Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 96 - 35: Mice (Part 2)

Chen Zhou has dug at mouse holes seventy or eighty times since he was a child, but never once succeeded.

Most of the time, digging was just a way to vent frustration over failure, not a fallback plan.

With a bucket of cold water ready, a shoulder pole carrying a small wooden box, a wooden cup, and a pickaxe, Chen Zhou called to Lai Fu resting at the hole's entrance and headed towards the sunny slope.

In the early morning, the sunlit side of the mountain was already basking in sunlight, growing warmer.

The shadowy area was still shrouded in shade, and as he stepped downward, the light breeze felt chilly against his skin.

Lai Fu ran exuberantly ahead of Chen Zhou, occasionally stopping to look back and bark as if saying, "Hurry up, master."

When it got impatient, it would suddenly leap forward, its tail stretched out, and dash madly ahead.

Even if it ran out of sight, there was no need to call for it; it would soon return, wagging its tail merrily.

The loads on Chen Zhou's shoulder pole were uneven, so he had to press down on the empty wooden bucket holding the tools to prevent the water bucket from hitting the ground.

The road wasn't far, and once he reached the sunny slope, the terrain leveled out considerably.

Walking along the yellowing leaves on the grass, a patch of white broken rocks came into view, with an expanse of forest stretching beyond. This was the mouse headquarters.

After setting down the pole, he patiently searched the area around the rock pile and soon found several holes about the thickness of an arm.

The sand at the entrance was exceptionally soft, and if not disturbed by the wind, they might even see mouse footprints.

Chen Zhou was dealing with this kind of mouse for the first time, but he tried to apply his experience of flooding mouse holes back at his home on the grasslands.

He found four hole entrances and blocked three of them.

Then, he lifted the water bucket to the last hole, holding a wooden box in one hand and a wooden cup for scooping water in the other, and began pouring water into the hole.

The sandy soil was highly absorbent, so the water flow needed to be quick and ample, as small trickles would soon be absorbed by the soil.

He poured four full cups of water in without spilling a drop.

Listening to the water gurgle as it flowed down, Chen Zhou quickly lay down, pressing one ear against the hole wall to gauge the mice's reaction.

His hands stayed busy, leaving the wooden box open next to the hole.

This was a little trick for flooding mice.

If the mouse can't see the light from below, it knows there's danger at the hole entrance and won't advance. Only if light shines through the hole will it dare to run out.

By tracking their movements, one could move the wooden box to cover the hole entrance precisely as they burst out.

Precision and quick reflexes are key to success.

Listen quietly.

The sound of water grew weaker, and scurrying noises emerged, followed by loud squeaking that might be the alarm of just-awakened mice.

Then, even more hurried and dense footsteps sounded, some moving further away, while others came closer.

Stepping on the wet sand barely made a sound, making it difficult to discern the mice's exact movements.

Chen Zhou waited nervously, slightly tilting his head to keep a watch on the hole.

It had been years since he'd flooded mouse holes, and he'd lost his former expertise and confidence.

Only a novice uses their eyes to time the moment. Mice burst out of their holes in an instant, and ears are far more trustworthy than eyes.

Whoosh!

Just after he tilted his head, a mouse suddenly leapt out of the hole.

Its jumping power was astounding, reaching a height of thirty or forty centimeters. As soon as it landed, it made a sharp turn, dashing towards the rock pile.

"Damn!"

Chen Zhou's reaction was half a beat too slow. The mouse had already leapt out, and when he moved the wooden box, it was too late.

Seeing its master failing at the first attempt, Lai Fu enthusiastically barked and chased after the escaped mouse, scaring it so badly that it frantically zigzagged, raising a trail of dust, as if it were flying.

Lai Fu barked as it chased, its booming "woof woof" filled the hole with chaos.

The footsteps sounded like the beats of a small war drum, continuously reverberating.

The mice had their own ideas, some even crowding deep in the tunnel, emitting anxious squeaks.

Soon enough, they resolved the traffic jam. Some were heading to this hole entrance, some were digging out blocked entrances, and others fled to different places, their footsteps gradually fading away.

Pouring half a bucket of water back into the hole, Chen Zhou resumed listening with his ear against the wall, trusting his old instincts instead of his eyes.

A sound of footsteps grew nearer, seemingly about to reach the entrance.

He still lacked confidence, doubting his judgment.

Betting on a hunch, Chen Zhou quickly covered the entrance.

Just as the wooden box moved into place, something heavy suddenly plunged inside, hitting the bottom with a painful yelp. As it tried to back out, the box lid had already shut tight.

Phew~

Letting out a long breath, Chen Zhou could feel his racing heartbeat.

At the critical moment of the mouse-catching, he almost thought he'd failed.

Yet, the outcome relied on a split-second decision, and in the end, he had caught the wily creature.

The wooden box, akin to a wire cage, had openwork walls, preventing any obstruction of view, allowing clear observation of the "mouse" inside.

Close-range, all-around, with no obstructions, it looked entirely different from a fleeting glance from afar.

Examining it carefully, Chen Zhou became increasingly certain that this creature must be a chinchilla.

It had a pair of extraordinarily large ears with fine, soft hair, silver-gray on the back, and white on the belly.

Its eyes were bright black, with long, dense lashes, and it was currently glaring at Chen Zhou, its cheeks puffing up, its mouth quivering slightly with faint murmurs, as if cursing vulgarly.