Chapter 14 The Transaction
"It's organized by the property management,"
an old man sitting on the ladder said with a chuckle. "There's no such thing as property management anymore, just those security guards and the Huangs from Building 7. They're planning to tinker around and have everyone discuss how to get food."
Qin Ziwu was somewhat puzzled. "When you're hungry, you go find food, isn't that instinct? There's such a big forest outside, how could anyone starve to death? It just means you're not hungry enough."
A voice came from behind, "Hehe, that's right. The forest outside is huge; as long as you're willing to take action, you definitely won't starve."
Qin Ziwu turned around and saw a group of people, looking travel-worn, walking into the hall.
Their backpacks were bulging, they carried various modified weapons, wore hats, and were dressed very conservatively.
The group
was "fully armed."
The speaker was a man in his early thirties wearing glasses.
He glanced at the fish in Qin Ziwu's bucket, smiled amicably, and the two walked to a quieter spot.
"Young man, would you trade these fish for them?" It was
Qin Ziwen's first time experiencing barter, and he found it quite novel.
"What do you want to trade?"
The man took off his backpack, unzipped it, and Qin Ziwen saw two furry creatures huddled together inside.
They looked like rabbits.
"These are... wild rabbits?"
The man nodded with a smile. "Yes, I don't need to elaborate on rabbits' reproductive capabilities, right? These two happen to be a male and a female, and they can be fed grass. If you're willing to trade, I'll give them to you. You can take them home and raise them for a while, and you'll have rabbits to eat."
Qin Ziwen shook his head: "In the long run, it's not a loss, but as far as I know, it takes at least two or three months for a rabbit to get pregnant and give birth. Waiting that long, I'd starve to death myself."
The bespectacled man explained: "It's not that long. The rabbit's mating and delivery cycle is generally six weeks."
"That's still a month and a half, and I'd have to gather grass to feed them every day."
The bespectacled man said regretfully, "Okay, I mainly like eating fish, and I haven't had any for a while."
With that, the bespectacled man nodded politely and prepared to leave.
Qin Ziwen called out to him, "How much do your rabbits weigh?"
The bespectacled man thought for a moment, then honestly shook his head: "I haven't weighed them, but when I picked them up, each one weighed about three or four pounds, so the two together should be around seven pounds."
Qin Ziwen pondered. Although carp are heavier, rabbit meat is red meat, while fish meat is white meat.
In terms of calories, rabbit meat provides more than carp meat.
Besides, he already had the cage; these two rabbits were more valuable to him than a fish.
After all, fish didn't seem that difficult to catch.
"Okay, I agree to the deal, but can I ask you a few questions?"
The bespectacled man narrowed his eyes to slits and readily agreed, "Of course."
"Where did you catch this rabbit?"
"Over there. Go out from the south gate, walk west for about thirty minutes, and you'll see a foothill grassland. There are many rabbits there."
The bespectacled man pondered for a moment, then said, "Rabbits are habitual animals; they usually leave fixed walking paths in the grass. These tracks are called 'rabbit trails.' Once you find a 'rabbit trail,' it's relatively easy to catch them by setting traps along the way."
"Rabbits like to move along natural 'boundaries,' such as stone walls, hedges, and the edges of forests. Pay close attention to these areas when looking for 'rabbit trails.'"
"Also, rabbits are most active in the early morning and evening, which is when they mainly forage. However, they have a very keen sense of smell. If you're setting traps, it's best to wear gloves to prevent your scent from being leaked."
Qin Ziwen silently remembered what the other man said.
These were details not mentioned on the trap blueprints.
He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What do you do for a living?"
The bespectacled man smiled and said, "I'm a veterinarian."
It seemed quite normal for a veterinarian to know how to catch animals.
The bespectacled man said, "My name is Wang Jun, and I live in the same building. Is this your younger brother?"
"Yes, my younger brother is Qin Ziwu, and my name is Qin Ziwen."
Wang Jun said, "I used to lead an outdoor hiking team, so I have some experience in outdoor survival. We've been exploring the area for the past two days, mainly focusing on the west.
I see you're interested too. If you're interested, you and your brother can come find me. I live on the eighth floor of building one."
Qin Ziwen didn't completely refuse, "Okay, by the way, if you catch any more animals next time, like rabbits, you can come find me to trade. I live on the fifth floor of building eight, unit two."
Wang Jun readily agreed, "Okay."
After Wang Jun left, Qin Ziwu scratched his head, "Brother, it seems like all these people like to invite us."
Qin Ziwen glanced at him, "Because you look like you're all brawn and no brains, people like your type."
Qin Ziwu was suspicious; he felt his brother was insulting him, "Brother, are you making fun of me?"
"No, how could I? You're so smart."
"Damn, definitely! I saw you smile!"
The two brothers playfully bickered as they went home.
One of the rabbits was white, and the other was gray.
The gray one was male, and the white one was female.
The animal cage was quite magical. The two rabbits, who had been trembling with fear, sat quietly inside after being thrown in. After a while, they slowly started hopping around.
It was like a cellar that, despite being sealed tightly, could still ventilate.
These structures seemed to possess some kind of magical power.
Qin Ziwu squatted in front of the cage. "Brother, what should we feed these rabbits?"
Qin Ziwen looked at his younger brother. "What do you think rabbits eat?"
"Carrots."
Qin Ziwen was speechless. "Where would we get carrots?"
"Cabbage."
Qin Ziwen: "You look like a cabbage. We still have wild vegetables at home to eat. Don't feed them to the rabbits."
"Okay."
Qin Ziwen said, "I'll go ask that Dr. Wang later. He's a veterinarian, he'll definitely know about this."
Although he could feed them any grass he picked in the wild, he was still a little worried, as this was his first time raising rabbits. He
had heard from others online that these things were very delicate and easily stressed and could be scared to death.
He just hoped that this level 1 animal cage could exert its magical power.
In the evening, after dinner, the two arrived at the middle of the residential compound.
This area used to be a playground for the children, with a small fountain connected to a water pump.
Now the fountain was off, and there were no children in the playground.
Someone had moved a table in the middle, and several security guards in white uniforms stood beside it.
The outer perimeter was crowded, almost congested.
Qin Ziwen arrived late, and he and his brother couldn't squeeze in, so they climbed a nearby tree.
The balconies of the surrounding buildings were packed with people; this was probably the most concentrated gathering of residents since their transmigration.
From the crowd, someone shouted, "Where are they? What do you want to say?"
"Hurry up, say what you want!"
Amidst the throng, Huang Tao climbed onto the table, stood up, and raised his hands to let more people see him.
Then he put the megaphone to his mouth, "Hello, hello, hello, can you hear me?"
(To be continued later. End of this chapter )