PDLP Chapter 88 Capturing the Three Idiots of the Grassland
Chapter 88 Capturing the Three Idiots of the Grassland
As soon as Li Xiangyang stepped out of the supply and marketing cooperative, he saw a crowd gathered in front of the department store, which was 100 meters away diagonally opposite the cooperative, with some people shouting something among them.
"What...do you have anything good to sell?"
Li Xiangyang was a little curious. Since it was still early, he took his horse and decided to go over and take a look.
at this time,
The department store was surrounded by layers of people, making it impossible to see what was being sold inside, even on tiptoe.
Li Xiangyang originally wanted to squeeze in to find out what was going on, and if there were any good things, he could buy some to take home.
But upon closer inspection, he hesitated. The crowd consisted mostly of young women, and with the year-end approaching, he didn't want to be arrested as a hooligan.
He then mounted his horse and looked down from above, only then realizing that they were selling fabric.
Two female saleswomen in blue uniforms stood in front of a makeshift stall, each holding three or five bolts of floral fabric.
Two female saleswomen shouted loudly, "Come and see! Come and buy! New floral fabric, no ration coupons needed, limited quantity, first come, first served!"
Li Xiangyang smiled. Indeed, loving beauty is a woman's nature.
In some periods, this was also a reflection of how life got better and better, accompanied by the gradual development of positive policies.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that the fabrics were indeed striped or small floral prints popular in that era, and the colors were significantly brighter than the plain-colored fabrics in the supply and marketing cooperative.
He's a grown man; he can tell if the fabric is new or not, but he doesn't know whether it looks good or not.
He muttered to himself, "I'll see in the next couple of days, and if I have the chance, I'll ride over on horseback with Liu Xiulan to buy it."
He then turned and left.
…………
When Li Xiangyang was riding back from town, the sky was just overcast with occasional light snowflakes. But when he reached halfway across the grassland, the snow suddenly started falling heavily.
Large snowflakes drifted down from the sky, twirling and leaping in mid-air like elegant ballerinas. In no time, the world was covered in a white blanket.
Li Xiangyang wanted to urge the horse on faster so he could get home sooner, but as soon as he rode a little faster, the cold wind, carrying snowflakes, kept blowing into his neck, and even his vision was blurred, making it impossible to see clearly.
Just then, he noticed that the snow on some parts of the road had been compacted by the hooves of passing horses, making it easy for them to slip and potentially dangerous to continue riding.
"Ugh, this awful weather."
Li Xiangyang sighed, dismounted, grabbed the reins, and led the horse forward, stumbling along.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and by this time the snow on the road had reached up to the calves, making each step sink into solid ground.
It was very difficult to walk.
After walking a short distance, as he approached a patch of half-withered reeds, Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped, hearing a series of rustling sounds coming from the snow on his right.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a flock of sand pheasants that had been startled and were scurrying out of their nests in a panic.
However, the snow was too thick. The sand pheasants were fat and had short legs. They would sink into the snow as soon as they ran. They could not fly even after flapping their wings for a long time. Occasionally, a few of them would flap their wings and fly up, but they would fall back into the snow pile after only half a meter off the ground. They could only struggle clumsily in place.
It looks quite comical.
This sand partridge, scientifically known as the spotted partridge, is commonly called "sand partridge" or "spotted wing" in Inner Mongolia or Northeast China.
Because of its "cute and silly" nature and strong curiosity, it often stretches its neck to look around when it hears noises, and is not easily startled, hence the name "Silly Half-Pound".
The "Three Silly Fools of the Grassland" refers to this animal, along with the three brothers: the silly roe deer and the silly flying dragon.
It is not very big, about 20 centimeters long, and usually weighs no more than half a pound. It has a round and plump body.
Its feathers are generally sandy brown or grayish brown, covered with chestnut-colored insect-like markings and horizontal bars, making it difficult to spot when hiding in the grass during spring and summer, providing excellent camouflage.
However, in later generations, they were eaten so much that they became a protected species.
Li Xiangyang was overjoyed. He would never refuse food that was offered to him on his own initiative.
He wrapped the horse's reins around his arm and, without hesitation, charged forward.
These comical little creatures were frozen stiff and trapped by the deep snow, so they couldn't run far or fast at all.
Li Xiangyang reached out and grabbed one as easily as taking something out of a bag. The warm body thrashed about in his palm. He didn't even have time to put it in a sack. He twisted its neck and stuffed it into his arms. Then he bent down to grab the second one.
The sandgrouse flock was in disarray in the snow, none of them able to run properly. He used both hands, and in no time, his arms were stuffed full.
He only stopped after the other sandgrouse had run far away.
He got up and counted them; there were six in total, all with thick fur and plump bodies. Li Xiangyang was very satisfied.
"Great, great, I can make a pot of hot soup when I get home tonight."
Afterward, he packed all six sand chickens into a sack, patted the snow off his body, and then led his horse back to the village.
along the way,
The wind and snow were still quite heavy, but with a harvest to be made, Li Xiangyang felt warm inside, and the road under his feet seemed much easier to walk on.
When he returned to the Li family home, it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, and it was getting late.
Just as she reached the gate of her courtyard, Liu Xiulan heard the sound of horses' hooves. She quickly pushed open the gate and came out to greet them, her face filled with worry. She said anxiously:
"Xiangyang, you're finally back! Did your trip to Wuzhen go smoothly today? The snow hasn't stopped since you left that door, I was so worried about you."
As Liu Xiulan spoke, she tenderly brushed the snow off Li Xiangyang's clothes.
"Fortunately, everything went smoothly."
As Li Xiangyang spoke, he took the sack hanging on the saddle and handed it to Liu Xiulan: "It was in town that we ran into Old Zhang from our team whose cart was stolen."
"What? Old Zhang's carriage was stolen?" Liu Xiulan was a little shocked. Someone actually stole a carriage in broad daylight.
Then, as she took the sack from Li Xiangyang, her hand suddenly sank downwards.
"Is this... leftover wolf meat?"
"No, all the wolf meat is sold out."
Li Xiangyang pointed to the two burlap sacks and said, "This sack contains some New Year's goods, and this sack contains a few 'silly half-pound' chickens that we just caught."
Hearing Li Xiangyang say this, and then looking at the two heavy sacks in her hands, Liu Xiulan's eyes lit up instantly, and her voice trembled with joy:
"My goodness, you bought so much stuff, including half a pound of 'Silly Half a Catty'! This is a real treasure, how did you catch it? Didn't you forget your tools?"
"Don't ask any questions yet, I'm freezing to death. Let's go inside and talk."
Li Xiangyang led the horse into the stable, tied it up, and then put his arm around Liu Xiulan's slender waist and went into the house.
"Oh right, yes, yes, come inside quickly, the kang is warm. I'll go make you a bowl of hot tea first, and then get that silly half-pound out."
Liu Xiulan nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with joy.