Chapter 9: Setting Out Bait
After discovering that there were so many rodents on the mountain, Ying Kongtu had one more task whenever he went up: clearing out rodents.
Once he began consciously counting the wild animals on the mountain, he discovered that there really were too few of them.
There were few species, and their numbers were low as well.
It seemed that from now on, he would have to pay more attention to breeding and restoring wild animal populations.
After adding this item to his schedule book, Ying Kongtu looked at the densely packed list of things he had to do and, for once, rubbed his forehead.
That morning, after inspecting the mountain forest, he carried his back basket down the mountain.
Before he had even reached his gate, he saw Xing Chang’s car parked outside his house from afar.
“Xing Chang?” Ying Kongtu quickened his pace and called out from a distance. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance that you were coming? How long have you been waiting?”
“Not long, just a little while. I thought you’d be home this morning.”
Xing Chang came forward to meet Ying Kongtu and lowered his voice. “I heard there’s been a forest rodent outbreak on the mountain. Are you all right? Will the problems on the mountain affect you as the mountain god?”
Warmth rose in Ying Kongtu’s heart. “I’m fine for now. The mountains under my name are in relatively good condition.”
Xing Chang studied Ying Kongtu’s complexion. Seeing that his energy seemed all right, he let out a breath of relief. “You scared me. I was wondering how such a big thing happened after we hadn’t chatted for only two days.”
“I really am fine. If anything happens, I’ll ask for help.”
Xing Chang shook his head. “I never thought managing a mountain forest would be so difficult. There are so many things to do.”
“Nothing is easy to begin with. A mountain that large is bound to have some problems. We just need to think of ways to deal with them.”
Ying Kongtu invited Xing Chang into the courtyard. After washing his hands, he boiled water and brewed tea for him.
The two sat in the courtyard.
Xing Chang held the scalding tea, blew on it, took a small sip, and sighed. “My family has lived here for so many generations, and we’ve never heard of a rodent disaster.”
“It may have happened, and you simply didn’t know. Many things on the mountain pass quietly if no one pays attention to them.”
“That wouldn’t happen. If there really were something major, my mom would definitely know. My mom’s information network is very well-informed.”
Ying Kongtu smiled.
Xing Chang sighed and said apologetically, “These past few generations of ours really haven’t managed the mountain forests properly. But the country is paying attention now. Things will get better and better.”
Ying Kongtu glanced at him and said fairly, “It may not necessarily be humanity’s fault. The world always moves forward. Human territory expands, animal territory shrinks—these are all patterns of development. Didn’t you also say humans have realized it and are making corrections?”
Xing Chang raised his teacup toward him. “With that breadth of mind, you really are worthy of being a mountain god.”
The two lightly clinked cups.
Xing Chang asked, “Were there many wild animals here in the past that ate mountain rats?”
“Many. All kinds of wild birds and beasts, such as crested goshawks, sparrowhawks, Bonelli’s eagles, eagle-owls, saker falcons, yellow weasels, red foxes… and all kinds of snakes. They all caught forest rats.”
Ying Kongtu held his teacup. “Most of the time, when hunters went up the mountain and saw forest rats, field mice, and the like, they would catch them along the way and sell them.”
Xing Chang immediately said, “That won’t do now. It’s illegal now, and it isn’t safe either.”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “That’s why I said the world is developing. This is also a good side of it.”
Ying Kongtu truly did not take this trouble too much to heart.
He had done quite a few things recently, and the state of the mountain forest had gradually improved.
In the future, this kind of imbalance would occur less and less.
A few days later, Pei Lejiu from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau said that the low-toxicity bait specially applied for against forest rats had arrived and invited Ying Kongtu to help guide the bait deployment.
The terrain of the mountain forest was complex, so the Forestry and Grassland Bureau mainly used drones to scatter the rodent bait.
No one had much experience with this. Pei Lejiu roughly knew Ying Kongtu’s identity, so he specially asked him to help.
Ying Kongtu did not refuse.
However, he politely declined the Forestry and Grassland Bureau’s plan to also scatter medicated bait on the four mountains under his name.
