The sun hasn't set yet, and although it's raining, it's not completely dark outside; it's still barely possible to see the road.
Since the oil in the lamp is about to be exhausted and can't provide illumination, Chen Zhou has no choice but to use the last bit of fuel to make a "relay baton" to take ho—
Although the burning ti of a torch can't compare to the dwindling oil lamp, its brightness is much higher.
When walking on a mountain path at night, the brightness of the light source is far more important than its duration.
...
Continuing the journey, slowing down to see the uneven path clearly, Chen Zhou had made his plans.
He thought, if the live trap catches a goat, he would lead the goat to the adow below the cave, just like he had tad the pair of mother goats, and settle the goat there, slowly feeding it salt to build a relationship.
If the live trap yields nothing, and the drizzle stops, he would light this torch on his way ho.
If the drizzle doesn't stop but rather intensifies, he would leave the torch and stay in the cave overnight, returning ho the next morning.
With the oil lamp "out of service," this arrangent currently seems appropriate.
...
The daylight grew dimr, and the persistent drizzle that struggled all day finally sighed its last and ceased to fall.
After walking for a long ti, with a raincoat and a wide-brimd hat, Chen Zhou initially felt a headache, but eventually, as he sweated more and more, he felt as if the illness caught from being drenched had completely healed.
Perhaps it's the illusion caused by the sweat, but for the ti being, he didn't feel the headache and felt relieved, quickening his pace a bit.
About to reach the platform where the goats are, from afar, Chen Zhou heard the "baa baa" sounds of goats.
The bleating was not just from one goat but ca in continuous waves, with both the deep voices of adult goats and the immature calls of young goats, each bleat carrying a sense of urgency.
"Hey! It worked!"
Usually, the goats should have moved by this ti, so why would they stay on the hillside overnight?
Besides, even if the goats stayed on the hillside, they wouldn't make such loud, anxious noises without reason.
Knowing in advance that his live traps had succeeded, Chen Zhou, while walking forward, took off his backpack and retrieved two bundles of hemp rope in preparation for tying up the goats later.
Crossing the ridge, the situation ahead was clear.
On the darkened hillside, there were a few white spots of varying sizes, standing out clearly against the approaching night.
The two large live traps and one small live trap all worked, capturing the greedy and bold goats.
Chen Zhou's luck was unusually good this ti; the two large traps caught all mother goats, while beside the trap, three young goat kids stretched their heads anxiously, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the sticks to nurse.
What was even more unbelievable was that the small live trap had captured a kid that belonged to another mother goat.
Now, the mother of the kid was standing by the live trap, calling out "baa baa" and occasionally lowering its head to nudge the cage with its horns, trying to rescue its child.
"Three adults and four kids, seven goats in total, I'm in luck now!"
Worried that the mother goat guarding its kid might be scared away, Chen Zhou crouched low, gripping the hemp rope with joy.
If he could capture these seven goats, along with the pregnant mother goat and the billy goat, the number of goats belonging to him would quickly increase from two to ten, giving a boost to the long-underdeveloped livestock farming since his arrival on the island.
Even if these four goat kids were all billy goats, with the tad mother goats, birthing twice a year, these four mother goats would be enough to supply the herd with newborns, ensuring an ample supply of goat milk.
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