The next day, Li Long got up early to check his rabbit snares at Red Willow Flats. He folded up a urea sack and set it ready, then slung the Small-Bore over his shoulder, hoping to try his luck and see if he could shoot anything else.
It was so early that hardly anyone was outside. His breath no longer misted as heavily as before, and Li Long strode toward Red Willow Flats.
Everything around him was silent. Only when he was almost at Red Willow Flats did he hear a bird call or two.
Li Long began searching along the route where he had set the snares yesterday, scanning his surroundings as he went. Unfortunately, there was no sign of movement anywhere in sight.
After checking nearly twenty snares, he had only two frozen-stiff rabbits in all. This haul left him somewhat disappointed.
But when he thought about how the temperature was rising and the snow would soon melt, it made sense that there were fewer rabbits to catch, since they now had more places to find food.
Li Long simply gathered up all the snares, put the two rabbits into the urea sack, and headed back, carrying the sack with his gun over his shoulder.
Halfway back, he heard Xu Chengjun's voice coming from the team's loudspeaker:
"Attention, attention! Anyone taking the teacher recruitment exam, gather at the County Education Bureau at ten tomorrow morning for the exam!
"Attention, attention! Anyone taking the teacher recruitment exam, gather at the County Education Bureau at ten tomorrow morning. Don't be late! This opportunity is hard to come by, so get up early and be prepared!
"Attention, attention..."
The announcement repeated three times before the loudspeaker fell silent. By the time Li Long walked back into the team's settlement, it started