Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start-Chapter 74 - Dont Mess with Crows Crow Gang

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Don’t Mess with Crows! Crow Gang!

Chapter 74 -74: Don’t Mess with Crows! Crow Gang!

Xu Yang came down from the observation deck, stood beside the paddy field, and explained the origin of the paddy field art.

Netizens saw that the paddy field art was indeed made up of rice plants of different colors.

The vari-colored rice was more expensive and had the same yield as regular rice, so aside from being used for paddy field art, it was rarely planted on ordinary days.

“Today, we’ll just wander around here, look at the paddy fields, check out the grouse, and take a look at the Red-crowned Cranes and so on.”

“The wildlife resources here are very rich.”

“Especially the grouse, they’re almost overrunning the place.”

“This year the grouse have just been stripped of their second-level protected species status and have become a species to be managed, but it’s still not open season for hunting.”

Xu Yang got on his motorcycle, planning to ride out and wander around the farm’s exterior.

As a mountain runner, roaming around in nature was the norm.

He rode his motorcycle along the roads between the paddy fields; the scene was indescribably leisurely.

As he made his way outward, when passing by a paddy field, he noticed signs of grouse activity and laughed:

“The farm workers are slacking off a bit; these grouse are pecking at the rice, and no one’s bothering with them.”

Xu Yang stopped his motorcycle.

He wasn’t exactly planning to intervene, but he wanted to enjoy the excitement.

He picked up a small stone from the side of the road, exerted a bit of force, and casually threw it.

The stone traced a perfect parabola and landed in the paddy field.

“Thud!”

It landed right on the back of a grouse.

The grouse, startled, thinking it was under attack, cried out while flapping its wings vigorously to fly away.

It seemed to be shouting:

Enemy assault! Enemy assault!

As one grouse called out, others followed suit, all hastily taking flight.

The bodies of the grouse were slender, and their wings were covered with gray and white spots, looking quite different from domestic chickens.

These birds were already somewhat overpopulated in the Northeast, and could be found everywhere.

The saying “Knock down roe deer with a stick, scoop fish with a gourd, and grouse fly into the cooking pot” reflects their abundance.

Grouse are very timid, and when one flies off, the others follow, creating a large flurry.

The audience in the live stream were astounded by this scene.

[Wow! So many grouse?]

[Goodness, I really didn’t notice!]

[These grouse were well hidden!]

[The ecosystem is just too good!]

Xu Yang watched this scene with a smile.

There were many grouse in the mountains; he almost always saw them whenever he went into the mountains.

Grouse meat isn’t that tasty, it’s rather tough and dry, nothing like the tender and fragrant stewed domestic chicken.

Sometimes mountain people also sneakily capture a couple to throw in the pot.

Now that grouse are no longer a protected species, getting caught means only paying a fine instead of facing jail time.

If not caught, then there’s no issue at all.

“Now there are just too many grouse, they’re everywhere.”

“A large farm like this should be driving away the grouse to prevent overpopulation.”

“Maybe they’ve been short-staffed recently and haven’t managed to do it.”

“Or perhaps it’s because the rice hasn’t started to form heads yet, so there’s no rush to chase them away.”

Xu Yang commented, as he watched the grouse take off.

Once the grouse flew into the paddy fields, they became invisible again, as if they never existed.

With such a vast expanse of paddy fields, who knows how many were hiding.

Grouse belong to the lower end of the food chain and are the favorite prey of predators in Changbai Mountain, just like rabbits and mice.

But they excel in their fast breeding and survival, so their population is still increasing.

“The grouse are quite slender, they look long and thin.”

“I still prefer roosters that are plump, they look majestic.”

“My farm has a rooster that’s much nicer looking than these.”

Thinking of the rooster that crowed every morning at eight, Xu Yang spoke up again.

The grouse in the paddy fields were just an interlude; he got back on his motorcycle and continued to drive outwards.

All the way out of the farm, outside was a dirt road surrounded by a vast expanse of wasteland where various weeds grew.

Xu Yang looked all around.

“Coming out today, I also want to see Red-crowned Cranes, wild geese, Mallards, and Northeastern Grouse, and stuff like that; we have a lot of birds here, especially around those rather remote large ponds, which are full of birds.”

“Sometimes, the farm even has Red-crowned Cranes land.”

“And injured birds are common. Just the other day, someone encountered an injured vulture with a wingspan of two meters that couldn’t fly and ended up contacting the nearby Forestry Bureau and police station.”

