The two bright-eyed fawns looked at Li Long, seeming very timid. Deer were timid creatures by nature.
The roe deer was smaller than the fawns, but it was less afraid. When it saw Li Long and the others approach, it watched calmly at first. When they stayed still, it actually edged closer out of curiosity.
Quite cute.
"I'll take them away, then," Li Long said with a smile. "Very nice. I like them."
"As long as you like them." Harimu smiled, as did the young men behind him. They badly needed the things Li Long had brought, and they hoped he needed what they had brought, too.
Lunch was Hand-Pulled Meat. The sheep had just been slaughtered; when their tractor arrived, a young man had started slaughtering it over there. They boiled a potful and ate the Hand-Pulled Meat with onions and salt. Chen Xingbang sensed something primal about it, too.
But it tasted wonderful.
After eating, they tied up the sheep, deer, and roe deer and loaded them onto the tractor. Tying them was a skilled job: they had to keep them from jumping up without binding them so tightly that their legs were ruined.
"I'll come back tomorrow or the day after," Li Long said. "If you only need one load of grain, I'll unload it here, then go to the wooden cabin. I'll stay a few days and do some hunting."
"All right," Jade Mountain River said with a smile. "We won't move camp for a few more days. I'll ask around about where game has been showing up and let you know."
The tractor chugged toward the mountains' edge again, puffing black smoke.
Harimu and the others did not watch until Li Long disappeared from sight. As soon as the tractor started up and left, they