Chapter 61: Arrival
The bullfrogs in the area were enormous.
As Xia Lu Nong watched the large bullfrogs being caught one after another, he started to feel tempted.
With so much meat on them, what more could you ask for?
He carried the bag, flashlight in hand, following his older brothers step by step.
Kong Zhi was bringing up the rear.
There were no more field ridges now, just wild lands with deep green grass that made it hard to see.
Xia Lu Nong trudged along unevenly, muttering, “If only these bullfrogs made noise, we could locate them by sound and catch them easily.”
Yan Xi Nian replied, “There are so many wild animals out here besides us hunting bullfrogs. If they made noise and got their nest discovered, what then?”
“They wouldn’t change their habits just because of that.”
As they were talking, Xia Lu Nong accidentally stepped into a puddle, soaking his entire shoe. Water squished up from the sole, sending a shiver down his spine, and he instinctively stepped back.
Kong Zhi, right behind him, caught him and gently steadied him without a word, helping him return to his original spot.
Xia Lu Nong turned around and whispered, “Thanks.”
His brother, seemingly with eyes in the back of his head, said, “Be more careful.”
“Oh,” Xia Lu Nong nodded, craning his neck to look around. “Didn’t you say there were bullfrogs everywhere?”
“Even if they’re everywhere, we still have to find them,” Yan Xi Nian said, shining his flashlight. “Isn’t that one over there?”
Xia Lu Nong followed the beam of light but felt like he was blind, even with perfect vision, as he couldn’t see the bullfrog Yan Xi Nian was pointing at.
Yan Xi Nian took a few steps forward, crouched down, and grabbed something.
Only then did Xia Lu Nong see it—a small patch of yellow-green skin peeking out from a hole in the thick grass.
Yan Xi Nian grabbed the back of the bullfrog and gently lifted it up.
The bullfrog, as big as a puppy, was now hanging in the air, its yellow-green back and small black eyes visible, with its belly a pale yellow-green as well.
Once lifted, the frog’s legs flailed in a struggle.
Yan Xi Nian shook open the bag he had brought and dropped the bullfrog inside with ease, saying, “That was easy enough.”
The bullfrog, once in the bag, stopped struggling and stayed still.
Xia Huo Qu said, “There’s another one up ahead.”
Xia Lu Nong widened his eyes, trying to spot the frog his brother mentioned, but no matter how hard he looked, he just couldn’t see it.
Kong Zhi patted his shoulder from behind, pointing at a patch of grass in the distance that looked no different from any other. “It’s over there.”
Xia Lu Nong squinted for a long time before finally spotting it.
Yan Xi Nian had already moved forward and lifted another large bullfrog. “Whoa, this one’s at least six pounds.”
Xia Huo Qu opened the bag, “Put it in here.”
As they walked through the grass, they found one hole after another, and every time they reached in, they pulled out a bullfrog.
Catching bullfrogs became a game, like finding a hole and winning a prize.
Xia Lu Nong was the only one who couldn’t find any bullfrog holes on his own. He watched his brothers and Kong Zhi, feeling a bit skeptical of himself.
After one round of following them, he only managed to catch seven frogs that had been hopping around the grass. Other than that, he didn’t find any.
With seven bullfrogs in the bag, weighing over 30 pounds, Xia Lu Nong would have been happy—if not for the fact that even Kong Zhi, who caught the fewest, had almost ten times his haul.
The comparison of the many bags of bullfrogs in the back of the truck made his effort seem pitiful.
Yan Xi Nian, putting an arm around Xia Lu Nong’s shoulders, laughed and comforted him, who was looking dejected, “Hey, you were the one who first heard the bullfrogs. You’re the real MVP, so what’s there to be upset about?”
Xia Lu Nong glanced at the frogs in the truck, then back at Yan Xi Nian. “I guess I’m just not cut out for hunting.”
“You’re great at helping us hunt,” Yan Xi Nian yawned after a long night of work. “Alright, I’ll take the first watch. You all should get some sleep. It’s almost midnight anyway.”
Xia Lu Nong, feeling tired from the long day, yawned as well, “Can we sleep in tomorrow?”
“Sleep in as much as you want; we won’t wake you up,” Xia Huo Qu said, handing him a sleeping bag. “Now go get some rest.”
