

"Niu Da, don't just sit there. Go to the earthen stove over at the chicken coop and start a fire there too. Keep it burning as long as it's not sunny. Just keep it on a low flame."

Upon hearing the instructions, Niu Da grabbed a bundle of firewood and went to start a fire.

"Let's steam rice for lunch, right here in the pot where Niu Da started the fire."

Upon hearing Chen Wenfeng's suggestion, Old Sun and Niu Er both agreed. In fact, it didn't matter what they ate, since their minds were all on the stewed rabbit anyway.

The aroma of rabbit mingled with the fragrance of rice, permeating the foot of Jiming Mountain...

"Woof woof woof woof..." Chen Xiaohei, the security captain and member of Jiming Mountain, barked.

"Better late than early! What's stewing here? It smells so good!"

Chen Wenfeng looked up and laughed loudly:

"Oh my, what a rare guest! How did you find your way here?"