Chapter 5: Only “Gua-Gua” Chickens Are Good

The family shared ten sparrows. Li Jianguo and his wife each ate one, Li Long ate two, and the remaining two children ate three each.

There was very little meat on a sparrow, mostly just a tiny bit on the legs and breast. But Li Qiang and Li Juan didn’t let a shred of meat go to waste; they chewed on the larger bones until they were dry and clean, and they simply crunched and swallowed the smaller bones without spitting anything out. After eating, they licked their hands clean.

Li Long felt a pang of heartache; these two children were truly starving for meat. Thinking back to when he was an apprentice in Wucheng, he hadn’t deprived himself. After getting his wages, besides buying clothes, he would go to the state-run braised meat shop to buy offal to satisfy his cravings. Back then, he never once thought about his niece and nephew—he really hadn’t been much of a person!

Seeing Li Juan and Li Qiang looking like they were still hungry after finishing, Li Long felt deeply guilty.

How much meat could three sparrows really have?

He, who had intended to rest, had new ideas.

Anyway, there was nothing else to do, and he had a flashlight on hand, so he might as well take the opportunity to go out again tonight.

He didn’t make a fuss, however. After finishing the sparrows, he chased Li Juan and Li Qiang off to the west room to sleep early. He tidied up, put on his cotton-padded galoshes—which weren’t completely dry yet—put on his cotton overcoat, wore his fur hat, and headed out with the flashlight. In the courtyard, he grabbed his landing net, went under the shed to find a urea sack, and set off out of the yard.

In the west room, seeing that Li Juan and Li Qiang had already fallen asleep, Liang Yuemei whispered to her husband:

Xiao Long has changed. He wasn’t that close to Juan and Qiangqiang before, but now, look…

He’s their uncle, after all. Li Jianguo rolled a cigarette, his tone matter-of-fact. If I take care of him, shouldn’t he take care of his own niece and nephew?

That’s true. Liang Yuemei said with a smile. Although he was fired, he seems to have grown up and become more sensible. That money wasn’t spent in vain!

It’s good that he’s sensible. Li Jianguo was actually quite relieved. He knew what kind of person his younger brother was before. But that was his brother, not his son; he couldn’t lecture him too much, so he just hoped that by doing more himself, he could move him.

Now that Li Long was so sensible, Li Jianguo even felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

I heard him go out just now, I wonder… Liang Yuemei said while stitching a shoe sole.

Don’t worry about it. He’s grown up now, he should know what he’s doing. Li Jianguo said, What can he do in the middle of winter? Every household has people home; he can’t stay out for long. Maybe he went to visit someone.

After Li Long went out, he headed east.

To the east of the production team, there was a stretch of wilderness, and further east lay the cultivated farmlands. Along the edges were many large and small mounds of earth left over from land reclamation and harrowing. After the autumn harvest, some weeds and crop stalks were scattered there.

And this was exactly where the “Gua-Gua” chickens loved to stay.

Nowadays, due to the food shortages and malnutrition, most people at night suffered from “night-blindness.”

And this “home appliance” called a flashlight was something at least half the households in the entire team didn’t have.

Therefore, the places where the Gua-Gua chickens loved to stay—which everyone in the village would know about in later years—were still unknown to most people at this time.

Even if they knew, these people wouldn’t be able to catch them—firstly, they lacked the tools, and secondly, their eyesight was poor.

Li Long lacked neither—he worked at a food factory, which provided meals. It wasn’t exactly fine dining, but the nutrition was better than what was available in the team.

He walked with heavy, uneven steps, not particularly trying to hide the sound of his feet.

The Gua-Gua chicken is actually quite a dim-witted bird. At least that’s how Li Long saw it. This Gua-Gua chicken “habitat” had been discovered by an old man who herded sheep.

According to the old man, when he was returning from herding sheep, it was nearly pitch black. He was tired, and seeing a dark patch, he thought it was a rock exposed in the snow, so he sat down right on it. But before he could even sit, the “rock” ran away. It turned out to be a flock of Gua-Gua chickens.

In other words, unless forced, this creature usually doesn’t run.

After all, finding a habitat wasn’t easy. It had taken all day to find a spot and lie down to warm up; how much energy would it consume to run away now? It wasn’t easy to save up energy in winter!

Li Long was actually holding the attitude of just giving it a try. If they were there, that would be for the best, and if not, well, he couldn’t watch TV, scroll through his phone, or chat with friends at night anyway, so walking around to burn off some energy was fine.

The place was about a kilometer away from the production team, and it took Li Long nearly half an hour to get there—mainly because the snow was too deep. By the time he reached the spot, he felt a thin layer of sweat on his body.

But once he stopped, the chill immediately began to penetrate him; this minus thirty-degree weather was no joke.

Li Long turned on his flashlight and immediately started searching, as he couldn’t stay out for too long. He didn’t have much food in his stomach, so his body heat couldn’t be replenished, which was uncomfortable.

There were a few distinct bulges in front of him; these were mounds of earth covered by snow.

He felt a bit disappointed—the snow was too deep, and with the mounds covered, it would be difficult to attract the Gua-Gua chickens.

He kept the flashlight on and continued forward, looking at each mound one by one.

Soon, Li Long discovered that near a mound close to the farmland, the snow had been scratched, revealing the dead grass and crop stalks underneath.

He had a chance!

He continued forward and soon spotted greyish-black objects lying in the snow ahead.

Gua-Gua chickens!

Counting roughly, there were over a dozen Gua-Gua chickens lying there. Some had already closed their eyes, while others, attracted by the flashlight, were looking his way vigilantly.

Li Long turned off the flashlight and closed his eyes to adjust.

After a minute, he opened them again and could barely make out the things in front.

Looking carefully in the direction of the chickens, he could just barely see their dark shadows, so he walked toward them step by step.

When he got within a meter of the nearest Gua-Gua chicken, Li Long stopped and slowly raised the landing net.

Slowly, he pressed it down.

The Gua-Gua chicken didn’t even react before it was trapped inside the net.

It only fluttered for a moment before Li Long reached in and pulled it out, stuffing it into the urea sack.

This one was quite big, weighing nearly half a kilogram, the equivalent of over a dozen sparrows.

Li Long was very happy.

Two Gua-Gua chickens nearby moved in a panic, but in the end, they didn’t want to leave their warm little nests and didn’t fly away.

Then, these two were also caught by Li Long in one swoop and stuffed into the urea sack.

Then, one Gua-Gua chicken flew away.

The other chickens also began to stir, and Li Long immediately waved the landing net and lunged at them. If he were too slow at this point, he wouldn’t get anything.

Catching two more in succession, only then did the rest of the chickens belatedly flutter away into the sky.

A total of five. Li Long watched the direction the chickens flew off in, but in the end, he didn’t give chase.

The snow was too deep, and without much food in his stomach, he had no energy left.

Even with just this brief burst of intense movement, he was sweating profusely. Now that he had stopped, the sweat was turning cold, making him feel very uncomfortable.

Li Long knew he had to soak his feet as soon as he got back, or he would definitely fall ill tomorrow.

But with five Gua-Gua chickens in his hand, Li Long was in a great mood, like a general who had just won a battle.

He would have something delicious to eat tomorrow!

(End of Chapter)