After yawning countless times that day, Xia Lu Nong couldn’t resist the moment he saw the sleeping bag. He nodded to his brother, dragging the sleeping bag over to the mat, quickly took off his shoes and leg wraps, washed his feet, let them dry, and then climbed inside to sleep.
As soon as he nestled into the sleeping bag, he fell into a deep, sweet slumber.
That night, he dreamed of many bullfrogs hopping around him.
He reached out and caught one, then another. Soon, he had bags full of them, and his brothers, who had barely caught any, praised him lavishly.
The dream lasted until morning.
He slept soundly, and no one came to wake him. It wasn’t until sunlight filtered through his eyelids that he finally stirred, groggy and half-asleep.
“Morning, brother,” Xia Lu Nong mumbled, rubbing his head and barely able to open his eyes. “Morning, brother Xi Nian, morning, Kong Zhi.”
His brother looked up, “Go wash up and have some breakfast. If you’re still tired, you can sleep in the car.”
Xia Lu Nong yawned, crawled out of the sleeping bag, carefully put on his shoes and leg wraps, grabbed his toothbrush and towel, and went to wash up.
As he passed by the truck bed, he noticed the bulging bags and was startled. “Did we really catch that many bullfrogs yesterday?!”
The back of the truck was filled with bulging bags and a stack of lively crabs. Together, they weighed at least a thousand or two thousand pounds.
Xia Huo Qu said, “Of course we did. You caught seven frogs, Xi Nian got eighty-three, I got sixty-nine, and Kong Zhi got sixty-four. Altogether, that makes two hundred and twenty-three frogs.”
Xia Lu Nong was incredulous. “But there weren’t that many bags last night!”
Xia Huo Qu glanced at the bags and explained, “These bullfrogs are too big. If we packed too many in one bag, they’d get crushed. So after you went to sleep, we divided them into more bags.”
Still in disbelief, Xia Lu Nong muttered, “These bullfrogs are way too easy to catch. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have bothered with gathering supplies and hunting.”
“It’s just a stroke of luck. It also happens that this land has a high population of bullfrogs. Maybe someone was farming them nearby before the disaster. Normally, you wouldn’t find such a density anywhere else.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “What about the crabs?”
“The crabs are the same story as the bullfrogs. We just got lucky,” Xia Huo Qu said. “Plus, both creatures are relatively low-tier, not heavily mutated. We hardly find any that are inedible, which is why we caught so many.”
Xia Lu Nong didn’t care whether it was luck or not. If they could be this lucky, then it was simply good fortune. If their luck could be this good once, who’s to say it wouldn’t stay good in the future? They could worry when they weren’t so lucky next time.
Happily, he went to wash up, and after returning, he fried some liver and quickly stir-fried some kidneys. After a simple breakfast, they packed up and continued their journey toward Yacheng town.
Their pace had been quicker than expected the night before, so they didn’t need to stay where they were and could head out right after breakfast.
Xia Lu Nong hadn’t gotten enough sleep and was drowsy as soon as he got into the truck.
The cab had to fit four people, making it a tight squeeze.
Xia Lu Nong, feeling sleepy, transformed into a cat, curling up on Kong Zhi’s lap, stretching out, and falling soundly asleep.
The truck rumbled along without stopping until the afternoon.
When the truck finally came to a halt, Xia Huo Qu woke Xia Lu Nong up, giving his belly a playful rub, “We’re about to enter Yacheng town. You should change back first; don’t reveal your animal form.”
“Meow,” Xia Lu Nong responded, hopping off the seat, running to the back of the truck, and transforming back into his human form before changing into clothes.
From this vantage point, they could already see Yacheng town.
Yacheng town appeared to be much larger than their own base, with outer walls and a moat, indicating it had once been an ancient city.
There were sentries stationed along the city walls, though they were too far away for Xia Lu Nong to be sure. He guessed those tiny black dots must be people.
Before entering Yacheng, everyone took a break—eating, using the bathroom, and preparing for the final stretch.
Xia Lu Nong noticed the tense atmosphere and whispered, “Isn’t our base on good terms with Yacheng?”
“It’s decent, but not overly friendly, so stay on guard,” Xia Huo Qu replied. “Their rules here aren’t strict. They tend to follow the law of the jungle, so be careful when we get inside.”
Xia Lu Nong quickly nodded.
Xia Huo Qu then turned to Kong Zhi, “Keep an eye on him.”
Kong Zhi nodded, “Got it.”
Thanks for the chapter!