Chapter 159 - 68: Revealing the Answer (2)
Taking out the small wooden box from his pocket, just as he was about to pour salt into the bowl, he was surprised to find that this entire bowl of salt was already all used up.
"It shouldn't be like this, right? They've had such a heavy taste in the past two days, even if this salt doesn't cost money, they can't eat it like this!"
Picking up the salt bowl, Chen Zhou frowned.
If the mother goat and kid kept consuming at this rate, the salt he had left might just barely last three months.
With doubt in his heart, he still poured the salt from the wooden box into the bowl.
Putting the bowl back in its place, the more Chen Zhou thought about it, the more it seemed off.
Stepping out of the cave, he walked east along the mountainside, looking down to discern the hoofprints in the dirt.
After being separated from the herd of goats for a long time, the mother goat and kid had grown accustomed to staying in the grassy field where they were tied. After licking salt in the cave, they would return straight to the field.
If it rained, they would go a bit further, coming to the forest below the grassy field to take shelter from the rain, nibbling on some tender leaves and branches.
When he first let the mother goat and kid go, worried they might run away, Chen Zhou observed them for several days and became very familiar with their movement patterns.
Finding the blurred hoofprints hit by the rain, he walked to the grassy slope and discovered a line of unfamiliar hoofprints next to the mother goat and kid's prints.
These lone hoofprints extended from the direction of the platform, larger than the mother goat's prints by a circle, deeply imprinted in the soil, estimated to belong to a strong, adult male goat.
After the three sets of hoofprints converged, they moved together towards the forest at the slope's bottom, gradually becoming shallower on the grass slope.
"Hmm?"
Upon seeing the new hoofprints, a suspicion popped into Chen Zhou's mind—the mother goat he was raising had caught the eye of a male goat.
Cautioning Lai Fu to stay hidden, he crouched low, following the trail, and soon discovered the mother goat, kid, and a robust male goat at the forest's edge.
The three goats varied in size and were scattered on the grass; at a glance, someone unfamiliar might actually think they were a family of three.
"So, you're not here to break up this family but to join it, right.
The mother goat I've painstakingly raised is about to be taken by you, and you're stealing my salt too, how bold of you.
In that case, I'll just have to capture you, as I need a breeding goat. Seeing you're strong and healthy, this job shouldn't wrong you, as you brought it upon yourself."
Understanding everything, the truth became clear.
The reason the salt in the cave bottomed out in two days was that the mother goat he was raising was turning outward, not only cozying up to the visiting male goat but also taking it to eat salt.
That small bowl of salt was measured by Chen Zhou to be just right for the mother goat and kid. With the unexpected addition of an adult male goat, there was no way it could suffice, lasting more than two days was already extraordinary.
...
Not alerting the goats, Chen Zhou quietly left the slope's upper area, and as planned, he went down to the gravel slope and cut half a bucket of fresh grass for Little Dragon Cat.
Just as he was about to return to the kiln cave, he suddenly slapped his head, feeling pained by his own sluggishness.
Since Little Dragon Cat only liked this grass, and it wasn't some delicate, precious species, it could be uprooted and planted elsewhere to thrive. Why hadn't he dug more and transplanted it around the field earlier? It would have saved him many pointless journeys.
"Oh well, let's just consider the earlier trips as exercise.
And if it weren't for coming to this sunny slope often, I wouldn't have discovered the wild goat herd coming back or this male goat that found its way here. It's a blessing and a curse."
Comforting himself, he picked a sharp, triangular stone from the rock pile to use as a spade.
Chen Zhou emptied the fresh grass from the wooden bucket, dug up some soil with grass roots, filled the bucket bottom, and packed the fresh grass back in before leaving the gravel slope.
Back at the kiln cave, he buried the soil at the field's edge, then placed the collected fresh grass in the kitchen.
Without stopping, Chen Zhou went to the storage room to retrieve some pre-made traps, postponing the task of digging sand and heading straight to the grassy slope.
Lai Fu followed his master, running back and forth, busy all afternoon, even without playing together, happy, wagging his tail. After quickly drinking a few sips of water, they headed to the grass field.
Following the hoofprints made by the male goat when it came from the platform, Chen Zhou walked to the sunny slope, selecting a few narrow paths by rocks or among shrubs, setting several hoof traps.
This vigorous male goat, if looped around its neck, would surely struggle mightily, choking itself.
Setting hoof traps had a lower hit rate but caused less harm to the goat, at most amputating a leg, not threatening its life or hindering reproduction.
Chen Zhou wanted a breeding male goat, not a dead one.
Previously killing the old goat was because it yielded no value, possibly losing its abilities.
If it had shown even a bit more vitality or survival instinct, Chen Zhou wouldn't have stabbed it to death.
But having gotten used to seal meat, the occasional lamb meal still tasted quite nice.
...
Setting hundreds of rabbit traps, Chen Zhou had accumulated some experience.
The locations where he set the traps were comfortable footing spots for goats or unavoidable pathways, and he rubbed a layer of dirt on the hemp ropes to reduce scent and increase concealment.
Goats, with their wide lateral vision and sensitivity to overhead threats, were notably sluggish to react to anomalies underfoot.
Having mastered this "hormone-laden" trail, Chen Zhou was ninety percent sure he could capture this male goat alive.