Xu Yang suddenly stopped there, not adding anything more.

What he actually wanted to say was that some places, the Forestry Bureau no longer accepted injured protected animals.

Because there were too many injured protected animals, and many employees were slacking during work hours, they didn’t bother.

They would only intervene with rarer species.

Sometimes, when they found injured birds and wanted to send them for help, the staff at the forestry stations would let them fend for themselves.

Of course, these were the smaller forestry stations; the larger ones and the Forestry Bureau would still actively rescue and protect wildlife, and there were even specialized wildlife protection organizations.

Xu Yang, for one, was keen on rescuing injured wild animals.

Often, if he was willing and able to help, the staff at the forestry stations would even bring the injured animals to him.

There were such cases.

The motorcycle traveled on the rugged road.

Xu Yang glanced at the map, there was still quite a distance to the wild pond area, and the trip there was unpredictable; his motorcycle might not make it.

So, he had to suppress his desire to birdwatch.

“Many birds come back in summer and fly south when autumn approaches.”

“That’s why I thought I’d take a look now, otherwise I truly might miss them.”

“But today I’m short on time, so I can only plan the route for the next mountain trip and go watch the Red-crowned Cranes.”

At this point, Xu Yang added,

“Let’s not even talk about birds, even people around here do the same, after the autumn harvest many head down to Hainan to pass the winter.”

On his way back, Xu Yang spotted some little red fruits and several adorable little Oriental Turtle-doves in the forest.

The little fellows were perched on tree branches, pecking off the little red fruits one by one and swallowing them whole.

He stopped the bike to watch them closely.

Oriental Turtle-doves are also cute.

Xu Yang liked birds too; many small ones were adorable, sometimes flying in large flocks.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

A completely black crow, for some reason, suddenly flew over and landed on the back of Xu Yang’s motorcycle.

It cawed softly twice and even gently pecked at the hem of Xu Yang’s clothing.

Seeing this, the online audience burst into laughter.

[Bro, you have a crow behind you, isn’t that a bad omen?]

[Is the broadcaster going to have bad luck?]

[That crow’s got guts!]

[Hahaha, such a cheeky crow!]

At this moment, Xu Yang’s expression turned serious, he didn’t move but explained softly,

“I can’t afford to mess with this guy, the crow is a holy bird of the Northeast, extremely smart.”

“Birds from the corvid family are no joke, they bear grudges and are heavily vengeful.”

“If you provoke them, you won’t have it good for five years; they will relentlessly seek ways for revenge.”

“No idea why crows are so petty, a grudge that can’t be resolved in five years.”

“Luckily, it can’t understand what I’m saying.”

Hearing Xu Yang’s words, the online audience was dumbfounded.

[What? Is it really that outrageous?]

[Broadcaster, I want to see how the crow holds a grudge!]

[I’ve seen crows attack people, it’s kind of a big deal!]

[Hahaha, provoke it and see, we want to watch!]

Xu Yang turned back to look; the crow was still on the rear seat.

Encountering such a bold crow was quite absurd.

“I can’t afford to provoke it, when you mess with one, it’s not just one, it’s a whole flock.”

“They’ve got real clout when they come out to mix.”

“They have a lot of ways to get revenge, like flying up to peck at heads, or dropping white droppings on black cars and black droppings on white cars, and even picking up stones to throw at people.”

“Also, there are cases where crows repay kindness after being rescued by visiting each day to pay their respects.”

“While many think it’s a bad omen, crows are actually auspicious birds; the Manchu people even worship them as divine birds.”

“Now this big guy is on my bike, whatever he wants to do, he can. I’m not going to provoke him.”

Xu Yang didn’t disturb the crow.

Just resting on the bike, right? Absolutely, let it be.

The main thing was, he couldn’t afford to provoke them; in the nearby forest, he could spot several other crows lurking.

If Xu Yang now tried to shove the crow off, a bunch of crows might swoop down to peck at him.

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Even worse, could follow him back to the farm and attack his place.

These guys were like a gang.

The Crow Gang.

Xu Yang’s remarks were amusing, and the online audience couldn’t help but laugh.

[Are crows really that tough?]

[Of course, I’ve seen one flip the table at the slightest provocation!]

[Now that the broadcaster said that, I even want to see it more!]

[Hit it and I’ll send you gifts!]

Everyone started to stir the pot again.