portable space

Old Man Qian's "just in front" was indeed not believable. Everyone walked until the sun hung on the top of the mountain before reaching the end of the stream. At this time, the sun had no heat, and the light slanting on the mountain looked cold.

The end of the creek is a mountain wall, and the water flows from the stone cracks under the mountain wall. The wooden house is built against the mountain wall, and it is already a little dim without the sunset.

If there is no water, this is a good place to stay in the mountains at night, but with water, it is easy to attract wild animals that come out to look for food or drink water at night, making this place a dangerous place.

"This is not a good place." Zhang Taiping looked around and said.

Qu Xiaoling asked: "Why is it not a good place anymore?"

Zhang Taiping pointed to the water source not far from the wooden house and said: "It is too close to the water source, and it is easy to attract wild beasts. Moreover, it is surrounded by walls on three sides. Once the wild beasts come, there will be no place to escape."

Old Man Qian shook his head and said: "This place may attract wild animals, but it is surrounded by walls on three sides. You can only enter from the direction facing the wooden house door. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, right? As long as some traps are placed at the entrance, there is no need.

I’m worried that some animals will come and disturb me at night.”

"That's true." Zhang Taiping nodded.

There are some dry rattan leaves climbing on the wooden house, which looks very old, but there is no damage to the overall structure, so it is not a problem to provide shelter from wind and rain.

"It would be nice to build such a wooden house in the mountains. It would be fun to come in and live in isolation for a few days when nothing happens," Qu Xiaoling said.

Humans are social creatures. Who can live here alone? Zhang Taiping shook his head lightly and said nothing.

Old Man Qian said with a smile: "You city dwellers are the only ones who have this idea. You have never been alone in the mountains. It's fine when you're on the road or have something to do during the day, but it's sad in the dead of night when everyone is quiet."

.”

Qu Xiaoling imagined that it was a bit intrusive for a person to be alone in such a small mountain cabin at night, so she no longer supported her previous remarks.

When Old Man Qian walked to the door and was about to open it, he suddenly stopped and the expression on his face became serious.

"What's the matter, Brother Qian?" Qian Qian asked first.

"Someone has been here recently." Old Man Qian looked carefully at the wooden door and left and right.

Qian Qingxian also looked around a lot. Everything was normal. There was no sign of anyone coming recently. He asked in confusion: "Why do you see it?"

Old Man Wang pointed to a spot on the door and said, "This place is brighter than other places. It was obviously wiped by someone when they opened or closed the door recently."

Qian Qingxian looked at the door carefully, and sure enough, he said, "Maybe the people who recently went to the mountains to collect herbs rested here for the night."

Old Man Qian looked around again, shook his head and said: "Maybe it's not that simple." If ordinary people had been here, they would definitely not leave any traces. He said to Zhang Taiping at the back, "Commander

, take a look around to see if there are any traces."

Zhang Taiping nodded and asked the four big dogs to spread out and search together. Soon he heard Ah Huang's cry near the water source under the mountain wall. Zhang Taiping ran over and saw Ah Huang pawing on the ground with his paws.

After stopping Ah Huang's movements, Zhang Taiping looked at the ground. Although it had been covered up, the soil on the ground was obviously newly turned up.

Others also gathered around, and Zhang Taiping used the steel fork in his hand to lift away the surface soil, revealing the ashes inside. Apparently a fire had been lit here before being covered up with soil.

Old Man Qian said with a serious expression: "These people look very cautious. Who are they?"

"How does Mr. Qian know he's not alone?" Qu Xiaoling asked.

Old Man Qian said: "I couldn't find anything if I didn't pay attention before, but now I can find many problems if I look carefully. There are several different kinds of footprints on the edge of the pool, not one person's."

Once people have doubts about something, their imagination is very rich. Gan Qingxian quickly thought of the tiger, his face changed and he asked: "Could it be that he came into the mountains..."

Although he didn't finish his words, everyone knew what he meant.

Old Man Qian asked: "How did you know there were tigers here?"

