The rumble of the tractor in the mountain forest echoed through several nearby valleys, sending the small animals that had been active nearby fleeing farther away.
Once they finished cutting the grass on this slope, Harimu directed Li Long toward another. The herders had already inspected this pasture, and some of the Wooden Stakes had already been cleared away.
"I never imagined cutting grass could become this easy," Harimu marveled again. "It feels like playing. You make a circuit of the hillside pasture, and you're back."
"You're working too. Removing those Wooden Stakes takes time," Li Long joked.
"How does that count as work? Even Nasen and Sasiken could do it." Harimu sighed. "We're doing it this way this year, but next year..."
"I'll come again next year," Li Long said as though it went without saying.
Harimu looked at him and smiled.
That afternoon, before the sun had set, Li Long drove the tractor back to Harimu's Winter Camp.
The other young men had already returned with Jade Mountain River.
"We've inspected all the pastures around here," Jade Mountain River said to Li Long and Harimu after dismounting. "Over tomorrow and the day after, we should be able to cover everyone's pastures. Apart from a few patches with too many bushes, where we can't use the tractor to cut grass, we should be able to get through everywhere else."
"At the speed Li Long cuts," Harimu said after some thought, "five or six days? That should be enough to finish, shouldn't it?"
"About that."
At present, everyone's pastures were actually smaller than they would be in later years. After all, they kept a limited number of cattle and sheep and had limited manpower.
They had wolf meat again that evening. Li Long found it too rich, so he picked