Forest rodent prevention and control emphasized overall coverage. It was not only Ying Kongtu’s mountains; for nearby privately owned mountains, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau had also proposed free bait deployment to avoid gaps and ensure better control results.
Faced with Ying Kongtu’s refusal, Pei Lejiu was somewhat worried. “Will it be all right not to put out bait?”
Ying Kongtu said, “It won’t be a big problem. I’ve put traps and live-catch cages on the mountain, and I’ll also dig out rat holes. I can catch more than a hundred harmful rodents every day. Setting out medicated bait would harm other small creatures. In comparison, my physical methods are safer.”
Pei Lejiu said, “Then let’s observe the situation first. If the rodent damage on the neighboring mountains is controlled, but the rodent damage on your side isn’t, we can discuss it again?”
Ying Kongtu agreed readily. “That works.”
The urgent task was still to set out medicated bait on the mountains where the rodent damage was severe.
On the official bait deployment day, Ying Kongtu gathered at the foot of the designated mountain.
Pei Lejiu was directing people as they carefully unloaded the medicated bait and agricultural drones from the vehicles.
Seeing Ying Kongtu, Pei Lejiu called out loudly, “Kongtu, you’re here?”
Ying Kongtu nodded. “Morning.”
As he spoke, he went over to help move the drones.
After awakening, Ying Kongtu had learned how to use the internet and had seen all kinds of high-tech machinery online.
But this was still his first time seeing an agricultural drone weighing several dozen kilograms up close.
Looking at the drones, a trace of curiosity could not help flashing through his eyes.
A squad of drones rose with a buzzing sound. In no time, they carried the medicated bait up the mountain, which was far more convenient than having people carry the bait up and down the mountain on their backs.
Not only was it convenient and labor-saving, the drones were also highly efficient. In just a short while, they had finished spraying bait over an entire stretch of mountain forest.
Ying Kongtu stared at the drones with bright, burning eyes. Beside him, Pei Lejiu called, “Kongtu, we’re heading to the next mountain.”
Only then did Ying Kongtu withdraw his gaze. “So fast!”
Pei Lejiu chuckled and said, “That’s right. Drone bait deployment is very fast. Like rain falling—shua, shua, shua, and it’s done.”
It was too convenient.
Ying Kongtu withdrew his gaze.
He had also set out medicated bait in the mountains before.
After preparing the bait, he would carry it up the mountain in baskets and place it little by little in the locations he wanted. It would basically take two or three days to finish one mountain.
It had been nowhere near as convenient as now.
No, not just convenient.
Ying Kongtu’s gaze landed on those sealed medicine bottles.
Being able to prepare this much medicated bait was already extremely remarkable.
To gather so much effective bait in such a short time was simply the power of mortals rivaling the gods.
Several hundred years ago, he had seen some high-ranking gods, not ordinary mountain gods like himself.
But even those high-ranking gods might not necessarily have possessed such great power—to solve the problems of an entire mountain forest in a short time.
“Kongtu?” Pei Lejiu called him again.
Ying Kongtu raised his head and answered, “Coming.”
Humans had very useful medicated bait and highly developed machinery. But when it came to familiarity with the mountain forest, Ying Kongtu was still more familiar with it.
He knew where rodents most often appeared, and where the bait should be scattered for the most precise prevention and control while reducing pollution.
Everyone got into the vehicles and headed to the next mountain.
The next mountain was Tao Mountain.
This mountain was not currently under Ying Kongtu’s name, but it had once also been his territory. He was equally familiar with it, so he also directed the bait deployment there.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, Ying Kongtu picked up the tablet and opened the map again for the drone pilots to see. “The main bait points on Tao Mountain are these few locations.”
The drone pilots had already seen the map. Now they lowered their heads again to confirm. “All right, no problem.”
Very soon, the agricultural drone fleet loaded with medicated bait rose into the air in an orderly manner and flew toward the points Ying Kongtu had selected.
The medicated bait scattered like raindrops, like bullets, specifically ambushing the rodents.
