"Everyone's running low on food, aren't they?"
Huang Tao's words gradually quieted the previously noisy residents.
Qin Ziwen sat on a tree branch, somewhat curious about Huang Tao's intentions.
"Have you thought about what you'll do when your food runs out?" Huang Tao's words were like a needle, piercing the subconscious avoidance of many people about this issue.
"Go and rob? You've all eaten your fill, do you think others will have much left? We can't just sit around and do nothing!"
Huang Tao shouted through a megaphone, "There are over a thousand people in our community! Over a thousand! Just digging for wild vegetables, picking wild fruits, and hunting small animals isn't enough for us!"
Qin Ziwen stroked his chin; something about this sounded vaguely familiar.
Huang Tao's voice was excited: "There's a river right at the foot of our community. Since ancient times, people have lived off the land and water. We must take over this river! I implore everyone, we must unite and clear the crocodiles out of the river. This is a war, a war between us humans and the crocodiles for territory!"
After saying this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Huang Tao's eyes as he looked at the unresponsive crowd.
A loud voice came from outside the crowd: "So what should we do?"
Huang Tao looked in the direction of the voice.
Qin Ziwen, sitting in a tree, came into view.
Qin Ziwu whispered, "Brother, why are you a shill?"
Qin Ziwen shook his head slightly: "I'm not a shill, it's just that clearing the crocodiles will benefit us too. At least when we're fishing, we won't have to worry about crocodiles running up and darting around us."
There was something else he didn't say.
He was waiting to hunt crocodiles to improve his daily score.
And after the crocodiles were hunted, the abundant resources in this river would become a hunting ground for boosting his score; he could lay more traps in the water and build stone arrays on the banks.
Huang Tao shouted, "I think we can form a crocodile hunting team, with twenty people per team. With the population of our neighborhood, we can easily gather a dozen or twenty teams.
Crocodiles are dangerous, but they're not invincible. Didn't we kill one yesterday? It shows they're not that powerful.
Once they're on land, they can't even unleash half their full strength! Our biggest advantage over animals is our intelligence; we can set traps.
And crocodiles are all meat. Killing one means each member of the team can get dozens of kilograms of meat, enough for a family to eat for a week! Why not kill crocodiles now while we're well-fed and have the strength? Are we going to go hungry and fight them later?"
A young man on the second-floor balcony shouted, "How will the crocodile meat be divided? What about those who are slacking off? Will they get a share too?"
Huang... Tao firmly raised his fist: "I vehemently condemn slacking off. There are so many eyes in the team; everyone can clearly see whether someone is lazy or not, whether they've contributed or not. I don't want such people in the team. If there are, we can have a vote to decide whether to expel them."
An old man next to him said, "Then how do you kill the crocodile? Don't think we don't know. Yesterday, when we were killing a crocodile, a young man had an accident and died. How can anyone withstand a crocodile's tail lashing out like that?"
Huang Tao patiently explained, "We hunted a crocodile yesterday, and we learned from our experience. We need to ensure everyone's safety as much as possible. There's no such thing as a completely risk-free situation; even drinking water can cause choking."
The surrounding residents raised various questions, some nitpicking, some genuinely concerned.
Regardless, Huang Tao patiently answered them all.
Finally, Huang Tao said, "This loudspeaker doesn't have much battery left, so I'll keep it brief. One last thing: anyone willing to hunt crocodiles can register here. I'll try my best to assemble your desired teams based on your floor and needs. If you've already formed a team privately, you can also register here; I can share my experience with everyone free of charge."
Zheng Yuan's voice came from under the tree: "Brother Qin, wanna go together tomorrow?"
Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar man under the tree, Qin Ziwen's mind raced.
The man under the tree said, "I am Zheng Yuan."
Qin Ziwen couldn't believe his eyes, conjuring up the image of the handsome man with thick eyebrows and large eyes with that burly, bearded man.
Zheng Yuan laughed heartily: "I shaved my beard; otherwise, it'll be too much trouble to groom it every day."
Having worked with him before, Qin Ziwen readily agreed after a brief moment's thought.
"How many people have you contacted?"
Zheng Yuan pointed to Huang Tao in the crowd. "Tentatively, it's Lao Huang, along with the security guards from the property management office, and a neighbor of mine in my building who's a fitness instructor. I've contacted seven people so far."
Qin Ziwen said, "My brother and I, and another person here who joined us last time, that makes ten people. We're still ten short."
He reserved a spot for Lao Deng.
Although Lao Deng often goes scot-free when fishing, he's a decent person.
Zheng Yuan said, "Let Lao Huang choose the rest. He must have a lot of people signing up now, so he should be able to pick some suitable teammates."
Qin Ziwen couldn't help but joke, "You're calling him Lao Huang already."
Zheng Yuan was a little embarrassed, but still said, "Huang Tao is a bit too ambitious, but he's still reliable."
The two chatted briefly before parting ways.
Qin Ziwen and his brother went to the eighth floor of Unit 1 in Building 1.
Climbing to the eighth floor, Qin Ziwen's forehead was sweating. "It's a bit hard to climb."
Qin Ziwu pounded his thigh. "It's a bit uncomfortable not having an elevator."
There were only two apartments on this floor. Apartment 801 had a shoe rack outside and couplets pasted on the door. Apartment
802 was deserted and showed no signs of life.
Qin Ziwen knocked on the door of apartment 801.
A woman's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"
"Does Wang Jun live here? I'm the one I met with this afternoon. I live in building 8."
"Ah Jun, someone is looking for you. They say they're from building 8."
Soon, the door opened, and Wang Jun, wearing glasses and plain clothes, invited Qin Ziwen inside.
"This is my wife, Lin Yi. This young man is the one I traded fish with this afternoon, and his brother."
Lin Yi, with her hair in a bun, bright eyes and white teeth, greeted Qin Ziwen warmly, "Hello."
Qin Ziwen felt a little embarrassed, "I'm sorry to bother you so late. Actually, I wanted to ask Dr. Wang some questions, specifically about raising rabbits. It's my first time raising them, and I'm wondering if there are any dietary precautions."
Wang Jun understood and patiently explained, "Rabbit care really only requires attention to two points. First, don't feed them too many vegetables with high water content, such as cabbage, lettuce, or carrots, as this will disrupt their gut flora, leading to severe diarrhea, bloating, and even death.
Second, wild rabbits are hindgut fermenting animals and need to consume a large amount of high-fiber roughage to keep their intestines moving. Simply put, hay, leaves, and bark should be their staple food, supplemented with a small amount of fresh vegetables. Also, provide them with 250 to 500 ml of drinking water daily."
Wang Jun then went on to tell him many other important points about raising rabbits.
Qin Ziwen found this very helpful.
Indeed, knowledge is the most precious thing.
Qin Ziwen asked, "Are you hunting crocodiles tomorrow?"
Wang Jun shook his head: "We're not going. If you go hunting crocodiles, be careful. Crocodiles are dangerous. Although they have poor stamina and endurance, their explosive power is quite high.
Hmm... Crocodiles are cold-blooded animals; they can't regulate their body temperature themselves and can only rely on external factors. They become sluggish when the temperature is low. Of course, I'm referring to Earth's crocodiles. The ones here aren't native species, so their habits can only be used as a reference. I hope you have a good catch tomorrow."
(End of Chapter)