Claude walked slowly on the mountain path with his gun on his back. There were three hares and five pheasants hanging on his gun. They were the spoils of the snares he set a few days ago.
In the past five days, Claude and his three companions had set up close to a hundred snares in the forest. Had they not been set in only five spots, it wouldn't have been that easy for Claude to remove them.
A few days ago, when Claude and his companions set up the snares, they would change their spots after each shot. The spots they chose were the bushes and grass in the forest. Each time, they would set up close to a hundred snares. As long as the hares and pheasants entered the bushes to look for food, they would most likely fall into the snares.
That was also the reason why Claude and his companions were able to catch so many prey in the past few days. Every time they went to the spots where the traps were set, there would always be some snares left there. Since no hares or pheasants visited them, Claude left them there and went back the next day to take a look. Who knows, he might be able to catch something unexpected.
The prey he hung on his gun were the ones he got from the snares he set a few days ago.
Out of the twenty or so snares he set the day before, only one hare was caught.
From the looks of it, the number of small animals in the area had greatly decreased and the chances of getting a prize weren't that high anymore.
After walking around the hill and forest for nearly two hours, he dismantled all the remaining traps and returned to where he came from.
The eight hares and pheasants were rather heavy. A few days ago, Claude had his companions to share the harvest with, so he didn't feel that tired.
Now that he was carrying his gun and the prey on his back, he felt that it was quite a burden to walk alone.
He decided to go to Poplar Ridge Farmstead to see if Regan was going to drive to town. That way, he would be able to give him a ride.
Poplar Ridge Farmstead wasn't that big. It had less than a hundred mu of farmland and didn't produce any crops. Instead, it mainly grew fruits and vegetables, with chickens and eggs as a supplement.
It was said that the owner of the farm was a merchant from the prefecture capital. After buying the farm, he had only visited a few times. Usually, it was a relative of his who was in charge of managing the farm.
Regan said there were four families of farmers on the farm who were employed to tend the vegetable fields, the blueberry orchard, the chicken farm, and the citrus grove.
He, on the other hand, was a hired handyman, a part-time dog handler, a coachman, and an errand boy.
In addition, there were three big watchdogs in the farm. Unfortunately, they only knew how to eat and bark. Usually, they couldn't even catch a rabbit …
Outside the Poplar Ridge Farm was a two-meter-wide small river. This was the farm's irrigation channel, and also the boundary line between the farm and the farm.
The farms, orchards, forest farms, and vegetable gardens here were basically the same. A ditch was dug at the border to mark the boundary, but there were also some simple wooden bridges over these ditches and rivers for the convenience of pedestrians.
Claude walked along the ditch towards the entrance of the farm. What he didn't expect was to be greeted by the barking of three large dogs.
It didn't look like a guard dog. It was much bigger than a guard dog and the color of its fur wasn't right either. Most of the guard dogs in Whitestag were mongrels and their fur was grayish-black. There were some that were brownish-yellow, but not many of them.
However, the three dogs' fur was a mix of white, gray, and yellow. Claude suddenly felt that they resembled the famous' huskies' from his past life.
Hearing the barking, a fat auntie came out of a farmhouse not far away. She stopped the three dogs and went to the door to ask Claude what he wanted.
He said that he was looking for Regan. The woman looked him up and down and pointed at a row of houses on the other side. She told him to go there and that Regan should be busy there.
After entering the gate, the three dogs stopped barking and followed behind Claude silently as if they were escorting him.
However, Claude noticed that the dogs weren't interested in him. Instead, they were interested in the bunnies and pheasants hanging from the musket.
At the same time, they didn't look at their prey with killing intent. Instead, they looked curious and wanted to know why the bunnies and pheasants were hanging from the shit-shoveling officer's body.
The row of houses seemed to be stables. The carriage was parked in the empty space in front of the houses and the two horses were chewing on their fodder.
Regan was squatting beside a large wooden crate and seemed to be busy with something. When Claude got closer, he saw that he was playing with a litter of puppies that were around two months old. The five or six white puppies were very lively and were rolling around in the crate, playing with each other. Two of them were even chasing after Regan's hand that brushed past their heads.
"Why are you here?" Regan asked when he saw Claude.
Claude tossed a rabbit to him and said, "This is for you. You have to keep your word, but this is the last time you'll get it."
"Thanks," Regan said as he picked up the rabbit, "It's quite plump. We can have an extra dish for dinner.
By the way, are you going back to town now? "
Claude nodded and leaned his musket against the wall.
"Then wait here for another half an hour. I still have a basket of eggs and a few baskets of blueberries to send back to town. You can hitch a ride back with me," Regan said.
"Alright then. I'll wait here for a while."
"I'll bring the rabbit to the kitchen first. You can play with the puppies here. They're really fun."
Regan turned around and greeted the three dogs behind Claude. He stroked their heads and pointed at Claude to show that he was one of them before heading out.
The white puppies were really fun to play with. They were full of energy and looked rather naive.
Claude imitated Regan and put his hand between them. They used their baby teeth to bite Claude's fingers and tried to climb onto the back of his hand with their chubby bodies, trying to push Claude's hand under their bodies.