They went from mountain to mountain like this, treating and preventing at the same time. After working for nearly a week, they finally managed to deploy bait across all the target mountain forests.
Everyone involved in the work was exhausted.
Pei Lejiu braced his hands on his knees and panted heavily. “Finally done.”
Only Ying Kongtu remained clean and refreshed, without even a trace of sweat.
He reached out and helped steady a drone pilot who nearly slipped. “You’ve worked hard. Tomorrow I’ll inspect the mountain and check the results, then report back to you.”
Pei Lejiu said, “I’ll go with you. Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet at the foot of the mountain.”
Hearing this, Ying Kongtu’s gaze fell on him.
Pei Lejiu looked like the most ordinary middle-aged man one could find in the county. He wore a polo shirt, had keys hanging from his waist, and had a bit of a beer belly.
His stamina was not particularly good, and he was a leader besides. Usually, there was no need for him to go up the mountain himself.
Pei Lejiu wiped away his sweat and said while panting, “The bait has been deployed, so we still need to see the results. I’ll only have a clear idea if I go up the mountain myself.”
Ying Kongtu agreed. “Tomorrow, should I carry some more traps and live-catch cages and place them along the rat paths?”
Deploying medicated bait was large-scale prevention and control, while placing traps and live-catch cages was precision prevention and control.
Combining the two would produce better results.
However, although these mountains had once all been Ying Kongtu’s territory, they were not currently under his name. If they wanted to do anything there, they still had to obtain the agreement of the person in charge or the mountain owner.
Pei Lejiu immediately said, “We have traps. Tomorrow, we’ll carry some over. You just need to guide us in setting them up.”
Ying Kongtu said, “That works too.”
Pei Lejiu said, “We really owe you this time. See you tomorrow.”
The next day, Pei Lejiu indeed brought people over in a small truck, transporting a pile of live-catch cages and traps to the foot of the mountain.
Everyone carried a back basket filled with live-catch cages and traps up the mountain. Later, when they saw forest rats that had been poisoned to death, they would also bring them down for unified disinfection and deep burial.
As a mountain god, Ying Kongtu did not find mountain climbing difficult.
At this moment, he led the way in front. Looking back at the middle-aged and young people behind him, all covered in sweat, he could not help feeling moved.
In this era, there truly were many people who did real work.
Ying Kongtu led them forward. Very soon, at one bait point, they discovered a nest of Chinese voles that had been poisoned.
Ying Kongtu picked one up with iron tongs and showed Pei Lejiu and the others. “Poisoned to death. This batch of bait is quite effective.”
Pei Lejiu wiped the sweat from his forehead heavily. “Worth it.”
The young people behind him also smiled.
Pei Lejiu took out his phone. “I’ll take photos.”
Ying Kongtu stepped aside. Pei Lejiu bent over and stuck out his backside, bringing his phone close to photograph the poisoned voles from every angle.
All of this information would be archived later.
After the photos were taken, everyone picked up the dead rats with tongs and placed them in a plastic bucket, then continued moving upward.
Along the way, whenever Ying Kongtu saw rat paths, he pointed them out.
When they encountered forest rats hiding in shallow burrows, they did their best to dig out the nests and eliminate the adult and young rats inside.
When they encountered forest rats hiding in deeper burrows, Ying Kongtu guided them in placing traps and live-catch cages beside the burrows or along the rat paths.
They had gone up the mountain early in the morning and did not come down until sunset.
When they descended, aside from Ying Kongtu, every person was covered in mud and sweat, looking extremely disheveled.
Pei Lejiu stretched out his arm and rubbed the sweat from his forehead with his upper arm. “Kongtu, let Xiao Chen send you home. Go back early and rest.”
Ying Kongtu nodded. “You too.”
Many of Changchuan County’s mountains had been Ying Kongtu’s territory. Although he did not have ownership certificates for them now, there was still a subtle connection between him and those mountains.
To him, managing and maintaining these mountains was part of his duty. There was nothing much to say about it.
