Since Xu Mingxuan and the other two wanted to go along, Chen Lan bought two more raincoats and two pairs of rain boots for Xu Mingxuan and Xiang Dong from the system.
She remembered that the last time they caught snow frogs was in April, at night, and it was also raining lightly. Chen Lan, Xiang Xi, Xiao Shan, and Lin Mao had gone to the riverbank of the underground river in the rain at night, wearing raincoats and rain boots to catch snow frogs. So this time, since she and Xiang Xi had raincoats and rain boots, there was no need to buy more.
Everyone was wearing raincoats and rain boots, holding snake-skin bags. Chen Lan handed Xu Mingxuan, Xiang Xi, and Xiang Dong each a net on a pole, which was a net bag attached to a stick.
She held one herself.
The three of them looked at her with a confused expression, holding the nets. Chen Lan explained with a smile, "The snow frogs now are not like in the spring. Back then, they had just woken up from hibernation, and they had been starving all winter, so they weren't very active. They were all sluggish and easy to catch.
Now the snow frogs have been eating well in the forest for months, and they are all fat and strong. They are very energetic, with excellent jumping ability, able to leap quite far, and move extremely fast.
It's really not a good time to catch snow frogs now. Although the sky is still gloomy and it's drizzling, it's still daytime, not night. Before you even get close, they'll have already hopped away.
So we need to use these nets to catch the snow frogs, otherwise, we won't catch any at all.
Actually, the best time to catch snow frogs is after dark when it's raining lightly. At that time, the snow frogs come down the mountain and jump directly into the underground river. They become motionless when you shine a flashlight on them, making them very easy to catch."
After everyone was fully geared up, they set off directly from home. Since Xiang Xi had been there once before, he knew the way, so he acted as the guide for everyone this time. Xiang Dong followed closely behind, with Xu Mingxuan and Chen Lan, the couple, trailing at the very end.
As they walked, Chen Lan said to Xiang Xi in front, "Little Watermelon, we'll stick to the old rule today: 'catch the big ones and release the small ones.' Don't catch too many; just enough for the whole family to eat for one meal.
Today, let's catch fewer female snow frogs. We only need to catch enough female snow frogs for Brother Mingxuan to stew for soup these next few days.
Let the other female snow frogs stay to reproduce and have offspring next spring!"
The three of them stopped abruptly upon hearing this and looked at her in unison without speaking.
Xiang Xi coughed and fidgeted, unable to resist asking, "Uh, Little Lanolin, how do you tell the difference between male and female snow frogs?"
Chen Lan looked at Xiang Xi's bashful demeanor and smiled, "Little Watermelon, Brother Mingxuan, Brother Xiang Dong, they are actually very easy to distinguish. Male snow frogs have shorter, thicker forelimbs, and on their front paws, there are two dark gray bumps on their thumbs. This is called a nuptial pad. It indicates that they have matured and can reproduce.
Another easy way to identify them is that male snow frogs have grayish-white bellies with gray spots.
Female snow frogs have slender forelimbs and no nuptial pads. Their bellies have reddish-yellow patterns with leopard-like spots, which is a distinctive feature. That's why some people call female snow frogs 'leopardesses'."
The drizzle continued to fall. Although the mountain path was uneven and difficult to walk, the four of them walked and chatted, not too slowly. It took them about an hour before they soon arrived at the bank of the underground river.
As soon as they arrived, they split up and began searching the surroundings. There were snow frogs that had come down the mountain during the day, but not many. They were mostly hiding by the stream, in small ditches, on the grass, and in the woods, making them very difficult to find.
Chen Lan thought to herself that she had come too early today; they should have come to catch them after dark.
However, she then thought again, they weren't trying to catch a lot of snow frogs today. If they were hard to catch, it would just be a good way for her to relax and stretch her muscles.
The four of them all lowered their heads and rummaged through the small ditches, puddles, streams, woods, and overgrown grass, getting covered in mud like little monkeys. Fortunately, they were wearing raincoats on the outside; otherwise, getting their padded jackets dirty on a rainy day would have been quite troublesome.
After everyone's unremitting efforts in searching, they finally had some success.
The four of them gathered to tally the results of their labor. The final outcome was satisfactory.
Chen Lan caught three female snow frogs and six male snow frogs. Xiang Xi caught five females and eight males.
Xiang Dong caught three females and nine males.
Xu Mingxuan didn't catch any female snow frogs, only sixteen males.
In total, they caught eleven female snow frogs, which were placed in a snake-skin bag held by Xiang Xi, and thirty-nine males, packed into another snake-skin bag held by Xiang Dong.
Chen Lan looked and thought it was good enough. It was getting late, already past noon, and past mealtime, so it was time to go back.
In fact, Chen Lan still had some concerns.
First, during the day, the snow frogs had not yet descended in large numbers, making them scarce and very difficult to catch.
Second, she was worried about catching too many and wiping them out. In later generations, due to indiscriminate hunting, the wild snow frogs of Changbai Mountain were nearly driven to extinction and eventually became a Grade III national protected animal of Changbai Mountain.
Since they decided not to catch any more, everyone prepared to head back. Xiang Xi led the way again, with Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan, the couple, walking in the middle, and Xiang Dong at the very back.
The rain had not stopped, continuing to drizzle. The four of them walked back along the mountain path they had come, with uneven steps.
Due to the rain, the mountain path was a bit slippery, and everyone walked much slower than on the way up. It truly proved the old saying, "Going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is hard!"
It took the four of them nearly two hours to get home. They were all exhausted. In fact, they hadn't done much; it was just that the mountain path was too difficult, and they could slip easily. Therefore, they had to concentrate fully while walking, maintaining a highly focused mental state, which is why they felt so tired.
Upon returning home, Chen Lan said to Xiang Dong and Xiang Xi, who were carrying the snow frogs, "Little Watermelon, Brother Xiang Dong, I'll leave the job of cleaning the snow frogs to you two brothers. Don't clean them yet; let's eat first. You can clean them after we finish eating."
Chen Lan dared not watch, and of course, she dared not eat. In her previous life, Chen Lan didn't eat wild frogs, nor did she eat farmed bullfrogs.
So she also pulled Xu Mingxuan along, fearing that he would be unable to eat if he saw the brutal scene.
The couple took off their raincoats and rain boots, changed into their indoor shoes, and walked into the living room. The living room was quiet, and no one was there. The children were likely taking their afternoon naps.
The couple went to the washroom to wash their hands separately. Chen Lan asked Xu Mingxuan to call Xiang Dong and his brother to come and eat, while she went to the kitchen first, lifted the lid of the pot, and took out the warm food for the four of them.