However, they all rolled off Claude's hand and landed on the straw at the bottom of the crate. They didn't give up and continued to crawl towards Claude's hand.
The six snowball-like puppies could make anyone's face bleed from their cuteness.
The three dogs lay quietly on the ground and watched Claude play with the puppies.
Claude heard footsteps behind him. Thinking that Regan had returned, he asked without turning around, "What breed are these puppies?
Don't tell me they're from the three watchdogs you mentioned? "
"These three aren't watchdogs. They're genuine lardor snowhounds. The same goes for these puppies, young man," said an unfamiliar voice behind him.
Claude hurriedly stood up and turned around, only to see a white-bearded old man standing behind him.
"My apologies, Regan said that there are three watchdogs in the farm. I don't know much about these breeds," Claude said with a lowered head.
"It's fine, young man. I'm Mokro, the manager of this farm," said the old man with a smile. He walked to the box and stroked the puppies' heads.
"Good day, Manager Mokro. I'm Claude, a friend of Regan's. I'm going to ride his carriage back to town."
"I heard about it from Regan."
Mokro stood up with interest and walked to the wall. He looked at the string of pheasants and rabbits hanging from the gun. "Did you catch all of these?
They're all alive and not shot with a gun? "
"Yes, I set a trap," Claude replied.
"What kind of secret medicine did Regan use to soak the wheat?" It seemed that Regan was a blabbermouth. Fortunately, Claude didn't tell him the truth.
"There's also some vegetables and some fruits, beans, dried berries and the like. Rabbits and pheasants love to eat those," Claude replied without a change in expression.
"I've heard of people using alcohol-soaked wheat to lure pheasants. After they eat the wheat, they'll get drunk and it's easy to catch them."
Claude smiled and shook his head. "That's a lie. I remember a story about a hunter using that method to catch pheasants. Actually, it's only something the author imagined. It can't be done in real life.
First, pheasants won't eat the alcohol-soaked wheat. They don't like the smell.
Second, alcohol evaporates very quickly and won't have much of an effect after half a day.
Third, pheasants aren't humans. It's hard to say whether they'll get drunk or not. "
"But isn't your secret potion like hard liquor?" Manager Mokro said.
Claude smiled and didn't say a word. The old man didn't have any good intentions. It was obvious that he wanted to know what the secret medicine was.
Seeing Claude's silence, Mokro didn't seem to mind. "Is Supervisor Morssen your father?"
Claude nodded.
"I've met him a few times. He's a good official. Whitestag only developed so quickly because of someone like him," Mokro said.
"Thank you for your praise. I'm sure my father will be very happy to hear that," Claude replied politely.
"Do you like the puppies?
I can give you one if you like it, "Mokro suddenly offered.
"Oh, thanks. They're really cute, but I don't need one." Claude started to put up his guard. One who was unaccountably solicitous had to have ulterior motives.
"Actually, lardor snowhounds are the best playmates for children."
Mokro walked to the wooden box and looked at the puppies playing inside. "These lardor snowhounds come from the northern lands of ice and snow. The northerners view them as part of their family.
They're loyal, reliable, brave, and extraordinarily intelligent.
Our kingdom doesn't have a long history of lardor snowhounds. The earliest one was two hundred years ago when a merchant from the north presented three of them to Stellin III as a birthday gift.
But soon, these three snow hounds lived in the palace and interbred with other dogs, not leaving behind a pure bloodline.
It wasn't until Stellin IX ascended to the throne and sent people to the north that purebred lardor snowhounds appeared again.
Of course, the three we have here aren't purebred lardor snowhounds, but their pedigree can be traced back to three generations ago.
Lardor snowhounds are the most popular pets in the various cities of the kingdom. People use them to guard their homes and play with their children.
They repay their owners with their loyalty and have never disappointed their owners. "
Claude was finally tempted. He remembered the unfair terms he had promised the boy. If he could have a white lardor snowhound as a companion, he wouldn't need any gifts or conditions. The boy would definitely be overjoyed.
Also, with a snowhound to accompany him, he wouldn't need his mother to hug him anymore.
"Are you really going to give me a puppy?" Claude asked as he licked his lips.
"It's a snowhound, not a puppy."
Mokro wasn't pleased with Claude's comparison of lardor snowhounds to guard dogs. "Of course, I can give you one if you like.
Your father has contributed greatly to the development of Whitestag. You can treat this as a token of our respect for him. "
"Then I won't take it. My father doesn't allow us to accept gifts in his name."
Claude looked at the snowball-like puppies in the wooden box. "But I can use my game to trade. A pheasant and a rabbit for one of your snowhounds. How about that?"
Mokro laughed heartily and raised his hand to give Claude a high-five. "Alright, it's a deal. You can choose a snowhound to bring back."
Let me explain that this book is a slow one, so I haven't signed a contract yet. At the very least, I'll have to wait until the main storyline is released before I consider signing a contract. So, these chapters aren't just for show. They're related to the main character's development in the future. You can say that it's a hidden storyline. At the same time, I won't waste the Qidian coins of my readers.
I admit that I'm a bit slow at updating, but I can't help it. I don't use any intelligent collaboration software either. I have to consider the development of the main storyline and explain the world's background so that my readers can understand the choices the main character will make in the future. It's really hard to write.