When Tao Daqiang returned from setting nets and heard they were going to dig out hog badgers, he agreed at once.
Locals recognized two kinds of badgers: European badgers and hog badgers. European badgers were rare; most of those seen locally were hog badgers.
But the adults in ordinary families usually worked in the fields, with an endless supply of work all year round, so they had no time to dig these creatures out.
Children, meanwhile, had usually been warned by their parents. After all, badgers had formidable jaws and could easily bite people, so adults told children to stay away from them.
When people saw fox dens or badger setts in the wild, they usually just took a curious look. Even when they came across rabbit burrows, they rarely dug them out.
Mainly, they simply weren't hungry enough. Or rather, there were plenty of other sources of food: fish, wild greens, crops in the fields. Any little effort could fill their stomachs, so they wouldn't take the risk.
There was a contradiction, though. While nobody wanted to dig them out, everyone certainly liked having badger oil.
The three of them carried their things back, talking and laughing.
Meng Zhiqiang, who was still setting nets in Little Haizi, felt rather left out as he watched the three together.
He had heard Li Long come over to ask for help. But he had hesitated then and hadn't followed him. He'd thought it was another village's business, and he wasn't particularly close to Li Long anyway. What would he be tagging along for?
When he'd seen Yang Yongqiang rush out and run over with Tao Daqiang, Meng Zhiqiang had even laughed at how foolish the young fellow was.
Now it seemed the young fellow wasn't foolish at all. Or was it that