Qian Qingxian said: "Mr. Zhang uploaded the photo to the Internet and it has gone viral. We also saw it on the Internet."

"If you know this news, I guarantee that others will also know it." Old Man Qian said, "Your worries are not impossible."

"Alas!" Old Man Qian sighed and said, "Nowadays, many precious animals have been wiped out by these people who are obsessed with profit." Tigers are full of treasures, not only the tiger skin is valuable, but the tiger bones are even more valuable. It is valuable, and there is no shortage of people poaching it for profit.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit solemn, Zhang Taiping said: "It's just speculation now. It's not yet certain whether these people are poaching when they go into the mountains. Even if they are, they may not be able to find them because the Qinling Mountains are so big. It's a little early to worry about this issue. Now Let’s think about what to eat at night.”

Old Man Qian looked at the sky and said, "Yes, hurry up and prepare for the night, otherwise it will be a little difficult when it gets completely dark."

Everyone returned to the wooden house and pushed the door open. Several big dogs sniffed inside as if someone had been there.

Old man Qian looked around the inside of the wooden house and said: "Fortunately, this wooden house is still strong, there is no need for air leakage tonight." He said to Qian Qingxian and the others, "You put your things down first and find some dry firewood nearby, but don't leave. It’s too far, and it’s still a bit dangerous now that it’s dark. The commander and I went to hunt some prey and came back.”

There are still a lot of wild animals in the deep mountains, especially next to the creek. It is the time for the animals to drink water in the evening. It is still easy to catch larger animals such as wild goats, antelopes, wild boars and other animals, but you have some leisure time. Four experts on animal protection were there, so the two of them didn't do anything to make them unhappy. They just shot a few of the most common rabbits and the easiest to catch pheasants. Zhang Taiping also found a deeper pool to catch them. There were a few fish.

After returning to the wooden house, Qian Qingxian and the others had picked up a lot of firewood. They were surprised to see the two of them returning so quickly.

Qian Qingxian looked at the two men carrying three rabbits, four pheasants and three fish, and said in surprise: "You got so many things so quickly?"

Zhang Taiping said with a smile: "As I said, rich uncles will definitely not be hungry in the mountains."

What Qu Xiaoling was interested in were the three fish that Zhang Taiping had cleaned and threaded on the steel fork. These three fish were not big, the largest one was only half a foot long, but their shapes were different from those outside.

"What kind of fish is this? It's really not easy to survive in shallow water in such a cold weather without any protection measures." Qu Xiaoling asked.

Zhang Taiping shook his head: "I don't know. Most of the things in the mountains are suitable for survival inside. Naturally, they are a little different from the outside. Being able to survive in such cold weather must be the result of years of changes."

Old Man Qian said with a smile: "It doesn't matter what kind of fish it is. What's important is that the fish tastes very delicious when cooked with fresh mushrooms."

"Then let's wait and taste Brother Qian's craftsmanship." Qian Qingxian said with a smile.

Old Man Qian didn't need help from others, so he got busy by himself. First he dug a hole for the pot in front of the wooden house, then took the iron pot to the water source, washed it and brought back a pot of water. He took it out of the snakeskin bag. Put all the seasonings in, add the three fish and the fresh mushrooms picked in the afternoon, and cover the pot.

Qu Xiaoling asked in slight surprise: "Mr. Qian actually brought so many condiments? We didn't expect this."

"You don't go into the mountains often. If you go into the mountains a few more times and gain experience, the things you prepare will be more practical." What he meant was that the four of them brought a lot of unnecessary things with them into the mountains.

After lighting the fire, let the fish pot burn and start digging a hole next to it.

"What is this for?" Qu Xiaoling asked.

Old Man Qian replied: "It's a bit slow to make fish soup. Let's dig a new hole here to roast rabbit and pheasant."

"Mr. Qian is still thoughtful." Qu Xiaoling complimented.

Old Man Qian smiled and said nothing.

ps: I finally caught up!