However, on Monday of the following week, he received a special subsidy from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau—three hundred yuan per day. Every day he had helped was counted.
Ying Kongtu went to ask Pei Lejiu about it.
On the other end of the phone, Pei Lejiu said, “It’s only right. We’re becoming more and more standardized now. Money can’t be spent recklessly, but it also can’t go unspent. We can’t take advantage of ordinary people.”
Since he put it that way, Ying Kongtu could only say, “Thank you.”
“What’s there to be polite about? It’s issued by the state.” Pei Lejiu chuckled. “This morning, we went up the mountain again. We picked up 254 dead rats, and the live-catch cages and traps caught 176 forest rats. You’re amazing.”
After saying this, Pei Lejiu praised him again. “Fortunately, we had you. That’s why the losses from this rodent outbreak could be minimized.”
“Not really. It was everyone’s hard work.”
“Are you free tomorrow? Let’s go up the mountain and move the live-catch cages and traps to new locations?”
“Yes. Same place, same time?”
“That’s right. See you tomorrow!”
Forest rodent control was not easy. Ying Kongtu and the others stayed busy for more than half a month in a row before they finally brought the rodent damage on the nearby mountains more or less under control.
That evening, Ying Kongtu returned home from the mountain and saw Wen Zhongshan standing at his gate, holding the fat orange tabby on a leash.
As soon as the orange tabby saw Ying Kongtu, it turned its head and loudly meowed at Wen Zhongshan. It also turned back anxiously to gesture at him, urging Wen Zhongshan to let it go quickly.
After Wen Zhongshan untied its harness, it immediately trotted toward Ying Kongtu, circling him and rubbing hard against him. It mewed softly, and from time to time, coquettish little whimpers leaked from its nose.
“Dart?” Ying Kongtu was pleasantly surprised. He bent down and rubbed its forehead with the back of his hand. “Why are you here?”
The orange tabby rubbed back and forth around his legs, all in a sweet, coaxing little voice. “Mi—”
Recently, toxic bait had been deployed on the mountains. Several public accounts in the county had been reminding residents to keep their pets indoors, so as to avoid pets going up the mountain and accidentally eating the bait.
Ying Kongtu had also specifically mentioned this to Wen Zhongshan.
Therefore, Dart, this orange tabby yearning for freedom, had also been kept at home. Wen Zhongshan walked it once in the morning and once at night every day, but that still had not eased its gloom.
After the man and cat finished being affectionate, Wen Zhongshan greeted him. “Dart missed you. As soon as we came out today, it ran straight this way. I couldn’t hold it back.”
Ying Kongtu rubbed the orange tabby’s chin with the back of his hand, listening to its purring. His heart felt soft and aching. “I missed it too. It really has been many days since I last saw it.”
Ying Kongtu opened the courtyard gate and invited the man and cat inside. He went to wash his hands, changed into home clothes, then lifted the orange tabby onto his lap, scratching its chin and rubbing its cheeks. He rubbed it until its belly faced upward, its eyes narrowed, and it stretched out its paws to hug Ying Kongtu’s wrist.
“The bait on the mountain has basically lost its effect now. Dart can come out to play again.”
“So soon?”
“The bait that was deployed was low-toxicity bait specifically targeting rodents to begin with. And it rained several times, so it lost effectiveness very quickly.”
There were not only all kinds of forest rodents on the mountain, but also many small animals. Deploying bait that was too strong would cause serious ecological damage and ultimately be more harmful than helpful.
Wen Zhongshan looked at the cat on Ying Kongtu’s lap. “Tomorrow, I’ll open the cat door and stop keeping it cooped up.”
Ying Kongtu touched the orange tabby’s belly and could clearly feel that it had become thicker and softer. “Good. Let it come out and move around. It seems to have gained quite a bit of weight recently?”
“Yes.” Wen Zhongshan’s eyes carried a smile. “It was unhappy, but it could still eat. Its weight is almost sixteen jin now. But the vet who examined it said it’s quite healthy and has no problems.”
Ying Kongtu pinched its belly. “It’ll be better once it comes out and runs around.”
